Citizens Of Nowhere

From Reefer Madness to Satanic Abuse, Nick and Carey discuss the nature of moral panics - that social phenomenon where public alarm spreads like viral wildfire. It's threatening the very fabric of society, don't you hear me? We also discuss the tribal factions forming around the current Brett Kavanaugh investigation. Listeners are warned: there's a lot of dead kids discussed in this episode.

The two men named as suspects in the Salisbury poisoning, Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, recently gave an interview to Russia Today that was as baffling as it was comical. Join Nick and Carey post-gig in a Cardiff hotel room as they talk about the interview, the case, Russia's current strategy in the world, the conspiracy mindset, and people who are wrongly convinced they know how a magic trick is done.

Comedian Louis CK drops in to join - NOT REALLY. But he gets discussed: is his reported 'comeback' appropriate? Too soon? An example of the 'white male club'?

Nick and Carey also look back at this year's Edinburgh Festival, chat about being invited as a guest on 'Newsnight', and discuss the so-called 'White Male Effect', which appears to show that white men perceive environmental risk as lower than any other group (it does show this, but also - SHOCK - it's a bit more complicated than that).

The shows we saw in Edinburgh that get a mention in the podcast - in case they're touring and you want to catch them - include Garrett Millerick, Laura Lexx, Daniel Sloss and David Correos.

For this Edinburgh Fringe guest episode, Nick and Carey are joined by the prodigiously talented stand-up, Daniel Sloss, for a fascinating and very funny chat that hits subjects such as writing comedy about the death of a loved one, tackling taboo subjects in stand-up, and when you don't respect the audience enough to give them your best material.

Comedian Simon Evans joins the Citizens of Nowhere for a discussion that's as wide-ranging and interesting as you'd hope from this thoughtful comic. A by-no-means exhaustive selection of topics alighted on: the shortcomings of democracy, finding 'your' audience, Japanese sex pillows, the disappointing lack of brilliance in our public servants, complaining about your boss when you are your own boss, and how to get a Roomba to pleasure you sexually.

The latest of our Edinburgh guests is stand-up Jen Brister, who chats with Nick and Carey about being in a female couple raising a couple of boys, nature vs nurture, growing as a comedian, and when it's ok to do period jokes.

Another guest episode, this time with comedian Zoe Lyons.

A bulletproof circuit comic, Zoe has recently moved into touring and doing radio and TV. This wide-ranging chat is less about socio-political issues and more just about being a stand-up comic, both generally and at the Edinburgh Festival.

We talk about different types of audience, dealing with that one face in the crowd that clearly hates you, moving from the weekend club circuit to touring under your own name, whether homophobia in comedy clubs dying out, and why sometimes you have to be a drunk, Glaswegian fly, even if it's just for yourself.

It's a fun chat - enjoy.

Ayesha Hazarika is a comedian, political commentator, and former advisor to Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman. She joins Nick and Carey to talk about her experiences in politics, the #metoo movement, the mainstream media's obsession with presenting everything as a two-sided confrontation, and Boris Johnson's recent theft of an old bit of Carey's material about burkhas. She is, as we’d hoped, a fantastic guest, but we hope she’s wrong about Boris being the next Prime Minister.

It’s Citizens of Nowhere’s first guest episode!

Nick and Carey are joined by comedian Marcus Brigstocke for a candid conversation about self-censorship, what you can and can't say onstage, getting into arguments with people who know too much about you, and other pitfalls that await the comedian who deals with big issues.

Marcus’s new show, 'Devil May Care', is currently playing at the Edinburgh Festival, as are Nick and Carey. Links below.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/marcus-brigstocke-devil-may-care

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/carey-carey-quite-contrary

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/nick-doody-pg

This is a fun one, cut short because Nick had to go. But before that, we have one of the first real disagreements between Nick and Carey, regarding being called/categorised as 'cis'.