Smith & Waugh Talk About Satire

A six-part podcast in which Drs Adam J Smith and Jo Waugh talk About the form, function and future of satire. They also talk about the history of satire, but that doesn’t alliterate. Adam and Jo will be joined by a series of special guests who will also talk about satire.

After a successful first run on Soundcloud which attracted literally dozens of listeners, Adam & Jo will be re-releasing the first series as a weekly podcast over the summer - this time on platforms that people actually use to listen to podcasts!

Episode 1. What Even Is Satire? (Monday 29 July)

Adam and Jo start at the very beginning with the biggest question of all: what even is satire? What did it used to be in the olden days and what is it now, in the age of Twitter, Trump and Brexit?

Episode 2. Satire & Celebrity (Monday 5 August)

 Jo and Adam are joined by Gráinne O’Hare (Newcastle University) and Katie Snow (University of Exeter) to talk about the relationship between satire and celebrity and consider the position of the woman as satirist and the subject of satire. 

Episode 3. Satire & the Novel (Monday 12 August)

 What is the difference between a satirical novel and a novel with satire in it? Adam and Jo are joined by Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University) to talk about one of the best known satirical novels of all time: Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent.  

Episode 4. Satire & the Image (Monday 19 August)

Do you need words to do satire? If a picture can say a thousand words, how much satire can it do? Adam and Jo are joined by Wendy McGlashan (University of Aberdeen) to talk about eighteenth-century print-maker, miniaturist and satire merchant, John Kay. 

Episode 5. Satire & Laughter (Monday 26 August)

Should satire make us laugh? Is satire always funny? Why do we laugh at things anyway? Adam and Jo are joined by Dr Kate Davison (University of Sheffield) to talk about the social history of laughter, and the various satires of the eighteenth-century tavern keeper Ned Ward. 

Episode 6. Satire & Women (Monday 2 September)

 Has satire ever really been a “man’s game”? Does satire work differently when written by women? Or when women are the targets? How is sexuality treated by satire? Adam and Jo are joined by Professor Karen Harvey (University of Birmingham) to talk about satire, sex and gender. 

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