Howzat? 4.0 / 6

Back in 2010, when the Internet wasn’t full of fake news and skinny jeans were all the rage* podcasting was in its nascent stage. And at that time, one of the biggest comedy chat shows was The [Andy] Collings and [Richard] Herrin Podcast (pause for dramatic gasps). 

The show itself sounded like absolute crap – recorded on an in-built laptop microphone, the audio was poor, and the pair of comedians / comic writers didn’t have any formal structure in place, meaning that they consistently talked over each other for hours on end without any point seemingly to their conversations. But they had a dedicated audience who tuned in to everything they released. 

So why did it work?

Because there is a genuine friendship at the heart of it and that’s what the ShxtsNGigs podcast contains by the bucket load. And despite having the world’s worst name for a podcast (I mean, come on guys), the show doesn’t need anyone else on it. Yes, they occasionally do have some superstars on there (hello Mo Gilligan!) but that’s just showing off. 

However, I have to be honest here and admit that I didn’t really follow the majority of their conversation at the beginning – there’s chat about previous log cabin episodes (no idea what that means); a work out competition (which seems to have a heavy history associated with it); fashion faux pas; but then quickly shifts to the main thrust of the episode, “what’s the question that’s guaranteed to start an argument?”

The guys acquiesce around several hypotheticals, (‘babe, why can’t I see your phone?’, ‘Can I go out with the boys?’, or the pinnacle, ‘if I got remarried, who would you be buried next to?’) All good stuff, and it’s honestly lovely to listen to and I totally get why this is such a huge hit. 

ShxtsNGigs is exactly that (‘shits and giggles’, natch) and I’m here for all of it. The show recently sold out the O2 arena in London which speaks volumes about their connection to an audience hungry for levity in a sea of negativity. James and Fuhad, take a bow.

This is the The Collings and Herrin Podcast for the 2020s. Raw, honest but without the crap jeans and much, much better microphones. 

LK  

* apparently