Dry and sarcastic or lewd and absurd — no matter how you slice it, I love British humor. And the lads behind the No Pressure To Be Funny podcast
have concocted a winning combo of chat, monologues, music, and rants
that delivers on all fronts. The brainchild of English comedians Nick
Revell and Alistair Barrie, the show is fronted by LBC talk radio host
James O’Brien. Performed before a live audience, each show features a
different panel of guests every episode. Drawn from the arts, media, and
politics, the crew for the latest outing includes Rob Grant, Simon
Munnery, Kevin Day, and Polly Toynbee in addition to the show’s
creators.
There’s a James Bond theme song with lyrics designed to reflect the economy of the day (“he has to pay to renew his license to kill, and the only reason he doesn’t shower alone is to cut down on the water bill; because Tomorrow Never Dies, just like the Bond franchise…”) There’s a panel discussion of the morals crisis infesting the BBC that’s recently come to light as well as the recent US elections. And, in my favorite tirade of the episode, series co-creator Revell levels a martini-dry accounting of the British involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
The only shortcoming of No Pressure is that it only drops once a month and that’s no laughing matter.
— Marc Hershon
Originally published 12.6.2012 in This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com
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