Worst Foot Forward

Read Ben's new Substack here, including articles about Obsession and The Beatles, prehistoric shananigans and a short story about a very sinister bookmakers: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Sit up straight, eyes front, pens at the ready and don't even think of aiming your peashooter at the back of our heads. It's time for your detention project: listening to us discover the world's worst teacher. This week we meet philanderers, pranksters and dictators. So no different to any other faculty... Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @SharonWanjohi_ Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

With the Snooker World Championship in full swing, Ben takes us for a break around the table with a potted history of snoooker, with some billiards and pool thrown in. There are tales of deathly dull games, the day inclement weather halted a match and the story of one snooker referee's brush with musical superstardom. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

DONATE TO THE HARDEST GEEZER! Try and see our lips move on this week's episode as Angus Dunican returns to talk to us about the World's Worst Ventriloquist. From puppets on the beat to those who faced down the Nazis and lived to tell the tale, there's something for everyone in here. Assuming everyone has at least one type of creepy puppet they're kind of into... Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @AngusDunican Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding With a hey nonny no, a slap of the thigh and some deeply questionable lyrics we're joined this week by accordionist, folk singer and comedian David Eagle to root out the world's worst folk song. There's bizarre cover versions, flutes made of human bones, creaking extended metaphors and a roast of Henry VIII. Grab your mandolin and get stuck in! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @thedavideagle Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding In no way connected to the opening of his new play, Barry leads us on a quick whip through some of the most infamous theatrical superstitions and myths, including broken legs, Scottish plays and peacock feathers. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

*Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding * It's one of our occasional trips down memory lane, and we are revisiting episodes 111 to 115 to discuss not the worst but the World's Best Smell, Algorithm, Manager, Design Flaw and Saint. This episode sees Barry try to convince Ben that he is scientifically disposed to vanilla and Ben trying to convince Barry that Portuguese nonuplet renegades are better than Oscar Wilde's favourite sexy martyr. So, more of the same guff then. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

We're saying "Yes And..." to everything this week as we're joined by tremendous Scottish improviser Mara Joy to discover quite how bad things can get when you start making things up. John Cage goes on for centuries, B-movie mistakes get creepy and Ben finds an unlikely nadir from the jazz world. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @Marajoyloves| Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

We're jumping for joy as it's a leap year, and no better time to examine all things calendrical and February 29th-ical. Ben dips into a grab-bag of facts including famous people born on that most uncommon of days, the difficulty of switching from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, and why a positivist calendar from post-Revolutionary France could really be more trouble than it's worth. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

This week we do a double take at doppelgangers everywhere as we reveal the worst cases of mistaken identity in history. Joined by award-winning comedy double act Shelf, we reveal the stories of the wrongfully imprisoned, the wrongfully buried and the wrongfully genderpigeon-holed. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @shelfcomedy Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

This week we're lifting, cleaning and jerking, squatting, pressing, pushing, sweating and gaining as we discuss the World's Worst Exercise with acclaimed queer poet and fitness fan Andrew McMillan. Andrew gives us an insight into why gyms feature so much in his writing, Ben talks about the world's strongest men and their various stones, and Barry goes to yoga with a Noah's Ark-worth of animals. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @AMcMillanPoet Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

We're facing the facts in this January's bonus episode which is all about Janus and double-faced things. You have so many glorious bits of trivia to look forward (and backward) to as Barry turns his many eyes to things as varied as Cerberus's brother, grumpy cats, scientific studies into whether two heads are better than one and the history of two-headed coins. Oh, and there's also a bit about why genes have weird names! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

We're heading to factories full of gross ingredients and heavy munitions this week as we talk to Steven Healer, an old school friend of Ben's, with experience in the MoD about the world's worst industries. Ben reveals the repellent world of beauty, the horrific world of the military-industrial complex and the claustrophobic world of mining. Find out more about Steven's NPO supporting artists in conflict zones here: https://conflictcomics.org/ Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show, and especially as we work on our book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

Happy new year folks, and we're starting it off with our eyes on the prize hoping for big money at long odds - it's the World's Worst Bet. Comedian and professional poker player Ken Cheng is with us to cast his eye over the runners and riders as he brings stories of the bets professional gamblers place when away from the cosy environs of a casino. Barry has stories of Russian authors, English rakes and tasers, while Ben walks around Blackheath, dodging geese and brothels every step of the way. What a normal, Worst Foot Forward way to start 2024! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @kenchengcomedy Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show, and especially as we work on our book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

Merry Crimbletide folks. To celebrate this festive time of year we're diving into a cauldron of piping hot mulled wine to discuss all things Mull. The little island that could off the coast of Scotland is a surprising nexus for a few favourite characters from the show's vaults, plus a few other bits of entertaining historical daftness. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

Christmas Day is here, and it’s not just under your tree that you’ll find delightful gifts. Here too, at Worst Foot Forward, we come laden with treats in the form of our annual round-up of our favourite moments from the past 12 months. Join us for a jaunt through highlights such as our two live shows which featured sibling rivalry and Adventure Bombs, Ben’s wife teaching us about taxes, Caimh O’Donnell barely scratching the surface of Florida Man’s insanity, Rosie Holt’s fear of dancing, Ivan “from The Traitors” critiquing actual traitors from history, and Ed Byrne wishing to say farewell to “an Irish Goodbye”. Merry Christmas to all our listeners, and here’s to a wonderful 2024. This episode features: Ed Byrne, Sam See, Carrie Quinlan, Silvana Van der Velde, Matt Kirshen, Rosie Holt, Caimh O’Donnell, Lexx Education, Jon Gracey, Matt Green, Joshua Tonks, Daisy Earl, Rob Manuel, Chris Grace, Ivan Brett, Johnny Chiodini and Ellie Gibson. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show - especially at this time of year, if you can help us out, it makes all the difference as we look forward to another 12 months of podcasting! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward

This podcast always rings twice, then knocks three times, then peers through the window, then climbs over a gate to check around the back before just shoving the parcel through the cat-flap. It's an episode with comedian and postal worker Tom Toal all about the World's Worst Messenger, in which Tom charges into the Valley of Death with the Light Brigade after a miscommunication. Meanwhile, Barry explains how shooting the messenger can have global ramifications and Ben enlightens us as to why his package seems to be crying. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @tomtoalcomedy Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

Allons-y, companions! This week we are jumping into our TARDIS and exploring the Whoniverse, as Barry takes Ben on an adventure through space and time to talk all things Doctor Who. With the iconic BBC show's 60th anniversary being marked, we whizz through everything from Hartnell to Gatwa. There are the show's humble beginnings and how it was nearly ruined by Lee Harvey Oswald. There are mishaps galore, from flooded studios to visible tattoos, lost episodes to bootleg erotica. And there are the tales of the weird and wonderful design choices, from the Daleks' near-miss with Hollywood royalty to K9's near-miss with a cheap dog costume. All this and more in this bonus episode which is definitely bigger on the inside. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

We're drinking from the half full part of the podcast this week as we revisit episodes 106-110 - and look for the positive stories on show. Ben and Barry sooth you with the finest lullabies, bamboozle you with puzzles, salute the finest military tactics (and, with less enthusiasm evil geniuses) and end with the finest experiments ever concocted. In between there's the usual mix of Beatles chat, oddball trivia and, for a change, very little harm to dogs. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

We love a live show here at Worst Foot Forward and this one was no different! We were joined by the team from Lexx Education - Laura Lexx and her brother Ron - for an episode about the World's Worst Sibling as part of the Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival in London. Brothers-in-arms Ben and Barry presented a combination of Hollywood and Washington high-flyers, while Laura went back to Ancient Egypt and Rob discovered a third, less-good Attenborough brother down the back of the genealogical sofa. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @LexxEducation Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan more live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

* BUY TICKETS FOR OUR NEXT LIVE SHOW! WHAT: Worst Foot Forward Live - World's Worst Sibling with guests Laura Lexx & Ron WHEN: 5th November 2023 @ 12.00pm WHERE: Bedford Pub, London SW12 9HD TIX: https://www.cheerfulearful.co.uk/ We're howling at the moon, growing our hair and nails, and gaining American citizenship before travelling to London and then Paris as we transform into the World's Worst Werewolf. We are joined by comedian, gamer and master of Werewolf Live, Jon Gracey, for this monstrous Hallowe'en special, where Barry journeys through the south of France, Jon shares his favourite Thai film with us and Ben teaches us why tomatoes are not to be trusted. Oh, and to enjoy the scary werewolf transformation Jon references in the episode, watch it here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H3PRSg8ReM To join Jon and a bunch of other nerds (including past WFF guests like Ivan Brett and Grubby Little Mitts) playing social deduction game BLOOD ON THE CLOCKTOWER in a country house this November, check out this link! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvandervelde @JonGracey Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing… https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com