Comfort Blanket

Actor and writer Carrie Quinlan (Home, Agendum, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme) talks about her love of the comic character Spider-Man, in all his (and her, and its) incarnations, and what enables the story of the teenage nerd turned neighbourhood crime fighter to be endlessly reinvented, to provide life-long comfort for alienated kids, teens and grown-ups. This is part ONE of TWO. Support us...

Comedy actor and podcaster Margaret Cabourn-Smith ( Crushed, John Finnemore, Penny Dreadfuls ) talks about the uplifting British comedy film Pride (2014) with its story of unlikely alliances and the power of unity, and the winner of an imaginary BAFTA for best White Writing At The End In A Motion Picture. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substac...

Comedian and YouTuber Jay Foreman ( Map Men, Politics Unboring-ed ) talks about the comforts of Goscinny and Uderzo’s indomitable Asterix, about the sort of jokes and storytelling that can only work in comic form, and how good it is to read something from a neighbour's point of view. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www...

Author and journalist Daisy Buchanan ( Insatiable, How To Be A Grown Up ) talks about the comforts of Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding, and how book Bridget differs from the version we now think we know, how the book acts as a manual for self-acceptance, and how it might open a door to grown-up life if you read it when you're anxious and thirteen. Support us making these podcasts by becomi...

Comedian Michael Spicer ( The Room Next Door, Mandy, The Mash Report ) talks about the comforts of Monty Python's final, short and strange TV series (the one nobody really talks about), why sketch shows are all-hit-and-no-miss (provided you love them enough) and why enjoying the weird stuff is sometimes the most comforting part of being a fan. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid su...

Comedian and artist Jo Neary ( Ideal, Man Down ) on illustrator Ronald Searle, in particular his school satires: St Trinian's and the immortal Molesworth books, with Geoffrey Willans. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hosted on Acast....

Writer and actor Abigail Burdess ( Mother's Day, Mitchell & Webb ) talks about the comforts of the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and talks about the invention of the romcom, and whether Jane Austen is the most successful comedy writer ever. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblan...

If you like Comfort Blanket, we are launching a Patreon so you can join in and show your support. www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod Patreon membership gives you early ad-free access to future episodes of Comfort Blanket, as well as our exclusive companion podcast 'Home Comforts'. Here's a sample episode to whet your Patreon appetite, with Julia picking Jennifer Saunders' classic sitcom 'Absolutely...

Actor Melanie Gutteridge ( Salisbury Poisonings, Undeclared War, The Bill ) talks about the comforts of the 2013 video game The Last of Us - recently adapted into the hit HBO series - the power of interactive fiction, and how video games are more like theatre than TV, how they tell their stories and emotionally affect us, and the differences between acting and acting-with-balls-all-over-a-wetsuit....

We are launching a Comfort Blanket Patreon. Please join and throw some coins in the lovely Patreon hat if you feel you want to support the podcast... www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod You'll get early ad-free access to forthcoming episodes, as well as EXCLUSIVE access to our companion podcast Home Comforts... Here's a sample episode, about what might be my favourite film of all time: Close Encount...

A look back at some favourite moments from the first two series. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author John Higgs ( Love & Let Die, The KLF: Chaos Magic...) talks about the comforts of classic Doctor Who , and how a science fiction series for children seems to have almost willed itself into being as something far bigger, more powerful, and magical within our culture. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreo...

Journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed ( Front Row ) talks about the comfort she finds in 'Soul Food', the 1989 cookbook by Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Comedian, games journalist and twitch streamer Ellie Gibson ( Scummy Mummies, Go 8 Bit ) talks about the comforts of Nintendo's gentle community-simulator video game 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' , and how it helped her, and millions of others, through the isolation of pandemic lockdown. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https...

Actor and writer Ben Willbond ( Ghosts, Horrible Histories ) chooses John Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (in all its forms) and discusses how it comforts him by being a masterful attack on a very particular British form of cruelty and certainty. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod...

Comedian and actor Paul Putner ( Lee & Herring, Little Britain ) talks about his lifelong love for one of Britain's best-loved pop bands Madness, and their unbeatably witty, inventive and, well, nutty promo videos. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://k...

Comedian and writer Mike Wozniak ( Man Down, Taskmaster, Three Bean Salad ) talks about the influence and warmth of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe's anything-goes 1950s radio programme The Goon Show, and the comforts of its self-contained, lunatic world. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/...

Actor and writer Jonathan Dryden Taylor ( Mitchell & Webb, National Theatre ) talks about the 1996 film 'Beautiful Thing', and the comforting message it offered: maybe there is another sort of rom-com that isn't just boy-meets-girl, and that maybe it's all going to be all right. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www....

In the second part of this two part episode, neuroscientist Professor Sophie Scott talks about Michael Palin & Terry Jones' set of self-contained stirring Edwardian boys' story spoofs, and discusses the importance of shared laughter for humans. PART TWO of a two-part episode. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.pat...

Professor Sophie Scott (director of UCL's Dept of Cognitive Neuroscience) talks about the comforts of Ripping Yarns , Michael Palin & Terry Jones' hilarious and lavish post-Python anthology series of Edwardian adventure story spoofs, and how comedy always needs to be taken extremely seriously... PART ONE of a two-part episode. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at:...

Actor and comedian Ingrid Oliver ( Doctor Who, Watson & Oliver ) talks about the comforts of the ultimate 80s kids' adventure movie The Goonies, with its magic combination of Richard Donner, Chris Columbus and Steven Spielberg, plus the infectious can-do confidence of America's finest unstoppable junior adventurers. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joe...

In part two of our deep dive into the repeat-watch comforts of Lawrence Gordon Clark's 1970s Ghost Stories For Christmas , writer Will Maclean talks about how these sort of tales weave their uneasy magic spell. (And this time we don't skip any of them for being too scary.) This is the second of two parts, in which we discuss The Treasure of Abbot Thomas , The Ash Tree , The Signalman and Stigma ....

Writer and ghost story enthusiast Will Maclean ( The Apparition Phase ) talks about the close-the-curtains-and-shiver comforts of Lawrence Gordon Clark's astonishing run of 1970s BBC Ghost Stories For Christmas . This is part one of a two part Halloween Special, covering The Stalls Of Barchester, A Warning To The Curious , and Lost Hearts . Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subsc...

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! Journalist and broadcaster Julia Raeside talks about the comforts of the classic 1945 Ealing film 'Dead of Night', the peculiar comforts of the creepy, and why she loves it even though she hates horror films... [SPOILER NOTICE: Though Dead of Night was released in 1945, and all its plot elements are pretty much in the public domain, if you haven't seen the film, and are super sp...

Comedian and writer Isy Suttie ( Peep Show, Jane Is Trying ) talks about the comforts of one of the most successful film musicals of all time, toe-tapping, potty-mouthed high-school nostalgia-bomb ' Grease '. This episode was recorded LIVE at the London Podcast Festival, September 10th, 2022. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: ht...