We Can Be Weirdos

"I pray to Jesus that I won't have nightmares" Paul Foot is a comedian and writer, known for his unconventional comedic style, which has earned him a dedicated cult following. He’s performed at all the big comedy festivals, including the Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and has been a regular on TV shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News for You....

Al and Dan join forces to get their head around some potential (/almost certain) poltergeist proof, eerily accurate astrology and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. Oh, and Dan takes issue with the core philosophy of the entire justice system of England and Wales. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord chan...

"I thought prayers worked better during a full moon" John Robertson is a comedian, streamer, author, improviser, actor, videogame writer, insult comic and "human hurricane". He's been a working stand-up for 20 years, headlining shows all around the world, created live-action videogame comedy The Dark Room (which is also an actual videogame, an online show and was a YouTube hit) and he streams 10 t...

Gregg Wallace MBE is a writer, TV presenter, and weight loss coach. Best known for TV shows MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef, MasterChef the Professionals, Eat Well for Less, and Inside the Factory. Now, he has a brand new podcast out, it's called A Piece of Cake, which you can find wherever you're listening to this. But did you know that his mum was a spiritualist? Have you ever considered h...

"In lockdown I went fairy hunting every day" Elf Lyons is an award-winning comedian, clown, theatre practitioner, teacher, writer and podcaster. Elf Lyons has gained a cult reputation as one of the most innovative performers on the UK comedy and theatre scene. Her work has included re-enactments of classical ballets, musicals about the economy, immersive horror shows and even lectures at venues su...

Map collector Frank Jacobs joins Dan to explore the lost (and, probably, very fictional) continent of 'Lemuria'. Plus, fake towns that become real, mistakes on maps that could save the earth and how a few grains of rice caused a diplomatic incident between North Korea, South Korea and Japan. You can find Frank's strangest maps on Twitter @VeryStrangeMaps, and you can buy his book Strange Maps: An...

"They came to believe Slenderman was sending his army after them" Kathleen Hale, originally from Wisconsin, writes about crime and social media. Her fourth book, SLENDERMAN, was nominated for an Edgar Prize and won the 2023 Midland Writers Award for Non Fiction. It tells the story behind the Slenderman stabbings in Wisconsin, USA, which shocked the local community and the world. The...

Dr Kate Devlin is a Reader in Artificial Intelligence & Society in the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London. Will Artificial Intelligence doom us all? Are sex robots actually a thing? And should we feel empathy towards a pair of mechanical buttocks? You can pick up Dr Kate's book, Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, wherever you like to buy your books. You can get in touch w...

"There can't be zombies if flies exist" Dr Erica McAlister is the Natural History Museum's Senior Curator of Diptera and Siphonaptera (A.K.A Flys and fleas!) overseeing a collection of nearly 4 million specimens. Erica has presented a Radio 4 series on Insects (Who's the Pest) and her books include The Secret Life of Flies , A Bug's World , and her upcoming title Metamorphosis: How Insec...

A centuries-old mystery, shrouded in chalk, surrounding the origins of the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset has been unravelled by two intrepid academics. What's with the large penis? What about that tiny head? And why are some people unhappy with these findings? You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord chann...

"I do a lot of chat with the cosmos" Shaun Keaveny is one of Britain's best loved radio DJs. He is formerly of BBC Radio 6 Music and is now the host of Shaun Keaveny's Daily Grind , "It's a bit like a daily radio show but it's a podcast. It’s disorientating, but it’s also reassuring!". Shaun has also hosted several music podcasts including  The Line-Up with Shaun Keaveny ,  Sha...

To celebrate the birth of We Can Be Weirdos in 2023, Dan looks back at some of the strangest unexplainable experiences a.k.a. 'Soft Rocks' from guests past. This includes Dan Aykroyd, Sara Pascoe and Danny Robins. Thank you to everyone who has listened this year, make sure you come back for more weirdness in 2024! The Rough Corner returns on January 9th, and main episodes continue as (un)usual. Ne...

"Graffiti is all around us... it's addictive" Dr Madeleine (Maddy) Pelling is an historian, writer and broadcaster. Her first book,  Writing on the Wall: Graffiti, Rebellion and the Making of Eighteenth-Century Britain , is out in March 2024. Maddy is co-host of History Hit's  After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal , and is a regular on TV and her words appear in  The Guardi...

The moon is amazing! And underrated. Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it is the very reason we are here? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist and author Rebecca Boyle takes Dan on a dazzling tour of our moon, and explains the ancient lunar origins of the 12 days of Christmas. Rebecc...

"Consciousness is not confined within our skulls" Dr David Bramwell is a British writer, musician, performer and broadcaster. For BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, he has made programmes on diverse subjects, including Ivor Cutler, clapping, time travel, and the murmurations of starlings. He is the founder and host of Brighton’s spoken word night, the Catalyst Club. Bramwell is also a singer-songwriter with...

It's time. Time to finally hear the batsh*t list of renowned author Daniel Schreiber. Plus, how to vaccinate yourself against cosmic dust, the mystery of the otherworldly cough and a chance to spotlight your weirdest local landmarks. You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In his bio, you'll find the link to our Discord channel - a global community of lik...

"The New Jersey Devil was trying to hunt me down!" Donny Dust is a US Marine Corps Veteran who is considered a worldwide expert in remote primitive survival, ancient technologies, lithic arts and emergency preparedness. What happened when a man so connected to the natural world confronted something supernatural? You can get in touch with Dan Schreiber on Twitter and Instagram (@Schreiberland). In...

Imagine you're living on an island over a thousand miles from your nearest inhabited neighbour, over two thousand miles from essential supplies. Then, imagine a global pandemic hits. What happens next: chaos or utopia? Pedro Pablo Petero Edmunds Paoa serves as Mayor of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). He reveals how an ancient code revolutionised the islanders' way of living. The Rough Corner needs YOU!...

"Why are there no ghost T-Rexs?" Stevyn Colgan has been a chef, a comics publisher, a monster maker and, for three decades, a police officer in London, during which time he met three prime ministers, two US presidents and a Pope. For over a decade he was one of the ‘elves’ that research and write the multi award-winning BBC TV series QI and was part of the writing team that won the Rose D’Or for B...

For over sixty years, Doc Rowe has been a dedicated archivist, folklorist, and cultural historian, tirelessly documenting the rich tapestry of rather batsh*t folk traditions across Britain. Now, in an effort to secure his legacy, filmmaker Rob Curry, along with actor and filmmaker Tim Plester, are on a crowdfunding mission to save this unique treasure trove of material. The Rough Corner needs YOU!...

"I gossip about dead people... it's my job" Dr Eleanor Janega is a medieval historian specialising in social history, with an emphasis on sexuality, propaganda, the urban experience, and apocalyptic thought in the late medieval period. She is recognised, in particular, as an authority on Central European history. Check out her podcast, Gone Medieval , and her latest book which is called The Once a...

The story of Pamela Colman Smith, the enigmatic artist behind the famous Raider-Waite tarot deck, whose legacy has remained in the shadows. Cat Willett is a Brooklyn-based artist who has written The Queen of Wands , a graphic biography bringing Pamela's story to life. Cat's latest book, Women of Tarot , is available for preorder now. The Rough Corner needs YOU! Get in touch with your unexplai...

"We are just bits of data... everything can be predicted" Bec Hill is an award-winning comedian and television writer. She writes and hosts her own family-friendly CITV series Makeaway Takeaway, and is the creator and author of creep-tastic books called Horror Heights. Bec has appeared on most comedy and panel shows going, and she co-hosts the podcast A Problem Squared with mathematician Matt Park...

Alan Robson MBE is a broadcasting legend and one of the most notable paranormal investigators in the UK. He tells Dan about time he was used as bait for the Loch Ness Monster, the weirdest funeral he's ever been to and how past-life regression therapy apparently helped a woman learn how to swim. The Rough Corner needs YOU! Get in touch with your unexplainable experiences, odd theories, related res...

"I've revealed more on this podcast that I have to close friends" Ross Noble is a celebrated British stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who has made Australia his home. He rose to mainstream popularity through his live shows and stand-up specials which gained not only critical acclaim with a string of awards and nominations but saw him become the biggest selling act at the Edinburgh and Melbourn...