Three Bean Salad is a phenomenon. At last year’s London Podcast Festival, they put on three live shows over two days, all of which sold out the huge Hall One. Their other live shows sell out to their Patreons before the non-paying public even get a chance. Fans line up to have their photos taken with them. There’s a very active subreddit, and (paying the podcast one of the highest compliments the internet can offer) there’s a full-on Wiki – not just a page, but a whole network of sites trying to capture every detail of this comedy podcast. There’s even a TVTropes page, somehow, and at the top, it features an exchange that really sums up the pod:

Ben (reading an email from listener Ross): Your podcast primarily relies on in-jokes, previously established jingles, and meandering lukewarm banter about an email you received several episodes ago.

Henry: Okay, I think there’s a little bit more than that going on.

— Slippers

If you’re not a part of that community yet, you might need an introduction to the heroes of the show. The Three Beans are: Mike Wozniak (you probably recognise him from Taskmaster), Benjamin Partridge (who makes the very funny podcast The Beef & Dairy Network) and Henry Paker (how to begin describing him? Also, he’s an illustrator who does the cute artwork for each episode). Mike is The Dad, Benjamin is The Son (and has an evil alter-ego / doppelganger, Bonjamin), while Henry is The Wildcard. Each episode, they chat generally, then attempt to talk about a subject thrown up at random by the Bean Machine.

Episode subjects have included Disguises, Purple and Going To Disney World And Not Wanting To Be Dressed Up As A Ruffian. There are lots of jingles / full-on songs breaking the episodes up into segments, including Provincial Dad Chat, where Mike embraces his own non-London Dadness; Digestive Tract Talk, which is exactly what it sounds like; and the America jingle (“burgers!”).

If you’re a new listener, where do you even start? The Beans have just finished their 11th season, so there are plenty to choose from. It is a podcast dense with running jokes, call-backs and invented characters. However, Three Bean Salad isn’t a narrative podcast; it’s improvised, not scripted, so you don’t have to start at Season 1 Episode 1. In fact, the first episode, ‘Posters’, has few of the ongoing, in-jokey features that make the pod so enjoyable. it definitely has the feel of a pilot and it’s not really representative of what the podcast has become.

I’m going to suggest that you don’t start there and give you four of my favourite alternatives.

Season 1 Episode 2: Lizards

It’s only the second episode, but the podcast already feels much more lived-in here, compared to the first one. The Beans invent a film (one of their favourite kinds of chat), in this instance for the BBC’s Emily Maitlis as an assassin. This is the origin of some of Ben’s best jingles: there’s a lot of Royal talk, which later becomes The Regal Zone jingle; it’s the first time we hear that all creatures are on an evolutionary arc towards becoming crabs – the foundations for a Crab Bell introduced later on.

Of course, this is the episode that legendary podcast enemy and all-round passive-aggressive supervillain Sperbs makes his first appearance via listener email, thus setting up the Three Bean Salad Extended Universe. Reading out his missive also shows how devoted the Beans are to interacting with listener correspondence from the start, even when that listener powerfully manipulates them psychologically…

Season 1 Episode 3: Rome

Okay, okay, so far I’ve basically recommended skipping the first episode but the third episode, ‘Rome’ is a great follow-on. It’s a very meta episode, and if there’s one thing the Beans care about, it’s being endearingly transparent about how the podcast sausage is made. From opening with a discussion of “should we have an opening chat vs the fade in?” to Henry’s suggestion of a jingle whenever they discuss the workings of the podcast on the actual pod.

Part of the pod’s charm is how much the Beans think/worry about the listener’s experience and we see this when a listener asks for the ending of Henry’s beans story from Episode 1: Posters (giving you a good reason to return to that at some point). Episode 3 is a fun behind-the-scenes look at how the Beans make the pod.

Season 1 Episode 7: Sleep

There’s an ongoing thread that people keep telling the Beans that it’s a very easy podcast to fall asleep to, thanks to their soothing voices (yes it is true, and no, it’s not that much of an insult). Their chat about sleep definitely helps us to learn some oddly personal things about them, but this episode is mostly notable for an absolutely corking listener emails section. Their archenemy Sperbs resurfaces to suggest that the pod could become “an hour of contextless jingles,” before suggesting the topics of “yams, dog racing, staplers, barns, dog fighting, paganism, assassination of William McKinley, concept of self, dogs, Falklands, Scientology, animal testing, and dogs,”. Plus there is the horrifying suggestion that Sperbs could actually be one of the Beans.

This episode’s email segment is rich in origin story for the episodes to come. Also, if you have a dog – just quickly check on it?

Season 3 Episode 1: Exercise

Yes, this is a big leap forward, but it’s where the Patreon begins, so it’s actually a Bean-approved starting point. They start by talking about how the pod would work as Two Bean Salad in the three different pairings: a great intro to their personalities and relationship dynamics. They outline the kinds of bollockings they will take from listeners, no longer willing to crumble under any old criticism. There’s also the first appearance of the episode editor (in this case Ben) interrupting the episode with a phone call to another Bean to comment on what we’re listening to: meta upon meta, but in the service of being as correct as possible.

This is also the episode where the pod really goes professional: there’s now the Patreon and a website and the Bean Machine has gone fully digital. What more could you ask for when trying out a new podcast?

The music is a big part of Three Bean Salad. In fact, the podcast’s enemy Sperbs once suggested that the pod was in danger of becoming “​​an hour of contextless jingles” – a comment that cut the Beans deep. For you, the new listener, this might seem fair though, so in an attempt to provide some context for you, we asked Benjamin Partridge – maker of the jingles – to talk us through his Top 5 Jingles, and why.

Benjamin Partridge’s Top 5 Three Bean Salad jingles

5. Flightless Bird Zone

This plays every time flightless birds are mentioned. An important jingle for any podcast. Most of the big podcasts have one, but they usually haven’t had occasion to use it yet. For this one I was challenged to blend bossa nova and Bob Dylan style folk, and I think I pulled it off.

4. Provincial Dad Chat

This one mixes hard rock, Def Leppard style backing vocals and accordion folk. It really makes me laugh when Mike, in full provincial dad mode, says “who’s hidden my bloody walking boots?”

3. Neil

This came about because we were chatting about a very minor character called Neil who I played in the BBC Three sitcom Josh and we imagined what a spinoff sitcom would be like. So I made it as a proposed theme tune for the imagined sitcom. But now it plays every time someone called Neil is mentioned. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s a special moment.

2. The Regal Zone

This is played any time the royal family is mentioned. Which is more than you might imagine. Usually Prince, now King, Charles. He seems to come up a lot. This jingle makes good use of a horse sound effect. A horse sound effect can really bring a jingle together and make it something quite cohesive. I think if you were a dancing person you could actually dance to this one. I would love to play it over a huge sound system in front of 500,000 at a huge outdoor gig in São Paulo.

1. Bluebell

This plays every time Henry’s cat Bluebell is mentioned. I don’t think it can truly be described as a jingle. It’s too long. It’s a song. Featuring Henry describing his cat as having “sturdy paws and silky thighs”. Usually I fade it out after 30 seconds or so but sometimes I hold my nerve and play the whole thing, completely torpedoing the flow of the podcast.

Listen to Three Bean Salad on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other popular podcast apps >>

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In Ghastly Women, Esther and her good friend Lily Philips bring to light the ‘other’ side of the so called “weaker sex”. They put some truly horrible women up with the big bad boys, because until we have women who are just as horrifying as some men, we will never get the respect/fear we deserve.

We sent over a few questions to learn more about the podcast…

Esther Manito at the Independent Podcast Awards

Can you tell us about your show – what is your elevator pitch?

There are so many podcasts about men who do horrible things and we wanted to show that women too can be ghastly. From killers, to stalkers and online trolls we cover all the things heinous committed by the fairer sex.

How did the show come about?

It came about from lockdown where myself and Lily would play interactive Pictionary online with an audience and each week we had a theme. The theme of female criminals hooked us.

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

It’s allows us to be completely transparent and let the listeners get to us in a really honest way. The podcast is incredibly dark and humour is maniacal. It’s such chaos but we have developed such a brilliant fan base who share our sense of humour and it’s such a joy to reach out to them.

Were you influenced by any podcasts or podcasters before you started the show?

I love a podcast called Watch What Crappens. It’s two friends discussing the world of bravo reality TV. It honestly feels like you’re sat with two friends listening to them bantering and I think we have been influenced by this dynamic, drawing our listeners into our world and being ourselves completely.

What have you learnt about women from making your podcast?

That there is still a long way to go when it comes to women’s voices being given a platform. Our podcast is based on mocking the boundaries enforced on female performers and how we still are expected to follow mainstream narratives that want women as affable and as non threatening as possible. This podcast has given us the space to show us as piss-takers who are more than happy to mock the language and ideologies that are often used to repress women.

What do you think the secret is to a good ‘buddy’ podcast?

Chemistry. We both really enjoy each other’s company and I think that’s evident on the podcast. We know each other really well, we are part of each others lives both in and outside of work.

Finally, what is your current favourite podcast you would recommend to readers?

Watch What Crappens- if you like bravo tv
British Scandal – for a gripping story
Casefile – for true crime
Carrie Jade Does Not Exist – brilliant analysis of a con woman

Listen to Ghastly Women now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps >>

Follow Lily Phillips on Twitter @lily_comedy and Esther Manito @esther_manito

The post Esther Manito: Women can be ghastly too appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The Intelligence

My favourite way to stay up to date with world news. The features are balanced both in terms of perspective and spread across the world and I like the format: two news stories plus a slightly alternative feature. Listen now >>

The Moth

The Moth is about keeping the curture or storytelling alive, Everyone today talks about storytelling and getting the narrative right, from company values, to personal branding and marketing. The only way to become a better storyteller is by listening to amazing storytellers. Listen now >>

Ted Talks Daily

I love being exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. And the best part about Ted Talks Daily is the variety of lengths, from 5 min to 20 min. I feel so much better spending a coffee break recharging with a Ted Talk rather than mindlessly scrolling social media. Listen now >>

Who Hurt You? (Previously known as Made Of Human)

First reason to listen: Sofie is hilarious. The second reason is that everyone at some point asks the question “How do I do life well?”. I love the variety of perspectives and issues she highlights, as well as the feeling that I’m listening to an intimate conversation between friends Listen now >>

Desert Island Disks

Amazing guests lead to amazing content but you also finish with a sense of familiarity after learning about the person’s music choices, favourite book and comfort items. It’s a sense of knowing a person you could never capture just by reading an article about them. Listen now >>

The post What podcasts does Stef Reid MBE listen to? appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We are Evie and Claudia and our podcast is about bowel and bladder conditions! We want to break the stigma around discussing these issues, so we always use humour as the backbone to our chats and interviews (we hope!)

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Evie: The first podcast I ever listened to was My Favourite Murder with Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff! I still listen every week.

Claudia: Mine was My Dad Wrote a Porno. I was gutted when it ended, it was always my weekly pick me up.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Evie: I wanted someone to talk to about my various toilet mishaps and I couldn’t believe it when Claudia mentioned off-hand one day she’d been struggling with IBS and had had to sit in the toilet at the theatre for the whole show. I had no idea one of my closest friends and I had never shared our experiences with each other and wondered how many other people could benefit from these types of conversations. So, naturally, I asked Claudia if she’d like to broadcast our issues worldwide.

Claudia: I’ll be honest, when Evie came to me with the idea of creating a comedy podcast on bowel and bladder issues I was so nervous that I had to go to the bathroom. The irony was not lost on me. But once we put our first episode out there it was not only cathartic, it was heartwarming to see how many other people were going through similar issues. It felt like a no-brainer to keep creating more episodes.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Evie: I love Kathy Burke’s When There’s a Will, There’s a Wake. The format of the show enables the guests to be funny, whilst also often covering personal and human issues, which is something Claudia and I would like to emulate. I’ve also loved Elis James and John Robins’ How Do You Cope? and have taken great inspiration in managing difficult conversations and how to ask the most interesting questions.

Claudia: I became obsessed with Dolly Alderton’s podcast Love Stories because it quite literally felt like receiving a hug. That’s what I wanted to put out into the world. If we were going to create a podcast I wanted our listeners to feel comfort from our humour and the stories we shared. What has been the most rewarding thing about this process has been receiving messages from listeners who have resonated with The Poodcast in that very way.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Evie: Sadly, it was Deborah James. Her strength, resilience and humour during her illness was nothing short of astounding and we tried so hard to speak to her before she died.

Claudia: I would love to get Jameela Jamil on the podcast. Not only because I love her podcast I Weigh and think she manages to tackle really sensitive issues with such heart and ferocity but also because I hear she has some of the funniest poop stories in the biz.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Evie: It’s hard to say, but I think the conversation with Lauren Mahon about bowel cancer was a really enlightening one. At the risk of sounding like a narcissist, starting with a ‘Just the Poo of Us’ special is also good, to see if you can stand our voices as we feature in every episode!

Claudia: I agree a ‘Just the Poo of Us’ is a good place to start or I still have a particular fondness for our episode with Billie Anderson (S1 Ep 13), it’s a good mix of total silliness and a very real delve into the life of somebody with a bowel condition.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

We have an Instagram page which is @the_poodcast and we are both discoverable on social media @eviekillip and @claudiacam. Please join our Poo Crew, we’d love to have you!

Listen to The Poodcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify andother popular podcast apps >>

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With the new series starting today, we caught up with the three Spoken Nerds to ask them for the nitty-gritty on their podcast journey.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

MATT: We are three comedians, two physicists and a mathematician, who do two of those things each under the name Festival of the Spoken Nerd.

HELEN: Every episode we pick a topic and each bring something sciencey or mathsy that we think gets better and better the more details you go into.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

STEVE: The first podcast I ever listened to was Professor Blastoff. I was looking for science podcasts. Professor Blastoff isn’t a science podcast, so false advertising there, but it is brilliant. They don’t make it anymore

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

MATT: We do a lot of live comedy shows where we talk about interesting bits of science and technology in unnecessary levels of detail. But sometimes it’s nice to have an audience who can’t talk back: so we decided to take the idea to podcast form! Plus making a podcast gives us a chance to dive into even deeper levels of detail. Partly because the format lends itself to deeper and more involved explorations than you can usually achieve when you’re standing on a stage in a comedy club, and partly because (and I cannot stress this enough) the audience can’t talk back.

HELEN: Also I currently have two kids under 5 in the tail end of a pandemic, so I am all about working from home rather than spending most of my weeks and weekends driving up and down various UK motorways in a tour van. For now, anyway…

Image credit: credit Rosemary Rance / Adam Robinson

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

MATT: We’re long time friends with the No Such Thing As A Fish folks and we think there should be no such thing as a monopoly on nerds banging on about stuff. So we’ve decided to out-detail them.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

HELEN: That it’s not radio! We’ve made a few series of “Domestic Science” for BBC Radio 4 and it’s a very different style of audio. For radio, everything has to be much more scripted, faster paced and we recorded everything for those shows in front of a live audience.

MATT: Who, sometimes, try to talk back.

HELEN: Whereas making a podcast is more relaxed and conversational.

MATT: Obviously we still script it word for word, but we script it to sound relaxed and conversational.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

HELEN: In the Series 2 episode “To Infinity And Beyond” Matt gives a very comprehensive history of the HP 9100A desktop scientific calculator. That’s a fairly typical level of detail to expect.

MATT: Yes, it was the first scientific calculator ever made and birthed the phrase “personal computer”. When an early model was shown to the engineers at NASA they literally gave it a standing ovation and that calculator went on to directly impact the exploration of our solar system. Later in the episode Helen and Steve also go on about some space stuff but it doesn’t involve any calculators.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

HELEN: If you want the best possible introduction, we have some live shows coming up at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London on the 7 and 8 of April called “An Evening of Unnecessary Detail”.

STEVE: There’s our first series still knocking around on whatever podcast app or platform you listen on, so that’s there if you can’t wait for Series 2 to start.

MATT: If you can’t successfully google either of those things or find our website, that’s probably for the best as it’s unlikely they’re going to be your bag after all.

Main image credit: Idil Sukan/Draw HQ .
Inline image credit: credit Rosemary Rance / Adam Robinson

You can listen to the new series of A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast providers. Find out more about Festival of the Spoken Nerd on their website festivalofthespokennerd.com/podcast.

The post INTERVIEW // Matt, Helen and Steve from A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We are Phil Nichol and David Tims and we are Songs In The Key of Laugh, a lighthearted celebration of comedy songs and musical comedians. We chat, play games and interview some of the finest purveyors of the musical comedy arts. Confirmed guests include Nick Helm, Jayde Adams, Tim Minchin, Harry Hill and many more.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I appeared on the recently departed Phil Butlers comedy greenroom podcast The Giggle Inn many years ago. I was a fan of Serial and I most recently listened to John Luke Roberts Sound Heap. I had small part in Poppy Hillstead Has Entered The Chat. It won an award.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

During the lockdown, local musician David Tims and I bumped into each other and went for a walk. David slipped and fell in the mud. I laughed so hard that I thought I must work with him. He is such a lovely man. By the end of the walk we had formulated the idea and had the title.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Adam and Joe, Richard Herring, Rich Wilson, Brett Goldstein.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Billy Connolly

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

You need technical help. We asked James Hingley to help us and he immediately made it easier, took on more responsibility and now accidentally has become our producer. He’s great and we couldn’t do it without him. It’s a team effort.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Nick Helm, episode 1, is the beginning. We are getting better each time and we have some great guest coming up so jump in anywhere really. We are open to feedback as well. So write to us at songsinthekeyoflaugh@gmail.com

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Our website- songsinthekeyoflaugh.com

Listen to Songs In The Key of Laugh on ACAST,  or your favourite podcast app.

The post Songs In The Key Of Laugh: A celebration of musical comedians appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Tell us about your show! What’s your podcast elevator pitch??

Jessie: Our podcast elevator pitch is a mother and daughter duo invite a guest round to their house for a ‘friday night dinner’. Friday night dinner was always a big thing in our house. I’d have friends over for dinner and mum would cook, but she couldn’t resist joining in the conversations we’d have and the podcast basically became a continuation of that. We’ve been lucky to have some really amazing and fascinating guests round to mums for dinner – it’s great fun – a great meal and a chat!

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

Jessie: I don’t like to call it an interview as it’s a free-flowing conversation over the dinner table, but the longform lends itself to a much broader and interesting conversation. We always want the guest to feel comfortable so it’s very relaxing and natural. We always end up chatting about the most random of things and that’s what I love. we like to hope we get something different out of people.

What’s the secret to being a good podcast host?

Jessie: A good editor!! My producer/editor is magic and manages to cut out a fair few ‘f*cks’! She’s the one that makes me look good.

What do you think makes a good podcast guest?

Jessie: Someone who is up for it, open and says the magic words ‘I’ve never told anyone this before’. Someone who knows what they’re walking into & in our case, good table manners! We’ve had some amazing guests on the podcast; from all sorts of backgrounds and people who do all sorts of different jobs. We especially love it when we have a comedian on! We had Michael McIntrye on recently and we did not stop laughing from start to finish.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Jessie: Don’t interrupt people & don’t try to fill the pause after a question with another question. I wish I could say I’ve learnt my lesson!

What’s been your worst podcast moment so far?

Lennie: The podcast is really fun and there are no really bad moments, we always laugh a great deal. I remember setting myself on fire with a blow torch trying to outdo Jessie with crème brulee. A tricky time was when we had the lovely George Ezra. My other daughter Hannah opened the door to him and said “Hi I’m Jessie!” Don’t know why she said that but he was immediately confused. The short ribs we’d prepared were inedible and we had to order a takeaway!! We’ve also had a guest who ordered a takeaway in advance when we’d already cooked for them!!!

Which episode or episodes of your podcast mean the most to you?

Lennie: I have loved all the episodes. I was proud to have Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London who broke his fast with us over Ramadan. It was very special to have Nigella Lawson who really is a goddess. I loved talking to George Aligiah – who wouldn’t with that voice. I think to have kept going during lock down and have some amazing guests has been wonderful. We couldn’t cook for them but we certainly talked about food with Nick Grimshaw, Mel and Sue, Munroe Bergdorf and John Legend. Florence Pugh and Dua Lipa both had their dinner while we were all on Zoom!

Which podcasts or podcast hosts inspire you?

Lennie: I think The Griefcast is really important and helps unite people who are grieving – it is definitely inspirational. I love Jane Garvey – a completely wonderful host. Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes too but my big favourites are Chris and Rosie Ramsey.

Finally, what are your current favourite podcasts?

Jessie: How To Fail with Elizabeth Day, Keep It!, Dear Joan and Jericha, Dolly Parton’s America, Distraction Pieces with Scroobius Pip, Homo Sapiens, The Guilty Feminist and Human with Jess Mills.

Lennie: The Daily, That Peter Crouch Podcast, Homo Sapiens, Sh**ged, Married, Annoyed. I also like Modern Love.

Follow Table Manners, Jessie and Lennie on Twitter: @tablemannerspod // @jessieware // @thelionlennie.

Listen to the Table Manners podcast on Acast, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.

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