Podthoughts by Ian Brill: “The Bugle”

Posted by Maximum Fun on 4th December 2007

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During this WGA strike you’re probably jonesing for some of that Daily Show/Colbert Report goodness. Unfortunately Jon Stewart hasn’t started a podcast yet but for fans of The Daily Show’s British correspondent John Oliver you’ll be happy to know he’s still putting out great material available every week. He and his comedy partner Andy Zaltzman give us The Bugle – Audio Newspaper for a Visual World, from Times Online (iTunes Link).

The subtitle gives you an idea of what The Bugle is about. It’s not too different from The Daily Show, only from a British perspective (although Oliver does his contributions from New York). Each show has a main story that Oliver and Zaltzman attack with a real satirical bite, be it the unrest in Pakistan or OPEC summits. After that the smaller sections like sports and editorial are introduced. The show is committed to the idea of being an audio newspaper, starting off with sections that go straight into the bin (or “trash can” as we Americans would say). Zatlzman even has a crossword puzzle clue for each show. The very fact that he sticks with this, offering listeners a vague phrase every week followed by how many letters are in the answer and which direction it goes in, is very funny.

The Bugle has actually made me laugh more than any other podcast. It’s the first time I’ve ever actually had to hit pause on my iPod because I was laughing so hard and didn’t want miss what was next. I was floored, in a good way, to hear Oliver say “guns scare the British. The last time we were allowed to have guns we conquered 2/3rds of the world and induced slavery. Hand on heart, if given back guns I can’t say we wouldn’t try it again.” I was unfamiliar with Zaltzman before listening to The Bugle but I’m happy to report that he’s just as funny and quick as Oliver. “OPEC meetings are like buses. You wait forever for one and they’re useless without fuel,” might be favorite line of his.

If you’re worried about the show being too full of British and international references don’t let that stop you. There’s nothing here that a reasonably well informed American would be thrown off by. The show centered around immigration in Britain gave me some trouble (I had to look up whoever the Hell Enoch Powell was) but that was a rare occurrence. There are plenty of references to American politics and media. It’s funny to hear to British people take about baseball even if it is only because they love the name of St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. They occasionally have a segment entitled “Ask an American” where a New Jersey native answers listener questions in a hilariously arrogant way. Could that be the Trenton-raised Jon Stewart doing the voice?

Oliver and Zalztman prepare most of their pieces but are comfortable ad-libbing with each other, often making the other laugh and break their news presenter facade. When the show hits those notes it comes across as The Daily Show meets Never Not Funny, which is a bit like saying “that one awesome things meets that totally awesome other thing.”