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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A look back at some favourite moments from the first two series. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 spoiler sensitive, maybe drop out before the last five or ten minutes where we discuss the ending.] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BY PUBLIC REQUEST! A bonus episode to act as a companion to the 'Better Call Saul' Comfort Blanket episode. Writer Will Maclean returns to discuss the finale of the critically acclaimed series, now that both of us have seen it, and asks whether it achieves the seemingly impossible task of ending a longform 'box set' series in a way that actually satisfies its fans... WARNING: This episode obviously does contain spoilers for the Better Call Saul season 6 finale. So do not listen if you are following the story and have yet to see the episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special bonus episode, recorded one week before the finale of the show, writer Will Maclean (The Apparition Phase) talks about Breaking Bad prequel 'Better Call Saul' and asks what comfort we find in the suspense of a long-form premium drama, and whether we can ever revisit it for the same comfort again. PSA: Obviously this episode is about a six-season storyline and though we’ve edited out as many “spoilers” as possible (and a prequel is technically hard to spoil) there are references to plot. You may prefer not to listen if you’re saving Better Call Saul to watch later. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and comedian Sarah Kendall (Frayed, Australian Trilogy, Taskmaster) talks about the comforts of PJ Hogan's smash hit 1994 comedy film Muriel's Wedding and the art of telling authentic, affecting stories using big, stupid jokes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author and journalist Marianne Levy talks about the warm-stone-and-fine-cheese comforts of Peter Mayle's 1989 travel writing blockbuster A Year In Provence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.