Society & Culture
Our funniest episode yet! On the show this week is Leo Kearse, veteran stand-up comedian from Dumfries, Scotland. We start off by joking how bullies can identify bad apples before tackling the perils of shaving and how a comedian can possibly fake it at a corporate job. Like Peter and Paul, Leo doesn’t hide his work from mom; she comes to some of his shows, sharing her opinions of his work. Leo’s been at this hard slog for 7 years and is finally making a living – sort of. Peter and Paul can relate. We talk about how much mileage a comedian can get out of a given set and whether it’s possible to cross the line in comedy: How do you crucify a spastic baby? We talk about censorship in the arts and how the audience is voyeuristic, indulging in off-colour humour at the show, then returning to neatly packaged, politically correct behaviour back at home and in the workplace. We talk about “keeping notes” of jokes or ideas, something Larry David and other comedians practice; Paul does the same for the podcast with his Little Red Book. What about playing it safe? Not taking the shot with a joke when the stakes are too high, or it’s inappropriate? Unfortunately, that’s when the opportunity for comedy is best. We talk about Newcastle girls and The Dark Side of Stand-Up: loneliness, depression and alcoholism. Leo confesses that the circuit attracts a lot of “broken souls.” We also discuss the ideal of a really funny, sexy woman – like Sarah Silverman – and the realities of dating a working comic. Finally, the guys discuss Why Children Don’t Read Self-Help and why the comic can always pick out the one sour face in the crowd. Catch Leo’s new show “I Can Make You Tory” at the upcoming Leicester Comedy Festival.