The Boring Talks
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The Boring Talks
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting... maybe.
Recent Episodes
56 episodes#55 -Farts
The colorectal surgeon and comedian Jenan Younis wants to get to the bottom of a taboo subject, that everyone has struggled with at some stage. Farts....
Jigsaws
It started with 'regency wedding scene' puzzle purchased for £2 in a charity shop.
Now Anya Driscoll is a jigsaw junkie.
In this edition...
#53 - Car Boots
From Anglo-American differences, to escaping kidnappers and celebrating the classic car boot sale. In this Boring Talk, Auto Express journalist Hugo G...
#52 - Breakfast Cereals
Family holidays for the artist Louise Ashcroft meant one thing - variety pack cereals. Would it be Cornflakes? Or Frosties? Coco Pops or Ricicles? Thr...
#51 - Oboe Reeds
Gouging, scraping and chopping. The reporter Chloe Veltman shows us the painstaking art of making an oboe reed, and how it can be the difference betwe...
#50 - Windows
Where does the word 'Window' derive from? And what does it have to do with a Norwegian architectural historian and a bohemian Austrian poet? On a lyri...
#49 - Coal Holes
They are either 12, 14 or 16 inches wide, they live just outside our doors, and they come in a variety of striking designs. So why has no one heard of...
Data Centres
What do we all use, but never visit?
The sound artist Matt Parker takes us inside the bizarre world of remote Data Centres, where our wireless...
#47 - Crinoline Ladies
It began as an image of Victorian femininity, became a 1920s style icon, and perhaps ended as a 1970s toilet roll cover. Dr Kathryn Ferry looks at the...
# 46 - Teletext
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting.... maybe.
From Bamboozle, to...
#45 - Box Certificates
One day while breaking down a box in a corridor, Joyce Smith noticed a box certificate. Quickly followed by a second one. Now Joyce had 2 of them, and...
# 44 - Swearing: a personal cross-cultural comparative study of Hindi and English
If you hit your thumb with a hammer, what swear word would you immediately scream? Charvy Narain asked her friends and family this question, which lea...
The Sounds Of Computer Games Loading
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting.... maybe.
The clunk and click...
#42 - The Lexicon Of Breakups
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting.... maybe.
In 2011, comedian R...
#41 - Pencils
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting.... maybe.
Brian Mackenwells i...
#40 - Thank You (again)
James Ward says thank you for listening to series two and chooses the best numbers from each of the talks.
Presenter: James Ward
Producer:...
#39 - Doormats
Can a doormat actually increase the value of your property by £30k?
Alex Baxevanis explains all in his study of the doormats from his block of f...
#38 - Markham Moor Roof
Just off the Markham Exit on the A1 motorway lies an architectural wonder. Ed Carter shares his love for an unusual roadside roof, with help from a wh...
#37 - Watergate Tape 'Silence'
The neuroscientist Sophie Scott takes a close listen to the long 'silent' gap on the Watergate Tapes.
Buzz. Click. Buzz. Click. Buzz.
Pres...
#36 - Shanghai Architecture
From the 'eye of Sauron' building, to a deserted London town. The designer Hannah Cameron takes a walk back through the buildings that shaped her time...
#35 - How Tall Are Celebrities?
Who is taller, Robbie Williams, David Duchovny or the chef James Martin? And what does being ‘solid tall’ actually mean?
The writer Greg Stekelm...
#34 - Sounds of Grassroots Football
The squelch of the white line marking machine, the crack of the ball against the crossbar, the shrill cry of the full time whistle.
Sound resear...
#33 - Change
Are you sick of getting too many coins in your change at the supermarket? Can British coins be better? Fear not people, Adam Townsend has the fix.
#32 - Roads That Don't Exist
A Brixton block of flats, an oddly-angled building in Piccadilly and a park that 'smells like bins'. Road enthusiast Chris Marshall explores how Londo...
#30 - An Underwhelming Christmas
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas, or maybe a magical trip through a Winter Wonderland? Well forget it.
Rhodri Marsden explores the disappoi...
#29 - Animal Vaginas
Science has historically studied penises more often than vaginas, but why?
Florence Schechter and Emma Parkin attempt to redress the balance by...
#28 - Asterix Puns
Tracy King, with the help of the Asterix comic books, proves that puns definitely are not 'the lowest form of wit'.
Warning: this podcast may co...
#27 - Dutch Landscape Paintings
A windmill. Two hunched countrymen. Lots of drab sky.
17th Century Dutch landscape paintings can be very dull, but is there something more excit...
#26 - Call Centres
How many days of our lives do we spend 'on hold'?
What does 'business in the front, party out back' actually refer to?
Has God been repl...
Jeremy Bentham's 'Auto-Icon'
James Ward introduces another curious talk about a subject that may seem boring, but is actually very interesting.... maybe.
Did Bentham leave h...
#24 - The Taxonomy Of Cornflakes
From lollipop sticks, to batteries and used car headlight bulbs, the collectaholic Anne Griffiths has always made art from the 'accumulations of the b...
#23 - NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Charvy Narain is fed up with people mispronouncing her name, especially when trying to book a taxi down the phone. Could the NATO phonetic alphabet he...
#22 - Toilet Graffiti
Declarations of love, offers of sex, messages of hope and even film reviews. The graffiti we leave behind in toilets is strange, personal and anonymou...
#21 - Thank You
James Ward says thank you for listening to series one and chooses the best word from each of the twenty talks.
Presenter: James Ward
Produ...
#20 - Carry On Shakespeare
Infamy! Infamy! The writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed explains just why the Carry On films are actually better than Shakespeare.
Presenter: Ja...
#19 - Ice Cream Vans
Good maths, a strong bladder and the ability to hold eight '99s' in one hand. Ali Coote remembers the important lessons she learned as an Ice Cream Va...
#18 - Kinder Egg Linguistics
What's 119mm long & 55 mm wide, and contains a world of linguistic pleasure? Keith Kahn-Harris explores the wonders of the Kinder Surprise warning lab...
#17 - Gasometers
Tall rusting skeletal relics of our industrial past. Why would anyone care about London's Gasometers? Sarah O'Carroll explains.
Presenter: James...
#16 - Toilet Roll Serial Numbers
'Do you recall the fogged beef, mate?'.
The writer Nicholas Tufnell proves that poetic inspiration can be found in the most unlikely places, inc...