In this classic TV soundtrack, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie explore a seemingly inexhaustible list of subjects with a delicious turn of phrase and elaborate wordplay.

The hilarity includes regular acts such as not so super spy Tony Mercheson and his boss Control, yuppies, John and Peter and the Critics.

With four brilliant series of great satire, comic genius and hilarious use of language, the show cemented Fry & Laurie as a double act and paved the way for their future stardom.

A Bit Of Fry & Laurie originally broadcast on BBC 1 and BBC 2 between 1987 and 1995.

Track 1

After years of peacekeeping and counter-insurgency campaigns, the country is getting <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/03/31/the-french-armed-forces-are-planning-for-high-intensity-war?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tooled up and trained up</a> for serious military conflict. The “baby bust” brought on by the pandemic has changed global population predictions; we look into the <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/03/27/the-economics-of-falling-populations?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">down sides</a> of a world with fewer people. And the Benin Bronzes have become a <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/04/03/the-looted-benin-bronzes-should-be-returned?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">focal point</a> for the art world’s restitution push. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Battle acts: France beefs up its forces

The Biden administration’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2021/03/20/a-hostile-meeting-sets-the-tone-for-us-china-relations?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">early moves</a> suggest no “reset” in relations; we recall a time when the game of ping-pong brought the countries back to the table. Although economics has transformed in the past quarter-century, the way it is taught has not; we examine <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/03/20/efforts-to-modernise-economics-teaching-are-gathering-steam?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">efforts</a> to rewrite the textbooks. And a forgotten <a href="https://www.economist.com/prospero/2021/02/26/disco-se-aagay-fused-synth-pop-and-the-sounds-of-the-subcontinent?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">album</a> by British-Pakistani teenagers gets another lease of life. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

He said, Xi said: America-China ructions

Literary power couple Zadie Smith and Nick Laird chat to Nihal Arthanayake about their collaborative project, ‘Weirdo’, a children’s book featuring exquisite illustrations from Magenta Fox. 

In this episode, Zadie and Nick discuss the joy of removing words from their work, the virtues of rawness in writing, and the inspiration they take from the internal life of their ageing pug, Maud. #PenguinPodcast   

‘Weirdo’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/3eC4wkr

The Penguin Podcast: Zadie Smith and Nick Laird with Nihal Arthanayake

Quand il était enfant, Jean-Baptiste Rambla fut le témoin de l’enlèvement de sa soeur. Quand il est devenu un homme, il a été jugé par deux fois pour meurtre.

Le podcast des faits divers, des crimes et des procès. À partir d’une anecdote, d’un moment, d’un détail, la chroniqueuse judiciaire Elise Costa jure de raconter «sans haine et sans crainte» l’inhumain en chacun et l’humain en nous tous.

En partenariat avec Slate.
Enregistrement : 19 avril 2021 - Texte et voix : Élise Costa - Réalisation et musique originale : Arnaud Forest - Illustration : Billie Blake

Le pull-over rouge, trente ans après

Det inre partiet börjar med att försöka förstå Märta Stenevi. Därefter ger vi våra läsare fyra olika sätt att definiera överklassen på, från Marx till Adlercreutz. Vi sörjer för våra systrar som kommer ha svårt att hitta män och lägger till ett nytt perspektiv i matchningsproblematiken: värderingsklyftan.

Maila oss dina bästa nyord: inrepartiet@sanningsministeriet.com
Bli en registrerad tankebrottsling: www.patreon.com/SanMin
Donera dina Bitcoins innan nästa ras: 3LbfmHe2y7TtwqWx9APRKoZaxGswjeLYmi

Sanningsministeriet - Kvinnor har klass, män är från Mars

Sending a message from afar to my brother, maybe he can or cannot hear,
The speed of life has ripped my jeans, the sluggishness of pace has wearied my knees, 
My lips are broken from inside out, 
The one who longs to kiss me, never did, but we shall be fine.

bredda(rough).mp3

A stunning, shattering debut novel about two Black artists falling in and out of love - available for pre-order now

Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists - he a photographer, she a dancer - trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.

At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential debut of recent years.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Author and playwright Ali Smith chats to Nihal about her 2014 multi award-winning novel ‘How to be Both’ which has been made into a brand new audiobook.

Ali reveals how she takes herself out of her comfort zone, why we should give books a chance when reading them and her love of silent film #PenguinPodcast

'How to be Both' will be available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/2Z6TNaz

The Penguin Podcast: Ali Smith with Nihal Arthanayake

Stock-trading is shifting to the continent; businesses are bound up in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2021/01/30/absurdities-on-the-border-between-great-britain-and-northern-ireland?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">red tape</a>; border issues are still simmering. There is far more than mere “teething problems” as Britain and Europe adjust to their new relationship. Our correspondent looks at the <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2021/01/30/why-do-some-people-risk-their-lives-for-fun?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slippery nature</a> of risk by speaking with wing-suited daredevils. And in Kenya the flower-industry bounce-back is <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/02/13/kenyas-floral-exports-are-blooming-once-more?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">blooming great news</a>.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Exit-stage plight: Brexit’s costs come due

The Panic Years: something between adolescence and menopause, a personal crisis, a transformation.

The panic years can hit at any time but they are most commonly triggered somewhere between the ages of 25 and 40. During this time, every decision a woman makes - from postcode to partner, friends to family, work to weekends - will be impacted by the urgency of the one decision with a deadline, the one decision that is impossible to take back: whether or not to have a baby.

But how to stay sane in such a maddening time?

How to understand who you are and what you might want from life?

How to know if you're making the right decisions?

Raw, hilarious and beguilingly honest, Nell Frizzell's account of her panic years is both an arm around the shoulder and a campaign to start a conversation.

The Panic Years, by Nell Frizzell

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Penguin Books UK