The Bugle
| The Bugle | |
|---|---|
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | John Oliver, Andy Zaltzman |
| Genre | News, Comedy |
| Language | English |
| Updates | Weekly |
| Production | |
| Audio format | Stream, MP3, AAC |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 14 October 2007 |
The Bugle is a weekly satirical news podcast, hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, and distributed by TimesOnline. New episodes of The Bugle are released on Fridays with related material appearing on the official website. [1]
Features
- In the Bin - Since most readers of visual newspapers immediately toss some sections in the bin, Andy will announce a different part of the audio newspaper that has been pre-discarded. This feature will be the end of the introductory section of the Bugle, culminating with the final strains of the opening theme.
- Ask an American - Every few episodes, a guest known only as The American (voiced by The Daily Show producer and comedian Rory Albanese[2]) will appear on the show. He is a mildly offensive caricature of a working-class American; xenophobic, lazy, and ignorant. He is from New Jersey (supposedly—some fans have claimed he is from another part of the US or even from England) and often gets in heated debates with John, each twisting each others' logic in attempts to validate their points.
- Hotties From History - This feature began roughly around the time the show reached double digits. For several consecutive weeks, Andy had been mentioning his attraction to Florence Nightingale with progressively more lewd language. (Andy even claims to have a giant statue of a naked Florence Nightingale in his house.) This culminated with John calling Andy out on this, however it only provoked Andy into encouraging listeners to e-mail in other historical figures they were attracted to. Hotties From History was born. John was initially against the idea, but when Andy put a slideshow of the nominations onto the Bugle blog and John had watched it, he declared that he had become a "total convert." The ground rules for the contest are only that the nominee have been dead for roughly half a century—otherwise it would be creepy. At the end of each month, Andy announces the male and female nominations with the most votes, crowning them "Mr. and Mrs. (Month)." Some of the stranger nominations for the position have been Joanna the Mad, Tiresias (Mr. and Mrs. June 2008), Johannes Kepler, and the Toba Eruption. The latter led to a new rule that nominees "must be human."
- Audio Cryptic Crossword - Pioneered by Andy, this was a fan favourite. Towards the end of each show, Andy would give a space and direction in a crossword grid (available on the blog), followed by a clue. After a few weeks, John commented on how there was probably nobody actually doing the crossword, which Andy refuted forcefully. Each week, John would progressively declare his hate for the crossword in larger terms until it became a major divisive point between the hosts, each trying to rally support from fans in their favour (Andy receiving the majority). After the final clue was given in episode 29, John gave his opinion on the Crossword as a whole: "I see the glorious history of the Audio Cryptic Crossword as I see the glorious history of the Third Reich—a terrible idea that was rammed down peoples throats for far too long." Andy replied that he agreed with the Third Reich comparison, but for different reasons: It was "a triumph for persistence, doggedness, and the value of standing up to pressure from the other side of the Atlantic." The following week a listener named Elliot sent in a completed crossword, while another listener, Oliver Keyes, stated firmly that he was extremely glad the Crossword was over. Andy retorted that "people were glad when the war was over, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the greatest part of British history." The hosts have come up with several ideas for segments to fill up the space once occupied by the crossword, but none have lasted more than a couple of weeks.
- Emails - Each week includes Andy and John reading from listener emails. The emails are on topics ranging from the content of the show itself--the "Hotties from History" segment has historically generated a lot of email traffic--to listeners sending in material that they think might be of interest to the show hosts. One memorable broadcast included an extended riff by Andy and John on pictures sent in by a pilot of airplanes and other objects that resembled giant penises.
- Sport - Each show contains a brief section on Sports, frequently including mention by John regarding Andy's obsession with cricket.
- The Forecast - Each show ends with John and Andy guessing about what will happen in the next week. Topics range from the mundane ("How many runs will Andy get in Cricket?", "Will either of us remember Mother's Day?") to the absurd ("Who is going to replace (Andy as a host) in 2039?" "John, are you going to be alive for next week's Bugle?").
- Celebrity Stories - Most weeks, either John or Andy recounts a story about what happened in their week. This generally includes meeting famous personalities such as Bill Clinton. As of 23rd November, the most recent story is of how John met Zooey Deschanel while arguing with a bunch of six year-olds over Sarah Palin's autobiography.
Offshoots
- The Bugle Blog - Andy periodically updates a segment on the Times Online website with extra e-mails, information on the Bugle, and downloadable versions of the past few episodes. His failure to update the blog, for which he gives numerous excuses, has been a running joke on the show.[1] In the most recent episodes, Tom the Producer has been posting blog entries and has therefore become the addressee of listener emails.
Tom the Producer
Tom is the producer of the show. He was first mentioned in episode 11 as Zaltzman announced his plans for the Hotties From History calendar. For most of the Bugle he has remained silent, rarely intervening to ask John and Andy to finish up so he can go home, or responding to questions asked. However in more recent episodes he appears more often, with listeners often addressing e-mails to him directly. He is married with a daughter, is Scottish, enjoys his job and does not ski.
Episodes
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References
- ^ "The Bugle". Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ st_secular (2008-04-27). "thedailyshow: I saw John Oliver last night in Scottsdale". Retrieved 2008-08-18.