James Acaster’s Findings

A BBC Radio Comedy Show

De: James Acaster

Narrado por: James Acaster

Award-winning comedian and Hypothetical host James Acaster presents the remarkable results of his research.

You may know him from his Netflix series Repertoire, his podcast Off Menu or James Acaster's Perfect Sounds, but before all of that James Acaster was one of the top researchers working in the UK today. In these five shows, he probes deeply into a variety of subjects - and shares his eye-opening conclusions. Accompanied by agreeable assistant Nathaniel Metcalfe (Fresh from the Fringe) and Donna from the Complaints Department (Call the Midwife's Bryony Hannah) he tackles the big questions on the topics of bread, wood, fruit, wheels and paint.

Pilot show 'Bread' reveals why the French struggle to come up with a snappy slogan to advertise brioche. Plus, we learn why the bagel is so trendy and discover the hidden anti-bread propaganda pushed at children through the medium of fairytales.

In 'Wood', James goes to a lumberjack optician to find out if they can see the wood for the trees, experiments with toothpicks and termites, and investigates the difference between the xylophone and the glockenspiel - all while wearing his patented Clegg Clogs.

'Fruit' finds him disagreeing violently with Nathaniel on the subject of orange juice with bits in, recalling a formative childhood experience with a brown banana and explaining why it's fine to bring an apple to an orchard.

'Wheels' (powered by Picnic the hamster) sees James analysing the stylistic perfection of 'The Wheels on the Bus', refusing to divulge his roulette wheel exploits (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...) and reinventing the Ferris wheel so it's proportionally more thrilling.

And in 'Paint', James gets his portrait painted, speculates on the identity of Banksy (top three suspects: Jamie Oliver, Gordon Banks and Nathaniel Metcalfe) and strips down to his pants to play paintball, just like on Jackass....

Also included is a bonus short story, 'Sorry for Your Loss', recorded in front of a live audience at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Written and performed by James Acaster

Featuring Nathaniel Metcalfe and Bryony Hannah

Produced by Lyndsay Fenner (James Acaster's Findings) and Kirsteen Cameron ('Sorry for Your Loss')

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26th March 2013 ('Bread'), 5th-26th November 2014 (Series 1), 26th August 2012 ('Sorry for Your Loss')

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Acaster Brain

James Acaster is a genius of a sort. His assumptions about the relationships of the things in his everyday world are bizarre and so far outside the box, they bounce off other established boxes. Thus, they surprise us and evoke laughter with their refreshing absurdity. His story telling skills are enhanced by the effective use of his voice. and his fascinating facial expressions. He invites us to think beyond just the punchline, and we relish the journey he takes us on before getting to that punchline. He’s brilliant in his ability to connect situations and ideas which normally seem unrelated. His metaphoric mind works overtime if you listen carefully to his words. His smile is infectious which is warmly comforting and endearing after all of his many other mannerisms which cover the spectrum of human emotions. With his naive, child-like persona, he dares to say what most of us are thinking but are afraid to utter. One winds up loving this poor sod portrayal.
You want to give him a hug, take him home, and feed him the raspberry ripple ice cream he uses to make himself feel better. For me, each time he performs, it’s like Christmas morning unwrapping exciting new packages of thought about the normally mundane world that surrounds us. Outstanding exercise for my brain and my heart.

James Acaster is always fun

A fun short listen. Fans of James Acaster will notice a lot of overlap with the Repertoire Netflix series.