I ask Russians: how do you see your lives five years from now? Among the responses: “That depends on Vladimir Putin. On what mood he’ll be in.” Another reply: “Five years? If I look ahead 10 days, it’s good.” #2026

Happy New #StrongMessageHere!

Happy New Year to the haters, the losers, and the far left marxist transgender extremists, which I think covers everyone here.

Surprisingly, given the state of things, and despite all the bleedin' nonsense, we are, strangely, *well, now*. Happy new year to all the Normals, and less of one to all the Angries.

Adjudication, please @eggsbened.bsky.social...

Share your holy trinity of cast albums.

Happy new year to all my reader, from the leader. youtu.be/u3r018Mszcc?... #QualitieSkeet

Thank gawd it wasn't just me.

The Just-arses League of America.

The End of History.

Delighted this is getting another outing tonight - available on demand on the I-player for a month. Probably my proudest acheivement so far, with the monumental presence of Mark Gatiss and Sanjeev Bhaskar and the score brilliantly orchestrated by Timothy Brock. www.tvguide.co.uk/schedule/85d...

After yesterday's AI-themed Today and "Whatever Happened to the Progress, Lads", I was ready for a deep dive into Pluribus, and intend to go on. But gave Progress a second listen, which it deserves. Tomorrow's almost over, today went by so fast It's the only thing to look forward to, the past...

ruin two bands by combining them: The Incredible String Band Go West.

Having had a day to think through everything about El-Fattah, here's where I stand. Yes, it's possible to believe all of these things at once! In fact, it really shouldn't be that hard.

One of my Desert Island Pix. @rijksmuseum.bsky.social

Such a special relationship...

On BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds today, 11am. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

I give up

'... Mosley was overtly hostile to Jews, while Farage seems, for now, to have other minorities in his sights. But it amounts to backing away from the crocodile, hoping he’ll eat you last.' www.jewishnews.co.uk/jonathan-fre...

First episode!

I'd suggest it's only days away from "She's a witch, burn her" for these fundamentalist nincompoops.

Ah, 28 December: 146th anniversary of the Tay Bridge disaster, which tragically took the lives of 59 people – and rather more happily gave the world ‘Sir’ William Topaz McGonagall’s most famous work

To be a programme maker now must be hell.

Four left, if you honorarily include Billy Joel.

Kenny Burrell's missing album.

"Livening up the perineum" seems to be a curiously apt if physically demanding description of the Xmas-New Year interregnum. #Wintervaltheway

How I’m walking out of 2025.

‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Started on The Night Manager again to remind myself before the new one and oh my...

Laughing at this has given me hiccups.

To recap: *The Trump administration illegally renamed the Kennedy Center. They broke the law. *Now they are suing a guy who refused to perform because of the name change for $1 million.

Well this is good to know! I wanted to post links to my favourite ones over the last 12 years but my last show has vanished.

A predictably petty response from the idiots who currently run Radio 3: to stop people like me systematically returning to the old ones rather than listening to the revamped programme. What they don’t understand is that their core (rather than hoped for) audience will stop listening altogether.

Still over 400 in podcast form on BBC Sounds but the last show does look like its finally disappeared into the ether. Fortunately I've a copy www.mixcloud.com/andy-walmsle...

Disgraceful. Tantamount to wiping videotape of Doctor Who. Or Bernstein. Vandals.

Alas! It is 31 years since the world was deprived of one of its more colourful culinary characters: Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey – better known as double bigamist, child abandoner, amphetamine user, dangerous driver, and celebrity cook Fanny Cradock

“Visualisation” (ugh) of audio isn’t limited to podcasts. There’s a topical Radio 4 comedy show which regularly features an apparently hilarious “bit” to the studio audience and (presumably) the social media viewers it’s aimed at which is entirely meaningless to its listeners. It’s heartbreaking.

Robin and Marion are surprised to see The Queen Mother in a deserted castle... #RichardGreene is 🏹 ROBIN HOOD (1956) 11:30am 'The Deserted Castle' #TPTVsubtitles

This, above all. To thine own self be true. And do your ironing.

It's no surprise Putin ordered this attack just as Zelenskyy is travelling to Florida to meet Trump. The misguided US leader may see this as an example of Russia's strength. But this is terrorism. Call it what it is. A Russian drone aims for people in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region

I see/hear your wish has come true @eggsbened.bsky.social...

I could never really work out what the difference was between a podcast and radio, apart from the ability to stream at a time of your choosing. Then they filmed them, so same question arose, but TV... And then I realised that a podcast is unbridled amateur ramblings, whereas radio & TV are crafted.

This is literally what the Telegraph campaigned for.

The best thing that ever happened to #BBCR4Today got squirreled away (47m43s) when Cate Blanchett got Jess Gunning to read the arts news in the style of the sports news. (Though I do wonder if they actually saw the current Dream at the Globe...) Should do this every day www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Sixty Six (Paul Weiland, 2006)

Oh, how we barfed...

A video which has been shared thousands of times on social media appears to show a British soldier confronting a police officer over “arresting people for words”. But the clip is fake and has been created with AI.

Now looking forward even more to seeing The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.