Rum Doings

Entirely separately from our topic, because what would it have to do with those two?, we discuss privacy and the peculiarity of injunctions. We come up with Stewart Lee's next live show, and then move on to looking at the new television programmes that we'll be flying over to America to watch this Autumn.

We discuss John's adventures in hospital, the new London mayor, and the snottiest of MSPs. We also ponder how technical mishaps can so easily lead to attending anti-Semitic rallies, and laugh at stupid readers of RPS.

We talk London's mayoral options, the death of Prince, and return to the topic of national price vs nationalism.

In our 211th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, is Kate's dress will do?! We talk Panama, a mysterious - nigh - impossible British hotel room, and then return to Nick's list of who may live on his island. It probably doesn't include you.

Oh dear, this is a terrible episode. We're sorry. In it we talk slowly and confusedly, stumbling over each other, not really having a point to what we're saying, wittering on about our children and then something about the EU. John tries to talk about a book he doesn't have in front of him, while Nick decides to investigate a news story he then doesn't investigate. There's a few minutes about 30 minutes in that aren't completely dreadful, then it goes back to being rubbish again. Look, we managed 209 utterly amazing episodes in a row, we're allowed one dud in every 210.

After our brief hiatus we're back, aiming for the traditional weekly schedule. And after a brief discussion of John's anxiety disorder and the symptoms thereof, we spend most of the episode learning who would not be allowed on Nick's island. From those who don't play petrol pump number games to those who are frightened of semi-colons banned at the gates, Nick's island is going to be one quiet place. But will you get in? You'd better.

In our 208th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, is David Bowie better than Gandhi? In what can only be described as a Rum Doings way, episode 208 is a tribute to my father, who died last Saturday. The aim of this episode was to attempt to capture the reality of a side of grief, in all its frankness, truth and ghoulish flippancy. I think - perhaps too often - people tend to talk about a person's death with a great deal of reverence, and in hushed tones. I love my dad to bits, and have written about what a special person he was here. Rum Doings has always been about talking about what's truly on our minds, and this episode is no different. Don't expect hymns and solemn nodding. We talk about the suddenness of my dad's death, what happened at the time, and the fantastic things that were somehow wrapped up before it happened. We consider how impossible it is to empathise with intimate grief until it's experienced, and analyse how it can hit you. I go into my bizarre tummy-tentacle theory of relationships, with dive

Our topic is, Wittgenstein said if a lion could talk we would not understand him, but what if he met a good animal psychic? It's fair to say we spend most of this week's episode talking about our kids. There's a discussion of our Christmas lunches, too, and spoiler-free discussion of the new Star Wars Cinema Film.

In our 206th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, Donald Trump? After brief discussion of Toby's continued inability to sleep, we discuss why Owen Jones' recent column on Corbyn was quite so dreadful, and get pretty deep into explaining why anyone genuinely left wing should be furious with Corbyn's abysmal leadership. We talk about why Stop The War are a vile group of racists, John's grumpiness, and then the best email John has ever received. And then it finishes with an anecdote about John's blanky.

In our 205th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, in this age of iPhones and Uber, why can't binmen be replaced with robots? Recorded yesterday, before the vote result, we obviously spend a good deal of time discussing the matter of bombing Syria, and the politics involved on either side. Things move on to John's recent panel appearance at the Being A Man Festival (no, really), chivalry, and then the PC tech war. And Noel Edmond's face.

In our 204th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, isn't it about time we gave homoeopathy a chance? We discuss counting, terrible radio comedies, and the possible unreality of Father Christmas. Nick predicts the end of the world, and then John tries to buy a nuclear bomb. We berate listener Steven Chicken, and then explain how to solve the problem of ISIS. And end celebrating South Park.

In our 203th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, instead of building HS2, shouldn't we just fix those potholes? After moaning about being tired, John recalls his recent holiday to Wales, and then move on to talk about the current dreary trend for being offended, and our opposite approaches to the inherency of equality. Things soon move on to whether we hate anyone, then a rather extended musing on the nature of love. Then we ponder why we're not having a world war.

In our 202th ever Rum Doings, our topic is how can they be thinking about building a base on the moon when there are starving children in Africa? After a short Autumnal hiatus, we're back with aplomb, discussing The Martian movie, something about shouting insults at Laura, and... and... no, we've forgotten already. Oh yeah, there's something about a wedding John went to, and about how Toby is a screaming idiot, and - oh yes - we bang on about teaching handwriting again.

Recorded a couple of weeks back, this episode features the wondrous thunderous Judge Coxcombe, and we discuss Game Of Thrones Christmas toys, the poor greenscreen of Once Upon A Time, our daemons, and our favourite Star Treks. And then, somehow, European politics.

In our 200th ever Rum Doings, our topic is that it's episode 200. We obviously talk Corbyn, the causes, the reactions, and the future, and unsurprisingly, that dominates. Not so much though that we don't also manage to say entirely unnecessarily offensive things, talk about fireplace shopping with UKIP, and Nick bans all hats for immigrants.

In our 198th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, would it not be easier just to ban people from being between the ages of 18 and 25? We talk bus museums, zoos, and the damage they do to feet. We discuss politics in Monkey World, the manners of Parisians, and Nick's adventures in Nice. And we babble about Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn, and whether there's room for a Left wing in monkey politics.

In our 197th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, isn't it about time those captors released poor little Maddie? Sorry. However, in a pleasingly upbeat episode, we discuss an awful lot of space. Going to space, the amount to spend on space, and space fiction. Especially The Martian and Defying Gravity. Of course, things move on to Lord Sewel, and the peculiarity of the story. John laments how awful is his cat, and then we realise that John's marriage is in the hands of a fragile china mug.

We talk about lying to your children, the destruction of the BBC, and indeed CBeebies programming. There are thoughts on deficits, John seeks mortgage advice, we ponder Steve Martin, and wonder at the cast of the Cosby Show.

We discuss our robot overlord future, the horrible Stephen Green, and then dissect Center Parcs. Nick dismisses the Greek, we remember when Richard Herring didn't shout "AND ER!" after every sentence, and then we start making some very special plans for our 200th episode.