Kick Over The Statues‪?‬ Stephen Gribbin

Self-confessed simultaneous idolater/iconoclast of the Statue, comedian & podcast presenter Steve Gribbin talks to comedian, writer, actor and broadcaster Angela Barnes about Alice in Wonderland, Central Park, "Interactive statues", Lewis Carroll, troubling photography, Woody Allen, and Giant Talking Vegetables. Cecil Rhodes, The Robocop of Imperialism, makes an appearance, as does Brighton Seafront,  Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Zombie statues, and the East German State  Apparatus of Surveillance, including Stasi Taxi Drivers, where YOU do the talking & they do the recording. We swerve into spooky Ships' figureheads, Gargoyles, Warding off evil spirits and then alight on The Kinks & "Waterloo Sunset", sibling rivalry, Oasis, and the 1951 Festival Of Britain, the Skylon, The South Bank, the beauty of concrete, especially in Matters of The Heart, and the spitefulness of Winston Churchill. Plus a whole section on the  utter wonderfulness of the mighty Linda Smith!

Lover of statues Steve Gribbin talks to author, politician, cycling activist, journalist, broadcaster and Britain's foremost writer on Railways, the wonderful Christian Wolmar. As you would expect from such an erudite and engaging guest, this is a wide-ranging episode full of wit and passion and informed by Christian Wolmar's love for, and inexhaustible knowledge of, the Railways. This is an extra bumper edition taking in everything from the 1907 Brown Dog Riots in Trafalgar Square, the lost Arch of Euston Station, Victorian Gothic Architecture, St Pancras, Sir John Betjeman, Metroland, the origins of suburbia, the glorious pastime of trainspotting and "copping some numbers", and the glory of the modern London Bridge station. We also discuss the Kindertransport statue by Frank Meisler at Liverpool Street Station, Nicholas Winton, Phillip Larkin, Pacer 141s and the undermining of the Iranian Government and the statue called The Plumber's Apprentice by Martin Jennings at Cannon Street Station, voiced by an actual apprentice plumber!  

We also talk about Paul Day's controversial sculpture at St Pancras The Meeting Place, which everyone calls The Kiss, which leads us via Brief Encounter ion to a discussion of the Romance (or lack thereof) of Rail Travel, Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov and the flawed concept of Heroism. Oh, and a Giant Head of Lenin.

We finally finish on Bridget Driscoll, the first person on the world to be killed by a  internal combustion engine car, Mary Ward, the first person in the world to be killed by a steam driven car, War Memorials, Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old", the American Civil War, Confederate spies in Crosby and Robert Stephenson. This is a whirlwind tour full of insights and poignant moments and the absurdity of human existence. And Bus Replacement Services!

In this episode of the statues podcast, Steve Gribbin talks with stand up comedian Ben Norris about Pete Best, German burghers, Keith Godwin's sculptures, Eric Lyons and SPAN Housing, traffic islands on the A429, roads named after famous poets, Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus Movement, Nazis vs Mods, Fake Tudor McDonalds, Arthur "Bomber" Harris, The Queen's heckling put-downs, 1970s Chelsea defenders, Neil Hannon, Derry/Londonderry, George Best, The Undertones, John Peel, The Stranglers, Dr Who and the "Blink" episode, Stephen Moffat, The Redskins, Brass Sections in Rock 'n' Roll, Ed Vaizey, Arnold Brown, The The, Tommy Cockles, Red Wedge, Skinheads, The National Front, The Specials, The Two Tone Movement and the aerodynamic advantages of a cropped haircut in a headbutt situation! 

Kick Over The Statues? host Steve Gribbin chats with the amazing comedian, author, Radio 4 presenter & podcaster Iszy Lawrence. Their subjects this week include: Prince Albert,  Billy Fury,  a 1220 BC Egyptian Tax Collector called Roy,Crystal Palace Park in London and their amazing collection of  dinosaurs statues, specifically the Megalosaurus.  This leads on to a discussion about how "Walking With Dinosaurs" is already s-o-o last century, as many of the scientific discoveries are out of date, especially the thumb spike of the Iguanodon, which scientists used to think was on it's nose. Via a quick detour though the Evil God Zuul in Ghostbusters, they move on to Elizabeth Garud, the Ju-Jitsu expert who became bodyguard to the Suffragettes Movement in the early 1900s, the Music Hall Superstar Marie Lloyd, the so-called "Cat & Mouse Act', and the battle between Suffragettes & Suffragists.

Next up is Boudicca, or Boadicea, as she was characterised and idealised in the 19th Century, Queen Of The Iceni Tribe and destroyer of Colchester & London, which leads on to the English poet William Cowper, the keeping of hares as pets, the Hymn "Amazing Grace" and poems about sofas.

Pausing only to discuss Victorian myth-making and propaganda, they arrive at a discussion of English folk singer and satirist Jake Thackeray. And finally, back to Prince Albert!

Steve Gribbin talks with stand up comedian, writer and video maker Paul Ricketts about his favourite Statue, The Elephant & Castle, before veering off into such topics as: The Worshipful Company of Cutlers, The Emperor Claudius, Roman Invasion, warlike cats, Elephant Tanks,  Hannibal, Glaswegian Traffic cones, Semiotics, Steve Waugh, Curtley Ambrose, Australian Cricket, Aboriginal alcohol, 'A Conversation With Oscar Wilde' by the ever-controversial sculptor Maggi Hambling, The Unknown Black Soldier and the black contribution to the British Army, Ken Dodd, Tax Evasion, and finally The Modern Lovers song "Pablo Picasso". Along the way they touch on racism, mistaken identity, the mischievousness of the Scottish public, Aussie Rules, and whether statues should remain where they are forever...

Podcast Host and lover of Statues Steve Gribbin talks to stand-up/musical comedian, writer, actor and Pub Quiz MC Ria Lina. They start off with her favourite statue Boy With A Dolphin by Sir David Wynn, and the freewheeling conversation takes in Ozric Tentacles, Altruism in Dolphins, Flipper on hallucinogenic drugs, Caligula and headless Gods, Prague, David Cerny, the prevalence of urinating statues, Franz Kafka, Harold Moody the Peckham GP who founded The League of Coloured Peoples in the UK in 1931 with CLR James & Paul Robeson, Kate Moss, Marc Quinn, YBA, Alison Lapper, Yoga poses, the History of Gold, John Lennon's killing, Lucille Ball and Simon & Garfunkel.

Along the way they touch on such topics as the glorification of War, the representation of art and Science in public monuments, Conceptual Art, vulgarity and the representation of the female form, why Ria's Biology Teacher made her a mixtape and the 1975 50p piece