{"podcast":{"title":"Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4","slug":"friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413","podcast_index_feed_id":160413,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02pc9pj.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9pj","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0lbr5kr.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":259,"summary":"Topical comedy from the sharpest satirical minds in the business. Listen first on BBC Sounds, every Friday. Is the news driving you up the wall? You’re not alone. Let the comedians take the strain and work out what’s been funny this week. Features BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, The Naked Week and Too Long; Didn’t Read. Listen on BBC Sounds, seven days earlier than anywhere else, and subscribe to make sure that you don’t miss an episode.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413"},"episode":{"title":"The Matt Forde Focus Group: Boxing Day Special","slug":"the-matt-forde-focus-group-boxing-day-special","published_at":"2026-01-02T19:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413/the-matt-forde-focus-group-boxing-day-special","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mqb27g","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0mqb5xx.mp3","summary":"Top political comedian Matt Forde reconvenes his Focus Group for a Boxing Day special with a Dickensian twist. Recorded in front of a live audience, Matt is joined by journalists, comedians and politicians – including former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove – to review the political state we're in through the lens of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Expect sharp analysis, unexpected confessions, and the year's biggest stories getting visited by the Ghosts of Politics Past, Present and Yet to Come. Appearing as a festive treat in BBC Radio 4's Friday Night Comedy feed, it's a topical comedy that's both genuinely funny and surprisingly insightful – perfect for digesting with the leftover turkey. Written and performed by Matt Forde Additional writing from Karl Minns, Laura Claxton and Richard Garvin Producer: Richard Garvin Executive Producers Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner Co-Producers: Daisy Knight and Jules Lom Broadcast Assistant: Sahar Rajabali Sound Design and Editing: David Thomas An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4","meta_description":"Top political comedian Matt Forde reconvenes his Focus Group for a Boxing Day special with a Dickensian twist. Recorded in front of a live audience, Matt…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1694,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413/episodes/the-matt-forde-focus-group-boxing-day-special/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/friday-night-comedy-from-bbc-radio-4-160413/the-matt-forde-focus-group-boxing-day-special.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}