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Worst Foot Forward

Hosted by Ben Van der Velde and Barry McStay

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An encyclopaedia of heroic failure Join Ben Van der Velde, Barry McStay and their guests as they brandish their wooden spoons of destiny and celebrate the losers, heroic failures and spectacular mis-steps that pockmark human endeavour. If you ever want to feel better about your progress in life, take a listen and enjoy a lovely schadenfreude bubble bath. Music by Max Perryment (www.maxperryment.co.uk) Donate to us via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
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This week we're erecting our episode quicker than a team of Amish farmers can erect a barn. With returning guest Dr Anna Ploszajski we discuss the absolute worst materials you could ever use in building your dream home. From the banal damage to concrete, to the lost dream of Lego and a particularly grisly offering from Ben, you'll never look at Gra…
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Happy Hallowe'en kids! Join Barry and Ben for some trick, treating, spells and sweets as they gorge themselves on a collection of spooky daft trivia. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Vis…
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We make up for last month's lack of a bonus episode - blame "life" - with a bumper episode all about Earth's favourite sidepiece: the moon! Ben takes Barry to Selene and back with a bit of blue, stories from Apollo 12 (the difficult second album) and why the Americans thought the Moon, if indeed made of cheese, could have benefitted from the additi…
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Behold! An episode full of underwhelming serpents, winsome wyrms and dull dragons. We're joined by returning guest John Henry Falle aka The Storybeast to discuss the worst examples of draconis is all of literature, folklore and (cypto)zoology. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay @thestorybeast Take a butcher's at Ben's Subs…
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This is an episode overflowing with flavours, covered in toppings and oozing cheese - if by flavours, toppings and cheese we mean trivia - as we talk about the World's Worst Pizza in the company of comedian and improviser Meredith Hackman. There's Pizzagate, pizza rat, shame pizza, Pentagon pizza and much more besides! Check out Meredith and Barry …
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With Barry absent in Ireland for a funeral, we had to cancel our recordings this month. Apologies! But it allows us to revisit episode 230 which was about the Worst Funerals! We both agreed it was a belter when we recorded it, so - like all the best funerals - it deserves an encore. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @petedona…
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This week Ben and Barry welcome back returning guest Simon Watt. Simon is an expert biologist and science communicator who is going to help them answer one of the biggest questions: out of all of Mother Nature's creations, which is the worst? We meet tragic endlings, furry crabs and come face to proboscis with man's greatest enemy... Follow us on T…
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Sit down and tell us a bit about yourselves, as we gather for this bonus episode on job interviews. Barry takes Ben through the resumé of hiring processes, ranging from Thomas Edison taking you out for soup to modern day practitioners making you moo like cows. There are also quizzes, famous apprentices and a cluster of US vice-presidential nominees…
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It's August, all potential guests are at the Edinburgh Fringe this month, so it's a Ben and Barry duo show, as they look back at the topics covered in episodes 116-120 and find the BEST in those categories rather than the worst. There are princes (and Prince), scientific frauds (and cats), mascots (and giants), allergies (and exercise) and Dungeons…
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It's time to flush out the worst do-gooders in the world. Joining Ben and Barry is current stand-up comic and former Oxfam charity shop employee Amy Mason. Together they discover how Justin Bieber, height, a hedgehog, a kindly old man and erotica have been used to raise money for good causes. And also a health spa. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot …
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Inspired by the timeless glory of the sporting jamboree going on in Paris right now, have another lesson to this classic episode where Ben and Barry dive head first (with a triple twist and a confused pike) into the more leftfield history of the Olympic Games. They take a short look at the international alternatives to the great games before turnin…
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This podcast finds a way...to ruin your favourite prehistoric lizards for you! Barry and Ben are going fossil-hunting in the company of comedian and podcaster Harry Stachini to pick over the bones of the World's Worst Dinosaur. There are brains in bums, T-Rex's called Sue and dinosaur erotica. Yep. You heard us. You won't want to miss this one. Fol…
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Join our two regular birdbrains as they talk to comedian, writer and wondrous performance artist Victoria Melody as they scan history - both human and natural - for the world's worst bird. We meet Charles Dickens' aggressive pet, some heroic and haphazard pigeons, Ben invents a new meal and relays the horrors of an infamous French delicacy. Follow …
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To celebrate our 300th episode, we're celebrating the most famous 300 men in history - the Spartan warriors who died valiently fighting the Persians. Except there werent' 300 of them. And not everyone they fought was strictly Persian. And they ended up in this pickle thanks to the weasely behaviour of a shepherd. For this and more historical tomfoo…
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Some said it couldn't be done. Some said it SHOULDN'T be done. But here we are - the podcast has reached 300 episodes! So the proud parents are taking out the photo album to show off some of their big strong pod-child's embarrassing snaps from its youth. In the time-honoured style of one of those TV retrospective shows, Barry and Ben each share 3 o…
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Join us as we tee off across history to discover the definitive worst golfer in history. Accompanied by actor, comedian, radio host and golf obsessive Tom Price, Ben and Barry encounter Presidents, prison officers and the infamous Phantom of the Open. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @thepr…
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Join us in the WFF dark room as we search through the negatives of the worst ever photographs in the company of master comedian and photographer Steve Best. We talk mundanity, plagiarism and a very talented and opportunistic ape. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @SteveBestComic Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on o…
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Check out this episode, mate! This week's gambit involves Romanian stand-up comedian and chess enthusiast Radu Isac joining us to discuss the world's worst chess grandmaster. We blitz our way through various aspects of the game's history, from its multiple weird adaptations to those players who cheated using everything from phones to sleight-of-han…
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Read Ben's new Substack here, including articles about Obsession and The Beatles, prehistoric shananigans and a short story about a very sinister bookmakers: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Sit up straight, eyes front, pens at the ready and don't even think of aiming your peashooter at the back of our heads. It's time for your detention project: …
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With the Snooker World Championship in full swing, Ben takes us for a break around the table with a potted history of snoooker, with some billiards and pool thrown in. There are tales of deathly dull games, the day inclement weather halted a match and the story of one snooker referee's brush with musical superstardom. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfo…
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DONATE TO THE HARDEST GEEZER! Try and see our lips move on this week's episode as Angus Dunican returns to talk to us about the World's Worst Ventriloquist. From puppets on the beat to those who faced down the Nazis and lived to tell the tale, there's something for everyone in here. Assuming everyone has at least one type of creepy puppet they're k…
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Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding With a hey nonny no, a slap of the thigh and some deeply questionable lyrics we're joined this week by accordionist, folk singer and comedian David Eagle to root out the world's worst …
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Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding In no way connected to the opening of his new play, Barry leads us on a quick whip through some of the most infamous theatrical superstitions and myths, including broken legs, Scottish…
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*Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding * It's one of our occasional trips down memory lane, and we are revisiting episodes 111 to 115 to discuss not the worst but the World's Best Smell, Algorithm, Manager, Design Flaw and…
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We're saying "Yes And..." to everything this week as we're joined by tremendous Scottish improviser Mara Joy to discover quite how bad things can get when you start making things up. John Cage goes on for centuries, B-movie mistakes get creepy and Ben finds an unlikely nadir from the jazz world. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLa…
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