Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation

Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation was a BBC Radio 4 series of comedy lectures hosted by Jeremy Hardy, first broadcast in September 1993. The tenth and final series aired in 2014.

Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
GenreStand Up Comedy
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4
StarringJeremy Hardy
Gordon Kennedy
Debbie Isitt
Produced byDavid Tyler
Original release30 September 1993 –
8 October 2014
No. of series10
No. of episodes48 + 1 special
WebsiteBBC Website

The lectures were on topics like "How to have a baby", "How to be truly loved", and often included Hardy's personal views on current affairs.

There were a series of sketches and mock interviews carried out with his two guests. Gordon Kennedy and Debbie Isitt were the two main guests, while other guests included Meera Syal, Rebecca Front, Alison Steadman, Stephen Frost, Miranda Richardson and Harriet Walter.

Episode guide

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Series Episode Title First broadcast Guests
1 1 How to Stay Alive for as Long as You Possibly Can 30 Sep 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
2 How to Be Truly Free 7 Oct 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
3 How to Earn Your Place in Heaven 14 Oct 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
4 How to Be an Adult 21 Oct 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
5 How to Have Sex 28 Oct 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
6 How to Know Your Place 4 Nov 1993 Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost
2 1 How to Be a Popular Figure Around Town 6 Oct 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
2 How to Have a Baby 13 Oct 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
3 How to Be a Leader of Men 20 Oct 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
4 How to Be a Father (1) 27 Oct 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy, Ben Keaton
5 How to Be a Father (2) 3 Nov 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
6 How to Meet the Challenge of the 21st Century 10 Nov 1994 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
3 1 How to Be a Man 6 Feb 1997 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
2 How to Bear Up Under the Strain 13 Feb 1997 Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy
3 How to Make Your Presence Felt 20 Feb 1997 Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy
4 How to Improve Your Mind 27 Feb 1997 Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy
5 How to Keep Abreast of Developments 6 Mar 1997 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
6 How to Be Happy 13 Mar 1997 Caroline Leddy, Gordon Kennedy
4 1 How to Fight Fire with Fire 6 Sep 2001 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
2 How to Live 20 Sep 2001 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
3 How to Work 27 Sep 2001 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
4 How to See Through Others' Eyes 4 Oct 2001 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
5 How to Hand the World on to the Next Generation 11 Oct 2001 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
6 When Jeremy Hardy Spoke to the Nation 18 Oct 2001 Graeme Garden, Debbie Isitt
5 1 How to Be Yourself 8 Jan 2003 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
2 How to Belong 15 Jan 2003 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
3 How to Maximise Your Leisure 22 Jan 2003 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
4 How to Be Young 29 Jan 2003 Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy
6 1 How to Be Afraid 9 Sep 2004 Rebecca Front, Gordon Kennedy
2 How to Argue Your Position 16 Sep 2004 Gordon Kennedy, Alison Steadman
3 How to Choose 23 Sep 2004 Gordon Kennedy, Pauline McLynn
4 How to Live Life to the Full 30 Sep 2004 Juliet Stevenson, Gordon Kennedy
Special - Jeremy Hardy's New Year Cavalcade 31 Dec 2004 Jack Dee, Armando Iannucci, John Oliver
7 1 How to Feel 3 Apr 2007 Gordon Kennedy, Miranda Richardson
2 How to Believe 10 Apr 2007 Alison Steadman, Ewan Bailey
3 How to Die 17 Apr 2007 Pauline McLynn, Paul B Davies
4 How to Look 24 Apr 2007 Juliet Stevenson, Paul B Davies
8 1 How to Grow Up 30 Jun 2010 Gordon Kennedy, Rebecca Front
2 How To Confront The Vexed Issue Of British Identity Without Getting In The Most Fearful Bate About The Whole Thing 7 Jul 2010 Gordon Kennedy, Shappi Khorsandi
3 How to Have Faith 14 Jul 2010 Paul B Davies, Pauline McLynn
4 How to Communicate Without Showing Off 21 Jul 2010 Paul B Davies, Morwenna Banks
9 1 How to Exercise Power 28 Feb 2013 Gordon Kennedy, Katy Brand
2 How To Be a Woman in the 21st Century 7 Mar 2013 Gordon Kennedy, Sara Pascoe
3 How To Be a Man in the 21st Century 14 Mar 2013 Paul Bassett Davies, Sue Perkins
4 How to Speak 21 Mar 2013 Pauline McLynn, Paul B Davies
10 1 How to Eat Food 17 Sept 2014 Paul Bassett Davies, Vicki Pepperdine
2 How to Define Oneself in Terms of Regional, Cultural and Geopolitical Identity Without Tears 24 Sept 2014 Susan Murray, Moray Hunter
3 How to Be a Good Citizen 01 Oct 2014 Gordon Kennedy and Carla Mendonça
4 How To Be Better Theologically, Socially, Nationally and in Terms of One's Own Personal Development, Responsibility and Interaction with the Fellow Humans with Whom we Share this Fragile Planet, and Ting 08 Oct 2014 Paul Bassett Davies and Carla Mendonça

Audio Books

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Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation currently has four audio books on sale.

  • How To Be Happy and other shows - Released on 19 July 2004.
  • How To Be Young and other shows - Released on 19 July 2004.
  • How To Be Afraid and other shows - Released on 15 November 2004.
  • How To Live and other shows - Released on 15 November 2004.

In addition the first series was adapted as a book, ISBN 0-413-69250-7, published by Methuen in 1993.

Awards

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The show was nominated in 2004 for the Sony Comedy award.[1]

References

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