The Alexei Sayle Podcast
by Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti
If you listen to The Alexei Sayle podcast you will not be disappointed, unless you are expecting something other than an old man talking crap. Photograph from the Andy Hollingworth Archive Music by Tarboosh Records The Alexei Sayle Podcast is produced and edited by Talal Karkouti
Episodes
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142: Celebrity Parliaments, WhatsApp Revolutions and The Bride Revisited
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss the Israeli elections, the 7 Up series and Nelson Mandela. Order Alexei's new book here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron to gain access to the video version of the podcast, Alexei Reacts! and more - patreon.com/AlexeiSaylePodcast…
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141: Other People's Podcasts and Other Country's Riots
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss new homes, old schools and the hardship of a career in stand-up comedy. Watch the short film from Artists Against Fascism here. Visit Defend Our Juries here. Check out the zin clipping for "The Day of the Ray Gun Cometh" (1982) here. Order Alexei's new...
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140: Greens vs. Zionism, AI vs. Capitalism and Mamdani vs. Palestine?
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss The Burnham Bump, the spirituality of being on the left and Talal's dad Mustapha Karkouti. Order Alexei's new book here. On 10th October Alexei joins a livestream for Henley Literary Festival - get tickets here! Be a comrade and support the show!…
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139: Bottom-Up Democracy, Burnham's Speech and Bobby Chariot's Wig
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti discuss Reliant Robins, Murray Bookchin's Social Ecology, Spike Milligan and Germany. Alexei also adds a few more shows onto his IMDB all-time subjective ranking of all things Alexei Sayle! Order Alexei's new book here. On 10th October Alexei joins a livestream for...
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138: Ed Sheeran, Ed Milliband and Dead Langham
Alexei Sayle gets all gossipy this episode! He also apparently invented the pizza delivery?? Alexei and Talal Karkouti also discuss Zach Polanski's upcoming bid to get into parliament, Orchids in Militant's Liverpool and his new book. BUY HIS NEW BOOK! Order Alexei's new book here. The upcoming...
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137: Live at The Roundhouse with Diane Morgan!
Alexei Sayle, Talal Karkouti and special guest Diane Morgan sit down in front of 800 people to discuss ticks, robots and Doctor Who. Oh and Diane's new show Ann Droid, of course! Order Alexei's new book here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron to gain access to the video version…
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136: Good Riddance Keir Starmer, Reform Exposed and Wittgenstein's Poker
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss Sexy Beast, Bill Oddie, The Falkland Islands and Top Gear. Order Alexei's new book here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron to gain access to the video version of the podcast, Alexei Reacts! and more - patreon.com/AlexeiSaylePodcast…
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135: Tony Greenstein, Immortality and The Problem With Dragons
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti bring you the first ever podcast from Mars! From the future! From Alexei's Back Garden! They also discuss what TV shows they're watching, Alexei's new book (link below!) and Nadia Sawalha. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a...
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134: Robin Williams, Boy George and The People's Bomb (LIVE at The Ropetackle, Shoreham-on-Sea)
Back at the Ropetackle Arts Centre, Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti discuss cancelled TV shows, division in the Left, Andy Burnham, protests and Steve Martin. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron to gain access to the video version of the podcast…
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133: The Andy Burnham Progress Report
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss a The Young Ones reunion, our upcoming show with Diane Morgan (tickets below!) and projects that Alexei has cooking up for the Autumn. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE with Diane Morgan at The Roundhouse, Camden on…
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132: The World Cup, The Tour de France and Granada TV
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti talk 1966, 2026, 2025 and 1981 in that order. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE with Diane Morgan at The Roundhouse, Camden on 2nd August! Get tickets here. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron and get access to the...
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131: Poplarism, Manchesterism and Rik Mayall-ism
This week Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss Satanism, American Imperialism, pacifism and unfair, Gary Stevenson criticism. They also add The Comic Strip and Whoops Apocalypse to the official Alexei Sayle filmography ranking and Alexei doesn't tell a Robin Williams story. Pre-order...
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130: The Bund, the DSA and the F*cking Left (with Molly Crabapple)
Molly Crabapple (author of the brilliant Here Where We Live Is Our Country - link below!) joins Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti to discuss the real history of European Jews in the 19th Century. In particular, The Bund - a group who defied the Zionist mission in favour of unity, pride, socialism…
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129: Andy Burnham, Arturio Ui and Bobby Chariot
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss the inevitable humiliation or Keir Starmer, Ben Elton's distorted memories and American TV's portrayal of the UK. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE with Diane Morgan at The Roundhouse, Camden on 2nd August! Get…
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128: David Hockney, Defence Budget Drama, and Alexei Reacts! Ep11 PATREON PREVIEW
This week we're bringing you a special peek behind the Patreon curtain and releasing the latest episode of Alexei Reacts! from behind the paywall! To watch the video for free please head to patreon.com/alexeisaylepodcast or just click here! If you like what you see, please consider joining the...
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127: The Damned, Antisemitism in the NHS (?) and Not Being a Creep
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss electric cars, the police and whether The Young Ones ended too soon. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE with Diane Morgan at The Roundhouse, Camden on 2nd August! Get tickets here. Be a comrade and support the show!...
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126: Aladdin, Drones and Jason Statham
Alexei and Talal are back after a brief hiatus. They discuss the reason for the break, Letter to Brezhnev and violence on TV. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE with Diane Morgan at The Roundhouse, Camden on 2nd August! Get tickets here. Get tickets to see Alexei...
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125: Privilege, the Psychology of Economics and Moral Licensing (with Barry Ferns)
Barry Ferns from Barry's economics joins Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti for a chat about his journey from homelessness to owning London's best comedy club, Angel Comedy, and teaches us things he learned along the way. Massive thank you to Barry and his team for hosting us, filming and even…
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124: Diggers, Palestine Marches and Tommy Robinson
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti bring the podcast to the Northants May Day and Wellingborough Diggers Festival 2026! They also talk weaponising antisemitism, Russell Brand and why there is still hope. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE at The Roundhouse, Camden…
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123: Bullfighting, John Hamm and more Touch of Evil
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss Camden, Lewes bonfire night and why dartboards are the new watermelon. Pre-order Alexei's book here. Come see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE at The Roundhouse, Camden! Get tickets here. Get tickets to see Alexei interview Slavoj Žižek on 6th May here....
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122: Top Supermarkets, Prepping and Touch of Evil
Alexei and Talal Karkouti also yam on about cars, Peter Crouch and Radio 4. Here come some links: Pre-order Alexei's book here. Get tickets to see Alexei interview Slavoj Žižek on 6th May here. Tickets to see The Alexei Sayle Podcast LIVE in Shoreham on 30th July here and at The Wellingborough...
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121: Trump's Threats, Kanye West and The Bund
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti also discuss Israel's ongoing onslaught in Lebanon, late-stage capitalism, whether the moon matters and if running a red light is a moral issue. Here come the links: Pre-order Alexei's book here. Get tickets to see Alexei interview Slavoj Žižek on 6th May here....
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120: Cycling, SNL UK & Evangelicals
From the Isle of Man to Beirut, ham-faced Sky News presenters to Jimmy Saville and from Manx cats to Jesus Christ - what isn't discussed this episode?! Tune in to not find out! Pre-order your SIGNED copy of Alexei's new book How I've Tried To Change The World - By Walking Down the Middle of the...
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119: Ambulances & Returning Marxist Dance Videos
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti return for the yammiest of yams. They yam about Michael Rosen and Miriam Margolyes, Iran, Planes, Graham Greene, Orson Welles (new Alexei Sayle Film Club alert!), hobbies and the origins of the "I'm not really foreign, you know" bit from The Young Ones. Be a…
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118: More War, Israeli Shawarma & Protest Songs
Howdy! This week Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti discuss going viral, unrecognised treason, Oxford comedy producers and listen to some listener-submitted music. Get The Bar Stool Preacher's Pick a Side here. Get Banner Theatre's Power To The Bin Strikers (Unite For Workers Rights) here. Be a...
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117: From Green Party Victory to War in Iran
What a week! Alexei laments barely getting time to enjoy the Green victory in the by-election before the world goes back to war. He and Talal Karkouti also discuss ethno-fascist youth in Israel, Dubai, one hit wonders and Comic Strip's The Strike. Be a comrade and support the show by becoming a...
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116: The Inevitability of Trump and Why Improv Sucks (with Anthony Atamanuik)
The President of alternative American comedy Anthony Atamanuik (30 Rock, The President Show, What We Do in the Shadows) joins Alexei and Talal Karkouti to dissect the state of the USA, how they got there and where they're going. Also, Alexei lands a plane in Singapore. Check out Tony's Patreon…
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115: Waiting for Podot
Alexei and Talal Karkouti go through the archives (Wikipedia) and dissect Alexei Sayle's Stuff, his most controversial moments, winning an Emmy, Wuthering Heights and more! Be a comrade and support the show by becoming a Patron and getting access to full video versions of the podcast, live…
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114: Dicky Bird
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti enjoy some alone time to revel in Keir Starmer's difficult week, give conspiracy theorists their flowers, discuss upcoming live events and remember tandem bicycles. Read the mentioned Novara Media article here! Be a comrade and support the show by becoming a Patron...
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113: Compo Bursts Puppy (with Stewart Lee)
Alexei Sayle, Talal Karkouti and the returning Stewart Lee talk comedy history, kung-fu (NOT judo!), young comics, old comic, American comics, racist comics, sexist comics, houseboats and Stewart's new tour. Go to stewartlee.co.uk for link and details of his upcoming tour and shows including next...
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112: Champagne for Everyone (with Robin Ince)
Robin Ince joins Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti to discuss Ofcom for podcasts, dragging Alexei back into comedy and Rowland Rivron's Ben Elton impression. They also explore why Robin stopped working with Ricky Gervais (spoiler: he's not a nice person) and his resignation from Infinite Monkey…
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111: Labour Friends of Uruguay
Alright, so this 2026 thing is sticking around, is it? Sigh! Well here goes... Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti discuss Syria, Iran and why it's so easy to be more vocal about Palestine. They also rapid fire through some of Alexei's filmography until Ricky Gervais comes along and sucks all the joy...
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110: Plucky Little Lift
Happy New Year and let's get this one off to a uplifting start with Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti spending way too much time talking about a very particular type of elevator. They also touch on Venezuela, Alexei's new book, the online penguin apocalypse and films to help us fight fascism. Be a...
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109: It's Behind You!
Once again we're flying down your chimney this Christmas morning to stuff your stocking with yams-a-plenty! Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti discuss New Year plans, Randy Newman and a special Amnesty International Alternative Alternative Alternative Christmas message. We also play a round of Beat...
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108: My First Lesbian Wedding (with Sami Abu Wardeh)
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti welcome back everybody's favourite revolutionary, Palestinian comedian Sami Abu Wardeh for a meandering journey through a plethora of pertinent topics. From P Diddy to Ken Dod's Diddy Men, Pimp My Ride to pitta bread, meatballs to the intangibility of objective…
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107: Socialism Will Solve Everything A.K.A. It's A Cat! (Your Party Conference Analysis) feat. Linda Sayle
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti hear Linda Sayle's report from the inaugural Your Party Conference! They also talk Monsieur Aubergine, robotic correspondence and conclude the thrilling Cilla Black mystery. Alexei WILL be appearing in Birmingham at an event for Paul Holden's new book. Get tickets...
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106: The Banality of Genius
Another gossipy episode this week as Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti shoot the breeze about BBC Christmas parties, nearly getting killed by Ronnie Corbett, stunt casting and masculinity within socialism. Alexei will probably be appearing in Birmingham at an event for Paul Holden's new book. Get...
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105: Locas Corrupti (with Paul Holden)
Alexei welcomes author and investigative journalist Paul Holden to the show to discuss corruption and deceit in the Labour Party - and boy, oh, boy is there a lot of it! All this and more is discussed in brilliantly shocking detail in his new book. Buy Paul's book The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan...
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104: Gossip
Alexei and Talal spill the tea and get their gossip on! Get out of town! They said what about Starmer?!? You don't say! The BBC lost how many bosses?!? Shut up! What are the 5 unwavering principles of the Palestinian liberation struggle? ps. Sorry about Talal's audio quality. The numpty forgot to...
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103: Where's Louise?
Alexei and Talal get down to discussing all the most important issues of the day: Lily Allen! D&D! Halloween! Fireworks! Top of the Pops! Oh, and revolutionary global politics too, I guess... Follow NOOW Media on YouTube here. Check out White Kit Collective's London show TONIGHT here. Be a…
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102: Alexei Sayle Plays Dungeons & Dragons for the First Time (Halloween Special)
Alexei's worst nightmare comes true as Talal drags him kicking and screaming through his very first game of Dungeons & Dragons. Will he survive the terrors of Castle Definitely Not Spooky??! Listen and find out for yourself... IF YOU DARE! Let us know what you thought of this experiment by...
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101: Church of the Sausages (with Mark Thomas)
Alexei and Talal are delighted to be joined by stand-up comedian, playwright and activist Mark Thomas! We discuss his childhood, unlucky guns, tortoise impersonators, performing in prisons and a three tier mahogany buffet with partially reeded slender balustrade upright supports. Visit...
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100: EPISODE 100 PODCASTAGANZA!!
WE DID IT!!! Episode 100 is here and boy oh boy do we have a thrilling, nail-biting, heart-thumping white knuckle, hell-of-an-episode for you!! Do we? We do, right?? What??! We just chat about Palestine and Your Party and trains and films and stuff? Oh, for fu.... Be a comrade and support the…
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99: Big Sauce (LIVE from The Ropetackle in Shoreham!)
Alexei and Talal sit down in front of a sold-out crowd in Shoreham to discuss exhausted bees, Shakespeare, The Riyadh Comedy Festival and the Gaza Flotilla. Watch the video version on our Patreon (see below) to see Alexei's moves! Thank you so much Shoreham for being such a gorgeous audience. Be…
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98: Alexei Land
In this laid back, chillaxed episode of the podcast Alexei and Talal discuss planes and tanks, Croydon (aka The Cronx), Digital ID cards, Your Party shenanigans and whether being paid by the government to perform comedy in Saudi Arabia is ethical. TLDR: It's not. Be a comrade and support the…
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97: The Das Kapital Podcast!! (with Nish Kumar)
Nish Kumar joins the podcast to discuss his early years in a university sketch group, Edinburgh Fringe, Alexei's 90s era, the flag march and how the ultra-rich live with themselves. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron and get access to the video version of the podcast, live…
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96: My Favourite Hulk (RIP Wilf)
Alexei and Talal pay tribute to Wilf Mbanga (the cat) as well as discussing Palestine, flags and sleeping with the enemy. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron and get access to the video version of the podcast, live episodes and more - patreon.com/AlexeiSaylePodcast Send your fan…
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95: Ragnarok (LIVE at The Museum of Comedy)
Alexei and Talal finish their run of live shows at the Museum of Comedy in front of a packed house! They discuss ancient myths, improv comedy, nice Tories, David Lean and much more. Be a comrade and support the show! Become a Patron and get access to the video version of the podcast, live…
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94: Four Weeks of Carnage (with Dr. Victoria Rose)
We are honoured this week to be joined by a British plastic surgeon who has spent much time in Gaza since this genocide began performing life-saving and reconstructive surgeries under increasingly difficult conditions - Dr. Victoria Rose. We discuss the difficult journey into Gaza, how her life...
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93: Oh, No! NOT THEM! (with Lise Mayer LIVE at The Museum of Comedy)
Young Ones writer Lise Mayer joins a grumpy Alexei and an extra loud Talal (sorry!) on stage at The Museum of Comedy to discuss how The Young Ones got made, the early days of The Comic Strip, Linda's aunt Amy, what position Alexei would hold in Jeremy and Zarah's new government. They also taste...
About this show
If you listen to The Alexei Sayle podcast you will not be disappointed, unless you are expecting something other than an old man talking crap.
Photograph from the Andy Hollingworth Archive Music by Tarboosh Records The Alexei Sayle Podcast is produced and edited by Talal Karkouti
Hosted by
Alexei Sayle and Talal Karkouti
Categories