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Evil Genius with Russell Kane

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

By BBC Sounds

It’s good, bad, ugly - and very very funny. Changing the way we see heroes and villains in history.

Episodes

David Bowie

Kerry Godliman, Esther Manito and Rhys James decide – Starman or laughing gnome? Producer Sally Heaven
06/04/23·47m 6s

Marvin Gaye

Maisie Adam, Ania Magliano and Marlon Davis wonder what was goin' on with the soul singer.
30/03/23·37m 21s

Cleopatra

Kerry Godliman, Esther Manito and Rhys James debate - was the Egyptian a pain in the asp?
23/03/23·36m 59s

Christopher Columbus

Sara Barron, Helen Bauer and Darren Harriott on the man who's credited with finding North America. But never actually got there. And firmly believed the world to be breast-shaped. Producer: Beth O’Dea Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
16/03/23·42m 5s

Johnny Cash

Thanyia Moore, Pierre Novellie and Lauren Pattison ask if the country star did in fact walk the line. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
09/03/23·43m 36s

Mary Whitehouse

Felicity Ward, Ria Lina and Peter Rethinasamy decide: is the campaigner prophet or prude?
02/03/23·50m 35s

Andy Warhol

Darren Harriott, Helen Bauer and Sara Barron on the weird and wonderful founder of pop art. And for the first time, one of the panellists falls violently in love with the subject during the recording and won't hear a word against him. Producer: Beth O’Dea Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
23/02/23·45m 39s

Marlon Brando

Maisie Adam, Marlon Davis and Ania Magliano's decision will be an offer he can't refuse.
16/02/23·45m 34s

Meat Loaf

Rachel Fairburn, Johnny Cochrane and Stevie Martin slice up the Bat Out Of Hell singer. Was he right in saying "no superstar will ever look like me again"?
09/02/23·40m 8s

Bruce Lee

Felicity Ward, Ria Lina and Peter Rethinasamy decide if Lee deserves a one-inch punch
02/02/23·46m 3s

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit creator JRR Tolkien

Thanyia Moore, Lauren Pattison and Pierre Novellie are on a quest for the man who created the Ring. Is he more Sauron or Gandalf? Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
26/01/23·46m 28s

Batman

Stevie Martin, Rachel Fairburn and Johnny Cochrane ask how super the superhero really is. Is the caped crusader the sexiest superhero of all? Or a weirdo in a cave who makes it all worse, actually? Producer: Beth O’Dea Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
19/01/23·45m 32s

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

Sikisa, Sarah Callaghan and Ivo Graham dig the dirt on Tomb Raider, Lara Croft
24/03/22·36m 16s

Richard Nixon

Athena Kugblenu, Lou Sanders and Nathan Caton decide: Evilgate or Geniusgate?
17/03/22·40m 13s

Frida Kahlo

Gráinne Maguire, Harriet Braine and Hal Cruttenden paint a not-so-pretty picture of the Mexican artist. This episode was recorded before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
10/03/22·42m 1s

Sigmund Freud

Sophie Duker, Rhys James and Evelyn Mok analyse the father of psychoanalysis
03/03/22·35m 3s

Allen Ginsberg

Gráinne Maguire, Harriet Braine and Hal Cruttenden beat up beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
24/02/22·45m 2s

Genghis Khan

Esther Manito, Robin Morgan and Sarah Mills discuss whether the warrior was actually woke
17/02/22·40m 37s

Notorious B.I.G.

Lou Sanders, Nathan Caton and Athena Kugblenu decide whether they're hypnotized by Biggie
10/02/22·33m 36s

Wernher von Braun; the rocket scientist who put man on the moon

Sikisa, Sarah Callaghan and Ivo Graham take a look at the man behind the Apollo missions.
03/02/22·37m 59s

Virginia Woolf

Sophie Duker, Rhys James and Evelyn Mok decide if Virginia is more Woolf or puppy dog.
27/01/22·42m 50s

Cecil Rhodes: the man behind the row about controversial statues

Johnny Cochrane, Thanyia Moore and Olga Koch knock down the man behind the big statues controversy currently raging - should statues of evil geniuses from history stay up?
20/01/22·37m 50s

Elizabeth I

Robin Morgan, Esther Manito & Sarah Mills on the Virgin Queen. Pure evil or pure genius?
13/01/22·41m 58s

Prince

Olga Koch, Thanyia Moore and Johnny Cochrane uncover some truths about The Purple One
06/01/22·50m 10s

Evil Genius with Russell Kane returns Thu 6th Jan!

Russell and panel are back, kicking off with The Purple One himself...music icon, Prince.
30/12/21·1m 0s

James Bond

Rob Beckett, Athena Kugblenu & Heidi Regan decide whether to use the ejector seat on Bond
01/04/21·43m 40s

Diego Maradona

Will Jon Richardson, Johnny Cochrane and Susie McCabe give Maradona the red card?
25/03/21·44m 42s

Che Guevara

Comrades Ria Lina, Esther Manito and Michael Odewale dissect the Argentine revolutionary.
19/03/21·47m 8s

Dr Seuss

The controversial children's author.How will Josh Jones, Ola Labib & Joanne McNally vote?
12/03/21·46m 15s

Billie Holiday

Sophie Duker, Daliso Chaponda and Kemah Bob riff over jazz singer Billie Holiday, who sang Strange Fruit.
04/03/21·42m 38s

Kellogg

Fern Brady, Alison Spittle and Alex Edelman on John Harvey Kellogg, man of cornflakes.
25/02/21·41m 51s

Boudicca

Grainne Maguire Athena Kugblenu and Tony Law assess the Queen of East Anglia AKA Boudicca
18/02/21·37m 19s

Charles Darwin

Jayde Adams, Angela Barnes and Neil Delamere on the scientist who came up with evolution and explained how life works. No biggie.
11/02/21·40m 32s

Alfred Hitchcock

Catherine Bohart, Tom Parry & Heidi Regan keep you in suspense. Hitchcock:evil or genius?
04/02/21·48m 46s

Henry VIII

Grainne Maguire, Felicity Ward and Alex Kealy decide, was Henry more monarch or murderer?
28/01/21·40m 53s

Malcolm X

Darren Harriott, Sikisa and Johnny Cochrane examine the civil rights leader.
21/01/21·46m 6s

Alexander Hamilton (from the musical)

Sara Barron, Ivo Graham & Jenny Bede on the American Founding Father, the real man behind the hit musical Hamilton.
14/01/21·42m 5s

Evil Genius returns Thursday 14 January!

Russell and panel take on US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton - of the musical fame..
08/01/21·1m 45s

Karl Marx

Olga Koch, Eshaan Akbar and Geoff Norcott give the political thinker Marx out of ten.
17/06/20·49m 49s

Charlie Chaplin

Jon Richardson, Catherine Bohart & Shappi Khorsandi look at the film star in close-up.
11/06/20·40m 11s

we're taking a break

a message from Russell Kane
23/04/20·39s

Freddie Mercury

Tom Allen, Evelyn Mok and Isma Almas share what Queen's singing superstar means to them.
16/04/20·44m 7s

Emmeline Pankhurst

Will Sarah Keyworth, Athena Kugblenu and Luisa Omielan use their votes wisely?
09/04/20·39m 53s

Elvis

Will Colin Murray,Johnny Cochrane and Neil Delamere have suspicious minds about The King?
02/04/20·42m 22s

Picasso

Tom Allen, Suzi Ruffell and Harriet Braine paint a wonky picture of the great artist.
26/03/20·43m 32s

Nina Simone

Are Athena Kugblenu, Njambi McGrath and Harriet Dyer feeling good about Nina Simone?
19/03/20·42m 5s

WG Grace: the greatest cricketer and his dark legacy

Ivo Graham and Aatif Nawaz bowl over non-cricket fans Russell Kane and Joanne McNally.
12/03/20·43m 4s

Adi Dassler, founder of Adidas

Darren Harriott, Nathan Caton and Joanne McNally put the boot in to the sportswear giant.
05/03/20·43m 14s

George Best

Colin Murray, Chloe Petts and Neil Delamere give the greatest footballer a good kicking.
27/02/20·43m 56s

Evil Genius is back on 27 February

Starting with three sport episodes - two sports megastars and one king of sportswear
20/02/20·56s

Oscar Wilde

Jen Brister, Larry Dean & Esther Manito consign Oscar Wilde to the gutter or the stars.
07/11/19·40m 4s

Lou Reed

Sophie Duker, Laura Lexx & Neil Delamere take a walk on the wild side with the rock star
31/10/19·35m 25s

Whitney Houston

Dane Baptiste, Jodie Mitchell and Athena Kugblenu decide, will they always love Whitney?
24/10/19·36m 39s

Bernard Manning

Jessica Fostekew, Marlon Davis and Leo Kearse ask if the popular comedian is still funny.
17/10/19·41m 34s

Salvador Dali

Jen Brister, Esther Manito and Larry Dean wax their moustaches ready to talk Salvador Dali
10/10/19·32m 23s

Winston Churchill

Daliso Chaponda, Ivo Graham & Jessica Fostekew discuss the man voted the Greatest Briton.
03/10/19·37m 5s

Fidel Castro

Comrades Heidi Regan, Konstantin Kisin and Eleanor Morton consider Fidel Castro.
26/09/19·39m 26s

Muhammad Ali

Darren Harriott, Laura Davis, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd on the boxer called The Greatest
19/09/19·43m 50s

Queen Victoria

Dane Baptiste, Jodie Mitchell and Athena Kugblenu weigh up Queen Victoria.
12/09/19·34m 14s

Amy Winehouse

Suzi Ruffell Joanne McNally and Maisie Adam take on Amy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
05/09/19·38m 43s

Evil Genius is back on 5 Sept! Watch out, dead famous people

Evil Genius is good, bad, ugly and funny. And it's returning to your lucky earholes.
29/08/19·1m 36s

James Brown

Lou Sanders, Johnny Cochrane and Tom Lucy find out how James Brown Got On Up to no good.
14/02/19·30m 0s

Walt Disney

Fern Brady, Tiff Stevenson and Kae Kurd have an animated chat, about animator Walt Disney
07/02/19·26m 17s

Enid Blyton

Danielle Ward, Rachel Fairburn & Danny McLoughlin have a jolly old time with Enid Blyton
31/01/19·28m 28s

Joan Crawford

Amy Annette, Marcus Bronzy and Inel Tomlinson find the upsides in having an arch-nemesis
24/01/19·27m 50s

Bill Hicks

Tiff Stevenson, Fern Brady and Kae Kurd weigh up the comedian Bill Hicks
19/01/19·28m 49s

Coco Chanel

Elf Lyons, Ken Cheng and Sadie Harrison debate Coco Chanel and lying about your age.
10/01/19·32m 41s

Frank Sinatra

Lou Sanders, Johnny Cochrane and Tom Lucy bandy words about singing and civil rights.
03/01/19·39m 6s

Joan Rivers

Desiree Burch, Catherine Bohart and Alan Carr chat being outrageous and having no limits.
27/12/18·44m 47s

Father Christmas

Sindhu Vee, Grainne Maguire and Dane Baptiste mull over the magic of Santa himself.
21/12/18·29m 8s

Charles Dickens

Amy Annette, Marcus Bronzy and Inel Tomlinson read up on author Charles Dickens
13/12/18·37m 13s

Darth Vader

James Acaster, Jayde Adams and Romesh Ranganathan ask if he's just misunderstood.
06/12/18·21m 17s

Pablo Escobar

Danielle Ward, Rachel Fairburn and Danny McLoughlin weigh up drug lord Pablo Escobar.
29/11/18·29m 18s

Sid Vicious at Latitude Festival

Grainne Maguire, Jen Brister and Shappi Khorsandi talk about what comedy owes to punk.
22/11/18·31m 13s

JFK

Elf Lyons, Ken Cheng and Sadie Harrison poke around JFK: John F. Kennedy, US President.
15/11/18·34m 4s

Tupac Shakur

Romesh Ranganathan, James Acaster and Jayde Adams judge hip hop artist Tupac Shakur.
07/11/18·30m 47s

Mother Teresa

Alan Carr, Desiree Burch and Catherine Bohart talk about goodness, badness and bin babies.
01/11/18·39m 25s

Evil Genius is coming back!

A new series of Evil Genius is on its way..
26/10/18·43s

Margaret Thatcher

Russell and his panellists Grainne Maguire, Sindhu Vee and Omar Hamdi weigh up the Iron Lady. It's a hard hitting political debate involving hairspray, Judi Dench and ninjas.
09/05/18·32m 10s

Steve Jobs

Russell and his panelists Simon Evans, Bec Hill and Stephen Bailey try and decide whether Steve Jobs is evil or a genius. Without him this podcast may not have existed. Will that affect their decision?
02/05/18·29m 54s

Hugh Hefner

Russell Kane gets into his dressing gown to talk about Hugh Hefner while his panel Stephen Bailey, Bec Hill and Simon Evans look the other way.
25/04/18·31m 45s

Gandhi

Surely not Gandhi? Russell Kane reveals there might be an evil side to the father of modern India. With panelists Grainne Maguire, Sindhu Vee and Omar Hamdi.
18/04/18·34m 55s

Roald Dahl

Will Russell Kane’s revelations about Roald Dahl stop you from reading The BFG ever again? Panellists Judi Love, Kelly Convey and Imran Yusuf have their childhood memories tainted forever.
11/04/18·28m 45s

Albert Einstein

Kindly favourite-uncle genius with comedy hair, or controlling egomanic? Russell Kane attempts to explain the theory of relativity to Caz Frear, Sean McLoughlin and Rachel Parris.
04/04/18·26m 5s

Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor may be the comedian’s comedian, but there is plenty in his life story that isn’t so funny. Russell Kane discusses whether his genius outweighs his evil, with panellists Judi Love, Kelly Convey and Imran Yusuf.
28/03/18·31m 38s

Evelyn Waugh

Writing Brideshead Revisited? Genius. Naming his son Auberon? Evil. And it gets worse... Russell weighs it all up with Jolyon Rubinstein, Ellie White and Sadie Harrison.
21/03/18·26m 37s

Marie Stopes: birth control pioneer

Russell Kane asks whether birth control pioneer Marie Stopes had a more sinister motive.. with Dane Baptiste, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Iszi Lawrence.
14/03/18·36m 9s

John Lennon

Peace, love and an intolerance of laughter. Was the music worth it all? Depends who you ask. With Rachel Parris, Caz Frear and Sean McLoughlin.
07/03/18·30m 26s

Welcome to Evil Genius with Russell Kane

The show where we ask: Where do you draw the line?
05/03/18·1m 5s
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