Distraction Pieces Podcast With Scroobius Pip

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 270 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Prepare to make room for a new best mate, as this week the extra special guest is all round UK acting treasure and Shane Meadows homie - it’s JO HARTLEY!“FIND THE TRUTH!”The Shane Meadows mention is just to get you on the same page, as she played Cynth in every ramification of the film and series. But Jo has been on a mission since her early days, and has been carving her very own path in the acting game and making friends along the way. The buzz of cinema found its way into her bloodstream as a kid, and her journey into the world itself has been organic and honest, and here you will get to hear it all including her fears and prep-work, her wrestles with imposter syndrome, the simple art of not procrastinating, working with peoples’ energies, being able to listen as an actor, Paddy Considine, Ricky Gervais, Tom Turgoose and her days as a flight attendant in Japan. As if that wasn’t enough, you can be sure there’s a

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 268 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Ladies and gentlemen, please set aside a nice chunk of time to get properly acquainted with superstar director and actor DEXTER FLETCHER!The man behind the blockbusting Elton John biopic ‘Rockteman’, the wonderful Proclaimers musical ‘Sunshine On Leith’ and one of the team behind the phenomenal ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, Deter has been doing more in the world of cinema than can be fully documented right here… Add to that his extensive work in front of the camera in a good handful of Guy Ritchie flicks, Bugsy Malone and of course, who could forget Press Gang, this is the guy to talk to about film and television. And this is exactly what Pip does, my friends. And it is a thorough scorcher. Everything from the ramping up of Dexter’s career, to his work on Wild Bill, walking before he could run with his film career, techniques behind Sunshine On Leith, learning on the job, how memory plays into biopics - reliable or not, the

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 268 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Right about now… Right here, right now in fact… Ladies and gentlemen, this week Pip is joined by superstar DJ and producer NORMAN COOK aka FATBOY SLIM!“Fatboy Slim? Just a band…”It’s so great when these music based episodes come around, especially when Pip has had previous dealings with the guest in question which is exactly the case with Norman. In fact you will hear the evidence of which at the very end of the podcast so keep that in the treat bank for now eh! A truly great chat with the two down on the coast in Norman’s Brighton home, where they catch up on all sorts covering the past, the present and the future of his career. As you’ll hear, it’s really quite a monumental career at that - indeed, he goes decades deeper than a few hit singles. From an early start with his band The Housemartins, he’s had more pseudonyms than Kool Keith and played to more people than - well, you name em… The very definition of a su

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 267 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A very special Sunday appearance for Distraction Pieces as Pip is joined by chief of the Stop & Search podcast JASON REED, to talk all thing ME on this very special day of ME awareness.It’s a great day to stop and consider what you may know and not know about the condition, which goes by the much longer official name of ‘Myalgic Encephalomyelitis’. Allow Jason to take the stand and bring you up to speed on everything, and as a sufferer himself, he has the perfect viewpoint and a very interesting perspective on living with ME. It is often misunderstood by everyone from comedians to health specialists, and it’s tough to convey just how much of a burden it can be to a sufferer, but hopefully with this engaging and informative chat with Jason, and ME Awareness Day itself, understanding will grow and it won’t be such a mysterious and mis-read condition. Hear Pip and Jason cover everything from addiction and the

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 266 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! The purest, most refined clear blue waters of inspiration right here this week, as Pip is joined by author, poet and podcaster TIM CLARE!A perfect opportunity to get acquainted with Tim, in case you haven’t met him just yet. This one goes DEEP, people… While it may seem like the author’s lot is a merry one, Tim is here to tell you that looks are deceiving - but at the same time, while writing novels and just writing in general is tough, he found ways to crack his own brain’s coding and navigate those treacherous waters. That’s all well and good, but he’s also going to share those hard-earned nuggets with YOU! A truly fascinating natter which covers the whole lot, from cold showers (we may as well call them ‘Wim Hofs’), to beliefs and scaling them against our own, Pip’s clothing theory (what’s good enough for Einstein…), the science of panic attacks and how they can inform a performance, Freytag’s pyramid, the hell o

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 265 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A great one here with comedian, podcaster and metaler ED GAMBLE!You will most certainly have enjoyed Ed on his ‘Off Menu’ podcast with James Acaster (if not, see to it that you amend that post-haste!), or indeed on Mock The Week (and many more shows besides), but if you are yet unfamiliar with him this is a great chance to become acquainted! Get the full backstory right here, which - as you’ll hear, includes everything from the perfect simplicity of said podcast, his love of metal and the many strands within the genre, the complex relationship he and Pip share with nu-metal, the joy of Steve Coogan, glory days in Durham, what he thinks of ‘work in progress’ shows, pure Ben & Jerry’s madness including an offshoot podcast which will be along in the forthcoming months revolving entirely around the delicious foodstuff (and wine), the benefits of having no professional jealousy (for the most part) and the cyclical wo

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 264 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the microphone standup comedian, presenter and fun uncle of podcasting NISH KUMAR!Although they’ve been orbiting each other for a good while now, Pip and Nish haven’t yet met, let alone shared podcast time together - which is crazy considering how many mutual friends they have and podcasts they’ve each been on themselves! Well, the orbit has concluded its route and the circle may now be unbroken as Pip and Nish are finally here together! And what a lovely meeting it is too… Nish is the perfect guest too as he is deeply schooled in the trade of the podcast, having spent many an hour listening in and scheduling days around episodes - one of the topics that comes up in fact, how podcasts have changed the experience of the long car ride or the train journey. Enjoy the wide ranging chat which begins in films and rounds out nicely in the present and future, starting with their respe

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 263 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A perfect conversation on all things theatre, art, culture, creation and all that these elements bring, with the powerful and awesome ZAWE ASHTON!“You cannot work for an audience, you have to work for the truth of what you’ve created, and just trust that the response you get will be the truthful response and the right response”This episode’s theme: HOLD YOUR NERVE.What an epic one this is… A great back and forth with Pip and Zawe, who have crossed paths on a number of occasions but now find over an hour to catch up and all for our benefit! It only took them four years to sort out… In a way that’s worked out perfectly though, as there is just more to talk about! With Zawe currently starring in Harold Pinter’s ‘Betrayal’ at the Harold Pinter Theatre, she is fully immersed in the Pinter world (this podcast was also recorded there), and as such has a lot to add about his universe and the many facets thereof, but not bef

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 262 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! You are about to enjoy a very special in depth chat with acting king and all round total badass RON PERLMAN!“…The artform is being preserved by people who are living on the fringes…”Even the post-Friday night spirits of London Town can’t keep Ron down, as he joins Pip outside on a Saturday morning for a wonderful talk on all things film, be it behind the scenes, the acting process or the studio side. Ron has gems galore to offer from a very experienced vantage point in the acting game, having been doing just about the most solid job in the profession since his days in school, and you’ll hear it all in very down to earth and real (occasionally wry and sly) style, from his family’s drumming history, his lucky break auditioning at a young age, being scared away from the stage by the film process, glorious analogies, the lack of ‘foreplay’ in modern viewing, the marvel of modern day TV in every aspect, how ‘The Shield’

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode… Well technically this episode doesn’t have a number as it’s a FRIDAY BONUS EPISODE of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!A one-off secret club taste test of sorts, or perhaps an amuse-bouche, or maybe you can imagine Pip standing in the aisle of the Distraction Pieces Network supermarket with a chef hat on handing out samples, as you are treated to two exclusive Patreon-only recordings! In one, you have a recording of a VERY old Pip poem from the mid-00’s (recorded recently - the writing is old), and in the other, it’s Distraction Pieces Rewind, where Pip goes in on old episodes and gives you a bit of a background behind them. It’s cool because you don’t often get that with podcasts - the tales behind the episodes. You’ll dig this - some real nuggets and enough to keep you hungry for the rest, which you’ll hear on Patreon folks! That’s right. It’s only a dollar a month, and you get a bunch of awesome goodies like this, and you can be a part of a nice lil’ c

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 261 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A great proper conversation right here with JAMIE EAST, the man of many talents, jobs and podcasts!As you’ll hear from those golden tones, Jamie is a pro broadcaster - there’s a nice little soundcheck at the start just to give you a cool intro into that world! But besides that, Jamie is absolutely a media chameleon, moving in and out of the shadows and forming his own path. From presenting the Big Brother offshoot show, to many podcasts (including Thronecast), to being in a proper band a while back, to starting up the massive website Holy Moly, to straight up radio work on talkRADIO, Jamie has done a lot of everything but also with a very unique backstory underpinning the whole lot. You’ll hear it all - how everything lined up and how everything got straightened up after a bumpy bout with the booze. Real great stuff and really entertaining - ENJOY!LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:• JAMIE on TWITTER• JAMIE on INSTAGRAM•&n

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 260 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Full on comedy goodness with a little grief sprinkled in there for good measure, as Pip is joined by the very funny and very insightful JAYDE ADAMS!A seamless tapestry of conversation for you here in the episode, as Pip and Jayde roll through a feature length episode easily and smoothly. From the seaside surroundings of Leigh On Sea (where they filmed the more recent incantation of Woman In Black), you are treated to a perfect mix of comedy and tragedy while touching on everything from beta-ing one’s self, school dynamics, violent praise, the moment at school where everything changed (involving nerds), strength in solitude and how good things can happen in this state, hallucinogenics and the demonisation of drugs, how we can enable ourselves with booze and tiredness, drug dependency, food addiction and Pip’s heroic ice cream habit, how passion lies in doing the thing you love when no-one’s watching (it’ll make sense

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 259 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! This right here is a BONUS EPISODE SITUATION! Don’t say we don’t bless you here at Distraction Pieces… A superb, powerful sit down with star of ‘Black Panther’, ‘Us’ and a huge amount before and on the way - it’s WINSTON DUKE!“You’re not always able to tell what that impact’s gonna be, so it’s really good to focus on the intention”A marvellous talk with a very deep and thoughtful Winston, in which gems are dropped, science is strewn and knowledge is born. You might know Winston from his role as ‘M’baku’ in Black Panther, and maybe you’ll by now have caught him in the incredible new Jordan Peele joint Us - well, if that’s the case, or if you’re new to the world of Winston, it’s a genuine banger and perfectly short and sweet conversation. Expect to hear a lot in the slightly shorter running time, from how South By South West alters the outlook of a film for the best, the many layers and nuances of a ch

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 258 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A very powerful deep dive into mental health and wellbeing, depression, symptoms and potential remedies with author of ‘Chasing The Scream’, ‘Lost Connections’ and more - it’s JOHANN HARI!“I keep thinking this about my book about depression, that in some ways, I feel like I’m giving people permission to know what they knew in their hearts all along”Pip is often asked if he’ll do a mental health special of the podcast. Well, the truth is, the subject comes up so often that the special itself is happening incrementally all the time. This time round we have an expert thinker and author on it all, who has been through it and has a lot of research to broaden our own thinking on it. Luckily Johann’s approach to speaking on topics is “Would my Nan understand it?”, so you won’t get lost with this one! Pip and Johann cover a huge amount of ground, from experience to anecdote to research, including how depress

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 257 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! This week is a very special episode featuring a guest whose name you may not know, but after this you’ll be a huge fan - it’s PC Leon McLeod!You’ll hear how Pip got to meet Leon in the intro to this episode, and all will be made clear, but as a brief summary Leon was one of the first on the scene at the London Bridge terrorist attacks of 2017. It was a terrifying scene, but Leon is someone who runs on in when people are running away, and therefore exactly the kind of person the force requires. So while this is not your regular star studded Distraction Pieces episode, it’s a very powerful and moving account of a man who ran towards trouble, and has since been dealing with the aftershocks. You’ll also detect that Leon is a painfully humble man when describing the night, but also very open as he goes into the effect it all had on his personal life, so you can expect inspiration from all sides - in how h

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 256 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A very deep look into the expansive universe of writing and directing here, as Pip chats at length to STEVEN KNIGHT, writer and creator of Peaky Blinders, Taboo and Locke (among MANY others), and his film Serenity!Chances are that if you are a Distraction Pieces Podcast listener (god bless you), you will be fully versed on Steven’s work. Pip references his work with a great and contagious fondness and for very good reason - he makes some incredibly fine film and television! This is a perfect opportunity to hear from the man in that director seat behind the curtain on a huge amount of topics and angles including the rule-based world of film making, his work on Locke, Peaky Blinders, Taboo and all the rest in his insane body of work, his new film Serenity and how he lucked out on getting his first choice cast picks, playing with reality, how we are all the lead roles in our own realities, the BBC leavi

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 255 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Heavyweight comic realness this week, as Pip is joined by cast iron champ STEPHEN MERCHANT!“…you realise you’re sort of somewhere between Rocky and A Star Is Born”An absolute legend right here, in not only TV, stage and film but the good old Wild West days of podcasting! A solid in-depth chat with Stephen, covering his illustrious career from those early days of his arch-character in standup comedy (which divided audiences down the middle) and his his return to the stage later down the road, the genesis of the undisputed TV classic ‘The Office’ and its evolution in the US (and being able to watch it objectively at last), right up to being holed up in off-track US locations with Richard E Grant, as well as his current position behind the camera as director of the wrestling biopic ’Fighting With My Family’! How much more besides? So much… Many perspectives and insights and straight up wisdom dropped in

Welcome, welcome, and once more, welcome, to episode 254 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A marvellous one this week (I mean, when are they not?), as Pip is joined by comedian and transatlantic actor LOLLY ADEFOPE for a lovely wide-ranging chat!…and what better way to begin than by Pip dreaming of Lolly the previous night? All shall be revealed and certainly not spoiled here that’s for sure… Some real wisdom and experience here from Lolly, as she relates all kind of aspects and perspectives from her career, including her recent Twitter controversy (or ‘Tweetstorm’ if we’re going to adopt the parlance of the time), her epic journey to the US and how that all took place, the joy of craft services (would that one day we may all experience such a joy), how she actually couldn’t live in the US, how her career trajectory changed after Edinburgh, Fringe experiences, and her Taskmaster run, among other things! You know what it is… Download, enjoy, and bask in Lolly’s inspiring and positive glow.

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 253 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! A power packed episode is upon you, as Pip take a moment to stop and chat with writer, director and all round awesome person JOE CORNISH!Consider this the counterpart to the much earlier Adam Buxton episode, if you will, what with Joe being Adam long term co-conspirator and collaborator! Between them they very much had a hand in those early days of podcasting, which was something of a direct offshoot of radio but with a very creative and premeditated approach, not to mention their amazing TV work… With both of them going their separate ways and moving onto a ton of incredible work between them, it’s been hugely inspiring to see the individual sides of the two, and Joe breaks down his recent work and creative projects including of course, ‘Attack The Block’ and brand new film ‘The Kid Who Would Be King’ (showing by the time you read this)! Hear Joe go in on everything else besides too, including film reactions from k

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 252 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip! Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the presence of R&B and soul royalty right here… Please be standing and welcome MARY J. BLIGE!“…When you give your all, you win…”Absolute solid gold crown wearing greatness for you here, as Pip sits down with the phenomenal Ms. Blige for a thoroughly entertaining and uplifting chat. She’s been making the rounds in promotion of her new starring role as ‘Cha-Cha’ in the amazing ‘The Umbrella Academy’, an adaptation of an equally amazing graphic novel, and she spent some time breaking down the whole experience with Pip in this rare interview. They get to cover a HUGE amount of goodies, ranging from her love of the script and its connections to real life, being educated in how to correctly beat up a person and do a ton of crazy stunts (until things got a touch too insane), the madness of the costumes, her love of learning and growth through roles, how she killed it in a Christmas play