Sinopsis
Distraction Pieces is the fastest growing weekly podcast in the UK. Hosted by Scroobius Pip with guests ranging from Russell Brand to Simon Pegg, Alan Moore to Stewart Lee, Zane Lowe to Josie Long and everyone inbetween. Now available on acast, iTunes and all good podcast outlets.Download, subscribe, rate & review now!
Episodios
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Craig Mazin: delivering script notes and dropping science on the small and big screen (Chernobyl / The Last Of Us / Scriptnotes Podcast) #643
29/10/2025 Duración: 01h14minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by the incredible screenwriter, showrunner, producer and dungeon master CRAIG MAZIN!Craig is a self proclaimed Pipster! Which bodes incredibly well as an opening gambit right there... This is such a treat of an episode which anyone possessing an interest in the making of television (and cinema in general) will get an immense kick out of. Chances are you will know Craig from his recent work on The Last Of Us, some of you may go back to the Chernobyl miniseries times, and some even further to the Hangover movies, but none of these can be considered pigeonholes. There is so much in the craft of these projects, and as viewers of them will know - the humanity is undeniable, and that's something that just cannot be faked or phoned-in. So what you hear here is a conversation with someone who makes incredible shows and movies, informed by a love of the work, the people involved, and life in general. To hear that he
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Armando Iannucci (The Death Of Stalin / In The Loop / Veep) • Friday Rewind
23/10/2025 Duración: 49minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Armando Iannucci, originally episode 174 from 2017-10-24.Original writeup below:Responsible for an insane amount of some of the greatest UK comedy since the 90's, including the writing and production of 'The Day Today' which spawned Alan Partridge and the Partridge multiverse, 'The Thick Of It', 'Time Trumpet', and US based 'Veep', Armando is clearly a titan of the game. With his new production 'The Death Of Stalin' (in cinemas NOW!), he's been grinding it out on the media promo run, but is sharp as a katana as he sits down with Pip for a nice long chat covering all the necessary bases and loads more that you'd hope to hear about, including said promo run grind and the madness of it all, especially seeing your own film countless times, being mindful of not using the victims of the subject of his film for comedy and finding that material from many various other source
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Dissecting Disfluency (w/ Cherry Burns) #641
21/10/2025 Duración: 01h11minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip discusses the broad topic of disfluency with journalist CHERRY BURNS!Those of you familiar with Pip's Twitch channel and the community within might well be familiar with Cherry, but if not, all is well as here is your formal introduction! Although their role is two-fold, as guest and interviewer, with Pip as the subject. Today (at time of episode publishing) is Wednesday 22nd October, which is International Stammering Awareness Day. With Pip being a person with a stammer as well as a patron of the organisation Stamma, it would be a missed opportunity to celebrate the event and that is exactly what's going down today! This is a chance for those of you who stammer, as well as those of you who do not, to listen in on a conversation covering a vast amount of points and topics within the greater world of stammering that you might not usually hear. It's a wonderful chance to gain some insight into not only what it is, but h
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Kevin Smith (Mallrats / Chasing Amy / Clerks) • Friday Rewind
16/10/2025 Duración: 49minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Kevin Smith, originally episode 302 from 2019-12-04.Original writeup below:SNOOCHIE BOOCHIES! What a joy this is… While it is a slightly shorter episode, Pip could hardly turn Kevin down now could he…? Exactly. Unthinkable. So sit back and enjoy as Kevin essentially takes the reins with this one! It was expected though, as Kevin has basically found his true North by way of talking and telling stories for a living these days. But that’s not to say he’s thrown in the towel on films - oh good god no, as you will surely be aware of by the fact that his Jay & Silent Bob Reboot film is out and about and making much noise in the View Askew-niverse. This here is a chance to hear all about that, and the past hits in the Smith catalogue, as well as a gang of talking points including his gratefulness for being able to express himself for a living, the difference between mak
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Miranda Sawyer: contextualising the music scene of an entire decade (Uncommon People / Talk 90's To Me) #640
14/10/2025 Duración: 01h09minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by legendary writer, journalist, critic and cultural treasure MIRANDA SAWYER!A natural fit in the Distraction Pieces jigsaw, Miranda is someone who was pretty much destined to eventually join Pip for an episode. As a necessary firm fixture in much of the music media of the 90's (and well beyond, of course), Miranda's got decades in the game and is awesomely well versed in basically all of it. The book is 'Uncommon People' which is out now and essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in 90's Britpop, but on top of that you'll hear a good ton of bits and pieces including the recording of podcasts and the importance of them in Miranda's career, an early dabbling in a career in law, working with such publications as Smash Hits / Select / The Face (and more), the broadness of 90's Britpop and how it wasn't sipmply Oasis vs Blur, 'Smashing' club, Tricky being tricky, being a woman into music and the un
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Action Bronson (rap music / acting / hosting / more...) • Friday Rewind
09/10/2025 Duración: 48minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Action Bronson, originally episode 347 from 2020-09-30.Original writeup below:There’s no doubt about it, Action has done a ton in the past decade and by the looks of it all, had a goddamn blast while doing it. But he’s always kept a very decent squad around him and stayed on track and focused, as you can tell by his insane output and varied resumé. Here’s a chance to catch up with dude as he talks over the internet to Pip about it all - working out, old skool gaming, pandemic UFC, how he got into rap music and the cassette culture that came along with it, New York, an alternate universe chef career, features with rappers and being in the studio with some of the greatest, eating well, knocking humbleness on the head, acting in a Scorcese film, being behind a show from concept to credits and MAD amounts more in between. Get to know Action Bronson!PIP'S PATREON PAGE if
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Adam Buxton: put on your conversation coat and find your talking hat (Adam Buxton Podcast / Buckle Up / I Love You, Byeee) #639
07/10/2025 Duración: 01h23minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by podcaster, author, musician and all round lovely human ADAM BUXTON!A home run of an episode right here as Pip checks in with original podcast homie Adam on all things! And it really is all things, but most pertinent at this moment in time is Adam's new album of full song material 'Buckle Up' - something he's been hinting at for ages on his own podcast (and we all hoped for, on the strength of the jingles), and now has its own home on Decca Records no less. A lot of lovely behind the scenes action on that, but Pip and Adam also check in on such items as the act of sharing with guests on a podcast, Werner Herzog's Zoom odyssey, clashes of guest bookings and the hierarchy of talent, the Clipse parallel, losing loved ones and authoring books, to honest or not to honest, taking people up on help offers, sitting with things and not avoiding them, major label biz, the genesis of songs (not the songs of Genesis),
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Spike Lee (Highest 2 Lowest / Do The Right Thing / Malcolm X) • Friday Rewind
02/10/2025 Duración: 37minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Spike Lee, originally episode 225 from 2018-08-24.Original writeup below:While Spike is getting his promotion grind on for his new film BlacKkKlansman (which you should make efforts to see as it’s just been released in the UK), he fit in some Pip time which is perfect as you know Pip is quite the cinephile! So this is a grand opportunity to get in some genuine directorial knowledge from a true long term veteran in the game. You will also witness a first in the Distraction Pieces Podcast as Spike lays down a “no comment” - more on that in the podcast! Ground covered includes how he’s always been around and this isn’t a return, how BlacKkKlansman wasn’t planned and how Jordan Peele put the bug in his ear, the 70’s look of the film while being contemporary, the natural humour in the film and how it derives from such a wild premise, the importance of music, how the direc
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Justin Tipping: you will see Him (Him / Kicks / Flatbush Misdemeanors) #638
30/09/2025 Duración: 46minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by the bold and awesome director JUSTIN TIPPING!Maybe here and there you've heard rumblings not unlike the ones Pip cites up top on the intro, but in a time when creativity can even be treated and regarded as a rebellious and awesomely unique act, you can also take said rumblings with a pinch of salt and just engage in some powerful cinematic moments. This could be the suggested move with Him, Justin's new movie made with Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, which sounds like a very beautiful piece of thrilling sport-centred action.Expect to hear Justin touch on such menu items as being cautious of dropping the ball (pun intended) with Monkeypaw, the consideration of budgets, how different the reception is to his other projects and the undertones within some of those (many lines in which to read between...), the importance of visual style, lookbooks, intesive training for everyone's sake (including SFX), an
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Stephen Graham (Adolescence / Boiling Point / The Virtues) • Friday Rewind
25/09/2025 Duración: 01h35minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Stephen Graham, originally episode 87 from 2016-03-09.Original writeup below:Not one, not two, but THREE welcomes upon you as standard to episode 87 of the Distraction Pieces Podcast, with Kirby's own cinema superstar Mr Stephen Graham! Full on good time chatter goodness from Pip and Stephen as they get along like old pals (with one very important thing in common - no spoilers here yo, you'll find out), and we glean much from Stephen's diverse acting career. From his beginnings as a self proclaimed scally out on the streets to his acting school progressions right up to his well earned and crazy great roles in some gigantic cinema smashes like Snatch, Pirates Of The Caribbean, This Is England and starring in the massive Boardwalk Empire as none other than Al Capone. AND starring alongside our very own Pip too in the forthcoming 'Taboo'! A lovely chat, with a lovely gu
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Christopher Chung: all across the map to Slough House (Slow Horses / Waterloo Road) #637
23/09/2025 Duración: 57minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by the wonderful multi talent CHRISTOPHER CHUNG!An ultra inspiring chat featuring the insanely talented Christopher, in a catchup with Pip which goes all across the timeline from the wayback early days to what's coming ahead. He's had a full on action packed journey from his origins in Australia to where he currently finds himself, and there are tons of points where forks in the road presented themselves and could have led to an entirely different life. Thankfull he stayed on track and we all now have some amazing work as a result! From early day singing, making his was to the UK via acting, working alongside national treasure Gary Oldman (and Kathy Burke at one point), meeting his wife in a stage production, playing against 'nerd' stereotypes and so much more, this is one for the appreciators but if you have never seen or heard Christopher before, this will 100% kickstart your new appreciation.SPOILER-ISH S
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Mae Martin (Wayward / Feel Good / Handsome Podcast) • Friday Rewind
18/09/2025 Duración: 01h02minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Mae Martin, originally episode 314 from 2020-02-26.Original writeup below:A tremendous meetup of Pip and Mae, and dare I say a long overdue one at that… You’ll get to hear all about Mae in the greater scale and sense, from back in the day to… now… in the day…? Yeah that sounds fine to me… But yeah, everything from then to now, including what they are doing THIS VERY MOMENT, and by that of course I mean starring in the simultaneously hilariously funny and brutally honest Feel Good, which looks set to blow up worldwide. So expect to hear it all from how to view the series (best served binged), the weirdness of editing trailers, getting the correct audience, Canada (Oh Canada), the process of getting a set together, Mae the character and Mae the person, sex scenes and writing a proudly LGBT show, humanising addition, the casting process, digging deep into personal histo
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Chris & Pip's Staylist for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably • link in shownotes) #636
16/09/2025 Duración: 01h12minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by the Hardcore Listing homie and everyday life homie CHRIS GLASSEN!You might have heard the pre-show shouts from Pip over the past few weeks, regarding a tie-in with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). CALM are trying to raise funds to maintain their literally life-saving service, a service which aims to help people end misery, not their lives. You'll likely have heard Pip and Chris refer to their dearly departed friend Jay, a friend whose legacy lives on and - as you'll always hear - is celebrated in the spirit of the relationship Pip and Chris (and Stu) have. Fun, mischievous, but built on a foundation of love and admiration.With the 'Staylists' which you might have heard before some episodes lately, the aim is to present various awesome things that are basically worth staying around for. You're listening to a podcast hosted by someone who has dedicated his life to arts and culture, and so it makes
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Karl Pilkington (Ricky Gervais XFM Show / An Idiot Abroad / Derek) • Friday Rewind
11/09/2025 Duración: 01h09minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Karl Pilkington, originally episode 306 from 2020-01-08.Original writeup below:While some see Karl as the grumpy one of the original podcast trio consisting of him, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, as you will hear in this podcast right here - it wasn’t necessarily grumpiness. Nor was it disinterest. Karl was looking through the world through a different prism, and certainly a prism of which we should all have a go at experiencing. It’s really nice hearing him get around ideas at leisure and with Pip (and us) as a sounding board, and definitely a really cool way of sharing the worldview of one of the more fascinating characters in the cast of podcasts, series and media in general. The two get into it all, from the origins of podcasting (kind of beginning with the Gervais one of course), to his thoughts on the promo run, to confidence, last minute tinkering, being
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Mark Steel: making gold with tragedy and comedy (The Leopard In My House / The Mark Steel Lectures / Vive La Revolution) #635
09/09/2025 Duración: 01h32minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by the legendary comic MARK STEEL!It's entirely likely you'll have been listening to and watching the work of Mark for decades now - he's been hard at work for a minute, and the fanbase is strong indeed. As you'll hear, Pip's been on board for years, starting with the Mark Steel Lectures. Here we have a really lovely catchup with these two as Mark leads the way through his past and present, and as with so much in life, it's a potent mix of all angles. Presently we find Mark having recently battled throat cancer, which as you can imagine features as a big topic here - something which no doubt Mark is still processing and recovering from. On that note, it could be advised that Mark doesn't hold back on some details (neither should he), so just mentioning that for those who might appreciate the alert. But it's also pretty incredible that not only do we get to hear about what happened in the past tense, we get t
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Lolly Adefope (The Franchise / Ghosts / Shrill) • Friday Rewind
04/09/2025 Duración: 01h09minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Lolly Adefope, originally episode 254 from 2019-02-20.Original writeup below:...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. A goody this week, people…PIP'S PATREON PAGE i
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Grandmaster Flash: further adventures on the wheels of steel #634
02/09/2025 Duración: 32minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by Hip Hop legend GRANDMASTER FLASH!Y'say... Y'say... Y'say / y'say / y'say (etc) and if you're not carrying that scratch sentence on in your head you have some SERIOUS homework to do. We flashback to the 20-teens to the era of the Beatdown radio show, Pip's XFM show which centred around (but not exclusively) rap and Hip Hop music. Pip had some stone cold legends guesting on there, as you will have heard on some previous flashback episodes, but THIS flashback is the Grandmaster Flashback of all of em. Flash has retained the pure enthusiasm and excitement you would hope for in a DJ and crate digging legend, and enthusiasm which radiates easily and - speaking as a DJ myself (this is producer Buddy typing) - makes me want to just grab an armful of records and hop on the turntables. It's just that pure fun mixed with discovery but entirely fueled by funk and straight up musical greatness. Although as you'll hear
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Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit / Black Light Burns / Big Dumb Face) • Friday Rewind
28/08/2025 Duración: 01h28minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Wes Borland, originally episode 25 from 2015-03-18.A very cool early episode featuring the guitarist of Limp Bizkit and many other groups besides. This was about 6 months into the evolution of Distraction Pieces so it's one of those time capsule episodes which are great for those who missed it first time, or just want to hear an episode from someone they might even usually miss out on. With so many guests on so many different shows, some might get lost in the shuffle from time to time, and also some folks might have gotten into Limp Bizkit for instance in the past 5 years! So what better way to look back at a great time than by jumping in on the Rewind episode... Enjoy.PIP'S PATREON PAGE if you're of a supporting natureINSTAGRAMDISCOGSDAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP BANDCAMPPIP TWITCH • (music stuff)PIP INSTAGRAMSPEECH DEVELOPMENT WEBSTOREPIP TWITTERPIP IMDBPOD BIBL
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Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip: don't call it a comeback! (Live In Places / Repent Replenish Repeat / The Logic Of Chance) #633
26/08/2025 Duración: 01h25minWelcome, welcome, welcome to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This week Pip is joined by long term groupmate and music making legend DAN LE SAC!Together of course, they form Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip though - a duo name of which you will be abundantly familiar. To celebrate the release of their 'Live In Places' live recordings compendium and physical release, Dan and Pip met up in physical form to talk about all things past, present and future in equal balance. It's not a stream of "Do you remember that time..." either, it goes way beyond that but expect some expert tangent taking though! So much life has happened since they got together to make their first releases, and since locking in on their individual paths, there have been huge departures from as well as continuations into what came before. It's lovely that all is amicable and supportive and while, as said in the episode title to quote Uncle LL Cool J, it is not a comeback (they been here for years), it is a reunion of sorts and a tr
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Ashley Walters (Adolescence / Top Boy / So Solid Crew) • Friday Rewind
21/08/2025 Duración: 53minemocleW, emocleW, emocleW to the Distraction Pieces Podcast with Scroobius Pip!This is your bonus FRIDAY REWIND episode! Today, we catch up with Ashley Walters, originally episode 317 from 2020-03-18.Original writeup below:Okay - in case you don’t recognise that name right there immediately, let’s bring you up to speed. ASHER D FROM SO SOLID. Ring a bell? DUSHANE FROM TOP BOY! Getting through yet? RICKY FROM BULLETPROOF? Don’t make me get all Biff from Back To The Future and knock on your head to make sure you’re on the same page… Anyway - it’s Ashley Walters! A fascinating chat and as with a lot of Distraction Pieces episodes, one that feels like it’s been on the cards for a minute. The two get down to it and cover it all from getting in shape and being more mindful re: bodies, representation and the path to Bulletproof, working with Noel Clarke and becoming his pal, working with Carol Jackson from Eastenders (sorry, Lindsey Coulson), being multi-disciplined from a young age, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicl