Advice for Aspiring Content Creators

Welcome to the Undertone Podcast, where we talk about all things creepy. It wants to be heard. We're listening to 10 mysterious audio recordings from an anonymous email . Oh my god. Are you implying there's hidden messages in it? Let me play it back. In reverse. And it refuses to let go. Undertone. The number one horror from A24 in cinemas from the 10th of April. Book tickets now. This is Sam and Pete from Saying Relevance and we are currently sponsored by Tui . Sam, what is the one thing we always disagree about? Where to have lunch or what time we start recording actually the podcast. The title of episodes even. I mean to be fair, all of those, but not what I was thinking I was going for holidays. Oh yeah, right, holidays. So you and I have a slightly different vibe, but that's where Tui comes in. Now Tui has more options and more choice with hundreds of destinations worldwide. So we can find somewhere for you to chill and for me to get my adventure on, which is perfect. Tui, you pick it, they sort it. Booking T's and C's apply, Atoll and Absa Protected . So last Christmas uh we ran a Christmas fundraiser where I dressed for some inexplicable reason as Charles Dickens and and I got to shout, It's Christmas And the script was written so it wasn't entirely improvised although we definitely changed some lines. And then the very final line was me looking out to a theatre and saying, Hope is here , it's all of us. And that was meant to be the last line. And then the comedian who was stood next to me went, There's no one there, Zach . And I found myself saying, they'll come . They'll come. And you did come, by the way, look at this. But it was that same comedian who came up with that line which is something he does all the time is just be responsive and in the moment and alive and hopeful and I'm sure we'll get onto this in a moment that comedy and politics are apparently separate things alt thehough last few years uh with Conservative governments felt like they blurred the lines too far sometimes, and indeed with the Labour government, although it's not always funny. And so comedy is so political and so powerful and that ability to respond to the moment. So with all that, please welcome our guest for bold politics tonight, Katie Dahler . Hey plant prick. Hello . Yes, Star mer's in trouble tonight, isn't he? He does not want to be a fly on the wall in this room. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm very well, thank you. I'm very well. It's so nice to be here. That's good. Could you imagine if you're sat there and you're like, I'm not really enjoying being here . It's so nice to come out from behind my phone screen and be able to speak to an actual person . It's amazing. So the world. Yes. How is it? The world, how is it? Yeah, I sat down here earlier when we were doing a sound check and Zach was like, We we've not gone over the questions you were gonna ask me. And you were like, Oh, the one question I will ask you is the world, how is it? And I was like, Okay, I'll think about that over the next few hours, and I I have no real th oughts . Well, no, I I was actually thinking about this. I think the world as awful as everything is at the moment. I think the one kind of optimistic thing that more and more people are seeing is that we are becoming alive to the structures and the systems that are the reason everything is shit. And it's a shame that it takes so much tragedy in order for people to realize that . But you know, the oil crisis at the moment, we're now we've never been more alive to the idea that we are over-reliant on fossil fuels as we are right now. And you know, we've been there have been people hard working for decades trying to convince people that. And like I say, it's it's a shame it takes an event like Donald Trump But um I think that's I think I think that's an optimistic thing. I think things are changing and we're we know what we need to destroy now . And the answer's Donald Trump. Yes, we need to destroy him somehow. And when we say destroy, we're talking metaphorically, right, Cody? Well you might be. Okay, good. Just clarifying. Um yeah, I don't I don't have to say anything. I I've got I'm free reign here. I can say whatever I like. I'm interested to see what I can make you say tonight. Yeah, it's just dawning on me how dangerous this whole adventure is. The Daily Mail editorial team are just hovering over the keyboard. What can we make him say? When when things happen in the news like Donald Trump and the oil crisis, how do you as a comedian go, I've gotta make that funny in the next half an hour . Well, it's interesting because I I think I think we're people want to laugh. I think everyone has always wanted to laugh. And there's a there's a because this is a question that comes up whenever whenever to anyone who does like topical comedy is like how amongst all the misery, how do you find the funny? I mean it helps that I am looking for the funny. Like if there's an article, I I will be reading it and I'll be like, there will be some funny word that Trump has said. Or there'll be some funny detail. Like the other day I was I like I got I'd got the physical paper, um which is a bit of a flex . Got the subscription for the weekender, The Guardian. Um and I was reading and it's just awful news, awful news, awful news. And then there's an article about Donald Trump buying JD Vance and Marco Rubio some shoes . Have you not heard this? No. So he's talking to JD Vance and Marco Rubio and and they're talking to him and he's like, hang on a second. And he like leans over, he's like, You guys have shitty shoes . And they're like, uh uh okay. And he's like, I need to get you some new shoes . And so he's like, J D, what size shoe are you? And he's like thirteen. And he's like, Marco, what about you? He's like, eleven and a half. And he sends them these shoes. But the next day Marco Rubio is is pictured in these new shoes and they're too big for him . So either he's lied about his shoe size or Donald Trump is fucking with him . And both of those are two funny options . Amongst horrible news stories. But so basically there is a funny thing, even in the awfulness, there will be a funny thing. And it again it's just Donald Trump, he's just funny, isn't he? He's awful, but he's you know what could we make Zach say ? What can we make Zach say? And and when you make your videos, you're often making them for social media. Yes. And so you need to kind of have a hook, don't you? I'm saying it like I don't know what a hook is. Like I've just hooks or do you kind of go out with your camera and then that's when it comes comes to you? Well you sort of learn. I mean, you know, it's a bit of a um you're sort of lumped in with when you do anything online, you're lumped in with influencers. Um which is why I've shown such solidarity with my friends in Dubai at the moment. It's been a hard week for us. But basically, especially doing comedy, it's it's just it's just like anything, you have to do it. You know, I I for months and months I did it and it was crap and no one watched it. And then eventually you do it and you're like, oh I guess that was sort of a bit hooky. And then you you make the next video and it's not hook y and you don't learn from it for another few months and then you make another video. And you just do it. And then yeah, eventually you learn that Zuckerberg has fucked our brains so much that you need to make sure you have a little flashy thing at the f at the start of the video. It's more damning on you guys. It's not damning on me. Okay, I've got to have a hook because you guys have no attention span. But um but yeah, it's you just do it. You just learn how to do it. But it's normally yeah being like K yeah, what have you done? And people are like, Yeah, what has he done? What has he done? And one of the biggest difference between us is as a politician I can't blame the audience Well well we'll see. Yeah that's true. Um how political is comedy? I mean this is this is my opinion is that I think polit um comedy is very political. But I mean you know, there's also a lot of value in people just being silly. Like I I sometimes look at like my comedy friends who are doing silly and I kind of feel a bit jealous because I'm like I'd love to just be silly. But there's some I don't know whether it's just because I've always kind of been political , um, that I do sort of I think there's real value in having a point to comedy. But that's kind of weirdly the difference between like comedy comedy and like satire. And my sort of training is in sati re. Like worked at the BBC doing satire, and then a lot of my online stuff sort of came out of writing, which in the UK is a lot of it is is satire. But I mean i i like I say, comedy it's great when it's silly, but I feel like we're at such a perilous place that there's almost a duty with the way our news is delivered to people, the way our politicians speak to us , it's falling increasingly on people like comedians to sort of speak up for the real progressive side of things. I mean, you'll know this just being a you know a politician. Like, people don't trust politicians. And this is why you're so inspiring, because people sort of trust you, and it's weird. Um and so I I th think being polit aical comedian is important . Um, but I wish it was less important, 'cause I think it's a product of the fact that people don't trust our media because they lie to us, people don't trust our politicians because they lie to us. It's kind of you, know, a lot of the stuff I do, people comment and they're like, You're my news. And I'm like, that's really worrying. I'm so flattered, but I'm kind of bit worried about that. Because I might have missed something out in this three minute reel about Iran. A lot has st of stuff has happened. So but um I think it's very important. But other people would be like you're talking shit. No it's not. You've got to laugh. But that's the divide, isn't it? I love the idea that there's someone out there who is learning all their news from your plant prick videos. So we did a video the other day for an event that's tomorrow night, which I haven't come to advertise. That'd be weird if we were doing an event. I'm like, come see me tomorrow night at Troxy. But what I thought was interesting was in the video you did a skit with me. Yes. The brilliant comedian Francesca Martinez. Yes. And a little well-known politician called Jeremy Corbyn. What I liked is someone said, you're just flexing who your friends are and who you can get together to do a skit. Yeah, it's true. I know. People are like, how do you get them in a room? I was like, editing, they're not in the same room. They're not in the Oh and Yanis Varifakis as well was Varifakis was funny. I don't I mean I he he recorded his bit from Greece and so all I got which was very funny was just him so because I said to the people who were organizing, they were like, we can get Varifakas to do it, and I was like, get Varifakas. And I was like, all he needs to do is film himself opening the door and being like, hello, and then saying, I'm from Greece. And uh but this whole video obviously he just opens it, he's like, Hello but I'm from Greece . And then he actually repeats that he wasn't happy with the first take. So then there's another pause and he goes, But I'm from Greece, right? And that's the video I have.. Nice It's really quite disturbing. Maybe I should release it. Demonstrating versatility. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's uh he is not gonna make it in acting. He's not gonna it's not gonna happen. I'm sorry. But I think it's gonna be alright. Actors should never go into politics, terrible idea. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. How does that ever come up for you? Do you do you find you dig deep into your acting bones? Have you just turned this round on me? What can we make Yes you did which is the truth in your opinion. The truth in my opinion. The truth in your opinion. This is like when your party used to get confusing about my party or your party. It's not my opinion. What goes on on your podcast and how did you get to that idea? Well, on my podcast, which is produced by my partner Becky, who is basically the brains behind most of what I do. I'm clapping at someone over there, but that's not Becky. I don't know where Becky is. It's kind of goes back to what I was saying about comedy. You know, news is very depressing for people, and rightly so. And so the idea of the podcast is called The Truth in my opinion, and we get a a sort of um normally a comedian to come on and bring three headlines that they care about and we talk about them and we sort of talk you know, make jokes. Um but you were I've I've had Yes, you were you were one of the first politicians I've had on. I thought you were about to go, but you I could not get a joke out of. Yeah, no. I want to talk about how cruel Cody was. So it's the same week where I said I wouldn't work with Keir Star mer because he was untrustworthy. And you said uh there's a war, you've got a nuclear weapon, you've got half the codes, Kia's got the other half of the codes. Do you work together? I was like, obviously not. Yes . Yes. The yeah the destruction is the the person with the red button we've got to worry about is not Trump, it's Uzak. Yes for some reason. I'm about to fall off. I'm about to plummet. You saw a wrapper because it was litter ing. You didn't like that. Yeah, not at all. So you leant over and you picked it up and you slipped. Important detail. And you're just about to fall off the end and a a big hair geled hand comes over. A stench of gel . And then I think you created some elaborate pantomime circus type netting which wasn't in the analogy. I thought it was very good. You said Kirst Almer offers his hand, do you take it? And I say, No, I'm a green, I'm prepared. There's a safety net underneath, and I just bounce down.. Yeah, you did You got out of it. Yeah. You got out of every single one, actually. You did a very good job. Almost sounds slippery. He's just like all the rest. No, he's not. No, he's not. Um we've talked a lot about hope tonight. What what's kind of giving you hope Well it's sort of what I said at the beginning I think I think there's like a lot of the the the bad stuff that people have been trying so hard to shine a light on is now so obvious. Like I was thinking about billionaires and like how like stupid they are. Because I'm like it's like you know, winning the lottery. Like my my my grandparents like, if we won the lottery, we wouldn't tell anyone. Because the neighbors will come round and they'll want a new car and they'll know you know everyone wants something out of you. I'm like, that is billionaires. Like Elon Musk there, like, I have built a rocket. You're like, shut up. Keep it. We wouldn't be coming after you if we didn't know how much money you had and keep advertising how much money you guys have. So they like even the billionaires are too thick to hide their wealth and now we're knocking on their door being like, Yeah, we want your taxes. So I think it's yeah , oil, billionaires, and i we know who the enemy is now. Before they were kind of lurking, it was a bit nebulous, it's sort of it was sort of it's quite hard to, you know, to to really grip down on who who we're trying to defeat here. And they are it. They are the problem. They're so clearly the problem. Fossil fuels are so clearly the problem. People hoarding wealth are so clearly the problem. People not paying their way and supporting public services. That is the problem. And we have a clear route to making them pay and to making things better. We've got a clear route now. We've got a clear route I don't know why no one's thought of that. Someone should build a party around that idea. Um just as you were talking then, it struck me like lots of comedians are probably lefties. In fact are, lefties, that's true. Yes. But I can't think of that many kind of so explicitly political comedians. Well, I mean your your job as a comedian is is is actually unless you are literally a political comedian. Your job as as a comedian is to kind of like skewer society in some way. It's to draw attention to things that are, you know, either contradictory or ridiculous. And often those contradictory ridiculous things are politicians. And so it kind of goes hand in hand with with being political. But like, you know, there is there is an an element of you want to maintain your not necessarily neutrality, but you want the freedom to be able to make a joke about everyone because that's sort of your job. It's not to push people in one direction because you're not a journalist, you're not a politician. So I think that's probably why you find or you see com edians who aren't necessarily banging the drum or whatever. Um, and I'm sure that there will be more of them doing it, and I'm sure if you talk, there's there's no like secrecy, but like your job as a jester, especially like I'm not really a stand-up comedian, but I'm I'm not. But like a lot of stand-up comedians, that's what they do. It's like social, you know, you're you're you're drawing attention to social silliness or political silliness. And so you want a level of neutrality because you don't want people you want the freedom to be able to make take the piss out of everyone because that's kind of the art form. So I don't think it's that c p comedians aren't political. I think they're just maintaining their job description. And they're just like, I've got to be able to have a go at everyone. It's just you're not really doing anything that silly. Well. I think plant pricks was probably that. Yeah, plant pricks will do for now. Um I don't I put this on social media, but I was at an event a few weeks ago where a woman ran after me with um I think it was crochet. And she's crocheted plant pricks, so that's on my living room now. But what I really like, I think I told you is my boyfriend didn't love the plant I was I'd never expected it to be crocheted, to be honest when it first came out my mouth. I didn't expect it to be hanging on your wall. Which I assume it is. Yes it is hanging on the wall. Yes. The bathroom wall but yes. That's a that's a the motion of the toilet. Ye.ah The bathroom mat. Yeah, the toilet mat ters welcome to the undertone podcast, where we talk about all things creepy. It wants to be heard. We're listening to ten mysterious audio recordings from an anonymous email. Oh my god. Are you implying there's hidden messages in it? Let me play it back. In reverse. And it refuses to let go. Undertone. The number one horror from A24 in cinemas from the 10th of April. Book tickets now . Next. One cheesy beef patty, please. No cheesy beef. Okay . Just beef then. No just beef. Jer p chicken? Not done. Saltfish. Fresh out . Kala loop? Right. What do you have then? Pumpkin . Last one . You can't always get what you want around here, but HIV prevention, that's always available. Get free condoms, prep, and tests. Just search Do It London. Right, this is Pete and Abby from the Therapy Crouch. We're currently sponsored by Tui. Now Pete and I never disagree about where to go on holiday, right? Really? Quiet Pete. But if we did, then we know Tui is the place to go. If you want to find a holiday that works for both halves of a couple or every member of the family, then Tui is the answer. Have you just said quiet Pete? Yeah. Tui has more options and more choice with hundreds of destinations worldwide. So it can find a place with water slides for the kids, a beautiful beach for Abbey and a round of golf for me. Tui , you pick it, they sort it. Book and Ts and Cs apply at Ola and Abta Protected Um this might be an impossible question, in which case I'll find another one quickly. Yes. What's the funniest thing that you can remember happening in politics? Oh, uh I think the funniest thing i it or one of the funniest things, and this kind of harks back to the old silly days. Didn't Chris Grayling accidentally buy a ferry? Yes. That's quite funny. That's what I'm sort of missing. I think that's a lot in fact this goes back to the the political comedians thing. I think a lot of comedians are missing the stupid, silly, kind of harmless stuff. You're like buying a ferry is so stupid but ultimately harmless. Like there's no, you know, there's there's there's no one's affected by that apart from Chris Grayling who's got a ferry on his hands . I I like that. Also like the the mini budget was quite funny . If it didn't affect so many people. But that's what I mean, that's the that's the era we've entered. The mini budget was the ferry of our times. And that's the problem . Because the fairies are getting more damaging . And do you think if you were gonna give advice to a politician, do you think humour is something politicians should use more often or is a very dangerous idea? Yes. Um I don't think so. Okay. That killed that conversation. Well it's hard because also a lot a lot of the stuff I do is sort of is kind of journalistic, you know, like I try I try and uh like do my research and make a video and I try and make people not thicky thicky dum dums. But like the I'm not a j I'm not a a a journalist and so I have the kind of freedom to be funny and a lot of my like journalist friends are like oh yeah we no we really need to be making news like that for like the FT I'm like the FT cannot go on and be like, gee, you like a big thing you're thicky thinky dum-dum. Well, wait till you look at the FTSE 500. Right, no one is gonna trust you. So it's sort of like I think there is it's nice when it's authenticity for politicians, if you ask me. And if a if a politician is authentically funny, then that's great. But trying to be funny or trying to make it your thing, uh to you know, jokes and stuff, is just it's not right. Just stick in your lane for God's sake. Gotta make a living here . Um that being said, at some point I might end up on Have I Got News for You? Oh yeah ! What what advice do you have to people on going, Have I Gewings for You or any kind of TV show like that? Don't know, never been on it. So let's get Cody on how I got I think Zach, you've got to be authentic. I think you're a funny guy. Ooh . Silence. Sorry by laughter. That did sound like cut off, didn't it? Yeah. That's my that's my social media editing coming in. Um No, you've got to be authentic. You'll be funny. Oh I we've been in the same room together. You've made me laugh. Yeah, you have you have you have you've said some horrible things about Keir Starmer. It's very funny. Very, very funny. We're not gonna repeat them in public What do you think of Keir Starmer? Don't do this. No, no way. Um I no, yeah, no, I don't like him, obviously. He's he's just there's there's a part of me that does sometimes I look at him and I'm like I feel a bit sorry for him and then I hate myself and then I hate him again. Sorry, then I I immediately redirect that hatred. I'm like, fucking hell, the guy's doing his best. I feel a bit sorry for him. Fuck you here. Fuck you So it's sort of I do that a lot. And my neighbours hate me for it. Um yeah. Is that a good answer? Yeah, and I wanted to share a story which I don't have permission to share. So I when I'm halfway through it, just shout, stop sharing that story. But you film your videos near a church. Oh, yes, I do . And at some point the church had things to say about the fact you were filming videos. Well, the thing is, I was going around being like pretending to be right-wingers and things like that, sort of screaming and my veins bulging. And then it was the the vicar's husband came out one day and was like, excuse me, excuse me. And I tried to avoid him. I was like, no, you're not going to convert me. And then he eventually stopped me and was like, Yeah, we we've you know, he's like, We've seen you using the church grounds and he was like that's fine, that's fine, we don't have a problem with that because we've realized our politics are aligned. And I realized for a good like two weeks they thought I was some like right-wing man osphere influencer going around being like, we've got to get him out! We've got to get the evidence out. Um, but I was being satirical . And when they realized that, they enjoyed it. Um but actually, weirdly, literally this week, I was out filming in the churchyard and another vic ar came out of nowhere and was like, I run the church up the road, up the other road, you must come and film there. I film in the churchyard because it's at the end of my road. I don't hunt down churchyard. I don't have to have gravestones in all of my vide Have you filmed the video and then looked at it and about to post and you've gone that I can't post that, it's just not funny. So that's a really cruel question, but I'm just I'm being authentic, Cody. The answer is no. I always post it. Well this is actually what I this is what I say to people who who like what kind of want to do online comedies. You must always post. Unless you say something horrific in it. Don't post it then. But you you must always post because you know the algorithms are destroying our life, but for a comedian , the algorithms can be very kind. Because the algorithm will tell you it's shit. And it won't send it to anyone. No one will see it, Zach. So you must post your funny skits. Nice. I feel like it works the opposite way in politics. The post that you should not have sent definitely gets seen by the entire world. Is it what it that must be the cause that must be quite tricky as a politician, that social media But equally like your your most of the things you say end up ends up online. Well it's a thing as well, the thing that you spend a lot of time on that you sometimes think is really poignant, just a few people see. And then there's other times like when you film a skit with a comedian advertising a video tonight and everyone just bloody loves it and it goes everywhere. And you're like, I was trying to talk about the cost of living today. And instead, all people know is I'm coming to do a live shake, which I'm really happyy everone's here. Yes, yes, we'll get him in we'll get him to say it in a minute. He hates you all. Joking. I'm joking . And I was gonna segue to thicky thicky dum-dum, but I wasn't that was not linked to what you just said. Um you've got a thing happening, haven't you? I do, Zach. Yes. I I've written a book. I've written a book. Yes, I've written a book. Um Yeah, I've written a book about about British politics, um trying to understand it and trying to kind of sort of what I was saying about the the systems. It's quite e it's quite I'm I I feel very lucky 'cause the systems are now really clear. And I'm like, oh yeah, that's that's what you've got to write about. Before I was like pot colitex was quite complicated. But now it's just like, oh yeah, they're all twats now, aren't they? So I'll just have to write about those. Just pack the book full of twats. And write-that's what I write about, basically. So if you like the sound of that, uh it's called A Thicky Thicky Dum Dum's Guide to British Politics. And it is sort of I actually sort of outsourced the questions to my followers and I got so many questions um that actually some were quite surprising. Like I didn't think people gave a shit about the House of Lords, but loads of people care about the House of Lords and they're like, why is it and why is it full of assholes? Um so that's one of the chapters. Yes, yes . Um I feel like I have to say with the exceptions of Baroness Natalie Bennett and Jenny Jones. Yes. My colleagues will be on the show. I met Baroness Jones. Oh, okay. Yes, I met her. I had a picture with her. Um, and yeah, I think I said to her, I was like, oh, the Lords are shit, isn't it? She was like, not all of us. We're not all shit. I I have to say in defense of Natalie Bennett in particular, her first day as a peer, she uh walked up to the front desk and said, How do I abolish my own job? Very nice. I like that. It's a very green story. She's still there though, isn't she? She is still there. Yes, it is. So it's it's basically sort of the last, I guess the last 50 years, but it's told within the structure of questions. So, like, you know, why is why is our rent so high? Goes back to to Thatcher and getting rid of selling off council houses and things like that, and it goes up to the modern day. Why is all our food expensive? Why was Brexit a catastrophe? And why is no one admitting it? Um so it's like they're it's questions that are very relevant and poignant to to us, but that actually might have a history that most people kind of uh aren't super aware of. So it's also quite easy in in this climate to be like, I can't afford my rent and that is shit and that's just how things are. But I think this is what I write about in my book. There are actually very clear reasons why those things are happening and it's because of our politicians being really bad. And if we recognise the decisions that led up to those things happening, it makes