Mastering the Universe

Oct 9, 2024 2:19 PM

Author:Christopher Douglas and Nick Newman,Dawn French,Katy Brand,Joanna Scanlan,Christopher Douglas,Lucy Montgomery,Full Cast

The complete Series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio comedy starring Dawn French as Professor Joy Klamp

Spoiling someone else's fun can be the most satisfying of all the controlling arts, and Professor Joy Klamp - the queen of migraines - has got passive aggression down to a fine art. And now, she's decided to share her knowledge with the world in this revelatory 10-part course in nonjoyment techniques. So join Joy and her Sourpussy Posse and get in touch with your inner spoilsport; experience the fulfilling empowerment of sulkiness; and learn how you, too, can master the universe!

In Series 1, we take a tour through the miserable worlds of the workplace, relationships, parties, holidays, food and drink: and Christmas. And in Series 2, we investigate the fun that can be had - at other people's expense - with DIY, travel, children and ruining other people's weekends...

Written by Christopher Douglas (Ed Reardon's Week) and Nick Newman, this clever comedy stars Dawn French as Professor Joy Klamp, with a familiar cast including Sally Grace, Lucy Montgomery, Dan Tetsell, Alice Lowe, Joanna Scanlan, Geoffrey McGivern and Katy Brand.

Production credits

Written by Christopher Douglas and Nick Newman

Produced by Simon Nicholls

Cast

Starring Dawn French as Professor Joy Klamp

With Christopher Douglas, Sally Grace, Lucy Montgomery, Dan Tetsell, Alice Lowe, Joanna Scanlan, Brian Perkins, Nicola Sanderson, Adam Shipway, Ewan Bailey, Geoffrey McGivern, Geoffrey Whitehead and Katy Brand

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 November-7 December 2005 (Series 1), 24 February-17 March 2009 (Series 2)

Reviews

Superb. Rovelli's journalism is an expression of the scientific desire to know and understand the world. Beautifully translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell, There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important than Kindness continues a tradition of jargon-free popular scientific writing from Galileo to Darwin that disappeared in the academic specialization of the last century

—— Ian Thomson , Evening Standard

With the publication of his million-selling book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Rovelli took his place with Stephen Hawking and Richard Feynman as one of the great popularisers of modern theoretical physics

—— Sam Leith , Spectator

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius for our age

—— Robert Fox

Modern physics has found its poet. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist

—— John Banville , Irish Times

The most fun physicist to be with -- as well as the greatest explainer of physics

—— Bryan Appleyard , Sunday Times

The man who makes physics sexy. . . the new Hawking. . . His writing is luminous. By the time I had finished reading Seven Brief Lessons on Physics I was in serious awe of the author

—— David Aaronovitch , The Times

A joy of a book - enriching, illuminating, eclectic and far from a conventional science read. . . showcases the light and shade of Rovelli's writing, and the passion for knowledge and curiosity that make him such an engaging writer . . . We need more Rovellis

—— Richard Webb , New Scientist

Rovelli is a brilliant and lucid teacher who uses his understanding of theoretical physics and the quantum world to talk about the complexity of our everyday reality

—— Russell Brand

This short collection of writings has something to offer for avid admirers of his work and new Rovelli readers alike

—— Science Focus

It remains rare for even the most talented science writers to fuse their work with a deep knowledge of the arts. One such rarity is Carlo Rovelli who, like some intellectual throwback to antiquity, treats the sciences and the humanities as complementary areas of knowledge and is a subtle interpreter of both. . . These finely wrought essays draw on an impressive hinterland of cultural and scientific learning. . . an entertaining and enlightening journey

—— Andrew Anthony , Observer

Rovelli opens windows onto the imagination for all of us

—— Antony Gormley

Carlo Rovelli, one of our age's most inspiring thinkers, offers intellectual adventures for the curious

—— Time Out

A global superstar. . . Rovelli is making the grammar of the universe accessible to a new generation

—— Chanel 4 News

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