An encyclopaedia of heroic failure Join Ben Van der Velde, Barry McStay and their guests as they brandish their wooden spoons of destiny and celebrate the losers, heroic failures and spectacular mis-steps that pockmark human endeavour. If you ever want to feel better about your progress in life, take a listen and enjoy a lovely schadenfreude bubble bath. Music by Max Perryment (www.maxperryment.co.uk) Donate to us via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
Well friends, this is the end. The final episode of Worst Foot Forward sees Barry and Ben talking about the World's Worst Ending. There are welcome returns from old pals (hey there, Pliny) as the boys explore everything from swansongs to TV finales, sporting calamity to literary disaster. It's a grab-bag befitting the grab-bag nature of the podcast. Thanks to everyone for listening over the years, all the guests who have appeared on the show, the donors on Patreon and our spouses for bearing with our trivia addictions. We'll see you on another podcast somewhere soon. B&B
3/3/25 • 56:35
It's nearly the end of the road for the podcast and so we have returned to familiar faces - one of our earliest guests, Bec Hill, joins us for her 3rd appearance to discuss the hermetically-sealed, closely-appraised, eBay-listed turds that make up the World's Worst Merchandise. Bec finds out what condoms Bono recommended in the 80s, Barry examines saintly body parts and Ben lies down in a Kiss Casket. Follow us on Instagram: @barrymcstay @vanderlaugh @bechillcomedian
2/3/25 • 74:56
A bit of news... we will be winding up the podcast after a couple more episodes. After 300+ regular shows, countless bonus episodes, four live recordings, numerous nuggest of Patreon silliness and god knows what else, we think the show has run its course. That being said, we are grateful to you all for having stuck with us through 8 years of terrible trivia, and there are future projects afoot! Ben has a solo podcast he's been planning for years based on classic pub jokes. AND he and Barry are plotting a new history podcast which they would co-host so chances are you'll hear us together in your ears again before too long. In the meantime, there is a whole back catalogue to enjoy - and keep an eye out for our final two episodes in the next few weeks. All the best, and worst, Barry and Ben
1/13/25 • 08:26
It's time for our annual roundup of the best moments from the podcast's last twelve months. We've had the great good fortune to enjoy the company of many guests - thank you to all of them. Most especially, thanks to those who appear on this episode discussing everything from horse gyms to Pizza Rat, Charles Dickens's raven to spouse cannibalism: Dr. Anna Ploszjaski, Victoria Melody, Andrew McMillan, Tom Price, Amy Mason, John Henry Falle, Ken Cheng, Mara Joy, Harry Stachini, Meredith Hackman, Sharon Wanjohi and Paul Duncan McGarrity. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
12/23/24 • 73:39
We're joined this week for an insidious hour of sneaky, underhand plotting and planning with returning friend of the pod Paul Duncan McGarrity. We discover bungling Quebecois terrorists and security guards, batshit crazy Japanese anarchists, a blow-by-blow account of everything wrong with the Gunpowder Plot and the stupidest double-agent of all-time. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
12/8/24 • 71:19
Ben takes us back to a curious figure from history who we once mentioned in passing and who now receives his moment in the spotlight: The Count of St. Germain claimed to be centuries old while wowing the great and the good of Europe during the late 18th century with his many talents and tall tales. A huckster? Probably. And certainly deserving of a place in the Worst Foot Hall of Heroes. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
12/6/24 • 30:21
We are verging on December and the end of the year, so with cold weather and long nights we bring you some positivity. It's one of our intermittent episodes where we revisit old topics and find the best in those categories rather than the worst. In this show, we look at the World's Best Host, Assassin, Banker, Apology and Chat-Up Line. Featuring David Frost, the Assassins and a rather belated apology from an Italian city to one of its most famous sons. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
11/25/24 • 61:34
This week we're erecting our episode quicker than a team of Amish farmers can erect a barn. With returning guest Dr Anna Ploszajski we discuss the absolute worst materials you could ever use in building your dream home. From the banal damage to concrete, to the lost dream of Lego and a particularly grisly offering from Ben, you'll never look at Grand Designs the same way again. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay @annaploszajski Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
11/11/24 • 62:27
Happy Hallowe'en kids! Join Barry and Ben for some trick, treating, spells and sweets as they gorge themselves on a collection of spooky daft trivia. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
10/27/24 • 61:13
We make up for last month's lack of a bonus episode - blame "life" - with a bumper episode all about Earth's favourite sidepiece: the moon! Ben takes Barry to Selene and back with a bit of blue, stories from Apollo 12 (the difficult second album) and why the Americans thought the Moon, if indeed made of cheese, could have benefitted from the addition of a bit of mushroom (cloud). Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
10/25/24 • 30:18
Behold! An episode full of underwhelming serpents, winsome wyrms and dull dragons. We're joined by returning guest John Henry Falle aka The Storybeast to discuss the worst examples of draconis is all of literature, folklore and (cypto)zoology. Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @vanderlaugh @barrymcstay @thestorybeast Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
10/14/24 • 75:23
This is an episode overflowing with flavours, covered in toppings and oozing cheese - if by flavours, toppings and cheese we mean trivia - as we talk about the World's Worst Pizza in the company of comedian and improviser Meredith Hackman. There's Pizzagate, pizza rat, shame pizza, Pentagon pizza and much more besides! Check out Meredith and Barry playing games most weeks on Noobs on the Gooftower! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @Big_Mer Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
9/30/24 • 65:20
With Barry absent in Ireland for a funeral, we had to cancel our recordings this month. Apologies! But it allows us to revisit episode 230 which was about the Worst Funerals! We both agreed it was a belter when we recorded it, so - like all the best funerals - it deserves an encore. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @petedonaldson Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
9/16/24 • 61:20
This week Ben and Barry welcome back returning guest Simon Watt. Simon is an expert biologist and science communicator who is going to help them answer one of the biggest questions: out of all of Mother Nature's creations, which is the worst? We meet tragic endlings, furry crabs and come face to proboscis with man's greatest enemy... Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @SimonDWatt Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @amymasoncomedy Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
9/2/24 • 77:51
Sit down and tell us a bit about yourselves, as we gather for this bonus episode on job interviews. Barry takes Ben through the resumé of hiring processes, ranging from Thomas Edison taking you out for soup to modern day practitioners making you moo like cows. There are also quizzes, famous apprentices and a cluster of US vice-presidential nominees being vetted - or not, as the case may be. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
8/30/24 • 35:09
It's August, all potential guests are at the Edinburgh Fringe this month, so it's a Ben and Barry duo show, as they look back at the topics covered in episodes 116-120 and find the BEST in those categories rather than the worst. There are princes (and Prince), scientific frauds (and cats), mascots (and giants), allergies (and exercise) and Dungeons and Dragons (and a whole lot of berserking). Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
8/19/24 • 62:45
It's time to flush out the worst do-gooders in the world. Joining Ben and Barry is current stand-up comic and former Oxfam charity shop employee Amy Mason. Together they discover how Justin Bieber, height, a hedgehog, a kindly old man and erotica have been used to raise money for good causes. And also a health spa. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @AmyCMason Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @amymasoncomedy Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
8/5/24 • 67:41
Inspired by the timeless glory of the sporting jamboree going on in Paris right now, have another lesson to this classic episode where Ben and Barry dive head first (with a triple twist and a confused pike) into the more leftfield history of the Olympic Games. They take a short look at the international alternatives to the great games before turning their attention to the idiosyncratic, drunken and farcical antecedents of the modern Olympiad. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvandervelde And Instagram: @worstfoot Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing… https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
7/27/24 • 42:06
This podcast finds a way...to ruin your favourite prehistoric lizards for you! Barry and Ben are going fossil-hunting in the company of comedian and podcaster Harry Stachini to pick over the bones of the World's Worst Dinosaur. There are brains in bums, T-Rex's called Sue and dinosaur erotica. Yep. You heard us. You won't want to miss this one. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
7/22/24 • 63:57
Join our two regular birdbrains as they talk to comedian, writer and wondrous performance artist Victoria Melody as they scan history - both human and natural - for the world's worst bird. We meet Charles Dickens' aggressive pet, some heroic and haphazard pigeons, Ben invents a new meal and relays the horrors of an infamous French delicacy. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @victoriamelody Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @victoriamelody_ Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
7/8/24 • 76:16
To celebrate our 300th episode, we're celebrating the most famous 300 men in history - the Spartan warriors who died valiently fighting the Persians. Except there werent' 300 of them. And not everyone they fought was strictly Persian. And they ended up in this pickle thanks to the weasely behaviour of a shepherd. For this and more historical tomfoolery, whack this month's Third Foot in your ears. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
6/28/24 • 26:58
Join us as we tee off across history to discover the definitive worst golfer in history. Accompanied by actor, comedian, radio host and golf obsessive Tom Price, Ben and Barry encounter Presidents, prison officers and the infamous Phantom of the Open. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot @thepricetom Take a butcher's at Ben's Substack here: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
6/9/24 • 71:34
Join us in the WFF dark room as we search through the negatives of the worst ever photographs in the company of master comedian and photographer Steve Best. We talk mundanity, plagiarism and a very talented and opportunistic ape. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @SteveBestComic Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
5/27/24 • 74:34
Check out this episode, mate! This week's gambit involves Romanian stand-up comedian and chess enthusiast Radu Isac joining us to discuss the world's worst chess grandmaster. We blitz our way through various aspects of the game's history, from its multiple weird adaptations to those players who cheated using everything from phones to sleight-of-hand, and there is even an appearance by our old friend The Mechanical Turk. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @raduisac Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
5/14/24 • 63:31
Read Ben's new Substack here, including articles about Obsession and The Beatles, prehistoric shananigans and a short story about a very sinister bookmakers: https://vanderlaugh.substack.com/ Sit up straight, eyes front, pens at the ready and don't even think of aiming your peashooter at the back of our heads. It's time for your detention project: listening to us discover the world's worst teacher. This week we meet philanderers, pranksters and dictators. So no different to any other faculty... Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @SharonWanjohi_ Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
4/29/24 • 68:45
With the Snooker World Championship in full swing, Ben takes us for a break around the table with a potted history of snoooker, with some billiards and pool thrown in. There are tales of deathly dull games, the day inclement weather halted a match and the story of one snooker referee's brush with musical superstardom. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
4/27/24 • 25:02
DONATE TO THE HARDEST GEEZER! Try and see our lips move on this week's episode as Angus Dunican returns to talk to us about the World's Worst Ventriloquist. From puppets on the beat to those who faced down the Nazis and lived to tell the tale, there's something for everyone in here. Assuming everyone has at least one type of creepy puppet they're kind of into... Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @AngusDunican Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
4/15/24 • 66:55
Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding With a hey nonny no, a slap of the thigh and some deeply questionable lyrics we're joined this week by accordionist, folk singer and comedian David Eagle to root out the world's worst folk song. There's bizarre cover versions, flutes made of human bones, creaking extended metaphors and a roast of Henry VIII. Grab your mandolin and get stuck in! Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh @thedavideagle Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
4/1/24 • 65:36
Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding In no way connected to the opening of his new play, Barry leads us on a quick whip through some of the most infamous theatrical superstitions and myths, including broken legs, Scottish plays and peacock feathers. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward
3/26/24 • 27:15
*Barry's play BREEDING runs from March 21st to April 14th 2024 at the King's Head Theatre in London - get tickets here! https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/breeding * It's one of our occasional trips down memory lane, and we are revisiting episodes 111 to 115 to discuss not the worst but the World's Best Smell, Algorithm, Manager, Design Flaw and Saint. This episode sees Barry try to convince Ben that he is scientifically disposed to vanilla and Ben trying to convince Barry that Portuguese nonuplet renegades are better than Oscar Wilde's favourite sexy martyr. So, more of the same guff then. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @VanderLaugh Follow us on Instagram: @worstfoot Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you’d like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan some live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com
3/18/24 • 63:24
