Sick of the bloated yes-man quality of 21^st century news reporting? Leave it to England to stir the pot. Starting in January, irreverent comedy extraordinaire Doug Stanhope will join BBC 4’s Newswipe. The show, hosted by journalist and comedian Charlie Brooker, will allow Stanhope to report and air his grievances on “stories that are driving him bonkers,” according to a report on Chortle.

“The return of Newswipe is both exciting and daunting, because it nearly killed me last time,” says Brooker. “Maybe this time it’ll finish the job. It’s hard to say precisely what we’ll be featuring, because I can’t predict the future, but hopefully we won’t be picking apart coverage of either an intercontinental nuclear war or a global ebola outbreak. Whatever happens, we’ll be staring at it with amusement and horror.”

British TV should be an interesting venue for the subversive yet very American Stanhope. He was recently booed at the Leeds Festival for making fun of Jews and the Royal Family. If you want a taste of what the show’s audience is in for, check out a track from Stanhope’s new album, From Across The Street, available now.

Tomorrow, the mighty Stand Up! Records will release the mighty Doug Stanhope’s new album, From Across the Street. We’ve been listening to it for days already, just to make sure that our initial opinion of the disc remained true through repeated listens. So, after a very scientific process of playing the album and laughing and then playing it again and laughing and then thinking about the album and laughing, we’ve arrived at our official decision: the new Doug Stanhope album is excellent – one of the best stand-up releases of the year – and you should buy it immediately.

If you’re familiar with Stanhope’s gritty ways, nothing will surprise you about From Across the Street; you will once again find comfort in chaos as Stanhope pours brutal honesty upon his audience: he doesn’t want to know if he’s dying of a terminal illness; one time, a die hard fan killed himself after seeing Stanhope live; he hated his tenure – but loved the money – on Comedy Central’s The Man Show.

For those less familiar with the veteran comedian, well, now you know what you’re in for. And if it’s still not clear, check out the track below from the new album! Also, be on the look out for our in-depth interview with Stanhope later this week!

Ok, now buy the album by clicking the image below.

It’s that time a week again when we proudly announce who’s going to appear on Marc Maron’s new-ish podcast WTF. I guess you can call us a sponsor of sorts– or at the very least an occasional financial supporter and tremendous fan of the show.

Regardless, this week on WTF brings in guest Doug Stanhope; it’s the first time Marc and Doug really sat down to have a heart to heart. You’re not going to want to miss that. Word has it, that Janeane Garofalo also makes a stop by the show. On Thursday’s episode, Marc welcomes Daily Show correspondent and stand-up comedian Wyatt Cenac. And for a special bonus on both shows? Marc’s dad, a surgeon, who has given some questionable medical advice on past shows, will drop by.

Check out the official WTF site right here. Get some WTF merchandise for the holidays, download all the episodes you’ve missed. That’s it. You’ve got your orders. Now enjoy some great effing comedy podcasting.

During a weekend of New York Comedy Festival shows at huge theater venues like Town Hall and Carnegie Hall, there was something different happening downtown and appropriately off the radar. Doug Stanhope was doing a five-show, three-night stand at Comix.

Stanhope, a 20-year veteran of the underground comedy scene, is probably best known to people outside of his cult following as a former co-host of The Man Show. I went into the show not knowing much about the guy’s comedy, and I was completely blown away. Stanhope definitely comes from the offensive and pissed-off school of comedy. He also deals out brutal honesty, telling stories from his drink and drug-addled past (and present). Having seen a ton of comics who talk about the same things, that description makes him sound predictable. Not the case at all, and that’s what makes him so fucking funny.

I try to be open to anyone that can make me laugh, but unfortunately, a head shot of a dude in a jersey usually strikes me as kind of a red flag. I’m an idiot. Stanhope is hilarious. However many times I’ve been turned off by comics that cover similar ground, it’s been because they just don’t back up their grievances with big laughs. Stanhope does. Any short clips you’ve seen him in don’t do him justice. You have to watch him for a full set. He tricks you into thinking he’s a jackass, then catches you off guard by saying something sharp, insightful and ridiculously funny.

He’s also great at doing long bits. He’ll tell you what he thinks about a topic, and just when you think it’s about to devolve into unstructured rambling (he downed two beers over the course of his set), he drives his point home with a huge comic payoff. His punch lines aren’t “lines”; they’re machine blasts that go on and on and on.

His bit about sex, and how isn’t the most intimate thing two people can share, was so good I can’t really see anyone else having to talk about the subject ever again. I’m afraid to use quotation marks and get it wrong, but he talked about taking his friend home from the hospital after she’d had a mastectomy, and how intimate was. “After sharing that, I didn’t say, ‘Let’s take this to the next level. Let me hunch over you in a seahorse position…” His impression of a pathetic male orgasm is hilarious, and sadly accurate. I was slapping my table (my seat was too cramped for me to slap my knee).

Stanhope’s on the road into December. Do yourself a favor and see a show. His dates are on his website.

If you’ve never seen Doug Stanhope live and you live in the New York City metro area, we’re giving you an excellent opportunity to do. For you, dear readers, we’re giving away three pairs of tickets to see the living legend at Comix in one of his five shows going down this Thursday through Saturday.

Simply email us here: contest [at] punchlinemagazine [dot] com. Include the subject “STANHOPE.” The first three readers to get in touch will win a pair of tickets. In your email, please specify which show you’d like to attend: Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday at 8 pm or 10:30 pm; or Saturday at 8 pm or 10:30 pm. You must live in the New York City area and be able to attend the show you specify.