Crossed Wires 2024: Live Podcasts shake Sheffield

Steel City flocked to locations all over Sheffield this past weekend for Crossed Wires 2024, a new and innovative festival to support and showcase some of the best podcasts out there.

I was lucky enough on Sunday to attend two incredible shows, the first being "Wolf and Owl", with comedians Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis in the beautiful City Hall Oval room. The room itself was gorgeously inspiring and a buzz filtered in as the seats filled. Despite the top section of the hall being a tad quiet, the audience laughed in awe as the two friends sat and talked about everything and nothing. Tom Davis expressed that there was no plan for the show, which is how I imagine the topic of clowns shopping in the supermarket came about.

The pair discussed Ian Wright, childhood girlfriend rules, how they both feel their respective wives don't like them; your general intellectual podcast topics. In the second half, Ranganathan and Davis answered some emails from fans in an attempt to live problem-solve predicaments. This ranged from naming drinks at the yet-to-open pub The Three Cranes in Rotherham to advice on moving in together as a young couple. As a single person who doesn't own a pub, none of this advice related to me in particular, but the hosts' honest and lovely disposition and solid guidance left me feeling with a bright glow after the show ended.

This wholesome friendship, told through many insults and expletives, explored the simplicity of being human. Despite the often ridiculous scenarios presented to us by the podcast duo and the audience itself, there was honest, insightful advice given and some really beautiful messages too. And who can forget the final sentiment from Tom Davis, regarding how "it's okay to be the potato in life" (you had to be there).

After a few hours in the gorgeous Sheffield sunshine, I wandered to city hall once again for Katherine Ryan's "Telling Everybody Everything", with special guest Emily Dean and, the even more special guest, Emily's shih-tzu Raymond. Ryan opened with a few minutes of stand-up, in an incredible pair of embellished glittery jeans, before introducing Dean and Raymond ('Ray'). The pair discussed their recent endeavours, with Ryan deliberating being on tour and her entertaining trials in motherhood, and Dean delving into her podcast 'Walking The Dog', and her Absolute Radio show with Frank Skinner that was sadly cancelled in March this year, after a terrific 15-year run.

It was an incredibly empowering evening, with discussions around Emily Dean's odd attraction to Henry the Eighth, leading to an audience member revealing they may be the controversial monarch's illegitimate grandchildren and that, as women, we should "carry a forcefield of big d*** energy', "earn respect like a horse" and "drive it like [we] stole it"; you felt like you could take on every movie villain ever. There was a respectful gender split in the audience, and the male members of the audience seemed to enjoy the many insults thrown their way. However, the hosts did celebrate a particular man in the audience specifically the way he took off his hoodie. It was a strange event, but it filled city hall with floods of laughter and joyful faces (and the odd blush from the woman sitting next to me).

The show made me re-think the format of comedy shows as we conventionally understand them. Ryan opened the floor to answer the audience's queries by saying "Comedy is a conversation.", and I fully agree. It begs the question is traditional stand-up enough for audiences now, or do we expect something much more interactive that we can reflect upon ourselves? Ryan, Dean and Ray lit up the last night of the festival with a beam of self-love and honesty.

The beauty of a podcast is that it is a conversation that speaks to someone's soul. They make us laugh, smile, possibly cry and overall think deeper about ourselves and the world. Getting to experience these conversations live was a wonderful opportunity and I believe Crossed Wires is determined to put on an even bigger show next time, and I endorse anyone to grab a ticket and have a laugh.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/eed067_110baac8e57642d893758e0709f1618e/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Keep updated on their website for updates here: https://www.crossedwires.live/