The British comedian on his most controversial opinion, explaining Priti Patel overseas and what it is like being ‘the least Zen person alive’

The pre-eminent comic political polemicist of our time rants as much as ever, but with added introspection

Steve McQueen, Tracey Emin, Steve Coogan, Adjoa Andoh, Danny Dyer, Jesse Darling and many more spell out what must be done to restore Britain’s cultural lifeblood, from ending elitism to supercharging libraries – and flooding schools with music

The standup on being a vibe killer, studying Richard Pryor and why comedy isn’t for good-looking people

From fake porn stars to staggering environmental exposés, it’s been a year of extraordinary audio – not least the ‘poodunnit’. It’s our top pods of the year!

The comedians chase local paper scoops in their new TV series Hold the Front Page. But many of their stories were destined for what reporters call the spike …

From dazzling comic debuts at the Edinburgh fringe to occult sketches, soul-searching standup and deeply strange revelations, it was a top year for laughing matters