Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation is a BBC Radio 4 series of comedy lectures hosted by Jeremy Hardy, first broadcast in September 1993. The tenth and final series aired in 2014.
The lectures were on topics like "How to have a baby", "How to be truly loved", and often included Hardy's personal views on current affairs.
There were a series of sketches and mock interviews carried out with his two guests. Gordon Kennedy and Debbie Isitt were the two main guests, while other guests included Meera Syal, Rebecca Front, Alison Steadman, Stephen Frost, Miranda Richardson and Harriet Walter.
After Hardy's death on 1 February 2019, a final miniseries of two episodes entitled in past tense, When Jeremy Hardy Spoke To The Nation, aired on 16 & 23 May 2019 on Radio 4, with Sandi Toksvig narrating and David Tyler producing a retrospective of Hardy's life through clips of the series, some previously unheard to the public, along with other programmes Hardy participated in.
Episode guide SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst broadcastGuests11How to Stay Alive for as Long as You Possibly Can30 Sep 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost2How to Be Truly Free7 Oct 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost3How to Earn Your Place in Heaven14 Oct 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost4How to Be an Adult21 Oct 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost5How to Have Sex28 Oct 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost6How to Know Your Place4 Nov 1993Debbie Isitt, Stephen Frost21How to Be a Popular Figure Around Town6 Oct 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy2How to Have a Baby13 Oct 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy3How to Be a Leader of Men20 Oct 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy4How to Be a Father (1)27 Oct 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy, Ben Keaton5How to Be a Father (2)3 Nov 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy6How to Meet the Challenge of the 21st Century10 Nov 1994Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy31How to Be a Man6 Feb 1997Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy2How to Bear Up Under the Strain13 Feb 1997Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy3How to Make Your Presence Felt20 Feb 1997Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy4How to Improve Your Mind27 Feb 1997Meera Syal, Gordon Kennedy5How to Keep Abreast of Developments6 Mar 1997Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy6How to Be Happy13 Mar 1997Caroline Leddy, Gordon Kennedy41How to Fight Fire with Fire6 Sep 2001Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy2How to Live20 Sep 2001Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy3How to Work27 Sep 2001Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy4How to See Through Others' Eyes4 Oct 2001Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy5How to Hand the World on to the Next Generation11 Oct 2001Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy6When Jeremy Hardy Spoke to the Nation18 Oct 2001Graeme Garden, Debbie Isitt51How to Be Yourself8 Jan 2003Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy2How to Belong15 Jan 2003Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy3How to Maximise Your Leisure22 Jan 2003Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy4How to Be Young29 Jan 2003Debbie Isitt, Gordon Kennedy61How to Be Afraid9 Sep 2004 Rebecca Front, Gordon Kennedy2How to Argue Your Position16 Sep 2004Gordon Kennedy, Alison Steadman3How to Choose23 Sep 2004Gordon Kennedy, Pauline McLynn4How to Live Life to the Full30 Sep 2004Juliet Stevenson, Gordon KennedySpecial-Jeremy Hardy's New Year Cavalcade31 Dec 2004Jack Dee, Armando Iannucci, John Oliver71How to Feel3 Apr 2007Gordon Kennedy, Miranda Richardson2How to Believe10 Apr 2007Alison Steadman, Ewan Bailey3How to Die17 Apr 2007Pauline McLynn, Paul B Davies4How to Look24 Apr 2007Juliet Stevenson, Paul B Davies81How to Grow Up30 Jun 2010Gordon Kennedy, Rebecca Front2How To Confront The Vexed Issue Of British Identity Without Getting In The Most Fearful Bate About The Whole Thing7 Jul 2010Gordon Kennedy, Shappi Khorsandi3How to Have Faith14 Jul 2010Paul B Davies, Pauline McLynn4How to Communicate Without Showing Off21 Jul 2010Paul B Davies, Morwenna Banks91How to Exercise Power28 Feb 2013Gordon Kennedy, Katy Brand2How To Be a Woman in the 21st Century7 Mar 2013Gordon Kennedy, Sara Pascoe3How To Be a Man in the 21st Century14 Mar 2013Paul Bassett Davies, Sue Perkins4How to Speak21 Mar 2013Pauline McLynn, Paul B Davies101How to Eat Food17 Sept 2014Paul Bassett Davies, Vicki Pepperdine2How to Define Oneself in Terms of Regional, Cultural and Geopolitical Identity Without Tears 24 Sept 2014 Susan Murray, Moray Hunter3How to Be a Good Citizen 01 Oct 2014Gordon Kennedy and Carla Mendonça4How To Be Better Theologically, Socially, Nationally and in Terms of One's Own Personal Development, Responsibility and Interaction with the Fellow Humans with Whom we Share this Fragile Planet, and Ting 08 Oct 2014Paul Bassett Davies and Carla Mendonça
Audio Books Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation currently has four audio books on sale.
How To Be Happy and other shows - Released on 19 July 2004. How To Be Young and other shows - Released on 19 July 2004. How To Be Afraid and other shows - Released on 15 November 2004. How To Live and other shows - Released on 15 November 2004.
In addition the first series was adapted as a book, , published by Methuen in 1993.
Awards The show was nominated in 2004 for the Sony Comedy award. Radio Awards - Winners for 2004
References
External links