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PODCAST

The Comedy Bureau

DoubLexx Productions

Deep in the depths of the University of Niche Interests lies The Comedy Bureau – a long forgotten department dedicated to studying the ins, outs, whys and wherefores of all things comedy. Staffed by Laura Lexx (Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, Roast Battle) and Olly Double (Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-Up Comedy) The Comedy Bureau helps comedy lovers around the world uncover answers to the art form’s biggest questions. What is laughter? Who was the first stand up comedian? and Why

comedy

All Episodes

27:45

Case File 9: When Did Alternative Comedy Start?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/11/06

What an exceptional episode we have for you today… in 2023 Laura Lexx appeared on Celebrity Mastermind with her specialist subject being The History of Alternative Comedy. One of the most helpful books she read was Alternative Comedy: 1979 and the Reinvention of British Stand-Up by none other than Dr Oliver Double. Cut to 2025 and she’s just a girl sitting before a lecturer begging him to tell her everything he knows about 1979 and the pivotal moment in comedy history that lead to what we now think

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49:18

Case File 8: Is Woke Killing Comedy?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/10/30

Stand-up comedian Laura Lexx brings this case file to the table to address one of the top questions she’s presented with when telling strangers what she does for a living… “Oh but you can’t say anything these days…” Or can you? Academic Oliver Double sits down with Laura to discuss a history of censorship in stage comedy in the UK and USA. From the early years of front cloth comics and monologists, through the legal battles of Lenny Bruce, to the brilliant Billy Connolly. In this episode Laura and

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31:15

Case File 7: Why Do We Laugh at Others?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/10/23

Finishing up our mini-series in Comic Theory, this week Laura and Olly turn their attention to Superiority Theory. This is the idea that people laugh because the stimulus made them feel better than or good in some way. They enter the chat with a brief discussion on status, particularly in double acts between a higher status straight man and a lower status funny guy. Then we move on to the theorists and philosophers and we head right right back all the way to the words and explanations of Aristotle,

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42:35

Case File 6: Is It a Relief To Laugh?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/10/16

This week, The Comedy Bureau team continue their mini series looking at popular comic theories. Last week they explored Incongruity, and this week they move on to Relief Theory (sometimes called Release Theory). The offices have an oniony scent this week due to some delicious sandwiches (shout out to Lavash in Brighton) but that doesn’t stop Oliver Double and Laura Lexx getting nerdy. They begin with Kant, and work through several theories of the purpose and physiology of laughter. From Kant, Freud

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34:11

Case File 5: Funny Peculiar or Funny HaHa?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/10/09

Welcome back to the offices of The Comedy Bureau, staffed by comedian Laura Lexx and tame historian and comic lecturer Olly Double! This week Laura and Olly decide to knuckle down and really focus on something that keeps rearing its head during their discussions of other aspects of comedy… comic theory. Why are things funny? What is funny? What is humour EXACTLY? Now, it’s sort of another one of those impossible questions to answer and so Olly has the task of describing some of the popular comic

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41:17

Case File 4: Are Women Funny?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/10/02

Welcome back to the cosy offices of The Comedy Bureau. Staffed by comedian Laura Lexx and academic Olly Double, it’s the go to place for all the comedy discussions and analysis you could ever want. This week, in their most provocatively titled episode to date Laura and Olly explore the rage-inducing issue of women in comedy. As a stand up comedian, Laura is often forced to deal with people who, for their own personal reasons, cannot find women funny. Unfortunately, Olly isn’t a therapist and so

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39:19

Case File 2: What Is Laughter?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/09/25

Welcome back to the office of The Comedy Bureau, here you will find Reader in Popular Performance and Comic History Olly Double, alongside comedian and author Laura Lexx. They are the employees at The Comedy Bureau – a department in The University of Niche Interests where the analysis of all things comedy takes place in meticulous detail.In this episode Olly and Laura are focusing on a simple question with an extremely complicated answer… what is laughter?Laughter is such a fantastic feeling that we

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32:43

Case File 3: What Is A Joke?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/09/25

Welcome back to The Comedy Bureau! In the third episode, Laura and Olly open the doors of the office just in time for Laura to pose Olly another impossible question… what is a joke?!Laura and Olly first met at The University of Kent where Laura studied stand up comedy under Olly’s tutelage. Now, 20 years later they are reunited to examine the gory details of the world of comedy. Even when there might not be a definitive answer.First off Olly and Laura explore some traditional jokes to look at the

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32:26

Case File 1: Who Was The First Stand Up Comedian?

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/09/25

In the very first episode of The Comedy Bureau, stand-up comedian, author and podcaster Laura Lexx poses comedy academic Olly Double an impossible question. It sounds simple when you ask it... who was the first stand up comedian? But, as Olly passionately and carefully explains – there's no way to answer because stand-up comedy didn't leap out of the ether fully formed as an entertainment format. Olly puts forward five candidates for first ever stand up comedian and meticulously explains why each

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03:27

The Comedy Bureau...launching 25th September 2025!

The Comedy Bureau ·

2025/09/01

The Comedy Bureau launches Thursday 25th September at 7pm (UK time) with its first three case files. Academic Oliver Double and comedian Laura Lexx begin their investigations with an impossible question… Who was the first stand up comedian? From there they move out into even murkier waters… what is a joke and why do humans laugh?The Comedy Bureau is a warm, insightful look into all facets of comedy. Covering the history and development from the days of Variety and Vaudeville performance right up to

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