617 - Weird Christmas Traditions From Around The World!

This year’s Christmas special guest is the man who made Jaack fall in love with comedy in the first place. From The Office and Extras, to a body of work that’s influenced an entire generation, the legendary Ricky Gervais returns to Happy Hour. Ricky first appeared on the show when the podcast was only a few episodes old, at a time when every bit of support mattered, and his early appearance gave the show a huge boost. Now, more than 600 episodes later, it feels incredibly special to welcome him back.  Ricky tells us about the time he nearly died on stage, why the adverts for his vodka company Dutch Barn were banned, and how he decided which charities would receive his incredibly generous £2.4 million donation.  Known for his infamous bath pics, Ricky also weighs in on Jaack’s story about deliberately waterboarding himself in the bath just to see what it felt like. The conversation takes a deeper turn as Ricky opens up about coming to terms with his own mortality. But on a lighter note, Ricky reacting to some of the Internet’s best animal news stories leads to us uncovering how he was once involved with a monkey let loose inside an IKEA!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Joulu 1h 31min

Fresh from completing his latest feat - the 3,400-mile Yellow River Expedition across China - world record breaking explorer Ash Dykes sits down for his first podcast since returning home. Ash talks us through his expeditions into most unforgiving terrains on Earth, setting world records, and his multitude of unbelievable near death moments.  A young Ash realised the world wasn’t big enough to keep him in one place and an epiphany led him to attempt the impossible. At just 23, he became the first person to walk solo and unsupported across Mongolia, carrying 120kg and surviving temperatures and dehydration that nearly killed him.  We hear about Ash’s 155 day, 1,600 mile crossing of Madagascar while outmanoeuvring bandits and crocodile infested rivers. He tells us about being held at gunpoint, and how it felt to battle the deadliest strain of malaria. His year long, 4,000-mile Yangtze River expedition was filled with bears, wolves, altitude sickness, and multiple run-ins with authorities.  Ash has completed some of the greatest feats of modern exploration, but his story is not just about adventure, but one of resilience, purpose, and the relentless belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Joulu 1h 49min

What better way to celebrate festive season than with TWO Fourskins episodes in a row?! We’ve unlocked a new character - The Christmas Catcher - and he rocked up with a sack full of cursed hypothetical scenarios.  Similar to episodes #412 and #533 (“Not So Superpowers”), each brilliant festive perk comes with a truly horrible catch. The boys fight over them, each taking three… and whatever undesirable option the others reject gets dumped on Jaack.  There’s everything from hangover-proof pints to the perfect Christmas dinner to a very problematic Santa. There’s a battle against 30 sprouts and an even bigger pig in blanket. One of the boys is risking a future scandal just for his dream Christmas, and another is stuck choosing between crusty fingernails or being called a melt by his hero…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 Joulu 1h 20min

Festive season. Fourskins. Feet. At least two of these are our favourite things. The boys are back from their break with some huge news!  Alfie recounts a genuinely terrifying late night encounter with a stalker at the train station. Jaack reveals that his pictures have somehow ended up on a fetish website. Robbie has a new drinking buddy but is he being unknowingly groomed?  Jaack shares how he massively embarrassed himself in front of an F1 driver. Stevie had a miserable marathon experience and turned his frustration into Karen energy by complaining about the most minor things.  Jaack also brings us the story of a flightless flamingo who managed to escape from a UK zoo, and he reads out a selection of jokes written by five year olds, which are potentially funnier than anything the rest of them have said all ep.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 Joulu 1h 10min

We’re kicking off the festive season with broadcaster and all-round simply lovely man Greg James, who is living proof that getting up at 4 a.m. every day doesn’t automatically turn you into a grump. We’ll admit we have a soft spot for Greg, partly because he went to university in our hometown. We put his Norwich knowledge to the test, covering everything from “Who is The Puppet Man?” to the correct pronunciation of “Wymondham.”  Greg tells us what David Attenborough volunteered to do during their interview that sent the internet into a frenzy, and he takes on our word-association game featuring names like Miley Cyrus, Steve Carell, and The Rock. We dive into his most memorable listener interactions and the most starstruck moment of his career.  He also shares some pretty divisive opinions on the five best sports, explains the concept of “waste days,” and reminisces about terrible under-18 nightclubs. And, as a huge fan of baths himself, Jaack has his mind blown when Greg reveals the ritual that makes bath time 1,000× better.  Greg’s book ‘All The Best For The Future’ is out NOW.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Joulu 1h 21min

The boys unravel a stream of strangely curious but pointless questions - the kind that normally arrive when you’re zoning out while showering or, in Jaack’s case, sitting at a red light approximately 8 seconds before something crashes into the back of your car.  We’re pondering if dogs truly know their names, whether a straw has one hole or two, if a fish can actually count as a pet, and whether punching yourself and feeling pain makes you strong or weak.  Is the voice in your head really your own voice or more like mental subtitles narrating your life? Does everyone see the same colours as everyone else? Can you ever truly think of nothing?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Marras 1h 30min

In today’s episode, we sit down with Mr Doodle - one of the most unique artists on the planet - to hear about how he’s turned the world into his very own canvas for his signature “graffiti spaghetti” and viral art projects.  Sam talks us through the two year process of covering every inch of his six-bed, £1.6million home in black and white doodles, his wife’s reaction, and what it’s actually like to live inside his own potentially migraine-inducing artwork.  Sam openly discusses his psychotic episode, what he experienced during his stint in a psych ward, his hallucinations involving Covid and Banksy, and whether he thinks his doodling obsession was a potential factor in his psychosis diagnosis.  We also hear about fatherhood, his thoughts on AI’s role in the future of art, and the surprising link between Sam and Stevie. Stick around to the end of the episode where we ask Sam to leave his iconic mark on our studio wall!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Marras 1h 41min