Episode 8 of This Week in Comedy is a loose, lively mix of industry news, cultural commentary, beer tasting and big picture questions about censorship, art and who gets to decide whether is just that - art!

The episode opens with Lily and Morry celebrating making it past seven episodes, swapping stories about a heavy midweek beer session and then cracking into a new brew - the Fig Leaf Saison by Sailors Grave Brewing. Then it's onto the news.

The first major story centres on Dave Hughes, who faced an unusual heckle at a Noosa show when an audience member attempted to shut down jokes about Hughes’ own son. The situation escalated when it emerged the heckler was a carer and both got removed. The hosts unpack how this crosses from traditional heckling into real time moral censorship, praising Hughes for offering the affected fan free tickets and noting it was the first attempted onstage censorship of his 30 year career.

From there, the discussion widens to whether comedy is becoming more policed, especially in the context of large corporate platforms. The Netflix Is a Joke Festival is positioned as a major global event, rivalling Edinburgh and Melbourne, but raising questions about corporate control, promotion, distribution and how much creative freedom comedians will retain under a single powerful brand.

In lighter celebrity news, the hosts touch on the amicable split between Ali Wong and Bill Hader, using it as a springboard to reflect on how difficult relationships can be within the comedy industry. Touring, scheduling and public pressure all take their toll, particularly when both partners are high profile performers.

The regular segment, this week in history, looks at The Kid, the 1921 silent film by Charlie Chaplin, and how it helped prove comedy could sustain emotional, feature length storytelling rather than just short gag reels. They also discuss the invention of the television, and its possible connection to tampons...or not. We're not sure.

But the emotional core of the episode comes with an in depth interview with Craig Quartermaine, who was denied a Queensland arts grant on the grounds that stand-up comedy is “not an art form”. The interview explores the bureaucratic absurdity of the decision, its impact on regional and Indigenous artists, and what it reveals about funding bodies, gatekeeping and cultural stereotypes.

The episode wraps with festival plugs, reflections on dark comedy and censorship, and a reminder that comedy’s job has always been to challenge ideas, provoke discussion and find the funny.

Learn more about This Week in Comedy by visiting www.thisweekincomedy.com.au

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