Evil Genius with Russell Kane

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

It's good, bad, ugly - and very very funny. Changing the way we see heroes and villains in history.

Episodes

September 9, 2026 40 mins

Russell Kane is bullied by Bella Hull, Rosie Holt and Katie Norris, with occasional discussion of Jilly Cooper. Was the sexed-up scribe evil, or a genius? Is it weird to throw an orgy with your brother? Will Russell leave the studio alive? All this and more.

Additional material: Christina Riggs and Katie Sayer Researcher: Christina Riggs Recording Engineer: Dom Boucher Sound Editor: Kate Mac Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Execut...

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Russell Kane returns to reassess history's heroes and villains - and this series, those heroes and villains include Jilly Cooper, Stephen Hawking, Pavarotti, the Marquis de Sade, L Ron Hubbard, Sean Connery, Catherine de Medici, Chuck Berry and Princess Diana...

Comedians across the series include Bella Hull, Rosie Holt, Katie Norris, Dan Tiernan, Horatio Gould, Ola Labib, Rajiv Karia, Kate Cheka, Kazeem Jamal, Ian Smith, Hasan Al ...

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August 26, 2026 32 mins

Joining comedian Russell Kane to decide whether Meerkats are evil or genius are Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum, Dr. Natalie Cooper and and comedian Susie McCabe.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: Paul Smit...

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August 19, 2026 33 mins

Russell Kane asks whether Ants – aka Ant-ony Hopkins - are Conga Line Creeps or Mini-muscle heads. With entomologist Dr. Karim Vahed of Bug Life and comedian Glenn Moore.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: Paul Smith...

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August 12, 2026 33 mins

Joining comedian Russell Kane to decide whether Chimpanzees are evil or genius are the zoologist and author Jules Howard and comedian Esther Manito.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: Paul Smith Producer: Simon Nicholls

Evi...

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August 5, 2026 32 mins

Russell Kane deep dives Orcas. Marine Menace Masterminds or Deep Sea Superstars? Helping him decide whether Orcas are evil or genius are zoologist Billy Heaney and comedian Lucy Porter.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy Executive Producer: P...

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July 29, 2026 34 mins

Russell Kane dishes the dirt on our favourite rodent – the rat. Joining him to decide whether Rats are evil or genius are the Natural History Museum’s Merit Researcher Natalie Cooper and comedian Susie McCabe.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordina...

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July 22, 2026 33 mins

Comedian Russell Kane dishes the dirt on Tortoises. Helping him decide whether Tortoises – aka Shellena Gomez - are evil or genius are zoologist and author Jules Howard and comedian Peter Rethinasamy.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy ...

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July 15, 2026 33 mins

Comedian Russell Kane spills the beans on Vultures (not literally).

Helping Russell decide whether Vultures are evil or genius are zoologist and author Lucy Cooke and comedian, writer and actress Desiree Burch.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry Peal Production Coordinator: Liz Tuo...

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July 8, 2026 35 mins

Comedian Russell Kane dishes the dirt on Wasps. Are Wasps malicious menaces or misunderstood marvels?

Helping Russell decide whether Wasps are evil or genius are Professor of Behavioural Ecology at UCL, Seirian Sumner and comedian Lindsey Santoro.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Catherine Beazley & Angela Channell Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digital Editor: Jerry...

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July 1, 2026 31 mins

Russell Kane is back with the feral sibling of Evil Genius. We're spilling the beans on Koalas. Are they Adorable Aussie icons or shit-eating nightmares? Helping Russell decide whether Koalas are evil or genius are comedian Felicity Ward and zoologist Lucy Cooke.

Written by: Eve Delaney & Ruth Huskisson Additional material by: Angela Channell & Catherine Beazley Researcher: Catherine Beazley Sound Recordist: Gareth Wood Digi...

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June 17, 2026 38 mins

He’s one of the most famous criminals in British history, but was railway enthusiast Ronnie Biggs really just a petty crook who fell on his feet? From his 36 years on the run, to his brief stint as a punk icon, Louise Young, Limahl Germain and Peter Rethinasamy must decide whether the man who put the ‘Great’ into ‘Great Train Robbery’ was evil, or genius.

Additional material: Miriam O’Byrne, Angel...

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June 10, 2026 38 mins

A teenage nerd with anger management issues, Joan of Arc has been immortalised as a figure of resistance across the generations. But was the Maid of Orleans really just a pick-me girl with a dodgy haircut? Ola Labib, Edd Hedges and Lily Phillips must decide whether Joan of Arc was a virgin martyr, or a virgin loser.

Additional material: Christina Riggs, Angela Channell and Katie Sayer Researcher: Christina Riggs Recording Engineer: ...

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June 3, 2026 37 mins

He’s the most famous composer there’s ever been; a child prodigy who produced more than 600 works in his short life. But was the ‘miracle of Vienna’ really anything more than just a manchild with a scat fetish? Kate Cheka, Stephen Bailey and Steve Bugeja must decide whether the ‘boy genius’ was actually more ‘boy evil’, via water sports and magic flutes.

Additional material: Miriam O&r...

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May 27, 2026 37 mins

She’s the face that launched a thousand ships - but is Helen of Troy anything more than just a pick-me girl with an army of cucks? Lily Phillips, Ola Labib and Edd Hedges consider bestiality, incest, and Power Rangers, to try and assess whether the hottest woman in history leaves them cold.

Additional material: Miriam O’Byrne, Angela Channell and Katie Sayer Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne Recording Engineer: Gareth Woo...

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Evil Animals is back with a whole new menagerie of beasts. Comedian Russell Kane and his panel will debate whether Koalas, Wasps, Tortoises, Vultures, Orcas, Meerkats, Ants, Rats and Chimpanzees are evil or genius.

Across the series, Russell will be joined by leading experts including: zoology correspondent Jules Howard, zoologist Lucy Cooke, Professor of Behavioural Ecology Seirian Sumner, Merit Researcher at the Natural History Mu...

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May 20, 2026 40 mins

He’s the most famous writer of all time; but before his reign of terror over the GCSE syllabus, William ‘Shag-speare’ was an upcoming playwright with humble beginnings in Stratford-upon-Avon. But was he more evil, or genius? Did he put the ‘knob’ into Two Noble Kinsmen, or just the ‘mid’ into Midsummer Night’s Dream? It’s up to Stephen Bailey, Kate Cheka and Steve Bugeja to deci...

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May 13, 2026 37 mins

A socialite in shoulder pads or the real power behind the throne? It’s up to Limahl Germain, Louise Young and Peter Rethinasamy to decide if Nancy Reagan was a typical tradwife or a Machiavellian manipulator, via goths, psychics, and bananas in the bedroom

Additional material: Miriam O’Byrne, Angela Channell and Katie Sayer Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne Recording Engineer: Dom Boucher Sound Editor: Kate Mac Production...

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May 6, 2026 37 mins

The poster boy for yearning, F. Scott Fitzgerald came to epitomise the American dream. But is the author of The Great Gatsby really so great after all? Pierre Novellie, Rachel Fairburn and Slim dive between the covers and find some red flags in the roaring twenties.

Additional material: Miriam O’Byrne and Katie Sayer Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne Recording Engineer: Dom Boucher Sound Editor: Kate Mac Production Coordinator:...

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April 29, 2026 37 mins

The original pin-up, Brigitte Bardot enchanted audiences in France and around the world. But in later life, was her concern with rights - both “animal” and “far” - at odds with her liberated image? Via Playboy, farting on trains, and optimistically flashing an areola, Lindsey Santoro, Hasan Al Habib, and Alexandra Haddow must decide - was Brigitte Bardot evil, or a genius?

Additional material: Christina Riggs...

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