No Such Thing As A Fish No Such Thing As Anti-Drone Sharks
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Apr 23, 2026 
Cariad Lloyd, comedian and improviser known for her work with Ostentatious and children’s books, joins the panel. They explore the origins of broadcast bleeping and old censorship tricks. Samuel Pepys’ censored diary and its salacious passages are discussed. They debunk shark damage to submarine cables and uncover oddities in embryology like transient extra muscles.
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Origins Of Broadcast Censorship
- Bleeping on live broadcasts began in 1921 after Olga Petrova's veiled nursery rhyme about birth control caused stations to mask controversial lines.
- Engineers initially switched to a prerecorded classical-music feed as an emergency 'mute' before the modern bleep evolved.
Olga Petrova's Invented Persona
- Olga Petrova used a stage persona claiming Polish origins though she was Muriel Harding from Hampshire, and kept the accent professionally.
- She starred in early films and even worked with pioneering director Alice Guy, making her a surprising origin for censorship practices.
Pepys Diary Was Sanitised For Centuries
- Samuel Pepys' shorthand diary hid extensive sexual and problematic entries that editors heavily censored when first transcribed in the 19th century.
- Full unexpurgated translations didn't appear until the 20th century, reshaping his public image.