Natalie Haynes: Greek Myths, Medea and the Comedy of Classics

Natalie Haynes has never been easy to categorise. A stand-up comedian turned broadcaster and best-selling author, she has built a career out of making the ancient world vivid, funny and urgent. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien talks with the presenter of Stand Up for the Classics about her unusual path from Birmingham bookshops to the Edinburgh Fringe, and from Radio 4 to re-imagining Medea. They explore the strange alchemy of combining scholarship with humour, the myths that refuse to let her go, and why Jason may be one of antiquity’s least heroic heroes. Natalie reflects on the teachers and family who first filled her life with books, the risks of carving out a career that no one else was doing, and the joy of turning classical stories into something alive for modern audiences. Clever, warm and very funny, Natalie shows how ancient tragedy and modern comedy can illuminate each other- and why she still feels most at home with the ghosts of Greece. Find out more about Natalie Haynes book and tour No Friend to This House here