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Blue Smoke Media

Hard Lines

A Stand-Up and Comedy podcast Explicit

#97 in Stand-Up · 🇬🇧
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About the show

Hard Lines is the Roast Battle UK podcast hosted by Drew Stearne and two-time UK champion Shalaka Kurup. From battle breakdowns and live reports to joke-writing theory and backstage chaos, each episode dives into what makes Roast Battle work. Smart, filthy, and surprisingly analytical, it’s for comedy fans, future battlers, and anyone who wants to get inside the craft of insult comedy.

Newest episodes

He Roasted An 8-Year-Old. It Got DARK.

46 min Video

Max Fosh has done it again. This time, comedian John Ajodah finds himself face-to-face with eight-year-old Lucas at New York's legendary Comedy Cellar, and things get very dark indeed. In part two of our child roast battle double bill, Drew and Shalaka break down a very different approach to an impossible comedy challenge. While Shalaka tried to protect her young opponent, John throws caution to the wind, improvising outrageously dark jokes while Lucas fires back with surprising confidence. From Jeff Ross and Brian Moses to improvised punchlines, questionable morals and the world's strangest audience vote, we ask: how far can you go when your opponent is eight? Follow us: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup See Roast Battle UK live: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

How To Insult A Child

1 hr 5 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down one of the strangest Roast Battle UK moments ever: the Max Fosh video where Shalaka was told she would be battling a mystery guest, only for an eight-year-old child to walk on stage. They get into the setup, the fake facts, the jokes Shalaka could not possibly say, why the kid became the star of the show, and how you survive a roast battle where winning would somehow be worse than losing. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

Working Class vs Middle Class, XL vs Incel

1 hr 0 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down a veteran Roast Battle UK clash between Lee Hudson and Jonathan Kogan. Lee brings clean, efficient, professional joke writing. Jonathan brings darker ideas, strong concepts and a slightly chaotic stage presence. The result is a 4-0 win for Lee, but Drew and Shalaka ask whether it was really that one-sided, why some clever jokes do not fully land, and how consistency can beat individual big swings. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

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All episodes

He Roasted An 8-Year-Old. It Got DARK.

46 min Video

Max Fosh has done it again. This time, comedian John Ajodah finds himself face-to-face with eight-year-old Lucas at New York's legendary Comedy Cellar, and things get very dark indeed. In part two of our child roast battle double bill, Drew and Shalaka break down a very different approach to an impossible comedy challenge. While Shalaka tried to protect her young opponent, John throws caution to the wind, improvising outrageously dark jokes while Lucas fires back with surprising confidence. From Jeff Ross and Brian Moses to improvised punchlines, questionable morals and the world's strangest audience vote, we ask: how far can you go when your opponent is eight? Follow us: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup See Roast Battle UK live: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

How To Insult A Child

1 hr 5 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down one of the strangest Roast Battle UK moments ever: the Max Fosh video where Shalaka was told she would be battling a mystery guest, only for an eight-year-old child to walk on stage. They get into the setup, the fake facts, the jokes Shalaka could not possibly say, why the kid became the star of the show, and how you survive a roast battle where winning would somehow be worse than losing. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

Working Class vs Middle Class, XL vs Incel

1 hr 0 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down a veteran Roast Battle UK clash between Lee Hudson and Jonathan Kogan. Lee brings clean, efficient, professional joke writing. Jonathan brings darker ideas, strong concepts and a slightly chaotic stage presence. The result is a 4-0 win for Lee, but Drew and Shalaka ask whether it was really that one-sided, why some clever jokes do not fully land, and how consistency can beat individual big swings. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

We Bombed At Our Own Thing

1 hr 7 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down their own Roast Battle against each other, which turns out to be a perfect example of how hard this format actually is. They get into clever jokes that died, old references, inside jokes, audience energy, self-policing, family boundaries, Rubik’s Cube trauma, Coco Pops, deep fried Mars bars, and why sometimes the best lesson in roast battle is admitting that the audience did not laugh. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

Best Comeback Ever

53 min Video

Drew and Shalaka finish breaking down Drew vs Patrick Brusnahan, a Roast Battle UK clash where Drew’s written jokes keep landing, but Patrick’s comebacks and stage presence threaten to steal the whole thing. Part two gets into the Blanca from Street Fighter joke, self-roasting, pizza delivery, the comeback that changes the battle, and a judging section that leaves Drew, Shalaka, Patrick and even some of the judges wondering whether the right person won. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

When Charm Beats Joke Writing: Fat Jokes, Gay Jokes and Co-Writing

47 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down part one of Drew vs Patrick Brusnahan, a Roast Battle UK clash that raises one of the biggest questions in insult comedy: what matters more, the writing or the performance? They talk about joke anxiety, co-writing, slurs, boundaries, fat jokes, gay jokes, real-time editing, and why Patrick’s throwaway asides and crowd work keep landing even when the written jokes do not always add up. Part two continues next week. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

Remaining Time 50:38 1x Playback Rate Fat Phobic Or Racist?

50 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down a razor-close Roast Battle UK clash between Patrick Brusnahan and Joshua Bethania. Patrick brings dark, mean, tightly written jokes, while Joshua counters with surreal one-liners, deep research and a level of specificity only he could pull off. The battle goes all the way to an audience vote, leading to a full discussion about judging, consistency, crowd memory, going first vs going second, and why the room does not always reward the technically best battler. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

I Got Ambushed By A Rubik’s Cube

54 min Video

Drew and Shalaka break down Drew’s Roast Battle against Aziz Vora, a battle that starts with mansplaining, dad jokes and questionable fashion insults before descending into the nerdiest possible chaos: a live Rubik’s Cube challenge on stage. It is a full breakdown of joke structure, judging, crowd momentum, prop comedy, battle tactics and what happens when your own “interesting fact” comes back to absolutely ruin your evening. Follow the podcast: @hardlinespod Drew: @drewtellsjokes Shalaka: @shalakakurup Tickets for Roast Battle UK: roastbattle.co.uk/tickets

Meth Messiah vs Creepy Fairy

55 min Video

Drew Stearne and Shalaka Kurup break down one of the strangest Roast Battle UK clashes they’ve covered yet: Peter Bazely vs Holly Ludlow. It is weird, theatrical, unpredictable, and a great example of how character, performance and chaos can matter just as much as the jokes themselves.

Do We Secretly Hate Everyone?

10 min Video

Drew Stearne and Shalaka Kurup get into the psychology of roast battle: mean thoughts, joke files, friendship, consent, and why the best roast battles come from respect rather than real hostility.

Virgin Roasters. Absolute Killers.

48 min Video

In this episode of Hard Lines, Drew Stearne and Shalaka Kurup break down a surprisingly strong battle between first-time Roast Battle competitors Rich and Luke. They get into callbacks, brevity, consistency, stage presence, and why one ridiculous sound-effect joke becomes the standout moment of the whole battle.

Inside the Drunkest Show in Comedy

40 min Video

This week on Hard Lines, Drew Stearne and Shalaka Kurup are joined by Roast Battle UK host Mark Cram. They talk about how Roast Battle works, what makes a great audience, the difference between hosting and battling, the strange little culture around the show, and why funny always matters more than just being offensive.

This Battle Was So Good People Stole Jokes From It

57 min Video

Drew Stearne and Shalaka Kurup break down a classic Roast Battle UK clash between Shalaka and Helen Kay. They get into the writing, the callbacks, the stereotypes, the comebacks, and why this battle still stands out as one of the best. Plus: joke theft, mic technique, and what makes a battle truly work.

How To Roast A White Guy

44 min Video

In this episode Drew and Shalaka break down James Mileham vs Adam Riley in one of the best battles in recent history. Delve into the genius of their joke writing and the expertise (or otherwise) in which it's performed.

How to Insult Someone You Like

56 min Video

In the first episode of Hard Lines, Drew Stearne and Roast Battle UK champion Shalaka Kurup introduce the show, look back at a recent live night, and then break down a standout battle from the 2024 tournament: Luke Hall vs Steph Aretone. From joke structure and rebuttals to timing, crowd reaction and persona, they dig into what made it such a strong clash, and why Luke edged it. A funny, filthy and surprisingly nerdy deep dive into Roast Battle craft.

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