Josie Long presents four entertaining and educational comedic essays, aided by Maeve Higgins and special guests.

Award-winning comedian Josie Long has performed nine hit stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, subsequently touring them around the UK and internationally. This BBC Radio series was adapted from her hit 2009 stage show, and finds her attempting to unravel the mysteries of the universe through ad hoc research. Using the knowledge she's gleaned, she gives us the lowdown on her selected subject - with the help of her special guests, who join in with questions, illustrations and interruptions.

In Astronomy for Dummies, Josie uses the textbook of the same name to try and get to grips with the complexities of the solar system. As she flicks through the book, she learns how to identify constellations, joins the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence - and finds her cosmic twin... The Enlightenment sees her pondering the history of collecting things. From her childhood frog collection to the Pitts Rivers Museum, she considers why we love acquiring, categorising and displaying objects - and how doing so makes us better people...

In Obscure Animal Facts, Josie attempts to level up, and become unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit. Sharing her favourite facts about the animal kingdom, she recalls her animal-activist past, interrogates her father over his quiz-buff history and reflects on the deep joy of being dorky. And in Propriety, Plants, Grandparents and Growing Your Own, she finds out how being outside connects us to nature, muses on apple names and adventure botanists, and discovers how her granny's gardening book holds the key to al fresco happiness.

Among Josie's special guests are The Infinite Monkey Cage's Robin Ince; German comedian Henning Wehn; Josie's dad Geoff Long; and the host of Jordan, Jesse, Go!, Jesse Thorn.

Production credits

Written by and starring Josie Long

Produced by Colin Anderson

With Maeve Higgins, Robin Ince, Professor Stephen Maran, Henning Wehn, Daniel Harkin, Chris Neil, Jesse Thorne, Geoff Long, Isy Suttie

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 February-11 March 2009