No Such Thing as a Fish

4.8 (19K) · COMEDY · UPDATED WEEKLY

Each week the researchers behind the BBC programme QI share their favourite facts from the last seven days, then argue about which is best. Hosted by Dan Schreiber, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, and Anna Ptaszynski.

4D AGO

Episode 533: No Such Thing as a Fish That Knows It's Being Watched

This week's facts: the surveillance cameras that made pigeons change their commuting routes, the medieval tournament where everyone accidentally got too drunk to joust, the deep sea fish that has invented its own version of a solar panel, and the philosopher who proved free will exists by refusing to get off a bus.

11D AGO

Episode 532: No Such Thing as a Perfectly Normal Platypus

Four facts this week: the Australian diplomat who was accidentally declared dead by his own government for six years, the ancient Roman vending machine that sold holy water, the study proving that crows hold grudges for longer than any other animal, and the country that banned mirrors in all government buildings.

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Fish Tank: Live Q&A — February 2026

The team answers listener questions about their most beloved facts, argues (again) about whether bees can count, and reveals which facts from the archive they still think about regularly. Plus: a new fact that Dan found at 2am and couldn't wait to share.

25D AGO

Episode 531: No Such Thing as a Simple Question About Toast

This week the team covers: the Victorian gentleman who catalogued every single way that toast could go wrong, the country whose national anthem has words for every single weather condition, the spider species that builds decoy spiders to confuse predators, and the bank heist where the thieves left a better security system behind.

32D AGO

Episode 530: No Such Thing as a Coincidence at the North Pole

Facts this week: the Arctic research station powered entirely by a single very motivated dog, the statistical impossibility that two unrelated families have experienced for 400 years, the opera house that was built in the wrong city, and the mathematician who accidentally solved a problem that had stumped everyone for 300 years while doodling in a meeting.

39D AGO

Episode 529: No Such Thing as an Overqualified Pharaoh

This week: the Egyptian pharaoh who was secretly also a world-class athlete and kept it quiet, the treaty between England and Portugal that is technically still in force and covers some surprising things, the fish that has been discovered to dream, and the town that accidentally elected a cat as mayor and then couldn't legally remove it for three years.

46D AGO

Episode 528: No Such Thing as a Humble Iceberg

Four more extraordinary facts: the iceberg that has been circling Antarctica for 23 years and has developed its own microecosystem, the Roman emperor who genuinely believed he was a god and took out a hit on the sun, the species of octopus that has started using coconut shells as weapons, and the chess grandmaster who was disqualified for having too good a memory.

53D AGO

Episode 527: No Such Thing as an Honest Raccoon

This week's batch: the raccoon that testified in a court case in 1947, the medieval knight who was technically the greatest jouster in history but retired before competing because he was afraid of horses, the deep sea vent that has its own completely isolated ecosystem, and the country that maintains diplomatic relations with a fictional nation by accident.

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Hosts & Guests

Dan SchreiberHost

James HarkinCo-Host

Andrew Hunter MurrayCo-Host

Anna PtaszynskiCo-Host

4.8

out of 5

19K Ratings

The best podcast for making you feel smarter

Every single episode I learn something that I immediately tell someone else about. The facts are extraordinary but what makes the show is the genuine friendship between the four hosts and the arguments that break out about which fact is best. Absolutely unmissable.

QIEnthusiast · Mar 7, 2026

My favourite podcast for 8 years

I have been listening since near the beginning and the quality has never dipped. Dan, James, Andrew, and Anna have incredible chemistry and genuine curiosity about everything. The show has made me a noticeably more interesting person at dinner parties.

BritishPodFan · Feb 22, 2026

The perfect podcast

Funny, educational, surprising, and warmly human. Every episode. Without exception. No Such Thing as a Fish is as close to a perfect podcast as I have encountered in 15 years of listening. It treats its audience as intelligent adults who want to learn and laugh simultaneously.

FactsAreFun · Feb 7, 2026

About

No Such Thing as a Fish is hosted by the four researchers behind the BBC's hit panel show QI — Dan Schreiber, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, and Anna Ptaszynski. Each week they each bring their favourite fact they've discovered while working on the show and argue about which is best. What sounds like a simple premise produces one of the most endlessly surprising, funny, and educational podcasts anywhere. The facts range from the genuinely mind-bending to the completely absurd, and the conversation they spark always goes in directions you can't predict. The show has an absolutely devoted international following and has produced several bestselling books. The title comes from the fact that fish — as a biological category — do not exist.