In each episode each presenter takes it in turn to present their favourite fact that they have come across that week. [11] They discuss the information surrounding that fact, and the other presenters add in extra facts and information connecting to it. The title for No Such Thing as a Fish comes from a fact in the QI TV series. In the third episode of the eighth series, also known as "Series H", an episode on the theme of "Hoaxes" reported that after a lifetime studying fish the biologist Stephen Jay Gould concluded that there was no such thing as a fish. He reasoned that although there are many sea creatures, most of them are not closely related to each other. For example, a salmon is more closely related to a camel than it is to a hagfish. [8] The opening of early episodes of the podcast used to feature a recording of the elves mentioning this fact, which appears in the first paragraph of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Underwater Life. [9] [10] Format [ edit ] The regular QI elves who present No Such Thing as a Fish (left-to-right); Andrew Hunter Murray, Dan Schreiber, Anna Ptaszynski and James Harkin. Heinz Oberhummer Award für Wissenschaftskommunikation 2019 geht an "No Such Thing As A Fish" ". University of Graz. 3 April 2019 . Retrieved 7 April 2019. On 2 November 2017, a book written by the four presenters entitled No Such Thing as a Fish presents The Book of the Year was published, which features facts collected during the year 2017. [20] Comic Relief marathon special [ edit ] No Such Thing As A Good Gift For Gordon Brown". QI. 24 October 2014 . Retrieved 25 October 2014. [ permanent dead link]

Usborne, Simon (18 December 2014). "Serial podcast finale: Mania has propelled podcasts into the cultural mainstream". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022 . Retrieved 19 December 2014. This is the 23rd QI title to be published by Faber. Worldwide, QI titles have sold almost 4.5 million copies. In December 2014 the podcast was named by Apple as the "Best New Podcast" for 2014. [2] In March 2015 it won the "Internet Award" in the 2015 Chortle Awards. [3] It won the same award again in March 2016. [4] a b "Apple shows the best iTunes has to offer in 2014". iNews and Tech. 8 December 2014 . Retrieved 9 December 2014. Anna’s and James’s book is as joyful and fact-filled as you’d expect from the QI Elves, but the storytelling is utterly involving and entertaining too. You’ll be rooting for a Taiwanese tug-of-war team, be outraged by croquet skullduggery, admire the audacity of sporting history’s greatest cheats and discover the pure delight that is Puppy Bowl. It will whet even the sports refusenik’s curiosity because all human life is here: the rise of civilisation, psychology, war, money, substance abuse, success, loss, redemption and even Bhutanese archery. It’ll be an absolutely winning Christmas read.’

a b Dessau, Bruce (29 April 2014). "Podcast Review: No Such Thing as a Fish". Beyond the Joke . Retrieved 23 May 2014. In April 2019 it was announced that the podcast won the " Heinz Oberhummer Award für Wissenschaftskommunikation" [17] (Heinz Oberhummer Award in science communication), an Austrian award for excellence in science communication. The award is named after Heinz Oberhummer, an Austrian physicist, founder and former part of an Austrian science cabaret, the Science Busters [ de]. Westhead, Ian (4 March 2021). "35 guests to mark 35 years of Comic Relief". ATV Today . Retrieved 20 March 2021. No Such Thing as a Fish is a weekly British podcast series produced and presented by the researchers behind the BBC Two panel game QI. In the podcast each of the researchers, collectively known as "The QI Elves", present their favourite fact that they have come across that week. The most regular presenters of the podcast are James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber, and there are occasional guest presenters. When one of the regular presenters is unavailable for any reason, fellow QI elves Alex Bell and Anne Miller often take their place.

Comic Relief 'No Such Thing As A Fish' ". TotalNtertainment. 3 March 2021 . Retrieved 20 March 2021. Arbuthnot, Leaf (22 May 2020). " 'We don't want to give up now': could coronavirus weaken the podcast industry?". the Guardian . Retrieved 15 April 2022. Cooke, Chris (23 July 2014). "Dan Schreiber: The idiot elf arrives at the Fringe". ThreeWeeks . Retrieved 23 July 2014. As of October 2023, there are over 500 episodes of the podcast, [7] usually ranging between 30 minutes and an hour. A new episode is released every Friday. Bennett, Steve. "No Such Thing As A Fish wins a shit prize: News 2019: Chortle: The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk . Retrieved 3 May 2020.At the end of the day, it’s a book of two halves, and we’re over the moon to have had the chance to write both of them. We always gave 110%, and we couldn’t have done it without the team at Faber, who really brought their A-game. But clichés aside, we’ve been excited for a long time to give the QI treatment to the world of sport. Sure enough, our research uncovered some incredible characters and unbelievable stories. We hope sports fans and non-sports fans alike will love learning about them as much as we did, because you don’t need any prior sports knowledge to enjoy what is really a book about human behaviour in all its weirdness. As another old sporting cliché goes, “you just couldn’t write it” . . . except we did.’