The Human Zoo, a radio program on Talksport, was presented by Tommy Boyd, with his engineer Asher Gould acting as co-presenter. It was broadcast from May 2000 until Boyd's dismissal in March 2002 and took its name from a 1969 book of the same name by Desmond Morris.

Format

The program followed a 'phone in' format, where callers were unscreened, went straight to air, and were free to discuss whatever they wanted as long as broadcasting regulations permitted it. An important part of the production of the program was the need to prevent a broadcast of offensive or illegal material by callers. This was achieved by a facility known as the dump button, a method often employed in phones in radio for this purpose. The station's output was broadcast several seconds after it was produced in the studio, allowing for a small amount of time for the station to be silenced after unwanted comments had been made by the caller(s).

The Human Zoo's success has been attributed to the particular style of its presenter, who encouraged a very wide variety of callers to contribute, including some who called in to give short performances, play pieces of prepared audio, or just shout out catchphrases. A mainstay of the programme for its listeners was the unpredictable nature of where the discussion would lead next. Very weighty issues could be juxtaposed with frivolous, light-hearted, or comedic items.

Boyd attributed the popularity of the show to the ability of its anarchic nature to strike a chord with people on a Sunday night. He proposed that Sunday evenings induced a widespread and overwhelming mood of either resignation or defiance and that the program provided an outlet to those who felt trapped by the prospect of school, college, or work the following morning.

Demise

In its latter stages, the Human Zoo became increasingly repetitive and dominated by a small coterie of callers.