#472 The Fonz’s Parking Space - Richard liked Liverpool so much last week that he’s come back again and his guest is Neil Fitzmaurice, a man who defied his career’s advisor to become an actor, writer and stand up with an incredibly impressive CV including Phoenix Nights, The Office and Peep Show. They talk about being one of the first people to have to interact with David Brent, terrifying David Mitchell for real, being heckled by Samuel L Jackson, how Neil almost ended up with a major role in T...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr•Season 28Ep. 4
#8 - Can I Actually Have My Ball Back? It’s episode 8 of CIHMBB and Richard’s journey has taken him to meet his oncologist, Dr Arnand Sharma for the first time, who seems excited to meet the star of Taskmaster. For the podcast Richard gets to interview Dr Sharma to get his side of the story and find out where the excised ball is and the truth about whether Dr Sharma really knew who Richard was. Plus the Tom-biased ball-bag mail bag which covers epididymitis and how having testicular cancer can a...
Oct 23, 2023•40 min•Ep. 8
RHLSTP Book Club 68 - Ghosts - The Button House Archives - Live from the Leicester Square Theatre, Richard has been in for his yearly human MOT. His guest has performed with and dug up monarchs, it’s the amazing Simon Farnaby. They talk about the importance of not making your Christmas TV tie-in a soulless cash grab, the fun of creating historical documents for all the ghosts, plus making the designer’s life difficult. Plus loads more about Simon’s remarkable career, how the documentary about th...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 68
#471 Gravy Train - Richard finds himself in an unseasonably sweltering Liverpool, at the Playhouse and is joined the the city in human form, Peter Hooton from the Farm. They talk about stealing Joe Strummer’s bananas, tipping over Piers Morgan’s car, how “The End” fanzine came about, why getting a band’s name right might not be that important, Tony Wilson’s funeral and why Peter didn’t end up becoming a priest. Come and see RHLSTP on tour http://richardherring.com/rhlstp SUPPORT THE SHOW! Watch ...
Oct 17, 2023•58 min•Season 28Ep. 3
#7 Navigating Nuts - The bollock Odyssey continues, with Rich finally finding out if he had cancer or not (spoiler he does) but also discovering that having cancer comes with some unexpected benefits. His guest is astronomer and scientist Harriet Witt who tells Rich about Polynesian way finders who used their balls to navigate the Pacific Ocean. Check out her website at passengerplanet.com . And in the Ball Bag some information about bird testes, how chemo can chill your extremities and the fear...
Oct 15, 2023•44 min•Ep. 7
RHLSTP Book Club 67 - Into the Uncanny - Richard talks to comedian, podcaster and master of the Unexplained about his entertaining and unsettling new book, Into The Uncanny which looks into some very intriguing true life ghost and UFO stories. They chat about why Danny is the perfect person to tackle this genre, with a foot in both camps of sceptic and believer, why it was important to him to cover new stories that he hasn’t done on any of his excellent podcasts, whether it’s just a certain type...
Oct 13, 2023•38 min•Ep. 67
#470 Right Little Puck - Richard has some more incredible Birmingham facts to share with his Brummie audience. His guest is RHLSTP super fan and mischievous imp, Joe Lycett. They reveal how Richard was one of the few people who was in on the secret of his David Beckham money shredding, the surprising group of people who were offended by this stunt, whether accusations of Qatar-based hypocrisy hold any water (and was it RHLSTP that led to them?) why he wanted to make his new show in Birmingham an...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 28Ep. 2
RETRO RHLSTP #63 - Alex Horne - Rich offers to fill a school library with books, before introducing the multi-talented genius behind Taskmaster and much more, Alex Horne. Find out what it’s like to sit bare-arsed on a cake, the secrets of Tim Key’s kindle, the respective amounts the pair spent on their last hair cuts and whether the first rule of Taskmaster is you can’t go on Taskmaster if you ask to be on Taskmaster. Plus who will win the battle of the Christmas books: Taskmaster https://www.am...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 63
RHLSTP Book Club 66 - The Funny Thing About Death - Richard interviews brilliant stand-up Jo Caulfield about her first book, a memoir about the loss of her sister, Annie, The Funny Thing About Death. They talk about why stand-ups don’t need cocaine, the honesty and humour required for taking on such a serious subject, the catharsis of writing about something so close, the heart behind the caustic stand-up character, the dangers and the ambivalence to them of hitchhiking in the 70s and 80s and wh...
Oct 05, 2023•47 min•Ep. 66
#469 Where Are You, Satish Patel? - Richard is delighted to be back in bankrupt Birmingham and in front of the third biggest crowd to ever come to RHLSTP. His guest is a man who has succeeded at everything he’s attempted, the remarkable Adil Ray. They discuss what it was like growing up in an Asian family in Yardley in the 70s and 80s, how racists nearly killed Adil as a baby and starting school in Handsworth the day after the riots, how Citizen Khan came about, how does it feel sharing some of ...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 28Ep. 1
Who’s the Most Famous Person You’ve Ever Been in a Lift With? (That You Didn’t Get Into The Lift With) . It’s another fine compilation of multiple answers to the same question, but boy what incredibly different results! Do you want to know who Rachel Parris has been in a lift with or who Michael Spicer has travelled between floors with? Do you want to know if Aisling Bea understands the question? And what about Richard Herring, who is the most famous person he’s ever been in a lift with, that he...
Oct 02, 2023•44 min•Ep. 5
RHLSTP Book Club 65 - Unruly Richard chats with writer, comedian and actor David Mitchell about his funny and diverting book about English monarchs, Unruly. Are the royal family just the country’s most successful thugs? How did they convince people to believe in their divine right to rule? Why would they want the job anyway, when it results in so much misery? Is the White Ship tragedy the biggest Sliding Doors moment in English history or would the world (and Anne) have been been better if Anne ...
Sep 29, 2023•47 min
#468 Seven- Nil - Richard is wondering about the profits made by the man (or maybe woman) who came up with the most delicious and ubiquitous flavour on earth. His guest, returning for a 7th shot at finally winning a podcast is the wonderful Sarah Millican. They discuss the romantic qualities of meat, who is best at the Chase and Taskmaster, how Sarah’s honesty about her life leads to amazing revelations from her audience, doing stand up in Vienna (and all over the world), whether Richard needs t...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 27Ep. 24
RETRO RHLSTP #62 - Maria Bamford - Richard continues to be surprised by the difference of living in the country and surprises his neighbours with his specialised knowledge about genitalia, but is very excited to be welcoming American superstar comedian Maria Bamford. They talk about the difficulty of telling a joke to people who find out you're a comedian; how some people have no sense of humour; the difficulty of making love to music; how charity only has any value if it's in public; the power ...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 62
RHLSTP Book Club 64 - Not Funny Not Funny Richard is joined by US stand up and writer Jena Friedman to chat about her essay collection about comedy, abortion, Me Too and more, Not Funny. Charmingly Jena’s nervous dog is in the room and then her baby son turns up and somehow Richard plays some music over the podcast, but there’s still time for some great chat about dead baby jokes, the kind of questions only female comedians get asked and the complex relationships in stand up, where there is no H...
Sep 21, 2023•39 min•Ep. 64
#467 The Great Vowel Shift - Richard is nursing a terrible injury and wondering why bad things happen to good people. His guest is actor, writer and character comedian Nigel Planer. They chat about the possibly flawed attempt to bring back a popular film franchise, the surprising (to the cast) endurance of a forty year old TV show, writing for Not The Nine O Clock News, the projects that have been in the works for a decade and are all coming to fruition now, writing a time travel novel and colla...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 27Ep. 23
RHLSTP Book Club 63 - What About Men? Richard talks to journalist and best-selling author Caitlin Moran about her attempt to answer the question asked by so many men - What About Men? What made her turn her attention to male problems after so much success in dealing with how to be a woman? Why aren’t men writing about this subject (cough cough, apart from me)? Are men screwed as hard by the patriarchy and women? And was she expecting the backlash - coming even before the book was published? Buy ...
Sep 14, 2023•45 min•Ep. 63
#466 Invisible Cereal - Richard has returned to Balham and made the mistake of looking up what his shitty little old flat is currently worth. His guest is another ex-resident of the South London borough, Peter “too gorgeous” Baynham. They discuss getting older, being 60, Richard’s eerily accurate prediction about the kindle, what you do with dead bodies at sea, how many mates you need on a yacht, the improv course where Pete rubbed shoulders with some of UK comedy’s future greats, how he managed...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 27Ep. 22
RHLSTP Book Club 62 - Is This OK? Richard talks to former music journalist Harriet Gibsone about her fascinating and funny memoir of obsession, growing up on the internet, early menopause and fantasies about Chris Martin. They discuss parasocial relationships from both sides of the equation, spying on your neighbours, politely cyber stalking a stranger on the bus, the insecurities that plague Harriet and most of us, how Deliciously Ella’s experience of birth may not be universal, how searing hon...
Sep 08, 2023•51 min•Ep. 62
#465 Pluto - Richard has had a surprise whilst doing some perfectly innocent browsing on the internet and is very excited about the RHLSTP tour http://richardherring.com/rhlstp . His guest is internet sensation and Pompeii hater, Alistair Green. They discuss his largely hidden back story, how he came to comedy relatively late and his only interplanetary theatrical experience before that, how working in the city led Al to a breakdown, what prompted his early videos and why they probably wouldn’t ...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 27Ep. 21
RHLSTP Book Club 61 - Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman. Richard starts another Book Club series with a cracker of a guest, TV presenter and Chief Curator of Royal Historic Palaces, Lucy Worsley. They chat about her latest book, just out in paperback, about Agatha Christie. What made Lucy choose this subject? How like Agatha is she? How close did we come to never hearing of Agatha at all? What happened in those 11 days where Agatha went missing in 1926? How important is her story for the his...
Sep 01, 2023•42 min•Ep. 61
#464 Missing Mr Tod - Richard has been at his kids’ sports day, reminding himself of his greatest sporting triumph. His guests are Ghosts, not literally, Ben Willbond and Larry Rickard. They discuss how the pair met and their initial thoughts about each other, how they plan to prove that ghosts have bumholes, why the next series of Ghosts will be the last, why Robin is trapped within the bounds of Button Hall, why a helicopter came to Ben’s school, what happened when Larry turned up to write for...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 27Ep. 20
#463 Mr Moustache - In the last of the Edinburgh Fringe podcasts, the generous sponsor of the NextUp comedy award is proud to be joined by US stand up and actor, Mike Birbiglia. They talk about turning ailments into stand up, why Mike sleeps in a cocoon, how his shows have a very UK sensibility, how the stories you least want to tell are often the best, how Mike messed up his big scene with Tom Hanks, how he became Taylor Swift’s son and Rich recommends some kids’ shows at the Fringe and fails t...
Aug 23, 2023•55 min•Season 27Ep. 19
#462 Going Dutch - The Edinburgh Fringe podcasts are nearly at an end and Richard is back a the Bill Murray to talk to Dutch comedian Micky Overman. They talk about why she chose to start her stand up career in the UK, the curse of coming from an unbroken home, how frankness about sex is good for the repressed British audience, how the internet has changed comedy, how Brexit has changed things for a European, whether it’s right to bring children into this dying world and whether Micky knows the ...
Aug 22, 2023•53 min•Season 27Ep. 18
#461 Judy Murray Nose Recorder - Richard is trying to teach his five year old to swear like someone from the 1980s. His guest is the man behind internet sensation Jazz Emu, Archie Henderson. They talk about where this extraordinary character came from, producing high quality internet content on a tiny budget, touring the USA in an RV, putting himself into the background of every photo of a random fan, the demons of sleep paralysis, whether Archie will follow in the footsteps of Minchin and the C...
Aug 21, 2023•58 min•Season 27Ep. 17
#460 Perfectly Plated Avocado Toast - Richard records his sixth podcast in four days (how is that even possible?) and has a new question about what constitutes cheating. His guest is gazebo building stand-up, Ed Byrne. They discuss why he hasn’t been on the show as often as Sara Pascoe, how many lives he has saved, how Angela Griffin possibly got the edge over Ed and his wife on Mr and Mrs and the humour that can be found in the worst circumstances and why Ed has chosen to write a show about the...
Aug 18, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 27Ep. 16
Rich and his old FUBAR colleague Lou Sanders team up to promote some of the great comedy content available on Audible. They pick out their favourite shows from the roster, Educating Daisy with Daisy May Cooper and French and Saunders: Titting About, as well as wild-card From The Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast. Find out what Richard really thinks about Daisy after the Taskmaster Hippogate and the controversial subject that Lou would like to hear French and Saunders discuss. Thanks to our s...
Aug 17, 2023•28 min
#459 Huge Fork, Tiny Knife - Richard is at the Hanger Farms Arts Centre in Totton, as safe distance from the Fringe and is wondering what drives people to bother to leave one star reviews of fairly low key tourist spots. His guest is eccentric Englishman and brilliant stand up Paul Foot. They discuss the confusing advert Paul shot in Australia with Richard Branson, why all movies are exactly the same, the fury of John Terry’s cousin and why you shouldn’t go to a comedy show when your mum has jus...
Aug 16, 2023•58 min•Season 27Ep. 15
#458 Good and Evil Tape Worms - Richard has had an unpleasant experience in a fancy restaurant, but it won’t stop him talking to comedian and podcaster Alison Spittle. They chat about an unexpected pregnancy, turning trauma into comedy and when it’s too soon to do that, why comedians shouldn’t take cocaine, the surprise chemistry between Alison and Kerry Katona and a polite, if creepy attempt at seduction in a hotel lift. See Alison’s show here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/alison-spittl...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr•Season 27Ep. 14
#457 Platinum Heart - Rich is back in New Milton to continue his Edinburgh Fringe without going to Edinburgh run and is a bit perplexed by a T shirt that Twitter has been trying to make him buy. His guest is veteran stand-up and cheater of death Markus Birdman. They chat about his journeyman status on the circuit, whether being at a school where your dad worked propelled both Rich and Markus towards comedy, Markus' decision to go on Britain’s Got Talent and whether Simon Cowell understands comed...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 27Ep. 13
