#519 Everything’s a Piñata - Richard is at the Bedford Corn Exchange where he’s fascinated by the animal sanctuary that bears his name and the Bedford cult that was expecting the second coming of Jesus. His guest is the mysterious Swede Olaf Falafel, if that is his real name or nationality. He talks about how he got into comedy, the double edged sword of winning joke of the Fringe, how to come up with one liners, mixing his artistic skills with his comedy, doing comedy for kids and how Twitter h...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr•Season 29Ep. 19
#518 Elbowing Banksy - Rich is back in Leicester, trying to work out the sexiest ever UK Prime Minister. His guest is comedy legend and fellow monoball, Simon Munnery. They talk about the crimes of the one-balled community, appearing at the Tunnel Club alongside the much-missed Malcolm Hardee, visiting CERN with the actor Kevin Eldon, travelling the country in a cortina with Simon’s support act, Simon Pegg, some of the problems with the Mission Impossible franchise, how Simon has to pack up his ...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 29Ep. 18
#517 Phil Spins - Rich is back with the kingstealers of Leicester (but he’s not going to mention that) and is pleased to be in the home of DNA fingerprints. His guest is the unpredictable award winning comedian Phil Ellis. They talk about working in an airbag factory, delivering pizzas to tight millionaire footballers, the extreme lengths Phil will go to to provide twists for his Edinburgh shows (no matter the cost), the sitcom ideas that TV found too dark, pretending to be an orphan and swappin...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr•Season 29Ep. 17
#516 Tooth in a Bag - Richard is back in Bristol and details some of the things that have made this city so famous. His guest is TikTok sensation and stand up Abi Clarke. They chat about almost going to circus school, how lockdown shifted her focus from stand up to online content and how that helped her find an audience, working with your parents, Rich’s strong feelings for Abi’s mum, death threats from One Direction fans, performing an hour after having a wisdom tooth removed and how to turn ro...
Aug 02, 2024•52 min•Season 29Ep. 16
#515 Sex, Sleep or Scrabble? - Richard has travelled to Bristol, a place where they take a dim view of statues (after a while) but name everything after Colston anyway. His guest is broadcaster, doctor and the other half of Struck Off and Die, Phil Hammond. They chat about being slapped in the face by Tony Slattery, infuriating John Redwood, being chastised by Jacob Rees Mogg’s dad, why men are so bad about going to their GP and discussing their feelings, a coping strategy for severe depression,...
Jul 31, 2024•59 min•Season 29Ep. 15
#514 Bag For Life Full of Bones - Richard returns to his kingdom of Edinburgh and it’s Chriiiiissstttmas (in a few weeks or a few months ago, whichever way you look at it). His guest is Shetland storyteller, actor and comedian and cultural icon Marjolein Robertson. They talk about how a terrible few months in Amsterdam led to her becoming a stand up, a teleporting ghost, a terrifying tale of a haunting entity being passed on to a room mate, playing all the characters in a play about Mary Queen o...
Jul 29, 2024•58 min•Season 29Ep. 14
Book Club #107 - Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus - Richard chats to stand up legend and surprisingly underused Father Ted star Michael Redmond about his book Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus and the surprisingly controversial history of the story, from stand-up show, to radio show that was cancelled at the last minute, to self-published book. They also talk about the early-ish days of alternative comedy, playing the Tunnel Club, National Bring a Jockey To Work Day, the Pasquale family’s love of his m...
Jul 26, 2024•49 min•Ep. 107
#513 Bashful Secrets - Richard has come to Dublin and with 900 people in the 3 Olympia it’s an incredible atmosphere! He discusses his Irish heritage and why Ireland should leave Europe! His guest is the man behind and in front of the Divine Comedy, Neil Hanlon. They chat about their authority figure dads, whether “My Lovely Horse” will be his enduring legacy, the Duckworth Lewis Method, Band Aid 20 and Midge Ure’s lack of imagination, what was in the wood shed, plus a toilet mishap when perform...
Jul 24, 2024•59 min•Season 29Ep. 13
Book Club #106 - Fair or Foul - The Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition - Richard chats to journalist and friend Stefan Stern about his terrific book about the positives and negatives of ambition, Fair or Foul. What prompted him to tackle this subject? Why is the play Macbeth the perfect scaffolding for this discussion and what do people need for their ambitions to be considered a success. They chat about Boris Johnson, Elizabeth Holmes, the effect of lockdown and mortality on ambitions, why you need...
Jul 19, 2024•39 min•Ep. 106
#512 Veteran - Rich is back in Canterbury and has some great stuff about medieval archbishops that should play well on Live at the Apollo. His guest is veteran comedian and army veteran, Nick Wilty. He is a man with the most extraordinary life who has talked himself and others out of deadly situation. Amazing stories include convincing someone not to jump off a bridge before returning to the same spot in a different position the next year, having a gun in his face whilst hitchhiking, how he beca...
Jul 17, 2024•51 min•Season 29Ep. 12
Book Club #105 - Alan Partridge Big Beacon - The time has come for the creator of Alan Partridge to meet the current writers of Alan Partridge, the Gibbons Brothers, who sadly don’t share a bunk bed, but have done amazing work over the last decade or so with the character. They discuss how they ended up with this lucrative gig, how not being obsessive Partridge fans helped them to reinvent the character somewhat, how writing as Alan involves turning off your imagination and going with the first ...
Jul 12, 2024•45 min•Ep. 105
#511 What You On? - Richard is back in Colchester with possibly the greatest example of a local news story that there has ever been. His guest is doctor turned actor Tony Gardner. They chat about being bitten by an over enthusiastic zombie, the decision to go to Edinburgh that would change his life, how it became impossible to keep both his GP job and acting work going, his reluctance to do children’s TV, but how My Parents Are Aliens changed his life and led to a very impressive CV, as well as ...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 29Ep. 11
Book Club #104 - A Crack In Everything - Richard talks to physicist and journalist Marcus Chown about this fascinating book about Black Holes and the people who discovered them, A Crack in Everything. Are Black Holes black and holes? Can we time travel if we go inside one? Why is the one at the centre of the Milky Way smaller than most and what repercussions does that have for us? The pair talk about how Einstein didn’t think black holes would exist, the tragic and difficult lives of many of the...
Jul 05, 2024•50 min•Ep. 104
#510 McCartney Set List - Richard is still being played on by Scant Regard, but as this long tour progresses his stand up sections get mercifully shorter! His guest is the multi-talented Rob Brydon. They chat about how a birthday message to Margot Robbie led to a part in a potentially Oscar winning film (You’ll know if it won by now, but we poor fools in the past did not), how Brydon pretended to be ill to get out of a guest slot on Would I Lie To You? and how the show has become bulletproof, ho...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 29Ep. 10
Book Club #103 - Will I Ever Have Sex Again? - Richard chats with comedian and author Sofie Hagen about her thought-provoking and often heart-breaking, but also hopeful book Will I Ever Have Sex Again? They talk about the minefield that sexual politics still is, why we should talk about (and during) sex, why no means no and yes sometimes means no too, whether elderly cis people like Richard need to be afraid of pronouns and people being trans or non-binary and how thinking more about why we have...
Jun 28, 2024•52 min•Ep. 103
#509 Pot Noodle is Bad For You - Richard is doing some stand up that was super topical on 5th February when this was recorded, but for you will be a nice window to see what the people of the past thought was mildly amusing, plus there’s an exciting new addition to the show. His guest is comedy genius Armando Iannucci. They talk about how a Christmas advert was Armando’s proudest achievement, how it’s possible that 30 years have passed since the Day Today (apparently it’s something to do with the...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 29Ep. 9
EQ: Cheese It's time - at long last - for the Cheese episode. See Rich on tour http://richardherring.com/ballback/tour SUPPORT THE SHOW! Come and see us live GIGS Watch our TWITCH CHANNEL See extra content at our WEBSITE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 24, 2024•47 min•Ep. 9
Book Club #102 - Richard talks to archaeologist and trained stonemason James Wright about his terrific book busting some of the myths about ancient buildings. They chat about why people wrongly believe that spiral staircases are often clockwise, how castles were bling rather than defensive, why you can’t trust anything written on a pub, why stonemasons carved grotesque and pornographic sculptures on churches (and pre-empted one of Richard’s best known emergency questions), what the marks left on...
Jun 21, 2024•50 min•Ep. 102
#508 Matterface - Richard is back in Brighton and is aghast at the local news of rude waiters and big cats. His guest is football mad stand up Maisie Adam. They discuss how a choice in a writers’ room they were both in led one of their careers to sky rocket (but which one), the disappointment of the wrong Royal at the Variety Performance and how maracas were the sign of a job well done, playing in Soccer Aid the day after your wedding, a Tipping Point humiliation and taking a job where you might...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 29Ep. 8
Book Club #101 - JANEY: The Woman That Won't Shut Up - Richard talks to brilliant comedian, author, actor and agitator Janey Godley about her fab autobiography Janey. They discuss living with a cancer that you know will kill you, why she wanted to be honest about the horrors and laughter that cancer brings and why survival is nothing to do with the person with cancer. Plus dealing with trolls, a brush with the stalker from Baby Reindeer, knitting a scarf for a film star, being friends with Billy...
Jun 14, 2024•36 min•Ep. 101
#507 Jackie Chan and the 700 Mops - Richard has come to the Brighton Komedia with plans to Mount Everest and a surprising testicular fact. His guest is writer and actor Rufus Jones. They discuss the mystery of the year of Rufus’ birth, getting pissed with Terry Jones, playing an American president with a squeaky voice, the magnificent achievement of the sitcom Home and being observed whilst acting nude, the ever changing technology of supermarket shopping, why Rich will never download Royal Matc...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 29Ep. 7
Book Club #100 - Be Funny or Die - In our 100th Book Club podcast Richard talks to comedy writer Joel Morris about his frog dissecting book, Be Funny Or Die, which promises to reveal the secret of comedy and does a pretty decent job of doing so. They discuss what makes a good and a terrible catchphrase, how no comedian can make everyone laugh and why they shouldn’t want to, the tribal nature of comedy, whether comedy is by definition offensive to someone, the power of shared laughter in an inapp...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 100
#506 Review Rainbow - Richard has some dispiriting revelations about what people google when they are looking for him, but is quickly revived by the ready wit of Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer 2023, Urooj Ashfak. They chat about the difficulties (or not) of taking comedy across international boundaries, the burgeoning Indian stand up scene, being a question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, meeting fleabag, turning teenage diaries into comedy and the only stand up award that Richard has ev...
Jun 05, 2024•49 min•Season 29Ep. 6
RETRO RHLSTP #86 - Creative Differences - Richard has some news of an amazing time travelling finger and is clearly super excited to be meeting one of his all-time comedy heroes, Harry Shearer from off of This is Spinal Tap and The Simpsons. Rich was too scared to talk to him when he saw him improbably travelling on London's tube, but hopefully he won't just sit quietly, staring at him and saying nothing this time. The pair discuss Harry's career which seems to break the space-time continuum as ...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 86
Book Club #99 - Heresy - Richard talks to journalist and author and daughter of a nun and a monk, Catherine Nixey about her witty and informative book about the early days of Christianity, Heresy. They chat about what the word Heresy really means, the extraordinary gospels that didn’t make it into the New Testament which show Jesus’ murderous side and the magical powers of the Virgin Mary’s anatomy, the varying beliefs of early Christian sects, including one that said he hated kids and their par...
May 31, 2024•36 min•Ep. 99
#505 Cheeky Underground Presence - Richard is back to work after the Christmas break (we’re coming to you from the past) and is worried about the door of depravity that he has opened up, but there is no need to fear because his guest is processed meat advocate, Bob Mortimer. It’s a free-wheeling chat as you might be prepared for that takes in farmers, meeting Paul McCartney, whether double acts are still talking to each other or not, a cursed earring, favourite openings and oh, just listen to it...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 29Ep. 5
RETRO RHLSTP #85 - The Shreks of Westminster Bridge - Slightly worse for wear after having lunch with Alice Cooper at the Q awards, Richard is delighted to welcome a man he thinks might be him from another time stream, David 'Mitch' Mitchell. He's certainly met his match in pedantry and both men accidentally reveal some shocking details about their respective psyches. Never have two men discussed at such length the vagaries of choosing between a ham hand and a sun lotion arm pit. And that is GUA...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 85
Book Club #98 - 42 The Wildly Improbably Ideas of Douglas Adams - Richard talks to Kevin Jon Davies, the editor of this fascinating collection of items from the archives of Douglas Adams. They chat about the insight the notes, letters, scripts and thoughts give to the mind of this extraordinary thinker, the notebooks that started with optimism, moved into self-hatred and then largely remained blank (that most writers will be familiar with), the alternate reality where Adams gave up writing, what...
May 24, 2024•49 min•Ep. 98
#504 Respect Hook - Richard is back at the Lowry Theatre Salford and is annoyed about an Amazon review for his book. His guest is comedian, actor and former Edinburgh flatmate, Justin Moorhouse. They discuss doing a corporate for an arms manufacturer, improvising with Eric Cantona, how everyone in the Manchester area has to appear on Coronation Street (as up to three characters), being a cheeky f***er to Danny Boyle, why Justin doesn’t go everywhere with his face painted, why it’s a bad idea for...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 29Ep. 4
RETRO RHLSTP #84 - Gulping Robot Toilets - Richard is hoping he will find his way into the Guinness Book of Records, but Norris Macwhirter is not answering his calls. His guest is making a return visit to RHLSTP after 7 and a half years (but will his hair reveal his success?) - it’s the amazing Charlie Brooker. The conversation is predictably dark and disgusting incorporating Charlie’s fury at a seven year old who makes an amazing living opening boxes, trying to introduce his kids to the Young O...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 84
