Book Club #117 - Jokes Jokes Jokes - Richard talks to old Edinburgh flatmate Jenny Eclair about her cut-above-the-rest autobiography, Jokes, Jokes, Jokes. They discuss how you maintain a career in their weird business over several decades, the envy and bitterness that can eat you up, how getting older changes your priorities, how little either of them remember about Jenny Eclair Squats, how winning the Perrier award left Jenny feeling like a fraud, appearing (though not) in the Karma...

#537 New York Ticks and Cockroaches - He loved it so much last week that he came back a week later to do it again. A second interview with the very relaxed Peter Serafinowicz. This time they talk about his film and TV work in America, how getting the dream job of playing The Tick turned into a filming nightmare, general indifference to appearing in the greatest ever episode of Rick and Morty, screwing up your lines in front of of Keanu Reeves’ beautiful face and working with Michael Caine and...

Book Club #116 - Somebody Told Me - Richard talks to journalist and humourist Danny Wallace about his latest book about the dangers of conspiracy theories, Somebody Told Me. They discuss how the death of Danny’s father and an odd email message prompted this dive into why people get sucked into sometimes outlandish plots and ideologies, why Covid made the whole situation worse, the friends that have gone down the rabbit hole, either for belief or for monetary gain, how it’s possible, though...

#536 Elephant Man Love Token - RHLSTP is back for its 30th series! Can this thing go on forever? Or does it just feel like it. Rich has had a sitcom experience with his bins and his son is disappointed with God. His returning guest is the great Peter Serafinowicz. The pair discuss Peter’s embracing of live work and technology, the return of Brian Butterfield and why Peter stayed in character for two hours after each show, using Deep Fakes on stage to bring the dead back to life, whether Abba...

RETRO RHLSTP #87 - I’ve Never Stabbed Anyone…Oh No, I Have. - A tired and possibly ill Richard Herring tries to get through another podcast without vomiting on his guest, the disaster-magnet that is Janey Godley. She talks candidly about marrying the son of a Glasgow gangster, her many family tragedies and how she survived them plus how Jerry Sadowitz was almost killed at one of his first gigs, what she’d like to do with Roland Gift, witnessing horrific accidents and heart-warming scenes...

Book Club #115 - The Elsie Drake Letters - Richard talks to the creator of Friday Night Dinner and Look Around You, Robert Popper, about his collection of letters from Elsie Drake (aged 104) to various unsuspecting companies and people of note. They chat about the genesis of his previous letter writing campaign, The Timewaster Letters, what made him decide to take on the persona of Britain’s sixth oldest woman, how the replies usually show the good in people, the many calls from the police...

#535 Rock On! - Richard is at Hull City Hall with the biggest RHLSTP audience we’ve had and he’s angry about the city claiming to have the smallest window in the country. His guest is legendary comedian and actor Tommy Cannon. They talk about how Cannon and Ball met at a welding factory, how Bobby cajoled him into forming an act and what he might have seen in Tommy, playing working men’s clubs, coming last on Opportunity Knocks and how the pair were propelled to fame in the seventies. Plus...

This week, Richard was a guest on a whole other podcast - ‘Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams’, the podcast where guests talk through all the absurd ways they’d spend a £200 million EuroMillions jackpot.  Join Sarel & Richard as they break down all of Richard’s wild plans - we’re talking... a teleportation device, a live-in dental hygienist, and paying every restaurant in London to ban James Acaster and Ed Gamble from Off Menu! Follow Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams… On...

Book Club #114 - Herald of a Restless World - Richard is not the only Herring to be a published author and his niece Emily comes on the podcast to talk about her impressive book about Henri Bergson, his life and philosophy. If like Richard you only know Bergson as a punchline to a Monty Python sketch then you will get to know a lot more about this unassuming and shy man who achieved rock star status as a philosopher. Rich and Emily chat about the Bergson’s respect for laughter and comedy, his...

#534 Keenan Wayans - Richard is in Glasgow and by the time you hear this he should have an exciting announcement about a new acting role, as long as he doesn’t blow it by getting angry and slagging the show off. His guest is legendary broadcaster and comedian Fred MacAulay. They chat about why he left the world of accountancy behind to become a stand-up, resisting the temptations of post gig debauchery to go home and change nappies, skiing with Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, climbing Mount...

Book Club #113 - Life Lessons From Historical Women - Richard talks to comedian and writer Eleanor Morton about her book about some notable women from history (some famous, others not so much) Life Lessons From Historical Women. Should Richard with his 2:1 in history have know about more of them than he does? Perhaps. They chat about why women (and non-royalty generally) are so badly represented in history, how history is more fun if you’re allowed to be judgemental about the clearly horrible...

#533 Eternal Wee - Richard is back in Bedford, reminiscing about his second appearance on Top of the Pops. His guest is ex-Bedford public schoolboy Al Murray. They chat about how many pints you can drink during Ravel’s Bolero, the weirdness of being sent away to boarding school at the age of 9, but the disappointing lack of psychological damage that resulted from this, how Al got into drama and comedy to meet girls, playing Charles II in a Restoration romp, pretending to machine gun trains in...

Book Club #112 - One Sinha Lifetime - Richard chats to doctor turned comedian and quizzer, Paul Sinha about his fantastic and heart-felt book about family, love, failure, success and getting through difficult times with positivity. They discuss how he never actually came out to his parents but their very human reaction to the news, the stereotypes of the quiz world and how they maybe miss something important, the desire to compete and win even if you’re no good at sport, the vagaries of the...

#532 Seat for a Sex Doll - Richard is back in Coventry where he was once scared by a picture in the Cathedral like some kind of Maurice Mitchener. His guests are Mark and Anthony from the internet sensations The Exploding Heads and also a disgruntled Colin from Portsmouth. We find out about how this age-mismatched double act got together, how the TV station they worked on seemed to have no idea what they were up to, the genius behind ex-footballer Ian Fiveankles, whether their fans can miss...

EQ: Which Celebrity Would You Like To Stroke Your Hair While You’re Dying? - It’s another EQC as the cool kids call it and this time we’re finding out about which celeb our guest celebs would like to stroke their hair, while they’re dying. Richard gets confused about his own choice, but you’ll be able to hear answers from such luminaries as Susan Calman, Milton Jones, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Ryan and many more. It’s a surprisingly good question. Apart from when Richard answers it. See a live...

Book Club #111 - The Unfinished Harauld Hughes - Richard talks to the extraordinary Richard Ayoade about his incredible multi-book releases about writer Harauld Hughes (including books of his plays, films and prose) and his equally brilliant “The Fairy Tale Fan Club” kids book. They chat about the questions children ask about the stories they are told and why it’s fun to attempt to answer them, how to get Wes Anderson to narrate your audiobook (be Richard Ayoade and ask him) and why bad...

#531 Hello Pervert -  It’s the final London RHLSTP for a while and a time for goodbyes to the film crew and a very special member of the Leicester Square Theatre staff, whilst Rich discusses the rare occasions when your kids make your hard work on their behalf seem worthwhile. His guest is 8 times interviewee/interviewer in the RH universe, Adam Buxton. They discuss Milky Way adverts, Richard’s attention seeking testicle, Adam’s possibly career ending onanistic habits, Adam’s frankly...

Book Club #110 - Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? - Richard talks to comedian Pierre Novellie about his fabulous book (and guide book) about autism, Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? They chat about Richard’s disappointment of his pretty regular test scores, why people react badly or suspiciously towards people with autism and ADHD, why Richard is better than Isaac Newton, why Pierre wanted the book to be different than the excellent stand up show of the same name, how this whole project started...

#530 Tudor Spring Onion -  Richard is back in Sheffield, questioning the Curse of the Crucible. His guest is pop star and song-writing genius Paul Heaton. They talk about Paul’s propensity to collect and audit, why Happy Hour gives Richard unhappy flashbacks, how censorship made one song both worse and also slightly better, the acts of financial generosity which one suspects might just be the tip of the iceberg, how Paul didn’t really win awards until he got a big one at 60, but still carries...

Book Club #109 - Earth To Moon - Richard chats to the fantastic Moon Zappa about her honest, funny and heart-breaking book Earth To Moon, about growing up in a somewhat dysfunctional family, having a world famous dad and trying to make her own way in the world. They chat about their previous meeting in 1997 and how Richard failed to pick up on some mild flirtation, meeting Snow White and being disappointed that she wasn’t a cartoon, the difficulty of finding balance in an autobiography, what...

#529 Fulcrum - Richard is in Sheffield where people still remember the rainbow of 1994 whilst he confuses Electric Dreams with Electric Blue. His guest is brilliant story-telling comedian Tom Wrigglesworth. They chat about sharing an Edinburgh flat in 2010, how organising a whip round for a fellow train passenger led to Tom’s arrest and a fantastic Edinburgh show, how a resemblance to an American sports star impacted on his own life, how as a younger comedian you can go with whatever life...

Book Club #108 - The Time Machine Next Door - It’s series 7 of Book Club book-loving biatches and Rich's first guest of the new series is comedian, broadcaster and author, Iszi Lawrence. They discuss the paradoxes and possibilities of time travel, how to meld education and entertainment, the fantastic facts that Iszi weaves into her books, the incredible length and lack of change in the Ancient Egyptian empire, Henry VIII’s surprisingly high voice, what happens to the Marty that Marty...

#528 Chemistry - Richard is back in Cardiff, informing his audience of their history of weak punishment. His guest is award winning podcaster Benjamin Partridge. They discuss dangerous Welsh language television of the 1980s, how Ben got Nick Offerman on his podcast and their eventual awkward meeting, Rich’s brand new podcast idea to rid the world of a certain type of criminal, an incredible use for passata, an audience with Jeff Goldblum without Jeff Goldblum, why Tesco will be stocking up on...

#527 Happy Grammy Birthday - Richard has travelled to the home of gofasterstripe, Cardiff in Welsh Wales and his guest is singer and activist Charlotte Church. They chat about her extraordinary rise to fame and the whirlwind of travel and celebrities that came with it. How Frasier was disappointingly weird when she met him at the inauguration of George W Bush, how she sang a requiem at the wedding of Rupert Murdoch and how he didn’t uphold his end of the deal, the unbelievable (and yet...