#526 Joyfully Reckless - Richard is back in Dublin and is intrigued by the Book of Kells. His guest is the superb and philosophical comedian and interviewer Tommy Tiernan. It’s a lovely sprawling waffle encompassing the trouble that being mischievous can get you into, the stress of doing a show with no plan, how studying acting made Tommy a worse actor (only in his opinion), Jerry Sadowitz, hitchhiking in the eighties and swearing on the Late Late Show. A written description will not capture...

#525 The Biggest Award in Comedy - Richard has been sent to Coventry and remembers a previous visit to the Warwick Arts Centre where he had to turn the other cheek. His guest is the winner of the biggest (and slowest) award in comedy, Lindsey Santoro. Find out what Lindsey spent her money from this RHLSTP backed award and listen as the award itself is inflated. Plus they chat about why it’s so hard for working class acts to attend the Fringe, begrudging Guardian reviews, why still doing her...

#524 Burning Vas Deferens - More fun from a performer at the Edinburgh Fringe - this time the wonderful Stuart Laws. They discuss the genesis of the gilet that has become his trademark (though not according to imdv),magic realism versus actual realism in comedy, the nitty gritty of a vasectomy and why some procedures use the testicular seam and others do not, the fun twist of the free to view Stuart Laws is All In (watch the special before listening to this podcast), making comedy out of...

#523 Dyspraxic Dinner Lady - It’s another Edinburgh Fringe podcast, recorded hundreds of miles away from the the Festival to keep Richard sane. His guest today is the multi-award winning new comedian Dan Tiernan. They chat about how to get them to do a retake on the now defunct BBC show Doctors, why being a stand-up comedian is the perfect job for a someone with dyspraxia, how cancer helps a comedian to give less of a f**k (in a good way) about their job, whether Baby Reindeer’s depiction of...

#522 Arse Twins - Richard talks to the brilliant Stevie Martin about her show Clout, the weirdness of secretly watching your family on a Ring Doorbell, what it was like to act alongside ventriloquist dummy Ally Sloper, the joys and dangers of mooning, writing fabric-based puns for the Sewing Bee, the pain of rejection and only creating work when you feel the correct inspiration, the brilliant work with Lola-Rose Maxwell, like Screen Time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQYdc-FxeYg) and...

#521 Pork Markets -  Richard chats to Liz Truss impersonator extraordinaire (and so much more) Nerine Skinner about the creation of the character, her first solo Edinburgh show, The Exorcism of Liz Truss, how she has become obsessed with the politician (thankfully not in the same way as Richard has) and the dangers of the success of one of your characters when you do many others. Plus some great behind the scenes stories from Nerine’s legendary appearance on Britain’s Got Talent (watch here...

#520 Double Berocca -  Richard is in Glasgow at the Oran More, remembering the time he was picketed at this venue and almost wrecked someone’s wedding. His guest is Glaswegian phenomenon Susie McCabe. They talk about her getting into comedy due to a drunken bet, working on building sites, estimating the cost of lighting in a velodrome, the ultimate argument as to why seeing gay people on TV will not turn you gay, how much it meant to her to appear on Have I Got News For You?, keeping Fringe...

#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...

#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...

#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...

#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...

#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...

#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...

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...

#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...

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...

#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...

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...

#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...

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...

#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,...

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...

#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...

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 Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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...