RHLSTP with Richard Herring

RHLSTP Book Club 135 - Six Conversations We’re Scared To Have - Richard talks to Guilty Feminist host Deborah Frances-White about her new book in which she discusses topics that people are generally nervous to offer an opinion on. They chat about how her time in a cult helped her recognise cult-like attributes in social media groups, whether we can judge people from history for their actions, the difference...

#557 Sex Dungeon - Richard is back in Leicester again, fresh from an interview with a journalist who has been up the Queen. His guest is Australian comedian and adventurer John Robertson. They talk about how an appearance on a TV show led to him getting married, his fantastic interactive game show The Dark Room, scary gigs in pubs in small towns in Australia, being a sex person, but avoiding drugs and how Richard has insp...

#357 Shamgel - Richard wonders if the man who wrote the Grange Hill theme might have been hoodwinking us all along. His guest is the formidable Dragon, Deborah Meaden. Rich is hoping he can get an investment of at least £50 million and pitches some ideas, whilst they also discuss being thrown into Murder in Successville, being parodied by Harry and Paul, ethical business, whether the Dragons are friends, where Meaden can ...

#556 Not As Good As It Used To Be - Richard returns to Leicester and reveals the curt message of one of the comedians he asked on the podcast. His guests are two of the men behind the publishing sensation and hugely influential comedy juggernaut that is Viz magazine. They discuss the humble beginnings of this adult comic, how publishers tried and failed to sanitise it, working with Peter Cook on Tiger Mellie, the terrible imitators...

#356 Gravity - Rich has had what he thought might be the most middle class accident, but he is wrong. His guest is a listener who has won a competition to be on the show, the Dorian Grey of morning TV, Ben Shephard. They discuss how science proves Ben a better singer than a West End star, whether there’s a man with a broom behind the Tipping Point machine, revenge as a dish served very cold, why Rich was fired from morning tel...

RHLSTP Book Club 134 - The Invisible Doctrine - Recorded in front of an audience at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society, Richard talks to journalist George Monbiot about his very readable investigation into Neo-Liberalism (co-authored with Peter Hutchinson) The Invisible Doctrine. George does most of the talking, which is probably for the best and reveals what he considers to the be the starting poin...

#555 Welsh Freddie Mercury - Richard has found out the true lyrics of a 1990s pop classic and is going to tell you them in detail. His guests are internet satirists Larry and Paul. They talk about which one is which, the long genesis of their online sketch content, the BBC’s reluctance to promote podcasts in 2008 or understand why radio shows needed video, why a Labour government (especially this one) does not mean the end of ...

#355 Mind Your Language -  Richard is excited by the upcoming film Wonka and has some other ideas for origin story films. His guest is the Sidesplitting Phil Wang. They discuss how straddling two cultures can give you a humorous perspective on both, but leave you feeling rejected by both, 1970s television and how harshly we should judge it, racist nursery rhymes, Richard’s Asian hair, John Lewis’s 150 year old gamete...

Book Club #133 - A Room Above a Shop - A Room Above A Shop - Richard talks to debut novelist Anthony Shapland about his hit short novel/long poem A Room Above A Shop. They chat about growing up gay in a small town in the Welsh valleys in the late 80s and how that inspired this story, about how simplicity in writing can be incredibly complex, swirling around in cesspits of your own making, the tabloid reaction to homosexua...

#554 Philip Schofield’s Diabolic Pitchfork - Philip Schofield’s Diabolic Pitchfork - It’s been snow day this week and Rich muses unsuccessfully on whether there’s a place when snow is neither exciting or banal for children and how snow promises much but always delivers tears. His guest is musician and actor (no, I am not doing it) Chesney Hawkes. They talk about growing up in a musical household, kissing Julia Sawalha, be...

#354 Rufus Arenque -  Richard can’t stop thinking about a man he walked past 30 years ago but is somehow walking taller. His guest can answer the question “Are you Dave Gorman?” in the affirmative, as he is Dave Gorman. They talk about moving to Bournemouth being newsworthy, how to become a crossword millionaire, how Ted Rogered the cryptic crossword, whether logs are sentient, why Covid was a positive (as long as yo...

#553 Penis Seam - Rich has come up with a scheme where all his listeners can live in central London and make money - or one of us gets £20 million. His guest is Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Amy Gledhill. It starts out pretty gross and doesn’t get much better, as Rich removes some clothes and part of his body (be glad it’s audio only). They chat about how winning the award wasn’t the immediate celebration/elevation that you mi...

#353 It Was The 90s! - Richard has been tossing logs and that’s literally it for this week, so he talks to his audience for the first time in ages. His guest is author and comedian Shaparak “Shappi” Khorsandi. They discuss why she has chosen to use her birth name, the responsibilities of being a dog owner, the life of Emma Hamilton, I’m a Celebrity, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe of 2021, the moon on a stick, why ...

Book Club #132 - Cafe Chaos -  Richard interviews award winning children’s author Catherine Wilkins who has made the long journey into his annexe (who knows what he gets up to in there) to talk about her new eighth book Cafe Chaos - My Life is Not a Piece of Cake! They chat about where she got the inspiration for the situation and the characters, Richard’s modest and realistic hopes for the success of the s...

#552 The Mouse With Cumin In Its Eyes - Richard is very impressed with the thoroughness of Hitchin bins and as used to being the rudest person in any room as he is, he may have met his match in this week’s guest Poppy Hillstead. Not for those of a sensitive disposition. They discuss her brilliant new podcast, Brainwash Me and the unusual diet of the man who inspired it, which of the pair will kill the other and how on the ston...

#352 For Sport - Richard has been teaching his kid wrong information, for a payoff that will take years to come and he finally has his hands on a copy of Would You Rather? His guest is inspirational comedian/podcaster/actor/author/role model Katherine Ryan. They discuss why audacity is a good thing, why we should all find our childhood sweetheart and marry them, trying to recapture the funniness of yourself as a child, be...

Book Club #131 - The Leopard In My House - Rich talks to comedian and fellow cancer survivor Mark Steel about his absolutely brilliant book The Leopard In My House. They chat about the unlikely friendships that have come about because of his cancer, the terrific responses from other comedians, why the NHS should be treasured, the friends we have lost to the disease, why Mark now laughs at people with road rage, the d...

#551 Human Dodecapede - Richard has a new notebook and is making jokes that were topical in November 2024 (and probably still are) and has met one of his sporting heroes, for whom Rich is an unlikely hero. His guest this week is cricket statistician Andy Zaltzman. They talk about what it is to be a Taskmaster Champion, who might have had the most awkward introduction to their team on the show and the power of dressing like a s...