RHLSTP with Richard Herring

#417 Captain Dick - Rich and some other Londoners are only alive today thanks to his skilful driving which means he is here to interview the absolutely remarkable Anneka Rice. They discuss her new stand up career and the way she tackles serious subjects like death and Alzheimers in her radio show Anneka Has Issues, why she was recently arrested at an airport, the return of Challenge Anneka and whether ...

RHLSTP Book Club #162 - The Traitors Circle - Richard talks to journalist and author Jonathan Freedland about his non-fiction thriller, The Traitors Circle, which isn’t about the TV series, but the horrific consequences of failing to discover a traitor in your midst in real life. They chat about the parallels between Nazi Germany and other more recent political developments, the surprising group of people who resisted Hitler in var...

RHLSTP #590 - Richard Osman Urinal Conundrum - Richard is at the Podcast Room in Central London, with a spare hour of studio time and Rhys James already in the hot seat, so let’s do a good old-fashioned rude RHLSTP with little to no research. The pair end up discussing how poker can buy you a sofa (or just buy one), haggling too hard for picture frames with clocks in them, Rolex spoons, selling only one DVD of your comedy special (...

#416 John the Mouse - Rich has some helpful suggestions to help the footballers support LGBTQ+ rights and is amazed by the press reaction to last week’s podcast. His guest is superlative stand up comedian and podcaster James Acaster. They discuss Nasty Nick’s funeral, the Richard E Grant mystery, why James never retired from stand up and why he’s now inviting hecklers, the weird experience of being a last minute replacement mo...

RHLSTP Book Club #161 - Seriously Silly - The Life of Terry Jones - Richard chats to renowned comedy historian Robert Ross about his fabulous new biography of actor, writer, director and Python, Terry Jones. The topics includes what it’s like to befriend a Python and how that friendship affects the writing of a biography, how comedy history can be a map for future comedians, how Jones’ influence in the sketch group is perhaps under...

RHLSTP #589 - Dopplegängr - It’s Richard’s last show of the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, but what is the Edinburgh Fringe? Luckily Liam Gallagher knows. Richard’s guest is not in Oasis and is unlikely to support them after this, it’s the loquacious (thank goodness for Rich) Nish Kumar. They chat about at what point you have to stop claiming to be working class, how Nish survived his tour of America unscathed and the positives he took fro...

#415 Mosquito in the Kitchen - Richard recalls a couple of childhood memories that can’t possibly hare happened. His guest is the king of mischief and righteous anger (who is also very funny) Joe Lycett. They talk about how Joe brought down a Prime Minister, how he was almost arrested for a joke, how his spoof Sue Gray report fooled some members of parliament, how people decided what snacks Santa would be getting, the personal hear...

RHLSTP Book Club #160 - Love Triangle - It’s another face to face Book Club at the Podcast Room with mathematician and gigantic nerd Matt Parker talking about his exciting book about triangles. Find out how a triangle solved a pig murder, what it’s like to very briefly be the most recently published maths author and to see the work of the earliest known maths author first hand, how triangles can tell us the size of the planet or ho...

RHLSTP #588 - Edmund Hilary's Yeti Rucksack - Rich is upset about the things his wife is saying about him in her show, but never mind, he's being visited by the crew from the Cryptid Factor, Rhys Darby, Dan Schreiber and the mysterious Buttons. They chat about ghosts (a lot, given they've said they don't really talk about that), Rich trying to kill the Loch Ness Monster and what the Loch Ness Monster might actually be, whether an a...

#413 Brian Conley’s C*ck - Richard is discombobulated after returning (briefly) to Shepherd’s Bush after five years away. His guest is the fantastic stand up Chris McCausland. They talk about what pushed him towards stand up and why he was reluctant initially to do too much about his blindness, nearly becoming a spy, that amazing BAFTA bit with Lee Mack, performing for Prince William, being on the Jubilee bus and and why Chris...

RHLSTP Book Club #159 - A Particularly Nasty Case - Richard talks to ex-doctor and best-selling author Adam Kay about his first novel, a brilliant comedy thriller, A Particularly Nasty Case. They chat about getting the fabulous Andy Serkis to do the audiobook (and why Adam was reluctant to do it himself), how Adam has lots of fans in the 8-12 year age group (including Rich’s daughter) but how...

RHLSTP #587 - That’s F***ing Bonkers - Richard is considering changing political allegiance if it can rescue his fading career, but he doesn’t have to worry today - it’s a sell-out crowd to see tiny keyboard wunderkind David O’Doherty. They discuss getting drunk on live TV with Dua Lipa, whether David needs therapy to unpack the different in sizes between his and his dad’s instruments, how David&n...

#412 Lemony Anus - Richard knows a little bit about what Prince George is going through at school and is very excited that his new book is out! His guest is stand up, writer, presenter and actor Sara Pascoe. They talk about the ups and downs of doing improvised sitcoms and films, how long lockdown toilet rolls kept people going, balancing work with parenting, how it’s more important that something gets made than it b...

RHLSTP Book Club #158 - Saltwash - Richard talks to award-winning author Andrew Michael Hurley about his latest book, Saltwash. Is it horror or literary fiction? is it important for people writing about dark subjects to have three names? What attracted Andrew to writing about dilapidated seaside resorts - and has he ever been to Weston-super-Mare? How does he make his novels so atmospheric? W...

RHLSTP #586 - The Importance of Being Ernest - Rich likes to give young comedians a start in their career and so today he has an exciting new talent opening the show. His guest who has a tough act to follow is comedian and former flatmate Andy Parsons. They chat about the early years of their career where they worked on Weekending and briefly shared a house with some other Andrews, how Parsons and Naylor and Lee and ...

#411 Diplodocus - Rich is itching for a change in Prime Minister, but will he get his wish by the time of broadcast? His guests are Elis, Mike and Steff from the dizzyingly successful new podcast that the cool kids are calling TSDSB. They talk about how their podcast is about more than just sport, how sports fans have changed in the last four decades, the new series of Fantasy Football and the new sitcom Mammoth, why Elis’ mus...

RHLSTP Book Club #157 - One Minute Away - Richard talks to comedian Mark Watson about his latest novel about delivery drivers and social inequality and mad love affairs, One Minute Away. They chat about what attracted Mark to this subject, whether he was worried about telling a story from the perspective of a Croatian food deliverer, how modern society can be compared to the life of insects, how love or sexual attrac...

RHLSTP #585 - What If They’re Chinese? - Stand 3 has been hit by protestors, but amazingly it’s not for Rich (though maybe after this show it will be) - should people be trying to get Edinburgh shows cancelled, often for very tangential reasons? Rich couldn’t possibly comment. But does anyway. His guest is the reigning Edinburgh Award Best Newcome Joe Kent-Walters aka Frankie Monroe. They chat about how his show seems to ...

#410 Saggy-Faced Satsuma - Richard has narrowly avoided a dinosaur based disaster, but never mind because a RHLSTP favourite is returning - the incomparable Bob Mortimer. They talk about holding dominion over the animals, whether questions are necessary in an interview, what prompted Bob to write his first novel and whether satsumas are the best small orange fruit, the adoration for Bob and Paul that the team behind Gone Fishi...