Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Join our Patreon for two shows a week, ad-free listening, early access and much more... Follow this link and get involved! - patreon.com/RussellHoward Each week Russell sits down with fantastic guests to chat about their Brilliant Things; the items, places and people that make life worth living.

Episodes

Pierre Novellie

March 10, 2026 • 65 mins
Pierre is a formidable stand-up comedian and it’s a pleasure to take this wander around the corners of his fascinating brain. This fun and fascinating episode of Five Brilliant Things takes in the majesty of beef, the efficiency of Grahame Greene, the mystery of thunder and finally why you must go out, find a child, and make it watch you read a book. Curious? You should be; all is revealed within Pierre’s episode here.  🎭 Pierr...
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February's Moments of the Month

March 6, 2026 • 45 mins
Welcome to our best of February's shows, with a little snippet of each of the four shows we slung into the world across the last month. This show features Charlie Higson talking about the wonders of the Voyager Space Probe... Comedian and podcaster Amy Gledhill eulogising about some of the most Northern sandwiches you could imagine... Comedy legend Harry Enfield on the utility and beauty of the 'umble wig... and Taskmaster's...
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Shane Todd

March 3, 2026 • 63 mins
You want strong opinions about bananas? You’ve come to the right place. Northern Irish powerhouse comedian Shane Todd has flown in to give Russell his Five Brilliant Things, and bananas are right out of the traps. Even the hardest of hearts will be turned by his impassioned defence of the bendy yellow berry. Shane also make the case for simply pottering around, keeping sock drawers in check and he lets himself off the leash when h...
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Stevie Martin

February 24, 2026 • 61 mins
This is a cracking episode with a cracking comedian. The Taskmaster star Stevie Martin speaks with completely unguarded honesty about her favourite things which leads to not one but several introspective spirals! What is it about chonky penne, pyrex jugs and interior design that could lead to a live-on-air existential episode? Get your bobbles in your ears, press play and find out. It’s lots of fun.  🎭 You should go to see Stev...
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Harry Enfield

February 17, 2026 • 56 mins
A true icon of British TV Comedy - it’s Harry Enfield! It’s no exaggeration to say that he redefined a whole generation of comedy in this country, with his jokes and catchphrases reaching millions every week.  Harry sits down with Russell to explain his brilliant things and also give a candid insight into how they created those iconic characters and sketches - a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the biggest hitting comedy of t...
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Amy Gledhill

February 10, 2026 • 64 mins
This week we have the winner of the 2024 Edinburgh Best Show! One of Britain’s fastest rising comics is with us; it’s the fabulous Amy Gledhill and this is an absolute banger of an episode.  Hull’s most exciting product since the White Phone Box explains why cheap white bread is better than all your fancy Italian nonsense, how working in a dungeon gave her existential dread and why she enjoys spending her free time singing about t...
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January's Moments of the Month

February 9, 2026 • 47 mins
From our January shows, here's a little taster of each episode so you can get a flavour of the things we got up to with our wonderful guests: Comedian and star of ‘The Change’ on C4, Bridget Christie Comic and social media sensation Daniel Foxx Actor and stand-up Tom Rosenthal And the endlessly fascinating historian, Dan Snow. If you hear anything you like, circle back and enjoy the whole episode - they are all there waiting f...
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Charlie Higson

February 3, 2026 • 64 mins
British Sketch Comedy Royalty in the studio. One of the core cast of the iconic Fast Show is here and his name is Charlie Higson! He lays out the Five Things that make life interesting - get ready for a delightful journey through James Bond, what is and isn’t included on the Golden Record that we yeeted into space. How did Charlie go from being a Punk Band frontman to a decorator to a comedian… and a best selling James Bond author?...
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Dan Snow

January 27, 2026 • 60 mins
Fascinating, delightful company. That’s what Historian Dan Snow is. I suppose the skill of any historian worth their salt is to use that historical knowledge and make it relevant today, and this endlessly interesting podcast does exactly that. Dan’s passions go way beyond history, drawing in sailing tall ships, democracy and most importantly of all, his greatest passion beyond all other things: GHERKINS. 📖 Dan’s treatment of hi...
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Tom Rosenthal

January 20, 2026 • 61 mins
Tom Rosenthal is a comedian with a deep interest in all things: His Brilliant Things include The Danish Gambit, The Golden Ratio and Trip Reports. This is a repeatedly fascinating conversation where Tom is completely unguarded and enthusiastic in his descriptions of these corners of humanity. He also conjures, from nowhere, the most outstanding improvised acid trip you’ll ever hear. It’s well worth your time.  We talked about it...
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Daniel Foxx

January 13, 2026 • 58 mins
Why is it the ruder the waiter, the more it gets Daniel Foxx excited? The laconic comedian is here to explain the beauty of surly service, the simple serenity brought by a scented candle, and you’ll experience some of the worst ASMR in podcast history.  Russell also relates the time Louis Theroux gyrated aggressively at him. That’s worth the admission fee alone.  Daniel’s latest tour ‘How Lovely’ is about to hit UK theatres, ...
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Bridget Christie

January 6, 2026 • 61 mins
Superb comedian Bridget Christie is here. She’s won the Edinburgh Award, she’s been nominated for oodles of comedy prizes, she’s written and performed in two series of her own show ‘The Change’ for Channel 4 and now she sits down with us to reveal her Five Brilliant Things.  It’s as thoughtful and funny as you would imagine from a comic as good as Bridget, including why empathy is disappearing, why we underestimate water and dri...
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December's Moments of the Month

January 2, 2026 • 75 mins
From our December shows, here's a little taster of each episode so you can get a flavour of the things we got up to with our wonderful guests: Doctor/Writer Adam Kay Taskmaster star and stand-up Ania Magliano Stand-up comedy legend Ross Noble and one of the most fascinating people in Britain, Rory Sutherland. If you hear anything you like, circle back and enjoy the whole episode - they are all there waiting for you to listen...
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Rory Sutherland

December 30, 2025 • 68 mins
Marketing expert and thinker-outside-the-box, Rory Sutherland is here with his Five Brilliant Things and they all begin with the letter C: Consumerism, Contradictions, Cars, Commuter Towns, Cornbread and the Commonwealth.  You’ll notice that’s more than five things, which typifies this episode. The ideas and conversation flowing out of Rory and Russell was abundant and it’s one of the most densely packed interesting shows we’ve m...
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Russell's Best Bits of 2025

December 23, 2025 • 54 mins
Happy Christmas! This week Russell looks back over all of the shows from 2025 and picks his favourite moments from 52 x 5 Brilliant Things (So…quick bit of maths…that’s…260 Brilliant Things). We’ll be back in a week with a brand new show and loads of super-exciting guests in the new year.  On our Patreon show something a bit special this week - Russell and Dan sit down and talk about how they made the TV show Good News. For any...
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Ross Noble

December 16, 2025 • 73 mins
One of Britain’s most mercurial and naturally talented stand-ups of all time, Ross Noble sits down with Russell to explain how he went from a school drop-out with a couple of circus skills to one of the greatest stand-ups Britain’s ever produced. He also goes into detail about Cuttlefish.  Ross is in the middle of his latest live tour, called ‘Cranium of Curiosities’. It’s a full show of brand-new stand-up and it is going to all...
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Ania Magliano

December 9, 2025 • 69 mins
Ania Magliano loves gossip, and she’s here to share some CHOICE cuts of the stuff. From Taskmaster, Stand-up Ania is in the studio and she’s running us through her favourite things which takes us on a journey through some unashamedly indulgent birthday parties, the perils of being bold with your hair and some fascinating chat about writing process and generating comedy ideas. Oh, and did I mention the excellent gossip?! Ania is ...
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Adam Kay

December 2, 2025 • 64 mins
Doctor, author, comedian, musician Adam Kay tells Russell about the things that he’s discovered that are brilliant. It’s a laugh-out-loud funny show that begins with a tale of conception, takes what it feels like to be spied on by Ben Wishaw, and by the end we are all getting acquainted with the inside of Adam’s nostrils.  As spoken about in the show, Adam has published his first novel that is a thriller with plenty of laughs an...
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November's Moments of the Month

November 28, 2025 • 47 mins
Hello, here's a round up of the best bits from the last month of shows, featuring the fantastic comic Kerry Godliman (she's so funny), wine expert Tom Gilbey with a great story about Iron Maiden, dictionary corner's Susie Dent and the American-Palestinian comic Mo Amer. If you hear something you like you can double-back and take in the whole episode if you like! Producer: Dan Atkinson Line Producer: Daisy Knight Exec Produc...
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Mo Amer

November 25, 2025 • 57 mins
Palestinian-American stand-up sensation Mo Amer is here! He’s on a tour of Europe, he’s in the UK for a couple of days and he came into the studio to tell us all about his Five Brilliant Things and he did not disappoint.  Mo has an easy Texas charm coupled with seriously funny bones. His relationship between his American upbringing and Middle-Eastern heritage is fascinating and you can see that in the things he chose for the show:...
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