#574 - Forbidden Sensations - RHLSTP returns to the Edinburgh Fringe (where it really began), though Rich is already knackered before it’s started. His guest is actor, impressionist and comedian Kieran Hodgson. They chat about why appearing in a Hollywood blockbuster didn’t go as planned, how Rich gave advice to a youthful Hodgson about comedy and crisps, how lockdown made Kieran an internet sensation, playing Prince Andrew and Ian Lavender and getting the Two Doors Down gig. Plus bad flatmates and where to avoid when travelling in time. The pair deal with a microphone malfunction, but it’s all part of the fun of the Fringe.

#575 - Creepy Gandhi - It’s Richard’s second live Edinburgh podcast and he’s got some berry facts that will astound you. His guest is US comedian, actor and writer Zainab Johnson. They chat about whether her name is unique, growing up with 12 siblings, the terrible accident that changed her life, whether having one ball counts as a disability, pretending to be stupid to attract (maybe stupid) men, getting to work with Greg Daniels and annoying him at lunch, the terrific sitcom Upload and whether eternal life is all it’s cracked up to be, first impressions of Scotland and why a comedian should aim for silence and embrace failure.

#576 - Dog Sharpener - A big storm is supposed to hit Edinburgh today, but so far it’s just been a bit blowy, though maybe the storm will manage to make an appearance in the show. Richard is talking to comedian and rock star Andrew O’ Neill. Will Rich remember to use the correct non-binary terms or will he fuck up immediately? Who knows? There’s some great chat about changing attitudes to individuality, plus the comedic process, how surreal comedy is a rare skill and staying true to yourself, plus Andrew having to do a 90s style Edinburgh show because they broke their leg and have been on morphine, playing Jongleurs without compromising your act, the joy of connecting with one (and only one) audience member and how it’s disappointing that TV just doesn’t take a punt on interesting comedians any more.

#577 - From Clogs to Biscuit Tins - Richard is at the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield where his guest is the legendary Bernie Clifton, a man with so many stories that we couldn’t get them into one podcast (and to be fair we didn’t have time to get them all into two). And it’s a couple of great weeks coming up for anyone who thinks Richard talks too much. Bernie takes us through his early days growing up in poverty, nearly getting killed by the Nazis and leaving school to deliver bread. He also talks about being the world’s worst plumber, how National Service changed his life and starting out as a singer. Plus the huge star who diverted him towards the prop-comedy that would make him famous, a decade or more of working the clubs and can Rich persuade Bernie to talk about the ostrich. I am not so sure. One hour in with 53 more years to cover. Buckle up. A podcast that really proves it’s worth coming to see these shows live!

RHLSTP #578 - Ken Dodd’s Tollbooth Baguette - We’re back at the Crossed Wire Festival in Sheffield and you’ve had some time to relax and go to the toilet, but the audience haven’t. Richard is still talking (though mainly listening) to comedy legend Bernie Clifton. Finally we’re getting to Bernie’s TV career and cultural references that might be understood by anyone under 85. Remember that Bernie is 89 years old and this podcast (along with last week’s) was recorded all in one go. And I reckon he had another two hours in him if we didn’t have to go home. He talks about his appearances on Crown Court, singing XTC songs on Crackerjack, how he survived the wave of alternative comedy that scuppered some of his contemporaries, how he ended up on The Voice and returned to his first love of singing and who his biggest comedy hero was. There’s more mayhem and poetry and not enough time to talk about any of the things Richard wanted to.

RHLSTP #579 - Record Breaking Glockenspiel - Richard has come to Chesham in Buckinghamshire for a special live RHLSTP and is bedazzled by news about the local fire brigade. His guest is the fabulous stand-up Esther Manito. They talk about lockdown parenting, the craziness of taking up stand-up so shortly after the birth of her second baby, how Esther owes her existence to a blasphemous joke, why masturbating on a tube train in rush hour is (in one way) impressive, the risks of having Basil Brush on as a guest, a lovely rendition of the largely forgotten theme tune to Get It Together, some old ghost stories from Rich that you’ve doubtless heard already and why Esther’s new tour show is called Slagbomb! And why she didn’t take it to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Pea on the Cob - As if there weren’t enough people here for the Festival, Edinburgh numbers are swollen by Oasis fans, though Rich adlibs a decent joke for once, so it’s worth listening to the intro. His guest is RHLSTP favourite, Tim Key. They chat about being locked out of flats, broken cat-flaps, the year of the Herring and how much O2 paid to sponsor RHLSTP (in the golden era), Tim’s appearance in the new Greg Daniels sitcom The Paper and Robert Popper’s part in getting him there, 5k times and the pathetic money-making crimes that Richard never got caught for in 1989 (if you were one of the students he took to HMS Victory please get in touch for your rebate). Plus selling Dawn French a yoyo and nearly killing Michael Palin. It’s another classic Key:Herring collaboration, awkward, weird, boring and funny enough to almost make Richard pass out.

Dopamine Sex Dungeon - It’s another studio podcast with character comedian turned stand up comedian Simon Brodkin. They talk about making the transition to being yourself on stage after hiding behind stunts and characters, joking about the royals and then appearing at the Royal Variety, when it’s the right time to do a confessional show and when you should just be doing jokes, the cocks of deities, how once you’ve pulled enough stunts people have their eye on you, what judgemental people must really be getting up to and of course more stuff about ADHD.

Talent and a Half - Rich has had some troubles in his cheap Edinburgh accommodation, but at least it’s his dad’s birthday. Why is Richard such an idiot? His guest is star (5th tier) of series 20 of Taskmaster, Ania Magliano. They talk about how she skipped school to be in a short film and her troubles with a more recent film appearance. Plus podcasting with your partner or your family, the punk early days of podcasting, Rich keeps saying things that need to be cut, personality tests and how you can be both introvert and extrovert, how to make a viral hit on social media and what constitutes a work in progress at the Fringe. And is Friends any good and what nightmares is Richard’s son having?

Seeing God in a Cloud - Rich is three days into Edinburgh and is already shouting angrily at the Scotch people, but mainly because he’s had a claim to fame taken away from him. His guest is a man who has also done a whole Edinburgh show about missing parts of his genitals, Tom Rosenthal. They chat about how being a movie star makes you very conscious of how much your watch costs, whether the people stuff say about you is true, why we don’t accuse butchers of nepotism, a brand new idea for an Edinburgh show for babies, the scam that philosophers are perpetrating (it’s Henri Bergson that he couldn’t remember the name of, and Justin Lee Collins), playing Private Pike and whether Richard’s many failures are down to his refusal to embrace his spiritual side.

Eleven Holes? - It’s approaching the end of the Fringe (for Rich at least) and his guest is, I think we can all agree, at least his equal as a ventriloquist, Nina Conti. They talk about her fantastic new independent film, Sunlight, how it’s a dark love story about a suicidal man, a woman in a monkey suit and an attempt to dig up a grave to recover a $20,000 dollar watch, but so much more than that. How the idea and the real life love began in the middle of a 50 hour improv session, the dangers of going under water in a monkey suit, how the film might appeal to Furries, how it could never be written by AI and why you should definitely see it. Plus how Nina ended up in Spinal Tap 2 and a good indication of why Richard didn’t, how ventriloquist dummies become their own people (or monkeys), the dark past of ventriloquists and whether Nina resents her monkey.

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 build on previous comedians work to create something useful, how Frankie ended up with Sudocrem on his face and what the consequences of that might be, whether Rich was bored during Joe’s show (he wasn’t - it was very exciting to witness), meeting Bobby Davro, why a lackadaisical attitude towards ventriloquism is the best, how a character on stage has a confidence that the performer might not have in real life, the Yorkshire mafia and what happens if you leave your Gammon hammer on the train.

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 Herring were nearly the new Mary Whitehouse Experience, the last time they met on Fubar radio, why Andy left Mock the Week and some neatly deflected Emergency Questions.

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 might be at the exact right level of fame and what that means about interactions with his fans, confounding Richard Wilson, David’s possible hidden superpower, why awards mean nothing if you’re won them, how David saved the careers of the Flight of the Conchords and how Nish Kumar’s diarrhoea proved that David’s podcast idea would be a hit . Plus a human mic stand and a brilliant song from this friendly genius of a comedian. Don’t miss this one.

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 alien spacecraft is on the way to conquer Earth (you'll probably know one way or the other by the time this goes out and I for one welcome our alien overlords), the incredible rise of New Zealand comedians, which podcast is Dan's proper one, Button's hob-nobbing with Prime Ministers and rugby players, the improvised scenes in Flight of the Conchords and making out with Scully and why did Rich need to apologise to Rhys? - will there be time to find out?

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 from the experience, why both sides-ism is an unhelpful concept, how even Nish’s grandma thinks he might be Jason Mantzoukas, why Taskmaster is didn’t too badly when it comes to diversity, but how being in a comedy gang can be a big help in maintaining the necessary quality for a career and has Nish been in a canoe? This is the only podcast where you will find out. Thanks so much to the magnificent staff at the Stand in Edinburgh and the brilliant audiences that made this Fringe an absolute pleasure. Same time again next year?