Book Club #76 - Normal Schmormal - Richard is joined by comedy producer turned stand up, Ashley Blaker to talk about his parenting book, Normal Schmormal. They talk about trying stand-up as a teenager, how becoming more religious led to Ashley’s new stand up career (and becoming less religious), the demands of having six children with or without special educational needs, what makes a kid a Coldplay and what makes them a Zappa, having the kids on the audiobook and the suspicious chapter supposedly authored by Ashley’s wife, what led the couple to adopt another child and the importance of embracing and accepting diversity in kids as well as in the adult world. Plus the story of the publicity shy Johnny Vine and why this serious situation is also a sitcom waiting to be made - and as always the power of comedy to help us learn about things that aren’t always, of themselves, considered amusing.
Buy the book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Normal-Schmormal-occasionally-parenting-neurodivergence-ebook/dp/B0BQPVWXLN/
The RHLSTP tour continues http://richardherring.com/rhlstp Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

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RHLSTP Book Club 76 - Ashley Blaker

RHLSTP is an award-winning series in which comedian Richard Herring&nbsp;("The Podfather" - The Guardian)&nbsp;chats with some of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment. Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard, Dawn French, David Mitchell, Katherine Ryan and Brian Blessed are amongst the many stars to have been interviewed across the 400+ episodes... 
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#506 Review Rainbow - Richard has some dispiriting revelations about what people google when they are looking for him, but is quickly revived by the ready wit of Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer 2023, Urooj Ashfak. They chat about the difficulties (or not) of taking comedy across international boundaries, the burgeoning Indian stand up scene, being a question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, meeting fleabag, turning teenage diaries into comedy and the only stand up award that Richard has ever won (thanks Daily Telegraph). Plus lots of ghosts, what happens to us when we die and how you can’t repeat the same joke in different performances in comedy (hold my coat).
Follow Urooj on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/uroojashfaq/?hl=en
See Rich's stand-up tour Can I Have My Ball Back - https://richardherring.com/ballback/
SUPPORT THE SHOW! Watch our TWITCH CHANNEL See extra content at our WEBSITE Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

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RHLSTP 506 -  Urooj Ashfaq

RETRO RHLSTP #86 - Creative Differences - Richard has some news of an amazing time travelling finger and is clearly super excited to be meeting one of his all-time comedy heroes, Harry Shearer from off of This is Spinal Tap and The Simpsons. Rich was too scared to talk to him when he saw him improbably travelling on London's tube, but hopefully he won't just sit quietly, staring at him and saying nothing this time. The pair discuss Harry's career which seems to break the space-time continuum as he's worked with such legends as Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny and Mel Blanc. Why does Derek Smalls wrap his courgette in tin foil and what's his affiliation with Shrewsbury Town? How much creative control do the actors on the Simpsons have over the characters they have helped create? Is stubbornness a pro or a con when trying to make it in show business? What is the Jerry Lewis film, "The Day The Clown Cried" really like? Will we hear from Simpson's character Hugh Jass? It's an amazing interview with a driven and hilarious genius man. And Harry Shearer is in it too.
Come and see the new show on tour - https://richardherring.com/ballback/tour
SUPPORT THE SHOW! Check out our website http://rhlstp.co.uk See details of the RHLSTP tour dates http://richardherring.com/gigs Buy DVDs and Books at http://gofasterstripe.com Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

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Retro RHLSTP 86 - Harry Shearer

Book Club #99 - Heresy - Richard talks to journalist and author and daughter of a nun and a monk, Catherine Nixey about her witty and informative book about the early days of Christianity, Heresy. They chat about what the word Heresy really means, the extraordinary gospels that didn’t make it into the New Testament which show Jesus’ murderous side and the magical powers of the Virgin Mary’s anatomy, the varying beliefs of early Christian sects, including one that said he hated kids and their parents, the many magical holy men who performed very similar miracles to Jesus and even provided dressing when they magicked up food, the Romans who couldn’t understand how you’d choose between them and how in spite of this the religion was adopted by the empire. Did Jesus have a twin? Did he persuade someone else to get on the cross for him and how close did Life of Brian get to the truth?

 Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/heretic-the-many-lives-of-jesus-christ-and-the-other-saviours-of-the-ancient-world-catherine-nixey/6452719?ean=9781529040357 And the audiobook here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heretic-Lives-Christ-Saviours-Ancient/dp/B09LJXMH46
See Rich's stand-up tour Can I Have My Ball Back - https://richardherring.com/ballback/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

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RHLSTP Book Club 99 - Catherine Nixey

#505 Cheeky Underground Presence - Richard is back to work after the Christmas break (we’re coming to you from the past) and is worried about the door of depravity that he has opened up, but there is no need to fear because his guest is processed meat advocate, Bob Mortimer. It’s a free-wheeling chat as you might be prepared for that takes in farmers, meeting Paul McCartney, whether double acts are still talking to each other or not, a cursed earring, favourite openings and oh, just listen to it. It’s ace. And of course there’s some more jokes from Bob’s little black book.
See Rich's stand-up tour Can I Have My Ball Back - https://richardherring.com/ballback/
SUPPORT THE SHOW! Watch our TWITCH CHANNEL See extra content at our WEBSITE Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

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RHLSTP 505 - Bob Mortimer

RETRO RHLSTP #85 - The Shreks of Westminster Bridge - Slightly worse for wear after having lunch with Alice Cooper at the Q awards, Richard is delighted to welcome a man he thinks might be him from another time stream, David 'Mitch' Mitchell. He's certainly met his match in pedantry and both men accidentally reveal some shocking details about their respective psyches. Never have two men discussed at such length the vagaries of choosing between a ham hand and a sun lotion arm pit. And that is GUARANTEED. The Peep Show stationery cupboard, romantic subterfuge and the Daily Mail readers' internet comments are all up for discussion and we'll find out how an early discussion about Eric Morecambe almost brought the pair to blows. Did Rich really meet some Shreks and a Justin Lee Collins in the street? And what was Tim from The Office like before he became Tim from The Office? Is Richard as bitter and mean as he seems and will he ever get a Googlewhack audience? What's it like to play Aerosmith at table tennis? Will Rich ever forgive his mum for her Brideshead Revisited Alfresco trump? Why don't the audience understand any of Richard's obscure 1980s references? What would you do if God granted you the power of having exactly the same hands as Hermione from Harry Potter? And just how many David Mitchells are there anyway? It's a marathon of a podcast, but there's no cheating and we both stay in it for the whole thing. It'd be nice if there was a happy ending. But there's a slightly unhappy ending. See if you can make it to the ending.
Come and see the new show on tour - https://richardherring.com/ballback/tour
SUPPORT THE SHOW! Check out our website http://rhlstp.co.uk See details of the RHLSTP tour dates http://richardherring.com/gigs Buy DVDs and Books at http://gofasterstripe.com Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RHLSTP Book Club 76 - Ashley Blaker

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