From a town planner, to dressing as a burger, to conquering the world of podcasts, Vogue Williams strides across this podcast like a Colossus, taking us to mad Irish Christmases in the pub, to sleeping with unfeasible numbers of pillows (6?!) to wild Podcast tour shows. 

It’s a real blast. You’ve probably heard Vogue on many podcasts so you know she’s just great to hang out with, and this is no exception. A conversation that bounces along gleefully from one Brilliant Thing to another. 

Now go and subscribe to one or all of Vogue’s podcasts:

🤭Never Live it Down with Vogue Williams

👻 My Therapist Ghosted Me

👩‍❤️‍👨 Spencer and Vogue

As ever we recorded an episode of our Patreon show ‘Five Brilliant Questions’ with Vogue, and this week it was actually useful thanks to the question ‘I’m lazy, how can I get fit with minimum effort’ and there’s an answer! A real, useful answer!

Check out our Patreon which you can find here patreon.com/RussellHoward and you can join on a basic level - for free! 

Here endeth the sermon of blurb. Thank you for attending church this week, please pop a few pennies in the collection box on the way out and do be careful of falling masonry. They stole all the lead, the blighters. 

Amen. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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I tell you what’s fun to listen to: someone who loves cake, talking passionately about cake. Griefcast’s Cariad Lloyd sits with Russell and waxes lyrical about Pavlova and wider cakes. There’s more! We get all down and dirty with the Moomins and then there’s a weird bit where Cariad and Russell start acting out passages from Labyrinth. Which music star was originally slated to play Jareth? It wasn’t Bowie… the answer lies in this terrific episode.

Cariad talked in the podcast about her book, the Christmas Wish-tastrophe, and that is available now, and if you know an 11-14 year old just get them this for Christmas. Then that one is done, another one off your list. They will read and enjoy it. 

You can get that book at your local independent bookshop, or google the name of the book and choose an independent book provider online. You can do this! Don’t just default to the monolithic behemoths!

Cariad’s regular podcast is Griefcast, where she talks to all manner of people about the various ways people deal with life when things are tough. Cariad is an absolutely incredible host and it’s a wonderful podcast, whether you yourself are struggling or not. Check it out HERE. 

In this week’s Patreon show of Five Brilliant Questions, Cariad answered some deep knowledge questions about Gondor (It’s Lord of the Rings apparently. I have no idea). She also reveals what kind of hat she would be (as always, really probing questions from you guys) and Russell has a crisis about hat-wearing in general. 

Go to: patreon.com/RussellHoward to get involved. Looking forward to seeing you there! 

And that faint glugging noise means our Bathysphere has reached the surface of the water and our underwater journey through the Great Sea of Blurb has come to an end. Let us make our soggy way into the decompression chamber and talk about all the magnificent words we saw over a lovely biscuit and a cup of tea. 

See you next week. Don’t leave your Christmas shopping until the last minute. This time of year is busy enough without having to hate yourself for being disorganised too.

Bye bye x

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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You want wisdom? Here’s five bucketfuls of Wisdom poured into your ears.

Britain’s top philosopher Alain de Botton sits down with Russell and, well, it’s an absolute belter.

🧠 He explains how to make your mind more healthy, how to get through the bad times and he tells Russell just how much he loves water parks. Yeah. You don’t get that on the other Alain de Botton interviews, do you? 🧠

There’s so much to enjoy, and so much nourishment in here for you. Give it a bloody whirl and you won’t regret it. Also, don’t double-screen it. Give it some attention. There’s proper good stuff in there, it seems a waste to have it on while your attention is 85% on finishing the next level of Balatro.

So you’ve enjoyed the podcast, and you are keen to expand your curiosity further? Good. So you should. Alain’s books are available in all independent bookshops, and a good start point for your curiosity is Alain’s online home The School of Life. 

Have a look around, watch some videos, check out the shop, and you can subscribe if you want to get really involved with your own mind. 

In our Patreon show this week Alain answered your questions, and the show gets looser in a really fascinating way - Alain talks a bit more about himself and his own life, what drew him to his work and how he likes to organise his thoughts. 

The Patreon community you can join for free, so please do join us, we’re growing and we’d love you to come along for the journey. We’ve got lots of exciting plans, but really it’s worth just getting more of Alain. I’m a big fan. Can you tell? Go to: patreon.com/RussellHoward.

And that’s the end of the screed. It’s been a great ride having you along for this podcast blurb, I feel we’ve come a long way together and really connected. I hate goodbyes. Maybe it’s not ‘adieu’ but more ‘a bientot’? Same place next week? Lovely. 

Until then. There’s no need to keep your ketchup in the fridge so take it out and free up some room. Better still, get rid of the red abomination you’re ruining perfectly good food. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Why did Robbie Williams leave Sara a voicemail out of the blue? Sara actually plays Russell the voicemail live on the podcast. The moment when Sara was contacted out of the blue by her teenage crush. It’s an ELECTRIFYING podcast moment! 

You’d expect Sara to be fantastic and you’d be right. What a guest. She’s a woman with a borderline psychotic obsession with soup. She tells Russell about her great grandmother who was an extraordinary woman and potentially a killer (unproven), and of course we’ve got that insane Robbie Williams moment. Because it’s a voicemail we can’t say for sure if he was man or monkey when he recorded it. 

Sara has just announced a mega-tour of the UK in 2025, which is immensely exciting. She’s a really excellent, funny and thoughtful comic who will give you an amazing evening of fun, and you’ll come away with some new fizzy brain ideas too. 

The tour is called ‘I am a Strange Gloop’ and it’s going everywhere. 

Find out the dates and get the tickets at sarapascoe.co.uk

🚨 BIG NEWS ALERT! 🚨

Today we launch our Patreon page, which you can join for free to get some extra goodies, and if you like it then you can join as a full member, which means you'll get our spin-off show, Five Brilliant Questions - and you'll get to make the show with us.

 It's looser than the main show and a lot of fun. 

On this week’s show, one listener asked for the recipe for a lasagna that Sara cooked in a dream they had. It’s very weird, a lot of fun and the recipe is not what you expect. 

Go to: https://www.patreon.com/c/RussellHoward to get involved. Looking forward to seeing you there! 

And we’ve come colliding to the buffers at the end of the track once again. This is the last stop, all change please. If you need me I’ll be in the little room with all the other drivers having a well earned cup of Bovril. 

Next week, I will be here and I hope you will too. 

Sayonara, you wonderful human being. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Does Rugby's hardest man have a dog with the least hard name? It's all in this barnstorming show with England Rugby Union Prop Joe Marler, who announced his retirement just a week ago.

Joe tells Russell about drug testing in Japan, he explains the fine art of shithousery and they both get incredibly passionate about biscuits.

As we talk about on the show, Joe's post-rugby work is his weekly podcast that he does with Tom Fordyce, 'Things People Do'. It's well worth checking out, it really is one of the better podcasts around. You can get it on Spotify, Apple, your podcast app there on your phone, or if it's easier, just click this link to help you find it.

Russell is working up some new material at the moment, popping up at gigs across the UK and for a little while in Australia. Keep up to date with all his latest gigs at Russell-howard.co.uk.

Thanks once again for tuning in, and remember when the ball pops loose from the scrum you've got to just dive on it.

Byeeee!

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Welcome to Five Brilliant Things, or as it used to be known, Wonderbox. 

Like a latter-day Reginald Dwight we’ve had a wee name change - everything else is the same show that you know and love. 

And this week, the irrepressible Giovanna Fletcher is in the studio to explain the beauty of silent discos (Russell disagrees), the majesty of a dibber and some top tips for dropping your guts on a mountain. 

It’s a brilliant chat that bobs along at a lick, taking in Giovanna’s writing career, her performing and getting into the practical challenges of trekking across the Himalayas.

Giovanna can be found weekly on her Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, and she’ll be appearing across the UK in the upcoming stage production of The Girl on the Train. 

🥾 But probably most importantly, she’s in the Himalayas right now trekking to raise money for the awesome Breast Cancer Charity, CoppaFeel!  🥾

For more information about CoppaFeel! and how you can support this challenge and donate to the CoppaTrek! head to the following link - https://coppatrek-himalayas.coppafeel.org/ - to help CoppaFeel! ensure everyone has the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer.  

And for those of you wondering why a podcast would change its name… you’d be surprised if you call your podcast something as suggestive as ‘Wonderbox’ just how much attention you get from spambots. 

So unless ‘Brilliant Thing’ has become some kind of new euphemism we haven’t heard of then we should be safe for the time being. It’s Wonderbox. But now it’s called Five Brilliant Things. And we will return next week with another fabulous guest.

Goodbye! 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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Russell sits down with Liverpool stand-up legend Adam Rowe, resident at the famous Hot Water Comedy Clubs and host of the ‘Have a Word’ Podcast with Dan Nightingale. 

Adam and Russell talk over the finer points of Liverpool the city, the football club (if you’re a Man Utd fan you can forward over that bit). Adam talks costumes, and we find out whether he finds a blow-up dinosaur costume or a banana costume more sexually attractive. 

There’s also a great bit of advice for a way of driving that makes you look sexy. So if you’re on the hunt for tips on how to get sexy (and we could all do with a bit more of that. Look at you now, sitting there, crisps in hand, reading show notes for a podcast. I mean who does that?) then this is the episode for you. 

📺 Adam’s stand-up specials are all available for you to watch FOR FREE on that there YouTube, and his latest one is out THIS FRIDAY! Here’s a link to the Have a Word Youtube channel to make that all a bit easier for you. No thanks necessary. 📺

🎤Aaand of course, like all stand-ups Adam is best eaten in a live setting, so you can get all the details of where he is when by going to his website https://www.adamrowe.co.uk/  🎤

🚴‍♂️ Adam’s off on his charity bike ride in aid of the Baby Hospice Zoe’s Place. If you’d like to sponsor Adam and donate to that brilliant cause then please go to https://cycle4zoes.enthuse.com/pf/adam-rowe 🚴‍♂️

Russell is in various parts of the world doing his tour show, and occasionally popping back to the UK to try out some new bits in smaller clubs. Often found at Top Secret Comedy Club in London. Find out his dates and get some trinkets if that’s your thing at Russell-howard.co.uk

We go. We come back again same time week on from now. Egg Man say bye bye. 

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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David Baddiel has a story to tell about his upbringing and it’s… one of the most incredible stories you’ll hear in a long time. You may have read about it in his book, or seen his show, but if not then get involved in this Wonderbox and you’ll never look at a golf club in the same way ever again.

David takes Russell through a blow-by-blow account of a family life that was let’s say unusual, and he doesn’t spare any details. 

It’s funny, it’s astonishing, it’s just a fascinating hour in the company of a brilliant brain, telling a hell of a story. 

For more things David, his website is a great start-point for watching things, buying books, all that fun: https://www.davidbaddiel.com/

And the book that we chat about in the podcast, it’s called My Family: The Memoir, and you can get that at your local independent bookshop. I read it and recommend so much. It flies by. 

Russell is in various countries doing his smash hit tour show. Check out the latest information about where Russell is by going to russell-howard.co.uk

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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How awkward is it to play a surprise set for the England Football Team when they’ve just finished training? James Bay did just this and told us all about it on this week’s podcast! 

James and Russell talk about tight silver trousers, they get into how to write a song and Russell tells what he believes to be the greatest joke he’s ever written. It’s a thoroughly relaxed, intimate chat with plenty of tales from a life on the road as a musician.

As James revealed on the podcast he has a new album out called ‘Changes All The Time’ and it’s absolutley chock full of beautiful songs. Get it by going to https://www.jamesbay.com - obviously you can get it on Spotify but if you buy one for real then you can support the artist, which I know you care about really. Imagine having the death of music on your hands. Who would want that? Not you. I know you don’t want that. 

Also please keep an eye out on Russell’s website russell-howard.co.uk for all his latest dates. He’s in all kinds of different places, like if you’re reading this on they day this podcast comes out then he’s in Galway, but if you’ve waited until Thursday then he’s no longer in Galway. You can see how there’s a limit to how much hand-holding I can provide for you. It’s time to fly the nest and find your own gig details. Be brave, you can do this.

Until next week, when there will be more inane spewing into the void, take it easy and don’t climb trees in the rain if you’ve got slippy shoes.

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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How do you go from a kid hanging around the DJ booth in Eurodiscos in Prague to creating one of Britain’s most iconic sitcoms of all time? 

Seapa is here to take Russell through his Wonderbox, including the dreaded call centres he worked in where he met the other People Just Do Nothing stars, and the perfect Banh-Mi Sandwich. 

Lots of fun. Really funny episode with proper energy, fascinating stories and some excellent digressions. 

Keep up with Allan on Instagram here.

Watch him as Andy Peacock on iPlayer here. Series two landed earlier this year and funny it is too. 

Russell is in various countries doing his smash hit tour show. Check out the latest information about where Russell is by going to russell-howard.co.uk

Producer: Dan Atkinson

Line Producer: Daisy Knight

Exec Producer: James Taylor

Composer: Fat Lady Music

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