Book Club #122 - The Anglo Saxons - It’s the last Book Club of the year and we’re heading back to pre-conquest Britain for the history of the Anglo Saxons with Marc Morris. Rich and Marc talk about how little people know about this period and how most of the things they do know never happened, why having very few sources to work from doesn’t make this light and easy work, how Marc discovered the best way to cover this sprawling and tumultuous half a millennium was to tell it through the stories of various individuals and why unfortunately all these individuals had to be male, why the Venerable Bede is good if you have an ill cow, but not always so good if you want the facts of what happened, which Anglo Saxon king allegedly shat in the font at his baptism, which king had a threesome with his wife and her mum and which king came close to becoming a cropper in Cheddar Gorge. Plus the skill required to combine academia with readability and whether comedians and historians would have survived the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the Vikings (no they wouldn’t).

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-anglo-saxons-a-history-of-the-beginnings-of-england-marc-morris/5048642?ean=9781529156980

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#542 Twirling Scary Spice - Richard has been to the Taskmaster experience and is furious to have broken his perfect record of victory. His guest is another Taskmaster alumni, who has turned her appearance into ticket sales (unlike Richard) Fern Brady. They discuss her triumph at the Sky Arts Awards and why she gave a shout out to Irvine Welsh, magic mushrooms, why her tour poster involves her lactating into someone’s mouth, why she doesn’t want to follow the narrative of TV shows regarding her autism, why Richard thinks she is one of the best stand ups we have (though doesn’t seem to know where she’s from), how a doctor made her think she was going to die for a night and how that helped her write her book, coping and not coping with her new found fame and why Richard is funny even when he’s just in the audience.

Watch Fern’s Netflix special here https://www.netflix.com/title/81717099

Check out her tour dates here https://fernbradycomedian.com/

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Book Club #121 - Impossible Things - Rich talks to Dan Schreiber from off of No Such Thing As A Fish etc about his kids’ book attempting to answer the world’s weirdest questions. They chat about trying to kill the Loch Ness Monster, how sceptical people can see ghosts, Dan’s origin story where he saw his sister levitate and smash a glass, imaginary characters coming to life, Richard’s flirtations with mental illness in some of his work, whether we’re living in a simulation, why time travellers shouldn’t poo in the past and the responsibility of keeping the book intriguing without being too scary and not creating a generation of conspiracy nuts. Plus a great tip for winning the lottery and more.

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/impossible-things-unbelievable-answers-to-the-world-s-weirdest-questions-dan-schreiber/7616253?ean=9781526366382

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#541 Hairy-legged Cinderella - Richard is fitting in in his new town and is surprisingly not the weirdest person there. His guest this week is On The Hour alumni, actor and campaigner Doon Mackichan. They talk about a show down with Jim Davidson, 1980s feminism, whether it’s possible to carry on swimming after you are dead, how taking no shit seems to have helped Doon’s career, fighting against stereotyping and turning violent crime into entertainment, the revolutionary sketch show Smack The Pony and how the stars doubted it would be a success and why Richard is doing his best to redress the sexist balance of the TV industry by getting his cock and arse on screen as much as possible.

Buy Doon’s Book “My Lady Parts” here https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/my-lady-parts-a-life-fighting-stereotypes-doon-mackichan/7448426?ean=9781838856366

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Book Club #120 - The Origin of Football Manager Part 1 - Richard meets one of his childhood heroes Kevin Toms, a pioneer of videogame development and the face on the box of the legendary original Football Manager games. They talk about incompetent careers advisors, loving statistics, the genius of making a game about management rather than playing and text rather than graphics and that never ended, how the game became a phenomenon and how it has reappeared on your phones and computers today (with a new version out very soon). Plus why Kevin wanted to document this period and how the internet has allowed him to see how much his work was loved. Plus find out if he never had to work again due to the game’s success!

Buy the book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-Football-Manager-Part-Beginning-ebook/dp/B0CW18V2M2/

For info on Kevin and the games head here https://kevintoms.games/

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#540 You Must Think I’m a Terrible Flirt - Richard is trying out material for his Oh Shit I’m 60! Show and surprise surprise, it’s all about his fading genitals. His guest is a man who can inhabit the soul of Nye Bevan, but also talk about his dick, Michael Sheen. They discuss the fantastic interview from The Assembly and how it knocks all of Richard’s interviews out of the park, playing Chris Tarrant and the guilt or innocence the coughing major, the dangers of engendering sympathy for the Duke of York and who should have played the role, the Heaven and Hell of being a dad in later life and what being a not-for-profit actor actually means. Another absolute classic episode. Don’t miss it.

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Book Club #119 - Loki - A Bad God’s Guide To Making Enemies - Richard talks to author Louie Stowell about her fabulous Loki series and other children’s books. They chat about writing a kids’ book for kids who don’t like reading, fusing Norse myth with everyday school life, how kids are in some ways little mischivous gods who need to learn empathy, why the UK doesn’t embrace its Viking heritage more, how a sentient diary is the perfect antidote for an unreliable writer, the biggest fossilised human poo in the world (perhaps) and whether celebrity children’s authors are a good or bad thing - or do we just let the kids decide if their books are any good or not?

Buy the Loki books here

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/loki-a-bad-god-s-guide-to-being-good-louie-stowell/6431933?ean=9781406399752

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#539 Did You See Me in Ghostbusters? - Richard has been haunted by his smoke alarm. His guest is movie star James Acaster. They talk about his new Sky 1 special “Hecklers Welcome”, revitalising the love of stand up and spinning wheel based trauma, the surprise of being in the latest Ghostbusters film and how Rich plans to trump this, some of the secrets behind Celebrity Hunted (one of which was too juicy to share - come and see the show live), why James is not scared of bats, Springleaf, Party Gator and telling Bill Murray about the Bill Murray pub.

Watch James’ special on Sky Comedy from December 10th and look out for the couple that leave.

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Book Club #118 - All That Matters - Richard talks to the winner of 6 Olympic gold medals (and one silver) Chris Hoy about his fabulous, moving and positive autobiography All That Matters. Although Chris says it’s not Top Trumps his cancer makes Richard’s look like a paper cut and the book is bold and matter of fact about the impact of a non-sugar coated stage 4 cancer diagnosis, but whilst acknowledging the spiral of grief that this inevitably caused, Chris discusses the catharsis of writing about it, applying sports psychology to the situation and seeing the positives of life rather than constantly worrying about death, which could come to any of us at any time. He talks about his own particular deeply unpleasant chemotherapy and the reasons he endured it and how he got through it, how comedy can help us through and how he hopes he might be around for a while yet. Plus how he coped with life after the Olympic victory and trying to avoid Alan Partridgisms. And how making the most of life isn’t just about bucket lists, but realising what matters in your life and how lucky we are to be here. A remarkable Olympian and incredible man and yet a regular guy too. Don’t miss this one

Buy the book here

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/all-the-matters-chris-hoy/1219695?ean=9781399741842

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#538 Pocklington - Richard has just moved house and is mourning the items that didn’t make the grade. His guest is another comedy hero, Adrian Edmondson. They talk about bad Brummie accents, the shadow that is cast on his life from the 14 weeks he spent on the Young Ones, cutting Rik Mayall’s head open with a metal jug, the boarding school experience that he’s still recovering from to this day, how the tweenager Ade may have passed the toddler Rich on the streets of Pocklington, how lockdown and birds and vegetables finally gave Ade calm, performing in Star Wars without being allowed to see the script, the secrets of a successful showbiz marriage, getting to perform in the band you were a superfan of, getting kissed by Joni Mitchell and keeping David Bowie off the top of the charts.

Buy Beserker here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/berserker-the-riotous-one-of-a-kind-memoir-from-one-of-britain-s-most-beloved-comedians-adrian-edmondson/7595333?ean=9781035014316

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Book Club #117 - Jokes Jokes Jokes - Richard talks to old Edinburgh flatmate Jenny Eclair about her cut-above-the-rest autobiography, Jokes, Jokes, Jokes. They discuss how you maintain a career in their weird business over several decades, the envy and bitterness that can eat you up, how getting older changes your priorities, how little either of them remember about Jenny Eclair Squats, how winning the Perrier award left Jenny feeling like a fraud, appearing (though not) in the Karma Chameleon video, being mistaken for Su Pollard, who really came up with the girl that smelled of spam and coping with death and becoming an orphan in your sixties and the lives of the aunts and uncles from the 1950s.

Buy the book here

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/jokes-jokes-jokes-my-very-funny-memoir-jenny-eclair/7648041?ean=9781408732052

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