Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things

Russell gets his tarot reading live on the podcast! The guest this week is Emma Gannon, the the Sunday Times bestselling author judge for the prestigious 2025 Women's Prize. Between 2016-2023 she hosted Ctrl Alt Delete, one of Britain’s most successful industry podcasts. She is seen as many as the quintessential voice of the millennial generation. Emma and Russell talk about fascinating areas of unlocking creativity, making time for all the things you want to do (can you have it all?) and singing nuns. A breezy brilliant hour of chat for you to enjoy while you’re walking in this glorious sunshine. If you’re reading this when it’s raining then just pretend.  🍽️ Emma’s new novel ‘Table for One’ (which was discussed in the podcast) has just come out, and you can get that from all the best independent book places. You could go to a local bookshop, or just click here and order it now! 🍽️ ⌨️ Emma’s hugely popular Substack newsletter ‘The Hyphen’ is a weekly dose of everything fascinating in Emma’s life and you can check that out here. ⌨️ ✨ And if you’re finding that this is one of your regular podcast listens, then it makes sense to subscribe to our Patreon; not only do you get it without adverts, you also get an extra show with our guest where you, the listeners, set the questions. It’s a lot of fun.  Also it’s only the price of one packet sandwich a month. Click here to find out more. ✨ And with that, our unstoppable force meets the immovable object of the end of this week’s descriptions. What fun we had. The first paragraph was a trip, then we moved through some factual information, and ended up here at a sort of dribbling arse-end of a sign-off. Next week will be better, I promise you that. Something epic. See you here at the end, again, next time, for a real little treat for you my curious little blurb reader.  TTFN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did Tom Kerridge save a chef’s life by putting him in a gigantic fridge? It’s quite possible. But why? It’s all in today’s culinary chinwag.  Tom Kerridge brings his Five Brilliant Things, and as you might expect from a chef it takes in some of life’s extremes. There’s an incredible retelling of what it’s like to be on a racing car grid, and Tom’s tales of his old drinking days are the stuff of legend. Please do enjoy.  Do you want to be just as good as Tom is at cooking perfect barbecue food? Well as luck would have it you can do just that. His new BBQ book is out now, ready for you to practise a little before impressing all your friends at the garden party/beach rave/prison yard.  🔥🍖 It’s simply called ‘The BBQ book’ and you can get hold of a copy HERE. 🍖🔥 Otherwise, if you can get a table, and you’ve got a special occasion, Tom’s pubs serve some of the very best food in Britain. It’s worth doing at least once if you can get the money together some time. In this week’s Patreon show our Patreon team came up with some excellent questions for Tom (‘Do you ever get bored with being asked how to cook the perfect Roast Potato?’) and Tom reveals which country has the best cuisine, and it’s maybe a surprising answer? Please join us at Patreon by following the link here: patreon.com/RussellHoward  It’s a really excellent community of people and it’s genuinely great fun to come up with the interview questions together. Come in, the water’s lovely! That’s all for today. Don’t forget to water your house plants, especially that one in the bathroom you always forget. Ciao baby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the Taskmaster’s Assistant, Alex Horne! And he’s here to tell his Brilliant things and as you would probably expect it’s a complete delight.  Did you think birdwatching was boring? Guess again! Failing to see the majesty of the French Horn? Let Alex enlighten your ass! Alex brings an array of delights in an episode that will fly by and leave you with that cosy feeling in your guts. I probably should have used a more poetic word than guts. That description really tailed off at the end there. Guts can ruin anything. Just listen to the damn episode and enjoy yourself.  📕 Alex’s novel The Last Pebble (as mentioned on the podcast) is available to pre-order now here. It’s for teens but to be honest I bet it’s an excellent read whatever age you are. 📕 🎭 And of course you can watch Taskmaster, episodes new and old either at Channel 4 or you can feast on the best bits here. 🎭 ✨ And please don’t forget you can get this whole podcast advert-free forever, and get access to our second weekly show, and get it all a day before everyone else… and for a very small amount. Click here to find out more. ✨ Thanks for joining us, we appreciate you, especially you who reads to the end of the blurb. What are you doing here? There’s nobody here but me and a small family of friendly yet hungry cockroaches. Get back to the real world. We’ll be fine.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s it like to be hunted by the son of a murderous Libyan dictator? Spoiler: it’s not a Brilliant Thing, but it is an incredible story from this week’s guest Spencer Matthews.  There are tales of desert marathons, growing up on an island paradise and what it’s like when reality TV thrusts you into fame before you’re necessarily ready for it… A fascinating chat that goes in many interesting directions. 🏋️‍♀️ You can hear more of Spencer on his new weekly podcast Untapped, which he co-hosts with Jake Quickenden. The podcast explores how far you can push the human body. Whether it’s embracing fitness challenges, mastering new productivity hacks, or exploring lifestyle changes, Spencer and Jake will try it all, and share what truly makes a difference in their lives. 🏋️‍♀️ 🎤 And Russell’s about to embark on a mini-European tour including live dates in Porto, Gibraltar, Berlin, Athens, Sofia and more - check out russell-howard.co.uk for dates and tickets. 🎤 ✨ And if you are enjoying the podcast but get fed up with the adverts, you can get the whole thing advert-free forever, and get access to our second weekly show, and get it all a day before everyone else… and for a very small amount. Click here to find out more. ✨ Thanks for being you, keep being you until you can you no more. Byeeee.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nina Conti, ventriloquist supreme, her with the monkey, is in the studio (no monkey) and chooses some incredible brilliant things (the density of an atom’s nucleus! The orange of the inside of an eyelid!). It’s a privileged ramble through the brain of an artist. Please enjoy. 🐵 Ninaontour.com is where you can find out about Nina's extended tour dates for Autumn 2025 including five dates at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London from April 29th. Get your tickets! 🐵 As mentioned on the podcast, Nina’s directorial debut film Sunlight is doing the rounds at film festivals. To keep up with that and find out where you can see it next keep your eyes on Ninaconti.net  🐎 And this is a link to the John Mulaney routine, that Russell mentioned, about a Horse in a Hospital. Worth a listen for sure. 🐎 📻 And please give some serious consideration to enjoying this podcast in its natural form. No adverts, an extra weekly show and access to a community of many other like minded excellent people. Click here to find out more. 📻 And that’s the end. Let’s all do our best to make the next seven days life-changing and unbeatable. Let’s change the world. See you back here in a week for a debrief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you go from being a young sex columnist to a nationally acclaimed restaurant reviewer? Food writer, broadcaster, jazz pianist and egg fanatic Jay Rayner is here. If you have even a passing interest in anything foodie, there’s so much in here for you. New ways of loving tinned fish, the dark arts of restaurant reviewing, and a noble attempt by Russell to convert Jay into a football fan. Did he leave wearing a scarf and hat munching on a balti pie? You’ll have to listen to find out. Jay is now reviewing restaurants for the Financial Times, so you can find those in print or online every week.  As Jay mentions on the podcast, his latest book Nights Out At Home is out now at all good independent bookshops, and there’s a few live tour dates to go with it. 📖 Buy the book here… 📖 🎤 Find out about the tour dates and book tickets here… 🎤 🍾 Oh, and Jay mentioned his favourite food magazine Noble Rot - you can check that out here. 🍾 🇺🇸 And if you happen to be in the United States right now, then why don’t you treat yourself and get along to one of Russell’s shows! He’s doing a brief tour of some cities in America that he hasn’t played for a while - check out where he be and get those tickets by going to russell-howard.co.uk 🇺🇸 If you’re enjoying this podcastness and you want it even podcastier, as in no adverts,  an exclusive extra show every week that you help to make, and getting it all a day early… all for less than the cost of one sandwich a month… then click here to find out more.  Thanks for being a passenger on another flight here with Five Brilliant Things Air. We hope you have had a pleasant crossing, please leave your seatbelts fastened until the podcast has come to a complete standstill. The local time is (inaudible) and the weather is drizzly but should brighten up later.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What family game is Rose Ayling-Ellis banned from playing in her own home? Find out in the first ever podcast appearance by the actor and Strictly Come Dancing champion! Rose takes Russell through the majesty of playing Catan, eating Posh Crisps and how the pandemic had a weird side-benefit for the deaf community.  It’s a great fun hour and well worth your time. In this episode there’s a lot of chat about British Sign Language… if it’s piqued your curiosity and you want to find out more then get your ass (and hands) down to https://www.british-sign.co.uk 🚨Watch out for Rose playing the lead in the new ITV drama ‘Code of Silence’. 🚨 📚 Also, Rose’s book that she talked about in the show ‘Marvellous Messages’ is out now and you can get it here.  It’s about all the different ways that communication happens and it’s a cracking book for kids who are 7-9. 📚 🇺🇸 And if you happen to be in the United States right now, then why don’t you treat yourself and get along to one of Russell’s shows! He’s doing a brief tour of some cities in America that he hasn’t played for a while - check out where he be and get those tickets by going to russell-howard.co.uk 🇺🇸 If you’re enjoying this podcastness and you want it even podcastier, as in no adverts,  an exclusive extra show every week that you help to make, and getting it all a day early… all for less than the cost of one sandwich a month… then click here to find out more.  And we’re done. Time to put the microphone, keyboard, feather boa and udder lube back in the cupboard for another week. Time to get dressed again and leave the key under the doormat for the cleaners to do their thankless task.  Hope your week is filled with rainbows and flowers, unless you’ve got hay fever in which case maybe just go with some plastic flowers. Goodbye to you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Russell a Paladin, a Warlock or a Rogue? Scottish comedy powerhouse Daniel Sloss introduces Russell to his world of D & D with his customary passion and flair. He also sings the praises of sneezes, and makes a convincing case for self-medicating in airports.  Daniel Sloss fans who are waiting for a new show, well you are in luck. He’s working up material now for his next tour, so if you live in Scotland you’ll be able to see him popping into your local comedy club and throwing ideas around. If that’s geographically inconvenient, then you’ll probably have to wait for the real thing.  Keep those beautiful eyes of yours on danielsloss.com where you’ll find news of the tour when it drops, and in the meantime you can stream all of Daniel’s existing shows. So go do that. Now.  Would you prefer to get this podcast without adverts? And get a free extra show every week? And get it all a day before everyone else?  And join a bunch of like-minded happy people? Well you’re in luck. You can do this and much more by clicking this here:  patreon.com/RussellHoward   If you want to give it a whirl for a month, then cancel, you can do that.  🇺🇸 Russell’s going to America! 🇺🇸 He’s got a bunch of East Coast dates coming around the corner, so if you’re in that part of the world then have a look at Russell-howard.co.uk to find out where the shows are and get your tickets.  That’s also the place to stream Russell’s latest special. Have a look. And well I never we come to the end of another week of blurby blather. I can see the earth rising now, as we complete another full orbit. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth mentioning that we’re the first podcast to be entirely produced from orbit, but it feels a bit showy. Anyway, time I floated to the second module to have a breakfast of pureed croissants. Stay safe down there.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you become a Habbo Hotel Scammer? And why did Russell ask a bunch of young men which of them was going to pleasure him in the street?  Podcast royalty and ex-Youtube magnate JacckMaate is in the studio, and it’s as fun, breezy and enjoyable as you would imagine from a man of his mastery of chat. Jack’s stories about his days as a Habbo gangster are sensational.  JaackMaate’s Happy Hour is one of the biggest podcasts out there and it’s available exclusively through Spotify. Go listen, then explore all the things that Jaack does. He’s great. If you’d like to get the podcast without being interrupted by adverts, and get an extra show every week, AND get it all a day before everyone else, then you can! You can join our Patreon. It’s inexpensive and we would love to have you as part of the club. Click this link to join or find out more: patreon.com/RussellHoward   And that’s all folks! Have a mad good week. Mad good I tell you.  xxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear Rachel Riley's plan for pay-as-you-go giant adult prams! You'll find this and all your other must-know insights into Britain's most well-known maths genius in this episode of Five Brilliant Things! Rachel has a passion for all sorts of things and it was pure pleasure to hear her talking about the excitement of travel, of food, and of course, maths. In there there's some really simple ideas as well about how you, who is intimidated by maths, can instantly get better. Have a listen, feel fuzzy, get good at maths. What a way to spend an hour. 🧮 As talked about in the episode, Rachel has made a Tonie to help kids who are 5+ to get confident with maths. If you've got young kids or friends with young kids, give them the gift of not shitting themselves every time someone says 'long division'. Here's the link to find out more. 🧮 Russell's just got back from touring Europe, gearing up for his next international dates which are in various parts of the United States, which is turning into a very interesting place. Stay up to date at russell-howard.co.uk - which is also where you can stream Russell’s latest smash hit hour-long special. It’s not been long out and it’s bloody good.  And as always, please check out the Patreon for this show. Look. Let's admit it. You're reading the blurb. You're clearly into it. Just give in to the vibes. Who reads the blurb? Legends like you, that's who. Anyway. The Patreon costs about five quid a month and for that you're going to get the show without those accused adverts, and every week (yeah!) you'll get a second show - Five Brilliant Questions - where you get to make the show with us and decide what we ask the guests. Lots and lots of fun. Also coming soon will be exclusive live recordings of the podcast and our Five Brilliant Things Patreon Army will get super discounts and first tickets. Woof woof. Click this link to join or find out more: patreon.com/RussellHoward   And now let's all go back to what we were doing before we embarked upon this voyage of blurb. I personally have to go to buy some lentils. Red ones, as it happens, to make a particularly creamy daal. Byeeeeeee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices