Emmy-winning comedian, writer and actor Guy Branum joins me on On the Grapevine ahead of his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Be Fruitful, at Gilded Balloon Teviot.

Best known for his work on Hacks, Chelsea Lately and The Mindy Project, Guy is one of comedy's sharpest cultural commentators. In this episode we chat about his journey to the Fringe, why Edinburgh has such a legendary reputation among comedians, how shows like Fleabag and Baby Reindeer have changed the way America looks at the festival, and why writing a truly great hour of stand-up still means so much.

From there, the conversation happily wanders into politics, California, colonialism, television, Northern Ireland, Derry Girls, language, identity, history, and plenty of unexpected tangents along the way.

A small confession from me: I was genuinely excited to be speaking with Guy and, listening back, I realise I interrupt him more than I should and occasionally send us off on completely different trains of thought. Thankfully, Guy is an incredibly generous guest who indulged my curiosity throughout. I'll take it as a lesson learned and promise to be a little better behaved in future episodes!

If you're heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, be sure to check out Guy Branum: Be Fruitful at Gilded Balloon Teviot.

Thanks for listening to Tickets Still Available. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow the podcast for more conversations with the comedians, writers and performers appearing at this year's Fringe, and feel free to leave a rating or share the episode with someone who loves great comedy.

Guys Links:

Edinburgh fringe show!

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New York Times article

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Hello, I’m Ruairí.

I’ve been making a political podcast for the past few years called The More Freedom Foundation Podcast, and I’m now branching out into something new: a comedy-focused interview podcast called Tickets Still Available.

The idea is simple. I speak with comedians about their work, their tours, and the shows they’re currently promoting. If you’ve got a gig, a festival show, or a tour that could use a bit of extra attention, this is a space to talk about it, share your story, and have a relaxed conversation along the way.

I’m set up to record remotely, so you don’t need anything fancy. If you’re just back from a gig and only have your phone, that’s absolutely fine. Even if you don’t have video, we can still make it work at worst, we’ll use a headshot or simple image alongside the audio.

The aim is to keep it easy, flexible, and low-pressure for guests while still making something fun and useful for promotion.

If you’re a comedian and you’d like to be involved, feel free to get in touch at ticketsstillavailable@gmail.com.

You can also find me on Instagram for updates and contact details.

I’ve also previously appeared on another comedy podcast, where I discussed the Australian film Wake in Fright on the WTFDYW?! Podcast, if you’d like to get a sense of my style.