Writer, comedian, filmmaker and original “Mystery Science Theater 3000” cast member J. Elvis Weinstein visits the podcast to talk about the early days of MST3K, the originality of “Freaks and Geeks,” the perverse appeal of “Skidoo” (and “Robot Monster”) and the long lost art of novelty records. Also, Gregory Peck taunts Nazis, Foster Brooks breaks character, “WKRP” inspires Tom Servo and Albert Brooks sends up Dickie “Mr. Jaws” Goodman. PLUS: “Ghost Dad”! “Manos: The Hands of Fate”! The eccentricities of Michael Des Barres! The abandoned Casey Kasem movie! Gilbert runs a Halloween scam! And J. Elvis reveals the Greg Kinnear donkey incident!

Casey and Charles bring their lovers, Michelle Badillo and Jordan Firstman on as guests to flip the script and tell the hosts what their own problems are in what can only be described as a memorably disastrous episode. 

If you ask the average American to name ten things from World War II, Benito Mussolini won’t often make the list. But “Il Duce” seized power long before Hitler, spent more than two decades reshaping Italy in his image, and coined that “Fascist” term we all yell these days. Isn’t it strange that we never focus on Mussolini when we hearken back to WW2? Could he be a useful historical touchstone for understanding the present day? And did you know modern Italy is so steeped in Mussolini, its rising political stars CELEBRATE his brutal genocidal legacy?

On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by historian & scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat and by comedian & podcaster Adam Tod Brown. They’re taking a timely look at the most ignored fascist government of all time. They’ll debunk common myths about Mussolini’s train-centric reign. They’ll reveal the shockingly brazen Mussolini acolytes in modern Italian politics, supported by Fascism’s soccer subculture and normalized legacy. Also stick around for the shocking parallels between 2010s world leaders and Mussolini’s 1920s quest to Make Italy Great Again.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/what-fascist-italy-reveals-about-modern-america/

Comic book author Sina Grace sits down with Cameron to discuss the X-men metaphor, writing and queering Iceman, and the process of creating a comic book.

This episode is sponsored by the National Partnership for Women and Families (www.nationalpartnership.org/StandTogether) and Pact (www.wearpact.com code: QUEERY).

Comedian Tig Notaro feels glad about being Conan O’Brien’s friend.

Tig and Conan sit down this week to discuss the hilarity of crashing and burning onstage, vacationing with rock stars, wearing a nightcap, playing Vegas, and drawing Civil War portraits. Later, executive producer Adam Sachs weighs in on the dos and don’ts of casual schmoozing with guests.

Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (323) 451-2821.

For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.

This episode is sponsored by Hulu’s Ramy, Mizzen+Main (www.comfortable.af code: CONAN), Hair Club (www.hairclub.com/CONAN), HelloFresh (www.hellofresh.com/conan80 code: CONAN80), Article (www.article.com/CONAN), State Farm (1-800-STATE-FARM), and MeUndies (www.meundies.com/CONAN).

BREAKING NEWS! Re: Ken Todd

Conan Field Producer Jason Chillemi joins Conan writers Mike Sweeney and Jessie Gaskell to talk about what goes on behind the scenes on remotes and travel shows all the way from the Late Night days to Conan’s recent trip to Australia. Plus, Associate Producer Jordan Schlansky returns to talk about his experience with the Conan travel shows and the evolution of words that need to be bleeped on the show over the years.

This episode is brought to you by Vrbo, Postmates (code: insideconan), Third Love (www.thirdlove.com/insideconan), The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Twix.

Check out Conan Without Borders: Australia: https://teamcoco.com/australia

Check out Conan25: The Remotes: https://conan25.teamcoco.com/

Got a question for Inside Conan? Call our voicemail: (323) 209-5303 and e-mail us at insideconanpod@gmail.com

For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.

An even creepier version of The Secret and more on this week’s mini-sode! Paul opens up the Explanation Hope Line, goes through Corrections and Omissions for The Secret, opens up the Mail Bag, and gives his Pick of the Week. Plus, find out which movie we will be watching next week!

This episode is brought to you by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Subscribe to Unspooled with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson here: http://www.earwolf.com/show/unspooled/

Check out our new website over at www.hdtgminfo.com!

Check out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepubli…wdidthisgetmade

Where to Find Jason, June & Paul:

@PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter

@Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on Twitter

Jason is still not on Twitter

It’s time for In Voorhees We Trust episode on what will undoubtably, 100% absolutely be the last movie in the Friday the 13th franchise. Gourley and Rust planned this to be a 13 part podcast but as you can see by the film’s title it is definitively the ‘final chapter’. So to make it special, host wives Amanda Lund and Lesly Arfin join Matt and Paul for what is sure the be the last episode in the series because there are no more installments of the Voorhees franchise anywhere on Earth.

Sue and Michael both make confessions of the heart.

This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox (www.butcherbox.com/OBSCURE code: OBSCURE).

Comedian Punkie Johnson joins Dave and Matt this week to get hot about the 90210 reboot, go deep on Grey’s Anatomy, talk about meeting her wife in high school, and more! Plus getting your toenails clipped by your spouse, messed up reasons to have a baby, and Dave breaks down all of Coachella for Matt!

This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox (www.butcherbox.com/HOMO code: HOMO), Talkspace (www.talkspace.comcode: HOMOPHILIA), and the National Network of Abortion Funds (www.bowlathon.nnaf.org).

Casey and Danielle are back in the satellite nook with a guest as overdue as Camille’s firing – the incomparable Paul Scheer. Paul has recently gotten himself in hot water on Twitter with LVP fans around the world for proudly proclaiming himself #TeamTeddy and details their wrath. He has hot takes on NeNe and a blossoming friendship with Erika Jayne – but at the end of the day, he and Casey are ready to live that minivan lyfe!!!!

Comedians Benari Poulten and Gastor Almonte join Negin to give their initial takes and takeaways from the recently released (and redacted) Mueller Report. Then they discuss how the Notre Dame fire reflects our own mortality, whether the rebuilding effort is a good use of resources, and one time Negin got stoned in France.

This episode is sponsored by Pact (www.wearpact.com code: FakeTheNation) and ThirdLove (www.thirdlove.com/NATION).

Amy & Paul excavate 1948’s Humphrey Bogart thriller The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre! They ask if Fred C. Dobbs qualifies as an antihero, look at the wild career of director John Huston, and explore how Treasure inspired everything from Breaking Bad to There Will Be Blood. Plus: film critic extraordinaire Leonard Matin explains how he became a Bogart fan.

For Chinatown week, complete the famous line “Forget it Jake, it’s ___” with the town of your choice! Call the Unspooled voicemail line at 747-666-5824 with your answer.Follow us on Twitter @Unspooled, get more info at unspooledpod.com and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Photo credit: Kim Troxall

This episode is brought to you by Vrbo.

Cam talks hummingbirds, plane cocaine and Game of Thrones. Sets from Liz Miele, Jono Zalay, Kevin Avery, Logan Guntzelman and Andy Kindler.

What’s messier: the Lori Loughlin college admission scandal or Julian Assange’s kitchen? Trump’s transgender military ban is in full swing, and Bryan talks us through the practical implications for servicemembers who live in a country that refuses to take care of the people who fight and die for it. Then, in the wake of Ohio passing another “heartbeat bill” prohibiting abortions at 6 weeks with zero exceptions, Erin discusses the long history of the pro-life movement’s insidious entanglement with a racist, white supremacist ideology.

And make sure to check out Deeper Shade of Shade on Stitcher Premium, where Bryan and Erin interview their favorite friends of the show. For a free month of listening, go to stitcherpremium.com/shade and use promo code ‘SHADE’.

This episode is sponsored by the National Network of Abortion Funds (www.bowlathon.nnaf.org), the National Partnership for Women and Families (www.nationalpartnership.com/StandTogether), Quip (www.getquip.com/SHADE), Openfit (text SHADE to 303030), and Mailchimp.

Horatio Sanz, Jon Gabrus, and John Gemberling join Matt Besser for a special 420 edition of improv4humans! They celebrate the holiday with scenes about hunting for great deals on poison chicken, exploring the dumpster behind Trader Joe’s, bullying the King in the North for looking like a dork, and using distractions to sneak food into the movies.

Get your i4h 420 accessories here: https://www.podswag.com/collections/improv4humans/products/improv4humans-herb-grinder-bundle

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com/IMPROV code: IMPROV).

Flying by the seat of your pants with Jimmy and the boys.

This episode is brought to you by Mack Weldon (www.mackweldon.com code: PARDO), Postmates, (code: NOTFUNNY) Quip (www.getquip.com/PARDO), and The Last Laugh podcast.

Actor and writer Marque Richardson (Dear White People) joins Andrew and Tawny to discuss caller’s questions about a high school being referred to as being “95 percent ghetto,” using the word Spanish, and much more. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

The Jordan Edwards Memorial Scholarship: https://thejordanedwardsmemorialscholarship.com/

This episode is brought to you by National Network of Abortion Funds, Flatiron School, Ramy on Hulu, and Podcoin.

Matt pushes the robot car to its limits by trying to make it drive near water, but Joyce gets her revenge by taking him to the worst parts of town where they meet prostitutes, drug dealers, gang members, and a mobster hit man. Starring Matt Besser & Mary Holland. This episode co-starring Horatio Sanz, Danielle Schneider, Lou Wilson and Dan Lippert as the man with no name.

You can listen to the entire season of My Dead Wife, the Robot Car early on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com/robot and use the promo code ‘ROBOT.’

David Collins is a three-time Emmy Award winning producer and is the creator and Executive Producer of Queer Eye. He joins Jonathan to talk the inspiration  of the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, how that lead to the creation of the current iteration, the selection process of the Fab Five, his own relationship with queerness, and more.

You can find more at David’s website scoutproductionsinc.com. Follow David on Instagram @styletasteandclass.

Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com.

Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com.

Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.

Stand-up comedian and host of the podcast Here We Are Shane Mauss joins Howard, Stard and Hugo to count down the latest charts! Shane shares his psychedelic expertise as they spotlight the top trending music videos on YouTube. Later, they debate theories of the mind and which drugs give the best superpowers during the Movie Chart before rounding it all off with an eclectic new set of Hot Picks.

This episode is sponsored by Joybird (www.joybird.com/CHARTED code: CHARTED).

The Boys team up with fellow showrunners JARRAD PAUL and JULIUS “GOLDY” SHARPE for a panel about becoming each other’s agents.

This episode is sponsored by Brilliant Earth (www.brilliantearth.com/THEBOYS), NHTSA, Harry’s (www.harrys.com/HANDBOOK), Robinhood (www.handbook.robinhood.com), and Philo (www.philo.tv/THEBOYS).

Jon Gabrus and Betsy Sodaro join Jess, Zach, Brett on the Frets, guest pianist Dan Wessels and guest drummer Eric Kalver for a Taco Bell musical packed with Boscar the Meanie and Kurt his friend, kidney stones, 4 Carls, taco spells and more! With songs like “We Don’t Give a F***”, “The Man Behind the Puppet” and “Taco Hell / Taco Well” you won’t need a fourth meal after listening to this live show. 

This episode is brought to you by Vrbo.

A guy who has never even listened to this podcast talks to Gethard about a bunch of stuff for an hour.

This episode is brought to you by Vrbo, Joybird (www.joybird.com/BEAUTIFUL), Aura Frames, Talkspace (www.talkspace.com code: BEAUTIFUL).

The James Bonding Fantasy Film Draft is back! And this time it’s serious. Six contenders, six Bonds, and six films. Matt and Matt are joined by Taran Killam, James Bladon, Dani Price, and Shannon Locke. Mark McConville is your moderator, once more. Vote for your favorite at the link below!

https://www.mattgourley.com/james-bonding-survey

The long journey is starting to wear down the crew. With her birthday just around the corner, Elsa is feeling pangs of homesickness. Tucker rescues a very empathetic alien named Dmitri, who agrees to counsel the fatigued crew in exchange for a ride. Featuring guest star Tom Lenk.

This episode is sponsored by NHTSA, ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/VOYAGE), and VRBO.

Actor Anthony Rapp sits down with Cameron to discuss starring on Rent at 24, holding people accountable for what they say, and the #metoo movement.

This episode is sponsored by Care/of (www.takecareof.com code: QUEERY50).

Comedian and actor extraordinaire Baron Vaughn joins Scott to talk about his new Comedy Central series The New Negroes which he hosts with Open Mike Eagle. Then, Denny Simpson from Alabama Pest Control stops by to talk about ethically capturing animals. Later, automobile salesman Gregory Smith drops by to tell us about selling experiences and stories. Plus, a game of Would You Rather!

This episode is brought to you by Thomas’ English Muffins, Capterra (www.capterra.com/BANGBANG), and Legal Zoom (www.legalzoom.com code: BANGBANG).

Lifelong Marx Brothers fanatics Gilbert and Frank are joined by a panel of Marx aficionados, including authors Robert S. Bader(“Four of the Three Musketeers”), Josh Frank (“Giraffes on Horseback Salad”) and Harpo’s son, Bill Marx. Also: Chico works blue, Salvador Dali meets Louis B. Mayer, Harpo shares a bill with Allan Sherman and Bill visits the set of “Love Happy.” PLUS: “The Big Store”! Harpo goes to Russia! Groucho livens up the party! Zeppo inspires Cary Grant! And Bill reveals his favorite Marx Brothers movie!