Latest Episodes

November 12, 2015

Kent Tessman, screenwriter of Chrome Noir joins Franklin this week for a one on one chat. They talk about how he came out to Los Angeles straight out of film school in Canada to write scripts, what lead to him creating the professional screenwriting software Fade In, and the early beginnings of writing his film noir with robots.

November 12, 2015

Kevin and Kamau celebrate one year of celebrating Denzel by playing back their favorite moments from the show! After Kevin gives Kamau his anniversary present, they reminisce about Black Judgement, Sam Jackson, weird Top 5 picks, elegant shade, Oprah’s house, the day Kevin met Denzel, and way more. Stay till the very end for the Denzelishness rating system, remixed!

November 12, 2015

In a special Danger Room episode of Nerd Poker, Dag and Houg awake and find themselves in a dark room surrounded by nude gnomes. How have they gotten to this nightmarish place? Tune in to find out!

November 12, 2015

D’Arcy Carden, Craig Rowin, Neil Campbell, and Danielle Schneider discover the sexual double-meaning of pet adoption on this week’s improv4humans with Matt Besser! They’ll also follow the career of an actor whose prime gig is pretending to be a monster in a child’s closet, Wee-Man on his new prank show Cat Nuts, and a dramatic actor who regards himself as a Dramatic Tornado. Plus, humon Sarah Schultz stops by to interview Matt about becoming undeniably funny, honing your act, and being inspired by the work of other comedians in The Interview Challenge. Make sure to get the Upright Citizens Brigade television show season 3 now available on DVD, the UCB Comedy Improv Manual, and Dragoon’s new album at dragoongalaxy.bandcamp.com!

November 12, 2015

Bettering yourself with Matt Walsh.

November 12, 2015

Learn the story behind Hillary Clinton’s headline-grabbing interview on Another Round, along with how Lena Dunham’s new podcast, Women of the Hour, came together.  Plus there are many other juicy tidbits for podcast nerds on this episode, as Buzzfeed’s Director of Audio Jenna Weiss-Berman opens up to Adam on a cornucopia of vital topics in public broadcasting and podcasting. She explains why having a diverse staff starts with paying your interns fairly, and why that’s good for both creating high quality content and for the bottom line. As a former public radio producer–and still an enormous public radio fan–Jenna challenges the persistent misconception that only public broadcasters can be mission-driven. And she reveals the kind of podcast she really wants to produce, as well as her thoughts on “viral” audio.

November 12, 2015

What’s it like to have an encyclopedia entry written about you while you’re still living? And to what extent are you able to change that information?

November 12, 2015

Caroline Anderson and Andrew talk about a question from a French caller of West African descent that deals with being called African American by a casting director. Don’t forget to keep leaving us messages by calling (323) 389-RACE.

November 11, 2015

Celebrate the one year anniversary of I Was There Too featuring Dwier Brown, aka Kevin Costner’s dad, John Kinsella in 1989’s Field of Dreams. Dwier tells us about how he prepared emotionally for his heartfelt father/son scene not long after his father had passed away, his book about the film entitled “If You Build It,” Ray Liotta making his lucky Hawaiian shirt even more lucky on set, and much more. Plus, Matt’s Superego buddy Mark McConville guides him through his first viewing of Field of Dreams in the debut of I Was There New.

November 11, 2015

The man who directed National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is also one of Hollywood’s most avid and knowledgeable film buffs. John Landis joins Leonard and Baron this week to talk about a wide variety of subjects, from Don Rickles to Fred Astaire. He also reveals one of his favorite unsung horror movies of the 1930s.

November 11, 2015

This week, Howard poses the age old question of whether or not one should breast feed a monkey in order to save it’s life. Additionally, the gang discusses the missteps of the latest bond movie, hummingbirds, and Kulap’s experience as a location scout for her latest project. Later, Kether Donohue of You’re the Worst stops by to talk about why her commitment to a single bit was the very thing to jump start her career.

November 11, 2015

‘Living like a rich person’ is attainable to the general populous more cheaply than ever. Then why does society appear so focused on earning exorbitant wealth? Only two men (on this podcast) can decide!

November 11, 2015

Caroline Anderson and Andrew talk about if Hillbilly-ish people are racist. Be sure to keep leaving us messages at (323) 389-RACE.

November 10, 2015

The Shrimps take on The Alley Oopsies at North Weddington Auditorium. Matt Gourley and Mark McConville call the action, Jensen Karp has the Sock Report. Milk.

The Shrimps on Twitter: @pistolshrimpsbb
The Shrimps on Instagram: thepistolshrimps

Matt Gourley on Twitter and IG: @MattGourley
Mark McConville on Twitter and IG: @MarkMcConville

November 10, 2015

Kevin sits down with actor-director Richard Benjamin (Westworld, My Favorite Year). Richard shares old school Hollywood stories (like working with a young Mel Brooks), and an inspired tip for keeping your eyes open while shooting a gun in a western.

November 10, 2015

Ben Schwartz aka Jean-Ralphio of Parks and Recreation aka Clyde Oberholt of House of Lies joins Franklin for an in-depth conversation about how he became a writer. Ben tells us about his early days of submitting jokes to Late Night with David Letterman & SNL, sleeping in a tent at a friend’s house when he came to LA to write for Robot Chicken, and how his Black List script El Fuego Caliente (a remake of the 1991 film Soapdish) came about. LA: Come see a LIVE stage reading of Ben’s script El Fuego Caliente with special guests on November 21st at the The Montalban Theater at 8pm. Go to www.theblacklistlive.com for tickets!

November 10, 2015

VJ extraordinaire Whoopi joins Deanna & Emily this week to debut his new Drake inspired app “Drizzy Tearz” and an exclusive track from the accompanying LP “Tearz From The 6.” Whoopi also tells us about how his Whoopi Doodles lead him to DJing Snoop Dogg’s 40th birthday party, what #PCD means, and walks us through one of the best Instagram stalking apps.

November 10, 2015

Caroline Anderson & Andrew talk about a caller’s question about a possibly racist Math teacher. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

November 10, 2015

Actions speak louder than words, but what specific actions or situations tell the most about a person? In a world of hypothetical possibilities, what would be the single most revealing thing about a person?

November 10, 2015

Sean, Dom Dierkes, and the ScuzzMan are reunited in the studio to catch up on their lives and discuss their script “Volleyball: A Real Underdog Story”. Also, the Popcorn Gallery return to ask the ScuzzMan some hard-hitting questions.

 

November 10, 2015

Randy, Jason, and Daniel Van Kirk talk about the many things that Donald Trump can do with his money including host Saturday Night Live. Then, the gang welcomes Matt Braunger who discusses the rockstar status of certain comedians, as well as why comedy can be the best medicine. Also, Daniel covers headlines that include a woman who’s arrest was inspired by an 80’s rock song, a fellow comedian that calls out the wrong audience member, and a man who’s escape from police requires eating toilet paper. Lastly, Dr. Phil leaves a voicemail explaining a proper punishment for Greg Hardy.

November 9, 2015

The amazing and talented Brie Larson joins Josh this week to talk about the process of shooting her latest powerful drama-thriller Room, crying at the end of Chopped, and what she’s learned from her experience as a child actor.

November 9, 2015

In celebration of the 50th episode of The Canon, Devin & Amy are giving two films that previously didn’t make it into the canon a second chance! They have also opened it up to YOU listeners to call-in and cast your vote immediately. Will Empire Strikes Back or Jurassic Park win the popular vote for ultimate supremacy? Don’t forget to head to the Wolfpop forums to make the final call!

November 9, 2015

Stand-up comedian extraordinaire John Mulaney is back on this week’s Comedy Bang Bang! John and Scott break down the Ebenezer Scrooge costume, reflect on why weird rumors are not circulated about modern celebs, and talk about John’s starring role in his new Netflix special “The Comeback Kid.” Then, local business woman Big Sue arrives with terrible news about her business “Carpets Rugs Down There” and religious figure Nancy K stops by to talk everyone into joining a very special cult.

November 9, 2015

QOD asked and YOU responded! Today, Stephen and James go over QOD listeners’ tweets in response to the question, “What is the best possible future discovery or invention?”

November 9, 2015

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes you, him, her, and it back to SPONTANEANATION! This week, Paul’s special guest is Paul Scheer of The League and How Did This Get Made! They chat about who Paul Scheer would want to switch bodies with for a day, the reason why you shouldn’t see a friend’s baby right away, and how pregnancy books do not prepare you for taking care of a baby. The Pauls are then joined by Erinn Hayes, Marc Evan Jackson, and Hal Lublin to improvise a story set in a TV News Control Room. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano!

LA: TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR the DECEMBER 5th SPONTANEANATION LIVE AT LARGO, FEATURING IMPROVISERS HAL LUBLIN, ANNIE SAVAGE AND JANET VARNEY, WITH SPECIAL GUEST RON FUNCHES! ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY. TICKETS

November 9, 2015

America is great at gentrification. Liberal oases like Portland and Austin are quickly being renovated to cover up their quirky charms, we knock down and rebuild stadiums to revitalize urban areas like it’s our job and the city of San Francisco is basically one giant wifi-enabled Starbucks. 

But to think the organized displacement of low-income and minority communities is a 21st century invention is foolish. America has been the Lebron James of that game since the Mayflower!

This week on the podcast Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked editors Adam Tod Brown and Alex Schmidt to talk about America’s history of forced gentrification, assimilation and deportation. The guys look at some of of the unique cultural communities completely wiped off the map by the course of history and examine the mechanism by which some populations are remembered and others are forgotten.

November 9, 2015

Writer/comedian Caroline Anderson joins Andrew all this week to answer some racism questions. Today they discuss the “W” word. Be sure to call us at (323) 389-RACE to ask if anything is racist.

November 8, 2015

In the last few years ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ and ‘Elysium’ showed near-futures where soldiers weren’t limited by their physical capabilities, but instead were enhanced by mech-suits. It’s a concept that provides for very entertaining movies, but considering we have no plans to fight hordes of aliens or wage a class war on the Lamborghini of space stations, can mech-suits have any real-life applications to us in the coming years? Or are they strictly limited to warfare?

 

Let’s say mech-suits do become a routine part of daily life. Will they help us for the better or just turn us into the soft and doughy humans like those aboard the starship Axiom in ‘Wall-E’?

 

Jack O’Brien ask all of these questions and more of Oliver Mayer, Principal Engineer at GE Global Research and an expert in robotics, who believes we’re all a little bit cyborg already. Jack is then joined by Scott Novich, the co-founder and CTO of NeoSensory, Inc., a company helping the deaf hear by harnessing an underused sense: touch. From there, they talk about how this technology could potentially lead to humans gaining new senses.

November 6, 2015

Playwright and poet Dan O’Brien joins Nate this week for an in-depth conversation about his work as an artist and creative person. Dan tells us about the process of becoming a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow, how his friendship with War Reporter Paul Watson has inspired his play “The Body of an American,” how his relationship with his family motivated him to become a poet, and with the help of Nate reads one of his poems, “The War Reporter and The Poet Fight.” Later, Nate closes out the show by reading a very short story called “Things You’re Not Proud Of” by Tom McAllister. Don’t forget to pick up “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson and send in your thoughts on the book at readingaloudpodcast@gmail.com.