Billy Merritt's (Improv) Spotlight

Dear Eunice: Reviewing in Reno A dry lasagna. A nearly empty soap dispenser. And a two-star review that turns one private home into a public attraction. A local guide's detailed Google Maps listing brings tourists to Mark's house, where the homeowner's unwanted fame soon becomes an opportunity to boost the listing. Meanwhile, a Google employee discovers that the same reviewing standards can be app...

Expanded Reality TV is a podcast where improv comedians create absurd audio performances based on behind-the-scenes stories of real reality television stars, building new weird worlds from the things that people don't see when watching their favorite "unscripted" TV shows.  Episode #4 features an interview with Erik Reichenbach, an iconic two-time contestant on the reality television show SURVIVOR...

Kate Legere | The AND Camp What do improv, boozy cupcakes, summer camp, and badly designed bathroom doors have in common? Kate Legere has thoughts about all of them. Gail sits down with Kate Legere, improviser, actor, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of The AND Camp , to talk about making things happen and bringing people together. What began as improv weekends at the Jersey Shore grew into an...

Episode 2: Blazing in Brooklyn The coffee is artisanal. The creamer is contraband. And HR definitely knows a guy. This month on Dear Eunice , an office coffee feud spirals into beverage tampering, miraculous cholesterol, recreational sand-eating, Goat Get 'Em Coffee , and an HR department with disturbingly strong CIA connections. Third-wave coffee. Questionable medicine. Weaponized Human Resources...

Expanded Reality TV is a podcast where improv comedians create absurd audio performances based on behind-the-scenes stories of real reality television stars, building new weird worlds from the things that people don't see when watching their favorite "unscripted" TV shows.  Episode #3 features an interview with Ann Hirsch, a performance artist and former contestant on the reality television show F...

(Grandpa) Once Said  is a podcast where real stories about the people who shape our lives become inspiration for improvised comedy. We listen to stories about grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and friends of friends—the memorable people whose personalities, quirks, wisdom, and experiences stay with us—and we use those stories as jumping-off points to create improvised characters, scenes, and w...

One hundred episodes. One comedy network. And somehow, they let Gail host the celebration. The BIT Improv Comedy Network has officially hit Episode 100 , so Gail sits down with the man who started this whole ridiculous experiment, Billy Merritt , to look back, look ahead, and ask the thoughtful, penetrating questions befitting such an important milestone. Just kidding. It's Gail. Billy talks BIT,...

Episode 1: Blazing in Boston The letters are absurd. The advice is questionable. And somehow, everything ends with a burning tire and a rat. In the debut episode of Dear Eunice , Eunice tackles a very medieval school bake sale, "historically accurate" Renaissance customs, a rat roast, a deranged beer hall, and the dangers of letting a 10-year-old become your business consultant. New show. Terrible...

Expanded Reality TV is a podcast where improv comedians create absurd audio performances based on behind-the-scenes stories of real reality television stars, building new weird worlds from the things that people don't see when watching their favorite reality TV shows.  Episode two features an interview with Alex Lake, an artist working in film post-production and a former contestant on the reality...

Today on Bit Public Radio , hosts Snick and Snack tackle the questions nobody else in public radio has been brave enough—or hungry enough—to answer. Is a hamburger a sandwich? Are French fries ever acceptable inside one? Does accepting a free sandwich with double bacon and a pickle create a romantic obligation? And when a sandwich shop asks if you want it "their way," just who the hell put them in...

(Grandpa) Once Said is a podcast where real stories about the people who shape our lives become inspiration for improvised comedy. We listen to stories about grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and friends of friends—the memorable people whose personalities, quirks, wisdom, and experiences stay with us—and we use those stories as jumping-off points to create improvised characters, scenes, and wo...

Bobby Smith | Upstage Comedy Lounge What do stand-up comedy, defensive driving school, Taco Bell, tax anxiety, and cheap hiking dates have in common? Bobby Smith, apparently. In this episode, Gail sits down with Bobby Smith , stand-up comic, comedy instructor, driving-school owner, and owner of San Antonio's Upstage Comedy Lounge , to talk about the strange collection of turns that built his caree...

Expanded Reality TV is a podcast where improv comedians create absurd audio performances based on behind-the-scenes stories of real reality television stars, building new weird worlds from the things that people don't see when watching their favorite reality tv shows.  Episode #1 features an interview with Ed Popil aka Mrs. Kasha Davis, a professional drag queen and two-time contestant on the real...

Guest: Reverend Justice Smythe ( Samples of Sin ) What happens when a reverend starts a podcast dedicated to listening to "sinful music" so you don't have to ? Complications. In this episode, Gail sits down with the very reverend Justice Smythe , chairman of the River Creek Family Values Coalition , minister, moral watchdog, and host of the short-lived podcast  Samples of Sin , where he reviewed m...

Guest: Bo Knox ( Off the Eaten Path ) What if food criticism was less Michelin stars… and more emotional-support gas station? In this episode, Gail sits down with Bo Knox — pilot, podcaster, accidental romantic, and co-host of Off the Eaten Path , a food show dedicated to overlooked restaurants, bowling alley pizza, suspicious strip mall gems, gas station delicacies, and the kind of meals Yelp usu...

Guest: Michael & Jeremy (Steal Your Podcast)  What if your podcast wasn't stolen… it was just aggressively borrowed by two cousin-friends from the MJSY-verse? In this episode, Gail sits down with Michael and Jeremy — lifelong comedy partners, cousin-friends, and the hosts of Michael and Jeremy Steal Your Podcast , which is less a title and more a warning label. Michael and Jeremy's big idea? 👉 So...

Mayor + Mindset  | Running Your House Like a High-Performing Team Guest: Joe LaRussa What if the chaos in your home isn't random… it's just bad leadership ? In this episode, Gail sits down with Joe LaRussa — small-city mayor, leadership coach, and the only person who might look at your household and think, "This needs a mission statement." Joe's big idea? 👉 You already have the skills to run your...

Senior Vitality — Unscripted from The Villages, FL Guest: Mike Roth What happens when a seasoned podcaster builds a show specifically for the active senior community of The Villages, Florida ? You get Villages Vitality: Senior Life Unscripted (formerly known as Open Forum in The Villages),   a weekly podcast hosted by Mike Roth , where thoughtful conversations meet real community issues. In this e...

Ohio Raised. Truth Bomb Fed. Enlightened as Hell. Guest: Freddie Simone (Ohio's own Inlightened Ediot™) What happens when Gail sits down with a comedian who proudly calls herself an Enlightened Idiot —with the E and I intentionally swapped ? You get a conversation that's equal parts stand-up set, philosophy lecture, and spiritual mic drop . Fresh off their PodFest 2026 meet-cute, Gail welcomes Fre...

🎧 SHUT UP GAIL – Episode 11 Play Is Not Optional (with Margo Escott) Play is not a reward. It's not a break. It's not something you "get back to" when life calms down. According to Margo Escott , play is essential — and she's been proving it since the 1970s. In this Season 2 premiere of Shut Up Gail , Gail sits down with Margo Escott: psychotherapist, New Games referee, improv teacher, and lifelo...

🎙️ Shut Up, Gail – Season Finale: "Yes, And Your Way to World Domination" Guest: Jay Sukow Host: Gail Shepherd (Not Like Cher, but kinda like Cher) Improv legend Jay Sukow drops into Gail's virtual lair to talk shop, shout affirmations, mispronounce "spatula," and accidentally invent the word "fyrk." If you've ever wondered whether failure is your superpower, or if you should microwave fish at wor...

In this tenth and season finale episode, Andrew, the technical director of the Regency Theatre is joined by the Regency's resident scenery performer Steckman, fresh off her return from the Great White Way. They are joined again by British actor Kristian Night Lewis to discuss bidets and racing cars, and local lucky actor Jenny Blessed to talk about winning lotteries and stopping wars.   Backstage...

🎙️ SHUT UP GAIL – Ep. 8: "From Cult to Carnival" with Paul Omarr This is the eighth installment of  Bit Behind the Scenes (a.k.a. Shut Up Gail ). Listen, follow, rate, and share... PLEASE and THANK YOU! This month, Gail heads to Oslo for a deeply human (and surprisingly funny) conversation with Paul   — a Norwegian comedian, scholar, and improv performer whose journey from cult survivor to carniva...

In this ninth episode, Andrew, the technical director of the Regency Theatre, is distracted and accidentally leaves the podcast recording equipment on, and the ghosts of the theatre decide to host an episode.   CAST Andrew/Bartholomew  - Luke Bovard Lindsey  -  Thea Marie Thorkildsen Tommy - Hillary Kane Constance - Terry Armstrong Have a question for the fine theatre folks at the Regency Theatre?...

🎙️ SHUT UP GAIL – Ep. 7: "Cats, Clapbacks, and Contrasts" with Thea Marie Thorkildsen This is the fourth installment of the Women of BIT.  Listen, follow, rate, and share... PLEASE and THANK YOU! This month on Bit Behind the Scenes (a.k.a. SHUT UP GAIL) , Gail gets philosophical, improv-sical, and mildly feline-ical with Norwegian multi-hyphenate Thea Marie Thorkildsen —a political scientist turne...