SNAFU with Ed Helms

This week, we’ve got Episode 2 of our Second season of SNAFU: MEDBURG. It’s about the citizen activist burglary in Media Pennsylvania. Get it? MEDBURG is a little portmanteau. Love those things. On this episode, we hear about the team behind this courageous act. How did it all come together? And how did they stay anonymous for decades afterward? Listen to the full season wherever you g...

This week’s throwback release: SNAFU Season 2, Episode 1 – about a little known group of ragtag activists who, in 1971, decided to burglarize an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, revealing some incredibly shady wrongdoing at the highest levels J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Yes, a HEIST OF THE FBI! What could be more exciting? Listen to the full season wherever you get your podcasts. Th...

This week on SNAFU - it's the most exciting Story Reveals and narrative twists from Season 4 - Like the story of the Azores Glider with Adam Scott where we heard the tale of Robert Piche and the incredible tactics he used to save an entire plane of passengers as they ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean. Or Sophia Bush’s reaction to the revelation that Pablo Picasso might have been involv...

Ed's funniest guests shine in this week's compilation episode - whether it was Nick Kroll waxing poetic about his family puking tuna sandwiches on a deep sea fishing trip, or Jenny Slate telling us how susceptible she is to cults, or Jordan Klepper reflecting on Donald Trump’s desperate need for a hug. It's the best of the comedians of SNAFU, so listen, laugh and enjoy. See omnystudio.com/li...

Podcast lovers, this one's for you! We've compiled the best clips from our favorite podcasting celebs on Season 4 of SNAFU - Karen Gilgariff and Georgia Hardstark from My Favorite Murder really brought their true-crime sixth sense to our tale of the kidnapping of William Morgan. Robert Evans, the head honcho of the Behind the Bastards Podcast, illuminated the Iran-Contra debacle of the 1980s with...

Today, we have Episode 2 of our first season of SNAFU all about Able Archer 83, the NATO military exercise that almost started a real nuclear war. Last week, you met some of our main characters and heard about 1980’s America where tension with the Soviets was a fact of everyday life and we heard about a dauntless sleuth trying to unearth the SECRET CIA files that reveal the entire Able Arche...

If you’re a new fan of SNAFU and you never listened to our beloved Season 1, then now is the time to tune in for a tale of nuclear dread, traitorous spies, and a war game gone wrong. It was the closest we ever came to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis – and it’s a story with echoes into the present, especially with rising international tension. We’ll be sharing the...

It's another summer select episode of Ed's favorites! This week, hear from some of the podcasting industry's top minds. Folks like Scott Galloway, Kara Swisher, Jad Abumrad, Adam Grant, Kelly Corrigan, and more. Witness how their brains analyze and envision important cultural events, past and future, in ways both awe-inspiring and hilarious. Tune in for our montage episode of SNAFU's Best "Thought...

This summer, to tide you over until our new season arrives, catch special montage episodes brimming with collective nuggets of Snafu-laden wisdom. First up, the most insightful moments from guests who also happened to be Ed's wonderful collaborators on film and tv projects over the years. If you didn’t catch the behind-the-scenes banter before, now is a great time to devour these bite-sized...

A NASA space probe that lost roughly $25 million because of a… math era? Classic SNAFU! On this week’s special bonus, we revisit a favorite space-related chapters from my book, SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screw-ups. Just in time for Father’s day, this is your gentle reminder that SNAFU makes for a fantastic gift for the history buff, nonfiction reader...

Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark are True Crime Royalty. They join Ed to unravel the mystery of William Morgan - one of the earliest American missing persons cases with massive political ramifications. Was it a case of bribery or... murder?? Listen to find out what the expert hosts of My Favorite Murder have to say about this eerie case. And stay tuned throughout the summer for updates on mor...

Pete Holmes is Weird. In a good way! He's also a New England native, and perfectly attuned to today's Martha's Vineyard-set SNAFU involving the youngest Kennedy brother, Ted. What happened on the small island of Chappaquiddick, and why did it potentially sink his chances at a future Presidency run? Watch today's episode on our SNAFU YouTube channel:  www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod See omnystudio.c...

Robert Evans of the Behind the Bastards Podcast is back for Round 2 of the Iran-Contra Scandal. Robert and Ed tee up the uncanny conclusion to this epic saga including some questionable offers of immunity, and unveil whether accountability comes to fruition. (Spoiler alert, it won't.) And don't forget to watch on our SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Robert Evans is a delightful human. Which makes it so funny that he hosts a hit podcast about the worst people to ever exist! Today, the mastermind of Behind The Bastards Podcast joins Ed to discuss a dastardly scheme in the early 80s involving arms trafficking to Iran, facilitated directly by some of Reagan's top brass. It's the Iran-Contra Affair on part one of this mind-boggling SNAFU. And chec...

The unraveling web of deceipt continues in the Facebook Data Scandal. Our guests, Kevin Roose and Casey Newton unveil what Mark Zuckerberg had to say for himself in a one-on-one interview. And what were the ramifications in the wake of the 2016 presidential election? Find out in the thrilling conclusion of this week's SNAFU. Don't forget to subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@...

Kevin Roose and Casey Newton are High-Tech Savants. The co-hosts of the Hard Fork Podcast were on the front lines of the Facebook Data Scandal, and today they help Ed break down just how much of your data (yes, you dear listener!) was leaked and misused for political purposes. Find out what laws Cambridge Analytica broke in today's tech-heavy SNAFU.  Don't forget to subscribe to the SNAFU You...

It's a special "Best Of" SNAFU! From Nick Kroll's raucous family sea voyage, to Jenny Slate's casual susceptibility to cults, Ed selects his favorite, spiciest hot takes from this season's array of guests. Enjoy a fun romp through the last six months, and stay tuned for a hint at what's to come! Don't forget to subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod Buy the SNAFU book: w...

Bowen Yang is an unwitting student of Dutch Economics. This week, Bowen joins Ed on a journey to 17th century Netherlands, where they help burst one of history's first ever economic bubbles, known today as Tulip-Mania. You thought NFT's were crazy, but did you know one Tulip bulb in 1637 could purchase an entire HOUSE? Find out what wilted this mad tulip fever, and don't forget to subscribe to the...

Welcome to another Bonus Episode of SNAFU! On Season 2, we discovered an eerie plot to poison the nation's alcohol; the government's last ditch effort to quell consumption and protect Prohibition. For color commentary, Ed brought in the preeminent producer, writer and showrunner, Terence Winter - the man behind HBO's Boardwalk Empire. With a heavy dose of wit and New York flare, Terry and Ed touch...

Jad Abumrad is the definition of inquisitive. As the creator of hit shows RadioLab and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad has the innate ability to calculate idionsyncrasies, question the peculiar, and posit grand deductions. Perfect for this week's Murder Mystery of a SNAFU. Ed leads Jad on a tangled journey to the Arctic, where late 19th Century explorer Charles Francis Hall fell fatally ill. Was it th...

I’m taking a break to share an episode of another podcast I think you’ll enjoy, Business History. Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small, bringing to life the greatest innovations, the boldest entrepreneurs and the craziest mavericks in the archives of commerce. They share why some company stocks soar, while...

Bob Crawford is a musician with a historian's heart. Bassist and founding member of The Avett Brothers, his expertise on the Founding Fathers of the United States comes in handy on today's SNAFU, where Ed and Bob delve into the folly of Lord Dunmore, a Scottish-born supporter of the King and assigned royal Governor of Virginia in the 1770s. When whispers of revolution were building to an insurmoun...

Today is another SNAFU treat from the book tour archives! Tig Notaro joins Ed live on stage at Live Talks Los Angeles, where they break down Ed's book, SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History's Greatest Screwups. Tig also roasts Ed like a campfire marshmallow, which will indeed leave you asking for "S'more." Find your copy of the New York Times Bestseller wherever you get your books, or go to:&nbsp...

Rory Scovel is a man of opulence. But he won't let greed go to his head like the subject of today's SNAFU. Ed and Rory discuss a modern Wall Street legend: the story of Ivan Boesky, a wall street trader who turned Arbitrage into front page headlines, until it all came crashing down. Subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod Buy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.com See omnystu...

Chelsea Handler is a world traveler. Ed and Chelsea discover whether they're cut out for luxury Air Travel of the 1930's; the catch being it's aboard the infamous Hindenburg Zeppelin. Oh, the Humanity! And watch this week's episode on the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPod Buy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.