Don't Get Me Started

Mike Elder, aspiring actor and creator of the delightful podcast Box Angeles, is our guest to talk about MASCOTS. The characters who represent various sports teams and the people who wear the costumes. Mike was one of the people who performed as "Goldie" the gopher mascot for the University of Minnesota, and he talks about his experiences and advice. What makes a good mascot? Why should you always...

Phil Augusta Jackson, comedy writer and actor as well as UCB improviser, talks to us about his longtime hobby/passion pursuit of recording his own albums. Starting high school when he released songs on a cassette tape, Phil describes how he continued writing and recording songs throughout his adult life, eventually moving on to using a full music studio and mixing facility. We go through his recen...

We talk to research scientist Matt Giorgianni (specializes in genomics, which is interesting enough that we could have just talked about that but restrained ourselves) to discuss his obsession with President William Howard Taft. After a chance viewing of a portrait of Taft in New Orleans, Matt got obsessed with him. Most people only know that Taft was "the fat president?" but there is a lot more t...

We talk to playwright Dan O'Brien about the myth(?) of the Sasquatch and the many stories and types of people who revolve around it. We get into the famous Big Foot film of the late 1960s, the many audio recordings people claim to have made, the varied explanations of why a corpse has never been found, and the mentality that goes into believing and perpetuating tales of this ape-man creature. Also...

Improviser and sketch comedian Ronnie Adrian joins us to discuss Prince. We get into Purple Rain, 1999, unreleased tracks, the Revolution, the New Power Generation, Morris Day and the Time, whatever happened to Wendy and Lisa, Prince's crazy work ethic, the times he actually collaborated with people, and lots of great excerpts of great Prince tracks! ALSO Will discusses the comic All-Star Superman...

Comedian and improviser Amanda Sitko joins us to discuss CULTS. What's the allure of the charismatic figures who draw people in? What's with Scientologists? What's the cultiest thing you've ever done? Oh, and what'd Landmark all about? Plus: atheism, brainwashing and wondering if "Drink the kool-aid" simply refers to too horrible an event to ever really use. Also, Will discusses late-career Peanut...

Comedian and UCB original gangster Billy Merritt joins us to talk about this fascination with his own home state of Florida. With election gaffes and tabloid criminals, Florida is often a punch line these days, but Billy tells us stories from its history and its present. How does a community made up of just mailmen grab you? Well there's better stories than that, but that's the one that Will liked...

PART 2 of 2! So many people have asked us to come on and talk about composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that we are devoting two episodes to him! And we've brought on three guests: John Flynn, John Ross Bowie and Jessica McKenna (comedians, actors and writers all) -- who, along with co-host Anthony King have an insanely deep love (and knowledge) of Sondheim's works! This is in contrast to co-host W...

(re-published with a better sound mix) So many people have asked us to come on and talk about composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that we  are devoting two episodes to him! And we've brought on three guests: John Flynn, John Ross Bowie and Jessica McKenna (comedians, actors and writers all) -- who, along with co-host Anthony King have an insanely deep love (and knowledge) of Sondheim's works! This...

NOTE: This podcast was originally uploaded with an audio glitch that made all the clips from "Let's Get Small" inaudible. That's now fixed. But you may have to delete and re-download this episode if you got it early (early being the first half-day it was available).  When their guest can't make it, hosts Anthony and Will make it about their own obsession with Steve Martin! Anthony's favorite movie...

We talk to comedy genius John Gemberling (Broad City, Marry Me, and others) about his love of video games. John is particular, John is exacting, and John has opinions. He likes stories like the old LucasArts games (Monkey Island, etc), he likes insane consequences or taking a premise too far like in Grand Theft Auto, he likes committed reality like in Elite: Dangerous. WE GET INTO IT. Oh, he also...

Comedian and TV writer Alison Benett ("You're The Worst" and "Betas" and others) comes on the show to talk about thrifting, meaning the art and science of finding good stuff at thrift stores. We talk about what makes something good, the hierarchy of types of thrift stores, the genre of "mean animal jewelry," and some great/weird finds in her collection.  Also, Will talks about DVDs and how nothing...

Actor/comedian Jason Mantzoukas comes on our show to talk about IMPROV. Are we breaking the rules of our show not discussing a person's career? We are, and we don't care. Because we love talking about improv. We go deep. What's good about it? How do the various shows that Jason regularly plays in work? What's the best opening? How did The Sleepover (an improv show from UCB-NY in the early 2000s) w...

Tis the spirit of the season and we talk about one of our most revered Christmas traditions, watching the movie Die Hard. Why do we love this movie so much? What makes it our favorite action movie of all time? What does it get right that so many others get wrong? Is Argyle too much (no!)? How do they make every single character a a fully realized personality? And does taking off your shoes and mak...

We talk to comedian/writer/musical theater performer Amber Petty about her obsession with The Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore this enormously popular, very specifically weird European tradition. It's the Olympics of pop songwriting, bonus points for outrageous costumes and lighting displays. Countries get really into it. Some countries go weird for it. Some deliver amazing songs! We...

We talk to comedian/writer Mark Schroeder about his love of slasher films. What makes a true slasher film? Why was the late 80s the perfect time to get obsessed with them? How about the bad ones? What made Halloween so good? What will be the next great slasher film? Does the advent of smart phones ruin the genre? And more! Plus Anthony talks about the new iPad game The Room 3, and Will talks about...

Comedian and writer Craig Rowin talks to us about his obsession with Back to the Future! Why it's so great! Why it holds up! The sequels! How the second one is better than you might remember! Not that any of this stops Will from complaining about how insane fans like Craig are, because he does! Also Anthony talks about the Penn and Teller tv show Fool Us, and Will talks about the super exciting to...

We talk to comedian and writer Benjamin Apple about his obsession with The Singularity, the moment at which robots/machines learn to truly think. Benjamin is on the side of the robots, in that he thinks the singularity is, relatively speaking, imminent! Will gets skeptical early! Anthony tries to keep everyone friends! We talk about the origin of the term singularity, the prevailing theories, and...

We talk to UCB founder Matt Besser about his life-long love for the Arkansas Razorbacks. We hear some tales of being stuck amongst a stand full of rival fans, of trying to root for a team in the days before the internet, as well as some thoughts of what it feels like to be an outsider, and also about how weird it is that all potential recruits are on Twitter. Plus Will talks about the four tones o...

Anthony and Will have their third "self-indulgent" episode where they basically interview themselves, although they brought in returning all-star guest Neil Casey. And they have gathered to discuss their mutual obsession, the 1990 They Might Be Giants album "Flood." What is the appeal of these now 25-year-old quirky jittery melodies with obtuse lyrics? How did they all come to discover this band?...

Comedian Jake Regal tells us about his obsession with Mixed Martial Arts. He has watched EVERY UFC card for the last NINE years. He knows countless stories about the athletes who have competed in MMA, the strange combination of skills it takes to dominate, and what he would do if he ran the sport. And all while being a tiny not-that-maybe-not-at-all athletic dude! Also, Will discusses Buddhism (sl...

Comedian/actor Eugene Cordero, our guest from episode number 1, comes back to discuss his lifelong obsession/struggle with body/food/weight. We get personal on this one, talking about Eugene's childhood as a stocky kid, his self-consciousness over his body and then his journey as an adult to allow himself to think of himself as an athlete. Also, Will talks about his problems with iPhone earbuds an...

Playwright, TV writer and UCB sketch master Eva Anderson is our guest to talk about the world of radio drama. We talk about, perhaps surprisingly, the radio dramas of the early 1980s from Canada and Great Britain, as well as older stuff. We get into how radio is so immersive, and how many great actors have done radio versions of their well-known stuff, and lots of cool stuff! Anthony King talks ab...

We talk to comedian Erin McGown (the trombone playing and co-singing half of the musical comedy duo Erin and Melissa) about her lifelong love of PRANKS. What makes a good one? Why do so many involve cars? Who got her the best? Is she lying and therefore committing a great prank as we talk to her (no)? Also: Will discusses the personalized music playlists Spotify makes and Anthony discusses GOOSE S...

Writer and comedian Caroline Anderson joins us to discuss her no-kidding-around deep deep love for singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It's surprisingly easy to find people, especially in the US, who know very little of this amazing musician. Our co-host Anthony King is one of these people. Caroline educates both he and Will on Kate's wide range of song styles, her astoundingly powerful arrangements and...