Neurotic Nourishment

Season Three, Episode 1: Suicide, Silence, And What Comes Next In today’s episode I get to reconnect with R.R. Campbell, also known as Ryan Campbell. I can honestly say that this was one of my favorite conversations I have ever had while podcasting, and Ryan may very well be quickly becoming one of my favorite human beings. Our conversation starts with the power of words and what we should and sho...

Justin Shanes is a comedy writer living in Los Angeles. Having left his job as a corporate litigator in 2009, he began performing standup comedy and improv around New York before eventually getting hired to write for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Daytime Emmy for Word Girl, he ultimately began writing for the NBC sitcom Superstore, where he is currently a supervising producer. He is from Plainview...

Season Two, Episode 31: Darius Baxter, The Selfish Giver Darius Baxter, CEO of GOODProjects, has made a vow to get 500 families out of poverty by 2030, and he thinks he is selfish. Because he enjoys giving to people, he enjoys empowering the impoverished community of South West Washington, D.C., and he enjoys paving the way for children in the projects to find a way out of the pattern they were bo...

Ariel Elias, a Kentucky Jew turned NYC transplant, was not named after The Little Mermaid, FYI. And if you had any doubt, listen to the comedian kick ass in a Roast Battle -- no way some fish-girl could rip someone's soul out with a smile.    A lot of people in the entertainment industry have taken on new jobs during the recession of the pandemic, but Ariel's job is potentially game-changing. Arie...

Season Two, Episode 31: Mean Girls Need Not Apply With Felicia Madison On March 16, 2020 Felicia Madison premiered her one-woman show, The Miserable Mrs. Madison. It seems like it would be a tough gig to make a pretty, privileged, well-educated, funny white woman appear likable and relatable -- and yet, Felicia does easily, while simultaneously exploring the touching relationship with her father a...

Amy Veltman is the queen of re-inventing herself and has more talents than any one should be allotted in a lifetime. Amy was a screenwriter in Hollywood and sold a screenplay, Rock of Ages, that is really too good to not be made into a movie. I mean, if we start doing that making movies thing again any time soon. Amy left Hollywood for the corporate world and then made the leap of faith into a car...

Caitlyn Brodnick is the sweetest woman you will ever meet, from her adorable, pixie-like voice to her love for her son – she’s adorable and funny and brave and talented. In 2013, Caitlyn won an Emmy Award – yeah, a legit Emmy – for her Glamour docuseries Screw You Cancer, where she documents the experience of undergoing a voluntary double mastectomy after receiving a Braca 1 Diagnosis. Caitlyn is...

Jim Norton makes suicidal thoughts funny. And I respect the hell out of him for that. In a world where words seem to matter more than intentions, we all need to take a pause and consider the complexity of mental health. Comedians are clearly either thriving or drowning during this pandemic, and although Jim says he is “lucky” enough to be doing well, the truth is simply that he has spent years hon...

Season Two, Episode 27: What's The Lesson of 2020: Comedian Von Mychael discusses comedy during Covid, Karen and her 911 calls, and his own physical and mental growth during the pandemic. Von Mychael, Host of the What's The Lesson Podcast, has hustled his a$$ of to become a celebrated name in comedy. Von Mychael recently won second place at Amateur Night at the Apollo, where he won 2nd place. Mych...

Joe Gerics is a comedian and founder of the Fairfield Comedy Club located in (you guessed it!) Fairfield, Connecticut. He has performed on Sirius XM and in the Connecticut Comedy Festival. While he is not performing or producing comedy, Joe resides in Trumbull, CT, with his wife and their two rescue dogs, where he serves on the Town Council. Joe is also the host of the podcast "It's A Hustle." You...

Season Two, Episode 25: Can We Crop Dust The World With Hallucinogenic Drugs? Today was a great day. I got to chat with one of my new favorite people to stalk, New York-based comedian, Mike Cannon. In March 2017 Mike made his stand-up comedy television debut on AXS Gotham Comedy Live with host and stand-up comedy icon/first time stand- up performer, Fran Drescher. He was also a finalist in the 201...

Season Two, Episode 24: Are You Smarter Than A Pandemic-Schooled Fifth Grader In this episode, I am joined by my two children, Hunter and Elexis. Together, their averaged age is 10 years, 7 months, and 18 days, so -- Hah! A pandemic-schooled fifth grader! Join my not-so-littles as we explore how the Coronapocalypse knowledge of a child compares to the average adult Facebook user. Have a listen as...

Season Two, Episode 23: In today's episode, I speak with Jennifer Vitanzo: award-winning songwriter, photojournalist, and wildlife advocate. She uses her experience living and working in the wild of the South African Bush to create a unique series of workshops that educate children about environmental and social causes. When she isn't performing, presenting at schools and community centers. Occasi...

Season Two, Episode 22: Happy Birthday To The Anti-Tiger King: Mike Bober, President & CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Committee! Okay, TBH, Mike isn't the Anti-Tiger King because -- well, tigers aren't typical pets. Mike is a long-time friend, a constant source of World War II information, a willing editor when I was desperately-seeking help, and my most constant AOL messenger companio...

Season Two, Episode 21: Hope Knows No Color In this week's episode I am joined by Nik Reese, a personal trainer and fitness fanatic who avoids fad diets and helps smart women make achieve long-lasting change. He is also a black man married to a white woman, and he was gracious enough to agree to talk to me about the current racial climate, the idea of systemic racism, and how/why white people are...

Season Two, Episode 20: In today's episode I get to hang with Gae Polisner, the widely acclaimed children/young adult author about the lack of pants we wear during the pandemic. We also discuss her book about 9/11, The Memory of Things, and how books like hers can help us to comfort our children during this pandemic.  See, I know that this, too, shall pass, because I remember that day that ch...

Season Two, Episode 19: It's Fun To Fuck! Rachel Klechevsky, Sex Therapist, blogger, and the co-host of the podcast Sexistential U, joins me to discuss what a Sex Therapist does -- and does not do (keep your pics to yourself, please -- and how she went from a conservative upbringing to a fairly unconservative profession. Rachel often works with a more religious, Orthodox Jewish population, and has...

Season Two, Episode 18: James Morrow is the opinion editor of Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper and host of the weekly current affairs show OUTSIDERS on Sky News Australia. James is a political junkie, a history buff, and a keen home cook who once one the Viewers Choice Award on Come Dine With Me.  Oh, and twenty years ago, James introduced me to the beauty of the dirty vodka martini -- a fa...

Season Two, Episode 17: The Coronapocalypse is starting to get to me, and unlike many of you, I have more fear of the world re-opening than excitement. I started to feel really disconnected and last night after a few glasses (bottles) of wine (whiskey) I posted on FB asking any friends who would be willing to podcast with me to come hang for an hour.  This episode is the first of several to c...

Season Two, Episode 16: Happy One Year Anniversary! My favorite co-host and bad-ass nutritionist Sharone Sapir returns for a look back on this first year. We review the top ten best moments of the pod and fawn over all the amazing people we have met along the way. Hope you enjoy! Also, apologies in advance for the massively bad editing I attempted. Cringe your way through it. 

Season 2, Episode 15: I recorded this episode with Dr. Alisa Hurwitz, or as she is better known by her fans, Dr. Drama. We discussed microagressions and the subjectivity of them. This morning I woke up to a lovely, rageful, non-sensical debate on my neighborhood facebook group.  It. Was. Harsh.  Those who commented seemed to dance around the ideas of racism and anti-semitism and bigotry...

Season 2, Episode 14: In this episode, my son and I get to hang out with Liv Albert of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby.  Liv is super-bright, super-educated, and an all-around bad-ass progressive woman. Liv has a degree in English Literature & Classical Civilizations from Concordia University in Montreal. In this episode Liv and I -- along with a special guest appearance by my starstruck son...

As most of us wade through the confusion and chaos of Covid-19, there are men, women, and children out there who are saddled with an additional struggle. From February to March reports of domestic violence increased 20% and Google searches for those looking for help dealing with domestic violence increased 75%. This episode was recorded many months ago, but there seems no better time to share my c...

Season 2, Episode 12: I begged, pleaded, and stalked the fantastically beautiful, brilliant, and neurotic host of The Alarmist, Rebecca Delgado Smith,  into coming on the podcast in an attempt to destigmatize mental health. (Trust me, my stalking made this episode kinda awkward...)  Rebecca uses her own anxiety, or catastrophizing, as fuel for her podcast as she examines past tragedies a...

Raif Derazzi is a smoking hot, all natural body builder, bad-ass and he just so happens to have HIV. HIV that is undetectable, scientifically, because that is how far science has come.  I know, I know, we are all struggling through this pandemic. I feel like I'm on a friggin' strugglebus, trust me. Some days I forget to eat. Many more days I have eaten twelve meals by 10:30 AM.  This is...