The Blackout Diaries

Comedian Lyssa Laird makes her (HILARIOUS) debut on the Blackout Diaries. She tells the story of dating a city boy in high school where her and her best friend from the south suburbs had a terrible night in the city after meeting him to drink an alley. Lyssa joins CJ and Sean from her kitchen while she preps food for her birthday party. We talk about Lyssa's past in the air force and what she lear...

Comedian Daniel Bergamini performs at our live show and tells about the time he and his girlfriend narrowly avoided a hospital trip after loosing a sex toy. Daniel then joins us in the studio to talk about the whole, Odyssean night, which began with a near trip to the hospital, then a night out that ended with a party where everyone was drugged. This leads to CJ and Sean sharing their own stories...

Chicago is stuck in a polar vortex so CJ and Sean talk about drinking in cold weather. We share stories about football games in subarctic temperatures and how bars change their rules when it gets super cold, almost like they are welcoming weary travelers. We also talk about the science of why drunks don't feel cold but are actually more in danger of it than sober people.

Comedian Mary Kelly tells the story of when she went on a Corned Beef Sandwich Crawl for St Patrick's Day. Mary hits just about every Irish pub and sandwich shop in Milwaukee before finally have one-too-many shots of whiskey and it all comes out while the band is playing. Mary joins CJ and Sean in the studio and they share some more St Patrick's Day stories. We talk about how much Americans spend...

Legendary Chicago comedian Dwayne Kennedy tells the story about when he was so drunk at a club, he left to sleep on the hood of a parked car but still had the wherewithal to prepare his wallet and ID for when the police eventually woke him up (which they did). Dwayne also talks about why he quit drinking and then joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share more drinking stories and hilarious standup...

Adam Burke, one of our favorite comedians and drinking buddies, stops by to promote his amazing new album, "Weaponized Empathy". We share a clip from the new album then talk with Adam for almost the entire episode. Adam explains how he recorded the album, then moves on to hilarious drinking stories from his various ports of call, throughout his life- Western Australia, Northern Ireland, London, Ch...

The podcast took a few weeks off because CJ was in the hospital due to a 'bum' lung, which he explains. This leads to a conversation about how often, even though CJ is sober, drunks end up in the hospital. Sean tells the story about the time he failed a stroke test and they institutionalized him. Then we share stories from the live show where a bartender ends up in the hospital due to an ill-plann...

Chicago comedian Conor Cawley tells the story of a weekend trip to Mexico gone-wrong. Conor comes to from a blackout, trying to bribe a Mexican Federale while learning Conor has no money. Conor shares what happens next at the live show, then joins CJ and Sean to answer questions on this story plus Conor shares some holiday drinking stories. Conor's story leads to a theme of BRIBES on this episode,...

LONG time friend of The Blackout Diaries, John Leadley, tells a story about the time he and his friends bought a bar off a guy in jail and how that bar was saved when gay people started drinking there. John Leadley is a comedian and bartender and one of the first ever performers at our life show. He joins CJ and Sean in the studio to talk about what it was like to own a bar in college, along what...

Professional gambler and all around good-time Kevin Meeusen tells a few drinking stories at our live show about how the Internet has made gambling too well-documented and therefore too embarrassing. Kev calls in from his bunker in Vegas to talk gambling with CJ and Sean. We talk about how seemingly unethical all modern gambling commercials are, how alcohol effects gambling (both good and bad.. and...

Comedian Claire Sundbye performs at our live show, telling three of the most questionable decisions she made while drunk. They range from falling in love with a stripper to picking fights online with an internet troll. Claire joins CJ and Sean in the studio and we talk about how hard it is to interact online, sober or drunk, but particularly drunk. This leads to a topic about how dangerous the mod...

Chicago legend Robert Hines, one of our favorite standups, tells a story about the time in high school when his New Year's Eve date with a woman who did not want fool around went south and ended with her attacking him. Robert's big-hearted brother drove his date home. Robert joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share more details on the story along with some other hilarious, family stories. We also...

Comedian (and reformed lawyer) Paul Farahvar tells the story about how his highschool experience all changed for the better, nay the flawless, after he received his old brother's drivers license and was able to buy beer at any liquor store. Paul details how they always went to the same liquor store and quickly became that owner's favorite customers but, unfortunately, the owner believed Paul was h...

Comedian Abi Sanchez rejoins the Blackout Diaries and tells the story of the time he hooked up with a hoarder. Abi shares how he started to recognize the signs that this woman's apartment might not be normal well before he entered it and saw the chaos. This leads to a theme of 'messiness'. CJ, Sean and Abi share messy drinking stories- times they found themselves covered in dirt or trash while dri...

Comedian Lindsey Shaw tells the story of ending up at Clark's Diner after last call and hiring a beggar to protect her from some angry drunk customer. Lindsey, CJ and Sean share some stories about how crazy Clark's Diner was and how none of the current places seem to match that chaos. Lindsey shares how her protector, who had no shoes on, just got out of jail and this leads to a conversation about...

Comedian Brian Dejka tells the story about how after 30 years of hard drinking and dangerous living, he gets sober and ends up totaling his car into a school bus on day 90 of his sobriety. Brian also jokes about how he timed his sobriety terribly, choosing to stop drinking right before COVID hit. Brian joins CJ and Sean in the studio and talks about what its like to work for the city of Chicago in...

One of our favorite comedians and drinking buddies, Mike Burns, joins us in the studio to share some drinking stories from his home state of Michigan. Mike talks about his past, self-destructive habit of insisting he never leave a bar voluntarily and, instead, insisted on being thrown out. He, CJ and Sean try to recall the time Burns snuck back into a bar in a disguise after being thrown out. This...

Comedian Jared Logan talks about how condescending wait staff at a brewery can be about beer- recorded from his live album. Jared then joins CJ and Sean in the studio and we talk breweries and beer, including how and why Jared stoped drinking during lockdown. Jared talks about how most drugs effect him poorly, except for food, which he has always loved. We talk about the best spots to pick for lat...

Comedian Jaime de Leon tells about the time he left an employee holiday party drunk and accidentally jumped into the path of a pickup truck. Jaime wakes up in the hospital, still drunk, and believes he is in a Grey's Anatomy episode. Jaime joins CJ & Sean in the studio and they talk about the fallout of all your coworkers knowing that you just drunkenly injured yourself at the annual Christmas par...

Comedian Joe Kwaczala joins The Blackout Diaries and talks about his days trucking drunk people around LA as a ride share driver. Joe has a new comedy album coming out , "Joe Kwaczala- Funny Songs & Sketches", that is a hilarious, inventive mixture of standup and sketch and music comedy. We play a track from that album inspired by his days as a ride share driver, then Joe joins us in the studio to...

Galway Bay is the best damn bar in Chicago and the two owners, Jason and Nolan, sit down at the live show to answer questions (from our live audience) and share stories from their years of managing one of the craziest places in Chicago. At the live show, they share a story about the difficulties of hiring and firing employees when everyone is drinking, plus how their bar has both helped and hurt t...

One of our favorite drinking buddies from Canada, Shane Coupland, joins us on The Blackout Diaries. Shane tells a story from the live show about the time he tried to open a door with his feat at a college party, breaking both of them. Shane joins CJ and Sean in the study to give more, hilarious details like how the whole party happened because Canada gives college two, huge lump sums of money whil...

Comedian Tom Thakkar joins us in the studio! Tom shares a track and story from his great, new album, "Thakkar Noir", about why he thinks we need to tax hot people more heavily. CJ, Sean and Tom talk about drinking in Indiana , where Tom is from, versus LA, where he lives now. Tom shares some hilarious stories about how people misinterpret and then overreact to his musical comedy show, "Stand By Yo...

Inspired by some news stories about drinking contests, CJ and Sean share some of the funniest drinking challenges they have participated in. Stories include unsafe bar specials, like 'bladder busters', where beers are discounted until the first customer pees. We all share the story of a English tourist who died trying to 'win' a recklessly challenging Jamaican contest where customers finish over 2...

Comedian Joe McAdam tells the story of a legendary liar he used to drink with at a secluded dive bar in Chicago. Joe's liar claimed to be everything from a CIA hitman to a world class hacker to a bounty hunter. This leads to a longer discussion on how fun liars are. CJ and Sean discuss some of their all time favorite liars, both ones they knew personally, like the carpenter Sean meet who said he o...