The Blackout Diaries

Comedian Tyler Fowler tells the story of when he and his under-age friends took the train into Chicago and got drunk, then detained by police, at Wrigley Field. Tyler joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share what its like to drink in the pleasure island of downtown Chicago when you are a kid from the nearby burbs. Tyler, who has been sober for years, also shares why he is glad he retired from drin...

Comedian Marc Levalle tells a story about sneaking booze into Lollapalooza, having a great night, but then having to jump into action on the Red Line when a crack head starts menacing everyone on the train. Marc joins CJ and Sean in the studio and tells some more hilarious stories he's made since moving to Chicago (from Georgia), including how he became a passenger in a late night police chase. CJ...

Comedian Cece Nunyaz makes her debut at The Blackout Diaries and tells a hilarious story about a town who's only 4 AM bar is a chicken shack where fights always start. Cece finds herself in one of those fights but, unlike the other combatants, Cece keeps her head on a swivel, thinks fast, and launches a hilarious, well-planned escape! Cece joins CJ and Sean in the studio and we start a wider discu...

Comedian Tommy MacNamara tells a story about falling into a bon fire at a wedding (from the live show). Tommy then joins CJ and Sean in the studio to talk about more wedding mishaps, involving everything from remembering your preschool safety lessons (stop, drop & roll) to errant, wildly-expensive taxi rides. CJ and Sean talk about fire in this episode- how drunks are doubly irresponsible around f...

Comedian Chris Damen tells a story at our live show about the time he had a stroke during sex after leaving a late night bar. And Chris, "being a feminist", decides -- with his partner's permission -- that its best they finish before looking into the medical urgency of a stroke (BTW, it turns out doctors say that's not the best way to handle a stroke and you should go straight to the hospital). Ch...

Comedian Tom Clark, a long time favorite of Sean and CJ's, joins us in the studio. Tom is an amazing standup and has the best 'bad road show' stories in the business. Tom spends about 30 minutes with us, hilariously detailing his 4 worst road shows. This leads to a discussion on how the bookers of bad shows often trick you into agreeing to perform. CJ and Sean also tell some funny bad road trip st...

Comedian -- and long time friend of the show -- Clark Jones joins us. From the live show, Clark tells a few college stories with his best friend Will Miles (another hilarious comedian). Clark and Will share stories about college house parties and give advice on how to get high and drunk on the cheap in college. Clark then joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share more college stories and explain wh...

Comedian, writer, producer, and all-around-Chicago-legend Mick Betancourt tells a story about the time he saw a gun-drawing fight at a Chicago diner on Thanksgiving night along with how little the responding officer cared about the fight. Mick joins CJ and Sean to share some more stories from Chicago, along with some hilarious quotes -- and great advice -- from his time as a writer on Law & Order...

Comedian Lele Mason tells some college drinking stories, including how she found a really good set of friends who protected her while drunk. Lele, who has been sober for over 10 years, also talks about what it was like to be drug and alcohol free during lockdown and tells a funny story about her fears of and reaction to anesthesia as a sober person. This somehow leads to a discussion on interestin...

Comedian Jonah Jurkens tells the story of the time he did a terrible show in Wisconsin where he was not paid for the show, but got as much free beer as he wanted. Jonah also shares his thoughts on blacking out, which he calls Swiss Cheesing and views as an inevitable part of drinking. Jonah starts us on the topics of blackouts. We discuss the science of what happens to your brain when you blackout...

Comedian Brian Lirot tells two stories at our live show: getting drunk at a music festival which resulted in a short mystery about who was to blame for ruining the tent while they slept, and then what his first experience was as a wedding guest when his mom wasn't his date. Brian joins CJ and Sean in the studio and also tells some stories about what its like to work in the reality TV industry (Bri...

Comedian Wendy Wilkins tells the story of her first love- a drunk, asshole coworker at Chuck E Cheese. Her story of hooking up with him at bad high-school parties (and nature centers) leads to a discussion on terrible first jobs and the overall terrible experience of drinking at kid themed restaurants. Sean talks about how Chuck E Cheese parties always ended in a fight in Cleveland, sometimes maki...

Comedian Dan Drees tells a story about going back to his alma mater, Miami of Ohio, for Halloween, only to end up in a jail in rural Ohio while dressed in daisy dukes. This leads to an overall discussion on how much and how weirdly Ohio drinks, in that they either don't touch the stuff or have 19 beers in one sitting. Dan and Sean both talk about being from Ohio, included a few hilarious encounter...

Comedian Alex Joyce, who is a coproducer of the live show, and an all-around renaissance drinker, joins on the podcast. Alex tells the story of the time he and his brother invited hillbillies from the mountains of North Carolina to stay with them on the same weekend when hillbillies from the cliffs of Ireland also arrived, creating a hilarious vortex of hard-drinking, high-maintenance house guests...

Comedian Jarrell Scott Barnes tells a story about the time he took a long bus ride from the south side of Chicago to the north side, to attend a party with some new people. Jarrell gets drunk and is asked to settle some arguments at the party, then learns some white people songs he's never heard before. CJ, Sean and Jarrell then share other stories about dealing with public transportation when hea...

Stories from CJ and Sean about St Patrick's Day in Chicago. Sean talks about the history of how Chicago started dying its river and why no other city is crazy enough to duplicate that process. Chicago also spans St Patrick's Day into a two-weekend bacchanalia rather than celebrate it on just the 17th of March. CJ tells a story about the drunkest St Patrick's Day show he did in Chicago, which ended...

Our favorite comedy duo, The Puterbaugh Sisters, tell a story at our live show about traveling to a wedding while drunk, which is a risky enough idea, made worse by their decision to also pack for it drunk. They land with an impractical collection of clothes and bad hangover. Danielle and Tiffany Puterbaugh were both long-time contributors to The Blackout Diaries, when they lived in Chicago and we...

Comedian Ben Gerber tells a story about getting drunk in Miami and a bouncer doesn't believe his ID is real so, rather than discuss, the bouncer cuts his drivers license in half. Some how, Ben has been flying across the US with a half ID that TSA allows. CJ and Sean then talk about assholes you meet when drinking- the kind of people that will ruin your ID for no reason, or decide to cause a fight...

Comedy Nate Craig talks about getting drunk in Wisconsin and fighting a creep ball on Christmas Eve. Nate has to attend to a broken hand on Christmas Day and was continually admonished by everyone "it's Christmas". CJ and Sean then share other stories of holiday admonishments, where drunks are told to cool their jets with one sentence reprimands that, "folks, it's Christmas!!". A theme of holiday...

Comedian Grace Piotrowski tells a story about traveling to Italy as a student and getting so drunk the bar owner finds her passed out in the bathroom. This leads to our theme of International Disasters- stories of Americans crossing the pond and embarassing themselves in other countries. Grace joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share some more details and stories, then Sean & CJ talk about their o...

Standup comic, and Blackout Diaries coproducer, Lauren Vino tells a few stories about the downside of dating "a party girl", which can range from unexpected bodily discharges to hasty exits. We also talk about Lauren's writing career and some of the funny articles she's posted on things like box wine or the changing sizes of penises in modern art. CJ and Sean then share their own stories about how...

Sonal Aggarwal tells a few stories at our live show, ranging from partying in Chicago to how she holds it together on mushrooms and why she never lacked for a fake ID growing up. The fake ID topic leads CJ and Sean to share their own stories on how they made or purchased IDs growing up. We also talk about how counterfeit IDs from China are causing problems in America and then former Blackout Diari...

Aaron Foster tells the inside story on how a beloved Chicago restaurant was ultimately destroyed by a very angry, drunk customer- while he was on a date with that customer. CJ and Sean read other stories of people ruining beloved institutions while drunk- priceless works of art, entire canals and one guy even destroyed a whole town. The Blackout Diaries further speculates that they could represent...

Bobby Minelli, owner of House Hold Books, tells the story of when he attended an engagement / birthday party for his mom and decided his best course of action was to get drunk enough to ruin it, which starts with giving booze to kids and ends with grown men in suits jumping into an Olympic swimming pool. CJ and Sean further discuss how drinking the wrong amount at the wrong event can turn you into...

Comedian Marty DeRosa tells a story about being in the middle of an accident while on acid, on this “drugs” themed episode. Sean is doing a “Dry January” with minor tweaks and adderall. CJ and Sean then talk about the wide open hidden dangers of alcohol compared to drugs. Finally, C.J. discusses the fragile employees in LA weed dispensaries and tells old ecstasy club stories that involve plungers...