The Comical Heathen Podcast

Season 2 Episode 6 Show Notes:   I got on a Zoom call the way from Aruba Ray's Comedy Club in Aruba and spent some time talking comedy with Brian Scott MacFadden.  From a show business family, Brian has a quick wit and a lot of deep thoughts about the art of comedy.   Joining me is guest co-host Dan Brown of the Action Comedy Nerd Show and his podcast Dan and Mark Meets World.   He joins me on my...

A comedy club called CHURCH OF SATIRE?  How did I not know about this!  In this episode I interview club founder, owner, and touring headliner Jim Bryan.  In addition to getting his take on satire, we go into his club, how he started it and why he called it CHURCH OF SATIRE! Along the way we name-check Mark Riccadonna, Robert Mack, Craig Paul, and Dwayne Duke.  Joining me is guest co-host Kristin...

Welcome to our most recent live Q&A episode, recorded live 11 April 2021.   Join me and my guest co-host Jesse Pimpenella as we answer your questions and respond to your comments across the Comical Heathen social media landscape.  We welcome special guest DJ Dangler into the madness.  A lot of this episode's topics seemed to come back again and again to the nature of faith (hilarious, right!).  Fo...

Show notes: This episode of the Comical Heathen features my interview with Dennis Blair.  We discuss his early career opening for the likes of Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, and George Carlin as well as his thoughts on the dangers of doing satire while working the road.  This episode includes my rant about politicians and preachers who claim (with a straight face) that "God" (Jesus, Moses, etc.....

  Show notes: This episode of the Comical Heathen features my interview with Myq Kaplan.  We discuss his comedy beginnings, his thoughts on religion and hallucinogenics, and some of his ideas about satire.  What a mensch!  This episode includes my rant about Bill Maher's recent use of the made-up odds "50-50" while talking about the coronavirus!  With my guest cohost Jesse Pimpinella, we talk abou...

Part II Show notes: Following my interview with Peter Hinchliffe and Michael Nugent from Atheist Ireland (found in S2E1 Part I), guest co-host Sean Lynch and I discuss some of the issues raised in the interview.  We are also visited by Ian Harris who calls in to get something off his chest (arguing with people who don't understand the benefits of raising the minimum wage).   Topics discussed inclu...

Part I Show notes: Features my interview with Peter Hinchliffe and Michael Nugent from Atheist Ireland.  We discuss a controversial sketch about the arrest of God for rape by the Irish parody news group Waterford Whispers News.  The sketch was part fo RTE's New Year's Eve programming and garnered over 1000 complaints and was eventually removed.  We also discuss blasphemy laws and the effects of ce...

Here is the published and slightly edited version of the live broadcast I did Oct 15 with friend and co-host Joh Hensler.  We talk about conspiracy theories (or "stories" as they're not really theories in the proper sense of the word), climate change skeptics (or "deniers" as they are not really skeptics in the proper sense of the word), and why the doors at 24-hour convenience stores have locks o...

In this special Q&A edition of the podcast, with the help of guest co-host John Hensler, I answer some of the questions we collected through social media, including:  "Is there a god?", "If there is no afterlife, why not just go all MAD MAX?!", and "Who should be added to the list of gods, besides yourself?"  And many more!  Join in on the fun.  This was our second ever-live show, originally broad...

This episode features my interview John Fugelsang!  John is a Drama League nominated actor, comedian & broadcaster who hosts the acclaimed "Tell Me Everything" series on SiriusXM Insight. Bill Maher called him "One of my favorite comedians." As 1/3 of 'Stephanie Miller's Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour' he's played to sold-out houses around the country, including The Chicago Theater, LA's Pantages Theate...

Had a great time Skyping with Alice Fraser, comedian and podcast.  From Australia, but based in London, she is a regular panelist on The Bugle podcast, hosts her own daily news satire podcast called The Last Post, and just released a new special on Amazon Prime called Savage.  In addition to discussing satire, religion, and all fo her projects, she describes how comedy has shifted over the years b...

In this special Q&A edition of the podcast, with the help of guest co-host Gaz Simmons, I answer some of the questions I've been hearing at my live shows (which includes a Q&A session).  Some of the questions tackled include:  1) Is Jedi a religion? 2) What is the worst defense of believing in god you've ever heard? 3) As a person from a Jewish family, how does your family feel about you being an...

Hanging with Curtis Cook while he headlined the 2019 Cleveland Comedy Fest. We started comedy at approximately the same time, 10 years ago in Cleveland. Since then, he has written for the Jim Jefferies Show and Crank Yankers, while appearing on Portlandia. We talk satire, writing, and I awkwardly explain his jokes back to him, like the giant dork I am. This episode includes an update from the rabb...

For today’s episode I travel to the WMMS 100.7 studios in Cleveland Ohio to interview Bill Squire. Bill is co-host of The Alan Cox Show and a popular stand up comedian. He appears regularly at Hilarities and The Funny Stop as well as touring all over headlining. In this interview we discuss him being raised Mormon and his now historic missionary work. He describes his approach to religious satire,...

Today’s weird and wonderful odyssey takes me to meet Dr. Peter McGraw, author of The Humor Code and host of the podcast I’m Not Joking. Director of the Humor Research Lab, McGraw is very influential in the field of comedy studies, in particular for the theory of Benign Violation! All of this will be explained—if you listen to the podcast!! As an influential humor researcher, Prof McGraw’s work is...

I have been a fan of the science blog Pharyngula for many years, so it is with great pleasure that I was able to interview its host P.Z. Myers. P.Z. is a biology professor at the University of Minnesota-Morris campus and he is also the author of the book The Happy Atheist. We chat about science education, spiders, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Atheism versus New Atheism, and the role of humor in th...

Welcome to another episode of the Comical Heathen, one man's odyssey into the wild and weird world of religious satire.  Today's guest interview is Brian Malow, Science Comedian.  Almost sounds like a superhero, doesn't it!  In addition to over 20 years experience as a stand up comedian, Brian has created science videos for Time.com and contributed to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk.  This episode...

In this episode of the Comical Heathen your host Jerry interviews A.J. Jacobs.  A.J. is the author of numerous New York Time's Bestsellers, including The Year of Living Biblically (which was the basis for the short-lived CBS sitcom of the same name). We discuss his motivations for writing the book, his opus of immersion memoirs, his influences as a humour writer, and his thoughts on how September...

Greetings from me, Kelvin and Newton!  Our latest episode features my interview with Ian Harris, the Skeptic Comedian! A 25+ year pro, Ian has recently released his second comedy special, ExtraOrdinary. He also appeared at the second Reason Rally. We talk about both experiences as well as his approach to creating skeptical satire. He talks about the San Francisco comedy scene of the 90s as well as...

  Greetings from me, Kelvin and Newton from our brief hiatus.  We are excited to be back with this new interview and new rant!  The interview is with Dan O'Shannon.  Dan is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as  Newhart ,  Cheers , and  Frasier . He was an  executive producer  of the ABC show  Modern Family , and he has won 6 Emmy awards for his work in televis...

Like all the kool shows kids like these days, this episode has a rare cold opening--my guest Marc Jaffe telling a joke!  This is followed by my interview with Marc, an update from the rabbit hutch, and my rant about an article that attempts to defend politicians who evoke prayer in the face of mass shootings.  (PS listen all the way to the end for one more joke by Marc, hidden after the theme musi...

It has been a couple of months since our last episode, sorry for the delay. Lately I have been busy directing a play, and doing some other work. But, the holiday season should provide me with some time to get some more episodes in the can. And I am particularly excited about this episode, delay or no delay. I met up with my good friend Chili Challis. Known especially for his work as a writer for J...

Kia ora! The Maori "hello"!  This episode features my interview with comedian Chad Zumock.  He discusses his opinions on satire, Amy Schumer, Doug Stanhope, and his ups and downs.  This episode also includes an update about our pet rabbit Newton and also my rant on religious body shaming in the story of nude model Jaylene Cook's recent topless photos on a sacred mountain in New Zealand.  Be sure t...

Welcome to episode 8 of THE COMICAL HEATHEN!  This features my interview with Mark Riccadonna (recorded at the smoke shop in Akron!).  We talk religion and comedy, Mark recounts his curiosity about religion and some of his favorite satirists.  This episode includes an update form the Rabbit Hutch and my rant about the 3 million dollar fine recently levied on Hobby Lobby.  Plus, beautiful organ mus...

  "Sometimes I'm such a hypocrite I'm surprised I'm not religious."--DJ Dangler I met DJ at the 2017 Indiana Comic Con, where he mounted a "fake" protest cos playing the Westeros Baptist Church!  He and his friends did a comedy show, me and the Action Comedy Nerd Show did a show, and in the mean time I got to interview him for this podcast.  Raised in a very religious environment, he had a lot to...