The Skewer Podcast

It's been four years...and we still kick ass Tom Harrison - 00:00 Devon Price - 18:34 Tom McHenry - 36:16 News Quiz with Kevin Johnson - 50:19 Joe Anderson - 1:04:49 Sara McHenry - 1:18:04 THE SKEWER DEBATE: erica dreisbach vs. Josh Watkins - 1:31:44

Another amazing Skewer. Unfortunately we lost host Tom Harrison's opener because he forgot to press the "Record" button. Oh well. The rest of the lineup was pure class. Donna Das discussed the infuriatingly stupid and fake idea of "electability." Dan Lastres explained how Lovecraftian role-playing-games are the perfect way to practice navigating the eldritch shores of 2020. Alisa Rosenthal covered...

The first Skewer of 2020 is one for the ages. erica dreisbach, the champion of goofs, hosts a lineup that cannot be defeated. Onicia Muller offers practical advice to Carribbean politicians looking to use hurricane relief to line their pockets. Sadie Lancrete does one of the funniest fucking bits I have even experienced you have to hear to believe. Tom Harrison tells you about his fun vacation in...

The last Skewer of the 2010s was an all-timer that will forever be one of the best. Tom Harrison let loose with a virtuoso performance of saying the words "ooze" and "goo" as he hosted a truly delightful lineup. erica dreisbach philosophized about the secret sauce that makes revolutions against corrupt leaders actually work. Devin Whitlock exposed the morally bankrupt right-wing scaremongering cam...

The Skewer's fourth birthday bash was a triumph beyond triumphs. With excellent op-eds from Ken Mejia-Beal, Maya Marshall, and Arish Singh, plus a much-anticipated and deeply meta debate between Skewer co-producers Tom Harrison and erica dreisbach, it was a night whose strength and power will live on forever in our hearts. Here's to another year! Tom Harrison - 00:42 News Quiz pt. 1 - 10:55 Ken Me...

Folks, it's one of the best editions of the Skewer ever. erica dreisbach as ever does a masterful job hosting, leading an all-star lineup of Chicago's best. Maggie Tomasek brings us up to date on the state of true crime content. Alex Borkowski correctly identifies Ross Douthat as one of the Earth's stupidest dullards. Jessie Cadle uses her own mutinous body as an example of why the country needs u...

The Skewer forges on! Tom Harrison hosts a lovely lineup despite his Epstein-addled brain. Roxane West delivers a blistering eulogy of cruel hell-man David Koch. Calle Hack brings us up to speed on the bedbugs in the media. erica dreisbach outlines the death rattle of a social network using Snapchat as an example. And finally, Ray Goldberg and Josephine Maria Yanasak-Leszczynski debate to decide t...

The Skewer's summer break is over and we're back in business doing that live lit shit you love so well. Our writers were in fine form tonight, hosted by the indomitable Devon Price, who proved that bitterness can sometimes be a powerful tonic. Devin Whitlock wished us a happy Eid, or as happy as it can be in a world gripped by Islamophobia. Alex Morales as Dr. Xavier Machina lamented his inability...

The Skewer cannot be stopped! Join host erica dresibach for a night of satirical delights, with op-eds from the illustrious Noa Heinrich, Carly Heiser, and Lily Be, capped off with a debate between Megan Henricks and Tom Harrison (as played by Kevin Johnson). Check it!! erica dreisbach - 0:34 News Quiz with Kevin Johnson - 6:40 Noa Heinrich - 13:15 Carly Heiser - 23:07 Lily Be - 32:46 SKEWER DEBAT...

Is it possible for the Skewer not to kick ass and own? Evidence points to no. Another month in the books means another astonishing show of wit from Chicago's best writers, and what fun it was. Archy Jamjun explores complicated feelings about the ever-expanding shitshow that is the Democratic primary. Sara McHenry takes us on a tour of the fetid prison swamp of the Marvel Movie Marathon. Joe Anders...

An exceptional Skewer, folks, as hero Devon Price guest hosts a lineup of true stars to put the dumb news of March 2019 to rest. Jax Barker kicks us off with a story of grappling with Irish pride and identity even as the community rallies around extremely wrong and racist tropes. Calle Hack breaks down Elizabeth Holmes's mega-confident scammery into a blueprint we can all follow. Bill Bullock pitc...

The Skewer features our first ever guest host, Skewer veteran Roxane West, hosting a delightful evening full of extremely dope writers! Ken Mejia-Beal schooled us on the truth about treason. Allison Shackelford showed us how to cut through the noise around the Jussie Smollett story. Maria Konopken explained how personally gratifying it can be to see true representation in the seats of power. And T...

The Skewer returns to howl and wail in 2019! Tom, like a true dungus, forgot to turn the mic on for his opener, which is now lost to time, but the rest of the show is intact and pristine. Em Haverty takes on Woke Brands for failing to responsibly engage in the issues they're trying to make money on. Elaine Orion gives an incredibly thoroughly-researched rundown of the Covington Catholic racist tee...

We close out 2018 with a Skewer for the ages. Host and co-producer erica dreisbach takes the stage for the last time as a non-baby-haver, and she makes it a barn-burner worthy of the occasion. Allie Reid kicks off the show with a proposal to use cults to solve our political woes. Maggie Tomasek gets personal in her takedown of the American medical system and the loathsome DeVos family. Kyna Lenhof...

It's the Skewer's third birthday and we're back to deliver a dose of much-needed post-election aftercare. Tom Harrison hosts as Jillian Ebanks, Sadie Lancrete, Will Sonheim, and Ada Cheng each deliver extremely good op-eds and Matthew Marquez debates Lindsay Eanet to decide the next step to fix our ailing country. It's the kind of truly dope-as-hell experience you have come to expect from three ye...

This October, Tom was stricken by the goddamn flu and could not host the show, nor could he bring the mic with which the show is usually recorded--but that will not stop THE SKEWER! Intrepid co-producer erica dreisbach took over hosting duties and recorded the show with her phone. The quality isn't great, we admit, but if you are willing to slog through, there are numerous goodies waiting for you...

Reporting from a packed room at the Hopleaf at Lit Crawl 2018, it's THE SKEWER bringing you that hot hot news satire now in mini-show form! Join us as we represent the best of Chicago's live lit scene with Erika Price's meme anthropology, Archy Arch J explains the fucked-up state of the Thai royal family, and Ian Rigg and Alisa Rosenthal engage in a truly astounding debate to decide who should pla...

It's another great great edition of THE SKEWER! Behold the first month in which Tom had no hand in the production or performance of the show, and what a great one it was! erica driesbach continues to be a peerless and incandescent host, as Jeff Phillips shares his plans as the new official Federal Wildfire Czar, Malic White takes the loathsome Louis C.K. to task as Pumpkin the Dog, Josh Watkins ex...

Another amazing edition of the Skewer is in the books! Tom Harrison hosted a truly incredible lineup of writers as they delivered incredible pieces on the news of July 2018. Calle Hack brought a middle child's perspective on the death of the Middle Child. Devin Whitlock looked back at the comically corrupt reign of Scott Pruitt. Rosamund Lannin shared a story of how not even the world of the scien...

Another unmitigated triumph from the hallowed halls of the Skewer. Truly, the Skewer is the Good Time that will never fail and this statement is 100% not hubris AT ALL! The show shuddered with intense goodness! Tom Harrison started the show with a condemnation of weak-ass libs! Cameron Davis pulled out an intensely well-timed sketch as the concierge who brings peace and sensuality to the Korean pe...

Another triumph from your Skewer friends. erica dreisbach opens the show by proxy. Sandy Lee shares a personal take on the news of the Korean peninsula. Tom Harrison talks about newspaper comics. Nora Regis takes us on a sightseeing tour of Facebook's heinous history. Lily Be calls out the hypocrisy and laziness in white America's response to endemic racism and the particular racism of this month'...

Another Skewer bursts with extreme goodness, as is customary. Kevin Johnson's fake news quiz and host Tom Harrison's opener kicked off the show, and naught but excellence followed. Devin Whitlock shared the story of how, but for certain crucial decisions, his life could have ended up like Tomi Lahren's. Eric Lutz railed against liberal Russia-conspiracy theorists who make real journalism even more...

The Skewer owns. Was there ever doubt? Kevin Johnson's fake news quiz and host Tom Harrison open the show. Behnam Riahi explores what makes a terrorist in response to Nicholas Cruz. Adam Homer Lawson shares an actual teacher's take on the epidemic of school violence. Ines Bellina breaks down what people are missing about the Latinx-focused message of The Shape of Water. And Alisa Rosenthal brings...

The Skewer returns to take on 2018 with our customary wit and brutality! erica dreisbach hosts a truly delightful host of top-tier writers ready to tear the first month of 2018 a new one. Oz Elgun kicks off the proceedings with a recap of the #MeToo movement. Calle Hack spoke to the crippling anxiety the world is thrusting on all of us. Kayla Lane Freeman explained why the only future for BitCoin...

The Skewer closes out 2017, the worst year, with another delightful edition. Check it out as Kristin Lytie channels a DoL rep to bemoan the state of labor in modern America, Tyler Snodgrass runs through the deal with Michael Flynn and all connected morons, Angela Vela reviewed the frustratingly litigation-free world of extremely negligent hunting accidents, and Erika Price takes the misinformation...