The Tom Barnard Podcast

You've probably heard your fair share of bad news. War, famine, that sort of thing. All the horsemen are involved. But it's easy to become desensitized to run of the mill apocalyptic visions. Today we've got some stuff that'll really make you say "why are you telling me this". Don't worry, we pepper in some positive stuff too. We're not doomers. Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/20...

They're taking fictional characters and making them real, like with Moana. They're also taking real actors and making them into fictional AI versions, like James Earl Jones. It's a madhouse. A madhouse! At least we can remain secure in our knowledge that they will never stop making Evil Dead movies, ever. Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/10/july-10th-2026/

Netflix is reporting massive drop-offs on season 2 of its shows. Why? Is it the gap between seasons? The binge watching making content more forgettable? Where have all the viewers gone, and where are all the fans? Where's the die-hard group of friends who always makes watch plans? Oh yeah, speaking of which, Bonnie Tyler died. Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/10/july-10th-...

In part one of today's show, we talked about shows that brand themselves as "dark humor" to position themselves more favorably. In part two, we talked to someone who wrote a book of actual dark humor about his time in the military. Now, in part three, we're talking to someone who became a stand-up comedian as a way to channel his anxiety and bipolar disorder into - you guessed it - dark humor. I d...

Jason is a Wisconsinite and Iraq War veteran. He was blown up by an IED, thrust back into civilian life without a clue how to navigate it, and has gone through years of therapy. And now he's written a book where he jokes about it all. Ha ha, right? It's raw, it's honest, and it brings us back to that "dark humor" topic we were just talking about in the previous segment. You can find his book (and...

The Emmy nominations are out. Given how Taylor Sheridan's shows make up 90% of all network programming at the moment, you'd think he'd at least have gotten one of them. Nope. Maybe people are getting tired of very similar shows about life on a ranch. They're also tired of Stranger Things, mostly because the last season was apparently not great. But you know what we'll never get tired of? Noticing...

Frequent listeners may have learned that Jude has mental problems. Namely, attachment issues. Not that being a lunatic is unusual for a dog. It's part of what makes life interesting. You know what else makes life interesting? Buttery flavored crusts. Sorry, I mean buttery crispy crusts. Sorry, I mean...what was the line again? Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/j...

The Twins are doing okay. But it's still early. You don't need cataract surgery to see a pattern in recent years: we start out strong, then we tank. Will this year be different? Statistically, it will not. But you never know. Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/july-6th-2026/

Everyone on the show is always watching things. Everyone except one person. Well that all changes today. Naturally, he's breaking his streak of not watching things by watching slightly stale rom coms starring Miranda Cosgrove. Also Hoppers. That's relatively new, right? Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/july-6th-2026/

Divorce is all the rage these days, but not in our studio. At least, not yet. You never know what the future might hold. That's true about comedy itself, too. 20 years ago, social media had virtually no impact on a comedian's success. Now it's what makes or breaks you. Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/03/july-3rd-2026/

So far this year, the big movies have all been for kids. Mario. Toy Story. Now Minions & Monsters. So what of Supergirl? We don't talk about Supergirl. Metaphorically, I mean. We literally did talk about Supergirl. Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/03/july-3rd-2026/

Tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of America, which is a pretty big deal. It's no 200, but not all of us got to experience that one. Here's to 300, right? And speaking of things that are sure to last 300 years, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married today. If you want, you can sit there and watch a live stream of their guests arriving. Exciting stuff. Not as exciting as eating 70ish hot...

Steve used to be a wildlife biologist. He has a PhD in it, in fact. But a few years ago, he felt the need for a change. So he took the retirement buyout, got remarried, and moved to Germany. Personally, I think that's a bit too much change all at once, but it's been working out for him, so who am I to judge? Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/06/30/july-1st-2026/

Homeschooling is tough. It's a lot of time, energy, and sometimes money. But with certain kids it just makes sense. Linsey has been homeschooling since 2004, so she knows a thing or two about how to make it work. If you're interested in homeschooling, or just want to listen to us talk about how the school system has changed over the years, this episode is for you. You can check out her book at htt...

Actually, it's not really the heights I'm afraid of so much as the falling. But you can't have one without the other. And speaking of falling, Supergirl has not been doing well. Probably because people only have room for one superhero movie at a time at the moment. Just like how they have room for zero national news outlets. We'll see if the NBCUniversal split fixes that. I'm guessing it will not....

Brad was a CEO and attorney for almost twenty years. Lucrative, yes, but not creatively fulfilling. That's why he wrote Recoil of Justice, a book about a lawyer turned possible vigilante. It's not a an autobiography, I promise. Check it out at https://bradeldernovels.com/

The Buffalo Rodeo (that's a rodeo in Buffalo, MN, not a rodeo consisting entirely of buffalo) came and went. Bob gives the scoop on how it went. He also wishcasts Minnesota teams winning titles. We'll see how that pans out.

Minions. They're still a thing. Just ask anyone under the age of 8. It can't be all young children though - it's projected to make over $70 million in its three day opening. Will it beat Supergirl? Only time will tell. But my sources tell me that time says "yes".

Despite being a very early episode, this was actually Dr. Rose's second appearance on the show. There are a lot of Dr. Roses. This one in particular is the author of Rewiring Your Brain.

Rudy would come back several times, but this was his earliest appearance in late 2012.

This was Lou's first appearance in 2012, and his only one until he was on the Tom Barnard Morning Show around ten years later.

Frank and Mark joined us in November 2012 for this episode.

This is when Dave Mordal came to our studio in November of 2012.

The first appearance of Tim Slagle on our show. He would be back many times.

This would have been recorded on or near Halloween 2012.