Tom Rhodes Smart Camp

Craig Campbell is a beautiful lunatic and a comedy legend. He is from Calgary, Canada but has been living in London for the past 20 years and crushing it. I first met and worked with Craig 20 years ago when I first started going to London and have since performed with him all over the world. Last month we toured in Asia together and this episode was recorded in Manila. In Manila we rode Harley Dav...

Ashna and I are fresh back from spending a week in Hong Kong. In this episode we give the history of the opium wars and the origins of the dragon boat festival. We also talk about the highlights of our visit and the best travel tips of for visiting the city. I also give the history of Adidas vs. Puma because I had a front row of Germans who worked for Adidas at my show Saturday night and it is an...

This episode was recorded in Singapore. The first time I came to Singapore I hated it because it is so clean and orderly. Now I love it because it is so clean and orderly and that there are no homeless people or street children begging you for money.  In this episode I enumerate the many strange and interesting laws that Singapore is famous for. I talk about the midget boxing match I saw in Manila...

I have been dreaming of going on a motorcycle adventure into North Vietnam since the last time I was in Hanoi and heard of the concept. This was only my fourth time ever driving a motorcycle and I think it will be hard to beat this experience of going the 90 miles round trip journey from Hanoi to the top of Tam Dao Mountain. Yes it was terrifying and yes I felt like a true bad ass with Steve McQue...

I unfortunately missed the March in Las Vegas so I decided to interview two people instead. TRR Smart Camp goodies: * Receive podcast goodies! www.patreon.com/tomrhodesradiosmartcamp * Have a one time private skype session with Tom! www.patreon.com/tomrhodesradiosmartcamp * Buy my newest double album All Hail Laughter (2017) www.tomrhodes.net * More episodes on www.tomrhodesradio.com  

Uncle Bob is dead. Getting the news of his death has left me feeling ashamed because I was mean and cruel to him. I had not spoken to Bob in 7 years because I was angry at him for being mean and cruel to my dad. Hate and anger is poison in your life because the person you are holding a grudge against just might drop dead and then your issue with that person will never be resolved.   The truth of t...

Praise be to the written word! In my living room I have the walls lined with book shelves holding over 2,000 books. This is my life time collecting books and Ashna's lifetime of collecting books joined together. Since living in Los Angeles we have invented a game we like to call "Book Roulette." This game consists of us randomly pulling a book from the shelf, cracking it open and reading a few par...

This is a warm blast of love deep in the heart of winter! In this episode Ashna and I talk about the coldest winter we ever experienced. The nasty flu I caught from an albino alligator in Orlando, how the dirty money of big pharmaceutical companies keeps health care costs high for all of us and how human turd Martin Shkreli just got his 2 million dollar Wu Tang album taken away. You will learn why...

I first met Lucie Pohl at the Edinburgh Arts Festival where we were both performing at the same venue. I may not have won the top prize at Edinburgh that year but my friendship with Lucie has been more valuable to me than any little statuette. She wrote and performs the brilliant one person show that is called 'Hi Hitler', a tour de force of human emotions about her life story as a German immigran...

This is part 3 of my French Revolution episodes celebrating the Stanley Loomis book Paris In The Terror. Have you ever wondered how people with differing political opinions would hate each other enough to have each other's heads chopped off by the guillotine? The answer to that can be found in this episode about the end of the road for that shifty dirty bastard Robespierre. Robespierre was a medio...

In this episode you will learn about the unsung hero of the French Revolution and all time bad ass woman Charlotte Corday. I just finished the brilliantly written book 'Paris In The Terror' by Stanley Loomis. The book was published in 1964 and UC Berkeley named it one of the best books of the century.  It is a riveting book about the main players of the French Revolution who all get their heads ch...

I am fresh back from Paris! In this episode Ashna and I talk about my quick trip to Paris, the amazing experience I had while performing at Theatre L'Oeuvre and how when I return there on October 15 I want to film it as my next one hour special. We also talk about my personal history with Paris and how I needed to see someone and tell them how important they are to me while I was there. It was an...

Hooray for Hollywood! Forget that the world is falling apart and that our democracy has been sold to the highest bidder. In this episode Ashna and I discuss the year's best films and guide you to what is worth seeing just ahead of awards season. In this episode we talk about: #moviepass The Post Lady Bird Get Out Three Billboards Darkest Hour I, Tonya Call Me By Your Name Mudbound The Big Sick  Th...

"In the creation of comedy, it is paradoxical that tragedy stimulates the spirit of ridicule; because ridicule, I suppose, is an attitude of defiance: we must laugh in the face of our helplessness against the forces of nature - or go insane. I read a book about the Donner party who, on the way to California, missed the route and were snowbound in the mountains of Sierra Nevada. Out of one hundred...

I had the best day in my life at the Charlie Chaplin's museum just two days ago. But now I am stuck in Switzerland because of weather conditions. I got all the time to record this episode so I give you all my Switzerland knowledge nuggets and tell you about Charlie Chaplin's life. Because hey I got nowhere to go at the moment. Enjoy! * Become our patron and receive podcast goodies! www.patreon.com...

Bonjour Y'all! It's winter here so I am freezing but I'm thrilled to be back sauntering along the boulevards and I have lots of fun facts to share with you about Paris from the books that I have been reading and the life that I have been living. Hear about the bad ass story behind the painting The Death of Marat. The history of banquets, the invention of the sorbet and why the French are so pessim...

I am proud to say now that my eyes do know the glory that is Mongolia. This past weekend I performed in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and I now rank it among my favorite places. Like all great experiences you have in life it comes down to the people that you spent time with. From the moment I arrived I was greatly by the comedians of Ulaanbaatar and they spent my few days there showing me everyt...

I am reporting to you from Tokyo, Japan. Enjoy my observations on this trend setting capital and learn amazing facts about Japan and knowledge nuggets about the secret code of the Samurai. Enrich your life with wisdom and laughter as I send you a respectful Samurai head bow from the land of the rising sun. Enjoy! Become our patron and receive podcast goodies! www.patreon.com/tomrhodesradiosmartcam...

Yes, #metoo. We both. Hear our stories and how it affected and changed us forever. Massage requests, butt squeezes, shame, blame, enablers & abusers. We go right into the Weinstein affaire and Tom's own #metoo story. How it affected him and changed his life perspective forever. Ashna explains how her experiences changed her career path. Our book this week is "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It by...

I'm back in Las Vegas right after the worst mass shooting in US history. I sit down with Brad Garrett, the man who taught me to love Vegas and we talk about how this city responded, bounced back and showed the best that humanity has to offer. We also talk about our bully megalomaniac president Trump and how his supporters are too think skinned to tolerate jokes about him. Northern California wildf...

This episode was recorded in room #4 at the Mill Valley Inn. All important information about America's past and future are answered under the canopy of the ancient redwood trees. Ashna and I talk about the Kurt Anderson book 'Fantasyland" about how America went haywire. We also talk about the Ken Burns documentary "The Vietnam War. Our yearly trip to Northern California is in full swing now and we...

This episode is a roller coaster of emotions for me because I just received bad news an hour before recording that I am still processing. Not every podcast episode can be happy and cheerful but thankfully, Ashna pulls me back from the brink and helps me to see the bright side of life. It all comes down to status anxiety and that is what we discuss at length in this episode from every angle. We als...

Steve Hughes is a comedy legend. He has sliced and diced up some of the best stages that the world comedy circuit has to offer. I've worked with Steve many times, I was even working with him on the night that I met Ashna. Several years ago he had a meltdown that led to him moving back home to Australia. Finally after much worry I got to come back to Sydney and see him. He is as feisty as ever even...

Mickey D is the only comedian I know of who has climbed Mount Everest. I met Mickey while doing the Edinburgh festival several years ago and he personifies everything that I love about Australians. He is brash, ballsy, and good humored about even life's toughest circumstances. I sat down with him while I was in Sydney to delight the world with his perspective on life and capture his unconquerable...

Hello from the other side of the planet! This episode of Smart Camp comes to you from Sydney where I talk with charming Australian comedy superstar Wil Anderson. I first met Wil at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2000. Since then we have worked with each other in London, New York, Montreal and Los Angeles. His effervescent charm and comedic intelligence always delights me when we get to spend tim...