Tom Rhodes Smart Camp

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...

Patty Farmer is an entertainment historian who has authored the new book 'Playboy Laughs' chronicling the history involving Playboy magazine and stand up comedy. The recently deceased Dick Gregory got his big break performing at the Playboy club in Chicago and used to have to take the bus to get there because he was so broke when he started. For all the criticism that has fallen on Hugh Hefner for...

Ashna and I are fresh back from Europe (Paris, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Norway) and we are full of stories to share! This episode is all about war & peace. We talk about our visit to the Nobel Prize center in Oslo. Who decides who gets awarded? What is the link between dynamite and the prize? And learn why Alfred Nobel was a very peculiar man and the extraordinary mistake that changed hi...

I kick off this visit to Amsterdam by celebrating my obsession with the artist Rembrandt! In this episode I talk with noted Rembrandt author Nina Siegal about all things Rembrandt. Why did Rembrandt paint so many self portraits? Why did he own so many turtle shells? What were the poor choices he made that led to his downfall? Why did he fall out of favor with the religious society of Amsterdam? Wh...

Bonjour mon amis! In this episode Ashna and I come to Paris for me to do a show and we stretch it out into a week long visit with summer in full swing. We start the episode with the update on the crazy downstairs neighbors we have who got in Ashna's face and challenged me to a fight right before we left for Europe. If you arrive in Paris we are jet lagged and walking the streets until sunrise. Lea...

For the comedy nerd in all of us I am proud to present to you this lengthy chat I had with Kliph Nesteroff about the history of stand up comedy. Last year Kliph published the excellent book 'The Comedians.' I loved this book tremendously and highly recommend it to anyone who loves comedy and is interested in all of its exciting and sordid history. From the earliest comedians in vaudeville to the m...

How should you act when a neighbor is harassing and trying to intimidate you? Learn the outcome of the ongoing saga we have had with our downstairs neighbors who keep making noise complaints against us. Listeners sent us legal advice, we were acting like civilized adults when everything came to a head when they came to our door accusing Ashna of stomping. I flew home the next day in a fury of ange...

What are the limits of freedom of speech? Who went to far with freedom of speech Kathy or Bill Maher? Take a ride out of the doldrums and depression by letting us show you how to look on the bright side. In this episode Ashna and I talk about out trip to New York where we hung out with Dave Attell and Michael Che. Learn how I dealt with following Amy Schumer and her story about paying someone to m...