Scott Blakeman (Laughing Liberally) and Kaitlin Fontana (The Box) join Negin to discuss Jared Kushner’s limp remarks on his Russia ties, the continued GOP scramble for a health care bill, and the latest White House shenanigans. Plus, they dig into the Democrats’ new populist plan: A Better Deal for American Workers.

This episode is brought to you by Kiva (www.kiva.org/FAKE) and Talkspace (www.talkspace.com/ftn).

Welcome back to My Boyfriend Broke Up With Me with your hosts Kellyanne and Tracy (Danielle Schneider, Casey Wilson)! It’s another rough week for your hosts as they discuss how their recent break ups. They are joined by special guest and dear friend Veronica Taylor who shares her breakup story which involves friends hiding in bushes to take photos and jail time. Plus, Traci Reardon stops by to offer her Twitter followers advice on how to move on from a breakup and getting out of a bad relationship in another edition of “Help Me, Rhonda.”

This episode is brought to you by Modcloth (www.modcloth.com code: LAPKUS).

Danielle and guest co-host/ Jennifer Aniston aficionado Matt McConkey welcome fan fave Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty, Devious Maids) back to the nook to talk the roller coaster that is Shannon, Dorinda’s daughter’s strange beauty and watching others take a dump. Still basking in the glory of last week’s “Louann in a bush”, the gang flies high til they are brought crashing down by Shannon’s “monster” trainer. Also there’s Peggy. Do we care? Find out on this weeks episode. 

This episode is brought to you by Texture (www.texture.com/HOUSEWIVES) and Rent the Runway (www.renttherunway.com/unlimited code: HOUSEWIVES).

You’re going to walk away from this week’s Politically Re-Active, happier and smarter after listening to our conversation with Killer Mike of Run the Jewels. From equity, to allyship and building political power, Killer Mike rallies us to think big and do better. This may take learning how to survive the zombie apocalypse, which Killer Mike shares some insights on too. And in this week’s episode we yet again gain a new term to add to our vocabulary, “the big three.” So get ready to learn and laugh a whole lot.

But it’s not all politics, we also talk to Killer Mike about his new album with El-P, “Run the Jewels 3.” To check-out their albums and tour dates visit  www.runthejewels.com. You can also follow them on Twitter @Run Jewels, @Killer Mike, and @The Real El P.

And don’t forget we have new t-shirts! Visit podswag.com/pr or podswag.com/politicallyreactive. Both work! To get the latest updates on us follow us on Facebook at Politically Re-Active and Twitter @PoliticReActive and send us your comments using the #politicallyreactive. Thanks!

Check out Hari’s tour dates and albums at Harikondabolu.com and for all Kamau’s project check out wkamaubell.com.

This episode is brought to you by Kiva (www.kiva.org/REACTIVE), ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/REACTIVE), Away (www.awaytravel.com/reactive), and Texture (www.texture.com/REACTIVE).

In 1975, a plucky young director named Steven Spielberg saw his first big success with the release of Jaws, a movie about a shark eating a bunch of wealthy beachgoers in a resort town in New England. Paradoxically being the least “Spielberg” of his films while simultaneously being one of the most famous films ever made, Jaws presented a huge early challenge to the director in the form of an intensely difficult shoot due to a number of factors, not the least of which was the fact that most of the movie takes place on the open ocean and features a legendarily unreliable robotic shark. Despite its troubled production and media coverage all too ready to seize on what seemed to be shaping up to be a huge box office dud, Jaws went on to become the biggest movie of all time, creating the “summer blockbuster” genre and forever changing the kinds of films Hollywood bets big on to this day.

In this week’s episode, Tom and Abe are joined by comedian Brandie Posey as they discuss the grueling nightmare that was the production of Jaws, a series of calamities that almost derailed Spielberg’s career before it even began. Along the way, they discuss how the shark was basically an underwater RC car (only a fraction as reliable), how the Director of Photography had to invent a brand new piece of technology just to film this cursed picture, and whether a shark from New England would sound like Casey Affleck or Peter Griffin.

This episode is brought to you by Phil (www.phil.us/CLUB).

Making your way in the world today with Ken Levine.

This episode is brought to you by Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/PARDO code: PARDO).

Sean Conroy, Gavin Speiller, and Mookie Blaiklock join Jessica McKenna, Eugene Cordero, Jon Gabrus, and Matt Besser for the final installment of The Mopes! Gene, Jon, and Jess perform more jobs than ever before in their attempt to earn their inheritance and prove their worth. They haul nets on a fishing vessel, defend a salad bar from a robbery, perform interpretive displays of airplane safety, ump for Little League, and much more. Can the Mopes pull through and keep everyone at a Bar Mitzvah entertained? Find out in the finale of The Mopes Trilogy!

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/IMPROV).

This week, Erin gives her take on the scarcity of women CEOs, and Bryan shares a story about a Noah’s Ark exhibit  that leads them to ask: who owns the rainbow? Then, they welcome comedian, actor, and podcast host Paul F. Tompkins (BoJack Horseman, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$) to talk about finding his fashion in dress codes, performing voices for dogs, and his feelings about “Dunkirk.” Plus, they swap most-hated words and play a rapid-fire game of Shade or No Shade.

On this week’s episode of HARD NATION, odd couple Jared Kushner (Adam Lustick) and Tim Allen (Billy Scafuri) join the brothers for a wild conversation about “Devil’s Dust”, coconut balls, and dinosaurs. Plus, an in-depth look at Kushner’s “teen mustache”! 

Check out Mark Hard’s Conservative Summer Jam at Politicon – details here! https://politicon.com/session/ear-wolf-hard-nation-podcast/

Actor Jean Elie (HBO’s Insecure) joins Andrew to discuss using “panda” and “monkey” as nicknames, Girls Trip smashing the box office, and much more. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

Comedians and podcast hosts Matt Gourley and Matt Mira take to the charts this week to celebrate the Earwolf rebirth of their podcast “James Bonding.” First, they help Howard and Kulap count down Billboard’s Top 5 Summer Songs of All Time, and then the Matts reveal the origin of their Bond-ing and make predictions for the next 007 during a special themed Movie Chart. Finally, we hear about Comic-Con updates and a listener question about mumble rap on Two Charted.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: CHARTED) and Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/charted).

Actress and comedian Lauren Lapkus (With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus) joins Jensen and Matty to talk about home movies, being Emmy nominated for The Earliest Show, Hannah Williams & The Affirmations, Mormon Mommy Blogs, how we were late on Missing Richard Simmons, and many more things you should know about.
This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/GETUPONTHIS).

In the new mall-centric musical, “SHAM WOWOWOW”, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino are joined by Mary Holland in a story of competition, As-Seen-On-TV products, pretzels and more. Hear such showstopping hits like “Let Me Tell You (Sham Wow)”, “I Like To Go In My House” and “You Want A Man (Also A Boy)”, and more in this highly-anticipated new musical. 

In the premiere episode of OFF BOOK: The Improvised Musical, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino welcome guest Paul F. Tompkins to the stage in the brand new musical “SHRUGGING DESTINY”. With the sure-to-be classic songs “Put Yourself First”, “No One Wants To Eat At Chipotle”, “Dang Dang Dang”, and more, you’ll be listening to this show over and over again. 

Comedic actor Ian Gomez (Cougar Town, The Drew Carey Show) chats about touring Second City with Colbert, Farley, and Amy Sedaris, as well as tales from film sets with adorable Lindsay Lohan and sweet Ron Howard.

This episode is brought to you by Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/KEVIN).

What college major could possibly involve writing an academic paper comparing the 1968 film “The Parent Trap” with the 1998 remake starring Lindsay Lohan? It could only be Gethard’s major, American Studies! This week’s caller chats about what it’s like to be an American Studies major during the Trump era and Chris shows off his talent for generating a good thesis.

This episode is brought to you by Talkspace (www.talkspace.com/beautiful), Redbox (www.redbox.com/games code: STORIES5), Brooklinen (www.brooklinen.com code: BEAUTIFUL), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/beautiful), and Bound to Delight (www.bookofthemonth.com/STORIES).

Truth is, ya gotta pay the bills, and having a little “fuck you money” don’t hurt neither.

For more Hollywood Masterclass, subscribe to Stitcher Premium (www.howl.fm/hollywood).

This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/FIRST), Stamps.com (www.stamps.com code: HANDBOOK), and Audible’s Hold On with Eugene Mirman.

Jason “Heynong Man” Mantzoukas, intern Gino Lambardo, El Chupacabra, and Scott’s nephew Todd are all here to celebrate the 500th episode of Comedy Bang! Bang! We’ll hear Todd’s signature “Oy Yoi Yoi” segment, what Chupacabra has been up to since we last heard from him, and Gino getting too deep undercover for the FBI. Later, Cal Solomon, founding member of The Sugarhill Gang stops by to read his screenplay he wrote based on his life story. Plus, we meet athlete Tommy Scuzz who tells us about getting kicked off of the baseball team for not playing by the rules.

This episode is brought to you by Leesa.com (www.leesa.com code: BANGBANG), Rover (www.rover.com/CBB) and truTV’s I’m Sorry.

If sci-fi movies have taught you one thing about species with queen-based social hierarchies, it’s that you should always kill the queen. Same goes for insects right? Kill the queen and the ant hill or bee’s nest goes away. Sounds good, unless you’re dealing with Argentine ants, who have about 300 queens for every 1,000 worker ants. 

How do you kill them? 

You don’t.

Where do they live? Probably Argentina, right? 

Wrong, they’ve taken over just about every continent other than Antarctica. So good luck with your new insect overlords.

On this week’s podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by Cracked’s Katie Goldin and Daniel O’Brien, as well as comedians Joey Clift, Caitlin Gill and Matt Kirshen to discuss ants, crows, cats, immortal jellyfish and 7 other species whose crazy abilities will allow them to take over the world once us humans are gone.

East Coast! The Cracked Podcast is coming to you! The Cracked Podcast will be a part of the Now Hear This podcast festival in New York, taking place September 8th-10th. For $20 off your ticket, head to NowHearThisFest.com and enter code ‘CRACKED’ at checkout.

West Coast! Pack an extra life, some elixirs and a poke ball. The next live Cracked Podcast is Saturday, August 12th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles. Alex Schmidt asks Michael Swaim, Adam Ganser, Monika Scott, Mike Drucker and Brodie Reed, “what is the best video game universe to live in?” Tickets are $7 and available here: https://goo.gl/WCKg8f

Guys. Gals. Aliens. Did you miss the premiere of Cracked’s newest podcast, Cracked Movie Club? Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time to catch up. Hosts Tom Reimann and Abe Epperson feature a new director each month as they do a deep into four of the director’s films with jokes, insane behind-the-scene stories and crazy fan theories. And July is devoted to none other than Steven Spielberg.

Listen to their episode about Raiders of the Lost Ark here: https://goo.gl/ygBfW1

Listen to their episode about Jurassic Park here: https://goo.gl/FK9gV4

Listen to their episode about E.T. here: https://goo.gl/aQmqzD

And to hear the newest episode each and every Thursday, search for Cracked Movie Club in your podcast app of choice or click here to find it on Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/fQ2o72

Footnotes:

Caitlin Gill on Twitter: https://goo.gl/HblhwS

Katie Goldin on Twitter: https://goo.gl/GBnSWq

Matt Kirshen on Twitter: https://goo.gl/TC2tML

Joey Clift on Twitter: https://goo.gl/oXXSBe

Daniel O’Brien on Twitter: https://goo.gl/oQWtkY

Article: The Atlantic: These Dolphins Are Using Sea Sponges As Tools: https://goo.gl/Gic9E1

Article: Wired: Clever Dolphins Use Shells To Catch Fish: https://goo.gl/CBu32Q

Article: BBC: The Dolphins That Kill Each Other’s Young: https://goo.gl/GwKnDG

Article: BBC News: Ant Mega-Colony Takes Over World: https://goo.gl/JETzX

Article: Cracked: 6 Animals That Kill Nature’s Scariest Creatures For Fun: https://goo.gl/EPu58

Article: Cracked: 5 Animals That Could Take Over The World (If They Wanted To): https://goo.gl/xq0W1

Article: Cracked: 5 Animals Who Taught Themselves Eerily Human Skills: https://goo.gl/3R3zxb

Article: Cracked: The 6 Most Horrifying Abilities Animals Are Evolving: https://goo.gl/pZUW48

Article: Cracked: 29 Animals You Didn’t Realize Were Evil Geniuses: https://goo.gl/E49yS9

Article: Cracked: 5 Super-Adorable Animals That Can Kill The Hell Out Of You: https://goo.gl/wr0MWL

Video: Raccoon Tries To Eat Cotton Candy: https://goo.gl/yULLCR

Website: Daptone Records: https://goo.gl/Vn5rbB

TV personality, comedian and game show host Tom Bergeron drops by the studio to share his thoughts on a variety of topics, including the unpredictability of live television, the genius of Marcel Marceau, the benefits of transcendental meditation and the rise and fall of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Also, Tom interviews Moe Howard (and Larry Fine), Sid Caesar speaks German, Bob Hope moves down the couch and Mel Brooks mimics Bill Cullen. PLUS: Bob the Puppet! The Lawrence Welk singers! Arnold Schwarzenegger “brings funny!” Henry Winkler pulls a fast one! And Tom and Gilbert remember John Ritter! 

Photos by Charles Eshelman charleseshelman.com

Momo the mouse is back with important messages about defeating the Dark Lord.

Credits
Arnie: Arnie Niekamp
Chunt: Adal Rifai
Usidore: Matt Young
Momo the Mouse: Erin Keif
Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi
Editor: Ryan DiGiorgi
Theme Music: Andy Poland
Magic Tavern Logo: Allard Laban
Audio Assistance: Jason Knox
Production Assistance: Garrett Schultz

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes everyone as he finishes up some yard work to Spontaneanation! This week, Paul’s special guest and SOLE improvisor is Spontaneanation’s good friend Marc Evan Jackson! They chat about who was Marc’s best friend as a child and what they would do together, recognizing his old building while watching Batman v Superman, and getting disappointed in the car. They then improvise a story set at A Gas Station Only Stopped at During Road Trips. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano!

Want to submit a location for our improv? Follow @Spontaneanation on Twitter! We’ll ask for locations before we record, and once we do you’ll have five minutes to submit your suggestion! One suggestion per recording, thanks!

This episode is brought to you by Leesa.com (www.leesa.com code: PFT).

Writer and producer Bryan Cogman returns to The Canon this week to discuss Busby Berkeley’s 1933 musical film, “Footlight Parade.” Amy and Bryan explore everything from finding humanity in the choreography to the death of the theatrical experience, noting the risks the film took as a result of being made pre-Code and its early Hollywood innovation. Plus, they take a look at some of the film’s more unsavory historical elements. Should “Footlight Parade” enter The Canon? Head to the Earwolf forums to cast your vote!

This episode is sponsored by Casper (www.casper.com/canon).

Mary Holland (Wild Horses, Blunt Talk) joins Paul, June, and Jason to discuss the 1986 science-fiction horror film Chopping Mall. Recorded live from Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, they talk about the slow moving robots, janitor bullies, the “furniture storgy,” and much more.

This episode is brought to you by I’m Sorry on truTV, Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/bonkers), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/how), and Thumbtack (www.thumbtack.com).

Check out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepublic.com/user/howdidthisgetmade

Where to Find Jason, June & Paul:

Paul’s new comedy Drive Share is available on Go90. Paul can be seen on Veep. You can see June and Paul on NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU. June stars in Grace and Frankie on Netflix, as well as Lady Dynamite alongside with Jason.

Jason can be seen in The House, The Lego Batman Movie, How to Be Single, Sleeping with Other People, and is still indeed in The Dictator.

Join Samantha Jones (Erin Whitehead), Miranda Hobbes (Stephanie Alynne), Charlotte York (Mary Holland), and Carrie Bradshaw (Lauren Lapkus) as they reunite at their favorite brunch house in another episode of Sex and the City. They’ll catch up on their relationships, take a Pop Quiz as they recollect their past adventures, and decide on their new careers. Plus, Traci Reardon stops by to offer sex life advice in another edition of “Help Me, Rhonda.”

This episode is brought to you by ModCloth (www.modcloth.com code: LAPKUS).

Stephanie Butnick (Unorthodox) and Azhar Usman (Ultra American) join Negin to discuss the collapse of the latest G.O.P health care bill, the upcoming tax reform battle, and how the right spins the Trump-Russia scandal. Plus, America’s infrastructure is in a state of crisis. How did we get in this mess and what can we do about it? The panel weighs the pros and cons of private financing for public works.

This episode is brought to you by Kiva (www.kiva.org/FAKE) and Talkspace (www.talkspace.com/ftn).

Casey and Danielle are home from their whirlwind world tour (of 4 cities on the east coast) and joined by one of their closest, funniest friends Andrea Savage (I’m Sorry, Hotwives of Orlando) to discuss Luann’s drunken fall…and follow-up drunker fall. They discuss the toilet in the middle of Shannon’s marriage and and new cast member Peggy and her house full of cars and Bump-it’s. This episode is more on fire than Ramona’s burnt face!

This episode is brought to you by Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/HOUSEWIVES).

This episode is sponsored by Kiva (www.kiva.org/REACTIVE), Boll & Branch (www.bollandbranch.com code: PR) and ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/REACTIVE).

In the early 1980s, Steven Spielberg embarked on a mission to tell the story of his parents’ divorce through the lens of a wrinkly alien puppet with skeletal crab fingers and the voice of an old lady dying of emphysema. After being rejected by one studio for being “too Disney” (the early 80s were a time when Hollywood would give a hard pass to the words “Spielberg” and “Disney”), Spielberg finally got to bring his vision to life in 1982 with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The story of a young boy befriended a stranded alien sack of drooping flesh went on to become the number one movie of all time (a record that was not broken until Jurassic Park hit theaters eleven years later), and E.T. became one of the most beloved children’s characters despite the fact that E.T. scares the absolute shit out of most children.

In this week’s episode, Abe and Tom are joined by Cracked stand-up and podcasting guru Alex Schmidt as they discuss all the whimsy, technical know-how, and armless children that went into making E.T. an instant classic. Along the way, they discuss how E.T. almost ate fistfuls of M&Ms, how Elliott was nearly scolded at school by Principal Indiana Jones, and how E.T. is apparently a plant. Like, a house plant. From outer space.

Comedic actress and writer Annabell Gurwitch (Wherever You Go, There They Are) joins Sarah and Susan to talk about Dear Evan Hansen, Moonlight, Now and Later candy, thinking about the writer David Rakoff, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Third Love (www.thirdlove.com/CRYBABIES) and Care/of (www.takecareof.com code: CRYBABIES).