This week’s episode is a mind-bending journey through the deepest, darkest caverns of the human psyche. Actor and comedian John Reynolds joins the show to help Chris and Gary navigate palaces of pink Play-Doh, interpret messages from beyond the grave, and squeeze every ounce of meaning from the vilest of nightmares.

Go to www.casper.com/dreams and use the offer code “DREAMS” for $50 off your next mattress purchase.

50 years ago, ABC’s “Batman” series debuted, launching “Batmania” and introducing the world to a 21-year-old actor named Burt Ward. Burt joins Gilbert and Frank for a look back at one of the most popular and enduring shows in TV history, sharing his memories of co-star/mentor Adam West, Frank Gorshin, Vincent Price and yes, Cesar Romero. Also, Burt spars with Bruce Lee, Adam makes like Moses, Shelley Winters works her charms and Ol’ Blue Eyes lobbies for the role of The Joker. PLUS: Lesley Gore! Lorenzo Semple Jr! “Legends of the Superheroes”! Batman meets “The Ghost of Frankenstein”! And Burt and Adam go to a nudist colony!

It’s not just us right? There are too many damn movies and TV shows to keep up with. When we’re not in the middle of a season of Game of Thrones, Westworld, Silicon Valley, Stranger Things, or House of Cards, there are always 40 other shows just waiting to get started. If only you were ready to make the commitment. Your girlfriend wants you to propose but you can’t even commit to Six Feet Under, let alone the next 60 years of your life.

This glut of TV shows we’re experiencing completely fails to lack the steady stream of quality movies coming out not only in the US but all around the world. And the surplus of movies doesn’t even address how behind you are on music. Open up Spotify or look at the next festival lineup and you can barely recognize a third of the bands there. And we’re not being old fogies complaining about music these days– most of these bands are good– we just can’t keep up with them. 21 Pilots, 21 Savage, 21 Scarecrows. Only one of those band names is completely made up.

So to give a little order to this exponentially insane world, Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked editors Soren Bowie and Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) to talk about some of their favorite they discovered in 2016. They commiserate about the superabundance of content and Soren gives some completely unsolicited home improvement advice.

Our next live podcast is on Saturday, January 14th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark from ‘My Favorite Murder’ are back for another hour of creepy unsolved murders and even creepier solved ones. Tickets are $5 and on sale soon at sunset.ucbtheatre.com (https://goo.gl/UNy5YF)

Footnotes:

Website: Pandora — Search Standup: https://goo.gl/tXZB

Video: Youtube FanFest: https://goo.gl/RhW2jK

Netflix: John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid: https://goo.gl/EPZMWF

HBO: Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds: https://goo.gl/zIxXV4

Album: Kyle Kinane: Loose in Chicago: https://goo.gl/UYTPsS

Netflix: Michael Che Matters: https://goo.gl/TiM4Jm

Video: Dave Chappele SNL Monologue: https://goo.gl/5D6dB0

Website: Nextdoor: https://goo.gl/R1XSI

Video: Red Letter Media: Wheel of the Worst #11: https://goo.gl/zYUXeo

YouTube: Jim Sterling: https://goo.gl/r4SguC

Wikipedia: Square Screws: https://goo.gl/uGtgQY

Amazon: Wet Vacuums: https://goo.gl/auLfij

The Elf on the Shelf: https://goo.gl/I9CJ0P

Screenplay: Monsters, Inc: https://goo.gl/71xVcx

Video: Train to Busan (Trailer): https://goo.gl/4Zbxfo

Video: I Saw The Devil (Trailer): https://goo.gl/6ojCqo

Netflix: Amanda Knox: https://goo.gl/y4LTOa

Netflix: David Blaine: Real or Magic?: https://goo.gl/olbb48

Netflix: Planet Earth: https://goo.gl/vrZwiE

Video: Bill Burr Makes a Pie Crust: https://goo.gl/rJ5CV8

Netflix: F is for Family: https://goo.gl/Cnokr6

Website: Stitcher: https://goo.gl/R5h4rX

Podcast: Science Vs: https://goo.gl/Fa4g7D

Podcast: Doughboys: https://goo.gl/idq8zm

Podcast: The Bill Simmons Podcast with Andy Cohen: https://goo.gl/ok3LTs

Video Game: The Last Guardian: https://goo.gl/PTRsMj

Video: Robyn “Call Your Girlfriend” on SNL: https://goo.gl/CC2ozz

Video: Chance the Rapper “Same Drugs” on SNL: https://goo.gl/1TOJ3R

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: CRACKED) and I.T. is Greater Than Sci-Fi podcast (www.vmware.com/radius/scifi)

A new song and a big announcement you’re going to want to hear. The regular show will be back next week.

Credits
Arnie: Arnie Niekamp
Chunt: Adal Rifai
Usidore: Matt Young
Spants: Meridith Stepien
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

“Solstice Cheer” written and performed by Meridith Stepien

Travon and Mike head to Chicago to interview Ari Afsar, who plays Eliza in the Chicago production of Hamilton. She opens up about being an American Idol alumna, what Hamilton songs are most cathartic to perform, and why she’s definitely a Hamilton, not a Burr. She even lays down the beat from “Take a Break.” Plus, a bonus segment featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda and some very dedicated New York City Hamilheads.

This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/first)

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes the Anaheim audience to Spontaneanation, recorded in front of a LIVE audience at The Now Hear This Festival! This week, Paul’s special guests are Kulap Vilaysack and Howard Kremer of Who Charted! They chat about the first joke they laughed at, Howard trying to write a Polish joke when he started doing stand-up because he thought his dad would like it, and Kulap reading the Encyclopedia as a child for fun. Paul is then joined by his Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ co-stars Dan Ahdoot, Tawny Newsome, and Drew Tarver to improvise a story set in Boise, Idaho. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano!

LOS ANGELES! Spontaneanation records its 100th episode LIVE at Largo on Saturday, January 7th! Be there for boring your future grandchildren purposes! Tickets: bit.ly/SPONT100

This episode is brought to you by Smartypants Vitamins (www.smartypantsvitamins.com/PFT)

Scott and Paul F. Tompkins continue counting down The Best of Comedy Bang! Bang! 2016 episodes as they go through numbers seven through four on the count down as well as number two on the Best CBB Live episode of 2016 as voted by YOU. You’re welcome!

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: BANGBANG), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/CBB), and Leesa.com (www.leesa.com/BANGBANG).

Former NBC CEO Bob Wright lost his wife, Suzanne, to pancreatic cancer earlier this year, and on this episode, he wants to know why so little progress has been made in the last 50 years against a disease with such a high mortality rate.

The 2nd ANNUAL HOWDIES with Paul, June, and Jason continue with awards given to Best Guest One Liner, Best Explanation Hope, Best 2nd Opinion, and much more. Tune in to find who will take home the gold!

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: BONKERS), Quiznos (download app Toasty Points and use code: BONKERS), Sonos, and Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/how).

If variety is the spice of life, today’s Christmas grab bag episode is zesty af. Negin shares a newsy dispatch from under parents’ roof in Palm Springs before talking with Seema Iyer (The Bollywood Lawyer) and Charlie Pickering (The Weekly) about why really obnoxious people sometimes become super successful. Next up: comedian Becky Donohue explains her love of all things delivery. Finally, Sarah Pappalardo (Reductress) and Frank Conniff (Mystery Science Theater 3000) ponder the value of not being in the moment.

This week, Randy and Jason welcome “Supernatural” guests Rob Benedict and Richard Speight Jr. out to the rollicking Country hills. They chat about everything from the perks of commercial work to Rob and Richard’s mini-series “Kings of Con,” and the boys swap stories of following the convention circuits. During Quick Hits, we hear about Hulk Hogan’s porch pirates and the controversy embroiling the World Pole Dancing Championships, and finally, the Sklars welcome Ozzie Guillen on to share some of his Christmas memories.

A special episode of the Handsome Rambler. Hannibal and Tony Trimm talk with Chance the Rapper just a couple hours before he releases “Merry Christmas Lil Mama”

This week Bryan recalls being the team whistler for the Harlem Globetrotters while Erin shares her recent attempt at a hike up Runyon with Oliver. Also One Million Moms is at it again and they are pissed about Highlights Magazine featuring same sex families, and male dominated Christmas movies have been prominent for way longer than necessary but with the Bechdel test you can find something less male-centric this holiday season! Happy Holidays HoneyBunz!

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their admiration for lesser-known films, underappreciated TV shows and criminally underrated performers — discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures.

This week: Boris Karloff’s ‘busy season’! In praise of Chuck Jones! Gilbert takes over the Tiki Room! And the astonishing talents of Thurl Ravenscroft!

Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner (Hungry Heart, The Littlest Bigfoot) joins Sarah and Susan to talk about  Spock’s death in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, the funeral scene from “A Prayer for Owen Meany”, and “I Go Back to May 1937” by Sharon Olds.

This episode is brought to you by Third Love (www.thirdlove.com/babies).

On this episode of Handsome Rambler me and Al Jackson talk with comedy legend Franklin Ajaye about a mystical time called the 1970s. He tells us a couple Richard Pryor stories. He also explains why he moved to Australia from America years ago. We didn’t ask him how many bags he checked during the move. That’s a huge regret of mine. He’s a single man in his 60s and we try to get him to use Tinder and he doesn’t want to do it. He’s great at talking so we let him do most of it. Enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by Lyft (promo code: HANDSOMERAMBLER), Seeso (www.seeso.com code: RAMBLER), and Naturebox (www.naturebox.com/RAMBLER).

Go inside one of the most talked-about new entrants in podcasting with Hernan Lopez, a cable television veteran who founded Wondery at the start of the year. He joins the Wolf Den to discuss that transition from video to audio with hosts Chris Bannon and Lex Friedman. In fact, Hernan draws parallels between the early days of cable and podcasting, especially with regard to educating ad buyers. He explains why he started Wondery as a full-service network, and why they focused on fiction shows–including one musical–for their first full productions, reflecting on what TV’s transition to character-driven serials means for podcasting. Hernan also shares keen advice for podcasters while assessing the landscape for independent producers in 2017.

Listen to “The Gift of Listening” here: Smarturl.it/giftoflistening

This episode is brought to you by Podcast Movement (www.podcastmovement.com code: WOLF)

Bonus Holiday Potpourri Episode! The ladies do a Holiday wine tasting so you don’t show up to parties empty handed or with Whispering Angel! Casey provides musings on Mariah’s World, The Ladies of London and the return of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Danielle drops a professionally mastered and remixed version of the soon to be holiday classic “Christmas in the Berkshires: I Made it Nice.” Happy Holidays! See you January 4th! Thanks to all our fans for a great year! To 2017!

This episode is brought to you by Kopari (www.koparibeauty.com/housewives), Box of Style (www.zoereport.com/bitchsesh code: BITCHSESH), Lyft (www.lyft.com/housewives), Mack Weldon (www.mackweldon.com code: HOUSEWIVES).

Merry Christmas from The Black List Table Reads with Franklin Leonard! Please enjoy an interview with screenwriter Eric Heisserer known for Arrival, one of the best films of 2016.

The Best of Comedy Bang! Bang! 2016 count down continues as Scott and Paul F. Tompkins go through numbers eleven through eight on the count down as well as number three on the Best CBB Live episodes of 2016 as voted by YOU. Plus, a special Christmas surprise for all you precious listeners!

This episode is brought to you by HUAWEI (www.huawei.fit/comedybangbang) and Leesa.com (www.leesa.com/BANGBANG).

Moving in with Lauren Ash.

Ian Roberts, John Gemberling, and Gil Ozeri join Matt Besser live at UCB Sunset for this week’s improv4humans. Audience questions inspire scenes about fine bathroom art, a greeting card writers’ room, and the world’s leading sexual engineer. Later, they open the very first private McDonalds, and a feudal lord roleplays as one of his filthy peasants.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com/improv).

Film critic Amy Nicholson joins Kevin this week to discuss the 2012 film “Flight.” Amy and Kevin recount their very first meeting and analyze Denzel’s movie star status before Amy gives a pre-review of “Fences.” During their conversation on “Flight,” they touch on Denzel’s chemistry with Don Cheadle and share favorite scenes before giving it an official Denzel rating.

This episode is brought to you by Sock Club (www.sockclub.com code: DENZEL).

To listen to the entire premium series go to Howl.fm and use promo code REACH at check out. THE OUTER REACH: Stories from Beyond, is an anthology series inspired by pulp science fiction of the mid-century. In this distant future, space travel is common and colonies span hundreds of different planets – but humans still struggle with the small stuff: love, jealousy, ambition, failure and what it all means. In episode 1, Near the edge of the galaxy  on a tiny tourist planet, lush with exotic plant life two caretakers prepare to meet their final visitor.

Celebrate the true holiday of the season, The Wookiee Life Day with Matt and special guest and professional camera man Larry Heider who has worked on countless TV projects including the infamous and wonderful Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978. Join them as they discuss how this special came to be including what Larry observed behind the scenes and all the great photos he took along the way. Plus, one more special visit from Starship 1, the mysterious real person that did audition for Star Wars: Episode 8.

All photos are property of Larry Heider and may not be used without written consent. All rights reserved

In 1963 and 1964, several more Strangler murders drive the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts to take extraordinary measures. Attorney General Edward Brooke creates a special task force to coordinate police work across the state, but the killer continues to elude his pursuers. Desperate, the police even fly in a psychic. One dogged investigator, detective Phil DiNatale, finds a clue that he believes will lead him to the Strangler. His lead: the mysterious “measuring man,” who approaches women at home and attempts to convince them they have a future in modeling. Host Portland Helmich meets Carole, who reveals the chilling details of her encounters with the “measuring man.” Detective DiNatale, sensing he might have found the killer, gets down to the hard work of gumshoe policing in order to prove his case.

This episode is brought to you by Talkspace (www.talkspace.com/stranglers), Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: STRANGLERS), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/STRANGLERS), Audible (www.audible.com/stranglers), and A Crime to Remember.

Hilarious stand-up comedian Ahmed Bharoocha joins Andrew to talk about Kanye West and Donald Trump meeting, over PCing, using the term “brown people,” and much more. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

This week on a special holiday edition of HARD NATION, the one and only Santa Claus (Allan McLeod) stops by the studio to disclose the mysteries of elf diapers, share the process behind the naughty or nice list, and reveal his affair with Melania Trump. Plus: Mark & Pete get punched in the face (a lot).

Actor/comedian Johnny Pemberton arrives this week to help out Howard and Kulap with their fashion choices! They count down Stereogum’s Top 5 Songs of the Week while Johnny explains why he’s never recognized for “Son of Zorn” and why Kanye would benefit from his friendship. Then, during the Video Game Chart, the gang assesses what it takes to be a nerd these days, and finally, Howard plays Show and Teller before holiday gifts are opened on Two Charted.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com/charted).

Actress and comedian Madeleine Byrne joins Deanna and Emily to talk about how lip liner changed her life, how she grew her online presence through collaboration, and what you can do to find out what your Uber rating is.