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.

It’s that time of year once again where Jensen & Matty countdown their top 10 Get Up On picks of 2016, throw in one Get Up OFF, and then call each other out for what they think was each other’s WORST pick of the year. Enjoy and thanks for listening Bunheads!

Growing up as a black woman in rural Appalachia wasn’t easy. She was different, and she was bullied. But punk rock saved her, and helped her form her own identity. Chris interrupts her Snapchatting at the start of the call, which leads to a discussion about their experiences with social media around the election.

This episode is brought to you by Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com), Mack Weldon (www.mackweldon.com code: BEAUTIFUL), Adam and Eve (www.adamandeve.com code: STORIES), and Texture.

Join guest host Samm Levine as he sits down with actor Kevin Rahm (Mad Men, Lethal Weapon). Kevin chats about how choosing drama as an extracurricular activity may have lead to his career… but in the end it all comes back to cheerleading camp.

Comedian David Huntsberger co-hosts this week with Randy and Jason to welcome long-time showfriend Beth Hoyt back to the County. They discuss the benefits of a one-way Mars trip before getting into Stories. David brings tales of a long-distance sandwich seeker and a drug smuggling cop, and finally, the Sklars listen to an ethereal voice message from Tilda Swinton.

This episode is sponsored by Texture (www.texture.com/sklar).

Comedian Jo Firestone joins Chris and Gary for this week’s dream analysis, tackling mysterious coded messages, robots who love flowers, and shark eyes! But tensions run high as details of Gary’s “training” begin to come out.

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

Photo by Eric Michael Pearson.

2016 is almost over. Yes the endless, rotten sh*t hurricane of a year that took away

Bowie, Prince and Florence Henderson and gave us Trump, Harambe and the Zika virus is finally drawing to a close. 

So, to give this b*tch a proper viking funeral, Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked’s Cody Johnston, Daniel O’Brien and Alex Schmidt and comedian Caitlin Gill to review our culture’s year-in-review process. 

They’ll also shine a much needed light on some of the more overlooked stories from the year. For example, two-headed sharks keep appearing in our oceans and no one knows why. Even all the world’s Bond villains are like, “don’t look at us, we thought that was you.” And Kim Kardashian! It feels like she’s been on every magazine cover for the last 35 years and this year she got kidnapped at gunpoint and it barely raised an eyebrow. What is going on!?

To wrap up the conversation, Jack and company share some of their favorite cultural things from the year and report from the future with a preview of our 2017 year in review.

Footnotes:

Article: Yahoo’s Top Search Terms in 2016: https://goo.gl/iD9lvm

Video: Kanye Cancels Show And Slowly Floats Away: https://goo.gl/P0rOQq

Article: The Guardian: Google, Democracy and the Truth About Internet Search: https://goo.gl/GtOx4J

Video: Senator James Inhofe Brings a Snowball to Senate: https://goo.gl/f3gSeP

Article: The Telegraph: Russian Scientists Besieged By Pack of Polar Bears: https://goo.gl/SWGXaY

Article: National Geographic: Two-Headed Sharks Keep Popping Up and No One Knows Why: https://goo.gl/DF725J

Article: Slate: Texas GOP Rep Louie Gohmert Will Save Us From Gay Space Colonies: https://goo.gl/vax51L

Instagram: @major_hoolihan: https://goo.gl/OMdJQh

Video: Samantha Bee: Eddie Eagle: https://goo.gl/LfLgtI

Video: Samantha Bee: Trump Can’t Read: https://goo.gl/pl1Hi9

This episode is brought to you by LifeAfter podcast, Harry’s (www.harrys.com code: CRACKED), I.T. is Greater Than Sci-Fi podcast, and Loot Crate (www.lootcrate.com code: GIFTING15).

Comedian Jo Firestone joins Chris and Gary for this week’s dream analysis, tackling mysterious coded messages, robots who love flowers, and shark eyes! But tensions run high as details of Gary’s “training” begin to come out.

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

Photo by Eric Michael Pearson.

Franklin Leonard (The Black List) is no stranger to great stories. He founded The Black List, which has helped hundreds of Hollywood’s most popular unproduced screenplays get made into films. Franklin joins Travon to talk about becoming obsessed with the Hamilton cast album, feeling gobsmacked by the show’s ambition, and why he wants Michelle Obama to run for president. Plus, he and Travon tackle “Right Hand Man.” 

This episode is brought to you by Sock Club (www.sockclub.com code: hamilton) and ZipRecruiter (www.ziprecruiter.com/first).

You know, it’s been a long time since checked in with Otok, Flower and Krom. How is their quest going?

Credits
Arnie: Arnie Niekamp
Chunt: Adal Rifai
Usidore: Matt Young
Otok Barleyfoot: Nick Baer
Krom the Fingarian: Mark Logsdon
Flower: Brooke Breit
Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen
Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

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

This episode is brought to you by Cards Against Humanity and Loot Crate (www.lootcrate.com code: GIFTING15).

Another year, another special Comedy Bang! Bang! Best of Countdown with Scott and Paul F. Tompkins. Scott and PFT countdown numbers fifteen through twelve of the Best CBB episodes of 2016 and number four of the Best CBB Live episodes of 2016 as voted by YOU listeners. Stay tuned for Pt. 2!

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

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes grownups (children get out of here!) to this week’s episode of Spontaneanation! This week, Paul’s special return guest is actress Maria Thayer of truTV’s Those Who Can’t! They chat about the time Maria’s primary caregivers let her down, the two different Berenstain Bears/Berenstein Bears universes, and the Lowly Worm. Paul is then joined by Stephanie Courtney, Colleen Smith, and Chris Tallman, to improvise a story set in A Fast Food Restaurant Kitchen In An Alternate Universe. 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) and Mack Weldon (www.mackweldon.com code: PFT).

Writer/director/actor Charles Rogers joins Ronna & Beverly to chat about the ins and outs of his show Search Party on TBS, having hippie parents, his first movie Fort Tilden, and much more. Happy Holidays!

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

Comedians Kaitlin Fontana and Jim David join Negin to talk about Russian hacking, Rex Tillerson and their Christmas traditions. They also revisit a mortifying and newly ironic debate moment from Rick Perry. Plus, should Democrats ditch identity politics?

Walk the red carpet along with Paul, June, and Jason for the 2nd ANNUAL HOWDIES!!! They’ll be giving recognition for Best Paul Intro Line to Best June Theory and everything in between from Gooby to The Boy Next Door. Tune in to find out who will win and stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com promo code: BONKERS).

Bishop Michael Curry is the leader of the Episcopalian church, and as we head into the new year, he’s here to tell us how the teachings of Jesus just might help create change.

This episode is brought to you by Children International (www.children.org/give).

Actress Mandell Maughan joins the Sklars on this week’s Sklarbro Country. Randy and Jason discuss Raiders punter Marquette King’s celebrating penalties and a white power pistachio girl during Takes, and Mandell talks about getting cast in Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ and the story of her first audition. Quick Hits brings a soccer fan with a meat flinging problem and a forgetful boxer, and Kris Kristofferson calls in to share his Himalayan holiday plans with the Sklars.

This week Bryan discusses parenting Sherman, while Erin shares her nightmare visit to a craft fair. Also, Sofía Vergara is knee deep in a custody battle with her ex over frozen embryos and Susan Olsen, of Brady Bunch fame, was fired from her radio show after tongue-lashing her most recent guest with homophobic slurs. What would Carol Brady think? Plus guest David Mills is here to discuss punctuation, post-Brexit London, and his time working on “Florence Foster Jenkins”. Follow David on Twitter @davidmillsdept

The boys talk with Nai Palm, the lead vocalist of Hiatus Kaiyote. They make really smooth music. This is Hannibal writing in the 3rd person. I don’t want to do it any more. We had a good time talking about music and people and life and juice. Check out Hiatus Kaiyote. Their last album is great to cuddle to. I’m not an excellent interviewer. Tony is very excited during this one and it shows. Thank you to our sponsors for tolerating the nonsense.  

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep (www.helixsleep.com/RAMBLER), Seeso (www.seeso.com promo code: RAMBLER), and SeatGeek (promo code: RAMBLER).

Tasting Chicago with Joe Mantegna.

This episode is brought to you by Harry’s (www.harrys.com code: PARDO), Mott & Bow (www.mottandbow.com code: PARDO) , and Soothe (www.soothe.com code: NEVER).