Alphabetizing with Jamie Kaler.

This episode is sponsored by Casper Mattresses, Harry’s, and Indochino.

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

Comedian, TV host of Scream: After Dark and author of the novel Drag Teen, Jeffery Self joins Sarah and Susan to talk about homeschooling himself growing up, The First Wives Club, Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me,” Rosie O’Donnell winning a Daytime Emmy in 1997, and Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow.”

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Glossier and Third Love.

This week, Kevin and Kamau pay it back to their listeners by dialing up diehard Denzelegates on the show. They ask their fans questions about how they found the podcast, the moment they became Denzel converts, and what the listeners think are the best 5 Denzel films of all time.

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron and Harry’s.

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim podcast hosts Taz Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh join Andrew from The Comedy Comedy Festival to talk about current topics including the France burkini ban, a Trump loving Indian teenager getting kicked out of a rally, and the NRA being silent after the shooting of a reportedly legal gun owner. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

GO TO THE HOWL.FM WEBSITE AND USE PROMO CODE SUPEREGO AT CHECK OUT TO GET 1-MONTH OF HOWL FOR FREE! 

COMMENTARY BY: Director Ridley Scott, Actor John Hurt, (Kane) and Designer H.R. Giger.

WITH: Dr. Mark McConville, Dr. Paul F. Tompkins, and Dr. Matt Gourley.

NOTE: This commentary was done with the original version of the theatrical release of Alien but can still play along nicely with the other special editions and various abominations.

What’s the greatest factor that lead to Donald Trump securing the Republican presidential nomination? If you’re Stephen Dubner, you’ll say that electoral politics is a form of entertainment and Donald Trump has put in lots of deliberate practice as an entertainer, while ‘traditional’ politicians only appear in the spotlight every two-to-six years. However, will Trump’s entertaining expertise and the billions of dollars of free airtime he’s receiving be enough to secure the White House?

This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront Veritone.

Rick Overton walked into his audition for Beverly Hills Cop and director Martin Brest asked him about a prophylactic. Why? He’s still not sure. Rick joins Matt to talk about doing martial arts with Eddie Murphy on set, preparing for his role of Bonded Warehouse Night Manager with mirror douche work, and getting to improvise in the film. Then, we hear of Rick’s experience playing Franjean, a brownie who serves as comic relief in Willow’s journey, why Million Dollar Mystery fell apart, and getting squibbed in Blind Fury.

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

Molly Hawkey takes on Angela ‘Swaggy Trim’ Trimbur in the final round of the Pistol Shrimps Radio: Summer Masters Mini-Golf Tournament.

The Shrimps on Twitter: @pistolshrimpsbb

The Shrimps on Instagram: @thepistolshrimps

Pistol Shrimps Radio on Twitter: @ShrimpsRadio

Matt Gourley on Twitter and IG: @MattGourley

Mark McConville on Twitter and IG: @MarkMcConville

Roger Ailes (John Gemberling), former Fox News head and Mark’s personal hero, comes on Hard Nation to ask what consent really means, explain his “orchestra pit” theory, and handle Mark’s unsubtle advances.

Actor and veteran chartmeister Steve Agee joins Howard, Kulap, and Stard to celebrate Who Charted’s 300th episode! We hear Howie’s Top 5 Songs of Summah while they explain how to sell merch the right way, and Kulap is presented with some very special gifts. Then, during the Movie Chart, Howard recounts his childhood experience with Sweeney Todd and Stard shares what he learned of his Neanderthal roots. Finally, the gang pays a visit to Hermes the Chart Goose after a long estrangement.

Make sure to buy Howard’s new album, Oculus Summah, at howardkremer.bandcamp.com/.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace.

LA Kawaii pop artist Truck Torrence (100% Soft) joins Jensen and Matty to talk about art, working with Beck at 15, The Veils’ “Total Depravity,” Tobacco’s “Sweatbox Dynasty” the documentary about the making of De La Soul’s new album “and the Anonymous Nobody…”, how we were late on You’re the Worst, foam rollers, and many more things you should know about.

This episode is sponsored by Draftkings.

You have to get uptown to your office for a meeting. You can hail an Uber and be there in 8 minutes, or you can walk and arrive in 24 minutes. Which option is the “lazy” one? This disagreement is the crux of today’s conversation about what constitutes laziness and to what degree it is actually a productive creative trait. Would you pay to sit in the car and arrive quickly, or do the exercise but arrive later than the person you’re meeting?

This episode is sponsored by Magoosh.

Join Kevin as he sits down with Shiri Appleby (UnREAL, Roswell) to chat about her super-Jewish upbringing, calling a 10-27 on set, and Roswell being a crash-course in show business.

This episode is sponsored by Fracture.

Singer-songwriter Cristina Lizzul joins Deanna and Emily all the way from Italy to sing for us acapella, tell us about PBR&B, and give us the low down on Ty Dolla $ign & PartyNextDoor. Plus, she tests her pop-culture knowledge in a game of OMFG! Who Said That?

Download Cristina’s album “Percipience” on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/percipience-ep/id1131958818

Poo-tiful stories flow freely from this anonymous caller. And Geth steps in it.

This episode is sponsored by Magoosh, DKMS, Talkspace, and Blue Apron.

The boys are back with a guestless episode where they play a game of “Stank or Dank”, followed by a round of a special board game.

Our old friend Ming joins Scott as the co-host of this week’s Comedy Bang! Bang! Scott and Ming catch up as they chat about Ming’s background, the history of the amber alert, and some jokes Ming has thought of in his spare time. Then, a new guest by the name of Neptuna arrives all the way from the lost city of Atlantis with a dire warning for humanity. Later, Dalton Wilcox, the self-proclaimed “Poet Laureate of the West” returns with a new poem for listeners to add to his book You Must Buy Your Wife at Least as Much Jewelry as You Buy Your Horse and Other Poems and Observations, Humorous and Otherwise, from a Life on the Range.

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Seeso, Draftkings, and Leesa.com.

Are you ever so overwhelmed by the thought of going out to socialize that you just stay home instead? And then once you stay home, you’re bummed out at yourself for not leaving the house in the first place? Is your typical party maneuver to hang out in the corner pretending to text someone? Is the slow march of time a crippling experience that can only be made bearable by drinking alcohol and seeking out progressively more dangerous experiences?

Oh. Whew. Us too!

Seems that anxiety and depression are taking a bigger stranglehold of our culture and there are actually some statistics to back that up. Suicides are at a 30 year high, drinking is at a 25 year high, rates of depression are up 800 percent over 70 years and prescriptions for antidepressants were up 400 percent between 1988 and 2011. That’s some grim shit. But we have a theory as to why this may be happening.

Around some 200,000ish years ago, the human brain stopped evolving, but our culture hasn’t. Rigorous jobs, ever-expanding social networks, complex societal problems have all made our lives more convoluted, but our brains were only designed to handle things like, “where’s the fire?” and, “hey, there are some deer over there.” Evolution has left us hanging and we don’t know how to cope. 

For a multi-tiered deep-dive into this subject, Jack O’Brien is first joined by Cracked executive editor Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) to discuss the increasing role of anxiety in our population. Later, Jono Zalay, the world’s foremost comedian with a PhD in neuroscience, joins the conversation to talk about the role of drugs in this equation and some of the scientific reasons for why our brain needs anxiety.

Also, make sure to come to our next live podcast taping on Saturday, September 10th at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles, where Jack and the Cracked staff will flip-off movies like ‘Sully’ and ‘Deepwater Horizon’ and pitch some insane true stories that should be made into big Hollywood movies instead. Tickets are only $5 and are available here: https://goo.gl/VP9riY

Footnotes:

Cracked: Why Anxiety is the Plague of the Modern World: http://goo.gl/BOfQgE

Cracked: 5 Brain Disorders That Started As Evolutionary Advantages: http://goo.gl/US9TKb

Cracked: 5 Ways Your Brain Is Tricking You Into Being Miserable: http://goo.gl/6bivn

Cracked: 6 Logical Fallacies That Cost You Money Every Day: http://goo.gl/K7PI8

Cracked: 6 Human Character Flaws (That Saved The Species): http://goo.gl/ObLk

Cracked: 5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think: http://goo.gl/XtQGF

Slate: Why Do American Schizophrenics Hear Threatening Voices?: http://goo.gl/oi4PVh

Quartz: Giving Up Alcohol Opened My Eyes to the Infuriating Truth About Why Women Drink: http://goo.gl/qnJPSh

‘Rat Park’ Comic by Stuart McMillen: http://goo.gl/0yst1z

Jono Zalay: http://goo.gl/mx203E

Jono’s Podcast ‘Universe City’: https://goo.gl/ocbDyh

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Magoosh, Yoga Hosers, and Loot Crate.

This week I’m excited to meet Foon’s first Unicorn dentist.

Credits

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp

Chunt: Adal Rifai

Usidore: Matt Young

Baron Ragoon: Chris Rathjen

Squibbert: Sarah Shockey

Tricia: Kate James

Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen

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 Assistant: Garrett Schultz

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Cards Against Humanity, Mack Weldon, Dungeons and Dragons, and Drunks & Dragons.

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes you and to ever should be listening alongside of you to this week’s episode of Spontaneanation! This week, Paul’s special guests are Sean Clements and Hayes Davenport, hosts of Earwolf’s own Hollywood Handbook! They chat about the first thing they can remember breaking, a child’s misguided plan to save trees from being cut down, and how Sean & Hayes first met. Paul, Sean, and Hayes then improvise a story set in an Aquarium. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano! 

Spontaneanation Live returns to Largo this Saturday, September 3rd! Featuring improvisors Jordan Black, Annie Savage & Jean Villepique, and interview guest Kumai Nanjiani! Go to paulftompkins.com and claim your seats!

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Seeso, Blue Apron, and Leesa.com.

Without historian Ron Chernow, Hamilton the musical probably wouldn’t exist.  It was Chernow’s critically-acclaimed biography of Alexander Hamilton that first inspired Lin-Manual Miranda to put Hamilton’s story to music. These days Chernow is still pinching himself that his long book triggered off such a creative explosion. He tells us about researching Hamilton, seeing this work adapted for the stage, and even sings along to his favorite Hamilton song, “Satisfied.”

This episode is sponsored by Pacific Shaving Company and Fracture.

Devin and Amy tackle the 1986 cult hit “Labyrinth” on this week’s episode of The Canon. They discuss how the film speaks to a specific generation of women before getting into a debate on whether or not David Bowie’s costume included a codpiece. Then they talk young Jennifer Connelly’s mysterious brand of acting, what “Labyrinth” has to say about letting go of childhood, and why the movie drew negative responses from so many viewers. Think “Labyrinth” should be inducted into in the Canon? Head to the Earwolf forums to cast your vote!

Come see us at the Now Hear This podcast festival: nowhearthisfest.com

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron.

Join Casey and Danielle for their second live show at Largo where Whispering Alene’s came out in full force. The theme of the night was simply: PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE ABOUT TOM. But sadly, it was allllll about Tom. Adam Pally and Morgan Walsh guest and lend their talents to an iconic scene. 

This episode is sponsored by Texture, Adam and Eve, and Conscious Period.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom joins Ronna & Beverly to chat about some of her favorite musicals she did in high school, falling in love with sketch comedy writing in college, recently getting coffee with a childhood bully, and working on the second season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Plus, Ronna and Beverly weigh in on French police making a woman remove clothing on a beach following a burkini ban.

This episode is sponsored by Third Love and Smile Direct Club.

Justin Krebs (Blue in a Red State, Moveon.org) and stand-up comedian Jim David chat with Negin about Trump’s possible shift on immigration and whether or not the Clinton Foundation is evil. They also dig into one of America’s favorite pastimes: segregation. And remember, the first-ever FTN live show is coming up on September 16th. See Negin live at The Greene Space in New York City with special guests including Aasif Mandvi. Tickets are on sale now: http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2016/sep/16/fake-nation-live/

Guy Raz has covered conflicts all over the world for NPR, but now he hosts a show called The TED Radio Hour, which is about big ideas. In this episode, he and David talk about how these big ideas fit into their lives.

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses.

Children’s authors Nance Timberline (Cissy Fenwick) and Phillip Lancelot (Anthony Gioe) bring you Reading Is Living. It’s the essential podcast dedicated to children’s books recorded live from the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. This week they are excited to be joined by one of the greatest children’s book authors Charlize Steinbeck. They’ll discuss her family tree, her romantic involvement with objects, and some of her popular potty based books. Plus, Traci Reardon stops by the library to offer her Twitter followers advice on acceptable children’s book topics and more in another edition of “Help Me, Rhonda.”

This episode is sponsored by Bench Made Modern, Mack Weldon, Blue Apron, Eloquii, Magoosh, and the Now Hear This Podcast Festival.

The dogs have turned on us! This week Erin is nursing a dog bite and all Bryan has is a joke to comfort her…friendship. Also the media coverage of the Rio Olympics has been a colossal disaster for the LGBTQ community and women. They’re implying that gay men only watch the Olympics for the hot bods, and relentlessly remind us that women are vaginas first and athletes second. Plus comedian and TSPOD’s new BFF Michelle Collins is here to talk about the trials and tribulations of shopping for shoes, Bachelor in Paradise and her favorite restaurant chains.