Hilarious stand-up comedian Vladimir Caamano joins Randy and Jason for this week’s Sklarbro Country. They talk about Ryan Lochte’s alleged robbery and pitch ideas on how to fix the Detroit Lions before hearing from Vlad about growing up in an immigrant family in New York in the 80s and why there aren’t any father figures in basketball anymore. Then, during Quick Hits, they discuss why Weird Al would make the best Super Bowl Halftime act and the ongoing rookie hazing in the NFL. Finally, ex-girlfriend of Steven Avery Jodi Stachowski pops by to shed some light on her current love life.

New York Magazine advice columnist for Ask Polly and author of How to Be A Person in the World, Heather Havrilesky joins Sarah and Susan to talk about Trent Harmon singing Sia’s “Chandelier” on American Idol, one of her responses in her advice column that deals with obsession, the Dothraki douche-bro barbecue from HBO’s Game of Thrones, and an excerpt from Wallace Stegner’s novel Angle of Repose.

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron and Third Love.

What are the biggest challenges facing public radio, and how does podcasting fit into the equation? Those are just a couple of the big questions that guest Adam Ragusea tackles in this spirited discussion with hosts Chris Bannon and Lex Friedman. Adam is the host and producer of The Pub podcast from Current, the industry publication for public media, and he’s Journalist in Residence and Visiting Assistant Professor at Mercer University. He’s known for staking out strong–sometimes controversial–positions on issues like native advertising, objectivity and journalistic ethics, which he shares on this episode. Adam also explains why he thinks the big northeastern cities shouldn’t dominate podcasting, and gives some advice for young people who want to create great audio.

Danielle is out of the nook this week w/ fan fave Matt McConkey serving as her co-pilot through some treacherous OC and NYC waters and with them is special guest Jarett Weiselman (Buzzfeed). They sail to a dirty sandbar, find out about Kyle’s low ceilings and talk about that NUTROCIOUS night in orange county.

Casey chimes in from afar with some “boots on the ground” stories involving Andy Warhol and Jesse Spano and Jessica Chaffin gives us some important insight on Jersey and cured meat filled fridges.

This episode is sponsored by Conscious Period, PaintNite.com, Club W, and StaBody.

This week Erin talks the cursed movie Skidoo that mysteriously disappeared from her home and Bryan makes an appointment with a pet communicator (not psychic) to find out if Sherman really loves him. Also Miss Teen USA tries to make the competition less awful but fails horribly when crowning winner and “former” racist Karlie Hay. Plus the least progressive person wearing big hats is back! Pope Francis believes children’s textbooks are teaching them that gender is a choice. Show us the receipts Pope!

How do you when your podcast co-host sponsors the same English soccer team as you? What about when your comedian friend gets her own TV show and major movie deals? The intersection of competition and cooperation are just the beginning of today’s engaging conversation between our hosts and guest Marina Franklin.

Choosing your boots with Laurie Kilmartin.

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon, Mott & Bow, and Naturebox.

This week, Kevin is joined by two of the hosts of the podcast Black Men Can’t Jump, Jonathan Braylock and Jerah Milligan. They discuss making early connections at the Upright Citizens Brigade, the mission statement of their podcast, and why you should never trust a happy Denzel. Then they pick apart the 1996 romantic comedy “The Preacher’s Wife,” evaluating the place of religion in the film and praising Denzel’s angelic performance. Lastly, Jonathan and Jerah count down their Top 5 Denzel Movies before explaining why Denzel is one of the few black actors to get the “swirls.”

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron.

Danielle Schneider, Don Fanelli, and Dannah Phirman join Matt Besser on this week’s improv4humans! They improvise scenes about the best reason to get the redshirt on a football team, wealthy homeowners engaged in serene shakedowns, and a hands-on approach to finding out where you shouldn’t be. A street interview leads to the exploration of speed drama, tech problems are dealt with through rap, and finally, Matt teaches a radical new method of improvisational training.

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron.

Jesse Thomas takes on Angela ’Swaggy Trim’ Trimbur in Round 4 of Pistol Shrimps Radio: Summer Masters Mini-Golf Tournament. Coach Vanger, Coach Biz, and Caddy Jerry tag along.

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

Writer, comedian, and podcaster Travon Free, co-host of the new Earwolf podcast “The Room Where It’s Happening: A Hamilton Fan Podcast” joins Andrew to talk about current trends including an Italian gymnast joking that she “should paint her skin black to win,” a newspaper reducing Simone Manuel to ‘African American’ who shared historic night with Michael Phelps, “Black Olives Matter” t-shirts, and much more. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

This episode is sponsored by Harry’s and DKMS.

How many selfies do you take with your friends before settling on one that’s “social media worthy”? Our guest co-host Marina Franklin thinks whatever the number is, it’s a lot higher than what it used to be, and it’s because our global level of self-consciousness is rising rapidly. Listen on as Marina, James, and Stephen discuss the difference in perception between looking in a mirror and at your smartphone screen, and why Stephen’s happy to have the “Freakonomics apple” as his online avatar.

This episode is sponsored by Mott & Bow.

Vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence and his wife Karen (Kenny Stevenson and Julie Brister) turn the Hard Nation studios into a traditional Christian home, while Pete struggles with vertigo and Mark debuts a controversial new character. Plus: Dwayne Johnson (Craig Rowin) finally takes initiative.

Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale on her parents, her baby, a trampoline, and potato chips. To join the conversation, go to www.longestshortesttime.com!

This episode is sponsored by Havenly, Hooked on Phonics, The Great Courses Plus, Thirdlove and Horizon Organics!

Accomplished actor Clancy Brown joins Matt to talk about his role as the tough as nails prison guard Captain Hadley in the 1994 Frank Darabont film The Shawshank Redemption. They chat about how Clancy’s difficulty saying some of his character’s colorful dialogue in the audition eventually got him the gig, why he turned down offers to work with correctional officers to help him with his role, and really hanging Tim Robbins over the ledge of a rooftop. Plus, we’ll hear stories from the set of LOST, Sean Connery offering Clancy wisdom while filming Highlander, and Shakespeare being quoted on the set of Dukes of Hazzard.

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon and Adam and Eve.

This week, comedian and author Sara Benincasa joins Howard and Kulap to navigate a course through chart-infested waters! Sara tells all about her new book while they count down Spin.com’s Top 5 Songs of the Year (So Far) before explaining the great lie of New York. Then we hear about Kulap’s stepmother fantasy and the power of self-help entrepeneurship during the Movie Chart, and Engineer Cody gets some felt-related advice while the gang listens to Kevin’s Top Picks on Two Charted.

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

Join guest host Samm Levine as he sits down with third-generation actor Jason Ritter (Another Period, Parenthood). Jason chats about being the independent film darling of the early 2000s, the relief of conquering fears, and avoiding The Noid.

This episode is sponsored by Casper Mattresses.

You’re in the middle of a stand-up comedy set – maybe your second or third that night – when your act is suddenly derailed by an audience member who is completely uninterested in the performance. That’s what happened to our guest co-host of the next four episodes, Marina Franklin, before she came in to record with James and Stephen. Today we discuss why one person’s negative opinion can dwell in the mind of a performer, even when they’re vastly outnumbered by the opposite opinion.

This episode is sponsored by The Tim Ferriss Show.

Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games joins Jensen and Matty (fresh off of Gen Con) to talk about the success of his board game Scythe, rapper/producer Russ, Captain Sonar, Joshy, the Sleep Talk Recorder app, how we were late on the Charlie Chaplin film Limelight, and many more other things you should know about.

This episode is sponsored by Lyft.

“You’re about to hear me have more fun than I’ve ever had in the history of Beautiful/Anonymous.” So sayeth Chris Gethard about this call, which moves from over emotional long distance running, to emo & screamo music, to a jaw dropping medical emergency. Chris is having so much fun that he invites a couple of the caller’s friends to join the party.

This episode is sponsored by Magoosh, DKMS, Talkspace, and Casper Mattresses.

Professional dancer Jason Santana brings some New York swag, flavor, and slang to this week’s OMFG! He tells Deanna & Emily about his monthly “Leave Your Cool” dance parties, what he has learned about work ethic while performing alongside the likes of Beyonce, and the impact that music has on the dance floor. Plus, Jason shares some flavorful slang from NY such as “quiet.”

Julie Klausner joins the boys again to reminisce on her past episodes and get a little political. Then, Sean does some of his classic impressions and the gang picks their Mt. Crushmore.

Toronto-based comedian Dave Merheje makes landfall this week in Sklarbro County! We’ll hear about how he reacted to getting held up at gunpoint, why his father faked a heart attack when he was a kid, and his experience with the good cop/bad cop routine. Later, Daniel Van Kirk shares stories about a semi-nude man bursting into a courtroom with a quip, a bank robbery gone awry, and an insurance agent who got ding-dong-ditched one too many times. Finally, prosecutor Ken Kratz drops by to offer his legal services to anyone who needs them.

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon and Blue Apron.

Adam Savage (Mythbusters) has listened to the Hamilton soundtrack hundreds of times, and still finds things new things to learn and love. He also busts some myths about the musical’s stage design. His favorite song (and he’s ready to sing it) is Hurricane. What’s yours? Call us up and tell us: 937-9MYSHOT.

This episode is sponsored by SeatGeek and Fracture.

Will Smith famously turned down the role of Neo in ‘The Matrix’, a decision that created the current timeline in which we live, where Obama is President, Prince is dead and Keanu Reeves is making awesome John Wick movies. Meanwhile Smith is playing second fiddle in poorly – reviewed DC expanded universe movies and is probably questioning  when it all went wrong. 

The chronicle of filmmaking is peppered with anecdotes like these; crazy what-ifs that had they gone the other way, maybe history wouldn’t be totally different ,  but the movies we love would. 

On this week’s podcast, Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked columnists David Christopher Bell and Josh Sargent to talk about  some of these movie what-ifs and then take it one step further: think of some  disappointing movies  from the last few years that would be fixed with one simple change.

Footnotes:

Cracked: 6 Reasons ‘Jurassic World’ Killed Its Biggest Hero: http://goo.gl/Kk4a7R

Cracked: 4 Surprisingly Simple Fixes for Famously Bad Movies: http://goo.gl/lVNbpG

Cracked: 5 Famously Terrible Movies That Were Almost Great: http://goo.gl/ZQAEFB 

Cracked: 6 Famously Terrible Movies That Were Almost Awesome: http://goo.gl/qYUf2

Cracked: 35 Last-Second Casting Changes That Altered Movie History: http://goo.gl/RUak4z

Cracked: 5 Movies That Were One Flaw Away From Being Classics: http://goo.gl/PeHrn

Bruce Willis’ Crazy ‘Red 2’ Interview: https://goo.gl/Kc5rxj

Film School Rejects: The 8 Worst Parts of Prometheus Made Sense in the Original Script: https://goo.gl/7T8MU6

This episode is sponsored by Magoosh, Spotify, Loot Crate, and the Now Hear This Podcast Festival.

The average of a phantom, the origin of “bobo,” and Gerard Butler in Egypt are all covered in today’s minisode. We also hear about behind the scenes deets from Blake Harris’ interview with The Phantom director Simon Wincer. Plus, Corrections and Omissions for The Phantom! Send your own voicemail explanation hopes for Paul to answer by calling 619-PAUL ASK. If you want to check out the full Blake Harris’ interview with director Simon Wincer go over to www.slashfilm.com.

Come see How Did This Get Made LIVE in Anaheim as part of the Now Hear This Podcast Festival. Get tickets here: http://nowhearthisfest.com/

Get yourself a BB-8 “What Is Its Mission?” T-shirt or Tote Bag over at http://howdidthisgetmade.bigcartel.com

Where to Find Jason, June & Paul: 

Paul, Jason and June appear in a new animated pilot BAD GUYS on Adult Swim watch and vote here http://adultswim.com/misc/pilots/

Paul’s new comedy Filthy Preppy Teen$ is now avail on the FullScreen and you can see June and Paul in their old show NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU. Paul also appears on Fresh off the Boat on ABC. 

June stars in Grace and Frankie on Netflix, as well as Lady Dynamite alongside with Jason. 

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

One of our favorite guests, Todd Glass of The Todd Glass Show is back to join Scott and intern Gino Lambardo on today’s Comedy Bang! Bang! They’ll chat about party rules, the perfect ice-cream/Pop-Tart snack, and why drummers make everything better. Later, the guys get political as they talk to an undecided voter by the name of LaMary. Who will they vote for in the upcoming election? Tune in to find out!

This episode is sponsored by Spotify, Leesa.com, and Legal Zoom.

An ambitious young make-up artist from the Unmarked Territories is ready to join Usidore’s quest.

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp

Chunt: Adal Rifai

Usidore: Matt Young

Germ Crust: Mary Tilden

Tricia: Kate James

Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen

Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi

Editor: Garrett Schultz

Theme Music: Andy Poland

Magic Tavern Logo: Allard Laban

Audio Assistance: Jason Knox

Production Assistance: Garrett Schultz

This episode is sponsored by Cards Against Humanity, Mighty Games Group, and the Now Hear This Podcast Festival.

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes all who who hear his disembodied voice to this week’s episode of Spontaneanation! This week, Paul’s special guest is Kristian Bruun of Orphan Black! They chat about whose hair he’d like to find in his soup, his childhood crush on a Jurassic Park star, and sneakily smoking “darts” during his military school days. Paul is then joined by Carla Cackowski, Gary Anthony Williams, and Jean Villepique to improvise a story set in The King of Prussia Mall, The Biggest Mall in America on Opening Weekend. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano! 

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon, Leesa.com, Seeso, and the Now Hear This Podcast Festival.

This week, Devin and Amy discuss Mel Brooks’ timeless Western satire, “Blazing Saddles.” They examine the brilliance of old farting cowboys, why this movie couldn’t be made today, and Mel Brooks’ response to the censorship he faced in production. Later, they get into the specific performances of the film, praising Cleavon Little’s dignity and grace, the incredible energy of Madeline Kahn, and the sadness that permeats Gene Wilder’s characters. Head to the Earwolf forums to cast your vote on whether “Blazing Saddles” should be considered Canon-worthy!

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