Does New York City’s standing as the cultural epicenter of America stem from how much it embodies the American Dream, or from how starkly different it is from the rest of the country? Our hosts, and long-time New Yorkers, discuss the evolution of NYC since the Dinkins administration in the late 1980’s began the city’s transformation from “no-go” zone to the number one tourist destination in the country.

Comedy all-star Greg Proops joins Kamau and Kevin to discuss “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.” Greg counts down his top 5 Denzel movies, and they describe the little Denzelishness seen in “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.” Later, they talk about the film’s pacing, excessive car chases and Denzel’s grounded performance.

Enjoy volume 2 of improv4humans with Matt Besser’s best of music scenes, which were voted on by the fans. This episode features music from Ryan Bingham, Allison Weiss, Murder by Death, Waxahatchee, The White Buffalo, The Milk Carton Kids, Dawes, Robbie Fulks, Frank Turner, Dave Hause and Dan Deacon. Their music inspires scenes about regional girlfriends, bottomless bathtubs, a traveling jug band and much more. Be a good humon, and support these musicians by purchasing music off their websites.

The Shrimps take on the The Ba Dunka Dunks at Pan Pacific Park. Matt Gourley and Mark McConville call the action, Steve Agee balls the fraction.

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

Runaway Brains, a new Howl original comedy mini-series about man, machine, and everything in between. “Weird Al” Yankovic plays Watson, the “Jeopardy”- winning supercomputer who just wants to make new friends and find the answer to the clue “What is Love?” Watson must go on the lam with his old “Jeopardy” rival Ken Jennings searching for a clue to what else do I do with my life but answer trivia questions fast? In Episode 2, Ken and Watson seek help from the slightly-less-evil geniuses at a TED conference, only to see it get busted for “Know-it-All Fraud.” To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BRAINS at Howl.fm, and get your first month free. Guest starring: Lauren Lapkus and Joshua Malina. To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BRAINS at Howl.fm, and get your first month free.

Runaway Brains, a new Howl original comedy mini-series about man, machine, and everything in between. “Weird Al” Yankovic plays Watson, the “Jeopardy”- winning supercomputer who just wants to make new friends and find the answer to the clue “What is Love?” Watson must go on the lam with his old “Jeopardy” rival Ken Jennings searching for a clue to what else do I do with my life but answer trivia questions fast? In Episode 2, Ken and Watson go to hackers to get help extricating Watson’s secret… but instead get framed by an Evil Genius. Guest starring: Lauren Lapkus and Mayim Bialik. To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BRAINS at Howl.fm, and get your first month free.

Runaway Brains, a new Howl original comedy mini-series about man, machine, and everything in between. “Weird Al” Yankovic plays Watson, the “Jeopardy”- winning supercomputer who just wants to make new friends and find the answer to the clue “What is Love?” Watson must go on the lam with his old “Jeopardy” rival Ken Jennings searching for a clue to what else do I do with my life but answer trivia questions fast? In Episode 1, Ken Jennings & Watson are forced to flee the set of “Jeopardy” and go on the lam when military goon Corporal Jervis Jarvis and femme fatale Lady Saxpot both try to get their hands on a secret Watson contains. To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BRAINS at Howl.fm, and get your first month free.

Damien Lemon joins Andrew to talk about the festival of colours. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

Presented by the Alamo Drafthouse and recorded live from The Ace Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, Matt hosts a special Alien Day Q&A with Aliens stars Ricco Ross (Private Frost), Jenette Goldstein (Private Vasquez), and Carrie Henn (Newt). Plus, in honor of the great H.R. Giger, Matt shares a sketch from Superego where H.R. Giger takes his very suburban family through a fast food establishment drive-thru.

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon, Squarespace, and Harold Ramis Film School.

Susan Sarandon has been entertaining us onscreen for a long time and continues to do so. She joins Leonard to talk about her latest film The Meddler, how she fell into acting, and her illustrious career, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to some recent sleepers that are well worth seeing.

In this April 1945 selection from the Hard Nation archives, Mark and Pete interview President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Eugene Cordero) about ending WWII and desegregating boxing. Plus: Pete might be a Communist.

In this update, Wicked makeup artist Christina Tracey talks about settling down after two decades on the road. Plus her recent relapses. To join the conversation about this episode, go to longestshortesttime.com!

How do Stephen and James always come up with ‘one-liners’ of guidance to fit every situation? Simply put, they have stockpiled a lifetime of the good ones. Today, our hosts discuss a few gems of wisdom they’ve received in the past which have made a difference in how they interpret things in life. Then we find out if they actually followed the advice. (Hint: Not always.)

Producer/podcaster/Renaissance man Jensen Karp joins Kulap and Stard on this week’s Who Charted. They discuss Jensen’s upcoming memoir, “Kanye West Owes me $300,” during Stereogum’s 5 Best Songs of the Week chart. They create a Hunger Games tournament for the excessive amount of TV shows during iTunes Top 5 TV Show Episodes chart. In Two Charted, Kulap and Stard share a love for comic books and dislike of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Join guest host Samm Levine as he sits down with his fellow “geek,” John Francis Daley (Bones, Freaks and Geeks). John chats about his multifaceted entertainment career beginning as a child actor, shifting to screen writer, and now feature film director.

Damien Lemon (Comedy Knockout) joins Andrew to talk about a caller’s question about having to remind people that they are not white but just light skinned. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

After 8 years and 4 kids he is more in love with her than ever. But she may not be in love with him. This is the first time he’s talking to anyone about it.

This episode is sponsored by Mack Weldon, Squarespace, and Framebridge.

Plus: Come see a live taping of Beautiful Anonymous in New York City on May 21st at 1:30pm at the Vulture Festival! http://vulturefestival.com/event-page/beautiful-anonymous-podcast/

Writer and performer Gil Ozeri joins Jensen and Matty to talk about Happy Endings, marathon watching (Two and a half Days of Two and a half Men, Entourage-A-Thon), hurting himself on Snapchat (GilOzeriSnap), Geotheory, Ed Gonzalez’s Top Ten Film Lists, Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story, Joan Cornellà, Overwatch, how we’re late on James Blake, and many more things you should know about.

Would the United States function better if states were combined into cultural regions? James believes that New England or heavily-Latino populated South Florida could create more economically sound trade deals and legislation if new boundaries were established. On the other hand, Stephen thinks this sounds a bit too much like secession. Whose argument will prevail on today’s Question of the Day?

Actor David Bloom (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp) is a swell shock of curls. David joins Deanna and Emily to talk about working alongside Malcolm-Jamal Warner in the short film Wannabe, having his first kiss be on set, and the TV timeline of interracial couples. Plus, David opens up about how he handled being cyberbullied.

Sean and Hayes give each other their annual physical exam. Then ALISON RICH comes in to explain Party Over Here and discuss favorite influences and some interesting science and history.

Comedian Gar Ryness, aka Batting Stance Guy, joins the Sklars to discuss baseball and new trends of MLB players’ batting stances. Daniel Van Kirk brings County Stories of a pizza-made pizza box and a man who was angry after being asked not to have sex in the community pool. Later, Steven Seagal leaves a voicemail for the Sklars asking for a job referral at Disneyland.

Caitriona Balfe, the lovely and talented star of Outlander on Starz joins Josh this week to talk about playing Claire Beauchamp in Outlander, Money Monster, and much more.

Oakland’s own indie rock band Rogue Wave and professional actor Haley Joel Osment join the 1st timers club on this week’s Comedy Bang! Bang! We’ll hear about Haley’s acting journey as well as live songs by Rogue Wave off of their new album “Delusions of Grand Fur.” (which is confirmed to be a play on the phrase “delusions of grandeur.”) Plus, Scott’s nephew Todd stops by having smoked a little too much of the reefer in celebration for the 420 episode and announces that he wants to become an actor.

Why do we think Ned Flanders is so lame? He’s outgoing and nice, is always happy to lend out his lawn equipment and looks amazing in ski-wear. 

Let’s first start off by saying, no, the theme behind this episode is not why left-handed people are lame, but we are talking about giving hugs and high fives, staying away from cigarettes and alcohol, loving thy neighbor and all of the attributes we normally credit to boring people. Unfortunately for many of our dear readers and listeners, it’s actually scientifically proven that working hard and having less fun leads to a longer, healthier life. 

On this week’s episode, Jack O’Brien, Josh Sargent and Alex Schmidt discuss the ways that uncool behavior is actually beneficial to both the individual and society overall. They try to figure out why, despite all this, our culture still loves the bad boy and thinks nice guys finish last.

Footnotes: 

Allure of the Antihero: http://goo.gl/tNJz7M

Do High Fives Help NBA Players?: https://goo.gl/7OJlY9

LA Times: Why Loma Linda Residents Live Longer: http://goo.gl/S9s5Jk

Wired: Why Some Animals Are Becoming Nicer: http://goo.gl/Lbh3nP

Terror Management Theory: https://goo.gl/2KEAcy

Gizmodo: Why Do People Take Selfies in Emergencies?: http://goo.gl/nUJzBG

Cracked: 5 Sucker Behaviors That Secretly Give You an Advantage: http://goo.gl/40LAcN

Stand-up comedian Damien Lemon joins Andrew all this week to answer some racism questions. Today they discuss white girl twerk teams. Be sure to call us at (323) 389-RACE to ask if anything is racist.

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes you all, whether puny, shy or high, to a LIVE episode of Spontaneanation, recorded at the world-famous Largo at The Coronet! This week, Paul’s special guest is comedian Ron Funches of Undateable Live on NBC! They chat about whether it’s possible to fix a bad kisser, the wet dog look, and Ron’s son being a dog racist. Paul is then joined by Hal Lublin, Annie Savage, and Little Janet Varney to improvise a story set at a Call Center Christmas Party. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano! SPONTANEANATION LIVE returns to Largo on Saturday, June 4th, with improvisors Nyima Funk, Colleen Smith and Chris Tallman, with special interview guest Robyn Hitchcock! Tickets are available now: bit.ly/SPONT616

Is there a new sheriff in town? No, she’s had this job for a while. But she’s new to me: this week I talk to Gianessa Relkorus, the first female Sheriff of Hogsface.

Credits

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp

Chunt: Adal Rifai

Usidore: Matt Young

Gianessa Relkorus, Sherriff of Hogsface: Dana Quercioli

Jimminent Turlybirther, the Confidential Courier: Tim Baltz

Krom the Fingerian: Mark Logsdon.

Otok: Nick Baer

Flower: Brooke Briet

Bungaree Chubbins: Tom Gottleib.

Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi

Editor: Chris Rathjen

Theme Music: Andy Poland

Magic Tavern Logo: Allard Laban

For episode 76, Devin and Amy discuss the 1976 film “Marathon Man.” They debate Dustin Hoffman’s performance and break down the memorable teeth torture scene. Is it safe for “Marathon Man” to enter The Canon? Cast your vote in the Earwolf forums now. Get a head start on next week’s movie, “Se7en.”

Could saying curse words around your family members be a good thing? Your grandmother would probably dismiss that question outright, but the rules may have changed over the last few generations. Even the seminal etiquette book series started by writer Emily Post doesn’t ban its use completely. Today, we’ll hear what Stephen and James have to say on the topic, and get a glimpse into how their own families speak to one another.