Paul F. Tompkins presents the first episode of Jemaine Clement’s Howl original series The Mysterious Secrets Of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium. The Mysterious Secrets Of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium is an epic, richly sound-designed comedy adventure, created by a truly unique trio of writer/director Duncan Sarkies, musician Lawrence Arabia, and artist Stephen Templer. This Howl Original 12-part mini-series stars Jemaine Clement (Flight Of The Conchords) and an ensemble of creative friends from Wellington, New Zealand. Travel back to 1768, when the Fortitude sailed from the famous port of Damprot, the Jewel of the Gravy Isles. The ship, commandeered by Lord Joseph Banks–nephew of the infamous botanist Bertie Banks–was on a mission to find a plant known to be the very source of pleasure in the world: Heaven’s Clover. This is the tale of that fateful journey. To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BERTIE at Howl.fm, and get your first month free.

Military veteran and writer talks about his WWII super-spy grandmother, a more recent sad and startling ouija board prediction, and how his life has changed since he left the service.

The Real TS Madison is a massive Vine star and avid businesswoman. She joins Deanna & Emily to take some calls, take us through her journey of discovering Vine, share some blowjob tips, and teaches us what it means to be a Good Judy.

Screenwriter Blaise Hemingway joins Jensen and Matty to talk about getting really close to playing Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, getting up OFF taking photographs, mourning celebrities like they are a beloved family member, the Everything Wrong With Blank Movie in 10 Minutes YouTube videos, elitist coffees, done giving praise in one season, and how we were dead wrong about competition, Snapchat, and Justin Bieber’s “Purpose”.

Will the podcasting bubble continue to inflate as it has over the past decade, or will it eventually pop and go the way of the hoop-and-stick? Stephen feels that the virtually-free distribution model for podcasts makes them the ‘perfect drug’ for modern multitasking Americans, but will an increasingly flooded marketplace eventually bring their value to zero?

Sean and Hayes take a Twitter request to discuss the teaser for Hardcore Henry and arrive at some big questions. Then they invite Earwolf/Midroll CEO ADAM SACHS to join them just to hang out as friends and not because they’re worried about being cancelled.

Comedian, director and writer Michael Showalter talks to the Sklars about making his new movie “Hello, My Name is Doris.” Daniel Van Kirk’s County Stories include a clown who was arrested for smoking meth at a waffle house and a woman who insists on keeping her motorcycle-riding pet alligator. Later, a stoned Dick Vitale leaves a voicemail next to a KFC dumpster assuming the NCAA Tournament hasn’t started.

Dan Ahdoot of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ joins Andrew to talk about whether it is racist if you call Ted Cruz white. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

Cameron Esposito of Put Your Hands Together is back along with her new dad and vigilante J.W. Stillwater! We’ll hear about Cameron shooting her new Seeso stand-up special on the day before her wedding and what it’s been like now that Stillwater has been living in Los Angeles with Cameron. Later, everyone performs a seance in order to communicate with J.W.’s deceased father. Will they be able to reach him on the other side? Tune in to find out!

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes all the people he likes to SPONTANEANATION! This week, Paul’s special guest is fantastic stand-up comedian Beth Stelling! They chat about what law Beth routinely beaks, Beth getting in trouble with her mother growing up, and the little ceremony Beth would have in the event a pet would die. Paul is then joined by Sarah Burns, Stephanie Courtney, and Colleen Smith to improvise a story set Inside That Salvador Dali Painting with The Melting Clocks. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano! SPONTANEANATION LIVE returns to Largo on Saturday, June 4th, with special guest Robyn Hitchcock! Tickets are available now: bit.ly/SPONT616

The amazingly talented Don Cheadle of Hotel Rwanda, the Oscar winning Crash, and War Machine in the Marvel films joins Josh this week to talk about directing his first feature film, Miles Ahead. It’s a real labor of love for Don as he goes into all the steps it took to get the film about the legendary Miles Davis ultimately made. Plus, Don shares a revealing fact about his House of Lies co-star Ben Schwartz.

This week I meet a dungeon guard named Chad. Seems nice!

Credits

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp

Chunt: Adal Rifai

Usidore: Matt Young

Chad: David Pasquesi

Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen

Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

Tricia: Kate James

Kern: Spencer Ham

Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi

Editor: Chris Rathjen

Theme Music: Andy Poland

In the grand scheme of human history, awareness of mental health issues is a relatively recent development. It wasn’t even until the 60s and 70s that therapy, medication and other modern treatments became mainstream. Before that we would just throw people in the looney bin, give them electro-shock therapy or pull out all their teeth if they were schizophrenic or suffering from depression. So it goes without saying that there were multitudes of people throughout history who were suffering from autism, addiction, bipolar disorder, ADHD and so on who were never treated. Many of these people went on to do great things– sometimes because of and sometimes in spite of their mental conditions. They were our Beethovens, our Lincolns, our Jeffersons and our Einsteins. This week we’re taking a look into the past and shining a light on the famous historical figures you may not know were suffering from major mental illnesses. Cracked editor-in-chief Jack O’Brien first speaks with Claudia Kalb, a medical and science journalist who literally wrote the book on the subject, about Abraham Lincoln, Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe and whether modern treatments are medicating away the next generation of greats like these. Jack then speaks with Cracked editor Robert Evans about how many of these diseases may have evolved and benefitted prehistoric society, and the surprising way Syphilis ties into all of this.

Footnotes:

Claudia Kalb’s ‘Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder’: http://goo.gl/ROcX2E

5 Insane Celebrity Conspiracies That Make Sense (#3 Thomas Jefferson Had Asperger’s):  http://goo.gl/u2BwC

Michel Foucault’s ‘Madness and Civilization’: https://goo.gl/AqBts4

Robert Sapolsky’s Lecture on OCD and Religion: https://goo.gl/UJl7So

‘Eating Christmas in the Kalihari’: http://goo.gl/ZZAW5R

Buy tickets to our next live episode taping on April 9th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles: https://goo.gl/VeEDmF

Dan Ahdoot of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ joins Andrew all this week to answer some racism questions. Today they discuss choosing a karaoke song with racial slurs. Be sure to call us at (323) 389-RACE to ask if anything is racist.

With the recent release of Richard Linklater’s film “Everybody Wants Some!!,” Devin and Amy discuss his 1991 independent comedy-drama “Slacker.” They debate Linklater’s progression as a director, break down the unique structure of “Slacker” and examine the film’s specific depiction of Austin. Cast your vote in the Earwolf forums if the film should be in The Canon.

Actor and Nate’s dear friend Noah Bean joins him this week to chat about performing in plays together, getting married, and to read “A Matter of Life and Death” by Timothy Aubry. Then, Nate reads us the most famous poem about baseball in the history of the world, Ernest Thayer’s “Casey at the Bat.” Make sure to get a head start for the next book club by grabbing yourself Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and send in your thoughts on the book at readingaloudpodcast@gmail.com. Go to http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/ for more info on the LIVE Reading Aloud show at The Festival of Books on Saturday, April 9th!

The Mysterious Secrets Of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium is an epic, richly sound-designed comedy adventure, created by a truly unique trio of writer/director Duncan Sarkies, musician Lawrence Arabia, and artist Stephen Templer. This Howl Original 12-part mini-series stars Jemaine Clement (Flight Of The Conchords) and an ensemble of creative friends from Wellington, New Zealand. In episode 3, an ominous warbler brings news that the dreaded Anderlugians seek a rendezvous, but Lord Joseph Banks faces a greater enemy within his own ranks. This will be the last episode of The Mysterious Secrets Of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium in Earwolf Presents. To hear the rest of the story, told week-by-week, sign up for Howl Premium today. Use the promo code BERTIE at Howl.fm, and get your first month free.

Imagine Bloodsport but a much watered down version that takes place in the past and is not that good. High and Mighty podcast host and JCVD aficionado Jon Gabrus joins Paul, June, and Jason in studio to discuss Jean Claude Van Damme’s directorial debut The Quest. They’ll cover everything including Old Man Van Damme, French clown Van Damme, the blimp, and the children street gang. Don’t forget to check out Blake Harris’ Oral History of The Quest over at www.slashfilm.com! Get yourself a BB-8 “What Is Its Mission?” T-shirt or Tote Bag over at http://howdidthisgetmade.bigcartel.com/ Set your DVRs for Party Over Here, a new FOX sketch comedy show from The Lonely Island and Paul starring Nicole Byer, Jessica McKenna, and Alison Rich. It airs Saturdays at 11 pm. People of the internet: Watch Paul in Fresh off the Boat on ABC. Awhile ago, Paul and Rob Huebel did a comedy special on a 60 foot glass bus that traveled around LA. Now you’ll be able to see it. Go to https://itun.es/us/3M4J9 now to buy it! You can also see Jason in Transparent on Amazon! Also, check out June in Grace and Frankie available on Netflix, and in all the episodes of NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU for free, and Jason in The Dictator (he’s still in it!).

Welcome to the very first and possibly only episode of I’m Sorry I’ve Been Catfishing You with your host Kim Plenge (Claudia O’Doherty). In this very special episode, Kim welcomes Susie Wainwright, a baker from Santa Barbara who she had been catfishing ever since they met on a cheese forum on the internet. Later, Traci Reardon stops by to help ease the Susie’s pain and offer her Twitter followers advice on all their catfishing questions during “Help Me, Rhonda.”

Andrew Ti and special guest comedian Quincy Jones finish the week off by discussing listening to 90s Hip-Hop while playing basketball. As always, leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

There’s been another win for bigotry in North Carolina AND in Indiana, two states that I guess we need to start paying attention to now. Also the brains behind the amazing company Conscious Period are here and they are flowing with tampon puns!

The wonderful Portland band The Thermals make their Comedy Bang! Bang! debut! They join Scott and John Lennon to talk about meeting for the first time at a Grateful Dead show, what happened with John not appearing at the Super Bowl, and the meaning behind their new album “We Disappear.” Later, Tony B., a representative of the Italian American Anti-Defamation League stops by to share a list of grievances against the Italian American community. Plus, The Thermals perform a couple of their songs live in the studio!

Sarah and Susan welcome their close friend and novelist Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (The Nest) to talk about being a private cryer, Love Actually, 20 Feet From Stardom, To Kill a Mockingbird, and David Rakoff’s last appearance on This American Life.

As a widely respected journalist, best-selling author and creator/host of one of the most popular podcasts—Freakonomics Radio–Stephen Dubner is in a unique position to analyze the state of podcasting. He joins Adam to tackle this and other meaty topics like journalistic standards, the ethics of hosts doing their own ad reads, and why the medium has exploded in popularity. Learn how Freakonomics Radio was actually a kind of failure, compared to Stephen’s original plan. He also tells the origin story for his Earwolf show Question of the Day, and explains why he enjoys working on two very different kinds of podcasts. Finally, Stephen shares his metric for determine if he should continue doing a project.

Pressing the flesh with Adam Ray.

Neil Casey, Pam Murphy and Matt Besser explore the police investigation of Jack and the Beanstalk. An ocean thermometer barker tries to move up in the world and a grandpa tells incredibly long jokes to an impatient teenager. On a trip abroad, a couple argues with the hotel concierge about flushing their toilet paper. Sign up for Seeso.com to watch Besser’s stand-up special “Besser Breaks the Record” and “The UCB Show,” which were filmed live in UCBLA.

Are all altruistic gestures actually brought about by selfish means, even if only subconsciously? Today, Tim Ferriss, James, and Stephen look to not only answer that question, but also try to decipher if the resultant answer really matters. Also, James poses a FAQ to the group from his weekly Twitter Q & A sessions about whether nice guys truly finish last in business.

Actor and activist Jesse Williams explains his meaningful conversation with Denzel on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. He also tells Kamau and Kevin about his passion for social justice and why he created the Ebroji GIF app. Later, Jesse counts down the top 5 Denzel movies that impacted his life, which are unlike any other guests’ list.

Stand-up comedian Quincy Jones and Andrew to talk about fetishizing races while dating. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

A sneak peek at Earwolf’s new political comedy “Hard Nation” with Mike Still and Paul Welsh. Subscribe now; Hard Nation premieres April 6th!