It’s a Christmas miracle! LIVE from the Marina Del Ray Public High School Library is a Holiday Womptacular with Marissa Wompler, Miss Listler, Marissa’s step dad Dr. Seth Wompler,  Eric “Gutterballs” Gutterman, and many more surprise guests. How has Marissa held up after her recent breakup? Will she finally meet her dad? (Probably not.) WOMP UP the Yuletide JAMZ!

Getting the knack with Jake Fogelnest.

Taylor Goldsmith, Griffin Goldsmith, and Wylie Gelber are together known as American folk-rock band Dawes and this week they join Danielle Schneider, Mike Mitchell, Mike Hanford, and Joe Wengert for a very special musical edition of improv4humans with Matt Besser! Dawes performs songs live in-studio that will inspire scenes about living in  a Mountain Town, Kanye West becoming close friends with a wedding invitation planner, and someone who fetishizes the name “Lily.” Make sure to get the Upright Citizens Brigade television show season 3 now available on DVD, the UCB Comedy Improv Manual, and pick up Dawes’ music at www.dawestheband.com!

Stephen may pretend not to be a manager, but he certainly has a lot to say about it. Today’s discussion ranges from incentive-based school teachers to union-based public radio, and what exactly ultracrepidarianism means.

Best friends and roommates, comedian Ariana Lenarsky and Academic Outreach Counselor Aileen Parungao join Andrew to talk about people propitiating the cholo stereotype. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

There’s a chill in the air and in Foon that could mean literally anything. But this time it means Winter Solstice! Glenn Miller and Spants join us for gift giving and traditional Solstice carols.

Credits

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp
Chunt: Adal Rifai
Usidore: Matt Young
Spants: Meridith Stepien
Glenn Miller: Nick Gage
Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen
Craig: Ryan DiGiorgi

Producers: Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi
Editor: Ryan DiGiorgi
Theme Music: Andy PolandMagic Tavern Logo: Allard Laban

Sponsors
Emporium Arcade Bar via The Chicago Podcast Cooperative

Join Casey, Danielle and Vicky Gunvalson super fan June Diane Raphael as they discuss tiny disabled horses, Erica Jane, Heather and Terry’s bounty hunter, cat fishing and The culmination of Ken’s 70th birthday in which he is bound off a Baja Shelf. June treats us to a poignant staged reading of a deep cut testimonial from The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Vicky Gunvalson. They also answer listener questions! And as always, Casey and Danielle try to get to the bottom of the mystery that is “Kyle by Alene Too.”

Join Casey, Danielle and Vicky Gunvalson super fan June Diane Raphael as they discuss tiny disabled horses, Erica Jane, Heather and Terry’s bounty hunter, cat fishing and The culmination of Ken’s 70th birthday in which he is bound off a Baja Shelf. June treats us to a poignant staged reading of a deep cut testimonial from The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Vicky Gunvalson. They also answer listener questions! And as always, Casey and Danielle try to get to the bottom of the mystery that is “Kyle by Alene Too.”

This week Leonard and Baron discuss three movies based on True-Life Stories: the 2013 drama Tracks starring Mia Wasikowska (an adaptation of Robyn Davidson’s memoir of the same name), a musical biopic told in an unconventional way, and Bobcat Goldthwait’s documentary Call Me Lucky which chronicles the life and work of comedian/activist Barry Crimmins which you should definitely seek out.

It’s the 5 Year Anniversary of WHO CHARTED!!! Howard and Kulap share their early Whooch memories and talk about Howard’s guest role on Kulap’s show Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ as they countdown the Top 5 iTunes Rap Songs Music Chart. Then, Howard speaks on his recent clench busting adventures and Kulap tells us about her upcoming NY trip during YouTube’s Most Popular Video Games for 2015 Chart. Later, we hear some special Dragon Boy Suede news as Kulap & Howard ask each other Qs!

Have you taken the time to write down where each and every cent you spend goes to? If not, you may be lacking in one of James and Stephen’s “three skills of money”.

Best friends and roommates, comedian Ariana Lenarsky and Academic Outreach Counselor Aileen Parungao join Andrew to talk about judging people vs. racism. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

Jonathan is joined by Dr James Gelvin (professor of Islamic Studies at UCLA) to ask, “What’s the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims & why don’t they love each other?” You can find Dr Gelvin’s books on Amazon. Produced by Colin Anderson for MaximumFun.org.

Singer-songwriter Dylan Gardner joins Deanna & Emily to talk about his very musical family, how collecting records is like collecting artifacts, and what a mixtape means to him today. Plus, Dylan plays “Let’s Get Started” from his album “Adventures in Real Time” live in studio! Check out more of Dylan’s music over at http://dylangardnermusic.com/

Comedian Lindsay Ames joins Jensen and special guest co-host/professional wrestler Chris Hero to talk about PWG blowing up, a possible future for weddings, St. Louis rapper Smino, the video for Wavves’ “Way Too Much,” River’s Edge, Swans Crossing, Bad Rabbits, Saturday Night Live, how we’re late on audio commentaries, the Squatty Potty, Empire, and many other things you should know about.

Kevin sits down with Al Jean as he chats about being the head writer and show runner on The Simpsons since the beginning of this tv phenomenon. A must listen for any Simpsons fanatic!

Recorded LIVE at UCB Sunset’s Inner Sanctum, Ian Roberts, co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade, continues with a lecture on the topic of “rules” vs. “no rules” in improv comedy. Ian speaks on improvising with different forms, the rules Del Close used to develop The Movie form, how certain rules of improv are applicable to sketch comedy, and much more. For more info, consult the UCB Comedy Improv Manual and check out part 1 of Ian’s lecture here: http://www.earwolf.com/episode/ask-the-ucb-rules-vs-no-rules-w-ian-roberts-pt-1/.

Stephen’s lunch meeting with an old boss takes us into a discussion about whether tough managers make better bosses than endearing ones. Also, what important lessons have our hosts’ favorite ex-employers imparted upon them?

Podcasting legend and @midnight writer Jordan Morris of Jordan, Jesse, Go! stops by to talk about the amount of jokes that don’t end up airing on @midnight, a story of Kardashian shame, and watching Pulp Fiction with his parents. Then, Daniel Van Kirk brings us stories that include a Constable using duct tape during an arrest in Marlin, the Budweiser Brewery getting an unwelcome visit from a man with a memorable name, and an Alabama man being sentenced to three years in prison after being accused of assaulting two men with a nail-spiked piece of lumber over an argument over a certain food. Plus, we check in with Robert Durst to hear what his plans are for the holidays.

Best friends and roommates, comedian Ariana Lenarsky and Academic Outreach Counselor Aileen Parungao join Andrew to talk about the politics of rejection. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

Paul F. Tompkins welcomes each AND every one of you, including anyone who plays any kind of organized sport, back to SPONTANEANATION! This week, Paul’s special guest is Lauren Lapkus of Orange Is the New Black, Clipped, and With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus! They chat about what sent Lauren to the hospital most recently, grounds for leaving a dentist, and what types of showbiz people still smoke. Paul is then joined by Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery of The Worst Idea Of All Time Podcast to improvise a story set in a Beautiful, Fancy Apartment in NYC. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano!

LIVE episodes of SPONTANEANATION return to Largo on The Coronet on Saturday, February 6, 2016! Get your tickets now: bit.ly/SPONT0216

Prepare yourself for another fight episode as Devin & Amy pit Penelope Spheeris’ The Decline of Western Civilization versus The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years. Will the documentary on the 1979-1980 Los Angeles punk rock scene prevail over it’s sequel documenting the LA heavy metal scene from 1986 to 1988? Tune in for a mosh pit of a conversation — and head to the forums on Wolfpop to cast the deciding vote!

The wonderfully talented and dashing Edgar Ramirez joins Josh this week to talk about playing the role of Bodhi in the 2015 remake of Point Break, working with David O. Rusell and Jennifer Lawrence in the upcoming film Joy, and what lead him to take the leap into acting after being a journalist in college.

LIVE from Largo in Los Angeles, Anders Holm of Workaholics joins Paul, Jason, and June to discuss Shaquille O’Neal in the 1997 superhero film Steel. They’ll talk about the lethargic action, how much Shaq weighs with the steel armor, Shaq’s non-sexual relationship with Sparks, and Judd Nelson as the villain who refers to himself as “The Man.” Plus, everyone encounters the very first sleeping audience member during Audience Q&A!

People of the internet: Watch Paul in Fresh off the Boat on ABC and a while ago, Paul and Rob Huebel did a comedy special on a 60 foot glass bus that traveled around LA and 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 and in The Night Before in a theater near you! 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!).  

Attention all WOMPSTERS! Marissa has a new boyfriend all the way from Pittsburgh by the name of Matt Yanni (Jon Daly) and they’ve been going out for 7 whole days. Matt tells us about his adolescent alopecia, a very special Thanksgiving dish called “Cthulhuducken,” and what happened to his twin brother & close friends. Later, everyone discusses the importance of safe words during Listler’s Love Lockdown!

2015 Holiday Spectacular

Ho! Ho! Ho! BLECH! It’s the most wonderful TIME of the year, the Holiday episode of Comedy Bang! Bang! is upon us and our most dearest of friends (and a complete stranger) stop by including intern Gino Lambardo, John Lennon of The Beatles, Ho Ho the naughty Elf, The Time Keeper, Baron Andrew Lloyd Webber, and small time business owner David Bunting. Pa drum drum drum drums!

Take a trip in your mind back to May 18th, 1999. Bill Clinton was the president, ‘Livin La Vida Loca’ and ‘No Scrubs’ were at the top of the music charts, and there was hope that ‘The Phantom Menace’ would be a great movie. Then the next day happened; the movie was released, and a bit of our collective innocence was forever lost. 

There are videos of fans losing their shit with anticipation lining up to see the movie, and their reactions leaving the theater two hours later. Most said they loved it, but you can hear the twinge of doubt in their voices and see a blankness in their eyes, as if the brain was fighting itself, literally incapable of believing that the movie sucked. And in the coming years we obviously came to a consensus about the prequels: they were the most vile of garbage and George Lucas was persona non grata in the film industry.

It’s sixteen years later and we now hope we’re in a different place, but it’s easy to feel the parallels between where we are now and where we were in May 1999. We have no idea what ‘The Force Awakens’ will bring us later this week. We hope for the best, but also hope we’re not too cynical in expecting the worst. 

On this week’s podcast, Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked executive editor Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) for a deep dive into the history of Star Wars and how we got to this very moment. They discuss what the original trilogy got right, where the prequels went wrong, and the complicated genius of George Lucas.

Best friends and roommates, comedian Ariana Lenarsky and Academic Outreach Counselor Aileen Parungao join Andrew all this week to answer some racism questions. Today they discuss the Americanization of names. Be sure to call us at (323) 389-RACE to ask if anything is racist.

Flying and smiling with Pat Francis.

From ‘Mad Max’ to ‘San Andreas’ to ‘The Avengers,’ the most popular movies of our times are about how we fear our world will end. We’re obsessed with stories of drought, natural disaster, nuclear war, zombies, aliens and robots. We fear the day science fiction turns into science fact, and while some movie apocalypses are basically pure make-believe, others seem eminently possible.

So what are we doing about the threats of water and energy shortages? And are we destined to play out the doomsday scenarios we see in popular science fiction?

In this special bonus episode taped live at the UCB Sunset theatre in Los Angeles, Jack O’Brien, Alex Schmidt and Michael Swaim are joined by three amazing guests to answer these questions and elaborate on the current state of the end of the world. On the science-fiction front, they’re joined by Akiva Goldsman, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and ‘I Am Legend’. And on the real science side, they’re joined by Eric Fitch, whose company Purpose Energy is turning wastewater from beer into renewable energy, and Jon Freedman, whose working to shape international and domestic water policies on behalf of GE Water & Power.