Paul F. Tompkins welcomes all unseen visitors back to SPONTANEANATION! This week, Paul’s special guest is Laraine Newman, alumna of The Groundlings and Saturday Night Live! They chat about Laraine making sacrifices with her husband, a dinner party that was hijacked by vegans, and the first & last time she got drunk. Paul is then joined by Maria Blasucci, Marc Evan Jackson, and Jeremy Carter to improvise a story set at the Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum in Fort Mitchell, KY. And as always, Eban (only the best) Schletter scores it all on piano!

Don’t forget! The next LIVE SPONTANEANATION is happening Saturday, November 7th with special guest Keegan Michael Key and more! There will be special moments that you can only experience LIVE so get your tickets now over at www.paulftompkins.com/live!

TV’s Fred Savage of The Grinder and comedian extraordinaire Wayne Federman join Scott to give listeners big auditioning tips on this week’s Comedy Bing Bong! We’ll hear all about Wayne’s new 3-CD comedy album “The Chronicles of Federman,” Fred’s new TV show The Grinder which is one of Scott’s Pick to Click, and what we should do to prepare for El Nino. Plus, Swiss narco-sculptor H.R. Giger returns to tell us why he got kicked out of hell!

Screws, in some form or another, have been around since the 3rd century BC, and it wasn’t until the 1500s that screws began to start appearing in what we now accept as their modern form. They’re a great, simple piece of technology that helps solve the problem, ‘how do we secure this to that?’

Throughout all that time, however, there was just one problem: no one had invented the screwdriver yet. It’s true. People would spend entire lifetimes – generations would come and go – and all they could do to tighten a screw was use a coin or a flat piece of wood or something. It was like society as a whole had left their toolbox in the car but was too lazy to go out and get it.

For every screwdriver we also get an iPhone: a device that, in an instant, crammed the future into the present and forever changed the course of human history.

So there are screwdrivers, and then there are iPhones. Some came 300 years too late and others surprise us 300 years before we expect them. Jack O’Brien is joined by Cracked editors Tom Reimann and Alex Schmidt to discuss the many screwdrivers and iPhones of history that you may not know about.

Writer, producer, comedian Christina Lee joins Andrew all this week to answer some racism questions. Today they discuss the name Criminals and Tacos for a Mexican food restaurant. Be sure to call us at (323) 389-RACE to ask if anything is racist.

New and old friends Alison Becker, Kevin Awakuni, Susanna Fogel, and Kevin Seccia join Nate this week for another spectacular Book Club episode of Reading Aloud! This week they get into “Purity” by Jonathan Franzen. It’s his most recent novel and it’s dense, it’s fun, and ultimately it’s a mess. Get into the Halloween spirit and get a head start on the next book club selection by picking up “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson and send in your thoughts on the book at readingaloudpodcast@gmail.com.

Welcome back to For the Love of the Game (Not that Kind of Game!) with your host Patti Pon-Pon (Margot Leitman)! It’s the podcast about game shows, game show hosts, winners, and losers. This week Patti is joined by Phyllis McCracken, her opponent on many game shows. They talk about their high school love triangle, going head to head in the “Weakest Link,” and the confusing rules of “Jeopardy!”. Later, Traci Reardon arrives to offer advice on grabbing the most cash in the Cash Booth as she answers game show tweets in another edition of “Help Me, Rhonda.”

LIVE from Largo in Los Angeles, Seth Morris returns to join Paul, Jason, and June to discuss John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis in 1985’s Perfect. They’ll talk about Travolta starting as an obituary writer, seeing a complete aerobics class, and Jamie Lee Curtis having a tender moment with a pool. Plus, everyone discusses the use of the phrase “sphincter muscle” and Jamie Lee’s first interaction with a computer during Audience Q&A!

Check out Blake Harris’ Oral History of Perfect over at www.slashfilm.com!

People of the internet: The League is back on FXX 10pm on Wednesdays! 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 Sleeping With Other People in a theater near you!

The Hotwives (Casey Wilson, Danielle Schneider, Andrea Savage, Dannah Phirman, Tymberlee Hill, Angela Kinsey, Erinn Hayes) are back and this time they are in Vegas baby! Watch The Hotwives of Las Vegas on Hulu today!

Also, check out June in Grace and Frankie available on Netflix, Paul in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp on Netflix, all the episodes of NTSF:SD:SUV:: on HULU for free, ScheeRL on YouTube here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbNGyZuMGBm0cq73JN-QhcpQNc-Shtlb7, and Jason in The Dictator (he’s still in it!).

James weighs the emotional pros and cons of being an angel investor, and Stephen explains what investment he’ll never make again.

Randy and Jason kick off the show with why Matt Barnes may be the jealous type and why the next woman on Ronda Rousey’s hit list is Justin Bieber. Then, the Sklars welcome executive producer of The Jim Rome Show Kyle Brandt, who discusses the lost art of straight sports analysis, as well as parenthood and how it translates to coaching in sports. Additionally, the gang talks about the best MMA move of all time, why Texas Govenors should stay off social media, and why Houston may have a drug problem. Lastly, Doug Buffone calls in to explain why, when it comes to the Cubs, he doesn’t want to put his ducks in a row until he’s counted his eggs.

Howard discusses Baseball’s most reliable sticks, Van Halen, mean mugging, and much much more on this week’s Kitchen Countdown!

Our guest this week is the greatest poet in all of Foon: Spurt the Elder. But apparently there’s another Spurt too? I don’t know. Foon is confusing.

Credits

Arnie: Arnie Niekamp
Chunt: Adal Rifai
Usidore: Matt Young
Spurt the Elder: Andy Carey
Bungaree Chubbins: Tom Gottlieb
Mysterious Man: Tim Sniffen

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

Sponsored By: Basecamp via The Chicago Podcast Cooperative

Welcome back to The Black List Table Reads with Franklin Leonard. Popular demand called for it, and we listened: Each earmovie is now a single episode. Today, we return to our first ever earmovie – the obscenely funny BALLS OUT, written by Malcolm Spellman (Empire) and Tim Talbott (Stanford Prison Experiment) – in one bingeable package. That’s right, the full earmovie. Narrated by Craig Mazin, it stars Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, Lauren Lapkus, Matt Walsh, Eugene Cordero, Casey Wilson, Chris Cox, and Joe Wengert.

Musician, DJ, and activist Moby joins Sarah and Susan to talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation, a Volkswagen commercial, an Amtrak journey, the end of Edward Scissorhands, and crying while composing one of his own songs.

It’s a Totally Biased reunion as stand-up comedian Hari Kondabolu joins Kamau and Kevin this week to discuss Denzel in Mississippi Masala, a 1991 romantic drama film which explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans. They’ll talk about this being a huge Indian American homework movie to Hari, the movie trying to coin “insane to the brains,” and a young cool Denzel cementing his sexiness.

English singer-songwriter Frank Turner joins Jon Gabrus, Mookie Blaiklock, Charlie Sanders, and Ben Rodgers for a stacked musical edition of improv4humans with Matt Besser! Frank Turner performs songs from his latest album “Positive Songs for Negative People” live in-studio that will inspire scenes about a personal poem about a relationship going mainstream, being cursed by an ex after a break-up, and artists meeting face to face with a terrible anonymous negative reviewer. Make sure to get the Upright Citizens Brigade television show season 3 now available on DVD, the UCB Comedy Improv Manual, and pick up Frank Turner’s “Positive Songs For Negative People” ft. “Get Better”, “The Next Storm” and “Josephine” at http://fthc.cc/PSFNPdeluxe!

Opting in with Todd Barry.

Ryan Hoover is the founder of Product Hunt, a website and online community that has been described as Reddit for tech products. The site recently added a section dedicated to podcasts, and Ryan tells Adam what exactly Product Hunt is, how it got started, and how it works. Unlike many other sites, Product Hunt focuses on individual podcast episodes, rather than shows or series, and Ryan explains the motivation behind that emphasis. He also details how he wants Product Hunt to be home of conversations between podcasters and listeners, and what aspects of the site encourage that interaction. Because discovering new and interesting episodes is a key objective of Product Hunt, Adam asks Ryan how the site can uncover fresh episodes, rather than being focused on the same shows that dominate the charts. Finally, Ryan talks about what podcasters need to do to help build community and engagement.

Leonard and Baron respond to Jessie Maltin’s concept of naming “chicken soup” movies: films that make you feel better when you’re sick, and others that you might discover when you’re housebound. Examples range from Marx Brothers comedies to 10 Things I Hate About You.

Accomplished film and theatre actor Ray Baker joins Matt this week to talk about his many film/TV roles including helping Arnold Schwarzenegger go on his mind journey in Total Recall. Ray tells us about surviving Schwarzenegger’s choke hold, playing a bad guy in a 21 Jump Street/Booker crossover episode, and working with Meryl Streep in Silkwood. Finally, James ‘Jimmy Blades’ Bladon joins Matt in another exciting installment of I Was There Tune to discuss the unveiling of their new theme song project called ’Stay Tuned vol. 1.’ A project that might even involve you! For more info on STAY TUNED vol. 1, visit this link: http://mattgourley.tumblr.com/tagged/stay-tuned-vol.-1

Howard and Kulap welcome Mike O’Brien who explains life as a writer on SNL, as well as why random hook ups are the key to learning your way around a new city. Additionally, the gang discusses the latest wedding fashion trends, some of the unique techniques behind great acting, and why Hollywood shouldn’t be so afraid to tell new stories. Later, Mike reveals who the best kissers were on his show 7 Minutes in Heaven. Lastly, the gang receives some special gifts from the home of John Cougar Mellencamp.

Continuing last week’s campaign, our mismatched heroes encounter shuddering shriveling hands, furry slugs with too hard hugs, and a possible game of 52 card pickup!

This trip down memory lane brings us the backstory behind a few popular podcast episodes, while getting to the bottom of the origin of cliches.

The Shrimps take on Space Glam at N. Weddington Gymnasium. Matt Gourley and Mark McConville call the action, Jensen Karp has the sock report. Kid Voltron.

The Shrimps on Twitter: @pistolshrimpsbb
The Shrimps on Instagram: thepistolshrimps

Matt Gourley on Twitter and IG: @MattGourley
Mark McConville on Twitter and IG: @MarkMcConville

Cody Saintgnue of MTV’s Teen Wolf is a pure and lovely sweetheart with an inspiring story of humble beginnings that he loves to share with others. Cody joins Deanna & Emily to talk about being placed into foster care at the age of nine and soon thereafter being adopted, how his experience lead to his charity work with Brat Pack 11, a non-profit that grants wishes for military kids of wounded or fallen soldiers, and his recent prom experience via his #CodyTakeMeToProm Twitter campaign.

Director Todd Strauss-Schulson joins Jensen and Matty to talk about how the making of the horror comedy The Final Girls came together, only wanting to make movies as a kid, his first movie being A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, compliment rap battles, This Must Be the Place, Moonbeam City, Memphis Style, Song of the Sea, how we’re late on Last Action Hero, Plackers dental flossers, Enya, and many other things you should know about.

Wayne Federman joins this week’s County to discuss why success in entertainment is like summiting Everest, as well as how he came to record his new album The Chronicles of Federman. Then, Daniel Van Kirk covers stories that include a woman that was prostituting her own her horn, why children should no longer be playing tag, and a why a good cry is worth paying for. Lastly, Michael Kissick calls in to explain why TSA agents are no longer allowed to give hugs.

Hayes and Sean are coming at you live from LA Podfest to chat with the very funny JOHN GEMBERLING about their plans for the upcoming WolfCool Fest, including some new show ideas and bestiality. Then, the live Popcorn Gallery asks about branding and making movies on computers.

Miss Winona Ryder has been a movie geek from a very young age watching Cassavetes films thanks to her mother’s projectionist connections. Winona joins Josh to talk about trying to jump into Fantasia the first time she went to the movies and being asked to leave, becoming friends almost immediately with Tim Burton, and the status of the Beetlejuice sequel.

This week Devin & Amy discuss the 2006 Guillermo del Toro dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth. Is Ofelia a rebel at heart? Or is she just an obedient child without her own thoughts? Is the Pale Man one of the most terrifyingly unique characters to grace the screen? Tune in as Devin & Amy go head to head to determine whether this rich and beautiful fable is canon worthy — and head to the forums on Wolfpop to cast the deciding vote!

Paul F. Tompkins once again welcomes the wonderful real people of Los Angeles AND the internet to a LIVE episode of Spontaneanation recorded at the world-famous Largo at The Coronet! This week, Paul’s special guest is Thomas Lennon of Reno 911! and The Odd Couple. They chat about what Thomas would do if he had the power of invisibility, how he got bit by the theatre bug, and the time a celebrity punched him in the stomach when he was a kid. Paul is then joined by Sarah Burns, Craig Cackowski, and Marc Evan Jackson to improvise a story set backstage at the Rush Concert happening right now at the LA Forum. And as always, Eban Schletter (only the best) scores it all on piano!

Don’t forget! The next LIVE SPONTANEANATION is happening Saturday, November 7th with special guest Keegan Michael Key and more! There will be special moments that you can only experience LIVE so get your tickets now over at www.paulftompkins.com/live!

Photos by Liezl Estipona