This week’s How Did This Get Made? is the first of its kind. Our guests are Lexi Alexander, director of Punisher: War Zone and Patton Oswalt, one of the movie’s most vocal supporters. Together with Paul and June (unfortunately Jason had to miss this one) they honestly explain how this movie got made: From the very first pitch meetings to the week after it was released. Hear how unfortunate timing, poor marketing, and mixed expectations affected the success of one of the coolest, craziest, most fun comic book adaptations of the decade (at least).

If you missed the debut episode of Analyze Phish, let me get you up to speed: Harris Wittels and Scott Aukerman are friends, Harris likes Phish, and Scott does not. This show is a chance for Harris to defend his musical taste and maybe even gain a new concert buddy. In episode two, Harris addresses some of the criticisms he received for the first episode and tries a new approach to introducing Scott to Phish. Will it work? You’ll have to listen to find out!

After five weeks of scary pirates, fierce competitors, mysterious natives, pervy judges, and more, it’s time to grab a cocktail and enjoy the thrilling conclusion of our six week Boat Queen adventure. Will they learn how to speak to the natives? Can they get off this scary island? How will the girls ever win their dearly desired crown? Find out this week on The Apple Sisters!

Synchronicity is in the air ya’ll! Our guest, the master improviser JEAN VILLEPIQUE  is chock full of beauty, comedy chops, and the most delightful energy which made this an incredibly fun episode! We start with farts and end with murder dreams and string it all together with love. ENJOY!

Virginia Madsen. Oscar-nominated actress (Sideways) whose career has spanned nearly 3 decades (but it doesn’t look a day over 2 decades)!

Today, for the first time in Affirmation Nation history, we have a guest speaker! Sometimes it’s not about what you say but how you say it, so hopefully by bringing a fresh new voice to the podcast we can learn to understand others in a deeper, fuller, more unconditional way.

Randy and Jason are on the road so they decided to try something different this week. No quick hits, no Sklarbitration, no characters, just an hour or so with Marc Maron. Marc, as you probably know, hosts a very popular podcast called WTF? and we’ve decided to plug into his formula just this once! The three discuss comedy idols, getting started in the industry, the business of podcasting, and Marc’s connection to the sports world. We hope you enjoy.

For the first time ever, How Did This Get Made? has invited a director to join us in discussing their movie. Our guests next week will be comedian Patton Oswalt and director Lexi Alexander who will help us discuss Punisher: War Zone. This episode is coming out earlier than usual (October 3rd) so submit your questions for Lexi as soon as possible. And if you live on Los Angeles, be sure to see Punisher: War Zone at the New Beverly on October 4th.

There is a lot of misinformation and stigma when it comes to ear candling. Don’t let yourself get confused like listener Tom; listen to Bob and figure out how to make ear candling work for you.

With Season One of The Earwolf Challenge under our belt, we’re ready to go back and see what worked, what didn’t, and how we can make Season Two even better. This serves as both an episode of The Wolf Den and The Earwolf Challenge as Jeff Ullrich, Frank Capello, and Matt Besser talk to three of our vocal forum participants to find out how we screwed up and what we did right. If we left anything out, be sure to let us know in the forums!

Welcome to Glitter in the Garbage. Is this your first time? How to explain what the show is…hmmm…it’s like a blind date! You’ll be threatened and assaulted the whole time! Wait, no, that’s not it….it’s like a pleasure cruise! Everyone is constantly downing Viagra and searching for blinks. That’s not much better is it? Okay, it is sort of like a retreat! You’ll be constantly criticized and talk a lot about sex. That’s actually scarily accurate. You know what, just listen and Drew, Kevin, and Jack will take care of you!

There is a lot you don’t know about Tim Heidecker. You probably don’t know about his relationship with rock legends Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. You probably don’t know about his scary side gig in the world of the killer elite. You probably don’t know about his rad new iPhone app or what he ate for breakfast. Listen to Who Charted? and you’ll learn a few things: Not only about the Billbord Heatseeker Albums or the weekend box office, but about Allentown, Heidecker & Wood, and Bob Odenkirk. Oh Mary!

Grab a spoonful of whipped topping and a carton of vanilla ice cream, because today we’re talking about pies! Perhaps the finest dessert in existence, Bob celebrates this warm and flaky treat in true Affirmation Nation form.

The Wicker Man has a measly 14% on Rotten Tomatoes. Does it deserve this terrible score? Jonah Ray is in the studio to deconstruct and celebrate the ridiculousness of this Neil Labute remake disaster. We also get a call from Liam O’Donnell, one of the writers of Skyline, who defends his movie and offers up an explanation of how it got made. In case that isn’t enough, we’ve got a special tease into our next episode which you can expect earlier than normal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a special ceremony to attend.

This week’s Professor Blastoff is 100% organic, homegrown, and hormone free. We have noted vegan Myq Kaplan on to discuss the ever changing world of food and food production: From the evolution of the grocery store to the adverse affects of methane and so much more. Plus we introduce a new segment: Weekly Vocabulary Lesson! Listen while you eat something raw and traded freely.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve still got some bro in my system and I gotta get it out! Enter Todd Barry, Nick Thune, and Matthew Sweet who join Scott for an hour of songs, games, stories, Hot Topics, and bro time. I mean, what else do you need to know? Oh, that Matthew Sweet’s new album Modern Art comes out tomorrow. A perfect soundtrack for bro-ing out!

With the boat empty and the girls alone, I’m sure we’ll be able to avoid trouble this week as we wait patiently for the Boat Queen Pageant. Or will we? Get naked, encounter strange natives, and learn about the mysterious “twitter box” as The Apple Sisters inch ever closer to the Boat Queen crown (and their show tonight at The Elephant Lab!).

It’s time for yet another product review. This week Bob looks into the pros and cons of the Canine Cooler Thermoregulating Pet Bed. This one gets truly personal for Bob, so find a cool place to sit and prepare for his words of wisdom.

HOLY COW! Award winning writer and director of both film and television! Broadcast News! The Simpsons! Mary Tyler Moore (the show, not the person)! Taxi! HUGE!

She’s our youngest guest ever (17 years old!) and perhaps the first to teach Elizabeth an honest lesson in maturity, SHELBY FERO came on TLP and kept it real. Listen to see why she’s one of our favorite twitterers (follow her at @shelbyfero if you’re one of the five people who isn’t already!) and a rising star in comedy. ENJOY!

Merriam-Webster defines griffin as “a mythical animal typically having the head and wings of an eagle and the body and tail of a lion.” If that’s true, than our show has the wings of a glamorous diva superstar with the tail of an NBA legend-to-be. Kathy Griffin, fresh from the red carpet, brings a level of glitz and panache that is shockingly absent from most sports shows. Her tales of fancy parties, legendary Largo shows, and Hollywood rivalries (watch out Jon Hamm!) serve as the perfect foil to our call with Bruce Jenner who is having trouble keeping track of his own little divas. Plus, Blake Griffin FINALLY addresses the rumors of his move to the Harlem Globetrotters. Our apologies for the bad audio on the call, but Blake is a beast in the paint, and a beast on the phone. Throw your hands up for one of the best episodes hands down of Sklarbro Country!

Like listener Julia, Bob is often offended and depressed by what major sign-making corporations deem to be “inspirational posters.” Today he presents ideas for some more accurate and uplifting signs.

The studio is divided! Drew splits his time this week between his friends Willam and Maile who teach us about gender bending, conservative politics, and the dark and scary world of a Grateful Dead concert. Beyond that we have all the usual: Embarrassing has-beens, obnoxious grocery store persona, and self-absorbed councilmen. Now SQUEEZE ME!

Jeff has used his skills of deceit and trickery to get a truly wonderful guest for the week: Peter Kafka from All Things Digital. This guy has worked for Forbes Magazine and a major Wall Street banker and guess what? He’s a podcast geek! Jeff and Peter hop all over the place from the potential uselessness of graduate school to the issues plaguing iTunes and Netfilx. Too many issues are covered for me to list, so listen in and learn something!

Let us cherish our last few moments of summah before the drab and dreary non-summah seasons take over. Let us spend the twilight of the finest season enjoying charts and the delightful Todd Barry. Let us learn what is on the Billboard Country Singles Chart and what the heck Straw Dogs is about. Let us enjoy Todd’s impression of dubstep music and a rousing game of Chart Piñata. And most importantly, let us design Who Charted? themed cups and koozies for a chance to win the 12.5 Cups of Summah. Goodbye summah. We’ll miss you dearly.

Today’s poem is one of sadness and loss. One that has provided Bob catharsis following a tragedy. One about bagels and toasters.

Wait and see, when we’re through, boys will gladly go to war for you. With good fortune (and a great hairdo) you’ll bring honor to us all. That’s right, it’s time for the much-anticipated Mulan episode! Kidding, of course. We have our first write-in guest, Owen Wiseman, who brings a vast knowledge of the Japanese feudal system to the hatch and discusses the concept of honor with Tig, Kyle, and David. What’s the difference between morality and honor? Is it wrong to steal food for one’s family? Since when is condescension a bad thing? And which of our podcasters is the most honorable? Listen in and find out!

It’s been too long since we visited our old friend Nic Cage! Our next movie choice is a highly requested selection from Nicholas’ resume: The Wicker Man. You have a week to find it online and enjoy 102 minutes of Ridiculous Cage before we deconstruct it for you (and possibly revisit Skyline). See you next week!