Actually Good

Comedian Dana Donnelly joins us to discuss the ever-increasing overlap between the alt comedy and progressive activism scenes and expound her tactic of turning bigots into incels.

Multi-hyphenate ultra-activist Rachel Reyes comes on to get you all off your asses, explain why the Olympics suck, and show how the police crackdowns they come packaged with have quite a bit in common with our current situation.

Things are pretty messed up right now so we brought in an expert who knows a ton about the white supremacist roots of American gun culture.

We're back, babyyy. Torrent this episode, every movie discussed within it, and anything else you want. There are no rules anymore.

As you all know, Mike does not wish death upon anyone, so feel free to voice your honest opinions about the show.

I think the episode title speaks for itself.

Justin and Mike talk about hot sauce with Bin Laden's face on it, Midsommar, and Mike's biggest political regret: Stanning Jon Stewart way too hard.

Writer Louis Peitzman come on to defend the sequel to Grease that sank and started the careers of its leads. Because podcasts are an auditory experience, you can't see the intricate dance number he did the entire time while chatting, but trust us, it was great.

Multi-hyphenate talent Austin Highsmith Garces takes a break from appearing on the television to defend an antiquated way of consuming its programming: right when they network airs it.

Comedian Jamie Loftus brings us The Master of Disguise, the 2002 Dana Carvey vehicle that is forever tied to 9/11 and somehow less funny than the attacks. Can she convince the lads that a movie with an unrepentant brownface scene in it is good? Listen and find out.

Hey kids! We have a lot of fun around here at Actually Good, but here's something that's actually serious: your education. Specifically, how to make it seem like you're doing better at getting one than you really are. The school system is broken, and if you're following all the rules, you're doing it wrong. (Note: not all cheating is ethically equal. Please listen before suing us for getting your kids expelled and/or arrested)

On their most ambitious and awful-sounding episode to date, the guys hop on a three-way call with VICE West Coast Editor, Harry Cheadle, to discuss how much they all love talking on the phone. You can probably guess how that went.

Stealing is bad. Unless it's not. Editor and director Nate Miller makes the case for tactical small time thievery in this ep.

For our first episode featuring a deadly disease, TV writer and internet funny person Dashiell Driscoll comes by to make some profound points about the sweet side of type one diabetes.

We made all the obvious Vegas reference jokes in the episode, so I've got nothing for you here. Enjoy us discussing whether or not LV is AG.

Filmmaker Gille Klabin joins a sharply divided panel to defend 2012's Cloud Atlas. Justin's thumb is raised to the heavens, while Mike's took up residence in the ninth circle of Hell. It's an incredibly audacious movie about literally everything that, well, not everyone loves a whole lot. But despite the difference of opinion (or thanks to it) the conversation is as rich and far-reaching as the film itself. Gille's directorial feature debut, The Wave, starring Donald Faison and Justin Long, will be an a theater near you soon. You can find his other work at his website. 

Evan Scott, one half of directorial duo, The Dads, joins the hosts for a conversation about the most derided rubber clogs in the game and makes some salient points about fashion, classism, and the human condition in the process.

Critics and audiences hated this big-budget satire of shoot-em-ups in 1993, but was Last Action Hero truly trash or merely ahead of its time? The boys discuss while still in the afterglow of a fresh rewatch.

No, you're not going to be unexpectedly directed to any YouTube videos of soulful 80s pop hits. This is a real episode about the "Never Gonna Give You Up" guy. Comedian and writer Alison Stevenson effortlessly makes the case that Astley's brand of uncomplicated, catchy pop, sung in that signature baritone, is worth listening to on purpose, not just by accident. After you hear some deep cuts, you'll probably agree with her.

The guys smash the invisible box containing this emergency host-only ep to dive in on the topic of pantomime performers. But why are these silent clowns so universally loathed across the pop culture landscape? Perhaps things aren't so black and white and our negative perception of mimes has been projected onto us by the powers that be. Ok, this is starting to sound like a QAnon post so I'll wrap it up here. Go listen. 

Comedian, writer, and exhausted litigant Asterios Kokkinos (@asterios) joins the hosts to discuss, The Angry Birds Movie, the animated children's feature  based on a popular mobile game. But is it akchyually good or just another craven cash grab?

Mike and Justin return from a completely excusable hiatus with guest Matthew Jay in tow to try and convince everyone that the extremely 2003 superhero film Daredevil is more than just a bunch of weird fight scenes and Evanescence songs.

Lace up your Peruvian marching boots and join the hosts on their ethically and legally fraught journey toward justifying recreational use of a drug that has directly and indirectly contributed to thousands of deaths.

Comedian and Empire writer Cameron Johnson (@cameronjawesome) brings the topic of the San Fernando Valley to the podcast, along with an almost alarming amount of knowledge on the subject. Could we, like, all be wrong or something about Southern California's favorite regional punch line?

The most controversial figure in Hollywood, Jack Allison (@jackallisonLOL) joins us to defend the gritty three-hour Zach Snyder fever dream that pits the Dark Knight against the Man of Steel. Are the critics and fans wrong? Is BVS AVG? Listen and find out.

Youtuber and comedian Josh Mattingly (@JoshMattingly) tailwhips into the AG studios with our most contemporary topic yet, Bird scooters. Are these flocks of electric vehicles more VC-funded Silicon Valley trash, or are they potential planet savers? 

Chappie was a flawed but great film and shame on all of you for not recognizing its merits. We have thoughts.

Writer, comedian, and lefty-about-town Josh Androsky (@shutupandrosky) takes us back in time to the discuss the one sub-genre of of music that white people successfully appropriated, Dixieland.

Though a self-proclaimed jerk, comedian and podcaster Esther Ku (@EstherKuKu) was very nice to us as she tried her best to defend the final boss of capitalism, Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary.

We brought on the incomparable multi-hyphenate Caroline Goldfarb (@officialseanpenn) to discuss the living Jimmy Buffett song that is Guy Fieri. If you don't appreciate Guy by the end of this, you're officially banished from Flavortown.

Writer, comedian, and—as you'll soon learn—human Wikipedia page Grant Pardee (@grantpa) joins us on the podcast today. His topic is Wings. (The post-Beatles McCartney project kind, not the TV show. That topic is still up for grabs.)

Mike and Justin, free from the shackles of hosting duties, let their hair down and really dig in on the merits of Reddit dot com, one of the most popular websites in the world, and a foremost hub of racism, sexism, fascism, and other sorts of unchill mindsets. Is the front page of the internet redeemable or will it forever make us go "FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU?"

Eric Downs is a busy touring drummer, and the composer/creator of the Actually Good theme song. When Eric's not making music, he enjoys Soylent, a notoriously colorless, flavorless food-esque liquid. Eric says he's always pined for something he can sip from an old tuna can in order to stay alive after the apocalypse, but when all life on Earth is sustained by Soylent, will that be a blessing, or will the living simply envy the dead? 

Champions writer (and Mike's girlfriend) Paige Devitt joins us to defend the family-friendly sitcom that helped her through childhood, Full House.

It looks like we've settled upon Monday as our release date for this podcast, and what better a way to celebrate that commitment to a set schedule than with an episode about an unfrozen caveman familiarizing himself with the scheduling rigors of high school. Hell of a segue, right? This week, our guest contrarian, @AllegraRingo, took a break from talking about pups on her podcast, Can I Pet Your Dog, to try and convince us that, despite its myriad problems, the 1992 Brendan Fraser and Sean Aston comedy, Encino Man, at least deserves a higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Author, podcaster, and Instagram's leading curator of inappropriate DMs (@byefelipe) Alexandra Tweten talks about her how being a punk, emo-hating kid in the smallest town in America's frozen northlands somehow turned her into an Ashlee Simpson fan.

A goateed Justin Timberlake, The Rock twiddling his fingers like Mr. Burns, and cars having sex. Richard Kelly's sprawling Bush-era epic, Southland Tales, may sound like a fever dream, but our guest, Dave Schilling (@dave_schilling), thinks the unintentionally prescient movie deserves your time and maybe even your adoration.

In our third ep, LA Times film reporter Jen Yamato (@jenyamato) brings a strong case for the handbrake-induced turning point of the Fast & the Furious film franchise. But does she have enough nitro to win over Justin and Mike and bring them into the family of Tokyo Drift fans?

iTunes no longer hates us so you get to hear Jack Wagner (@jackdwagner) struggle with the Actually Good studio's unorthodox mic setup as he attempts to defend third wave ska and the genre's top acts. Songs fairly used in the ep: The Aquabats - "Red Sweater" The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get" Less Than Jake - "Sugar in Your Gas Tank" Bad Manners - "Lip Up Fatty" Sublime - "April 29, 1992" Sublime - "Slow Ride" We also used this Youtube vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVziIDyqdAo

In Actually Good, hosts Mike Pearl and Justin Caffier bring on a guest to help resuscitate a universally reviled cultural artifact. In our inaugural episode, tv writer and podcaster Demi Adejuyigbe (@electrolemon) attempts to defend the Now You See Me film franchise.   Are these performance-packed prestidigitation pictures poorly-penned and problematic piffle or are they perhaps the pinnacle of popcorn pleasure? Listen or ask one of us in person to find out. Big thanks to Eric Downs for our jingle and Zoe-Zoe Sheen for our logo.