Desert Talk with Jon Hanford

A big podcast announcement, more personal growth, the return of desert comedy, and the Mariners front office can't seem to ever get it right.

I'm back in the desert after a brief trip up to the Oregon coast. I experienced some big insights and wound up making a big decision that I am proud of myself for making.

This episode begins with a sample from a far-out mandolin jam with a couple old hippie friends last night. I talk about the importance of hanging onto my inner child, my need for a dishwasher, a spontaneous photoshoot, and probably some childhood trauma as well. Thanks for liking and subscribing!

Clancy and I are continuing to bond and I have felt her begin to reshape my worldview. Pretty wild. In the week since her mom was adopted, Clancy has also found a best friend, which has filled the hearts of Joshua Tree tourists and myself alike. We might make merch. Also tried a taco shop that I've somehow been sleeping on for almost two years. This is significant shit. Listen and find out!

I'm at Essig Park in Yucca Valley, CA, with Clancy in hopes that she rolls around in enough dirt and other dogs' dumps to get the smell of an old lady's perfume out of her coat.

It's been a tumultuous week on several fronts and I'm talking about it. Also some good came from it too: I found Miracle a forever home and got to jam with a couple old desert hippies over the weekend.

It's the first episode of 2021! I take a look back on what the last year taught me and express gratitude for those lessons despite how challenging they were to endure.

Liz Glazer is a stand-up comedian whose most recent feat was winning the 2020 Boston Comedy Festival. She joins me to discuss comedy, past lives, and vision boards. Give her a follow on Instagram @lizglazer and catch her headlining on Flappers' New Years Day Zoom show!

A short episode, but I’m back in Austin with a couple exciting announcements!

It's been a weird week to be in such a massive brain fog because I've been doing a lot of different things: delivering for Postmates, getting escorted by an armed guard to get a Covid test, and interviewing to be a contestant on a game show. This episode contains a rant about frosting, so if you're an easily triggered frosting fanatic, perhaps you should find something else to listen to.

Kristy Belich and I are coming to you from Austin, TX, where she just moved. I tagged along on the drive out from Southern California and stuck around for three days to feel out the Austin comedy scene and the vibe of the city in general before recording this swapcast and flying back. (Side note: check out THee Fire Wolf Podcast w/ Kristy Belich.) In this episode, we discuss the move to Austin and the journey we went on to get there.

Jake Bassi is a comic and musician based in Oklahoma City. He joins the podcast this week to share his thoughts and experiences with comedy during the pandemic. We also talk about music, baseball, and things we're working on personally. Check out his podcast, "The Jakeing Off Show."

My anticipation of performing in Tulsa, OK, on Thanksgiving reminds me of the time my family had Thanksgiving dinner at 13 Coins near Sea-Tac Airport. This week, I appeared on both Pittsburgh Community TV and the top live podcast in the world, "Kill Tony." I discuss my initial feelings on those things and how I should maybe dial it back on the overthinking.

The US presidential election has been called and you heard it here first! I give my take and try not to spend too much time on it. More good news, as I just got confirmation I will be on the road in Oklahoma and Texas at the end of the month. I also discuss the role that manifestation has played in my life and how––now that I'm aware of it––I feel like it helps me live fluidly.

It's Halloween and I just returned from Phoenix, AZ, where I performed at a few open mics since California is shut down still. I learned a few things about comedy while there, which I discuss here.

I can finally see again! The LensCrafters ordeal has come to an end and I feel like I'm on the up and up. I discuss some of my new creative endeavors in comedy and music as well as my thoughts on voting and the future of the Trumpville merch stores here in the Morongo Basin.

I'm legitimately enjoying baseball again, as while I'm recording this podcast, I'm also watching the Dodgers get off to an early lead in Game 6 of the NLCS. I discuss the most exciting and frustrating things going on in my life this week.

Just got back from Prescott, AZ, where I performed my first paid standup gig and then became a tourist for an afternoon. Earlier this week, I stayed in Beverly Hills with my friend and writing partner, Jerry Garcia, during which time I felt myself grow emotionally and mentally.

Three separate trips to LensCrafters and I still can't see without eye strain and back pain. That's been eating at me a lot, but in positive news, I will be performing standup in Prescott, AZ on October 9. The glasses thing is really pissing me off though.

I've made it to 50 episodes! What a ride it's been and I'm excited to see where else this goes. This week, I talk about how much I hate stagnation, but also how it might be in our best interest to understand it if we want any shot at living in a democracy.

It's been a wild week. I did standup in front of actual people for the first time in six months, which gave me such a high that of course I came crashing down a couple days later. I also talk about an eye exam gone wrong and about learning to tackle my fear of rejection.

I'm back in Joshua Tree and a little loopy on this one, as I'm recovering from my two-day drive through a bunch of smoke down the West Coast. Shit's crazy.

I take a walk with my dog and talk about my week and share my thoughts on Thom Brennaman’s homophobic gaffe.

I tried therapy for the first time since my doctor told it'd be free of charge. Turns out that was a lie. So I ultimately bought myself less than an hour's worth of poor-quality therapy and now I'm left anxiously awaiting the bill. My Venmo is @Jon-Hanford

One of my best friends, Andrea Ordoñez, joins me to discuss growing up as an only child and all the pressure, expectations, and inevitable trauma that comes with all that. She also shares her experience of having a closed-minded upbringing and how she's learned to change things in her life to realize that she is, in fact, a dope-ass motherfucker without the validation of others.

2020 MLB Opening Day is here, but should it be? Who better to break it down with than my friend, US Navy vet and recent 50-year-old Sean Bowman! We also discuss MLB's adoption of the Black Lives Matter cause and whether it's in earnest or an exploitative Hail Mary for corporate advertising revenue.

Mary Anne Trasciatti joins the pod this week! She was one of my favorite college professors almost 10 years ago, but we have loosely kept in touch on social media in the years since. The class I took with her was called "Communication, Technology, & Democracy," so it seemed like a no-brainer to me to get her on right about now. She has studied radical politics extensively throughout her academic career and enlightened me about the history of the anti-fascist movement.

Trigger warning: Not a happy episode. Listen only if you want to hear me bitch for 28 minutes about my parents' dysfunctional home.

I'm back in the PNW for the summer and discuss my first 24 hours back in the hoarders' nest. I also discuss my takeaway from a vegan documentary I saw called "What the Health" and talk about my 20-hour drive up from Joshua Tree––lots of odd thoughts popped into my head.

Sean Bowman is back for more! We cover a wide array of topics including Juneteenth, Bob Marley, and the societal bubbles in which we each grew up.

I am pleased to welcome Baltimore/DC comedian Sean Bowman to the podcast to talk baseball cards and race relations. We were first introduced to each other over Facebook by a mutual friend since we were both in Phoenix for Spring Training at the same time, but we weren't able to meet up. As far as I'm concerned, this episode is the beginning of our friendship!

I hope you're well. I hope you're starting to wake up to this massively inconvenient truth that has bubbled to the surface of our society: the police are put in place to keep the working class subordinate and subservient to their wealthy, corporate masters.

I am pretty distraught over the murder of George Floyd and how the police in Minnesota and LA have been making the situation even worse. This was not a fun episode to record.

I am embracing all that I can to keep myself sane and growing spiritually in the face of uncertainty, which has primarily consisted of podcasting. I discuss what it's been like pursuing my ambitions in the last few weeks as well as the importance of storytelling.

I've been cooking Pad Thai and doing a damn fine job of it, which makes me proud. I also had the most significant mushroom trip I've had to date. I also discuss the prospect of a 2020 MLB season and how stupid the league is for proposing any plan that could cause more civilian deaths than if they just canceled the season.

I've started a new podcast! Check out "I'm Not A Fan Unless I Have A Podcast" to listen to me talk with people from all over the world about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Not to worry, Desert Talk will go on! I also discuss some of my favorite streaming content that's out now, as well as the loss of one of my favorite family members.

Levi Manis is a comedian in the Seattle area and best friends with last week's guest, Laura Lyons. He has a large beard, which he says makes him look like "Jesus if he was ordered off of Wish," and has joked about donating to "Locks of Tough Love." We discuss music, our approaches to comedy, small town living, and more in this thoroughly enjoyable conversation. 

Laura Lyons is one of my favorite rising comedians in Seattle who's also studying to be a lawyer. She and I share a birthday as well as a dark sense of humor. We discuss addiction, mental health, and our experiences in various comedy scenes, as well as some small talk about how much quarantine blows. (Also, watch out around the 46:00 mark, as we had some connection issues––it's not you; it's me.)

Still quarantined, yet still finding things to enjoy in life no matter how subtle or insignificant. I ran into fellow comic Michael Morocco while out for a walk this afternoon, which proved to be fruitful. I also talk about a couple times I OD'd in college––don't worry, I did it so I could have fun stories to tell if I lived. Lastly, if you want to get into King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, I'd highly recommend watching the film "Chunky Shrapnel." It's streaming on Vimeo for less than 24 hours, so get on it!

I was so hung up on the pandemic and the impending authoritarian takeover of the world yesterday that I forgot to mention I released an EP on my birthday last week! It's aptly titled "30" and consists of three songs. I think it's legitimately good and I'm proud. You can listen to it for free on my YouTube and SoundCloud channels, so I hope you do.

It's a weird one, but that just might become standard. I have a lot to say about the pandemic and the direction I fear society is heading, but no matter what you believe about the future, right now is a really good time to do some introspection and feel out how to better yourselves. I love you all. Please be smart.

No political talk this week -- yay! Things are weird and will continue to get even weirder. Time feels increasingly irrelevant, days blur together, but I talk about the events of the past week that stick out to me most. Also, I'm turning 30 in a few days, so I hope I remember when April 7 hits.

I need to stop with these really long episode titles, but that's the product of this quarantine. I'm not thriving at the moment. However, I'm actively trying to change that. I thought putting this podcast on YouTube might be a good creative challenge, but that proved to be too time consuming, so I'm ultimately holding off. In this episode I share some insights I had during last weekend's mushroom trip. Unfortunately, the thing I spend most of this episode discussing is the sexual assault allegation on Joe Biden. I hope next week's episode is completely free of politics!

Episode 26 is nice and brief, as I had waiting for me some pancakes with Nutella and magic mushrooms. (In a time of crisis, I've got my priorities right.) I think we can stop with the toilet paper memes. I also think we should take a good look at ourselves and try to curb our own toxic traits that have risen to the surface now that we have fuck-all to do. I had my fantasy baseball draft last night despite the 2020 MLB season possibly not happening. I wrote this description while tripping. Hope it makes sense.

This coronavirus is really fucking everything up, logistically at the very least. This could really screw over my plans to see King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard in April and May and I'm losing my damn mind. I spent this episode trying to find more silver linings in all this COVID panic than problems caused, which was likely futile. I think it's, like, 60-40: problems caused to silver linings. It's a bit of a bummer, to be honest. However, I have made a prediction as to the 2020 word of the year. So there's that.

In Episode 24, I recap some of the highlights of my trip to Spring Training in Arizona, including the story of a wacky autograph collector doling out bad advice to his kids and a stand-up show I got to do at the Tempe Improv. Given the tumultuous week of Super Tuesday, I felt compelled to talk politics for the final 45 minutes of this episode. (Feel free to turn this off after the 29-minute mark if you're trying to escape political talk.)

Episode 23 features a great conversation with the pod’s No. 1 listener, Mark Secheyco. He and I know each other from collecting autographs together at Spring Training in Arizona. Mark has been collecting for more than 40 years and has amassed some of the best stories from a life well lived. This was one of my favorite conversations I’ve had on the pod. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I'm super caffeinated and about to hit the road to Arizona, where I'll be taking in some Spring Training baseball by day and performing standup comedy by night! I talk about a new podcast I'm working on and Nazis. Naturally, I segue into my take on the Houston Astros' oral fart fest of a press conference in which they showed they're incapable of remorse, giving credence to the notion that they're sociopaths. (At least they're just cheating at baseball and not murdering people.) How would I have handled the Astros scandal if I were the MLB commish? Find out in Episode 22!

Had to cancel a standup appearance and wait for AAA in my own driveway when I locked myself out of both my car and apartment last night. Luckily I'm a thinker and keep a spare house key in my car. This wasn't the worst time I've ever locked myself out, though. Listen to Episode 21 for the full story!

It's the 20th episode! I have the pleasure of bringing on and talking with my big sister in comedy and spiritual adviser, Kristy Belich. We're swapcasting this conversation, as it is also featured on Kristy's own podcast, "Solar Plexus and Chill." She's been back in Los Angeles for just a week after a hell ride aboard several Greyhound buses from Maryland and recharged her batteries with me in the desert.

I'm keeping busy with both comedy and experiencing life. In Episode 19, I discuss a peaceful death I witnessed while grocery shopping, a recent trip to LA, and where I feel I'm at in my comedy career. Also, some big news: the New York Mets hired my former boss, Luis Rojas, to be their new manager!