In Defense

Listen in on a conversation about nothing between Joey and the funniest guy he knows, and now regular guest, Ben Clausen!

Comedian Aristotle Georgeson, known for his instagram vape king alter-ego Blake Webber, joins Joey on the podcast to defend drugs and attempt to reverse the bad rap they’ve developed over the years.

Listen in on a conversation about nothing between Joey and the funniest guy he knows, and now regular guest, Ben Clausen!

Cosplayer and YouTuber Chelsea Rebecca goes in depth on the candy she loves that everyone else hates, and she discusses how it’s regularly brought up to her in her everyday life!

Sam Colon defends a different side of Long Island, NY that proves it isn’t exactly what everyone tends to think it is!

Actor and writer Neal Kelley defends his preference of not trying new things and maintaining a constant routine!

Ben Clausen gushes with host Joey Bergren about a unique action movie directing duo that never gets their proper respect; Neveldine/Taylor!

Dead Meat’s very own host James A Janisse discusses his unwavering love of The Venture Bros and explains why it’s an underappreciated gem!

Improviser and WhatsACreative strategist/producer Rian Kountzhouse (@Kountzit, Train Caboose & Coconut Club) brings his brilliant brain to the studio to discuss his love of the CNBC business advice show, The Profit. He talks about the format of the show and the advice host Marcus Lemonis has given that Rian has brought back to his personal and professional life! We also discuss D&D, colorblindness, Rian’s excellence in musical improv, and a LOT of inside baseball talk with regards to the improv comedy scene in Los Angeles! Listen carefully and you might even hear a chair collapse under the weight of your beloved host!

In another thrilling minisode, Joey goes on an exciting solo mission to try out those flavored water enhancers Erin Byrne discussed on her episode (Artificial Sweeteners with Erin Byrne). Was Erin right in her assessment? Will Joey enjoy the orange tangerine? There’s only one way to find out.

Comedian and fellow podcaster CAITLIN SEIBOLD (@caitlinseebs / @crystal_palace_queen, Almost Famous podcast) starts a riveting, honest discussion about a topic near and dear to me: the benefits of living an optimistic life! While cynicism seems hip and cool, Caitlin defends her seemingly unpopular choice to stay present and choose her own fate. We also discuss beauty school, varicose veins, soothsayers, and we get deep on science, religion, and their relationship to one another!

Funniest guy I know Ben Clausen (@bendavidclausen) trolls his way through another episode of In Defense! Recorded slightly in the past, which is noted a million times in the first 15 minutes, Ben and I discuss a band that means a great deal to the two of us, but doesn’t seem to get the recognition they truly deserve: New Jersey’s own Gaslight Anthem. We talk about our favorite albums and play a couple snippets of our favorite tracks, but before that, we talk about other episodes of the podcast, Valerian, the perfect movie length, and Ben discloses his secret to reading books faster!

First time podcast guest DEVIN ROSSINSKY (@devin_rossinsky) wants to talk about something different but we pivot into his LIFE WITHOUT COFFEE. He talks about how he just prefers to be more tired overall and how he rarely tries to fight his sleepiness in any other ways, as well as his opinions on tea, naps, energy drinks, and exercise. We also talk short form improv, friendships with RAs in college, how we consume hard alcohol, cigarettes, and our opinions on naps!

We finally discuss the topic that seems to be right there in the open! Dear friend Harri Woliner (@TheTrueHman) goes into great detail about his somewhat recent, but incredibly strong obsession with professional wrestling! We talk about various types (WWE, Lucha Underground), how Harri got into it in his 20s, amazing stunts and injuries from wrestling performances, and why you should enjoy wrestling as well! Harri also tells his personal connection with The Best Show, which is just the coolest!

Father of the host (and therefore Father of the Show) Brad Bergren makes his In Defense debut to defend his love of Live from Daryl’s House, a show featuring Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates fame performing with other famous music acts. We discuss his fascination of the show despite its niche market, why we love live music and talented performers, and why you, yes you, should be watching this show.

Return guest and funniest guy I know Ben Clausen (@bendavidclausen) makes his way back onto the program to share another unique and obscure love of his: relatively unknown Power Rangers series, specifically American production Power Rangers RPM and original Japanese production Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. As Ben notes multiple times, if you only ever watched Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, just wait until you see how insane this show really is. We go into detail about these two series, what makes them fun, and why they’re still worth checking out. We also talk necklaces, Fast and Furious, and we do some name dropping of the E Street Band!

Actress/comedian/multihyphenate Alyssa Sabo (@alyssa_sabo) makes her In Defense debut to share her unique connection to the music, movies, fashion, and overall attitude of the 1980s! She explains when she first felt the connection and how she implements it into her daily life! We also discuss numbers, names, toes, karaoke, and rollerblading!

Comedian and comedy producer Olivia Aguilar (@aguilarolivia) makes her debut on the show to discuss the gigantic Southern California music festival Coachella! Olivia is a huge fan and frequent attendee, and she does her best to explain why it’s a better festival than I give it credit for. We also talk about Nintendo games, cultural appropriation, the meaning of “A is for Aguilar,” and we give a bunch of unsolicited advice to teens!  

Returning champ Matthew Kane (@MattKANEEE) talks me through the expansive, multimedia universe that is the alternative rock band Coheed and Cambria. Matt details their comic books, their overarching storylines, their symbology, and every other insane aspect you had no idea went into being a modern prog band. It’s nerdy! Get over it!

Friends of the show and actors extraordinaire Anthony Mendola and Justin Sherman (@shermancomedy) return to the program to defend their underrated and batshit insane webseries Spankle and Hodge (while also promoting the new season). They discuss why they do the crazy things they do in the show and what drives their comedy, but before that, we discuss cars, cookies, compliments, sound effects in commercials, sushi, and we drink alcohol!   Their show can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/SpankleAndHodge

LA improviser and LA lady Erin Byrne (@esbyrne) swings by the garage to talk about her love of artificial sweetener water enhancers. What a mouthful! Erin has many opinions on foods and spices and the culinary arts, and we go through all of them! Along the way, we also discuss shark facts, Trader Joes secrets, olives and pickles, “wet tickles,” and we talk through the specifics of Erin’s business cards!

Fan favorite Bill Parker (@hiimbillparker on Instagram, Billy on the Street) returns to the show to talk about a sport he feels passionately about, yet does not get the respect it deserves: Bowling! Bill goes into his time as a high school varsity bowler and into the nitty gritty that makes it more competitive than the layman would believe. We also discuss musician biographies, bar trivia, Robin Williams, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid multiverse, gambling, and Bill participates in a rapid fire round of mini-defenses!

Professional comedian Justin Sherman (@shermancomedy) swings by the studio to discuss his daily ritual of watching old Howard Stern clips on YouTube, which I find fascinating. However, we mostly giggle and shoot the breeze about random topics, such as toasting, drinking games, indecisiveness, crab rangoon, 311, and the comedy scene. Justin is quite possibly the funniest person I know, and he proves it well here!

Excellent comedian Eli Yudin (@eliyudin) talks about his love of extreme sports-based energy drink Monster and how it has a bad reputation based on its look and general vibe. However, he attempts to distract and go on tangents, so we also discuss meeting in college, grammar, Mountain Dew, grade school required reading, conjoined twin operations, piercings, and if you listen carefully, you can hear us get genuinely scared at one point!

Returning Champion Carolyn Klarecki gets a shot at her ultimate defense: the much-maligned Episode II, which some consider the true blemish of the Star Wars franchise. We discuss the good and the bad that come with this movie between coughing fits, and we rank the Star Wars franchise! We also really get into Schoolhouse Rock!

During the release week of another huge installment of the series, Joey revs his engine of love on the great action franchise that sometimes gets a bad rap! Also, Girlfriend of the Show Sam Colon makes a quick appearance to back up Joey’s theory!

Kemoslabies and music heads! Listen up as the stars of This is Mythical’s Ten Feet Tall, Alex Punch (@punchale) and Mike Criscimagna (@MikeCriscimagna, @TinyTigerBoys on Instagram), talk Say Anything, the wonderful emo alternative band that time forgot. We NERD OUT on their discography, and we talk about band after band like a bunch of total music nerds. On the way, we talk fast food, Hot Dog Man, high school shows, the bands that defined our tastes, their crazy friendship with Post Malone, and Mike plays the song Max Bemis wrote for him and his friends! Check out their new YouTube series here: https://youtu.be/jVejErcTH8k

Girlfriend of the show Sam Colon (@samjcolon on Instagram) makes her triumphant return to the show to talk all about her beloved Real Housewives of Various American Cities. She talks about her history with the show and why she’s so invested in it, even though I take a pretty hard opposing stance! We also talk Dante’s Peak, different pronunciations of last names, Dogs with Jobs, Shark Tank, and we discuss human centipedes! #BreakupNo

Ah, the ancient art of note taking: lists, ideas, to-do’s. We’ve all had a notebook or two for such tasks. But “dear” friend Ryan Middledorf (@ryanmiddledorf, host of Cheers, Stomps and Whistles and The Parrothead Podcast) has a heavy loyalty and a paid subscription to the Field Notes brand. Listen as we talk about his storied history with the brand and how his massive collection of little notebooks have saved his life. We also talk high school movies, our mutual love of Best Buy, movie billboards, WTF impressions, and we compare Ryan’s amazing notebook collection to Joey’s awful one!

Comedian and podcaster Katelyn Hempstead (host of the Lizard People podcast) shares her profound love for the 90s sci-fi space show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! She knows a crazy amount about this show that isn’t Star Wars, and she shows just how much it means to her! We also talk about the downsides of bathrooms, what we were like as children, Stephen King, passive aggression, and our preferences on how to say no to things!

After dropping little podcast recommendations the past few episodes, Joey sits down and lays out all the cards, giving you his favorite comedy podcasts and getting you to fall in love with all of them!

Old guest and new father John Paul Green (@johnpaulgreen) opens up for the first time about his secret plan to never open up by cutting himself off emotionally from everything and everyone (but it isn’t as negative as it sounds)! He talks about keeping his walls up and avoiding vulnerability, but not before we discuss the Disney Channel, Veggie Tales, camp movies, Ed Begley Jr, Xbox, and the entire Weezer discography!

Dear friend Dani Rosenberg (@GrownWomanChild) welcomes me with open arms to her obsession with the deep and ever-changing world of celebrity couples. She walks me through the great relationships, the bad ones, the weird ones, and the surprise ones that still don’t make sense! We also discuss aux cables, Ace of Base, tiny trains, playgrounds, and forgettable members of otherwise great bands!

Reigning champion John Totman (Cobbler improv) makes a triumphant return to the show to talk about his extreme love for The Best Show on WFMU. John shares the storied history of the cult radio show and his personal connections to it, as well as our interactions with the police, media we struggle to get into, podcasts we love, my favorite guitar solos, and the pizza place from the Louie intro!

Despite 2016 being the opposite of a banner year, it was one heck of a banner year for TUNES BABY. Joey spends the second minisode sharing his favorite albums of 2016 and why they should be your favorite albums of 2016 too!

Actor and comedian Nick Skardarasy (@nickskardarasy) returns to the program to convince me that alcohol is evil and mixed drinks are where it’s at! We’re all over the place on this one, and when we’re not discussing delicious cocktail creations or our post-college hangovers, we’re covering cool politicians, the complexities of the english language, Overwatch, hookah, chiptune music, and the trades we’d learn if we could do start our lives over!

Roller rinks are back, baby! Not really, but friend and documentary producer Eric Wojtanik (The Fan Connection) has a fairly new yet incredibly passionate love of roller skating that makes me want to love anything that much. He shares his experiences taking lessons with children and teaches the vast regulations and styles of skating, as well as sharing his celebrity roller skater sightings!

Best friend and funniest person I know Ben Clausen invites me along for a journey through his unconditional love of buddy movies, buddy cop films, and just about any variation of movies featuring friends hanging out! We talk about all of the categories/types of buddy movies, as well as posters, Aerosmith, Jumanji, and A Million Little Pieces. Listen close and he might even give you some hot recs!

Famous guest Zoe Klar (@zoeklar) returns to her roots, this podcast, to defend her love of the much-maligned selfie stick. We discuss the many advantages of the stick and even snap a few pics with it after it charges! We also discuss Trump impressions, Subway, chicken digglers, Mark Zuckerberg, Shark Tank, and we check out some Amazon reviews of the exact selfie stick in our possession!

Wonderfully funny stand-up and podcast host MJ Riggins (@mjriggins, co-host of the Barely Friending podcast) discusses the perks of living solo, how it affects her daily life and her eating/cleaning habits, and we swap bad roommate stories! We also talk vampires, naps, swimming, and coyotes!

Wise sage Jake Jabbour (@WakeUpWithJacob, co-host of The Meat Improv podcast) returns to the program to defend his love of shows set in Los Angeles despite there being so many of them. We also discuss Kevin Smith, pursuing your dreams, representation in media, and the state of modern comedies. We also make jokes and laugh a lot!

We're back baby! After a short break, the ever-hilarious Roommate of the Show Carolyn Klarecki (@carolynklarecki) returns to defend her love of shopping malls. We rank and discuss the stores, kiosks, and restaurants of the American staple, but not until we talk microphones, playgrounds, art classes, and childhood dating!

Fan favorite and one of the funniest humans I know Justin Sherman (@ShermanComedy) returns to the program to defend his love of hustling to make it in the comedy world (I know, I know. Not the craziest defense, but he's super funny and I wanted to have him back). On top of the ebbs and flows of his pursuit of success, we also discuss basketball, grade school, boba, Don't Think Twice, the Popcorn Song, and Mac Miller.

Dear friend and fellow podcaster Tiffany Soliah (@tsoliah, Peanut Butter and Jelly Shoes podcast) shows some next level fandom towards her precious Doctor Who, the British sci-fi phenomenon that die-hard nerds love yet most simply tolerate. We discuss why she loves the show so much and she answers all of my many ignorant questions, but not before we discuss Hot Topic, the Traffic Cone Guy, Steven Moffat, and James Bond!

Actor/improviser/podcaster Mark David Christenson (I Will Watch Anything Once podcast, @hobbit138) introduces me to the 1977 Ralph Bakshi animated film that no one has heard of, Wizards. We discuss the violent fantasy and why Dave will defend it to the end, but not before touching on cover songs, dancing as therapy, Beetleborgs, remakes and special effects, Tron Legacy, and Dave's sexual awakening!

Friend of the show and talented artist Matthew Dwyer (@matthewedwyer, he did the logo!) returns to explain his love and indulge his extensive knowledge of anime, including his favorite shows and animators/directors, but not before discussing The Beatles, discovering horror movies, and the inability to properly pronounce words!

It was promised early on, and we're finally delivering! Joey spends the first minisode sharing his love of the Seattle band and gives many reasons why you should love them too!

We hit the topic hard and fast when Matthew Kane (@MattKANEEE) returns to discuss his causal superfandom of the famous card game Magic: The Gathering! We also discuss Maximum Carnage, buying cigarettes, AFI, werewoofs, the stigma around the game, and we even open a brand new pack live on the air! Can you believe it?!

Most people believe variety is the spice of life, but today's guest, who eats the same three meals from the same three restaurants almost every single day, believes otherwise. Zack Bornstein (@zackbornstein, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Nerdmelt's 1000 Comics to See Before You Die) talks about his endlessly repeated meals, befriending delivery people, and what happens when you break up with one of your few restaurants. We also discuss highway directions, SeeSo, 7/11 bananas, Dungeons and Dragons, and we do a mini-episode: Men's Neck Chains!

It's the Fourth of July! We're celebrating America's day of birth by honoring a proud American retail company and its underloved invention: the Amazon Echo, a product which returning guest John Paul Green (@johnpaulgreen, Austin and Ally) calls one of his best purchases ever. John Paul talks us through a day in the life of his Echo, but first, we discuss patriotic songs, youth group, Cutest Couple, Holly Hunter, Spotify, John Frusciante, and Nuttin for Christmas! Thanks for listening, Jeff Bezos!

King of New York and genuine Disney Vacation Club member Eric Osterman (@E_Osterman) shares his love of Disney World and the Disney World Resorts, but not before he performs all of his new LA stand-up material! We also discuss campus money, Segway tours, naming your kids, and bunking up with your significant other.