Podcast appearances and mentions of Alan Yang

The Boys are back to discuss and review a Netflix classic, Master of None. This surreal, emotional, and down-to-earth TV show, created by comedian Aziz Ansari and writer Alan Yang, is a masterclass in capturing the transitional period of adulthood. Filled with all-too-familiar romantic and platonic relationships, the characters navigate the highs and lows of growing up. Tune in as the guys break down the best scenes, funniest moments, and why this is a must-watch show.

[REPRISE] From science major to punk rock band member to comedy writer, he is now the co-creator of multiple popular television shows, a producer, screenwriter, and film director. Alan Yang joins the show to talk about his creative journey to Parks and Recreation (an experience he cherishes for the incredible education it gave him) and beyond. He also dives deep on his developing a character-based approach to comedy, directing his film Tigertail, and some of his creative influences. Plus: the reason he thanked white guys in an awards speech.This conversation took place in 2020. Questions? Comments? Criticism? Hit us up on social media at @theblcklst.To learn more about The Black List, visit www.blcklst.com. Mentions:+Tigertail: https://www.netflix.com/title/80202958+Little America: https://deadline.com/2018/06/apple-little-america-immigrant-anthology-series-the-big-sick-writers-lee-eisenberg-alan-yang-1202413632/+Master of None: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/master_of_none/s01+Parks and Recreation: https://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation

"Great news! Lots of old people have chlamydia." This week, we discuss abstinence-only vs Leslie's sex education! (Where for some reason we have bananas, a cucumber, a pineapple AND a watermelon?) Also, this story line was based on a real discussion at this time - STD's were spreading everywhere through old folks homes. Thank you Alan Yang and Craig Zisk for giving us this gem of an episode.

Okay, look. Let's face facts. The series is ending. This wonderful, beloved sitcom, full of equal parts laughs and heart, is coming to a close. No doubt, it's a hard thing to contemplate for anyone, but it's just POSSIBLE that one of the guys is having a harder time than the other. Look, you have to understand, this isn't just a silly little hobby ... this gig has generated monetary kickbacks, medical benefits, travel opportunities, being asked to speak at conventions, movie deals ... and that's just the tip of the iceberg. We're not even mentioning all of the other fringe benefits, such as working with world class scientists and engineers to build what is frighteningly close to a sentient AI, or even (slightly flawed) time travel! I mean ... wow. It's so much, that it's ALMOST like we're just making this up. To imagine all that suddenly ending, well ... It's a little scary. But fans of the show deserve the truth. So, ugly or not, we're going to give you a peek into what has been going on, as well as our sincere assurance that the finale review is COMING!  We promise.  No, really ... we pinky promise.  Just like Leslie.  And if you can't believe a pinky promise ... well, then I guess the world is in worse shape than we ever imagined.  So bear with us just a few more weeks.  You won't be disappointed, and it'll be worth the wait.  We pinky promise.

In this special Resident Review episode of the PRS Global Open Keynotes Podcast, Dr. Samuel Lin and team discusses social media use in plastic surgery applicants. This episode discusses the following PRS Global Open article: Having Social Media among Integrated Plastic Surgery Applicants: Is It Needed to Match? by Alan Z. Yang, Valeria P. Bustos, Samuel M. Manstein, Carly D. Comer, Lacey Foster, Benjamin A. Sarac, Jeffrey E. Janis and Samuel J. Lin. Read the article for free on PRSGlobalOpen.com: https://bit.ly/SoMEinResidency Alan Yang is a medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. Dr. Samuel Lin is an Associate Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. Your host, Dr. Damian Marucci, is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Sydney in Australia. #PRSGlobalOpen #KeynotesPodcast #PlasticSurgery

Fresh Fiction Podcast is expanding to the world of film and television! For our debut episode, Fresh Fiction's Preston Barta and James Cole Clay discuss what's happening this week at the cinema and at home on the tube. We also have filmmaker and actor interviews to share. So, pull up and chair and listen in! This week's happenings include: FILM Wicked Little Letters Parachute Monkey Man The Greatest Hits The First Omen Dogman Anyone But You  Drive Away Dolls TV Palm Royale Manhunt The New Look Loot - Season 2 INTERVIEWS This week's interviews include: Loot creators Alan Yang & Matthew Hubbard Parachute director/co-writer Brittany Snow

On this episode of The Movie Podcast, it's all about trouble and money as Daniel and Shahbaz are joined by SPECIAL GUESTS Maya Rudolph, Joel Kim Booster, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Nat Faxon, Alan Yang, and Matt Hubbard to discuss Season 2 of Apple TV+ Original Series LOOT. The new season kicks off a year after Molly Wells (Rudolph) settles her very public divorce from tech billionaire, and we find her thriving in her role as the head of her philanthropic organization, the Wells Foundation. Focused mainly on her charity work, Molly has sworn off any new relationships with men and embarks on a wellness journey. Loot S2 premieres globally with the first two episodes on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, followed by new episodes weekly, exclusively on Apple TV+. Watch and listen to The Movie Podcast now on all podcast platforms, YouTube, and TheMoviePodcast.ca SUPPORT THE MOVIE PODCAST ON PATREON! GET 50% FACTOR MEALS WITH CODE "MOVIEPOD50" Contact: hello@themoviepodcast.ca FOLLOW US Daniel on X, Instagram, Letterboxd Shahbaz on X, Instagram, and Letterboxd Anthony on X, Instagram, and Letterboxd The Movie Podcast on X, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, and Rotten Tomatoes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A conversation with Alan Yang, General Manager of Amphenol Assembletech. Alan is based in China and has been with Amphenol for 20 years. We talk about Assembletech's high-speed products in the IT/Datacom market and how their locations in China, the U.S., Vietnam, and the Amphenol brand name help them succeed. We talk about the massive growth of the business in his 20 years and how picking the right team has made a world of difference. We talk about how people from wildly diverse backgrounds can succeed in Amphenol if they're naturally curious, work hard, and take pride in sharing achievements across the organization. We talk about spending in North America learning to work for a multi-national company in various roles before Amphenol found him and how his initial four-year plan turned into 20 years. We talk about spending quality time with his family, and we discuss his desert island album, book, and movie. This is The Interface. Hosted by Chris Cappello. Music by Square Seed. For The Interface podcast guest inquiries and suggestions, send a LinkedIn message to https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjcappello.

As you might expect from the title, this week Mark and Allen are combing over the details of Season 6 in the way only they can do. There's a lot of stuff in this one, including interviews, some delightful banter, and a lot of fun. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... What interviews are we talking about? Will our score analysis be interesting? How does Season 6 compare to past seasons? All this and MORE coming up right now! Stick around, true believers. C'mon. You know you wanna. Did we mention we have free pizza?

Join us for a  message from the man we all love (especially Mark), the mustachioed legend...Ron Swanson himself! We drug Ron out of the Swanson cabin (geo-location undisclosed) just in time for our Live from Pawnee exclusive to kick off your 2024 with panache! We hope you will take a few minutes to relax, listen, and take in some of the greatest advice ever given!From Mark, Allen, and Ron and all of us at Live from Pawnee and the LFP Worldwide Headquarters, we wish all of you, our viewers, a very Happy and Safe New Year!

This week Mark and Allen complete their breakdown the Episode where we finally meet the Department of the Interior's resident "bad boy", Liam Bonneville!  Leslie is in San Francisco, scheduled to speak at the National Parks Conference about the Pawnee/Eagleton merger. At the conference, Leslie bumps into Grant Larson, who invites her to lunch and introduces her to a number of her idols, including Michelle Obama. Grant tells a starstruck Leslie he needs a final decision from her by tomorrow, and after all this, Leslie is heavily leaning towards taking the job. Later, Leslie gives her speech at the conference, describing the Pawnee/Eagleton merger completing in 6-12 months, but her timeline is ridiculed by the audience, with two department heads suggesting the merger will need 10 years of constant hands-on management, or else risk her precious town losing its cityhood and becoming "unincorporated territory". Needless to say, this shakes Leslie to her core, and despite meeting her idols earlier, and how perfect this job seems ... she is now considering not taking it.  Meanwhile, Tom's Bistro is set to open in 6 weeks, but when investor Mitch Savner mentions how great it would be for the restaurant to be ready in time for the Unity Concert, Tom jumps the gun and promises to have the place ready for a soft opening the next day, and be ready for officially opening at the end of the week. Tom desperately brings all hands on deck, recruiting April, Craig, Ron and Donna to help him get the restaurant serviceable. Things do not go well: Ron is unable to make 20 chairs in time, Craig is unable to do his job as sommelier due to sinus/allergy issues, and Jerry Gergich orders the menus with ... uh ... let's just say, the wrong background image. As the night goes on, Mitch becomes more and more concerned and upset with the way Tom is running things.  Also meanwhile, Ben and Andy are also in San Francisco to meet with tech company "Gryzzl", who is giving away free Wi-Fi to a few cities across the US. Ben meets with them to pitch the idea of Pawnee being one of the cities. Unfortunately, they are only focusing on big cities, so they turn Ben down. After some time to think, Ben is determined to not take no for an answer, and goes back with Andy a 2nd time.  This time, however, he sees a large group of Gryzzl employees - including the Gryzzl owners he spoke to in the first meeting - playing the board game HE invented.  That's right ... they are playing "The Cones of Dunshire"!  Finally, we witness the day we've all been waiting for ... the Unity Concert is here! April and Andy lead the final Unity Concert planning meeting, with a main goal of getting 2000 signatures in support of the Pawnee-Eagleton merger. Andy also tries one last time (unsuccessfully) to get Ron to play as Duke Silver during the concert. Later, we see the Unity Concert in full swing, with headline acts The Decemberists, Ginuwine, Letters to Cleo, Bobby Knight Ranger, and Land Ho bringing in huge crowds. Andy performs as Johnny Karate on the children's stage, and afterwards bumps into Burly. The two reminisce over Mouse Rat's break up and it brings back memories for Andy as he misses being a part of a band. On a similar note, Diane encourages Ron to get up on stage and have fun, but Ron has no intention of doing so.  As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Leslie take the job? Will Tom's investor, Mitch Savner, back out of the deal? How did Gryzzl get their hands on the Cones of Dunshire? Can Andy find a way to deal with the fact that he misses being in a band? Will Leslie move away from Pawnee? Could there be another opportunity for Tom's Bistro to be redeemed? Can Ben leverage the Cones of Dunshire to his advantage? Does Ron become convinced to play as Duke Silver at some point? Can Leslie find a way to have it all? Does Tom find a way to turn things around? Will Pawnee get free WiFi? Will the gang manage to collect 2000 signatures in support of the Pawnee-Eagleton merger?  Loyal viewers, we MADE IT! We are at the END of Season 6! Can you even believe it?!? Will this 53 MINUTE extravaganza blow everything else out of the water? Tune in and find out! Many thanks to our sponsor Entertainment 720 and their award-hopeful film: "Identity Crisis: This is Mouse Rat."

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we finally meet the Department of the Interior's resident "bad boy", Liam Bonneville!  Leslie is in San Francisco, scheduled to speak at the National Parks Conference about the Pawnee/Eagleton merger. At the conference, Leslie bumps into Grant Larson, who invites her to lunch and introduces her to a number of her idols, including Michelle Obama. Grant tells a starstruck Leslie he needs a final decision from her by tomorrow, and after all this, Leslie is heavily leaning towards taking the job. Later, Leslie gives her speech at the conference, describing the Pawnee/Eagleton merger completing in 6-12 months, but her timeline is ridiculed by the audience, with two department heads suggesting the merger will need 10 years of constant hands-on management, or else risk her precious town losing its cityhood and becoming "unincorporated territory". Needless to say, this shakes Leslie to her core, and despite meeting her idols earlier, and how perfect this job seems ... she is now considering not taking it.  Meanwhile, Tom's Bistro is set to open in 6 weeks, but when investor Mitch Savner mentions how great it would be for the restaurant to be ready in time for the Unity Concert, Tom jumps the gun and promises to have the place ready for a soft opening the next day, and be ready for officially opening at the end of the week. Tom desperately brings all hands on deck, recruiting April, Craig, Ron and Donna to help him get the restaurant serviceable. Things do not go well: Ron is unable to make 20 chairs in time, Craig is unable to do his job as sommelier due to sinus/allergy issues, and Jerry Gergich orders the menus with ... uh ... let's just say, the wrong background image. As the night goes on, Mitch becomes more and more concerned and upset with the way Tom is running things.  Also meanwhile, Ben and Andy are also in San Francisco to meet with tech company "Gryzzl", who is giving away free Wi-Fi to a few cities across the US. Ben meets with them to pitch the idea of Pawnee being one of the cities. Unfortunately, they are only focusing on big cities, so they turn Ben down. After some time to think, Ben is determined to not take no for an answer, and goes back with Andy a 2nd time.  This time, however, he sees a large group of Gryzzl employees - including the Gryzzl owners he spoke to in the first meeting - playing the board game HE invented.  That's right ... they are playing "The Cones of Dunshire"!  Finally, we witness the day we've all been waiting for ... the Unity Concert is here! April and Andy lead the final Unity Concert planning meeting, with a main goal of getting 2000 signatures in support of the Pawnee-Eagleton merger. Andy also tries one last time (unsuccessfully) to get Ron to play as Duke Silver during the concert. Later, we see the Unity Concert in full swing, with headline acts The Decemberists, Ginuwine, Letters to Cleo, Bobby Knight Ranger, and Land Ho bringing in huge crowds. Andy performs as Johnny Karate on the children's stage, and afterwards bumps into Burly. The two reminisce over Mouse Rat's break up and it brings back memories for Andy as he misses being a part of a band. On a similar note, Diane encourages Ron to get up on stage and have fun, but Ron has no intention of doing so.  As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Leslie take the job? Will Tom's investor, Mitch Savner, back out of the deal? How did Gryzzl get their hands on the Cones of Dunshire? Can Andy find a way to deal with the fact that he misses being in a band? Will Leslie move away from Pawnee? Could there be another opportunity for Tom's Bistro to be redeemed? Can Ben leverage the Cones of Dunshire to his advantage? Does Ron become convinced to play as Duke Silver at some point? Can Leslie find a way to have it all? Does Tom find a way to turn things around? Will Pawnee get free WiFi? Will the gang manage to collect 2000 signatures in support of the Pawnee-Eagleton merger?  Loyal viewers, we MADE IT! We are at the END of Season 6! Can you even believe it?!? Will this 53 MINUTE extravaganza blow everything else out of the water? Tune in and find out! Many thanks to our incredible sponsors, "?????" and "?????".

While Kate and Franklin remain hunkered down below the Hollywood sign, filmmaker Alan Yang joins the show to talk about his journey from Parks and Recreation to Master of None, developing a character-based approach to comedy, his latest film, Tigertail (Netflix), and so much more. Episode originally published in 2020. Questions? Comments? Criticism? Hit us up on social media at @theblcklst.To learn more about The Black List, visit www.blcklst.com. Mentions:+Tigertail: https://www.netflix.com/title/80202958+Little America: https://deadline.com/2018/06/apple-little-america-immigrant-anthology-series-the-big-sick-writers-lee-eisenberg-alan-yang-1202413632/+Master of None: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/master_of_none/s01+Parks and Recreation: https://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we are first introduced to Andy's last (and perhaps best) alter ego, Johnny Karate! When a chard vendor named Nolan uses sexually suggestive tactics to sell his wares at the Farmers Market, Leslie thinks it's unethical and wants it shut down. As new City Manager, though, Ben has to put aside his personal opinions, and isn't quite sure the vendor is violating any codes. When the issue starts getting discussed outside work hours, Ben suggests a "firewall system" that prevents work-related talk at home, and vice versa. The next day Leslie presents Ben with a list of reasons why the chard vendor should be kicked out, but Ben thinks Leslie might just be targeting the chard vendor. Ben is also irritated that Leslie revoked Nolan's license without consulting him. He ends up undoing the premature revoke as he still needs more time to sift through city codes ... angering Leslie. Meanwhile, Ann is in constant agony with pregnancy aches and pains, and she begins to get frustrated with Chris Traeger's constant efforts to cheer her up and solve her problems. She stumbles across a wine & cheese club (spelled W-H-I-N-E) hosted in Ron's office that consists of Ron, Tom, Donna, and Jerry. Tom explains they gather in Ron's office once a month to vent (or "whine") about what annoys them at work, while enjoying fine wine and cheese. Ann sees this as the perfect place to vent about her problems, but as she does so, everyone sees the balance start to tip, as the club becomes less about them, and more about her. Finally, when Craig overhears Andy playing his guitar at work, he invites him and the rest of Mouse Rat to play at his nephew's 6th birthday party. At first Andy talks his band mates into the gig, but after they learn it's for a children's party, they angrily walk out of rehearsal. Although he's not sure what songs to play (as most of Mouse Rat's songs are sexual in nature), Andy decides to play the party by himself, with April by his side. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Leslie adhere to the firewall system? Can Chris find a way to be there for Ann without making her angry? What songs will Andy decide to play at the party? Can Ben figure out a compromise between Leslie and Nolan? Will Ann find solace in the Whine and Cheese club? Can Andy come up with a performing name for just himself? Does anyone REALLY like chard shots? How many times can someone say the word "nipple" in a conversation? Will the party be a success, or will Craig end up losing it? Loyal podcast viewers, we are now over halfway through the penultimate season of Parks and Rec. Tune in to see if they can maintain the quality we have all come to expect! Many thanks to our wonderful sponsor, "Apple".

If you loved Office Ladies, then you just might KINDA LIKE Parks and Recollection! That’s right another NBC sitcom rewatch podcast that has some middling success, but not quite enough to keep original hosts Rob Lowe and Alan Yang. That is relevant as the podcast episode we are covering S4E1: I’m Leslie Knope is the... The post Parks and Recollection – S4E1 “I'm Leslie Knope” – TPATPAT first appeared on Shows What You Know.

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we are first introduced to the possibility of a Knope Recall! Ron has proposed the city cut its funding to the Pawnee Palms Public Putt-Putt (a.k.a. "the Pawnee Palms", a.k.a. "the PPPPP", a.k.a. "the Quintuple-P"). Leslie disagrees with Ron, and tries to make sure the city council votes against it. Unfortunately, the council is locked at 2–2, with Councilman Jamm as the proverbial "swing vote". To this end, Leslie invites Jamm to the Quintuple-P for a night of mini golf. Predicting this move, Ron meets them there, not to play, but just to remind Jamm how much taxpayer money is spent each year on this place. Leslie, on the other hand, panders to Jamm's juvenile side, supplies him with snow cones and balloons, and reminds him how fun the Quintuple-P is. Enjoying the attention, Jamm decides to make Ron and Leslie play 9 holes against each other, and whoever wins, gets Jamm's vote. Meanwhile, when Ben, April and Andy have a celebratory drink at Paladino's Bar, Andy is shocked to find out Mouse Rat is playing without him (under the name "Rat Mouse"), performing songs he wrote. When Andy confronts Burly and Chang, they explain they called him numerous times over a number of weeks to try and get him to come to rehearsals, but when he never showed or responded, they still really wanted to play so they continued on without him. In response to this betrayal, Andy comes to the conclusion that he is going to retire from music and performs one final solo swan song, that night, on stage, to bid farewell to his career. Finally, having grown tired of his crazy, uncontrollable, and sometimes dangerously unpredictable girlfriend Mona-Lisa, Tom finally acts like an adult ... and asks Ann to break up with Mona-Lisa for him. Ann reluctantly agrees, but this ends up backfiring ... I mean, sure, Mona-Lisa DOES break up with Tom, but then she conscripts Ann as her bestie, focusing her "laser beams of crazy" on her instead. Desperate to find a way out of this situation, Ann insists Tom help her, who resorts to kissing Ann in front of Mona-Lisa as a guise for ending the friendship. This only makes things worse as Mona-Lisa takes this as them asking her for a threesome. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Who will win the mini-golf contest, Leslie or Ron? Will this be Andy's final swan song? Will Ann and Tom be sucked into a threesome with Mona-Lisa, or can they escape with their sanity? Will Jamm honor the contest results, or will he vote however he wants? What will Andy do with his life after he retires from music? Is Mona-Lisa's breakup with Tom permanent, or just a temporary respite? If the Quintuple-P closes, what will happen to Mr. Fuzzy-Face the gorilla? Does Andy make good nachos or not? Exactly how crazy IS Mona-Lisa? Loyal podcast viewers, this is the penultimate episode - tune in and let's finish this season strong! Many thanks to our amazing sponsor and sister company LFP World Musik: creators of "Mouse Rat, The Deluxe Edition" and "KidzPOP Covers Mouse Rat!". Order them soon on LivefromPawnee.com or pick them up at Food and Stuff!

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where the future of Lot 48 is finally decided! Leslie and Councilman Jeremy Jamm are finally going head-to-head, pitching their proposals for Lot 48 to the Planning Committee. Despite Jamm plying them with fast food during the meeting, Leslie is told in private her Pawnee Commons project is MUCH better for the town, and that they can't approve it because it is short $50,000 ... but if she can come up with that money in the next week, they'll vote for her. To this end, Leslie and Ben plan a black tie gala fundraiser, the gang all work together, things seem to be going well ... until the day of the gala, Leslie finds out the surprise annual Emergency Preparedness drill is happening, and as appointed Pawnee Emergency Czar, she must go to the Command Center immediately. The chosen simulated disaster is avian flu, which Leslie loves, since it is simple, and she's already prepared for it. Leslie attempts to breeze through the proceedings, but just when it looks like they have triumphed, Councilman Jamm (who was supposed to deal with Transit Authorities) dropped the ball, causing the epidemic to spread instead of being contained. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang does their best to get things ready for the gala: Ben coordinates things at Lot 48, including delegating tables and chairs to Donna, as well as dealing with firemen using Lot 48 as a triage center for the drill; Tom travels around Pawnee, desperately looking for caterers willing to supply free food for the event; Ron decides to take Leslie's place on Pawnee Today to promote the gala, which proves challenging once it becomes clear Joan Callamezzo is INCREDIBLY hung over, finally passing out on the floor before the interview can really get started. Meanwhile, the day has finally come for Andy to take the Pawnee PD exam. Very excited (but nervous), he makes his way to the police station, accompanied by April, who gives him a good luck charm and helps him with last minute cramming. After anxiously waiting in the lobby for Andy to finish, April finally sees him come back to the lobby, excited and confident that he did really well on the written exam! A bit later, Andy is once again taken into the back office, this time for his personality exam. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Can Leslie help Pawnee survive the avian flu, or is the town going the way of the dodo? How did Andy really do on his written exam? Will Ron effectively promote the gala event? Can Tom find any caterers willing to provide food for free? Is Andy prepared to take the personality exam? Where in the world did Jerry go? Does Ben talk the firemen into moving the triage center? Will Andy truly become one of Pawnee's finest? Will the gala happen, or is it destined for doom? What is "The Knope Protocol"? What is the good luck charm April gives Andy? Loyal viewers, Season 5 is on a roll ... will it continue? Stay tuned to find out, dot dot dot ... Many thanks to our wonderful sponsor, Chez Chez La Rue.

Iconic episode alert! The burger cookoff with Ron and Chris, a soulmate level match with Leslie and another office worker.... (although the wrong one at first), and wildflower mural goodness! Plus omg all of Tom's incredible shortened phrases (chicky chicky parm parm) - thank you Alan Yang and Aziz and team for these golden nuggets. Also, lots of BTS on Grain N Simple, Food and Stuff (yes the "and" is spelled out) and Ann comes into her own which we love! (Thank you, Donna)Enjoy and see you next time! Support the showRate and review us on Apple Podcasts!Follow us @parkpalspodcast on Instagram! Or email us at parkpalspodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Hilliard and emerging writer/dir Anthony Alyassyi sit down with lovely and beautiful writer/director/filmmaker Aitch Alberto who recently finished writing on DUSTER, a 1970s-set crime drama series from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan for HBO Max and Warner Brothers TV. She also served as a writer on AppleTV+'s critically acclaimed anthology series LITTLE AMERICA from Alan Yang, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon. Aitch has adapted for film and directed the award-winning young adult novel, ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, with Lin-Manuel Miranda executive producing and Eva Longoria and stars Eugenio Derbez. The film premiered at TIFF 2022 and will be out in 2023. Aitch was just named as one of Variety's 10 directors to watch for 2022. In this don't miss episode, some of the highlights we also talked about were -- being a fighter and putting down your dukes, leading with truth, breaking down stereotypes, navigating the film festival circuit, allowing yourself to have fun, connecting on a human level and so much more! Check out the ScreenWriterRR website at www.screenwritersrr.com for information, merch, or our Patreon! Support the show via the Patreon link. Remember support is love! We invest countless hours per week to deliver the actionable content that goes into this podcast. Connect with Us: Chris Derrick on Twitter Hilliard Guess on Twitter Follow Aitch Alberto on Instagram Anthony Alyassyi on Instagram The Undergraduate Film on Instagram The Screenwriters Rant Room on Facebook Theme Song by @ThinkDeP --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/screenwriters-rant-room/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/screenwriters-rant-room/support

Aitch Alberto is a writer/director born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow, recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, a Latino Screenwriting Project Fellowship, and an alumnus of the Outfest Screenwriting Lab. Aitch has written on DUSTER, a 1970s-set crime drama series from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan for HBO Max and WBTV.She also served as a writer on AppleTV+'s BAFTA and Film Independent Nominated anthology series LITTLE AMERICA from Alan Yang, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon. Most recently, Aitch has adapted and directed the award-winning young adult novel ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eugenio Debrez producing, from Limelight.Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a 2022 coming-of-age romantic film that is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Aristotle and Dante had it premiere at the 47th Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022.She has been included on The Black List's inaugural Latinx List, as well as the Tracking Board's Hit List and Young & Hungry List, and NALIP's list of "Latinx Directors You Should Know". Aitch has most recently been featured on Variety's 10 Directors To Watch for 2022 and Indiewire's 22 Rising Female Filmmakers to watch in 2022.Enjoy my conversation with Aitch Alberto.

Aitch Alberto is a writer/director born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow, recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, a Latino Screenwriting Project Fellowship, and an alumnus of the Outfest Screenwriting Lab. Aitch has written on DUSTER, a 1970s-set crime drama series from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan for HBO Max and WBTV.She also served as a writer on AppleTV+'s BAFTA and Film Independent Nominated anthology series LITTLE AMERICA from Alan Yang, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon. Most recently, Aitch has adapted and directed the award-winning young adult novel ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eugenio Debrez producing, from Limelight.Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a 2022 coming-of-age romantic film that is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Aristotle and Dante had it premiere at the 47th Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022.She has been included on The Black List's inaugural Latinx List, as well as the Tracking Board's Hit List and Young & Hungry List, and NALIP's list of "Latinx Directors You Should Know". Aitch has most recently been featured on Variety's 10 Directors To Watch for 2022 and Indiewire's 22 Rising Female Filmmakers to watch in 2022.Enjoy my conversation with Aitch Alberto.

This week we're discussing the new Appke TV+ show, Loot. Created by Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard and starring Maya Rudolph. Molly is a newly divorced billionaire trying to reengage with her charitable foundation and reconnect with the real world.

Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang have a huge show for a small horse when recapping the season three finale of Parks and Recreation. In "Li'l Sebastian" Leslie and the Parks Department organize a memorial for a departed friend. In this episode you'll find out how an awkward encounter in the writer's room caused one of the funniest jokes on the show, which character is like Colossus from The X-Men, why changing Tom's career trajectory was important, an update on Biff Yeager, and a huge bombshell is revealed by producer Greg! Come for the Parks and Rec trivia, stay for the AC/DC trivia!  Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992   Leslie announces Li'l Sebastian, Pawnee's beloved celebrity mini-horse, has died and the parks department will hold a memorial service for him. Tom suggests they hire Entertainment 720 for the event, a production company recently started by his friend Jean-Ralphio. Jean-Ralphio encourages Tom to come work with him at the company, but Tom isn't sure if he wants to leave his city hall job. Meanwhile, the extremely health-conscious Chris finds out he has tendonitis, and takes the news so seriously that he questions his own mortality. Leslie and Ben continue their romance despite a no-dating policy at city hall, but they have difficulty keeping it a secret. Ron finds out and warns them that Chris will fire them if he learns about it.  As the city prepares for the memorial service, Leslie and Ben are caught making out by a maintenance worker named George (Biff Yeager), so they send him home with a gift certificate in exchange for his silence. What Leslie and Ben didn't realize was that George had the propane for Li'l Sebastian's eternal flame, which results in later confusion behind the scenes, which they struggle to fix throughout the night. Jerry is sent to get propane for the flame but buys lighter fluid instead; this causes a huge fireball to shoot into the air when Ron lights it, which singes off most of his facial hair. Leslie and Ben are relieved, however, when the crowd applauds in the belief the fireball was staged. Entertainment 720's show also proves to be a hit with the crowd, which makes Tom further contemplate quitting his job.  At a party afterward, Andy receives praise for his Li'l Sebastian tribute song, "5,000 Candles in the Wind." April sells many Mouse Rat CDs at an inflated price, which spurs Andy to ask her to become the group's manager. Indirectly responsible for nearly killing Ron, Leslie and Ben agree to no more secret displays of affection at work. Ann, who previously dated Chris and had trouble getting over him, offers comfort to Chris for his depression. This makes him appear romantically interested in Ann once again. A conflicted Tom decides to resign and accept a job with Entertainment 720. Meanwhile, Ron is confronted by his evil ex-wife Tammy (Megan Mullally) at the party—but both Ron and Tammy are horrified to learn his other ex-wife, also named Tammy (whom he calls "Tammy 1") has also arrived in town.  Leslie is approached by scouts looking for potential candidates for elected office, which has always been one of her dreams. Impressed by the memorial service and the harvest festival Leslie previously organized, they believe she would be a good candidate for upcoming city council seats, or possibly the mayoral position. With the expected increased media attention on her personal life, the scouts ask whether Leslie has any secret scandals in her life. She denies any such scandals exist, thus omitting her secret relationship with Ben, and the scouts promise to contact her about preparing an electoral run.

The hilarity is popping in Pawnee, when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang discuss S3E15 of Parks and Recreation! In "The Bubble" Leslie's mom makes a pass at Ben, not knowing that he and Leslie are dating. On today's episode the team share how fun it is to have Chris interacting with all of the parks department, Greg gives insights on his first writing credit, and why it took so long to get Marlene back in an episode! All of this and some surprising data about opening credits. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  The Parks Department welcomes Ann Perkins to her new office at Pawnee City Hall and fills it with balloons, much to the chagrin of her cranky officemate Stuart. Leslie and Ben are dating, but they are keeping their relationship a secret due to a no-dating policy at work. They are enjoying what Leslie calls "the bubble", or the beginning of a relationship when everything is simple and fun.  The Bubble is threatened when Ben has a meeting with Leslie's mother Marlene Griggs-Knope, a notoriously tough politician in the Pawnee school system, who wants Ben to approve the purchase of four new school buses despite a difficult budget season. Afraid of ruining the bubble, Leslie initially tells Ben she is not related to Marlene. Right before Ben's meeting, however, Leslie admits Marlene is her mother, making him nervous and causing him to capitulate to all of her demands during the meeting. Marlene considers Ben weak, so Leslie becomes determined to prove that he is a tough boss to impress Marlene.  Chris has enacted numerous changes to the Parks Department: he promotes Jerry to Public Relations Director, appoints April as everyone's assistant, places Tom Haverford on the nightmarish fourth floor with Andy as his temporary assistant, and makes Ron sit in the middle of a circular desk after the removal of his office, to force him to interact with people. Ron believes everything will eventually go back to normal as it has with past city managers that implemented changes. However, Donna is concerned that the overly-determined Chris will not do so and demands that Ron talk to him. On the fourth floor, Tom's attempts to charm some of the elderly women, including Ethel Beavers and Muriel into doing his work but fails miserably, as they ignore him and all adore Andy and April.  Leslie trains Ben for his next meeting with her mother. He impresses Marlene so much with his tough negotiation skills that she becomes flirtatious with him. An uncomfortable Ben tells Leslie they should tell her about their relationship, but Leslie does not want to lose the bubble. Fed up, Ben storms into Marlene's office and tells her that he is dating her daughter and asks her to keep it secret. Marlene laughs off the situation and tells Leslie that she approves of Ben.  Ron tells Chris the changes do not play to his staff's strengths and decides to compromise: if Chris returns everything to the way it was, he will remain at/in the desk for another week. Chris complies. Nevertheless, Tom is frustrated with the experience and begins to contemplate leaving his City Hall job to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests.

Grab your banjo and put on your seatbelts because today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are watching S3E14 of Parks and Recreation! In "Road Trip" Chris sends Leslie and Ben on a trip to the capital while Tom's new game creates tension between April and Andy. In this episode you'll hear why the rare bonding moment between Ann and April was important, Mike Schur's love of Neutral Milk Hotel and hate for hot fruit, how RoLo's Banjo improv came to be, and why creating a mix CD is a true artform. All of this and a subtle lesson in mainland Mandarin! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall or do you eat Cheez-its with raisins? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 Leslie still harbors strong romantic feelings for Ben, but cannot date him due to Chris Traeger's strict policy against workplace dating. Just as Ann suggests to Leslie that she should avoid being alone with Ben, Chris asks Leslie and Ben to drive to Indianapolis to pitch Pawnee as the next host of the Indiana Little League Baseball tournament. Leslie and Ann devise numerous boring conversation topics for the trip to prevent it from becoming romantic. After an awkward drive to Indianapolis, Leslie and Ben speak before the Little League Commission, which seems reluctant to choose Pawnee for the tournament. Ben delivers a heartfelt speech about the town, but also appears to be secretly speaking about his feelings for Leslie. Meanwhile, Tom asks Andy, April, Jerry and Donna to participate in a new game show called Know Ya Boo, that he is hoping to pitch to networks; he admits that it is a rip-off of The Newlywed Game. It quickly becomes clear that Jerry and Donna know much more about each other than the recently married Andy and April. When April reveals her favorite band is Neutral Milk Hotel and not Andy's band Mouse Rat, Andy angrily leaves the game. April and Andy have a big fight which causes him to quit his music. April seeks advice from Ann because, although she dislikes her, Ann previously dated Andy for several years. Ann tells April she has to be supportive of Andy no matter how she feels. The next day, April brings the other members of Mouse Rat to city hall and surprises Andy by singing one of his songs. A thrilled Andy reconciles with April. In a separate C Story, a young girl named Lauren (Alyssa Shafer) asks to interview Ron for her school's field trip assignment to city hall. Ron initially resists, but soon espouses his libertarian beliefs to her. He illustrates the concept of taxes by eating 40 percent of Lauren's lunch, to compare his actions to those of the government. She eagerly accepts his anti-government views. The next day, Lauren's furious mother reveals her daughter's assignment was "Why Government Matters", and that Lauren simply wrote "It doesn't". Ron apologizes, and later tells Lauren she should keep her views on government to herself until she gets older. Ben's speech clearly impresses both the judges and Leslie, and Pawnee is ultimately selected for the tournament. Leslie reluctantly accepts Ben's invitation to a celebratory dinner that night, where Ben brings up his feelings for her. She slips away to call Ann for advice, and Ann urges Leslie to act on her feelings. Just as Leslie decides to do so, she is surprised to find Chris has arrived at the dinner to congratulate the two personally. He insists they sleep at his home in Indianapolis, ruining their night. The next day, Leslie and Ben run into each other alone and Ben reveals Chris is out for the day. Ben then immediately kisses her, to which Leslie reciprocates, leaving her simultaneously delighted and nervous about their future.

Pawnee is full of clearances and apologies when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang tackle S3E13. In The Fight Tom invites everyone to the Snakehole as he debuts a new drink, and Leslie encourages Ann to apply for a job with the city. On today's episode find out how front loading the B-story helped the slow burn of the A-story, why Janet Snakehole has a Mid-Atlantic accent, and which actors improvised their drunk talking heads. All of this and some interesting talk about agents! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Chris Traeger has fired Dennis Cooper, the former health department public relations director, who hung posters around city hall to publicly condemn his adulterous wife. Leslie suggests Ann replace him, but her ulterior motive is to spend more time with her friend. Although reluctant, Ann agrees to attend the job interview—and Leslie provides her with an overwhelming amount of reading material to prepare for it.  Tom encourages the parks department to attend the Snakehole Lounge, for the unveiling of his new alcoholic beverage, Snake Juice—He also requests that they use guerrilla marketing techniques via word of mouth promotion. April shows little interest in attending, until Andy suggests they make a game of it by role-playing as different people at the bar. April pretends to be Janet Snakehole, an aristocratic widow with a dark secret, while Andy poses as his frequent alter-ego, FBI agent Burt Macklin.  That night, at the Snakehole Lounge, Leslie is surprised and annoyed to find Ann partying on the dance floor instead of preparing for the job interview. Ann introduces Leslie to her latest boyfriend, local radio host "The Douche" (Nick Kroll). As Leslie and Ann become increasingly drunk from Snake Juice, Leslie insults Ann's current dating lifestyle. This prompts Ann to insult Leslie for moving too slow with Ben. The fight escalates throughout the night, and Leslie ultimately claims she always has to keep Ann motivated or Ann would not go anywhere. Both declare it best that Ann not work with Leslie after all and they storm off.  The Snake Juice proves delicious and popular with the rest of the parks department employees, all of whom become extremely drunk, with the exception of Donna who is on a juice cleanse. Chris arrives to warn Tom that using government employees to promote his own personal ventures is a breach of ethics. He tells a disappointed Tom that he must sell his shares of the Snakehole Lounge if he wants to keep his job.  The next morning, everyone who drank Snake Juice is extremely hungover except for Ron—and Tom sells his shares the next morning to Jean-Ralphio, but not before Ron tries to convince Chris to let Tom off the government “teat.” Leslie deeply regrets how she treated Ann. Ben visits Ann at her home and asks her to forgive Leslie. Ann, who also regrets the fight, is touched by Ben's gesture and reveals that Leslie likes him. Ann decides to attend the job interview, during which she and Leslie apologize to each other. After a second interview with Chris, Ann is given the job on a part-time basis so she can continue her work as a nurse. April tries to reprise her role of Janet Snakehole and have Andy reprise Burt Macklin, but a hungover Andy claims Burt is dead, but creates Kip Hackman, Burt Macklin's brother. He then vomits onto Kyle's shoes.

The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Van Lathan and Wosny Lambre to discuss Jalen Brunson likely heading to the Knicks, how the Mavericks can cope, and “new media” vs. “old media” (1:50). Then, Bill talks with Ariel Helwani about the current state of the WWE, UFC 276, and more (44:58). Finally, Bill talks with writer-producer and lifelong Lakers fan Alan Yang about hoping for Kyrie Irving to join the Lakers before he opted in with the Nets, expectations for the Lakers' 2022-23 season, Alan's new show 'Loot' on Apple TV+, and more (1:20:54). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Van Lathan, Wosny Lambre, Ariel Helwani, and Alan Yang Producer: Kyle Crichton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Call your friends and welcome them to Pawnee. Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are watching S3E12. In "Eagleton" Leslie is forced to deal with a former beloved colleague-turned bitter enemy when a neighboring town separates a shared park with a fence. On this episode find out how amazing it was to work with Nicole Holofcener, why a trash fight convinced Parker Posey to be in this episode, what in this script made Rashida cry, and why Alan never keeps ice cream in his home! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Eagleton, a more prosperous neighboring town of Pawnee, has erected a tall fence in the shared Lafayette Park to keep Pawnee residents at a distance. Leslie's theory is that it's the work of Lindsay Carlisle Shay (Parker Posey), The Eagleton equivalent of Leslie. Lindsay is a former Pawnee parks department employee and used to be Leslie's best friend. While dealing with the fence, Leslie also discovers Ron's upcoming birthday, a date he has kept secret for years. Leslie promises a horrified and annoyed Ron that she will throw a surprise party for him. In the standard style of a disorderly public meeting, the citizens of Pawnee call for the fence to be removed. Leslie meets with Lindsay, who refuses to take the fence down and insults Pawnee in the process. Leslie, Tom, and Ben attend a catered Eagleton town meeting inside a country club to plead their case to its citizens. The people of Eagleton are wealthy and civil, but also incredibly condescending. Citing the poor maintenance of Pawnee's side of Lafayette Park, the Eagleton citizens would like the fence to stay up. Leslie reveals to Tom and Ben that she was offered the job of Eagleton parks director five years ago but turned it down. At the time, Leslie and Lindsay both promised to remain in Pawnee. However, Eagleton then offered Lindsay the job and she accepted, turning her back on Pawnee and worse… Leslie. Ron becomes increasingly paranoid of Leslie's birthday party, especially after he overhears April and Andy discuss outrageous plans. When Ron learns what a huge party she threw for Ann's birthday, he becomes so paranoid that he resorts to sleeping in his office to avoid any potential surprises at home. While this is happening, Leslie seeks revenge against Lindsay by getting her parks employees to throw garbage over the Eagleton side of the fence. When Lindsay arrives to stop it, the two get into a fight amid the garbage bags. The police arrive and arrest both women: Lindsay is jailed in Pawnee, while Leslie is jailed in Eagleton's pristine holding cell.  After Ann bails Leslie out of jail, she tells her that Lindsay built the fence to get a rise out of Leslie, because she is jealous that Leslie was offered the Eagleton job first. Ann suggests that Lindsay should be hit with a baseball bat, which gives Leslie the idea to turn Pawnee's side of Lafayette Park into a wiffle ball field, with the fence serving as the outfield wall. Lindsay is impressed by how fast Leslie turned the fence into something positive, and remembers why she and Leslie joined the parks department in the first place. With their relationship on the mend, the two agree to get a drink together.  Later, Leslie returns to the office to throw Ron's party: she takes him to an empty room with steak, whiskey and his favorite movies waiting for him, and reveals that April and Andy's duties were red herrings. Leslie explains she made a party that he would want and leaves a content Ron alone to enjoy his birthday.

You never know when inspiration will strike while visiting Pawnee—and today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are inspired by S3E11 of Parks and Recreation! In "Jerry's Painting" Chris deals with community uproar over Jerry's new painting, and Ben tries to help teach Andy and April responsibility after he moves in with them. On today's episode you'll hear why Ben couldn't just live alone, how it was important for Chris to deliver non-jokes in a humorous way, and how a misbehaving Leslie strengthened the character. All of this and a grammar lesson from Mario! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Leslie Knope feels powerless at work because a policy set by Chris Traeger, which forbids workplace romances, is preventing her from dating Ben Wyatt. Meanwhile, now that he is staying in Pawnee permanently, Ben decides to move out of the motel where he has been living. Andy Dwyer and April Ludgate offer him a spare room in their house, since their previous roommate moved out and left the house to them. Although the two have been living by themselves for only a week, the house is a complete mess with no everyday items like plates or utensils available. Ben decides to teach a reluctant Andy and April how to properly live like adults.  Meanwhile, the parks employees attend an art show exhibiting paintings that will later be hung in government buildings. Jerry displays his painting of the fictional topless centaur Greek goddess Diaphena, which looks exactly like Leslie. Jerry explains he subconsciously painted Leslie while thinking about powerful women. Instead of being embarrassed, Leslie feels empowered by the painting. Tom, however, is humiliated because a pot-bellied cherub in the painting shares his likeness. The next day, local conservative activist Marcia Langman (Darlene Hunt) compares the painting to bestiality, deems it unsuitable for a government setting and demands it be destroyed. Leslie goes on the news program Ya Heard? With Perd! to rouse public support for the painting by portraying it as a depiction of a powerful woman. However, she is undermined when reporter Perd Hapley also has on adult film actress Brandi Maxxxx, who defends the painting by comparing it to pornography. Chris convenes a meeting of the Pawnee Public Arts Commission to rule on whether the painting is acceptable. Despite Leslie's eloquent defense, the commission fears the nudity is offensive and decides to destroy it instead of risking public backlash. Leslie retaliates by stealing the painting. After cleaning up around the house, Ben gives Andy and April money to buy common household items. Although they almost waste their money on frivolous items, Andy insists they need to take Ben's advice. April admits she is afraid of growing up because she does not want them to lose their unique personalities, but Andy assures her they will not change.  Chris angrily demands Leslie bring the painting to city hall the next day to be destroyed. When Leslie reluctantly agrees to do so, Jerry expresses disappointment that she would give up so easily. Feeling empowered again, Leslie asks Jerry to quickly paint another, similar painting, only this time with Tom as the centaur. Leslie tells Marcia the new painting is the original one but painted over. With no more nudity in the painting, a frustrated Marcia gives up her quest to have the painting destroyed. Ben later confides to Andy he likes Leslie but is unable to ask her out because of Chris, but Andy tells him if they truly care about each other, then it will eventually happen.

Check out Parks and Recollection hosted by Rob Lowe and Alan Yang  https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/parks-and-recollection Grab your waffles and chicken soup—today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are watching an iconic episode of Parks and Recreation. In "Flu Season" Leslie gets sick right before an important fundraising pitch for the Harvest Festival while Chris tries frantically to avoid catching the bug. In today's episode you'll hear why Rob saying "Stop Pooping" was so important, the impact of "Spa-nee" on treating one's self, and how the Harvest Festival storyline helped keep Chris and Ben as main characters. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

Grab your food rakes because today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are swiping right on S3E10! In "Soulmates" Leslie is matched up with Tom on an Internet dating website, while Chris and Ron compete in a hamburger cook-off. On today's episode find out why clarity in comedy helps the audience laugh, how copyright trouble helped make better comedy, and why RoLo loves this episode! All of this and why Danny Glover's love for prop food is rivaled only by Chris Pratt's. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Chris enacts a government-wide health initiative in Pawnee, starting by banning red meat from the city hall commissary, much to the displeasure of Ron. He challenges Chris to a burger cook-off to prove red meat is superior to Chris' preferred lean meat, with red meat staying on the menu if Ron wins. Meanwhile, Leslie invites Ben out to dinner, but he turns her down, leaving Leslie confused because she was sure Ben was attracted to her. Ann, who is now dating multiple men after taking Donna's advice to be more adventurous, tells Leslie to join an online dating website called HoosierMate.com and helps set up her profile.  Leslie finds a match that is 98 percent compatible with her – a "soulmate" rating – but is horrified to discover that it is Tom. Additionally, the crude sewage department employee Joe makes a romantic advance toward Leslie, prompting her to launch a "douche-vestigation" to find out why she attracts the wrong type of man. Meanwhile, Chris takes Andy, April, and Ron to a health food market called Grain 'n Simple, where he gathers numerous ingredients for the perfect turkey burger, but Ron is unfazed, simply buying a pound of red meat from his favorite food market, Food and Stuff.  In her investigation, Leslie quickly learns Joe merely hits on any woman as long as she is not elderly. She takes Tom out to lunch to learn more about him. He responds to all of Leslie's questions with his usual chauvinistic answers, annoying her to the point that she admits she took him out because they matched on HoosierMate. A delighted Tom teases Leslie the rest of the day by pretending they are a couple, but she finally silences him by kissing him. Chris notices the kiss and warns Leslie that he has a strict policy against workplace dating.  At the cook-off, Chris prepares his meticulous turkey burgers for the judges: Tom, Donna, Jerry, and Kyle. They all love it, but give much higher praise to Ron's simple hamburger on a bun. Initially surprised, even Chris comes to admit the burger is superior after trying it, so he agrees to reinstate red meat on the commissary menu. Chris later tells Leslie his dating policy has affected others, explaining that he earlier warned Ben not to ask out a co-worker. Leslie realizes that is why Ben rejected her and is glad when Ben asks her to eat in front of her favorite city hall mural. Leslie deletes her profile on HoosierMate, and is relieved to learn that Tom has 26 different profiles on the site to match himself with any type of woman, although the one Leslie matched with was his "nerd" profile. 

Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are celebrating love in this landmark Parks and Recreation episode! In "Andy and April's Fancy Party" April and Andy's dinner party turns into a surprise wedding. On today's podcast you'll hear why this unwieldy script gave the actors more drive, how airconditioning can be funky on set, the silliness of a rare Donna and Ann B-story, and why Tom Cruise had a tooth removed in The Outsiders. All of this and the first appearance of Orin! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 The episode begins with Ron horrifying the entire parks department by pretending to pull his own tooth out with a pair of pliers. After everyone flees the conference room, and Tom passes out, Ron admits to camera that it was a prank and that a dentist had removed the tooth the previous day. In the next scene, April and Andy invite everyone to a dinner party to celebrate their one month anniversary, while Ben explains a job offer dilemma to Leslie which could potentially take him away or keep him in Pawnee.At the party, Leslie discovers that Andy and April's dinner party is actually a surprise wedding.  Leslie spends most of the party trying to dissuade April and Andy; however, Ron believes it is not Leslie's place to interfere with their decision. Tom is thrilled when Andy makes him his best man, but his excitement quickly fades when Andy also asks Ron, Chris, Ben, and Derek to be his "best men". In an effort to “best” the other best men, Tom tries to throw an impromptu bachelor party to set himself apart, but ends up falling short.In a surprisingly touching ceremony, Andy and April officially become husband and wife. With the help of some sturdy advice from Ron, Leslie accepts their decision and realizes that there's no right way to do things when it comes to love. The ceremony is followed up with equally heartwarming moments of April telling Leslie how much she means to her and Andy makes a speech to the guests, claiming Tom as his "best" best man and explaining that life is short and that he and April simply did what made them happy. Inspired by Andy's honesty, Leslie asks Ben to stay in Pawnee, and is pleasantly surprised when he reveals that he had already accepted Chris' offer that would keep him in Pawnee. In a B story, Ann goes to a singles event at a bar where she runs into a very territorial Donna. At first Donna views Ann as competition, but after witnessing Ann's painfully awkward social skills, Donna takes Ann under her wing and teaches her some player moves. When Ann hears about Andy getting married from Leslie, she feels deflated and wants to leave, but Donna tells Ann to forget her past and enjoy herself in the present, which Ann ends up doing.

Welcome star and writer Joel Kim Booster and Director Andrew Ahn to talk about representation, previous Pride and Prejudice adaptations, and Fire Island. More about Fire Island: Set in the iconic Pines, Andrew Ahn's FIRE ISLAND is an unapologetic, modern day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice, the story centers around two best friends who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends. Starring: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, Torian Miller, Nick Adams, Zane Phillips, Margaret Cho More about Joel Kim Booster: Joel Kim Booster is a Chicago-bred, Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, writer, and actor and was recently named as one of The Queer Young Comics Redefining American Humor by the New York Times. Booster recently wrapped shooting the Apple TV+ series “LOOT” created by Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard and starring Maya Rudolph. Later this year, Joel's first hour-long comedy special will premiere on Netflix, where he will explore his experiences and observations as a gay Asian American male with commentary on identity, sexuality, cultural expectations, and more. More about Andrew Ahn: Andrew Ahn is a queer Korean American filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles. Ahn's sophomore feature Driveways, written by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen and produced by James Schamus, premiered at the 2019 Berlinale and went on to play the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, receiving rave reviews. The film was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Screenplay and Best Lead Actress for Hong Chau. Ahn's first film Spa Night premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in US Dramatic Competition and was one of RogerEbert.com's Best Films of Sundance 2016. The film won a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance at Sundance and went on to win the 2017 John Cassavetes Film Independent Spirit Award. Ahn has directed fiction and documentary television for Netflix, FX, HBO Max, CBS, Sundance Channel, and KCET. He has promoted diversity in the arts by mentoring youth filmmakers through programs like Pacific Arts Movement's Reel Voices, Outfest's OutSet, and the Sundance Institute's Native Filmmaker Lab. He graduated from Brown University and received an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Find us at: www.werewatchingwhat.com youtube.com/thedhk twitter.com/thedhk instagram.com/thedhk facebook.com/thedhkmovies

Pack your bags because Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are heading to the Disney Ranch to recap S3E8 of Parks and Recreation! In "Camping" Leslie takes the whole department camping in order to brainstorm new ideas. On today's episode find out how this episode mirrored the writer's room retreats, why team building exercises didn't always help build the team, and some insider knowledge on a filming technique called the Texas Switch. Come for the Parks and Rec recap, stay for the NCIS lore! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  The episode opens with Pawnee's city manager, Paul, touting the success of the Pawnee harvest festival, then immediately collapsing from a massive heart attack. While Paul recovers from Octuple bypass surgery, Chris is brought back to Pawnee from Indianapolis to fill in as City Manager and tasks Leslie with coming up with some new large-scale revenue producing ideas for Pawnee.  Always up for a challenge, Leslie organizes a mandatory camping trip for the less than enthusiastic Parks Dept to help brainstorm ideas to generate new revenue. Ann tags along in an attempt to avoid an awkward run in with Chris—and Andy decides to join the trip in order to have a romantic getaway with April out in the woods.  Once at the campsite, Tom reveals his audacious camping set-up complete with a large screen TV, fro-yo machine, and of course DJ Roomba. As the group settles in and everyone starts pitching their ideas, Leslie starts to panic and it becomes clear she cannot think of anything that would top the harvest festival. Meanwhile, Andy has set up his love nest in the wrong campsite miles away, forcing him to trek through the wilderness and leaving April miserable and stuck with the rest of the group without Andy.  As night falls, the group sits around the campfire listening to Ron tell ghost stories about government bureaucracy. Chris emerges from the woods during his evening jog and Ann decides to go for a walk with him to clear the air of their recent and confusing breakup. With morale low, everyone decides to scrap the trip and go home, but much to their dismay, due to Tom's siphoning of electricity from the group's van for his many Skymall luxury camping amenities, the van's battery is now dead and they have no way to get home.  Luckily, Jerry remembers seeing a small bed and breakfast down the road. The group hikes to the creepy cat infested Quiet Corn run by a strict old lady named Elsa Clack, where Leslie reveals to Ron that she's totally blocked. Ron reacts by locking Leslie in her room to get a good night's sleep. Meanwhile, Andy finally catches up with the group at the inn and recreates his romantic tent setup for a smitten April. After a restful seven hours of sleep, Leslie emerges recharged with a fresh set of new ideas that Chris ends up loving. The episode ends with Ben revealing straight to camera that the bed and breakfast owner Elsa Clack, died the night before shortly after playing the group a song on the piano.

It's a festival of massive proportion on today's episode, when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang recap S3E7 of Parks and Recreation. In "Harvest Festival" the day before the fest, a local Native American leader places a "curse" on the event because Leslie refuses to give in to his demands. On today's episode find out what happens when the entire town of Pawnee comes together, the origin of Li'l Sebastian, we get to the bottom of the Matchbox 20 / Rachel Ray mystery, and why a drone shot was necessary for worldbuilding. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  With the Harvest Festival days away, Leslie surprises everyone by booking Li'l Sebastian, a miniature horse and legendary Pawnee celebrity. Everyone is thrilled except Ben, who doesn't understand the fascination. The chief of the local Wamapoke tribe, Ken Hotate (Jonathan Joss), visits the Parks department and requests the Harvest Festival be moved, as it is built upon the site of a Wamapoke massacre. When Leslie explains it is too late, Ken warns them the festival may become cursed, although he privately tells the documentary crew that he knows white people are terrified of curses.  Ann works the Harvest Festival first aid tent, where she confides in Donna that she has not taken the break-up with Chris well. April tells Andy that she loves him, but grows angry when he replies, "Dude, shut up! That is awesomesauce!" Joan Callamezzo arrives to report on the festival and is determined to find a negative story, although she does show excitement over Li'l Sebastian. She initially fails to find a scandal, but then overhears Leslie and Ben discussing the curse. It becomes the focus of her story, especially after Tom tells Leslie that Li'l Sebastian escaped his pen. Tom blames Jerry, although it was entirely Tom's fault.  The Pawnee media swarms the festival to cover the curse, endangering its opening the next day with the bad press, with one reporter likening Ben's past as a failed teen mayor with the curse. Now believing himself to be the curse, Ben leaves the festival. As Leslie reassures the reporters there is no curse, the power generator blows out, leaving the festival dark and stranding most of the parks department on a Ferris wheel. Using the blackout as an excuse, Ann takes Donna's advice to make out with Kiley (Joey Russo), her dumb but attractive patient.  On the Ferris wheel, with April and Andy arguing below him and Tom and Jerry arguing above him, an annoyed Ron clears the air by announcing the obvious: April is mad at Andy for not telling her that he loves her back, and the missing Li'l Sebastian is Tom's fault. Andy tells April that he clearly loves her and they hug, and Tom apologizes to Jerry. Later, everyone spots Li'l Sebastian in the corn maze and they recover him. Leslie learns the power outage was due to television crews plugging into the grid and overloading it. The only replacement generator in Pawnee is at the Wamapoke casino, and Leslie humbly asks Ken to loan it to her in exchange for placing a Wamapoke cultural exhibit near the Harvest Festival entrance. Ken agrees, and during the festival opening the next morning, he performs a meaningless ceremony to remove the fake curse.  People begin to swarm into the festival, and Leslie cheerfully greets them. Ben returns to apologize to Leslie for leaving, admitting that he is not over his past. She reassures him the festival is as much his accomplishment as hers, and even has Ken break Ben's "curse", although Ken's gesture is also completely meaningless. At the end, Ben appears to have been won over by Li'l Sebastian, but admits to the camera crew that he still fails to see the appeal and remains as baffled as ever.

Today we're taking a trip, as Rob Lowe and Alan Yang recap the sixth episode of Parks and Rec's third season! In "Indianapolis" Leslie and Ron journey to Indianapolis to receive a commendation from the state. On today's episode find out why S3E6 could have been the last episode for Chris Traeger, how the Ron Swanson meat meme evolved, how blocking for tv works, and the rare dramatic turn in this episode that raised the stakes! All of this and your host's favorite steakhouses! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 Leslie and Ron head up to Indianapolis to receive a commendation at the Indiana Statehouse for reestablishing the Pawnee Harvest Festival. On the way, it is clear that Ron has only agreed to come for the opportunity to eat at Charles Mulligan's Steak House. Ann, worried about the state of her and Chris' relationship, asks Leslie to look for signs of whether Chris is cheating on her while she's there. Leslie and Ron stop at Chris' apartment to pick him up for dinner, where Leslie discovers a woman's razor and a pink swimming cap in the bathroom. Upon hearing this, Ann decides to drive up to Indianapolis to confront Chris and his cheating ways. Back in Pawnee, Tom convinces the Parks Dept (including a reluctant Ben) to attend Dennis Feinstein's cologne launch party at the Snakehole Lounge. Tom hopes to pitch his new cologne “Tommy Fresh” to Dennis, but Dennis is disgusted by the scent and tells Tom the cologne industry is not for him. And back in Indianapolis—to Ron's horror, when he, Chris, and Leslie arrive at Charles Mulligan's Steakhouse they discover it has been shut down by the health department. Chris invites everyone back to his place to eat, but to Ron's further horror, Chris has prepared a vegetarian meal. Ann eventually shows up at Chris' apartment and accuses him of cheating. Chris explains he shaves his legs with the lady's razor for swimming and that the pink shower cap is from his participation in a breast cancer awareness triathlon. More importantly though, Chris tells Ann that they actually broke up over a week ago. Ann realizes that Chris was so positive in how he ended the relationship that she was totally oblivious to the breakup and is completely mortified. At the Snakehole Ben cheers up a down-trodden Tom and tells him not to give up on his dreams, admitting that he considers Tom his friend. Andy and April, now dating and both broke, hold a contest to see how much free stuff they can get at the party. They earn $218 by posing as staff and accepting tips, but end up feeling guilty and put the money in the bartender's jar at the end of the night. Seeing how distraught Ann is, Leslie decides to let Ron attend the commendation ceremony solo and instead cheers Ann up with embarrassing dating stories of her own as she drives Ann back to Pawnee. They and the rest of the Parks Dept end up at the Snakehole Lounge and Ben begins to realize that he is in fact making friends with the folks at the Parks Dept. As the night winds down, Ben avenges Tom by pouring "Tommy Fresh" all over the inside of Dennis' parked SUV and a starving Ron goes to a diner in Indianapolis and orders all of the eggs and bacon that they have.

Get your stories straight, because it's another great day in Pawnee. Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang tackle the fifth episode of season three of Parks and Rec. In "Media Blitz" Leslie hits the Pawnee media circuit to promote the Harvest Festival, but Ben freaks out on air when his past is exposed. In today's episode you'll hear the writing team's favorite line ever delivered on the show, why some characters had goofier names than others, and why UCB performers did so well on the show. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Leslie, Tom and Ben promote the upcoming Harvest Festival on several Pawnee media outlets, starting with the local morning radio show "Crazy Ira and The Douche" (Matt Besser and Nick Kroll). The duo begin asking Ben questions about his time as a teen mayor in Partridge, Minnesota, having discovered he bankrupted the town. Ben responds awkwardly, and is unable to defend himself against Crazy Ira and The Douche's taunts. Tom proposes dumping Ben from future media interviews, but Leslie insists they cannot because he is the only one who can handle complicated questions about the budget. Meanwhile, April accepts an offer from Chris to move to Indianapolis to be his secretary. Andy begs April to reconsider, offering to perform all the tasks she hates doing for a month. Ron volunteers to help, claiming that he does not want to lose April as an assistant while denying he cares about April and Andy's relationship. Ann is increasingly frustrated that Chris has not asked her about coming to Indianapolis with him, and is concerned about where their relationship is headed.Ben's past comes up again during Leslie's interview with newspaper reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep, who asks why Pawnee should accept financial guidance from someone with a poor budget managing record like Ben. Tom and Ben go on the television show "Ya' Heard? with Perd" in hopes of redeeming Ben's image, but this interview is even worse. Ben launches into a furious, incoherent rant when his past is brought up. As a result, several businesses consider pulling their sponsorships from the Harvest Festival. Trying one last ditch effort, Leslie decides to use her upcoming interview on "Pawnee Today" with Joan Callamezzo to perform damage control. During the interview, Joan asks biased questions about the festival and Ben's past. Annoyed, Leslie brings Ben on stage to give him a final opportunity to explain himself. Ben again begins to freeze up at the questions from people calling in, but finally pulls it together and vigorously defends himself. By the end, the questions switch back from Ben to the festival itself, making the media blitz a successful one after all.Meanwhile, Chris tells Ann that after Indianapolis, he will be sent to a different city. The two agree they need to talk about the future of their relationship. Andy's difficult day of running errands for April culminates with him getting arrested after April's sister Natalie claims he is kidnapping her when he is merely picking her up from school. Ron approaches April and tells her that she should either forgive Andy or cut him loose, believing that she is only stringing Andy along and going to Indianapolis to spite him. When Andy returns, April finally forgives him and the two kiss.

Today's episode shines like glitter when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang revisit the third episode of season three of Parks and Recreation. In "Time Capsule" A crackpot handcuffs himself to a pipe in Leslie's office and demands that "Twilight" be placed in the Pawnee time capsule. In today's episode you'll hear why Rob wishes he could work with a giant lizard, what happens when you're required to shoot episodes out of order, how entertaining it is to work with Will Forte, and the divisive nature of DMB. Come for the Parks and Rec trivia, stay for the Kenneth "Baby Face" Edmonds trivia! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 Leslie is organizing a Pawnee time capsule, meant to be opened 50 years in the future and filled with items that encapsulate the spirit of the town. A citizen named Kelly Larson comes to Leslie's office and makes a passionate plea for the Twilight books to be included. When Leslie refuses, saying the books have no connection to Pawnee, Kelly handcuffs himself to a pipe in her office hoping she'll reconsider. Having brought food, water and a pillow Kelly settles in for the long haul. Leslie tries to get Kelly to leave her office to no avail, until she notices the name "Liz Waverly" in one of Kelly's Twilight books. Leslie realizes that Kelly wants to put Twilight into the time capsule to impress his 12 year old daughter and make up for the fact that he and his ex-wife have divorced. Hearing the backstory, Leslie decides to include the book, but Ben points out the slippery slope this could create.To make things right, Leslie decides to hold a public meeting so all citizens can make suggestions for capsule items. The meeting descends into chaos when the citizens begin to argue over including absurd and random objects that have nothing to do with the town. Leslie tries to compromise by making multiple time capsules, but ultimately decides to stick to one capsule and include nothing except a video recording of the meeting, saying it represents Pawnee because it shows "a lot of people with a lot of opinions arguing passionately for what they believed in."Meanwhile, Andy still pines for April, who is now dating the handsome Eduardo. Chris suggests Andy tap into the aspects of his personality April was attracted to in the first place, which Andy decides are that he is nice and that he is in a band. Andy decides to be nice to Eduardo, and the two bond over their love of The Dave Matthews Band. April becomes frustrated because she only dated Eduardo to make Andy jealous and dumps Eduardo.The episode ends with the Pawnee residents, including Kelly and his daughter, watching an outdoor screening of the Twilight film.

Grab your waffles and chicken soup—today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are watching an iconic episode of Parks and Recreation. In "Flu Season" Leslie gets sick right before an important fundraising pitch for the Harvest Festival while Chris tries frantically to avoid catching the bug. In today's episode you'll hear why Rob saying "Stop Pooping" was so important, the impact of "Spa-nee" on treating one's self, and how the Harvest Festival storyline helped keep Chris and Ben as main characters. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 Flu season has hit Pawnee hard, leaving nurse Ann caring for April, along with many other sick citizens at the hospital, who constantly mistreats Ann in retaliation for kissing Andy. Leslie also has the flu, but refuses to admit it in attempts to continue working on an important presentation to the Pawnee Chamber of Commerce about the planned Harvest Festival. With Leslie's symptoms worsening by the second, Ben takes Leslie to the hospital, where she is admitted with a dangerously high fever and dehydration. Much to the chagrin of Leslie, Ben and Tom decide to do the presentation themselves, but Tom immediately abandons Ben to hang out with a group of older men at the spa.Back at the hospital, to Ann's surprise, a very sick Chris has also been admitted to the hospital with the flu. Because of his extreme health and 0% body fat, he is ravaged by the flu, which lets Ann see him in a less intimidating light.Meanwhile, Leslie escapes the hospital and heads back to city hall to deliver the presentation herself. Tom returns from the spa, revealing his spa friends are the owners of several car dealerships, which have agreed to lend vehicles to the festival. Although delirious with fever and an excess of flu medication, Leslie delivers a flawless presentation, wildly impressing Ben. She is immediately brought back to the hospital, where Ben tells her 110 businesses have agreed to help with the festival, surpassing the minimum 80 needed and brings her waffles and homemade chicken soup.Back at the Parks Dept, with April absent from work, Ron asks Andy to fill in as his assistant. The two bond over the course of the day, and Andy begins to tell Ron about his problems with April, for whom he still harbors romantic feelings. Although initially not wishing to get involved, Ron reluctantly tells Andy she is at the hospital and he should visit her. Meanwhile, Ann remains pleasant throughout her nursing shift despite April's constant abuse. The second her shift ends, however, Ann immediately loses her temper and curses at April. Ann apologizes for kissing Andy, but insists it was a mistake and that April should stop taking it out on Andy. Later, Andy visits April, who pretends to be asleep but smiles, revealing she is happy he came.At the end of the episode, Chris tells Ben they have been called back to Indianapolis for a new assignment, but both agree to seek an extension to stay in Pawnee longer. Although both claim they want to help organize the Harvest Festival, it is hinted they really want to stay because of Leslie and Ann.

Pawnee fit check! Today Parks and Rec costume designer Kirston Mann joins Rob Lowe and Alan Yang to talk about the 22nd episode of season 2. In "Telethon"  Leslie struggles to fill the overnight hours at a local telethon when Tom and celebrity guest Detlef Schrempf are sidetracked at the Snakehole Lounge. On today's episode you'll hear why Ann Perkins is the best dressed person in Pawnee, how Kirston helps get to the bottom of the Ron Swanson suit mystery, as well as  a unique story about Pawneean Denise Yermley! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 Leslie has volunteered to work on the 24-hour "Pawnee Cares" diabetes telethon and orders everyone in the office to work the phones for multiple shifts. Tom is assigned to pick up retired basketball player Detlef Schrempf from the airport, the special guest for the telethon. Leslie is excited because she has been allowed to program her own four-hour block, but her co-workers are upset to learn it runs from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Additionally, she has already been up for 24 hours creating T-shirts for her staff to wear for the telethon.During lunch, Mark tells Leslie that he is going to propose to Ann. Ann suggests that Leslie get some sleep, but she plans on consuming Sweetums bars to stay awake for another 24 hours. As the telethon begins, Leslie is already exhausted and is falling asleep. With time to kill, Tom brings Detlef to the Snakehole Lounge, but the owner, Freddy (Andy Milder), refuses to let him go because Detlef is bringing a lot of business, delaying Leslie's big headliner. Andy's band, Mouse Rat, is asked to replace Detlef, but when they complete all of their songs, Leslie has nothing else to put on the air. Ron volunteers to demonstrate how to cane a chair, but his presentation is so boring that the telethon actually starts to lose money.Desperate for something to put on, Leslie tells Mark that he should propose to Ann in front of the camera and he agrees. Not long after, however, Ann confides in Leslie that she wants to break up with Mark, citing that he is simply not the one. Meanwhile, April tries to make Andy jealous by flirting with someone over the phone, but it backfires when it turns out to be Joe (Kirk Fox) from the Pawnee sewer department. Andy is forced to kick Joe out of the studio when he actually arrives to bring April to his van.The telethon's talent pool becomes so low that Leslie is forced to flip a coin in front of the camera and talk about her favorite episodes of Friends. Jerry is allowed to play the piano, but everyone dismisses his skilled playing as a racket. Mark finally returns to propose and walks on the set with the ring, but Leslie stops him by mooning the camera. Detlef Schrempf and Tom finally arrive at the end of Leslie's programming block. Detlef presents a check for $5,000, allowing the telethon to bypass its $20,000 mark. Despite being awake for two days straight, Leslie goes to Ann's house so they could talk about Mark. She then promptly falls asleep on Ann's couch for 22 hours.

It's the Holidays in Pawnee while Rob Lowe and Alan Yang watch the 12th episode of season two! In "Christmas Scandal" A meeting with a disgraced councilman lands Leslie in the middle of a scandal. On today's episode find out the origins of the character Alexa Softcastle, the mystery note in the writer's room that read "Blood Diamond Phillips", and this episode's unique connection to SNL. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 The parks department performs in the annual Pawnee City Government Follies that riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers Councilman Bill Dexhart (Kevin Symons), who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals. Leslie is later asked to meet Dexhart at a restaurant, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public. After assuring Dexhart that it was merely a coincidence, Leslie discovers that the local tabloid, The Pawnee Sun, has taken pictures of their meeting and is reporting that Leslie is Dexhart's new mistress.The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control. Ron decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Everyone is amazed how much Leslie does by herself each day and the entire group struggles to complete their tasks. Leslie has lunch with Dave (Louis C.K.), who reveals that his unit in the US Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego for a year to eighteen months, and invites Leslie to make the move with him.The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip. Ann brings Dexhart to her home, where Ann and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dexhart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions that it is actually positive press for him. Soon after, Ann is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dexhart to her home and took a photograph of the meeting, resulting in speculation that Ann is Leslie's lesbian lover in a three-way relationship with Dexhart. A furious Leslie schedules an appearance on "Pawnee Today" to clear her name once and for all. On the show, host Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins) surprises Leslie by bringing out Dexhart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming that Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and moons Callamezzo. Since there is no mole, Dexhart is forced to admit that he fabricated the sex scandal.Over dinner, Leslie tells Dave that she will not move to San Diego with him, as her life is in Pawnee. Dave, although sad, understands her choice and the two split up amicably. At Pawnee's tree lighting ceremony, Leslie is congratulated by everyone, including Leslie's mother Marlene, who is proud that her daughter successfully fought off the media. Leslie returns to work the next day much to Ron's immense relief, as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. Everyone is visibly glad that Leslie is back.In a B plot, April asks Andy what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb, although it seems that April is just happy to talk with him. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne jersey for Christmas. Meanwhile, Mark tells Tom that he intends to get Ann a new computer bag for Christmas, but Tom tells him that he should get diamonds. In the end, he gives her the computer bag after all while Ann gives him Pacers tickets. He then gives her a second gift, telling her she does not have to go to the game, to which Ann happily accepts.

Directions to Pawnee are simple! Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang are visited by director Dean Holland as they review S2E7 (Dean's first episode!) On "Greg Pikitis" Leslie tries to stop a high school kid who vandalizes the park every Halloween, while Ann's party is a dud until Tom as T-Pain saves the day. Find out about behind the scenes Halloween parades, who was in the dinosaur costume, the Ron Swanson 1-10 scale, and what makes the funniest script—all on today's amazing episode! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992 The episode opens with Leslie confronting her peach-eating arch nemesis, teenaged Greg Pikitis, in the high school hallway about his past Halloween hi-jinx. Leslie enlists the help of her boyfriend PO Sanderson to tail Pikitis to make sure he doesn't vandalize the Statue of Mayor Percy once again. Meanwhile, Ann reminds the Parks Dept. about her Halloween party and is disappointed to find out that in spite of her efforts to not invite Tom, Jerry has spilled the beans and Tom will attend. Ann's party is off to a boring and awkward start until Tom arrives dressed as T-pain and turns the living room into a dance floor. A possible spark between Ron and Wendy is kindled when Wendy tells Ron her Green Card marriage could soon come to an end. Meanwhile, Leslie and PO Sanderson's tailing of Pikitis turns up nothing and the two decide to go to Ann's Halloween party. However, while stopping by Leslie's office to pick up her Halloween costume, the two discover that the Parks Dept. has been TP'ed and vandalized, with the coup de grace being a peach pit left atop a pile of whip cream on Leslie's desk.Despite the fact they've watched Pikitis all night, Leslie is sure Pikitis is the perpetrator. Leslie convinces PO Sanderson to bring in Greg for questioning and after getting no where with him, Leslie decides to have Andy take a crack at him. Andy goes in hot with the FBI persona Burt Macklin, but Pikitis is so mean to him, Andy ends up crying. The scene ends with Pikitis' mom showing up and threatening to sue Leslie, PO Sanderson, and the FBI for holding a minor against his will. Andy helps Leslie clean up the Parks Dept. offices and after a few beers, the two decide to TP Greg Pikitis' house.  PO Sanderson shows up saying he's been called and an unfamiliar woman opens the front door and points to Leslie saying she's the reason the police were called. Leslie fears she has the wrong house until it's revealed that Greg goes on Craigslist to hire fake moms to get him out of trouble and the woman standing in front of them is actually Greg's real mom. When Leslie realizes Greg's not at home, she rushes to the statue of Mayor Percy and catches Pikitis in the act of vandalizing the statue.The episode ends with Leslie wondering how Greg could have gotten into the Parks Dept. to vandalize it and a flashback showing Greg pretending to be a janitor, hiding in the dumpster until everyone had left, and vandalizing the office. 

Enjoy the Pawnee outdoors with a bang! Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang watch the 6th episode of season 2. In "Kaboom" the parks department build a playground with help from an exciting organization. In today's episode you'll find out why originally S2E6 had a PSA at the end, the makeup room dance parties, and if Pawnee has such a large body of water!Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992  Leslie and Ann head to Eagleton as volunteers to help build a playground. The event is organized by a charity called KaBoom, which is headed up by its extremely charismatic leader Keef Slertner, played by Paul Scheer. While they're there, they bump into Andy, who says he's volunteering, but is actually just there for the free food. He tells Ann and Leslie that he's moved out of the pit and is now living with the drummer of his band.  Leslie ends up being so inspired by the Eagleton playground build, that she decides to take matters into her own hands and tries to get the pit filled herself without anyone's permission. This plan backfires as they try to fill the pit and discover they just dumped a ton of dirt all over Andy and his home - it turns out he never actually moved out after all. He gets injured and is taken to the hospital, where Ann tries to take care of him.  He tells Ann that he believes there's still a connection and tries to persuade her to choose him over Mark. Ann shuts the conversation down by getting Andy another nurse.  Meanwhile, Leslie's in hot water. Andy has decided to sue Pawnee for his injury, believing that if he wins the money, he'll be able to impress Ann and get her back. Leslie says there's another he will be able to impress Ann. The next day at City Hall, Andy says he will drop the lawsuit if the pit gets filled. The pit gets filled the next day and we see Keef ride off into the sunset on his boat, revealing that KaBoom is actually just an elaborate prank. 

Another good friend has travelled to Pawnee! Today Fred Armisen joins Rob Lowe and Alan Yang to reminisce on the fifth episode of season two. On "Sister City" Leslie hosts the P&R Department of Boraqua, Venezuela, Pawnee's sister city—while Tom becomes an errand boy and April plays hard to get.  In today's episode find out what it's like to act on a show that isn't SNL, how long Fred was allowed to improvise in each scene, and the influence "Martin" had on Fred. All of this and a next level tip on doing impressions!Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992   The Pawnee Parks Department welcome their sister city Parks Department from Boraqua, Venezuelaheaded by Raul Alejandro Bastilla Pedro de Veloso de Morana, the Vice-Director Ejecutivo del Diputado del Departamento de Parques, L.G.V.(played by Fred Armisen).Expecting the Venezuelan government officials to be poor/simple people, the Pawnee Parks Dept. is shocked to find their visitors wealthy, condescending, and offensive. The officials mistake Tom for a servant (which Tom plays along with for their large cash tips), assume Leslie's proposed party includes sex with prostitutes, and disparage Pawnee at every turn.  The Venezuelan intern, Jhonny, falls hard for April, but she shows zero enthusiasm. While the rest of the delegates lust after Donna.  Meanwhile, the Venezuelans balk at the $35,000 Leslie is trying to raise to fill in the pit, and rub it in that Venezuela is a very wealthy oil-rich country. To try to earn back respect, Leslie takes the delegates to Pawnee's nicest park (which Raul mistakes for the pit) and shows them democracy in action at a Townhall meeting (which devolves into all the citizens shouting at Leslie)  When Raul tells Leslie that she is weak and her city is disgusting, Leslie explodes in anger, insulting their uniforms and Hugo Chavez and the Venezuelans storm out.  Leslie apologizes and Raul offers Leslie a check for $35,000 for the pit project.  Leslie reluctantly accepts, but just before the photo op, Raul convinces Leslie to say “Viva Venezuela” and “Viva Chavez” on camera, which with the help of April, Leslie realizes is actually propaganda for Raul's “Committee to Humiliate and Shame America”. Furious, Leslie rips up the check,prompting Raul to declare Pawnee no longer a Sister City and storm out.  Leslie vows to raise the money needed without them and inspired by Leslie, Tom secretly puts all of his Venezuelan tip money into the pit/park goal jar.  The episode ends with Leslie and Tom receiving an online video from April, telling them she and Donna are vacationing with Jhonny in his Venezuelan palace. 

Pawnee is a gift to us all and today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang dive into the 4th episode of  the second season of Parks and Recreation! In "Practice Date" a nervous Leslie gets ready for her first date with Dave, by going on a test date with Ann. In today's episode Find out how nervous Duke Silver made the writer's room, the amazing Perd Hapley audition, and how Greg Daniels would deal with the stress of ending The Office—all on Harris Wittels first writing credit of Parks!Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

Pawnee, the most beautiful town in America. Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang put down the score cards as they discuss season 2 episode 3 of Parks and Recreation. In 'Beauty Pageant' Leslie is excited to be a local pageant judge, but frustrated when her viewpoints on the ideal woman don't align with the other judges. On today's pod you'll find out the difference between some significant joke writers, if Leslie is a time traveller, and why it's important to have a diverse writer's room. All of this and more on today's incredible episode!Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

The Parks department is back—and so is the Recollection team! Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang talk about the season 2 Parks and Recreation premiere. In “Pawnee Zoo,” Leslie promotes a local zoo by marrying two penguins. When both birds end up being male, it causes a bit of a stir. Today we get a look at what it takes to rap poorly, Tom being besties with Joan Callamezzo, and the intense work that went into every character's name on the show. It's another great day in Pawnee!Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.comOr leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

Come one come all to another picnic in Pawnee! Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang welcome casting directors Allison Jones and Ben Harris to talk about the fourth episode of Parks and Recreation. In “Boys' Club” Leslie faces an ethical dilemma after trying to bond with some of her male coworkers. Allison and Ben share what it was like to cast this iconic television show while also diving into what it takes to cast any successful sitcom. How many times did Adam Scott have to audition, who almost played Donna, and which cast member is always doing bits? All on today's episode.Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

Alan Yang and Rob Lowe have set up shop in Pawnee and are venturing into the second episode of Parks and Rec. In “Canvassing” Leslie Knope and her committee attempt to gain support for the park project, but a town hall full of unhappy residents forces Leslie to filibuster her own meeting! Will Alan and Rob freak out about an unethical Leslie? Why was canvassing originally slated later in the season? Does "Rock Band" hurt or help a writer's room? Learn answers to these questions and more by listening to today's episode — and ask your own by emailing us at ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com or Leave a 30-second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

It's the first episode! Rob Lowe and Alan Yang pack their bags and journey back to Pawnee as they begin their Parks and Recreation rewatch with episode one! In the pilot, Leslie Knope navigates the red tape as she secures permission to convert an abandoned pit into a park. But were Donna and Jerry supposed to be background actors? Why is Ron wearing a suit? What is Parks and Rec's origin story? Learn answers to these questions and more by listening to today's episode — and ask your own by emailing us at ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com or leaving a 30-second voicemail at 310-893-6992.