Podcasts about illusionoid

Paul is reunited with Nug Nahrgang and Lee Smart, his co-hosts of the hilarious sci-fi comedy podcast Illusionoid. Together they learn the tale of Adolph Nordenskiöld, the Arctic explorer and discoverer of the north-east passage: a man whose family were weirdos, whose mouth got him in all sorts of trouble, and whose rich daddy got him out of it. Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Beatrix and Al are in a panic – but Bartholomew is totally chill, man.Starring: Kristi Boulton, Michael Divinski, Phil Johnston and Sean Howard.Special guest: Lee Smart of Illusionoid!Sound design: Eli McIlveenCover art: David DemaretAnnouncers: Marisa King and Michael HowieContent warning: mind control/bodily invasion, panic and gross food.Join us on Patreon for early access to future episodes and bonus content at patreon.com/civilizedpodPlay the interactive backstory at civilizedpod.com

Beatrix tries to rescue Barty, while Bob encounters a most mist-erious stranger.Starring: Kristi Boulton, Michael Divinski, Phil Johnston and Sean Howard.Special guest: Lee Smart of Illusionoid!Sound design: Eli McIlveenCover art: David DemaretAnnouncers: Marisa King and Michael HowieContent warning: injury, confinement, panic, bodily invasion and a whole whack of innuendo.Join us on Patreon for early access to future episodes and bonus content at patreon.com/civilizedpodPlay the interactive backstory at civilizedpod.com

Issue # 78... The Return of Nug. That's correct wrestling fans. Nug Nahrgang from Aftermath on Sportsnet 360. The General Manager of Greektown Wrestling in Toronto and one of the performers of the Illusionoid podcast which was recently named one of the best comedy podcasts in Canada by the CBC. Nug returns to the NeverSleeps Network Studios and we talk about NXT, NXTUK, the possibility of an NXT Canada? We discuss talent such as Walter, RJ City, David Arquette. We mention what we thing of AEW. How it will do, what impact it will have on the wrestling landscape. Of course we talk about Greektown wrestling, the talent, recent matches and future shows. Lastly we mentioned the Buffalo Brothers. The 4 wrestlers from Buffalo who were recently in a horrible car accident driving back from a show in Montreal. We wish them well and their go fund me link is on this page. All of this and so much more. So spend a bit with us here on Talk' N Wrestling, where wrestling & comedy collide!!Buffalo Brothers Go Fund MeGreektown WrestlingIllusionoid

Saluton! Thank you for joining me on this Chats episode of Succotash, the Comedy Soundcast Soundcast. My guest for this episode is someone I've wanted to have on since I began hosting duties…and that someone is none other than Hunter Block, my co-host on Anti Social Show, a soundcast that I've been recording with him for nearly two years now. I always have a good time recording with Hunter when we record for Anti Social Show. If there's one bit of info I've absorbed from listening to so many different soundcasts over the years it's a particular similarity of nearly everyone who commits their voices to digital posterity in mp3 format…and that similarity is how at the beginning of what will become the life of a soundcast, so many of its creators and contributors have absolutely no idea how a show is going to evolve or how long they will continue to make and post episodes. I'm not talking about radio personalities who archive their shows, I'm talking about people who just decide to add their voices to the ever-growing pool of audio personalities who you can choose to spend part of your day with. In addition to my conversation with Mr. Block I've also got a DOUBLE dose of raging moderate Will Durst's Burst O' Durst segment, plus this 'sode is brought to you by our ever-present sponsor Henderson's Pants. Oh! And we even have a soundcast clip featured in this episode… Illusionoid Before I get into my interview with Hunter I'm featuring a clip from Illusionoid, a soundcast out of Toronto, Canada, that recently launched its 10th season.  It should sound familiar to long-time Succotashians, as we have not only been featuring clips of the show for many years, but previous host and current Succotash executive producer Marc Hershon interviewed the cast — Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang — back in January of 2013 in Epi48 when they were visiting San Francisco for the S.F. Improv Festival that year. The clip Marc provided for us is from the second episode of the new season, entitled "The Undersea Pawns." Well, there you have it. Who knows what the future brings? Sasquatch, that's who. But they're moody and reclusive so it's difficult to gather their predictions with any degree of regularity.  Anyway, until next time I bid you a fond gxis poste and, if I could trouble you to do so I'd like to gently implore you to please…pass the Succotash. — Tyson Saner

It’s Season Ten of Illusionoid and what better way too kick it off than with a dinner party? Everyone’s invited, even… The Monsters? Everyone better prepare for their arrival, as it’s not just a promotion at stake… it’s YOUR FUTURE!

Mike “Nug” Nahrgang is pretty much everywhere: stage, screen, and stream. In addition to talking WWE on Aftermath on Sportsnet 360, he is also active in the wrestling world in and around Toronto. He is an actor, improviser and his podcast “Illusionoid” is going into its 10th season. We talk taking control of your health, surrounding yourself with good people, the various tribes in comedy, and more! You can follow him on all social media @nugnahrgang

This week we have a special live show from The Bad Dog Theatre in Toronto talking to the manager of The Phantom of the Opera as played by Nug Nahrgang of the Illusionoid Podcast.

Yes, believe it or now, and for the last time – really, this time, it’s me. Marc Hershon. Departing host but still remaining executive producer of Succotash, the Comedy Soundcast Soundcast. First of all, I lied to you last episode when I said THAT was the final episode. Because after I dropped that installment I heard from a number of our friends-of-the-show, mainly soundcasters who have been so supportive and helpful over the seven years that the show has been on that I felt I truly hadn’t thanked enough people when last I signed off.  Also, between Epi162 and now, we’ve found a way to keep Succotash going! In classic show business fashion, I’m just going to tease you with that for now and it will NOT be revealed in this blog post!  You'll just have to listen to the episode to find out, as I do have a lengthy chat with my replacement toward the very end of the episode.  The initial impetus to do an UNFINAL episode was that our resident political comedian and social commentator Will Durst had sent me a last Burst O’ Durst installment which arrived after we’d dropped Epi162. And then I discovered we also had a last Boozin’ with Bill segment with our announcer Bill Heywatt that had somehow slipped through the cracks.  Based on those things, I figured I would do one last round of soundcast clips just featuring shows from some of our most vocal supporters on social media. Which gives us quite a lineup!  Big giant thanks, by the way, to our Associate Producer, Tyson Saner, for helping me to harvest the absolute bumper crop of clips we’re featuring this show. You’re going to hear from The Anti Social Show, Casa Mirth, the Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Comedy Film Nerds, Ear Goggles, Film Threat, Illusionoid, Quick Question, Story Worthy, and Strange Times. And this Unfinal episode is sponsored by our friends at Henderson’s Pants and teir spanking new Down UnderPants. (Including an endorsement from Jason "Jabs" McNamara, all the way from Canberra, Australia.) THE CLIPS Chillpak Hollywood HourFirst out of the barrel are a couple of gents I have referred to often as being members of “podcast royalty” and that is Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness of the Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Early on these guys were very supportive of the show and generous with their time and, over the years, we’ve become good friends. Their show is now in it’s 11th year and these guys not only have careers on their own from each other but they’ve made movies together as well, including a great dark comedy thriller called The Lady Killers. It will be screening in about a week in San Jose, California. One night only, on February 21st, at Club 3B. Strange TimesSuccotash has, on occasion, been a kind of conduit thorugh which people from one show have found out about and, eventually, connected with other shows. A case in point was Jabs, heard this show, making contact with Davian Dent in England who, at the time, had a very unique show called The Bitter Sound. Davian and Jabs put their heads together – a half a world apart from each other, mind you, and created a soundcast mini-series call The Kundalini Files, a kind of detective spoof. They also pulled in some other soundcasters on that one – other fine folks we have featured over the years here on the show. Here's a snippet from a recent episode of Davian’s other long-running show, Strange Times, featuring Davian, Samantha Pett and Kat Sorens. All three have been very friendly to our show and one of these days I’ve got to somehow meet these people and down some brews with them until we all pass out. Story WorthyAnother ardent supporter of this show has been a woman with a terrific show of her own, and that’s Christine Blackburn, co-host of the Story Worthy Podcast, along with Hannis Phinney. I’ve run into her almost every year at the Los Angeles Podcast Festival and she’s always been a great promoter and cheerleader. Some years she’s even dragged various comedians and soundcasters into the Podfest’s Podcast Lab and insisted that they sit down and do an interview with me. Story Worthy is a great storytelling show, with some great guests, and recently they had on comedian Johnno Wilson, who related a harrowing tale. Film ThreatAnother good friend to this show and who I have ended up hanging out with whenever I run into him out in the world is Chris Gore. When Succotash first started he was running PodCRASH, where his gimmick was to appear on other soundcasters shows, then play THOSE episodes as his own. In a way it was the ultimate cross-promotion. Once upon a time he had been the editor and publisher of Film Threat magazine, a great “alt” movie magazine and Chris has returned to that property, only now in website and soundcast form. Here’s a clip from his recent “Time’s Up At Sundance” epi from January with guests Natalia Winkleman and Jon Bernstein… Casa MirthThe Casa Mirth soundcast features the team-up of Dr. Norman Trousers and River Gambezi. Norman’s been a presence around here pretty much since we began Succotash and he’s part of the infamous Podcast Mafia that got started years ago with myself somehow ending up as the titular Podfather. (Although I believe that moniker was started by Eric Furniss of The FOONcast.) Trousers and Gambezi run a very sporadically-appearing show and, for the past four holiday seasons, they have produced these wild mashup Christmas productions. They’re scripted and then the boys draft fellow soundcasters from all over the world to voice the parts. I’m honored to have been included in these crazy shows and this past December Casa Mirth featured their own take on It’s A Wonderful Life, the Jimmy Stewart classic. I was asked to be the Narrator, which I pulled off rather nicely, I think. Illusionoid We head up to Toronto to hear from the cast of Illusionoid. Love these guys, who I got to interview fairly early into when we started. Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang – the best name in soundcasting – were in San Francisco for the annual Improv Festival here and we got a chance to hang out. And being a longtime improvisor, I really took to their style of an improvised sci-fi anthonolgy series, based around the gimmick of mankind’s creation bent on the destruction of humans. We feature a glimpse at a transmission from the last episode of their 9th season last November. Ear GogglesJeremy, Aaron, and Stacy don’t soundcast all that often but they still drop an episode every now and then. I used to run into Jeremy and Stacy at the LA Podfest for the first few years but they stopped coming down from Seattle. We're featuring a ready-made clip I found on their homesite – one of their “bonus clips” from a show last year where Stacy plays with some toys, as she puts it. (If you go to their site, you can browse through their archives all the way back to 2005, which is when they started out as The Sibling Rivalry podcast.) Comedy Film NerdsA couple of other longtime soundcasters who have been very nice to me are Chris Mancini and Graham Elwood, the hosts of the Comedy Film Nerds soundcast. They are also two of the organizers of the Los Angeles Podcast Festival and have never been anything but welcoming, accommodating, and kind to me. It probably helped that I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that paid for the first LA Podfest but, since then, they have invited me to moderate panels and be a guest on other panels. Here’s a clip from their episode 403 from last month, with guest Jon Reep. Quick QuestionI wanted to be sure to toss in a soundcast farewell to Travis Clark and Jonathan Sadowski, hosts of the Quick Question soundcast. When I first mentioned I was going to step away from Succotash, Travis messaged me to ask if it was his turn to “talk me off the ledge”, as he put it. That’s because a few years ago, he and his wife Brandi were considering hanging up Tiny Odd Conversations, the show they did together and I convinced them to hang in there as they had only hit their Epi50. And they did, for quite awhile. Eventually, Brandi got herself a new job that kept her crazy-busy and TOCpod eventually drained away.  But then the Clarks got a new neighbor, Jonathan, and Travis discovered they had a lot in common. Mostly talking, judging from the amount of palavering that goes on during episodes of Quick Question. I had them on a few months ago from a chat we had at the LA Podfest. The Anti Social ShowFor our last clip of this Unfinal Succotash episode, we turn to a couple of the most ardent supporters of the show who started their own soundcast last year. Our very own Tyson Saner teamed up with one of our most supportive listeners, Hunter Block, and created The Anti Social Show. For the first 10 episodes, they were only on SoundCloud but now they’re on iTunes and other fine distribution points around the interwebs. This clip, harvested by Tyson himself, is from their Epi41, one of the first installments of 2018, entitled “Obscured By Sound”. And that is going to do it for Succotash under my command. We’ll be announcing when the first new episode of of the show is dropping, as soon as we figure out what we need to do to put all of the controls into the new host's hands. I will likely drop in from time to time, and I’m in the process of putting a whole new soundcast into production. I want to thank you for listening to this Unfinal episode of the show. For those of you who have been listening for a while, I can’t thank you enough for your support. And whether that describes you or you’re relatively new to the show, please subscribe and keep listening as show continues. I’m excited to see where our new host takes the show. Now, for the last time as your host, it’s my pleasure to ask you to please pass the Succotash. Goodbye. — Marc Hershon

The Spooky Live Show It’s our first live episode! With the help of the amazing Illusionoid, we come to terms with actually having an audience. So strap in and pretend like you were actually there and get ready to get Spooked! Subscribe to Illusionoid on iTunes! itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/illus…id456417547?mt=2 Thanks to Chris New on the keys! Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

The Spooky Live Show It's our first live episode! With the help of the amazing Illusionoid, we come to terms with actually having an audience. So strap in and pretend like you were actually there and get ready to get Spooked! Subscribe to Illusionoid on iTunes! itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/illus…id456417547?mt=2 Thanks to Chris New on the keys! Brought to you By: The Sonar Network https://thesonarnetwork.com/

The Spooky Live Show It's our first live episode! With the help of the amazing Illusionoid, we come to terms with actually having an audience. So strap in and pretend like you were actually there and get ready to get Spooked! Subscribe to Illusionoid on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/illusionoid/id456417547?mt=2 Thanks to Chris New on the keys!

LIVE from the Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema, it’s CBC’s Podcast Playlist and their first-ever live show! We’re presenting the Illusionoid portion of it as an all-new episode for your earholes! Based on suggestions from the live audience, we embark … Continue reading →

Trapped between a rock and a hard place… facing a double bind… all options unpleasant… and Illusionoid behind them all? Join the crew of the USS Dilemma as they have to make the hardest (and sexiest?) choice of all! Plug … Continue reading →

Prisons of the future are impenetrable! Can one man, armed only with his skilled friends, save the woman he loves from such a fortress? And where is ILLUSIONOID’s evil tendril in all of this? It’s THE GREAT SPACE PRISON CAPER! … Continue reading →

Haunted houses are the worst! But never more so than on this terrifying night. Two young men stumble into a living labyrinth of supernatural activity. Does the key to Illusionoid’s creation lie in the world of magic or science… OR … Continue reading →

Nug Nahrgang’s success as an award-winning sketch comedian and improviser seems like a series of stumbled upon happenstances. First, Nug accidentally got himself hired at Second City, then he somehow scored an audition for Saturday Night Live! He scored memorable bit parts in The Love Guru with Mike Meyers and Owning Mahowny with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, both at a time when he was sure his scenes would be left on the cutting room floor. Nug has managed to meet Vince McMahon, and William Shatner, and improvise on stage with legends like Colin Mocherie, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Short. Through it all, his status as a dyed-in-the-wool comic book and sci-fi geek have served him well. He puts together the Illusionoid podcast with fellow improvisers Paul Bates and Lee Smart. Illusionoid is a completely improvised old-timey sci-fi radio play that operates with nothing but the episode title as a suggestion. Nug and the Illusionoid gang will be performing at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema as part of a live episode of CBC’s Podcast Playlist on June 15, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. This episode is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula.@NugNahrgangNug's IMDB PageIllusionoidPodcast Playlist LiveNug on InstagramThe Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald

It’s another episode of Illusionoind on the Antica Podcast Network! A paradox machine is/was/will be built. What secrets will it uncover… or has it uncovered… or will it once had uncovered? And where/when/why is Illusionoid the product of this infernal … Continue reading →

Antica Productions brings you Illusionoid! Act well your part; there all the HORROR lies! Is theatre art or artifice? Will this show be a success or a flop? Did Illusionoid write this nonsense? Two performers find out that opening night may … Continue reading →

Antica presents Illusionoid! The future holds many wondrous treasures but none so sporty as the Pants of Eternity. A secret society forces a young man to fetch the everlasting slacks for their own evil ends. Will mankind walk the path … Continue reading →

It’s another live episode of Illusionoid, LIVE from Comedy Bar in Toronto! This time with special guest, star of Red Oaks and Blindspot, ENNIS ESMER! A routine dig under Pacific Mall leads to trouble for a couple of historians. With … Continue reading →

Antica presents Illusionoid! Based on a title submitted by listener Jeremy Ricker of Mosheim, Tenessee, it’s a terrifying tale of travel through the stars! A mission of colonization begins and each person must play their role… but what if one person … Continue reading →

It’s another Illusionoid episode brought to you by Antica Productions! When a political assassination involves mystical portals and REAL magic bullets, who can be called in investigate? Max Magus and his assistant Wong! Join our heroes as they sling mud … Continue reading →

Illusionoid returns to Comedy Bar for a live episode with special guest Alice Moran (Sunnyside, Too Much Information)! The lab is closed for another night and two scientists get up to no good after hours… but what could be a … Continue reading →

Antica Productions presents Illusionoid! When two deliverymen transport a deadly virus on a luxury space ship, what could possibly go wrong? Unless they cross paths with an ancient man with deadly plans of his own, of course. Can anyone survive … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre, it’s an all-new unscripted audio adventure from Illusionoid! A randomly selected title from a Twilight Zone compendium sends us heading for the exits with our special guest: You Gotta Eat Here host John Catucci! … Continue reading →

Antica Productions brings you the latest season of ILLUSIONOID! When every way you turn faces certain doom, where else can you go? Three men meet at a crossroads… literally and LITERALLY… and must decide their fates. But who are they? Can … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre, it’s an all-new unscripted audio adventure from Illusionoid! A randomly selected title from a Twilight Zone compendium kicks us off into oblivion with our special guest star, Orphan Black‘s Kristian Bruun! When a sleep … Continue reading →

It's our first season on the Antica Podcast Network, so we're kicking it off with one of our best! In the future, farms will be exactly as they are now. But what we farm could bring devastation to time itself... and bring about the creation of ILLUSIONOID! Behold the haunting bleat of TIME GOAT! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s a busy holiday, so please enjoy this festive BEST OF episode of Illusionoid! Future Christmases will be marred by the arrival of the Platypodians! Can a few human survivors make it a happy holiday amongst the atomic waste and … Continue reading →

It’s time for sports! Two basketball players celebrate their recent retirement with a drink… but what’s in that drink tastes like DOOM! Will their first game back be sudden death for us all? And is Illusionoid the mixologist in this cocktail of … Continue reading →

Coming at you from the Guelph Comedy Festival it’s another live Illusionoid episode! With special guests Hayley Kellett, and The Templeton Philharmonic (Gwynne Phillips and Briana Templeton)! Join us as we take a tour of an old house with even … Continue reading →

HOT OFF THE PRESSES, IT’S FROZEN ADVENTURE! Live from Comedy Bar for Big City Improv Festival in Toronto, Illusionoid returns for more improvised audio mayhem based on audience suggestions!  Three men have just discovered something. Since the previous ice age it … Continue reading →

Season six begins! LIVE at The Social Capital Theatre it’s ILLUSIONOID with special guest star Ashley Botting! We go on an errand of evil in search of… coffee? Bring your own bags as we embark upon THE NIGHT JOURNEY! Subscribe & … Continue reading →

Diana and Andrew have guest Nug Nahrgang (from the Illusionoid podcast) sitting in as our first ever return guest! This week as part of Joker month we're talking about the return of Mark Hamill to the role in Batman: The Killing Joke. Did a comic book from 1988 need to be made with no updating, should Hollywood even be trying to make Alan Moore comics into movies, and why is this two terrible movies shoved together? Want a box filled with $50 worth of amazing graphic novels mailed right to your door for less than $20?!? Just visit Comic Bento at www.ComicBento.com and use promo code SUPERHEROES for $5 off your subscription. This episode brought to you by TeePublic. Check out www.TeePublic.com and discover your next favourite Tee. Psst... they also have nerdy hoodies, sweaters, baseball tees and long sleeves. Check out our favourite designs at TeePublic.FromSuperheroes.com  Do you want access to a special secret episode of the podcast every month? Then donate to the show on Patreon. You can gain access to secret podcasts, jokes from the future, and Q&A's. Visit www.patreon.com/fromsuperheroes and become our Patron.

Illusionoid returns to The Social Capital! First, we’ll interview Lauren Shorser about cephalopod intelligence! Man, if they’re so smart why are they an appetizer?? We’ll learn all about these squishy squids and what makes them tick. Then, our special guests … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, Illusionoid strikes again! And while Paul’s away the boys will play… with TWO special guests! We’re joined by Dan Redican, member of the legendary Canadian comedy troupe The Frantics, and Sunnyside TV … Continue reading →

Coming at you LIVE from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, it’s a brand-new unscripted audio adventure with Illusionoid! FIRST: we interview nanotechology student Dylan Glancy about a few small things… LITERALLY! Learn what’s being done to turn mice invisible … Continue reading →

Coming at you LIVE from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, it’s a brand-new unscripted audio adventure with Illusionoid! Based on a Twitter suggestion from fan and show-attendee Maddox Campbell comes a tale of terrible temporal tribulations! Heed the rules … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, it’s ILLUSIONOID! We interview author Kate Blair who has written a new book called Transferral! We’ll ask him what the hell that means! After that, we use a science textbook and a suggestion … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, it’s ILLUSIONOID! We interview Kenway Yu who is a lawyer and has a degree in the History and Philosophy of Science! We’ll ask him what the hell that means! After that, we … Continue reading →

Live from The Social Capital Theatre in Toronto, it’s ILLUSIONOID! And our special guest is Canadian comedy newsman and all-around awesome guy Gavin Crawford! We pull out an old sci-fi magazine and get a random title to start the madness! … Continue reading →

Yes, ‘tis I, Marc Hershon, your host and third base coach for Epi115 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. And this is yet another Succotash Clips episode. Been a while since we’ve sat down at the Succotash microphones and had a good long yackfest with someone. But that’s about to change, as I am on the eve of making the Kessel Run from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in order to make it into town for the 4th Annual Los Angeles Podcast Festival this weekend. If you’re in the Southland and want to check it out, the shindig is at the Sofitel in West Hollywood, right across from the humungoid Beverly Center. You can get tickets and information at http://LAPodfest.com I’m anticipating a whole lot of talkin’ going on, both from folks talking to me in the SquareSpace Podcast Lab AND from me talking to podcasters on their shows. I have some specifics about some of that action coming up when we get to the Tweetsack segment later on in the show. Podclip Roundup Clips featured this episode have been snippeted from: Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Illusionoid, The JV Club, The Manchild Show, The Red & Jay Show, Studious Studs, The Bitter Sound, and Tiny Odd Conversations. There's also a special teaser for the ManBuyCow Podcast! (If you’re a comedy podcaster and would like us to include a clip from your show, you can use our direct upload link to get us your 3-5 minute MP3 clip – it’s http://hightail.com/u/succotash.) We also have a classic commercial for Henderson’s Too Cool For S'cool Pants, a Burst O’ Durst with political comedian & social commentator Will Durst, musing about what some of the presidential candidates may have been up to during their summer vacations, and a new song about spiders from frequent contributor Abner Serd. Good Cause Alert! Our old buddy Ethan Dettenmaier, host of Combat Radio, has a new project out to raise much-needed money for social services, called Combat Radio Halloween. It’s got a bunch of crazy good talent on it, reading spooky stories and generally ripping All Saints’ Day a new a-hole. Download YOUR copy of Combat Radio Halloween by clicking over to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/combatradiohalloween Clips Chillpak Hollywood HourDean Haglund & Phil LeirnessI included a clip from Chillpak HOllywood Hour this week, hosted by podcast royalty Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness, not just because they amuse me but because they employed this show's proprietary coinage of the term tweetsack. There's a bit of echo on Dean's side of the conversation in this clip - apparently, co-hosting form Sydney, Australia is not without it's audio aberrations. (There's a plan, incidentally, to have yours truly as a Skyped-in guest for their episode next week to report on the Podfest and also to give a review of Ear Buds, the new documentary about podcasters and podcasting that will debut at the Podfest on Friday night.) The JV ClubJanet Varney with guest Kelly CarlinThe last time we had Ms. Janet Varney grace our microphones was almost a year ago at LAST year’s LA Podfest. I just saw her in a rough cut of a new movie we’re talked about here before: Diani and Devine Meet The Apocalypse. And she’s hilarious, as always. You hear her voice all over the place, including as the voice of Korra in The Legend of Korra, and as the voice of Nerdist.com. She’s 170 episodes into her podcast, The JV Club, where she mostly interviews women of show business — except during her Boys Of Summer series, which just ended. Her latest guest is also a friend and past guest of Succotash — dating back to Episode 9, no less — and it’s none other than Kelly Carlin, who has been touring with her one-woman show, A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up With George. She and Janet sharing some things in common, including being the only child in their respective families. Illusionoid!Paul Bates, Lee Smart & Nug NahrgangOne of my favoritest shows ever, Illusionoid!, just kicked off their 5th year and 5th season of podcasting. The Terrific Trio from Toronto — Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang — still the best name in podcasting — runs a fantastic improvised sci-fi themed show that is consistently funny. I just reviewed the episode this particular clip is from for Splitsider.com and Huffington Post. The episode is called “Day Million”, and features three owners of a copy store that has somehow existed for over 2000 years…and their lone customer on this fateful day. ManBuyCowRufus & HowardWe normally don’t play promos for podcasts on Succotash because, well, I think clips make better promos than…promos. BUT I have been waiting patiently enough for the return of the ManBuyCow Podcast with Rufus and Howard. Season 3 is imminent and there’s finally word that it’s almost here. The ManChild ShowVintendo, Pistol Pete, Nicole Cole, Rev. Sir Chano, Jessie BoomBattzFrom ManBuyCow we go to The Manchild Show. We’ve been getting a lot of Twitter action from @PistolePeteMC, who is one of the hosts of Manchild. He tells me that, since he’s come onboard, he’s been trying to steer the show away from some of comedy’s low-hanging fruit — which I assume is a metaphor for testicle jokes. Pete really wanted me to play something from their next episode but it’s not ready yet. So I’m playing the clip I harvested from their previous installment because, well, who knows? The network may punch our ticket and we’ll be out of here before the next show starts. Tiny Odd ConversationsTravis Clark and Brandy ClarkWe haven’t played anything from Tiny Odd Conversations for a bit, which means we completely missed out on celebrating their Episode 200. If you haven’t caught TOCpod, it’s with our friends Travis and Brandy Clark, a delightful couple from Los Angeles. First of all, kids, congrats on hitting your Epi 200! And second of all, this clip has Trav and Brandy ruminating about: How do parents manage to let their kids try all sorts of sports and activities without being fabulously rich? (I manage to catch up with the Clarks pretty much every time I get to LA, so I know that they’ve been busy and getting their episodes out regularly has been tough. Believe me, I know what that’s like, and I don’t blame ‘em a bit.) Red & Jay ShowRed & JayRed and Jay are back! Red and Jay are back! I actually don’t know who these guys are, but according to their homesite, they're five episodes in after being off for a year. There’s not a lot of info on these guys on their site, just their first names. Or nicknames, maybe? I don’t know. But I DO know they are opinionated. About stuff that some of us probably don’t even thing a lot about. In the snippet we harvested, they’re going off about HR. Human Resources, that is… The Bitter SoundDavian Dent & Matt BubblesOne of the staunchest supporters of this show and what we do here — namely, let YOU know about comedy podcasts — is Davian Dent over in the UK. He’s involved in a couple of podcasts, including Strange Times and his own The Bitter Sound, a show that’s an ongoing experiment and experience in audio wonderment. The ol’ BS has been down for a bit, but it’s coming back, baby! And Davian, along with his sometimes sidekick, Matt Bubbles, created this preview of a piece of the upcoming first show of his new season just for you…and it's one of the more disgusting uses for the "theater of the mind" in recent memory. Studious StudsShaq Scott and TerranceNext up is a clip from the Studious Studs podcast with Shaq Scott and Terrance. I found these guys because they’d re-tweeted something of ours. Found out they’re into their second season, after taking a break for the summer. Their website describes the show as “A weekly podcast that sits down and discusses life's obstacles and events in a very funny way.” Okay, I’ll buy that. This clip clues us in on what the guys have to say about a recent Chris Brown concert. Thanks for reading this blog and, hopefully, taking time out to listen to the actual podcast. That's what it's there for. Don’t forget to jump up to iTunes to rate and review us – that’s about the only thing that gets us noticed. If you want to flip us a few coins, feel free to access the Donate button or the Amazon banner or our Succotashery, all through our homesite at http://SuccotashShow.com. Until the next time we invade your earholes, thanks for passing the Succotash! — Marc Hershon

Season FIVE of Illusionoid kicks off with a party! It’s the one millionth day of business for a photocopy shop! When The Man In The White Suit stops by to ask for a single copy of his strange paper, none … Continue reading →

Trapped between a rock and a hard place… facing a double bind… all options unpleasant… and Illusionoid behind them all? Join the crew of the USS Dilemma as they have to make the hardest (and sexiest?) choice of all! Plug … Continue reading →

It’s a blast into the past of the future, as we revisit a favorite episode from Season One of Illusionoid! One man’s research into mysterious soil samples leads to the discovery of a sinister plot from beneath the earth… and … Continue reading →

An archeological turns up a rare treasure… What secrets does it hold? What power? What is locked away behind it’s clasp? Could it be Illusionoid… or something worse? Recorded live at the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre in Toronto, with guests … Continue reading →

Illusionoid invades The Second City! Recorded live at Second City Toronto it’s out latest audio adventure! An expedition across space is waylaid by one man’s search for a legendary artifact. Is this a futile quest, or will an ancient power … Continue reading →

You are, once again – unless this is your first time – listening to Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. (Or the Comedy Earfruit Earfruit. Ever since my chat with Superego's Matt Gourley, I’ve become obsessed with renaming the generic podcast with something. What do you think of earfruit?) This is Succotash Epi99! The penultimate episode of Season One. That’s right. Episode 100 will be the final show for our first season. But that’s next time. THIS time we have a helluva show for you with not one but TWO interviews that I did when I was at the 3rd Annual LA Podcast Festival at the end of September.You’ll hear my chat with Todd Glass of the Todd Glass Show and with Matt Knudsen from the Grabbing Lunch podcast. (Or earfruit.) I’ll also be playing clips from both of their podcasts PLUS clips from Picking Favorites, a new podcast on the new Wolfpop Network, the Angry Old Man podcast, Denzel Washington is The Greatest Actor of All Time PERIOD, and Today We Learned teaches us all a little something about the dumbest laws in the United States. We also have a DOUBLE dose of our Burst O’ Durst segment with comedian Will Durst, a classic Henderson’s Pants commercial, and a musical track from our Associate Producer Tyson Saner that is featured on Combat Radio’s First Christmas Album, which is a great way to help out friend-of-Succotash Ethan Dettenmeier’s Christmas Event for Homeless Children Benefit. You can find out order the album and find out more about the benefit by visiting OUR homesite, http://SuccotashShow.com, and click on the album cover on the right hand side. Wish Us A Happy 100TH Episode! If you’re a comedy podcaster or just a regular old listener, there’s still time to get us your “Happy 100th Episode Anniversary!” message for us to play on our one hundredth show. You can call one into the Succotash Hotline, at (818) 921-7212, or email us an MP3 or WAV file to marc@SuccotashShow.com. (Not to throw a challenge out there, but in this episode I'm playing a great 100th episode message in from the guys over at Illusionoid and I’ve got to say that I really appreciate the extra effort that went into it. PodBay's Top 10 Comedy Podcasts It’s been TWO months since Stitcher has updated their Top 100 Comedy Podcast List. Not sure what’s going on over there. (Heck, given the nature of technology, maybe my browser is screwed up.) But I’m not able to track podcasts through Stitcher’s site these days so rather than NOT do our Top 10 Most Active Shows On Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast List, I hopped over to PodBay’s site to harvest their list of the most recent Top 10 Comedy Podcasts according to the live iTunes rankings. (PodBay, by the way, is a GREAT podcast app on iOS and Android, so be sure to check it out if you want a super duper podcast experience!) 1   With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus2   Psychobabble with Tyler Oakley3   Welcome to Nightvale4   WTF with Marc Maron5   The Joe Rogan Experieince6   The Nerdist7   The Adam Carolla Show8   How Did This Get Made?9   Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast10 Not Too Deep With Grace Helbig A Little Christmas Music Our own Tyson Saner wrote and performed an instrumental tune that he did for the First Combat Radio Christmas Album to help raise money for Ethan Dettenmeier’s 4th Annual Combat Radio Christmas Event for Homeless Children. You can donate to the Combat Radio Christmas Event at http://www.gofundme.com/ACombatRadioChristmas and get the album for a suitable donation OR go to the right-hand side of our homesite, http://SuccotashShow.com, and click on the Combat Radio Christmas Album. Tyson’s cut is entitled For Christmas and feature in during this episode both under our Tweetsack mentions and then in its entirety at the end of the show.  The Clips Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time PERIODLast week on Splitsider.com and HuffPost Comedy I reviewed this new podcast, one of Wolfpop’s new shows, hosted by recent Succotash special guest W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery, a soon-to-be guest on this show. Both of these guys spent a lot of their formative funny years as San Francisco comedians, then Kamau got his own show, Totally Biased, for a while on FX and FXX. Kevin was head writer on that show and, when it got cancelled, he found a place on the writing staff on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on HBO. The two of them decided to put together a podcast about one of their favorite people, Denzel Washington, to let everyone know what a terrific actor they think he is. The Todd Glass ShowI was glad I got a chance to sit with Todd Glass at this year’s LA Podcast Festival. I know him a little bit from the LA comedy scene and he’s played in Northern California during the past couple of years and we got to hangout just before he started HIS podcast, the Todd Glass Show. Before I get to our chat, I wanted to play a little piece of a recent epi of his show, one featuring guest Patton Oswalt. Picking FavoritesIf you were a fan of NBC’s series Chuck, about a nerdy big box store employee who get a computer stuffed into his noggin, you know Zachary Levi, the star of the show. David Coleman was the propmaster on that show, kind of the Q of TV comedy spy show, if you will. Together, they started a business called The Nerd Machine and now they have this Wolfpop podcast, Picking Favorites, started with the help of a comedian who goes by the name Razzle Dangerously, who also host a show on the Nerdist network called Today We Learned, which we’ll be playing a clip from momentarily. Then they drafted Tyler Labine, a hilarious actor from shows like Reaper, The Sons of Tucson, and the movie Tucker & Dale vs Evil. Picking Favorites starts with three topics each episode and the hosts and guests go round-robin style, naming off their favorites of whatever the topic happens to be. In the second show, their guest was Adam Baldwin, another Chuck alumnus (and also one of the stars of Monster Makers, a movie I wrote for the Hallmark Channel.) Today We LearnedAssociate Producer Tyson Saner grabbed the previous clip and this next clip, which comes from the Today We Learned podcast, featuring Razzle Dangerously (as heard in the Picking Favorites clip), and Dan Casey. This Nerdist show says that the hosts bring you “the latest and greatest and sometimes weirdest facts and trivia the world has to offer.” In this clip, from their Epi62, the hosts and their guest Jacob Soboroff talk about dumb laws in the United States. Angry Old ManWe clipped The Angry Old Man podcast quite a while ago – Episode 53, I think – so it’s high time we hit him again. All I know about the ringmaster for this podcast is that he goes by the name Robert Q, and that he does all the voices on this thing. Tyson grabbed the cold opening from Angry Old Man Epi 90 so have a listen… Grabbing LunchI was first introduced to Matt Knudsen, host of the Grabbing Lunch podcast, at the most recent LA Podcast Festival when Christine Blackburn (of the Story Worthy podcast) dragged him into the Podcast Lab and told me, “You have GOT to interview Matt!” I really enjoyed our chat and I love the premise for his podcast. Simple. Filling. Grab two people who listeners may or may not have heard of before, sit ‘em down to lunch and turn the mics on. This clip is from his Epi52 – at one episode a week, that’s his one year anniversary. And his guests were actress Helen Slater from things like Supergirl and City Slickers, and her husband Rob Watzke, a Hollywood editor and improviser. Join us next time for Epi100, the last show of Season 1! Until next time, thanks for passing the Succotash! – Marc Hershon

Recorded LIVE at The Bad Dog Comedy Theatre in Toronto on October 30th, 2014… it’s a DEVIL’S NIGHT tale of terror from Illusionoid! Joined by special guests Christy Bruce and Kris Siddiqi with live music and sound effects from Chris … Continue reading →

It’s another live Illusionoid adventure, hot off the presses from this week’s Big City Improv Festival in Toronto! And we’re joined by special guests Marty Adams (Hemlock Grove) and Kayla Lorette (The Sufferettes)!! Based on audience suggestions of “entomological neuroscience” … Continue reading →

EPISODE 6: w/ special guest Nug Nahrgang.    This weekend Burgie is joined by comedian, improviser, Illusionoid podcast cast member and host of WWE's Aftermath, Nug Narhgang! Nug & Burgie get into comedy, Evil Dead, wrestling and of course comic books – plus all the stuff you love about the weekend on the latest pulse-pounding episode of Weekend at Burgie's!   Featuring music by Beatmason and Thesis Sahib.     

LIVE from the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada it’s the latest episode of Illusionoid… with a HUGE guest star lineup! When Lee’s away the boys will STILL play! With Canadian Tire Guy Paul Constable, Canadian Comedy Award … Continue reading →

It’s the fourth season of Illusionoid! We’re kicking it off old-school with a studio session from the vaults… Two nano-enhanced soldiers are called into action when the forces of Earth decide to invade the moon! But without their nano-enhancements, can … Continue reading →

It’s a huge week as The Bad Dog Theatre Company launches their new home in Toronto, and you can’t launch anything around here without ILLUSIONOID! Hot off the presses, recorded LIVE August 15, 2014, it’s an all-star international cast for … Continue reading →

Recorded LIVE at Comedy Bar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 4th, 2014, it’s Illusionoid with The Bad Dog Theatre Repertory Players! How does moving a simple table into an innocent breakfast nook result in dimensional portal hopping? Only Illusionoid … Continue reading →

Recorded LIVE at Comedy Bar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 9th, 2014, it’s Illusionoid with The Bad Dog Theatre Repertory Players! When a planet’s rule is determined by mining quartz all the power lies in the hands of the … Continue reading →

Howdy hey there, friends and neighbors! You're reading the companion blog entry for Epi87 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. (Just 12 episodes left until we hit 100, which will mark the end of Season 1. What can I say? Long seasons. Kind of like the winters in Game of Thrones…) In addition to a barrelful of podcast clips this episode, I had a fascinating chat with Geoffrey Welchman. I announced last week that GW was folding up the tent on Inverse Delirium, his 4-year-old podcast, which he has done. So then I thought it might be insightful to find out what led him to that decision and it is – so we’ll hear that in a little bit in addition to the final message to his listeners that he posted this past week. We also have our Burst O’ Durst segment with comedian Will Durst, a classic Henderson’s Pants spot, the Tweetsack segment, the 10 Most Active Shows In The Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List and, of course, our obligatory nod, salute, or genuflect to the boys (Dean Haglund & Phil Leirness) over at the Chillpak Hollywood Hour podcast, who just said goodbye to their 7th year in podcasting and mentioned us along the way. I also contrast and compare the old and the new theme songs for the Hob The Troll podcast. The 10 Most Active Shows in Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcasts List Here's where we look at the ten podcasts that have moved up or down the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast chart in the past week. AT                                                                                MOVED37 SModcast >> Jay & Silent Bob Get Old                          -1154 Jordan Jesse Go                                                         +1256 This Week In Blackness Radio                                      +862 The Artie Lange Show                                                 -1069 Harmontown                                                              +1170 Thrilling Adventure Hour                                            +1180 The Dana Gould Hour                                                 +2385 The Beige Phillips Show                                               +886 Straight Outta Lo Cash                                                 +697 Nick DiPaolo                                                                -7 The Clips Chillpak Hollywood HourTo mark their anniversary, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness have just moved their operation over to Blogtalk Radio, which doesn’t change things for the listener but gives them a nice solid production base. Monster PartyBack in Succotash Epi53 I interviewed my friend and comedian Matt Weinhold who had, at the time, been experimenting with a new podcast idea that he and buddies James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, and Larry Strohe – all Hollywood writers – had done on video where they drank adult beverages and talked about one main subject: Monster movies. Well, now Monster Party is an ongoing thing and in the most recent episode, the boys and guest Dana Gould sunk their teeth into vampire movies. In this clip they ponder the origins of Blackula. NerdistLast week I reviewed the Nerdist with Chris Hardwick and Jonah Ray – Matt Myra wasn’t on this particular episode, where they interviewed director/actor/writer Jon Favreau, who has a new movie out that he both directed AND starred in called Chef. In this clip, they talk about spoilers and puzzle over the etiquette of how long you should wait before talking about a show. IllusionoidOne of my favorite podcasts continues to be Illusionoid, which is an improvised science fiction comedy podcast out of Toronto. I’ve interviewed the three guys – Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang (the best name is podcasting) – before and met them when they were in San Francisco for the SF Improv Festival last year. Haven’t played ‘em for a while though, so here’s a clip from their recent LIVE episode from Comedy Bar in Toronto, along with their special guests Craig Anderson, Ashley Comeau, and Kyle Dooley of Bad Dog Theatre. Hob The TrollSome TV shows used to have very specific theme songs – think about things like the Addams Family – or an even better example in this case is Gilligan’s Island, where the theme song changed after the first season to include mentioned The Professor and MaryAnne instead of referencing them simply as “all the rest”. Hob The Troll is a show that is hosted by a character that pops up at Renaissance Faires around the country. He sings and does comedy and is easily the happiest, non-goat-eating troll around. In podcast form, Hob The Troll features guest characters, often played by actors and comedians, such as Mark Gagliarti’s King John. He recently upgraded his show’s opening theme song, both versions of which are so specific that I thought it would be fun to contrast and compare.  And then I play a short clip with Hob and Corey Eno Ruffin, the guy who did the new theme song for the show. Crunch Time ShowI got a note and a request from Wayne “Crunchie” Baglin, co-host of the Crunch Time Show (along with his wife The Scully), a podcast that looks at a myriad of geekiness, from games and movies to anything else that geeky nerdlings enjoy. They have a feature on the show called the "Random 5" where their showboard computer asks 5 random questions which you answer, then you get to ask one of your own. So Wayne asked if I’d play the Random 5 and here’s what happened… The Bonn & Obo ShowIt’s been a long time coming but Epi9 – NINE! – of the Bonn & Obo Show has finally dropped. It’s a pretty inventive show BUT, since Bonn and Obo seem to rarely – if ever – get along, it take awhile to get those shows out. This last one took a solid YEAR. Which is why Bonn moonlights on The Strange Times Show as well. In this clip, Obo has had enough disrespect from his mic mate, Bonn, and decides to file a complaint. Cashing In With TJ MillerHave you had a chance to catch Silicon Valley, the new Mike Judge comedy on HBO yet? Really funny, at least for those of us that live within spitting distance of the real Silicon Valley. And TJ Miller is one of the best parts of the show. He also can’t seem to showing up as a guest on the Cashing In podcast, which is probably why they’ve subtitled it With TJ Miller. Comedian Cash Levy hosts and TJ does what he does best, which is to wreak havoc. The Dork ForestJackie Kashian and her show The Dork Forest continues to root out the well-known and semi-well-known who are into sometime some obscure or even archaic stuff. This snippet comes from her Epi227 with guest Emily Gordon – co-host of the Indoor Kids with husband Kumail Nanjiani. Jackie and Emily chat about comedy and mental health. Center City ComedyA quintet of Philadelphia’s comedians - H. Foley, Kevin Ryan, Tom Cassidy, Reggie Conquest, and Andrew Schiavone – belly up to the mic and deliver up jokes, insults, and opinion about a variety of topics for Center City Comedy. The clip they sent in starts off about playing school basketball then sidetracks into a discussion about one of the guy’s long-lost classmates, a discussion which then disintegrates into unstoppable, contagious giggling. All right, it’s time to saw goodbye to Epi87. Until next time, don’t be afraid to shop at Amazon by using the oh-so-handy banner at the top of our SuccotashShow.com page. Or click the Donate button you’ll see there and we’ll give you a hearty shout out during the next episode. Or click on the link to our Succotashery and purch some murch there – we’ll be eternally grateful and, again, will shout your name to the heavens. I’m off to LA for a week. I may do a little Epi87.5 from the road if I’m in a mood for rambling. Otherwise it will be Epi88 when next we meet. Either way, please remember to pass the Succotash! — Marc Hershon

Recorded LIVE at Comedy Bar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 9th, 2014, it’s Illusionoid with The Bad Dog Theatre Repertory Players! A crack squad attempts to find a lost expedition, but who knew that travelling so far through the … Continue reading →

Recorded LIVE at Comedy Bar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 5th, 2014… it’s (2/3rd of) Illusionoid with the Bad Dog Theatre Repertory Players! A strange woman wants to find out what’s going on with her fridge… and her husband! Jack Diamond … Continue reading →

Recorded LIVE at Comedy Bar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 5th, 2014… it’s (2/3rd of) Illusionoid with the Bad Dog Theatre Repertory Players! Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, stays these couriers from the swift … Continue reading →

LIVE from the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it’s ILLUSIONOID! We take a look at one of the biggest problems plaguing mankind: TRAFFIC! A scientist thinks he created a solution to clogged streets but finds his gruesome … Continue reading →

Illusionoid was chosen to perform at the prestigious San Francisco Improv Festival that took place just last week! And here’s the show! Recorded LIVE on September 18th, 2013 at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco! When the evil Asteron threatens … Continue reading →

Welcome to the blog entry counterpart to Episode 69 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. The biggest news for this show in the past  week is that we're now recommended listening by Stitcher Smart Radio! That's right, particularly if you’re a podcaster just starting out and want to get a handle on this baby widecast medium. Just a couple of days ago, Stitcher mentioned that my appearance on the Podcaster 101 show is featured in their “So You Think You Can Podcast” Top Ten Helpful Tips section! I’ve been tweeting this past week (via @SuccotashShow) that Succotash will have a table set up in the Podcast Lab at this year’s Los Angeles Podcast Festival, which is happening in a couple of weeks — October 4 thru 6 in Santa Monica. You can get more information and get tickets at http://LAPodfest.com. Anybody can stop by our table – if we actually get a table – but I will have a Succotash banner and be giving away some cool magnetic buttons I just ordered – they’re like pins without the pin and feature the Succotash yellow and green logo. (they haven't even been delivered yet but, once they're here, I'll post a picture of them...) So do stop by if you’re at the fest. And, if YOU'RE a comedy podcaster, we’ll have our mics set up and I’ll do an interview with you which we’ll feature on the show. Some friends of Succotash are in town this week. In town meaning San Francisco at the San Francisco Improv Festival. And the friends are the cast of ILLUSIONOID!, one of our favorite podcasts. Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang – the best name in podcasting – will be performing on Wednesday night, September 18th, at the Eureka Theater. So, if you’re in the Bay Area, buy tickets and join me in checking these guys out live and in person. LIVE APPEARANCE I’ll actually be performing live and in person a little later this month. Friday, September 27th, I’m going to be part of Marsh Jam, a new improv free-for-all that’s going up at the Marsh Cabaret in Berkeley. I think that’s at 8:30 and you can find out more at TheMarsh.org. HONORARY ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Special thanks again this show to Tyson Saner, whom I've dubbed as our Honorary Associate Producer for providing us with clips to some podcast he's discovered This episode in particular is loaded with Saner clips and it's a pleasure to have those available. THE TEN MOST ACTIVE ON THE STITCHER TOP 100 COMEDY PODCAST LIST Every week (or so) we're tracking the shows on Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast list that show the most action, either up OR down. Here's who distinguished themselves this week: 16. Bertcast’s Podcast +1229. The Champs with Neal Brennan & Moshe Kasher +2945. Jordan, Jesse, GO +3161. Smodcast >> FeAB -2766. The David Feldman Show -1770. Dining With Doug & Karen +2578. The Read -2885. The Insanity Check +2186. The Jack Blood Show +1698. Keith and the Girl Podcast -20 DOUBLE DOSE O' DURST AGAIN With this episode, I think I've finally caught up with the backlog of our Burst O' Durst feature, but only because we're playing one more double header with America's "Raging Moderate" Will Durst. THE LAST OF BOGANWOOD, SEASON 1 We feature the eighth and final chapter of Boganwood, Season 1, this show, along with the last snippet of my interview with this podcast miniseries creator, Jason McNamara. It's a bittersweet end of our having played all the episode. Bitter because it's ending, sweet because we've been keeping you occupied while Jabs (Jason to his mum) has been getting Boganwood, Season TWO underway! Check it out at http://Boganwood.com. THE CLIPS Jordan, Jesse, GO!This podcast moved up 31 spots this past week in the Stitcher Top 100 so that’s a good place to start. This is one of the shows in the Maximum Fun podcast arsenal. And they are about to hit Episode 300, so you know they’ve got a handle on this podcast thing. Featuring Jesse Thorn and Jordan Morris co-hosting what they refer to as “a freewheeling comedy podcast about life in your 20’s”. The most recent episode featured a visit with comedian and writer Liz Feldman and they got into talking about a place Jesse takes his 2-year-old. The Insanity CheckThis show, which got into the Top 100 on Stitcher’s Comedy Podcast this week at #85, is hosted by Kriss, Ryce, Dylan and a few other guests here and there. The show focuses on crazy things like working in the corporate world, politics, the entertainment industry and society as a whole. They’ve been dropping shows twice a week – I envy them – and so they recently sailed past 400 episodes. Their latest – Epi408 – is entitled The Can’t U Niggas Troll Convention. Harmontown This past week I reviewed this podcast from Dan Harmon, the creator of NBC’s Community – you know he’s back this season, after leaving last year – and also with Jeff Davis, a great improvisor from Whose Line Is It Anyway. My review is up as part of This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com. It’s a very entertaining show – and they’ve been on for only 2 more episodes than Succotash – maybe there's hope for me yet! Podhouse 90: The Wonderful Pundits of Oz Frank Coniff is a very funny writer and comedian  - he’s currently working on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell - and has come up with a great concept that bends the parameters of podcasting. They’re these full-length musical comedy plays, with the title springboard off early TV’s “Playhouse 90”. Tyson Saner snipped us off a clip from The Wonderful Pundits of Oz, which picks up after the events as we know them from The Wizard of Oz. Great cast, too, with Coniff, Melissa Villasenor, Dave "Gruber" Allen, J. Elvis Weinstein, David Higgens, Laraine Newman, Emo Phillips, Dana Gould, Mark Thompson, Jamie Haddad Tompkins, and Joe Keyes.  Combat Radio We haven’t played anything from our old pal Ethan Dettenmeier over at Combat Radio in awhile, so it was nice to have Tyson send in a clip from a recent show. Ethan had a couple of comedians in – Eric Mark and Justin Rivera – then threw in the author of Why Are You Single? Sonia Everett McKie just to stir the pot… Inverse DeliriumOur buddy, Geoffrey Welchman, over at the Inverse Delirium podcast, shot us in a clip this week – actually, he sent it in a couple of weeks ago but I lost it somehow. So he’s re-sent it in because he realized that the last couple of clip from Inverse Delirium we played didn’t actually have him in them. Here he is now, in a piece about EVPs or Electronic Voice Phenomena. SModcast >> Edumacation If Kevin Smith’s Smodcast brand were in grocery stores, they would have tons of consumer “facings”, as they’re called, because there are so many different flavors. Tyson Saner sent us in a clip from Edumacation, where Kevin gets schooled by someone new every time. This time, it’s Tonight Show writer Andy McElfresh who gives us the straight scoop on something called prosopagnosia, where the person can't identify people by their appearances, even celebrities. Evil Teddy Bear PodcastKorey Epps and Thomas Fine have hosted over 100 epis of their show. The tagline on their homesite reads: “Two film freaks, one podcast and a shitload of movies.” So this is mainly a movie review/tribute/slapfest. The hosts and their guest, Steve Sievers, about their first Kevin Smith movie experiences. That's is for Epi69. It's pretty jam-packed so I hope you enjoy it. See you soon and, while i'm out, would you mind passing the Succotash! — Marc Hershon

SEASON THREE OF ILLUSIONOID BEGINS! And what better way than with a LIVE episode, from the first-ever Toronto Podcast Festival! Recorded August 21st, 2013 at Toronto’s world-famous Rivoli, Illusionoid is joined by frequent guest-star, podcaster, actor, author and sci-fi enthusiast … Continue reading →

It's been another couple of weeks since I last posted a new epi of Succotash, so I hope you didn't forget about us! We’ve got a bunch of podcast clips in store for you in this – Epi67 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. I really appreciate you sticking around and downloading or streaming our show. The delay was kind of unavoidable – work has been crazy busy PLUS the computer I use for creating the episodes was damaged while I was on vacation. Fortunately (and coincidentally) past-and-future guest as well as friend-of-Succotash Dana Carvey wanted me to help him out with some writing on a project, so I bartered the job out in exchange for a spiffy new Mac to replace Fleegle, the official Succotash computer.  (In memory of the first one, I am also calling the replacement Fleegle. It's not sentimental, it's just that all my files transferred over to the new one and it would be a hassle just to change its name…) Honorary Associate Producer I want to give a big shout out to our friend and avid listener Tyson Saner, who recently has been clipping some comedy podcasts that HE enjoys listening to and then passing the clips along to Succotash. We got a bunch of them from Tyson this show so I think I’m going to make him this episode's honorary associate producer. (It's probably temporary mainly because I think Tyson is about THIS close to launching his own podcast – at which point he won’t have any spare time left to cut clips for our show!) Thank you, Tyson, I really appreciate it. Thanks, Charley! Another friend of the show, Charley Miller, featured an interview that he did with ME back in April on a recent episode of his Random Variety Show podcast. And it wasn’t just an interview – this is a real tribute to our show. He plays a couple of classic Henderson’s Pants spots, played a clip of us clipping RVSP, and he even plugged I Hate People!, the business book I co-wrote a few years ago (which is still available online!) On top of all that wonderfulness, Charley dipped into his 1-year-old son’s college fund and kicked a very generous donation in through our Donate Button on the SuccotashShow.com website. So get up to http://RandomVarietyShow.com or iTunes or Stitcher or the PodGods network and give Charley’s episodes a listen. (You should also do like Charley did and feel free to donate a little bit to help us keep this podcast going!) Those Great Succotash Recipes One of my favorite features of our show is fast becoming the succotash recipes that appear at the very tail end of the show. The original idea came from Jabs at the Dhead Factor and Boganwood podcasts and it was fun to play an actual recipe for succotash after every show – I just grabbed the audio off of YouTube video where people were cooking the stuff. But after doing that for about 6 months, the well was running try. So I’ve been reaching out to some of the more creative comedy podcasters out there and asking them to record recipes. So far we’ve had Chef Eddie Vedder from the Tiny Odd Conversations podcast and Chef Terry with a Cajun recipe from the Don’t Quit Your Daycast podcast. This week’s episode features a recipe provided by Davian Dent over at the Bitter Sound Podcast through his Bitter Sound Cooking Class and Chef Matt Bubbles. Chillpak Hollywood Hour Even though we’ve been down for a couple of weeks, it seems our friends Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness over at the Chillpak Hollywood Hour podcast have been swamped and, although they’ve been very good about putting out their Monday episodes, they’ve been from the set of a new movie they’re producing, directing and acting in called The Ladykillers. As a result, they haven’t been mentioning Succotash, which is fine, but those have been the clips I’ve been playing here – when they mention our show, see? I guess we’ll just call the past couple of weeks a wash. This Week In Comedy Podcasts My latest review on Splitsider.com, for This Week In Comedy Podcasts LAST week, was The Jimmy Shubert Show. Veteran comic and actor, Jimmy Shubert has been around a while but only 2 episodes into the world of podcasting. And I’m going to interview Shubert on the next epi of Succotash, so how about that? Boganwood Chronicles, Cont'd. This show also features Episode 6 of Boganwood, the podcast mini-series out of Australia. Just before that rolls, there's more from an interview I had over Skype with the series' creator, Jason McNamara. Double Dose O' Durst Our Burst O' Durst segments have been piling up so in Epi67 we're running two - one towards the beginning and one in its usual spot near the end of the show. The 10 Most Active Podcasts in The Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcasts Here are the shows on Stitcher that shown the most movement - up OR down in the past week. Simple. 22. TalkS Hit with Eddie Ifft +942. Professor Blastoff +1145. The Dana Gould Hour +6650. Girl On Guy with Aisha Tyler +1755. That American Life -1663. The Champs with Neal Brennan & Moshe Kasher -2566. The Black Guy Who Tips Podcast -1570. The David Feldman Show -1491. The Perfect 10 Podcast with Ralphie May & Lahna Turner +45100. Yoshi Didn’t Podcast -16 THE CLIPS The Dana Gould HourThe funny and dark, or maybe it’s the darkly funny Dana Gould is back. I thought I was offline for a bit but he’s got me beat by a month. He has a better excuse – and I’m not telling tales out of school because he mentions it right in the opening to The Dana Gould Show – he was going through a divorce. When I saw him early in the summer, it was just getting started but now most of the hysteria is done with and he getting back to finding the funnier things in life. In this clip Dana and two of this episode’s guests – April Richardson and past Succotash guest Matt Weinhold – chat it up about ghosts in the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, which seques quite naturally into a discussion about cocaine. What? The Perfect 10Anyone familiar with Ralphie May’s comedy know that he’s got strong opinions about things. He’s not afraid of expressing them onstage and he’s definitely not afraid to jump into them on his podcast which he co-hosts with his wife, comedian Lahna Turner. It’s called the Perfect 10 and this week it jumped up into the Top 100 on Stitcher at #91, having leaped up 45 places since last week. In this clip, we discover that Ralphie not only doesn’t like wine very much but HATES the movie Sideways, that is all about wine and wine tasting and screwing. This clip precedes a visit that Lahna then makes to take a tour of a winery and to learn a little something about viticulture.  The Bitter SoundThe Bitter Sound podcast out of the UK is often a sort of audio experiment. Host Davian Dent likes bending sound and structure in interesting and – often – disturbing ways. In the spirit of the BBC over there, Davian’s recently concluded his second season of six shows and we have a clip from that last show where a friend has bought him something to commemorate the occasion.  Call Chelsea PerettiHere is the first of the clips submitted by our buddy Tyson Saner. Tyson is not just an avid listener to podcasts but he’s a very supportive voice out there for a lot of shows – he’s constnatly retweeting stuff from not just Succotash but Chillpak Hollywood Hour, Combat Radio and others that he wants people to discover. I love this clip from Call Chelsea Peretti – a show we hadn’t gotten around to featuring yet – as Chelsea has guest Bill Burr on her podcast and you can tell they like mixing it up a bit. Action Science TheaterWe received a clip from Dan Bond, Brian Macken, and Dan Booth from their relatively new sketch-based podcast. Action Science Theatre is a monthly show. The description on their website reads: “Action Science Theatre is a podcast in the style of a radio play, that mixes action, science, comedy and silly voices to create a welcome distraction from real life for 20 minutes or so. It is unquestionably the finest free online audio drama you can get without trying any others.” There’s a little bit of a feel of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Superego and Illusionoid to the show – at least in the clip we have, but that’s not a bad thing at all. BertcastWe played a clip from the Bertcast – hosted by comedian Bert Kreischer – when he first launched about a year and a half ago. Our honorary associate producer Tyson Saner lets us revisit the Mancave this week when Bert lures Marc Maron out of the WTF garage on The Bertcast to get real about marriage, kids, drinking, as well as hopes and dreams.  Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek PodcastTyson Saner comes through again with Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast. It’s a one-of-a-kind thingeroo that I’d never heard of but is pretty interesting, especially if you’re into The Trek. It features Ken Ray and John Campion delving into EVERY episode of EVERY Star Trek TV series, recounting the plotlines and then delving into the character motivations, plot wrinkles and everything in-between. There’s a sense of humor to it, for sure, but this is for the true ST aficionado.  One Dollar BeerOur next clip was sent in by Tommy Kay, one of the hosts of the One Dollar Beer podcast. Other hosts include Frost-T and Anthony Gunn. Tommy’s cover note says, "This is a snippet of our second episode entitled "Purple Lightsabers and White Women". It includes a clip from a segment where one of the hosts reveals some of his list of confessions and secrets that he never told anybody, along with reactions from the other hosts. Thank You." No, no - thank YOU, Tommy, for sending the clip in. Enjoy your first taste of One Dollar Beer… There it is, Epi67 of Succotash, all neatly wrapped up and ready to pass along to your friends! – Marc Hershon

FOREST OF THE SUGAR WITCH What kind of a season is 27 episodes? Well, we started with a 2-parter so… ANYWAY, it the season 2 finale of Illusionoid! And what a doozy it is! Two buddies duck out of a … Continue reading →

With our new friends at Pod Almighty helping us get the word out about Illusionoid, we though we’d dip into the archives for a time-traveling trip down memory lane. Lee picks a favorite to re-introduce to our new listeners! Can … Continue reading →

Pulp-O-Mizer cover for “The Hunt For Count Ruthenium” Recorded LIVE at Revel Theatre’s Barn Burner show at Unit 102 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 10, 2013, it’s another unscripted adventure from Illusionoid! From the audience suggestions of “Count” and … Continue reading →

I’m very excited about today’s show. I’m usually excited about every epi, but sometimes I’m more excited than other times and this is one of those more excited times. Our special guests are Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang – the cast of Illusionoid, one of my favorite podcasts. One of the most interesting things about Illusionoid is that it is a highly improvised show, built within a framework that makes it seem like each episode is an integral story within a structured whole. Maybe that's where the "illusion" part of the name comes from - I didn't think to ask. We DO get into the nuts and bolts of how the show gets put together - performance, music, sound effects - as well as how the three guys met up and how the show got started. I play a snippet of a recent Illusionoid episode after the interview, one that was inspired by part of our conversation just before the guys were going into the studio to record the show. You really should hear more and you can do it at http://Illusionoid.com, as well as on iTunes and Stitcher Smart Radio.  COUNTDOWN Here's the latest Top 10 Comedy Podcast countdown from Stitcher Smart Radio. There are a couple of new entries this week but not a whole lot of action - no movement at all amongst the top eight shows from last week's numbers. 10. SModcast > Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave!9. The Church of What’s Happening Now8. Doug Loves Movies7. Death Squad6. Mohr Stories5. The Nerdist4. NPR: Car Talk Podcast3. WTF with Mark Maron2. The Adam Carolla Show1. The Joe Rogan Experience WHAT ELSE YOU GOT? There's our Burst O' Durst, with comedian Will Durst talking about Girls (HBO) creator Lena Dunham and her amazing display of tattoos that joined her at the recent Golden Globes awards. I read a letter from Louis CK. And we have a song from Bonn and Obo. CLIPS SModcast: Tell ‘Em, Steve-DaveFeaturing Brian Quinn, Bryan Johnson & Walt Flanagan, Tell 'Em, Steve-Dave is billed as “Two Comic Book Men and An Impractical Joker. Uncensored.” The origin of the title is from a comic store that Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan used to go to, run by a guy who they could never remember if his name was Steve or Dave. So he became Steve-Dave. Our clip has part of their regular segments called "Fat News". The Church Of What's Happening NowSome people may be old enough to remember that the title of Joey Diaz’ podcast came from a character that late comedian Flip Wilson did, the Reverend Leroy, and it was the name of his church. Joey’s a truth-to-power kind of guy who also seems heavily fueled by edible forms of marijuana. But he used to be into heavier stuff, as evidenced by the story he tells in our sample of the show. NPR: Car Talk PodcastDid you know that NPR's Car Talk radio show, featuring the beloved Click and Clack (AKA Tom and Ray Magliozzi) is also Top 10 podcast? You can tell it's new to podcasting and a to a whole new audience because otherwise listeners would know that Car Talk - around for 35 years - stopped producing new shows last October! What you’re hearing are old reruns of people calling in to ask Click and Clack about their old broken down cars. Sloppy SecondsThe official blurb for Sloppy Seconds reads: “San Francisco comedian Howard Stone and co-host Tom Sawyer discuss current events in this fast paced comedy talk show with music.” What it neglects to say is that Tom Sawyer has been a fixture in the San Francisco comedy scene for 30 years as the owner of Cobb’s Comedy Club. And he’s got as many opinions as he had comedians cross the Cobb’s stage. Their guest this episode is Bay Area comedian Johnny Steele, who has an opinion or two himself. TalkS Hit with Eddie IfftHere’s a podcast that’s known by slightly different titles depending where you look for it. On its homesite, it’s Talking Shit with Jim Jefferies and Eddie Ifft. Or sometimes just Talking Shit with Eddie Ifft. Or Jim And Eddie Talk Shit. On iTunes, to get past the censorship on titles, it’s called TalkS Hit with Eddie Ifft. Whatever you call it, it has just passed 200 episodes, so something’s working. I will warn you that this show is NOT for the meek. This particular episode they have comedian Greg Wilson dropping by and the stories are, quite frankly, a little rough. Definitely NSFW. But there’s a crude hilarity and sense of fun…up until the moment Eddie shits his pants. Yes, that's right. Say no more. The DC AMAM is the host of The DC AM which is in Washington, DC. In a most recent epsiode, AM and a friend – the podcast homesite is very devoid of names – ventured to the Music And Gaming Festival (or MAGFest) in search of costumed weirdos running amok in our nation’s capitol. In the clip we have, they’ve cornered a dude dressed like Encio from the Assassion’s Creed video games. YA YA Brian Elles hosts a man-on-the-street type of show in Chicago called Ya Ya in conjunction with Peaches and Hot Sauce Productions. (I think I mispronounce the title of the show during the podcast - it's not "yah-yah" but more "yeh-yeh" - guest I'm not street enough to get those nuances…) In this clip that came right out of our TweetSack, Brian has Greg Gilenna (creator and writer of Meet The Parents) as his guest, who reveals the origins of the movie was a two-minute comedy sketch. There aren't THAT many clips in today's show but, with the Illusionoid interview, this is one of the longer episodes of Succotash we've done. Even so, I still managed to tack on a bonus succotash recipe at the very end, after Bill Haywatt signs off. Until next time, please remember to pass the Succotash! — Marc Hershon

Happy New Year! 2012 had many ups and downs, and that counts in comedy podcasting, too. Some podcasts went off the rails — such as Affirmation Nation and The Gentlemens' Club — never to be heard from again. While at the same time, milestones were passed for others. What did WTF, Nerdist, and Never Not Funny have in common? They all dropped their 300th episode this year! Congrats! And You Made It Weird, Who Charted?, Walking the Room, The Long Shot, and Sklarbo Country all turned the corner on their episode 100 in 2012. And the granddaddy of the comedy podcast ilk, Tom Scharpling's The Best Show On WFMU, actually rang up its 500th episode! I came up with the idea of doing a Top 10 Comedy Podcasts of 2012 but, unfortunately, the concept hit me the day before I was going to record Epi45. I didn't have the time or even a methodology in mind to pull it off, so I did the next best thing. I borrowed a list from the AV Club. They had their panel of reviewers dole out 50 points a piece amongst the podcasts out there in the universe, did careful calculations and considerations before posting their list. I swear we'll do something like that…next year. In the meantime, here's how the AV Club's list shook out: 10. Walking The Room9.   Pop Culture Happy Hour8.   Nerdist7.   Doug Loves Movies6.   The Pod F. Tompkast5.   (tie) Sklarbro Country / The Best Show on WFMU4.   You Made It Weird3.   Savage Love2.   Comedy Bang Bang1.   WTF This list was meant to be from ALL realms of podcasts but, as you can see, the majority are comedy-based in nature. Three of them have never been clipped on Succotash before, so we make up for that in this episode, with the exception of Savage Love, hosted by Dan Savage out of Seattle, Washington. The reason being that it is not a comedy p'cast but, instead, a very good and somewhat edgy relationship and sexual advice show. (It's currently #1 on Stitcher's Lifestyle & Health Top 100 list.) POD MAFIA IRREGULARS Last episode was our Succotash Christmas Card episode to those podcasts in the Pod Mafia collective of internet shows. But there are also a group of shows that have been very supportive of not just our podcast but a number of the Pod Mafia shows as well, so I'm referring to them as the Pod Mafia Irregulars. And this episode we pay tribute to them by clipping some recent editions of The Brit & The American, The Clutch & Wiggle Experience, The Random Variety Show, Toggle The Switch and Bonn And Obo. FUNNY MUSIC TIME  This episode's music break is furnished by the duo of Paul & Storm. It's their song Nugget Man, a salute to Robert C. Baker, inventor of the Chicken McNugget. Please click on their name to be linked to their most excellent website, which is festooned with their many musical selections! They also have a podcast you should check out, entitled Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average). BURST O' DURST This time around, our Ambassador to The Middle, political comedian Will Durst gives us is Ode to Twenty Twelve. CLIPS Pop Culture Happy HourNPR's entertainment and pop culture round-table podcast features Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Stephen Thompson & Glen Weldon having spirited discussions of movies, books, television, nostalgia, and anything else that might be making them happy. NerdistCongrats to Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Myra! Their Nerdist podcast hit Epi300 this past week or so. And to celebrate the moment, they returned to whence they began, doing the podcast in the office of Thomas Lennon’s house. Lennon was their very first guest and (for my money) he is one of the funniest guests in podcasting, ranking up there with the likes of Paul F. Tompkins. The Best Show on WFMUThe Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling is a combination music/call-in/comedy radio show originating from New Jersey-based radio station WFMU. The Best Show first aired on October 10, 2000 and, as mentioned up top, they've aired/dropped over 500 episodes! The Brit & The AmericanThe Brit and The American – namely Alba Lewis and Tom Moore – have translocated to Peru for the next 6 months but continue to pump out the podcasts on a regular basis. We feature a taste from a recent episode, which I think is PRE-Peru. The Clutch & Wiggle ExperienceYour hosts Rob and Craig (along with K-Love) take you on a verbal whirlwind as they spin, annihilate and humiliate everything and anything in the world today. Straight from the basement on a real air hockey table, they bring comedy and "justice" the way no one else sees the world. (Their CWERadio.com also rebroadcasts episodes of Succotash each week!  Random Variety Show PodcastCharley Miller is a good friend of Succotash and we’d be remiss if we didn’t include him in this belated Christmas card to the Pod Mafia Irregulars. In this clip Groucho Marx, who handles most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the interviews on  RVSP, talks to Libby Marie and Lishia from the Two Funny Girls podcast. Toggle the SwitchCross-Pacific podcast Toggle The Switch features Susan Wygmans from America and Carl McAteer from Australia. Susan started out as part of the Cuddlah Army, a total fan of Walking The Room with Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony, and now she finds herself with listeners of her own. We have a snippet of their show talking about “humpy time” and, right after that, we’ve got a little holiday message from the pair that was delayed due to a snag in our Tweetsack. BonnAndOboHere’s a show that’s definitely Pod Mafia worthy, not to mention they are requesting some guest vocal input from our very own Bill Haywatt. I’ve sent out a request to Bill’s favorite watering holes and, if we can get him upright long enough to record those lines, we’ll get them to you. In this clip, they bring in a very special guest. Epic Rant RadioAs part of Epic Rant Radio with Andre and Eric, they have a feature called “Rounds”, where the two guys go at it over certain subjects. In this clip, it’s the merits of watching old Sex And The City versus Glee. King MeanyA few episodes ago, I talked about a new sketch group out of England called King Meany. Liam Beirne, Andy Goddard, Shem Jeffs, Natalie Feehan, and Lizzie Milton were getting ready to start podcasting and now…they have! IllusionoidOne of my personal favorite podcasts is out of Canada. Illusionoid, with Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang. This was their holiday offering, The Christmas Ninjas, and we play the whole thing. In the coming year, I'm hoping to have more interesting interviews with podcasters, comedians and interesting people from the world of entertainment. I also hope to keep up a regular release schedule, which should be welcome news for those of you you enjoy a helping of Succotash you can depend on. And I'm going to feature a recipe for actual succotash at the tail end of every episode this year that I've found online. Why? Just to help you to pass the Succotash even more! — Marc Hershon

This past week saw the  BIG CITY IMPROV FESTIVAL hit Toronto, Ontario, Canada and ILLUSIONOID was a part of it! This live show was recorded October 20th, 2012 at Comedy Bar. Fenton is a detective with an uncanny ability to … Continue reading →

It’s the culmination of the impossible! A full year of Illusionoid! And episode 26 is not just filler… it’s THE filler! Science discovers an immense sausage in space that goes on forever! One scientist wants to study it and find … Continue reading →

Hatred and unrest know no bounds in the future, thanks to Illusionoid, but before it came to destroy us all there were societal clans that spread evil everywhere. This is a tale of just one of them. Can three friends … Continue reading →

This epi is really a mixed bag. No interview this time around, but plenty o' clippage. Including two of the biggest big names in show biz, stuff from across the pond in the UK. And a song — more or less — from past guest and Friend of the Succotash Fred Stoller, all about a podcast interview gone wrong. Are podcasts changing the way people relate with each other? The more of them I listen to, the more I believe that it may turn out to be doing so, slowly but surely. We've got a clip from one show where a host returns after a stay in a mental health facility and I talk a bit about how such a thing used to be something shameful, not to be discussed. The way the others on the show treat the situation takes a lot of the gravitas out of the proceedings. (You may heard about comedian Todd Glass and his recent visit to Marc Maron's WTF podcast, where he chose to reveal that he is not a heterosexual. Again, a fascinating (and brave) approach to breaking social convention wide open.) As trumpeted in the headline for this epi, our booth announcer Bill Haywatt returns for a Boozin' With Bill segment. His featured drink, "Life & Death", takes so long to prepare that we end up playing a couple of clips before drinking this most recent concoction. Follow the directions and prepare the recipe at your own risk. You can now get Succotash all over yourself by patronizing our webstore and grabbing some of our merch over at the Succotashery. If you don't want to help us to keep the show going that way, perhaps you'd consider giving our Donate button a click and shoot us some bucks. It's right on our site, on the right. Here's a rundown of this epi's clips. Click their titles for links to their home sites or check iTunes or Stitcher Smart Radio for the episodes... Here's The ThingCatch a few minutes of superstar actor Alec Baldwin, slumming in podcastland and interviewing superstar executive producer Lorne Michaels. Baldwin talks about his experience of hosting Michael's baby, Saturday Night Live, and does he say the writers raped him? You'll have to listen... IllusionoidThis show is fast becoming a favorite of mine — some shows I listen to just for the clips, favorites I catch every week — and these Toronto-based improvisors (Paul Bates, Lee Smart and Nug Nahrgang) JUST took the coveted Globehead Improv Tournament championship for 2012. In this clip, they are joined by Whose Line Is It Anyway alum Colin Machrie. The Last Podcaster StandingAs mentioned above, this clip earmarks an interesting milestone in comedy podcasting: A near-straight forward account with a regular kind of guy revealing the depths of the difficulty of dealing with everyday life. To the point where the guy — TK1 — checked himself into a mental hospital. His sympathetic-yet-laughing confederates on the show (Grant, Jason, Joe, Tom, and Stephanie) make his re-entry as painless as four cut-ups possibly can, one imagines. Van Full Of CandyThe guys from VFOC are trying their hands (mouths?) at livecasting (as opposed to podcasting) and I happened to be privy to their "Episode Zero" test of the system over at Blog Talk Radio. So I called in to see how it was going. I Am IdiotOver in London,  three blokes (Howard, Keith and Ben) are I Am Idiot.They shot this clip over to me and most of the action deals with a little mind game they like to call "Impossible Choices". Self-Help For StonersAuthor Robert "Chazz" Chute has turn the topic (and title) of one of his books, Self-Help For Stoners, in a platform (and title) for a podcast. Here we catch a blast from his Letters section. (Wonder if he's going to turn another of his tomes into podcast fodder? It's got a great title: Death & Mind Control (For Fun And Profit). Nick Creeps On PeepsThere's a podcast for everything, as is proven by Nick Gauss, host/stalker of NCOP. In this clip, he's joined by one of his co-hosts from the other podcast he's involved with, Divided by Zero. In each edition, Nick stakes out some person to watch in a public place, then riffs on what they're doing and what their lives must be like. Burst O' DurstOr, rather, BURSTS O' Durst. We've got a double header this week — one in the first half, one in the second. Politicomic Will Durst supplies us with straight unadulterated comic views of first White House resident Barack Obama's State of the Union address and then the GOP Soap Opera that IS the run-up to this year's presidential election. In addition to the clips, we've got promos from Chillpak Hollywood Hour, the UK's Badger's Briefcase, and The Thrilling Adventure Hour (with Superego). And, of course, a word from our perennial sponsor Henderson's Pants. That's it. Fingers tired now. Go, friends, and pass the Succotash! — Marc Hershon

Prisons of the future are impenetrable! Can one man, armed only with his skilled friends, save the woman he loves from such a fortress? And where is ILLUSIONOID’s evil tendril in all of this? It’s THE GREAT SPACE PRISON CAPER!

The future brings the inevitable joining of man and machine, but it also brings forth war between man and cybernetic man!  What will become of humanity? And what role does ILLUSIONOID play in this conflict?  From a title suggested by … Continue reading →

Here’s the secret project we’ve been working on for a while. Paul Bates, Lees Smart and Nug Nahrgang are Illusionoid. After winning the Globehead tournament at the Bad Dog Theatre, they decided that improvising together was fun… especially when the … Continue reading →