If March comes in like a lion, August comes in like… okay, how about a sloth? But it’s also the middle of the dog days. Whatever animal you assign to this time frame, there’ll be plenty of good listening from the Nerdist Podcast Network this week to help you get through it. Like:
We’ll get Mike Birbiglia this week as he returns to the Nerdist Podcast. Mike’s here this week to promote his new movie Don’t Think Twice, which is about an improv troupe at a crossroads, and he’ll talk about the state of comedy, his writing process, and much more.
The A-list action on The Writers Panel continues with two guys responsible for some of the best television ever: David Simon and Tom Fontana, from the ATX festival in Austin. They both worked on Homicide: Life on the Street, and they both belong in the Hall of Fame for obvious reasons (you’re not going to make me mention David’s The Wire, are you? Or Tom’s work on Oz and St. Elsewhere? Come on).
This week on Maltin on Movies, Leonard and Jessie have a guest I’m particularly looking forward to hearing, Charles Phoenix, and if that name isn’t familiar to you, you really should get to know him: He’s an L.A.-based curator of mid-century pop culture and modernism, and his live slide-shows and field trips are essential in understanding and appreciating the kitsch of the ’50s and ’60s. As a member of The Olds who remembers suburban U.S. life in the ’60s, I can appreciate his take on the forgotten and supremely cheesy things that made up that era. And he cooks weird things, too. Yes, they’re going to talk about drive-ins, because you can’t talk about ’60s movies without ’60s drive-ins. Go look at his website and see if it doesn’t make you eager for more. Vintage Disneyland! Edsels! Cake!
The Jonah Keri Podcast will get into the Olympic spirit with long jumper/triple jumper Will Claye, one of the more fascinating people you’ll encounter: athlete, medalist, fashion designer, rapper. If you’ve never heard of him before, you’ll be a fan after this. And on Friday, Jonah will talk with Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno, the first female players in men’s pro baseball since the 1950s as members of independent minor league baseball’s Sonoma Stompers.
And writer/actress/Hello Giggles co-founder/Plz Advise podcaster Molly McAleer will drop by Love, Alexi this week, and the Nerdist Comics Panel will answer your questions. And more episodes of more shows all week, so much more.
Find it all at the Nerdist Podcast Network homepage and Facebook page, subscribe, revel in it. It’ll take your mind off the intense heat and humidity. Maybe. Look, it’s worth a shot.
Contributor: Kyle Clark
Photo: Cold Iron Pictures/The Film Arcade
