Want to listen to two adults sitting down for a chat about a child's pocket monster game and having a damn good time doing it? Good, because fellow member of The Nerdologues Chris Geiger tells me a ton about his love of catching 'em all. After spending a bit of time discussing the current pervasive nature of nerd culture in general, Chris and I explore a video game (and anime... but mostly we talk about the video game) that has become the second-most successful video game-based franchise in the ...
Apr 23, 2014•1 hr 23 min
His name is Matt Barbera, and he's a recovering out-oholic. Matt, currently in his tenth year of being president of the Playground Theatre, loves going out and being social so much he adopted (coined?) a term for it. He's of the opinion that this existence colors the lives of most 22-30ish year olds who venture to Chicago post college in search of jobs, apartments, adventure, and friendships, especially when one is "raised on the precipice of being a bro," and he has absolutely defined and excel...
Apr 16, 2014•1 hr 26 min
Sawyer Heppes (of the Otherworld Theatre ensemble and host of his own podcast, OC Dweeb) tunes in to MBSing to share his love of and long-standing fandom for television sitcoms. What started with TGIF (Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Full House, Family Matters, etc.) was bolstered by Nick at Night (Bewitched, I Love Lucy, ...Fresh Prince, etc.) and continues with the most recently syndicated shows (HIMYM, Big Bang Theory, Community, etc.), and Sawyer has a lot of insights as to how he feels those...
Apr 09, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Adam Levin is a Chicago improviser not afraid to air out his failures, and it made for a really compelling, funny episode to record. He tells so many stories of improv, romantic, and work-related failures that, if nothing else, this will be a fun ep to commiserate with (or make you feel better about your own, less awkward failings?). Adam is determined and kind throughout all of these anecdotes, and he never tries to point fingers and blame others for his stumbling blocks. His honesty is refresh...
Apr 02, 2014•2 hr 27 min
Fellow Chicago podcast host Mark Colomb comes over to talk shop on podcasting in the Chicago comedy community. Like all of my guests, he is far more experienced and insightful on the topic than I am, but Mark specifically covers what he has put into and gotten out of being a podcast host. Mark's Poor Choices show was the first of its kind in this community and provides an amazing amount of background for so many beloved Chicago performers who continue to play here or have gone on to bigger stage...
Mar 26, 2014•1 hr 29 min
The ever-hilarious Jeff Murdoch comes by MBSing to talk about not only the music he loved while he was in high school but also the universal idea of music and things everyone liked when we were in high school in order to seem "cool." As well as doling out some totally solid life advice ("Don't sleep. Eat cookies."), Jeff gets into why he thinks he continues to like a lot of those high-school-favorite bands. DJ Jazzy Jeff spins jams as we chat and professes that if at the end of the day, someone ...
Mar 19, 2014•1 hr 31 min
Even though Shelby considers herself the kind of nerd who is "so into things people are embarrassed for you," she chose a very traditionally cool, rebellious passion to talk to me about, tattoos. Shelby has 6 (or more if you start counting them individually instead of grouping), and they all mean a great deal to her. Shelby described the need for tattoos by saying that she loves the things that she loves so much that she has to have them on her body, and I just don't know whether anyone can defi...
Mar 12, 2014•1 hr 20 min
Independent filmmaker Chris White's request to be on the show prompted a need for the first call-in MBSing, and the results made for one of my favorite episodes! Chris shared his top five power ballads in film with me, and we got off on a ton of other film (and reminiscent) tangents. I really loved working with Chris while I was in college and have enjoyed following his filmmaking career from afar since I moved to Chicago, so getting him on the show to preach the merits (and broad definition) of...
Mar 07, 2014•1 hr 42 min
Scott Braidman is an amazing performer and artist, and he shared his love of another amazing performer and artist (and director and producer and visionary...) with me in this excellent episode. I had only ever seen one Chaplin film before this, but Scott's passion for the subject has certainly inspired me to check out a lot of his other work. After sharing with me perhaps one of my favorite inception of a love for a topic stories in the history of the show, Scott shows he is so in touch with wha...
Feb 26, 2014•1 hr 26 min
Yup. Clayton chose to talk about sex. And it wasn't as terrible and uncomfortable as I thought it might have been! It was actually quite the interesting, personal, and honest conversation. We both call each other out for crappy things we've done in past relationships. (Clayton said I date like an improv boy!) We talk about how we're glad we're both into socially acceptable sex stuff and touch on a few other frustratingly taboo aspects of sex and relationships. We even role play! For real! It's t...
Feb 19, 2014•1 hr 18 min
Tim Dunn (of the fellow Nerdologues-produced podcast Talking Games with Tim and Clayton) is on the show to talk about a relatively new-found love of being busy. We never really spend much time defining what we think being busy is, but we do get into a LOT of topics and aspects of our lives affected by our levels of commitments and plans (dating, working, comedy we see and work on, what we do when we aren't busy, etc). It ends up being a great, fairly stripped down conversation about what we like...
Feb 12, 2014•1 hr 18 min
This episode was bound to happen because people effing LOVE The Simpsons, and I'm so pleased that it happened with gem-of-a-person Amy Thompson. She's such a sweetheart that I dare you not to be warmed by her silly antics in this conversation. I haven't seen much Simpsons (I know, I know...) so I can't get too deep into references and such with Amy, so I try to unpack why the iconic show IS so iconic and, of course, why it means so much to her. Notes: wtso.tv is shut down :( Hurricane Neddy Plan...
Feb 05, 2014•1 hr 5 min
What is a great episode of MBSing? In this week's episode, Pad tells me of his long-standing love for Jeopardy! that recently culminated in an appearance on the show. His episode won't air for another month or so, but Padraic explains the process, describes some of the true characters he encountered along the way, and covers why he thinks the show and a love of trivia have remained as important as they are to him. We also get to unpack what Pad's fun fact introduction on the show was and how it ...
Jan 29, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Sit back and actually enjoy some 90s nostalgia for a change (we promise this is nothing like a cloying BuzzFeed list) as my friend Kevin and I unpack his love of cartoons! Kevin is a comic artist and illustrator who grew up in the city of Chicago as an only child with a penchant for spending time with Nickelodeon and trying to figure out how to best draw the characters he loved. We explore a lot of why we like the specific cartoons we like and even get into some of the shifts in style over the l...
Jan 22, 2014•1 hr 5 min
Anyone who knows Julia knows she's an incredibly passionate person, and I couldn't wait to get her on MBSing to chat about one of the many things she's passionate about. Possible topics included feminism, childhood/nannying, social networks, drinking, Beyoncé, family, and a handful of others, but at the top of the episode my lovely roommate Stephanie drew Julia's topic out of a hat as an unbiased observer. Thus sealing our topic of discussion: food. We explored the good and bad emotions attached...
Jan 15, 2014•1 hr 14 min
Break out the Entertainment Weekly and pull up IMDb and AV Club in different browser tabs because Rob and I are about to get deep into some pop culture goodness. Rob is an incredibly nice guy and an excellent actor/improviser, and he goes into some really interesting details on how he became a fan of pop culture in general (Looney Toons played a big role!) and how it continues to feed into his creative life (the phrase "Comedy Cops" is used!). Tune in, people. Notes: The hosts of Pop My Culture ...
Jan 08, 2014•1 hr 4 min
It's fitting Matt chose to talk about board games because I think this episode has the fun and enthusiasm of sitting down for a rousing game with friends. Matt tells the best stories and so aptly applies his love of board games to his job with gamification AND to his passion for improv in the search for the game and beyond. This is an excellent ep especially for fellow gamers and follows Klingon Christmas Carol's Christopher Kidder-Mostrom well as Matt is a member of Improvised Star Trek (and Im...
Jan 02, 2014•1 hr 13 min
Hola mis amigos! Enjoy this sweet ep with my new friend Christopher Kidder-Mostrom who explores his passion for translating that started in a grad program and has culminated in his theatre company Commedia Beauregard. Chris and his company have an incredible mission statement to bring important works of theatre from other languages into English while keeping the essence of the pieces intact. He also goes into some of the history on the company's production of A Klingon Christmas Carol, a fun ver...
Dec 27, 2013•1 hr 9 min
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away A few days ago in my kitchen, Elliott and I had a delightful chat about his favorite film franchise, Star Wars. Unlike most fans, Elliott doesn't feel as much of a need to exclude those pesky prequels, and his defense essentially began with "shut the fuck up about Jar Jar Binks." Strap in for a fun, nerdy romp around the Indy films, some Star Trek talk, and Elliott's proposal for how to fix the Ewok ending of Return of the Jedi. I'm on board. Notes: Comi...
Dec 18, 2013•1 hr 10 min
Claire and I tackle the task of talking about a visual medium on an audio podcast, and we succeeded with flying colors. Claire is such a smart, kind lady who I consistently find myself lucky to have the pleasure of collaborating with regularly. She loves art and MBSing and did an excellent job sharing her love of both with me. Get into it to hear us gab about Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the superlatives we did and did not get in high school (that we are still inexplicably holding on to), ...
Dec 11, 2013•1 hr 2 min
This is a v. exclusive MBSing first: a podcast crossover episode! The first half is The Bearded Ones podcast hosted by my dear friends hailing from Greenville, South Carolina, Evan Harris and Jason Underwood. I tell them one of my most embarrassing performance stories that happened a few weeks ago, a tale about Clark Gregg's actor's nightmare, and an assortment of other fun things. The second half is me interviewing them about a mutual passion of theirs, improv comedy! They're on a team in South...
Dec 04, 2013•1 hr 55 min
Set aside those turkey carving knives and pick up your wooden stakes: It's time to chat about Buffy. This episode has some INCREDIBLE moments of truth about passion and friendship surrounding fandom that I absolutely adore and don't make a point to hide my adoration. Mary is so, so funny and really exemplifies what it means to love a thing so hard that you do the weirdest (read: BEST) stuff. (Mary neglected to mention that she had a Buffy-themed birthday party one year complete with costumes and...
Nov 28, 2013•1 hr 6 min
Jeremy came on the show to discuss a unique but totally applicable and interesting topic, and I can't believe the ways teaching himself various skills and hobbies has changed his life. One of my favorite pull quotes from this episode is, "you don't have to be unhappy with something just because it's present." What an empowering, encouraging mantra! What a guy! Jeremy is intelligent and incredibly determined, and I think everyone could stand to take a page out of his book. And then learn from it....
Nov 20, 2013•56 min
Ladieeeeeeeees and gentlemeeeeen. Please welcome to the ring ALEX TREPKA AKA The Road Pupp for a glorious conversation about his love of professional wrestling. This was an absolute blast, and no stone of my own pro wrestling knowledge was left unturned. Fans of the sport will CERTAINLY dig this, and non-fans get a lot to chew on about why both of us find it incredibly entertaining. Get into it, brotherrrrrrr! Notes (From Trepka!): Undertaker vs Mankind Hell in a cell match. Gets going very quic...
Nov 13, 2013•1 hr 4 min
Put on some rented shoes and button up your embroidered shirt because Daniel Duval came on the podcast to talk about his life in the fast lane(s). Daniel's a total sweetheart and big fan of the podcast and The Nerdologues, so it was a pleasure to be able to invite him to be a guest and to have such a great time recording. We get into hot deets on strategy, leagues, and the pinnacle of Daniel's bowling career. DIG IT. Notes: ESPN's profile of two-handed bowler Jason Belmonte. I have to assume Dan...
Nov 06, 2013•58 min
Jimmy Pennington came on the show to talk about novels, and, while we may have strayed away from the topic at times, I truly dug this conversation. We got into some neuroses of our own and how those feelings affect what the Great American Novel must mean to its readers. We also deconstruct what it may mean that I avoid watching scary movies and the things Jimmy needs to watch even though he doesn't have internet access in his windowless apartment. Notes: Mike Schur's Decemberists video and Parks...
Oct 30, 2013•1 hr 4 min
Oh nooooo! It's Bret Dorman!!! Talking about Godzilla! Look out! Man. What a delight this chat was. We covered a plethora of topics including some discussion on liking the things you like and not knowing or caring how other people feel about them, "bad" films vs. "good" films, and the way already existing content (books, other films, comics, etc) affects the way movies are made and for which type of audience. It's a blast, and I knew it would be. Notes (Bret sent me these because he knew I was g...
Oct 23, 2013•1 hr 3 min
There's a lot of MBSing firsts in this ep, guys! Two guests! Over one hour of conversation (because there were two guests)! So many bros talking about so much football in this, and I love every second of it. Chandler says a thing about sixth graders playing chess that is still making me laugh every time I think about it. Spencer informed me that Nebraska football games become the third-largest city in Nebraska whenever they take place. This. Episode. Is. Glorious. Notes: Here's Squall's site wit...
Oct 16, 2013•1 hr 26 min
My dear friend and teammate James Allen came into the studio to lay down some SICK tracks with me in this episode! If you are expecting us to actually rap, change your expectations because we do not. If you are expecting me to make a fool of myself around the 12:30 mark, keep those expectations high because that happens. This was a goofy, fun one. James is a delight. Notes: The lead singer of Thin Lizzy is Phil Lynott. Apl.de.ap's mom actually looks quite nice. It delighted me when James mention...
Oct 09, 2013•1 hr
Check it out, people. Jennifer's interest in dyslexia is one she had no choice on: after battling with her learning disabilities for years without knowing why she could not do school work like her classmates, she was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 15. Her story is a delightful one in spite of this difficulty. At one point, Jennifer says she had to stop letting her dyslexia define her, she had to define her dyslexia. She's a hero and one of the hardest working people I've ever had the plea...
Oct 03, 2013•57 min
