Bill Green for president 2016! That's how great this episode is! I promise we don't just gab on about each individual issue, Bill tells some wonderful first-hand accounts of being inspired to change his major [and the world!], working on a presidential campaign, and continuing to be on the front lines politically as the employee of a nonprofit organization with a grant for implementing ObamaCare. We talk about how your personal stories and experiences shape your political views (and that those c...
Nov 19, 2014•2 hr 20 min
Bryan Duff? More like Bryan BUFF because this guy is a well-oiled machine of nutrition facts and practices. He's not here to get preachy or make anybody feel guilty, he just has a genuine interest and passion in the fuel that makes our bodies tick in the healthiest, most efficient way. There's so much fascinating stuff in here that it's hard to even highlight particular topics, but some favorites are how much your ancestry affects what your body processes the best, some various pitfalls or misco...
Nov 13, 2014•1 hr 42 min
Cynthia is the sweetest gal on the block, so it was no surprise she wanted to chat about fun children's books with me. From her days as an actual child to her daytime nanny gig, she's run the gamut of being into good stories and good characters and good fun in books for kids. We talk about her favorite book as a child, some of her favorite working authors of children's books, A Visitor For Bear, and, of course, the obligatory Dr. Seuss worshiping. I loved getting into what kinds of things she th...
Nov 05, 2014•1 hr 28 min
Three times the guests produced three times the fun with the wonderful ladies of Pony Patrol (Michelle Davey, Sarah Porter, and Charly Williams) telling me sPoOkY, firsthand tales of the paranormal. They all met in my home state of South Carolina, they all have at least one encounter with the paranormal, and they all got into trying to figure out what was up in their brain/the cosmos during the experience they had. The paranormal activity talk led us down a path of discussing mysticism, spiritua...
Oct 29, 2014•2 hr 1 min
Becca Taubel is full to the brim of Saved by the Bell knowledge, and I could not wait to entice as much of it out of her as possible. She confesses to have been a fan of pretty much every high-school-set TV show of the era (90210, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, etc), but SBTB was easily her crowning jewel. One of my favorite bits of trivia involves Miss Bliss, Tori, and The Parent Trap films, but there are many laughs and facts to be had. We get into what we got out of the things we watched grow...
Oct 22, 2014•1 hr 26 min
Stephanie Corkery is my very best friend. After attending college with her for three years and living with her for two, I may very well be the person who has heard her talk about poop more than anyone else. We decided to share this gift with the world. This episode made me laugh constantly, much like Stephanie does. We talk close calls, not making it, poop jokes, good poops, bad poops, what your poo is saying about you, and many other facets of our BM lives. She has also sat through countless MB...
Oct 15, 2014•1 hr 35 min
Fellow podcaster Mel Evans drops by MBSing for some October-appropriate scary killer talk! She is as delightful as she is knowledgeable about women who have committed murders. From Lizzie Borden to Snapped, we cover a lot of killer ground and have a total blast along the way. I don't think I ever would have pondered the different ways/reasonings females commit such crimes or the disparity between how they're treated for such sprees versus the drive behind male-committed killings and the way most...
Oct 08, 2014•1 hr 30 min
Marie Maloney can tell you more about Jackie O than most people can tell you about themselves. This chat was a total blast [from the past] and a uniquely historical MBSing. Listen to me struggle to keep up as my historical knowledge specifically politically is feeble at best. But I did manage to recommend some great Kennedy-related pop culture recommendations. Marie has been fascinated by the Kennedys since the first or second grade when she read some god-forsaken children's book about president...
Oct 01, 2014•1 hr 30 min
Stand up comedian/podcaster/documentarian Graham Elwood joins me for an excellent MBSing exploring one of his favorite film genres, crime and mob movies. Upon moving from Madison, Wisconsin, to Evanston, Illinois when he was 11, Graham garnered a unique perspective on the films as he watched mobsters and crooked cops rule the streets both on his family's newly-acquired color TV and in his new hometown of Chicago. Graham is not just a film enthusiast, he cohosts the Comedy Film Nerds podcast, cow...
Sep 24, 2014•1 hr 11 min
Nate Bechtel has been everywhere, man. Well, he's at least lived and traveled abroad quite a bit over the course of his life. His dad works for the US State Department, thus he often lives overseas and had his family overseas (specifically in Athens, Munich, and Vienna) for months at a time in Nate's life. He has a unique perspective on life in the US as a result and shares with me many of his favorite stories and impressions of life overseas. Nate spent some tumultuous time in Saudi Arabia, his...
Sep 17, 2014•1 hr 32 min
Oh man. What a doozy. Dora is very new to battling the possibility of alcoholism, and when I asked what she wanted to talk to me about, that's what she said. So I acquiesced. Because who am I to say no to an interesting, heartfelt, and at times difficult conversation. Dora and I also made a decent attempt at keeping it light while we delved into her realization within the last month that she needed to make a serious change in her life where drinking is concerned. Dora is a total sweetheart, and ...
Sep 10, 2014•1 hr 19 min
Enjoy the joy that is Ben Larrison in this week's episode wherein he expounds upon all things he loves, strives towards, and pursues where happiness is concerned. Yeah, we all like happiness. Duh. But Ben has a special brand of interest in producing happiness in himself and others whenever possible and in the most playful of ways. Check out The Dunk Contest of the Century of the World and The Chicago Transit Project if you don't want to take my word for it (and while you're checking it out, back...
Sep 03, 2014•1 hr 36 min
Stephen Kropa is a big fanboy for two artisans (directors/writers/show runners/comedians...) who would probably consider themselves fanboys as well, Dan Harmon and Edgar Wright. Their bevy of pop culture influences on their own projects is a constant comfort and inspiration for Kropa, and I can't find any room to disagree with him on the ways they are similar creators when it comes to the blending of homages and nods with their own unique, very specific voices and visions as artists.
Aug 27, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Dive in to this episode with the indomitable Erin Lann for tons of ocean chat! We delve into her three favorite animals of all time (all sea beasts), and eventually meander into some deeper philosophical territories like bio-dome conservation and world politics. Erin gets into some deep cut ocean animal facts, and it was a true joy to learn from her.
Aug 20, 2014•1 hr 29 min
I'm pretty ashamed of myself for never having seen Joss Whedon's beloved, taken-before-its-time sci-fi series, and dear Allison only heightened my shame with her excellent weaving of thoughts and feelings on this series and many other Whedon properties. We explore themes ranging from dealing with grief to accepting your inner nerd-dom all via Whedon's 14-episode work (plus some Serenity talk).
Aug 13, 2014•1 hr 29 min
Sean Kelley is super into a lot of things because he's a super knowledgeable dude and fan, but he's especially super into the superheroes that make up the X-Men. He's been on board since X-Men #1 came out in 1991 (the best-selling comic book of all time!) and has been ravenously consuming the comics since then. Thus, of course, he has some stellar thoughts about what has worked and what hasn't in the film adaptations of said comics (and some other Marvel and non-Marvel properties just as some fu...
Aug 06, 2014•1 hr 14 min
Andy Junk may have mad love for the Caped Crusader, but he is far from a Dark Knight. Brimming with kindness and enthusiasm, Andy covered all eras and all mediums of Batman fandom (comics, films, live action and animated TV series, video games, collectables... the works). There were no stones left unturned in this delightful romp through the bat cave. After rapidly consuming most of MBSing in a few weeks, Andy has become a super fan, so it's easy to see how he was able to become a buff on all th...
Jul 30, 2014•1 hr 32 min
Fellow member of the Nerdologues Joe Gennaro sits down with me to tap some lands and cast some spells as we weave tales about the incredibly popular deck-building card game Magic: The Gathering. I learn what WUBRG means, how awesome a God pack is, and a bunch of other nerdy fun things along the way (this game has the possibility of creating an infinite number of squirrels....). Joe and about half of the other members of the Nerdologues have been raving about and obsessing over MtG for almost a y...
Jul 23, 2014•1 hr 40 min
Nick Hassebrock was mesmerised by David Copperfield from the first time he saw one of his specials at six years old and has loved and been inspired by him ever since. It wasn't just about the illusions, it was the whole package; from lighting to music to showmanship, Nick points out that Copperfield is truly at the top of his field and helps magic seem less "dorky." After having to clarify I was never making fun of Nick and truly just got giddy at how much he loves good ol' DC, I sat back as he ...
Jul 16, 2014•1 hr 11 min
Molly Jones is the happiest of campers. She's always rallying the troops and weaving tales on and off stage. It’s no surprise that she wanted to talk to me about her love of summer camp. She still counts her summers as a camper (and later counselor) at Camp Laurel South as some of her greatest times. A California girl who went to college in Florida and eventually landed in Chicago, Molly knows that it was her summer months spent in beautiful Maine that shaped her fun, creative, and event-plannin...
Jul 09, 2014•1 hr 16 min
Sarah Shockey is warm, funny, and passionate in general, but when it comes to her love of Princess Tutu, all those traits are simply intensified. Anime fans can rejoice in this episode topic's slight obscurity, but everyone can appreciate how much fun we have as she explains the ins and outs of this wonderful little show. I don't have too much of a working knowledge of anime (I think I manage to mention everything anime-related that I've ever seen), but I think the description of the workings of...
Jul 02, 2014•1 hr 15 min
Put down your cleats and sit inside for a while to get into this sporty sports time ep of MBSing with Matt Kidd! Matt's a software engineer by day, so he's no normal brute, he just super loves sports from track to volleyball to that game you made up in high school at the lunch table. We cover a lot of ground where Matt's sports-playing history and future are concerned, but we also get into why we find sports so entertaining to play and watch even though the whole thing can seem silly and bafflin...
Jun 25, 2014•1 hr 16 min
It's time to start the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to listen to this hot off the presses episode of MBSing with my guest Sean Price who lovably gets into his fandom of the always lovable Muppets! Logically, we begin by touching on Muppet Babies (which is, fairly shamefully, some of my only real, consistent exposure to the whole Muppet thing), and move on to which films Sean likes the most, how we feel about the new Muppet movies, and work in some important Labyrinth/Dark Crys...
Jun 18, 2014•1 hr 23 min
Chicago's sweetheart Katie Johnston-Smith makes a splash on MBSing by talking America's sweetheart, Tom Hanks. Seriously, who doesn't like that guy? Nobody. But I don't know anyone who likes him as much as KJS. At least not young Tom Hanks. Yeah, she specifically loves that scrawny, charming leading man, and we get into a discussion on whether that kind of guy even exists anymore in Hollywood and how he sometimes overcame the dreaded "80s pacing" of films and other times... not so much (we're lo...
Jun 11, 2014•1 hr 3 min
I wanted to do something big for my 1-year anniversary, and boy was this night one of my favorites in a long time. Max Temkin and I got to carry on about our mutual love of the long-running young adult novel series Animorphs for an hour while getting laughs from a live audience and being flanked by some other incredible past guests along the way. If you've never read Animorphs, there's no need to fret: Max covers the plot basics before diving into his favorite aspects of the novels and the many,...
Jun 04, 2014•1 hr 37 min
Dear friend Andy Herren swings by MBSing today to tell me a bunch of hilariously true stories about times he's [mostly innocently] lied to some unwitting victims. Buckle up and enjoy the ride, and look out for some sweet nods to his time on Big Brother 15 where he used his love of lying to win buckets of money. Andy legitimately has some of the funniest stories I've ever heard a person share, and this episode is packed with them. Keep an ear out for multiple mentions to the Legally Blonde films ...
May 28, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Susan Messing is an improv deity, and she was nice enough to come on the show and tackle some subjects she cannot stop reading about fueled by anger and curiosity. We focus more on the Scientology side of things than anything else, but the whole thing is fascinating and hilarious just like Susan. She's a big advocate of practicing what you preach when it comes to being improv teacher, so it makes a lot of sense that her frustrations with the topic lie mostly with misinformation and mistreatment ...
May 21, 2014•1 hr 16 min
Nerdologues member/webmaster/genius Steve Persch graces the MBSing hot seat to jam about all things website building. Or at least as many things we had time for plus some other tangents. Listen to my gears churn as I try to keep up with the details, and stand in awe as you listen to someone with a theatre degree describe how he turned a challenge into a career (and a hobby) through self-teaching. Steve is such a jack of all trades, and hearing him compare certain aspects of website building to c...
May 14, 2014•1 hr 23 min
Any regular listener of MBSing (or friend of mine) knows how much I love the Atlanta Braves, and a vast majority of that love is due to my father and my brother. I had the opportunity to sit down with them to chat about our mutual love for the Bravos and how it has flourished over the years. Eyes got teary, metrics got sabered, and fun was had. My dad, Chris, gets into how his love of the Atlanta Braves has existed ever since the team was the Atlanta Braves. Civil rights becomes an interesting a...
May 07, 2014•1 hr 7 min
Pop a squat on a campfire log, listeners. Wolf has been telling me stories since shortly after I moved to Chicago, and I couldn't have been happier to have him weaving tales with me on MBSing. Wolf's love of storytelling was born at summer camp, and he continues to entertain audiences with a passion ignited there by Mountain Mike, a tall tale telling counselor. Wolf is incredibly warm and kind, and I imagine the people he got this love from are, too. He shares his love all over the city in many ...
Apr 30, 2014•1 hr 14 min
