Some find actor / comedian / filmmaker Ted Lyde’s honesty about being a parent refreshing, some find it off-putting. Ted talks about the sacrafices and compromise as a father and husband, that lead him to state, “I don’t recommend it and I wouldn’t do it again.” He also opens up about his disabled son who was born with Muscular Ataxia. Paul reads an email from a listener who found last week’s episode anything but inspiring.
How do each of us cope with trauma? Brenda’s story is remarkable for many reasons. She is a former Div 1 softball player and hockey mom with two kids who endured a day most people only experience in their nightmares. She shares how she got through it, where she is at today and the role athletics played in honing her mental toughness. Paul also reads some very intense survey responses covering a variety of ways people cope with trauma. Not a light episode, but hopefully illuminating.
The author (The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep And Never Had To), comedian (DERRICK Comedy) and actor (“Mystery Team“) opens up about the loss of his mother to cancer when he was in junior high, overachieving, cynicism, and the terrifying prospect of intimacy. Paul also reads an email from a listener who sheds light on being an identical twin, and reads the survey responses of a college-educated professional who is addicted to huffing.
Most people know her as Lily Lebowski on Crossing Jordan, or from recurring roles on Hung, and Girls. She has appeared in films such as Anchorman, Step Brothers, How Do You Know and A Lot Like Love. Funny, nice and self-deprecating, she opens up to Paul about her difficulty in saying what she means and asking for what she wants. Paul also reads a letter from a veteran having trouble adjusting after returning home, and one from a mother of four married to soldier currently in Afghanistan.
Most people know Dave from MTV’s Wanna Be a VJ contest where he was runner-up, from FX’sDVD on TV, his video podcast A Drink with Dave or dozens of appearances on various programs, but few know his calm exterior often masks panic and anxiety. He and Paul bond over being raised Irish Catholic, hosting interstitial t.v. shows and other similarities. Dave talks about the minefield of coming out to a family with mixed views on gays, his oddly easy time with it in high school and difficult time in college. Paul reads survey responses related to the LGBT community, highlighting where America is at in seeing them as equals and how it makes them feel.
The neuroscientist and senior science writer at Huffington Post (Talk Nerdy to Me) talks with Paul about the roots of her depression, her parents divorce, her decision at 14 to leave the Mormon church and her father’s inability to accept it, her love of science, how she currently treats her depression and the toll it has taken on loved ones. Plus Paul reads some listener emails and surveys and a list of signs that might mean you’re a narcissist.
The author, filmmaker, podcaster and t.v. personality invites Paul to his craft room where they discuss Chris’ OCD, ADD, fear of disappointing people and the unshakeable feeling that he’s not successful enough. Often described as “The Nerd’s Martha Stewart”, Chris is the founder of Film Threat magazine, the author of The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, the host of the podcast Podcrash, and a co-host of G4’s Attack of the Show. He lives in Los Angeles.
The actress (Hung, True Blood, Date Night, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911) and solo theatre artist (Bust) opens up about being an adopted child growing up in a family uncomfortable with emotion, her food and weight issues and the manipulative, alcoholic 23 year-old who wouldn’t leave her alone when she was 16. She also talks about a lie that snowballed out of control and why she had trouble stopping it.
Nerds get bullied – but nerds who are also “spazzes” as Dan describes his younger self, get the worst of it. The comedian/writer opens up about the abuse he endured as well as the tactics one can employ to minimize it. He and Paul talk about science, Tycho Brahe, atheism, hostile audiences, the questioning of one’s sexuality and the difficulty in silencing internal messages that were literally pounded in.