The writer, stand-up and pocaster (The 40 Year-Old Boy Podcast) and Paul get into the ins and outs of rage and its tempting oblivion, Mike’s weight battles (he tipped the scales at 505 lbs at one point), his Dad issues (Mom described him as a Monster) and what makes even the most aggressive of males freeze in their tracks.
The L.A. Times columnist talks with Paul about growing up and later rebelling in a household where music and academia were everything. She talks about the pressure of starting a writing career in Manhattan and living a real-life Devil Wears Prada nightmare, where the idea of even living in a rundown building in a bohemian neighborhood became unattainable. They talk about the epiphany of realizing her dreams were shallow, materialistic and unattainable, her move to Nebraska and the perspective and novel (The Quality of Life Report) that resulted. A great episode for people who have a critical inner voice that never shuts up. Meghan has written for The New Yorker, Harper’s and Vogue and has contributed to This American Life.
Twitter superstar Rob Delaney opens up to Paul about his hilariously horrifying alcoholic bottom, his crushing bouts of depression and how he has adapted to live with what might have killed most people. How can you resist a story that involves nuns, toothbrushes and jail?
Which came first the hypochondria or the condition? The improvisor/actor talks to Paul about the pain of losing her father at five and the plethora of physical pains she experiences that may or may not be self-induced. They also compare stories about what else? Anxiety over their genitalia, including her Vulvodinia, and the fear of not mattering.
Martin’s southern Maine family has been dealing in antiques for decades. Not to mention pent-up rage and mental illness. The podcaster/painter/antique-appraiser who lent Paul a helping hand when he was getting this podcast off the ground opens up about what it took to stop the cycle of fathers unleashing their anger on their sons.
Writer, performer, t.v. host and sidekick on the Adam Carolla podcast, Alison has a life filled with successes. So why can’t she feel it? Why can’t she relax and enjoy her life? Mammoth lies tiptoed around in childhood? Growing up overweight? Never being able to say the right thing at the right time? Lots of good honest talk about relationships, parents and how to say what you mean.
Not many rappers list They Might Be Giants as their primary musical influence. But Mike, who performs as “Open Mike Eagle” isn’t like most rappers. Labelled as Art Rap by the L.A. Times, Mike’s songs are thoughtful, wry and uncompromising. He opens up about the struggle to fit in at a school for gifted children, the uncertainty of familial love in an unstable home, and the need to discuss the mental effects history has had on African Americans.
What happens when a naiive Texas cheerleader from an abusive home tries to pay for college by smuggling heroin in Bangladesh? Probably not what you think. Though her story has been seen on National Geographic’s Locked Up Abroad, it only scratched the surface of who she was and who she has become.
The standup comedian, star of Super High Me, co-creator of The Marijuanalogues and host of The Benson Interruption and Doug Loves Movies stops by to talk about his history with Paul, pot, parents and heartbreak. And of course the special role that movies play in his life, especially in dealing with his sometimes smothering, worry-filled mother.