Episodes
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Welcome to our most recent Live Q&A episode! With special guest Myq Kaplan and co-host Jeff Gedert, we tackle fan and social media comments and questions on the theme of "Religion vs Spirituality." Included topics are, what does this even mean, a second foray into Jedi-sim, and the role of 'shrooms in ones spiritual journey. We also discuss whether or not comedy is an art, who would win in a Celebrity Deathmatch-like contest, and the appropriation of "eastern" ideas by "western" Judeo-Christians on a spiritual journey. Original broadcast live March 20.
Myq Kaplan's website: https://myqkaplan.com/
Myq's previous appliance on The Comical Heathen: https://comicalheathen.podbean.com/e/the-comical-heathen-s2-e2-myq-kaplan/
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Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Saturday Feb 05, 2022
The Comical Heathen S2 E11: talking ghosts w/ Ben Radford
Saturday Feb 05, 2022
Saturday Feb 05, 2022
After coming across some recent "news" reports of ghost sightings during the ongoing pandemic, I realized it was time to bring back special guest Ben Radford, investigator of the extraordinary extraordinaire! Ben is a Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry, having researched many topics in addition to ghosts, such as UFOs, chupacabra, and Killer Clowns. He also recently published his own article on this pseudoscientific pseudonews. This episode includes guest co-host Aaron Kozbial and my rant about why I think ghosts and transformers are basically the same thing now!
Ben's website: http://benjaminradford.com/
Ben's podcast, Squaring the Strange: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/squaring-the-strange/id1226273233
Ben's book on ghost-hunting: Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits https://www.amazon.com/Investigating-Ghosts-Scientific-Search-Spirits/dp/0936455160/
Aaron's website: https://professorofcomedy.com/
Show notes:
"Quarantining with a Ghost? It's Scary" By Molly Fitzpatrick https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/style/haunted-house-ghost-quarantine.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes
"Haunted house reports on the rise during pandemic, says paranormal researcher" by As it Happens, CBC radio. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-friday-edition-1.5571716/haunted-house-reports-on-the-rise-during-pandemic-says-paranormal-researcher-1.5571882
"The Science (and Non-Science) of Ghosts" by Ben Radford. https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/the-science-and-non-science-of-ghosts/
"When Sony Accidentally Launched Camcorders That Could 'See Through' People’s Clothes" by Aditya Tiwari
https://fossbytes.com/sony-accidentally-launched-camcorders-see-peoples-clothes/
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Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Saturday Jan 15, 2022
The Comical Heathen S2 E10:John Poveromo
Saturday Jan 15, 2022
Saturday Jan 15, 2022
Season 2 Episode 10: John Poveromo
Show Notes
Featuring a conversation from February of 2021, shortly after John and I had just done our part to help set the record for longest live-streamed comedy show! Crazy stuff like running for city council and directing The Merry Wives of Windsor knocked this one back a smidge but I am proud to share it with you now! Includes my rant about the importance of evidence in wild claims, as inspired by the dozens of lost court cases by Alex Jones and Donald Trump.
John Poveromo on social media:
Website: https://johnpoveromo.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=502792868
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JohnPoveromo/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/dystopiatonightwithjohnpoveromo
Press on Richie Byrne and Mark Riccadonna and their podcast "Drinks, Jokes, and Storytelling" streaming on Twitch to break the world record for a standup comedy show (and raise money for two charities): https://nj1015.com/jersey-comedians-shoot-for-comedy-record/
"Alex Jones must pay damages to Sandy Hook families in another defamation case, judge rules". https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/15/alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-lawsuit/
"By the numbers: President Donald Trump's failed efforts to overturn the election."
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/trumps-failed-efforts-overturn-election-numbers/4130307001/
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Have ideas for topics or questions for upcoming Livestream Q&A? Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Saturday Dec 25, 2021
Season 2 Special Episode: Jerry runs for City Council
Saturday Dec 25, 2021
Saturday Dec 25, 2021
Show Notes
Welcome back to the comical heathen podcast! We had a bit of a hiatus and there's a reason why: your host Dr. Jerry Jaffe just spent the past Fall 2021 running for City Council in Painesville, OH! In this special behind the scenes episode, Jerry sits down with two of closest comedy friends and talks about the experience. Joining him are Jeremy Sheer and Dan Brown. Completely unscripted, they ask Jerry questions (both serious and silly) as they riff about the whole thing. A few of the topics that come include critical race theory, campaign funding, Alex Jones, QAnon, and Donald Trump, among other things.
This episode
Jeremy Sheer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dirtysheer
Dan Brown's website: https://danbrowncomedy.com/?fbclid=IwAR3t-WcFntg4NIY20fqN-TnuJe_HwdRC8ksWCPTlslR3tfPgoHtslpQnvcs
Sad Boy's Social Club on YouTUbe: https://www.youtube.com/c/SadBoysSocialClub
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Have ideas for topics or questions for upcoming Livestream Q&A? Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Saturday Jul 10, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E9: Talking UFOs with Ben Radford
Saturday Jul 10, 2021
Saturday Jul 10, 2021
Show Notes
On June 25 2021 the Office of the Director of National intelligence issued a report called "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." This generated some media interest and some buzz around the topic of UFO's. So we here at The Comical Heathen thought this would be a good time to bring in an actual expert, so today we present my conversation with author Ben Radford. Ben is a Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry, having covered many topics in addition to UFOs, such as ghosts, chupacabra, and Killer Clowns. This episode includes guest co-host Jesse Pimpinella, a phone call from Ian Harris, and my rant about why I think UFO's should be called U-WTF-O's.
*Ben's website: http://benjaminradford.com/
*Ben's podcast, Squaring the Strange: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/squaring-the-strange/id1226273233
*Jesse's website: https://www.jessepimpinella.com/
*Jesse's podcast, At the Grown-up's Table: https://www.jessepimpinella.com/podcast
Show notes:
*The actual UAP report: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20973253-uap-20210625
*Press release from CFI, "Keep UFO Reporting Grounded in Reality, Advise Skeptics": https://centerforinquiry.org/press_releases/keep-ufo-reporting-grounded-in-reality-advise-skeptics/?fbclid=IwAR2dX8OV9JkMkKGs_Cm4bU3jV8F6Wh_sKmhHbk62aXKaO4b_Y8rvnLeLwLY
*Mick West's page mentioned by Ben: https://www.metabunk.org/home/
*Ben's book about Killer Clowns: Bad Clowns (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0826356664/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
*Article about man who thought moon was UFO, "Police say UFO was just the Moon": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7489457.stm?fbclid=IwAR3fReWiuE4JwQX0V3sHnWzJSJ5SGHz6qWee2S1KXV5y7v9QkRFpqVFXB5s
*Pareidolia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia
*Occam's razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor
*The Comical Heathen Live Show at the Kansas City Fringe: https://kcfringe.org/2021-shows/the-comical-heathen/
*Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E8: Lewis Black
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Show Notes
This episode features my recent conversation with Lewis Black. From his many comedy specials and TV appearances, including The Daily Show, and his work as an actor as seen on The Big Bang Theory (2009), Inside Out (2015), The Last Laugh (2019) and many more, Lewis is known as one of this generation's leading satirists. We discuss his 2002 Comedy Central Presents episode in which he discuses the then-recent events of September 11. He also talks about his influences, his ideas about satire, and his upcoming tour. Also on this episode is guest co-host, calling in from Japan, Jeff Gedert. Jeff is most famous for producing the original theme music for the podcasts Gold Star Classroom, The Action Comedy Nerd Show, and us, The Comical Heathen. (Thank you Jeff!). We debrief the interview, give our reactions, and discuss this so-called book I claim to be so-called writing! Enjoy!
Lewis Black's website: https://www.lewisblack.com/
The 2002 Comedy Central Presents episode we discuss: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318371/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_122
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Sunday May 09, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E7 (bonus material): Nerding out w/Leighann Lord
Sunday May 09, 2021
Sunday May 09, 2021
Season 2 Episode 7 (Bonus material)
Show Notes
This episode is a supplement to my S2 E7 interview with Leighann Lord. Since her website bio describes her as a nerd AND she sites her favorite science fiction film as Terminator 2, I had to ask her about these things. And sure enough, a 20+ minute digression broke out on some of our favorite nerdy fandoms. Turns out she's a huge Star Trek fan (she was wearing Star Trek Jewelry and had a Star Trek background up during our interview!). Other topics we discuss include Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Watchmen, as well as talking about doing comedy at anime and comic book conventions.
Leighann's website: http://www.veryfunnylady.com/
Leighann on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeighannLord
Leighann's Dry Bar Special: https://store.drybarcomedy.com/pages/leighannl
A link to my Action Comedy Nerd Show podcast where we discuss Star Trek: https://actioncomedynerdshow.podbean.com/e/action-comedy-nerd-show-18-talking-star-trek-discovery-the-orville-wmark-clark/
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Have ideas for topics or questions for upcoming Livestream Q&A? Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Sunday May 02, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E7:Leighann Lord
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
Show Notes
Nerd. Comedian. Science communicator. Star Trek fan. And a theatre kid?? Finally getting to interview Leighann Lord was a fantastic and fun moment for me. We discuss her background in theatre and her experiences in comedy. She has her recent Dry Bar special and, oh, not to mention, she is the 2019 recipient of the Humanist Arts Award. She had a lot to say about approaching comedy like a thinking person (she also had a lot to say about Star Trek, but I'm going to have to save that part of our conversation for a future episode!). This might be too much nerdy science in one place -- except there is no such thing as too much nerdy science!!-- But I asked Brian Malow Science Comedian to join in as today's guest co-host. He has appeared on the Comical Heathen before (see link below) and so I knew he'd be a perfect comic to add some commentary. Also, with my rant about anti-vaxxer legislation in Ohio, he had thoughts to add about science literacy! There was a journey to today's episode, one that involved me meeting Ian Harris, who then introduced me to the comedy of both Leighann and Brian. Ian gets mentioned waaaay more than necessary for an episode of my podcast that he's not even in!! LOL... Enjoy!
Lieghann's website: http://www.veryfunnylady.com/
Leighann on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeighannLord
Leighann's Dry Bar Special: https://store.drybarcomedy.com/pages/leighannl
Brian Malow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sciencecomedian
Brian Malow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sciencecomedian
Brian Malow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sciencecomedian/
Brian Mallow interview from Season1 Episode 15: https://comicalheathen.podbean.com/e/the-comical-heathen-episode-15-brian-malow/
"Legislators align with anti-vaxxers" by Jake Zuckerman, Norwalk Reflector 9 April 2021. <https://norwalkreflector.com/news/313796/legislators-align-with-anti-vaxxers/>
"'Just a theory': 7 Misused Science Words" by Tia Ghose, Scientific American 2 April 2013 <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/just-a-theory-7-misused-science-words/>
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
This is an ad-free and independently produced podcast. Please consider donating via this link (to our other podcast): https://www.goldstarclassroom.com/
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E6:Brian Scott MacFadden
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Season 2 Episode 6 Show Notes:
I got on a Zoom call the way from Aruba Ray's Comedy Club in Aruba and spent some time talking comedy with Brian Scott MacFadden. From a show business family, Brian has a quick wit and a lot of deep thoughts about the art of comedy. Joining me is guest co-host Dan Brown of the Action Comedy Nerd Show and his podcast Dan and Mark Meets World. He joins me on my rant about evangelic preacher Franklin Graham calling some people he disagrees with worse than Judas, which seems like some serious Xtian ad hominem attacks to me.
Brian Scott MacFadden's website: https://brianscottmcfadden.com/
Dan Brown's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/danbrowncomedy
Dan and Mark Meets World podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4RC1eVaP0EsfIUn4jJZTSp
Comical Heathen S1 E (w/my rant about evangelical preachers!): https://comicalheathen.podbean.com/e/the-comical-heathen-episode-eighteen-bill-squire/
"Franklin Graham says Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are like Jesus’ betrayer" by Simone Jasper (https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article248528080.html)
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Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
The Comical Heathen S2 E5: Jim Bryan
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
A comedy club called CHURCH OF SATIRE? How did I not know about this! In this episode I interview club founder, owner, and touring headliner Jim Bryan. In addition to getting his take on satire, we go into his club, how he started it and why he called it CHURCH OF SATIRE! Along the way we name-check Mark Riccadonna, Robert Mack, Craig Paul, and Dwayne Duke. Joining me is guest co-host Kristin Galewood of the sketch group Sad Boys' Social Club. She joins me on exploring some of the alternative medicine woo-woo of Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP brand, including her Netflix series THE GOOP LAB. But Gwyneth, what about burden of proof and you know evidence? And if you've ever heard of the new age concept of the "4 Clairs" I explain the "4 Jers"!
Show notes:
Church of Satire: https://www.churchofsatirecomedyclub.com/
Jim Bryan's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/vaneldu.jim
Jim's Special "Laid back Maniac": https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bryan-Laid-Back-Maniac/dp/B085W2M1Z7
Kristin Galewood's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PuffyPinkCow
Sad Boys Social Club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadboyscle
Sad Boys' Social Club Easter Special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YpiVp_Zgu0w&fbclid=IwAR1QwQjJ3NpTjdPlsnGbeWFLoWcm71mCf70-wHLgSL3qGm5RCkI60q7sw2M
"Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop has been accused of peddling pseudoscience. She’s not having it." By Lindsey Bever (Washington Post Oct. 9, 2018).
Get a Comical Heathen coffee mug at Jerry's merch shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JerryJaffeComedyShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=624456037
Email us: comicalheathen@gmail.com