Episodes

NB: This episode was recorded BEFORE Tony Hinchcliffe appeared at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Stay tuned to the end of the episode for Ali’s and Asif’s takes on Tony Hinchcliffe’s jokes from the rally. Today, the discuss Tony Hinchcliffe and his podcast ‘Kill Tony’ (5:43). They discuss Tony Hinchcliffe’s background, his start in comedy and the influence of Jeff Ross and Joe Rogan. Ali then describes the premise of ‘Kill Tony’ and the concept of one-minute sets. Then Ali asks Asi...

Today, the guys discuss the 30th anniversary of ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1:23). The guys chat about when they first saw it and their thoughts about their recent rewatch. They discuss the writing in the movie, its development and its stellar cast. They then chat about the classic soundtrack and the legacy of the film. Then, after the recent death of a child in Ontario from rabies from a bat, Ali asks Asif about this disease (29:45). Asif discusses how common it is, what causes it and how it is transmitte...

Today, Ali and Asif debate their top albums of 1994 (1:30) and spoiler… there is not a lot of overlap! Then Ali, based on his personal experiences, asks Asif about hospital parking (38:38). Asif talks about the situation in Canada and how parking contributes a large amount to the financial bottom line of hospitals. He then contrasts it to the situation in the US and in the UK. He then discusses cancer patients specifically and how parking costs contribute to “financial toxicity” in these patien...

Today the guys discuss the career of actor Kevin Bacon (2:41). They discuss when they were first exposed to him and his early career. Then then discuss his breakout role in ‘Footloose’ and how afterwards he pivoted to become more of a character actor. After discussing his hit movies, then they chat about the party game ‘6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon’. They discuss the origin of the game, what a “Bacon Number” is and eventually determine how many degrees away Ali is from Kevin bacon! Then they discus...

Today, the guys discuss the new documentary on the quintessential Canadian band, The Tragically Hip (3:45). They discuss how the docuseries was directed by the brother of Gord Downine (the late front man for the Tragically Hip), Mike Downie. They talk about the numerous talking heads in the doc, the story behind some songs and the lack of success of the Hip in the USA. They also talk about strife in the band in the 2000’s as well as Downie’s cancer diagnosis. Then the guys list their top 5 Tragi...

Today, after a brief quiz, Asif and Ali discuss the career of the late James Earl Jones. Ali goes over Jones’ accolades and the fact that he is one of the few people who have one an EGOT(Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). They discuss his early life and how some major life events may have contributed to him developing a stutter. They discuss his early Broadway and theater career and then his movie career, particularly as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in the Lion King. They then discu...

Today the guys discuss the extremely popular HBO docuseries “Chimp Crazy (1:39). The guys discuss the background of the series and director Eric Good (Tiger King) developed the series. They then discuss how the series main subject, Tonia Haddix, got involved with keeping primates as pets in addition to discussing the involvement of actor Alan Cumming in the docuseries. Asif then asks Ali about an interview he did with journalist Sam Adams about the controversy behind the making of ‘Chimp Crazy’ ...

Today, the guys discuss their top 5 episodes of the classic sitcom ‘Friends’. But they switch things up by doing the medical topic first by discussing Ketamine and its role in Matthew Perry’s death (3:53). Ali starts out by asking Asif about how exactly ketamine was involved in Matthew Perry’s drowning death. Asif then goes over the history of ketamine, how it works and how it is mainly used as anesthesia. Ali then asks him about how it has been increasingly used in depression and Asif goes over...

Today, the guys discuss entertainment they consumed in the summer of 2024 (2:31). Asif goes first by discussing his disappointment with season 3 of ‘The Bear’, and similarities to ‘House of the Dragon’, ‘The Boys’ and ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3. He then discusses ‘Time Bandits’, ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ and ‘Love Lies Bleeding’. Asif concludes by discussing a news article about a recent apology from MMA star Ronda Roussey. Ali talks about what he watched when recovering from hernia surgery including ‘...

Today on the second of a two-part episode, the guys continue their discussion of Steve Martin (1:43). They start off the episode by going through Steve Martin’s filmography, including the Jerk, All of Me, Three Amigos, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Father of the Bride, Roxanne, L.A. Story, Bowfinger, The Pink Panther, amongst others. They then discuss Martin’s other works including his dramatic and musical plays. They also discuss his banjo playing and his musical albums. Finally, they discuss...

Today on a two-part episode, the guys discuss the career of legendary comedian Steve Martin. The guys start off the episode by discussing the recent documentary Steve! By Morgan Neville, which was actually released on Apple TV + as two different documentaries (Ali also gives a quick personal anecdote about Morgan Neville). At 7:50 Ali talks about Steve Martin’s accolades and then the guys discuss Steve Martin’s early interest in magic. They speak about Martin’s comedy process and how he uses log...

Today on a special episode, Ali discusses his recent hernia surgery (5:06). He talks about how our hernia episode from last year prompted him to go for this procedure as well as what tests were done beforehand. He then talks about his consultation with the surgeon and his decision whether or not to do laparoscopic surgery. Asif asks Ali about what prep Ali needed to do for the surgery as well as what the day of the surgery was like. Ali then provides an update on how he is doing in the recovery ...

Today Ali and Asif (who is battling a cold) discuss the career of the late Bob Newhart (1:47). They discuss his early life and how he got started in comedy. They then discuss his phenomenal success with his debut album “The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart”. They discuss his comedy style and why it has been so hard for others to duplicate it. They also go over a bit of trivia, namely how Bob Newhart at the first pay-per-view television special. They then go over his class television shows ‘ The B...

A few episodes ago, we discussed the AV club’s top 40 albums of all time. Today Ali gives us a list of his favorite comedy specials that did NOT make the list (1:12). Ali discusses the following albums (not in order): John Mulaney - BABY J (2023) Norm MacDonald – NOTHING SPECIAL (2022) Patrice O’Neal - ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (2011) Chris Rock – BRING THE PAIN (1996) Gary Gulman - NO CAN DEFEND (2012) / BORN ON THIRD BASE (2023) Eddie Izzard - DRESS TO KILL (1999) Bill Burr - I'M SORRY YOU F...

Today, Ali and Asif review the new documentary about Louis CK, ‘Sorry / Not Sorry’ (1:53). They start off by discussing Louis CK’s background, his blockbuster success as a stand up comedian and how he changed the financial model of stand up comedy specials. Then then discuss his sexual impropriety as outlined in the New York Times as well as in the documentary. The guys go over what they perceive as his lack of an apology as well as how CK was definitely not “canceled”. Louis CK does suffer fro...

Today, the guys discuss and review Eddie Murphy’s new Netflix movie ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ (1:42). They start off by discussing Murphy’s early career, including his stand up, his breakthrough on ‘Saturday Night Live’, and his early movies ‘48 hours’ and ‘Trading Places’. They then discuss the blockbuster success of ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and its soundtrack. They chat about the development of the first Beverly Hills Cop and how other actors such as Sylvester Stallone were considered for the rol...

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses sexual abuse. Today, the guys discuss the new Netflix documentary “Tell them you love me” (3:25) (Spoilers abound). They discuss the case of Anna Stubblefield, a tenured professor of ethics at Rutgers University, who initially started off aiding a young black man with cerebral palsy, Derrick Johnson, with facilitated communication but was eventually charged with sexually abusing Derrick. The guys start off by discussing Derrick’s early life and then Asif ...

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses sexual abuse. Michael Jackson died 15 years ago, on June 25, 2009, so today the guys discuss his life and his controversies (2:56). They talk about Jackson’s early life, the success of the Jackson 5 and the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of his father, Joe Jackson. They then discuss the success of his early solo records and the blockbuster success of ‘Thriller’. They also discuss his philanthropy and how that complicates people’s feelings for th...

Today, Ali and Asif start off the episode by addressing some listener mail. Then they discuss the new documentary by Ron Howard out on Disney plus entitled “Jim Henson: Idea Man” (6:59). The guys go over Jim Henson’s early background, how he got into puppetry and his early successes appearing on American variety shows. Asif and Ali then discuss when they first encountered Henson’s work. They then discuss Henson’s lifelong collaboration with puppeteer and filmmaker Frank Oz. They then go over the...

Today, Asif and Ali discuss Bon Jovi and the recent documentary series on the band “Thank you and Goodnight” on Disney Plus. Right at they beginning the discuss the director of the docuseries, Gotham Chopra and how he is related to health guru Deepak Chopra. Then then discuss Jon Bon Jovi and his band and Bon Jovi’s early influences including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band and Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Jukes. They then discuss his first hit “Runaway” and how it led to the formati...

Today, Asif gets Ali’s thoughts on controversial comedian Shane Gillis (2:22). They discuss his background and his early start in comedy. They discuss his controversial exchange from his podcast that got him unhired from Saturday Night Live in 2019. Ali then gives his thoughts on Gillis’ hit special ‘Beautiful Dogs’. They then discuss their thoughts on his new Netflix show ‘Tires’ as well as their opinions on his standup in general. Then, based on the TV show ‘Sharp Objects’ as well as the news...

Today on a special episode, Asif gets Ali’s thoughts on the AV club’s list of ‘The 40 greatest comedy albums of all time’. The guys start at the bottom and go all the way to the top and on the way discuss Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Adam Sandler, Robert Klein, Dick Gregory, Monty Python, Steven Wright, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, George Carlin and Richard Pryor. They also discuss some albums on the list which they did not care for (Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Denis Leary) and even a few they ...

Today, based on recent comments from Jerry Seinfeld, Asif asks Ali the much discussed question “is woke/PC culture ruining comedy” (1:11). They discuss Seinfeld’s comments and Ali’s examples from his comedy as well as others. They also talk about Bill Burr’s recent comments on Bill Maher’s podcast about how cancel culture is “not a thing”. Then Ali asks Asif about anxiety (25:50). Asif starts off by describing the different types of anxiety as well as how to differentiate clinical anxiety from ...

Today Ali and Asif discuss the recent hit Netflix special ‘The Roast of Tom Brady’ (2:31). Asif starts off by asking Ali if Tom Brady was a good candidate for a roast. They then chat about the hosting duties of Kevin Hart and some of the controversy related to one of the jokes from ‘Roastmaster General’ Jeff Ross. The guys discuss the various roasters; they go over the athletes who spoke and how some of their jokes were good and how many fell flat. They praise the many of the comedians involved,...