Episodes

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 FEEL TH...

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 from...

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 ro...

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 t...

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 ove...

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 involve...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the career of comedian Pete Davidson. After Asif does some bad stand up, they discuss the early life of Pete Davidson, including how his life changed when his father died in 9/11. They talk about how he found comedy and his struggles with drug use and borderline personality disorder. Ali then mentions how Pete got cast on Saturday Night Live, becoming one of the youngest cast members in the show’s history and his character ‘Chad”. They guys then discuss his post SNL c...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the career of actor Christina Applegate. They discuss her early life, child acting as well as being propelled to stardom in ‘Married with Children’. They then discuss her subsequent career in both TV and movies. After a brief digression on Ali’s Canadian Screen Actors Nominations, they discuss Applegate’s role in Anchorman. After discussion some of her other projects they discuss her amazing performance in “Dead to Me’. Christina is both a breast cancer survivor and ...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the career of mixed-martial artist Georges St. Pierre. They discuss his early life in Saint-Isidore Quebec and how he was a victim of bullying as a child which later led him to martial arts. They then go over some trivia about Georges St. Pierre, including his wrestling training, his love of Jean Claude Van Damme and his role as a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They also talk about his history with OCD, anxiety and depression. They discuss GSP’s MMA career ...

At the beginning of today’s episode the guys talk about their Oscar picks from last month and what they got right and wrong. They also talk about the claims of plagiarism regarding the screenplay for “The Holdovers”. Then, Asif asks Ali about the Just for Laughs festival (4:40). Ali starts off by talking about the history of the festival and his personal relation to it from growing up in Montreal. He talks about its significance to comedians in general and his career in particular. He then talk...

WARNING: Explicit Language in this episode Today, Ali and Asif interview comedian and writer Dan St. Germain, coinciding with the release of his new YouTube special “Dance Fatty Dance”. Dan talks about starting off in stand up and using social media in comedy as well as his hatred of Zoom comedy. Ali asks Dan about the Just of Laughs festival and its recent financial issues. Dan then talks about the development of his comedic cartoon with Dan Soder and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Asif and Dan th...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the new hit Netflix series ‘3 Body Problem’ (1:19). They start off with a minor debate on how to pronounce the name of ‘Liu Cixin’, the writer of the book upon which the show is based. The guys then discuss how the show was created by David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the creators of ‘Game of Thrones’, after a few other failed ventures. They discuss how China is a major setting in the book and series as well as the series opening scene depicting the ‘Cultural Revolution’ i...

Since March has been endometriosis awareness month, on today’s episode, Asif and Ali welcome gynecologist Dr. Sony Singh to discuss this common and often debilitating disease. Dr. Singh explains what it is and how it affects at at least 10% of women. He discusses how it is often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed how this delay in diagnosis can have long term impacts. He then discusses some tests that can be used in the diagnosis, while acknowledging that in the past endometriosis has easily been mi...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the controversial topic of whether you can separate the art from the artist (3:05). They discuss various opinion articles on this subject and the 'cancelling’ of historical figures such as Oscar Wilde and various politicians. They discuss how different types of art may allow this separation to be made easier or harder. They compare authors to actors/directors to stand up comedians and singers. They also discuss how weak versus strong apologies can change someone’s vie...

After some listener mail, the guys discuss the career of Dave Chapelle (2:21). They start off by discussing his early life and his notable family history. They discuss his early failures, his success and his first special “Killing Them Softly”. They then talk about the groundbreaking ‘Chapelle’s Show’ and how Dave abruptly left the show at season 3. Finally they discuss their thoughts on Chappelle’s most recent Netflix stand up special ‘The Dreamer’ and the controversy surrounding some his joke...

Ali and Asif are back! In their return episode, the guys preview the 97th Annual Academy Awards Preview, taking place on March 10, 2024 (no medical topic this episode). The guys start off by discussing how Robbie Robertson from ’The Band’ was nominated posthumously for writing the music for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. And they also mention how John Williams, at age 92, received his 54th academy award nomination for ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’. The guys then go over their Oscar pick...

For the next few weeks, the guys will be re-airing some of their favourite episodes from our archives. Today Ali and Asif discuss the legendary soundtrack from the movie ‘Singles’ which was released 30 years ago. The guys start off by discussing the movie ‘Singles’, Cameron Crowe and how the movie potentially influenced the creation of ‘Friends’. The guys then go through each song on the album and give their thoughts on each track. They highlight how the album gained exposure for some ‘up and co...

For the next few weeks, the guys will be re-airing some of their favourite episodes from our archives. Today on a very special episode, the guys we will be interview the trailblazing Canadian Music Icon Bif Naked. They start off by discussing Bif’s somewhat surprising connection to South Asia. Then then chat about Bif’s book from 2016 “I Bificius” and the challenges of opening yourself up in a memoir. Asif then asks Bif about her long standing fascination with medicine. Bif describes her lifelon...

For the next few weeks, the guys will be re-airing some of their favourite episodes from our archives. Today on a special episode, we will be hearing a preview of Ali’s new book ‘Is There Bacon in Heaven’, published by Simon and Shuster, coming out Sept 27. Before Ali gets started Asif discusses summer entertainment he has consumed including ‘Prey’, ‘Archer’, ‘She-Hulk’, ‘Harley Quinn’, ‘Rings of Power’ and ‘House of the Dragon’. Ali then treats us to a funny and poignant chapter focussing on ...