Technically, Stefanie Wilder-Taylor and Cecily Knobler are not and have never been part of the lineup of the band Barenaked Ladies. But in their own way they feel like the band is at least part of them. These best friends host the podcasts Rose Pricks and Bored A.F. and Stefanie is the author of a remarkable number of books, dealing with, among other topics, parenting and sobriety. They love Barenaked Ladies in a really deep and sincere way and have stories to tell about their encounters with various actual members of that band. Tune in and drift off to sleep with tales of Canadian songsmithery.
Dessa is many things but mostly she’s a cake decorator. For our purposes for this episode, at least. Oh sure, you may know her has a brilliant musician, rapper, poet, and occasional guest host on public radio. You may have heard her work on Welcome to Night Vale or heard her in action as part of the Doomtree collective or on The Hamilton Mix Tape. But we think her real passion is doing up those cakes super fancy. She details for us what kinds of piping equipment and ingredients she uses to make beautiful flowers on all the cakes that she’s constantly and giving away to friends. You can learn why roses are easier and daisies are surprisingly tricky as you nod off to sleep with visions of cakes dancing in your head.
John-Luke Roberts is a comedian, actor, and podcast maker and he’s from England so you know his voice is going to be pleasant to hear. John-Luke created and hosts Sound Heap, a very funny podcast about a podcast network taking on the daunting task of making too many podcasts. Sound Heap is joining the Maximum Fun family this month and to celebrate this fact, John-Luke stops by our show to talk at great length and with tremendous knowledge about pigeons. His British voice will soothe you off to sleep, much like the coo of a pigeon but without all that mess. You will learn about how pigeons were once domesticated, then became de-domesticated, and now they’d like to come back into your house.
Laurie Kilmartin is a veteran comic, a best-selling author, and an Emmy-nominated writer for Conan. She is also a newly minted anime fan, coming to it initially as a pandemic bonding activity with her 17-year-old son. He tricked her into enjoying animated violence, sexy wizards, and the occasional bit of cannibalism. Laurie also asks the big pop culture questions: How did Daryl from The Walking Dead get to France? Was the ever-dashing Kimba a white lion or a white tiger? Why would you name one character Light and another L? Join Laurie as she gently guides you through the anime pipeline and into dreamland.
Sandeep Parikh is well known to anyone who followed the web series The Guild, where he played Zaboo. Sandeep is a writer, producer, director, and comedian in Hollywood, where he also, very importantly, serves as president of his local homeowner’s association. It is this role that he explores in meticulous depth in a soothing interview that gently tackles the legal dispute between Sandeep’s southern California neighbors and a contractor who did a terrible job. Hear how Sandeep reluctantly rose to power in the HOA, how he may be trapped in office for some time to come, and how the experience led to writing an HOA-based television pilot. Imagine how snooze-inducing micro-politics can be. This is that.