Episodes

Takeaways: Paul Wilson, an exceptional comedian and improviser, shares insights from his extensive career in comedy and television, notably his time on 'Cheers'. The discussion highlights the evolution of comedy improv and its significance in today's entertainment landscape amidst political and social challenges. We delve into the personal anecdotes of Paul Wilson, illustrating the camaraderie and competitive spirit among comedians throughout their journeys. The conversation addresses the cu...

Your phone isn't just a phone anymore. It's a checkpoint. Phil and Ted dig into the quiet, relentless buildout of America's surveillance state — the one where government agencies and private data brokers have quietly merged into something neither the Constitution nor most Americans ever signed up for. Nicole Bennett, PhD candidate and assistant director at Indiana University's Center for Refugee Studies, breaks down how we got here: the long history of U.S. government surveillance, the explosiv...

Takeaways: The significance of the 1964-65 and 1939 World's Fairs, highlighting their cultural impact and technological showcases. Robert Moses played a pivotal role in shaping the 1964 World's Fair, emphasizing his complex legacy as a master builder and controversial figure. The 1939 Fair introduced groundbreaking technological concepts, while the 1964 Fair faced societal challenges amid the Civil Rights Movement. Attendees of the 1964 World's Fair experienced a juxtaposition of optimism fo...

Five years after January 6th, Phil and Ted ask the question nobody wants to say out loud: is the Constitution actually built to survive this, or are we finding out the hard way that it's mostly an honor system? Turns out the document holding democracy together runs less on ironclad law than on the character of whoever's in charge — and that should worry you. Guest Brian Kalt is a constitutional law scholar and author of Constitutional Cliffhangers, a book that predicted this mess before it happ...

Hollywood's in free fall, and David Poland's got the play-by-play. Phil and Ted sit down with the veteran film critic for a candid, funny, occasionally brutal look at how the old studio model is collapsing under the weight of streaming, YouTube, and a creator economy nobody saw coming this fast. Festivals dying. Theaters emptying. Studios panicking. It's all here, and it's a lot more entertaining than it has any right to be. Along the way: the industry's long, weird history of cycling between d...

Phil and Ted sit down with Lisa Graves — author of the bestseller Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights — to ask the question nobody in a robe wants to answer: who bought the Supreme Court, and what did they get for their money? Spoiler: dark money, billionaire puppet strings, and a decades-long plan to gut your rights one ruling at a time. Lisa names names, connects the dots, and lays out exactly how we got here — an...

The new voices of Bugs Bunny and Mr. Potato Head walk into a podcast. Phil and Ted are ready. Jeff Bergman is the new Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 5 — and the current voice of Bugs Bunny and the entire Looney Tunes universe, following in the giant footsteps of Mel Blanc and Don Rickles. His wife, playwright and vocal powerhouse Carla Delaney-Bergman, is right there with him. Together they unpack the invisible art of voice acting — how you honor a legend, become a character, and make a plastic p...

Not Insane! Firesign Theatre, Psychedelic FM Radio, and the Comedy That Rewired Your Brain Before the internet taught us to layer memes inside memes inside memes, four guys in Los Angeles were doing it with reel-to-reel tape, and it changed everything. Phil Proctor and Ted Bonnitt sit down with Cornell professor Jeremy Braddock — author of Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums. If you're a Bozo on this bus, you're in for fresh treats. If you've never...

Twenty thousand Ukrainian kids — ripped from their families, shipped into Russia, renamed, re-educated, erased. And some of their parents are slipping behind enemy lines to get them back. Dr. Olga Popel, President of the Southern California Holodomor Genocide Committee, has seen this playbook before. Russia didn't invent the erasure of Ukrainian identity — it perfected it. From the engineered famine that killed millions to the drone wars reshaping the front lines today, she traces the through-l...

What does it take to build a subway under one of the most car-obsessed, earthquake-prone, politically tangled cities on Earth? Turns out: a lot of explosions, a few sinkholes, and an almost heroic tolerance for bad faith. Phil and Ted climb aboard with Ethan Elkind — Climate Policy Director at UC Berkeley Law and author of The Fight for Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City — to trace L.A.'s wild transit saga from the forgotten golden age of electric streetcars, through the smoggy s...

What do a Moscow sitcom and a Romanian punchline have in common? John Vorhaus has probably written both. A comedy writer, author, and globe-trotting laugh merchant, John has spent decades teaching the world to be funny — including Russia, which got its own version of Married With Children. (We have questions. John has answers.) His book, The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not, is basically a Swiss Army knife for humor — and Phil and Ted are putting it to the test. Tune in for a c...

House lights down. Phones down. There's a human on stage — and apparently, that still matters. Turns out the wild, improbable comeback of live theater is being led by the generation everyone assumed was glued to a screen. Nike Doukas of the Antaeus Company makes the case — passionately and persuasively — for the unrepeatable experience that no phone, no stream, no home theater system can touch. The stage is alive. Nike, Phil and Ted dive into the vibrant world of Los Angeles theater, exploring ...

The Moon is having a moment — and Phil and Ted are all over it. Space journalist and author Leonard David joins the show to unpack Artemis 11's triumph, space travelers returning forever changed, NASA's earthly headaches and brain drain, and China's Taikonauts racing to claim lunar real estate. Oh, and why did Edward Teller — father of the hydrogen bomb — carry a brick in his briefcase? We have answers. Strap in for a fascinating, funny, and genuinely out-of-this-world conversation. Takeaways: ...

M. L. Liebler is an internationally recognized Detroit poet, university professor, literary arts activist, and arts organizer. M.L. blends his poetry with music, collaborating with Al Kooper, Country Joe, and Charles Bukowski, among others. And he went bowling with Ken Kesey in Detroit at Kesey’s request. His just-released book, "Hound Dog: A Poet’s Memoir of Rock, Revolution & Redemption,” is about growing up in Detroit and discovering the world through his love of music. M.L. took his...

Emmy-nominated comedy writer and comedian Debbie Kasper talks about her one-woman show, Monkeys on My Back and Everywhere Else — part confession booth, part stand-up set, and 100% unforgettable. Debbie takes us on a wild ride through growing up in 1950s and 60s New Jersey, navigating a household where white-collar alcoholism was a hobby, her own battle with addiction, the gladiatorial sport of writing for Roseanne Barr, and the heartbreaks and hard-won healing in between. It's raw, it's hilariou...

Phil and Ted celebrate their 100th episode with special guest actor John Goodman, who was also the first Sexy Boomer Show guest. They discuss their 30-year friendships and John's amazing career, from working with the Coen Brothers to hosting SNL 13 times. John's had a busy few years, working double duty on the TV shows The Righteous Gemstones and The Conners, all while losing his home in the LA wildfires. He's now peacefully living where he doesn't have to lock his doors. John gets candid abou...

Authoritarianism is reshaping our society and the world, and we can't afford to ignore it. UCLA's Edward Dunbar, a leading expert on authoritarianism, hate crimes, and the darker aspects of political power, uncovers how the Trump administration is ruling as an autocratic regime, extra-legally eroding freedoms, manipulating media, and fueling corruption. The psychological toll on everyday Americans is heavy, and it's time to recognize the warning signs, challenge the status quo, and empower...

Attention Sexy boomers feeling lonely and a little hungry! There are angels among us. With Trump's cuts to SNAP and inflation, older adults are financially squeezed across the country, even in affluent areas of Los Angeles. Kaylee Hawkins discusses how Meals on Wheels serves over 700 clients from Malibu to Marina Del Rey, and Santa Monica, helping them stay in their homes and avoid making impossible choices between rent, medical bills, and food. With only 10% of their operating budget coming f...

The Cover-Up Wasn't About UFOs — It Was About You Believing in Them Phil and Ted take a fun dive into the deep end of the enigmatic world of UFOs and UAPs, joined by paranormal investigative author Greg Bishop. Together, they unravel the story of Paul Bennewitz—a physicist whose obsession with unexplained lights over Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, drew him into a web of government intrigue, disinformation, and psychological manipulation that drove him to madness. Adding to...

Phil and Ted welcome back Thom Hartmann to tackle a U.S. legacy of rigged elections, unprecedented political and financial corruption, and the dangerous collusion of oligarchs, billionaires, and foreign actors shaping the fate of democracy. Esteemed progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann elucidates the concerning connections between Trump and foreign adversaries, particularly emphasizing his long-standing ties with Russia and the chilling specter of compromise that may ensue. Hartmann's lates...

On this lively episode of the Sexy Boomer Show, hosts Ted Bonnitt and Phil Proctor welcome the multitalented musician, producer, and radio personality Ben Vaughn. You may know Ben as the composer behind the iconic "Third Rock from the Sun" theme, but his journey spans from humble beginnings in New Jersey with a one-string guitar, to recording a classic album inside his Rambler car, and producing legends like Nancy Sinatra and Los Straitjackets. Together, they swap tales of wild club promotions ...

John Fugelsang was raised in a contemporary Christian household with traditional values of love and compassion, while observing the growth of the conservative Christian movement, starting with Jerry Falwell. In his book "The Separation of Church and State," John is a fierce and funny critic of the Christian right for abandoning Jesus's traditional teachings in pursuit of political power. Takeaways: John Fugelsang's upbringing in a contemporary Christian household instilled in him the values of...

"The Mommies" (Carol Christensen & Marilyn Kentz) hilariously spill the beans (and chili) on their accidental rocket ride from a suburban cul-de-sac to Hollywood TV sitcom and talk show stardom, and the perks that came with it, like scoring bloody ringside seats at the ear-biting Tyson Heavyweight fight in Las Vegas. They share the absurdities of navigating the entertainment industry, from the exhilarating highs of sold-out performances to their re-entry to reality, selling crockpots to crackpo...

Phil and Ted welcome acclaimed horror fiction author Whitley Strieber (“The Wolfen" and "The Hunger”), best known for his groundbreaking book "Communion," which recounts his encounters with non-human entities that changed the course of UFO history. Strieber has meticulously chronicled experiences of missing time, encounters with non-human entities, implants, and the trauma and ridicule that follow people who live through them. Ted shares how separate chance encounters with Whitley Strieber and...

Phil and Ted welcome the delightful standup comedy veteran Wendy Liebman for a lively, laugh-filled conversation. From her early days in Boston and a serendipitous comedy class to performing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Kimmel, Leno, and more. The trio dives into the art of joke-writing and handling on-stage bombs. Wendy opens up about her accidental path into comedy, the nerve-wracking moments of performing on TV, and how she crafts her signature rapid-fire, wordplay-driven punchlines, and reveals her all-time favorite jokes. Tune in for stories about brushes with legendary comics, comedy club camaraderie, growing bolder with age, and why Wendy Liebman believes it’s never too late to build strong friendships (or find the perfect bra).