Odd News and Simple Fun with The Crispy Noodle / July 1, 2019 by Teagan Kuruna

This interview with the hosts of The Crispy Noodle is part of a series highlighting podcasts participating in Philly Podfest 2019. See the full line-up of live shows on our Schedule page.

by Melinda Lewis

Rich and Mike are two friends with a weekly podcast that covers a smorgasbord of topics that is reminiscent of old school talk radio with news, hot takes, and a vicious soundboard. Before their Philly Podfest show on July 28, from 2:30 to 3:30 at Tattooed Mom, they answered some questions about their podcast and plans for the festival. (edited for length)

Q: Your show reminds me of listening to the radio before school. What have been some of your influences and how did you determine the format?

Rich: I listened to Preston & Steve on Y100 almost every morning on the way to school. I loved how their topics were informative and hilarious. When Y100 shut down and they went off the air, I was devastated; there really wasn't anything like them. After interning with their show on WMMR, I knew I wanted to produce my own show that was newsworthy, comedic, and just simply, fun.

Mike: I trusted Rich’s instincts when it came to the radio-esque nature of the show since he had the experience. But from the start we knew our favorite topics, that we wanted to be fun and informative, and that if we were excited and passionate about a topic, that would come through in the show. After that, it all just fell into place.

**Q: What's the root of Crispy Noodle’s name?**

Rich: Naming a podcast is actually one of the most difficult tasks when coming up with a podcast. We didn't want to simply call it The Rich & Mike Show, so we decided to let inspiration come to us in another way – Chinese takeout. My fortune cookie literally read "Be the Crispy Noodle in the vegetarian salad of life." I shouted to Mike "what the hell does this mean?!" We both couldn't stop laughing. We thought maybe this an answer from Fortune's own cookie – The Crispy Noodle Podcast.

Mike: This is one of the biggest mysteries of the show when we first mention the name to someone. We went with our gut, literally, and it worked out great.

Q: Do you have anything planned for Philly Podfest?

Rich: Mike is actually away on vacation that weekend and it will be the first time I am doing The Crispy Noodle Podcast without him. He will definitely be involved in the show in a special way . . . that's as much as a tease as I can provide! I won't be flying solo though, because our recurring guest personality, Nenna, will be there to help react to Entertainment and Odd News.

Mike: It’s a shame I can’t be there this year, but I get to be in the very fun and unique position of experiencing the show as a listener first instead of a co-host. We're already working hard to come up with something fun for the event.

Q: What are you looking forward to most about Philly Podfest (and what makes you want to come back)?

Rich: There are so many interesting podcasts to discover and learn about. I also enjoy the live audience that comes out for this – people get to react in real time to the topics we provide and the odd news stories I research. I also love that we're at Tattooed Mom, it's such a great venue – punk rock atmosphere, right on South Street. You couldn't ask for a more Philly-centric venue in my opinion.

Mike: It’s great to be part of a community that is so passionate about their shows and topics. Since we don’t normally do live events or shows, it definitely adds a unique twist and change of pace for our show, which is welcome after 300+ episodes!

Amplifying queer voices with My Gay Agenda / June 29, 2019 by Teagan Kuruna

This interview with the hosts of My Gay Agenda is part of a series highlighting podcasts participating in Philly Podfest 2019. See the full line-up of live shows on our Schedule page.

by Melinda Lewis

From the title, to the intro, to the discussion, there is no haziness when it comes to what My Gay Agenda is about. CJ Higgins and Jenn Adams make a podcast that represents Philadelphia’s queer community, educates, and builds empathic bridges. This year, they’ll be celebrating Queer History with their show at the National Liberty Museum, Sunday, July 21 at 3 pm. (Edited for length)

Q: How did y'all meet and at one point did you decide "Hey, let's do this?"

CJ: After college, throughout 2017, Jenn would bring up the idea of us co-hosting a podcast called My Gay Agenda. After mentioning it several times I realized they weren't trying to make a goof, they were making an actual suggestion. Then we did it!

Jenn: At some point or another, I made a joke to my partner along the lines of something silly being my gay agenda and he said ‘’Oh, that would make a great podcast name!’ I laughed and agreed but then was like...’oh dang, it really would.’ I IMMEDIATELY knew CJ was the perfect person to throw the idea at.

**Q: Between your title and opening credits, it's pretty clear what your podcast is about on the surface, but what is My Gay Agenda’s (your gay agenda’s) agenda/goals?**

CJ: Our goal is to educate through exposure and representation. We want to create a space where queer people can feel validated and recognized, and cisgender heterosexual people can learn by listening. It's sort of like a chat among queer folx that cishets can listen in on. Plus, we've had some listeners tell us that the podcast helped them discover their own queer identities!

Jenn: We've really shifted our focus to lifting up queer voices and letting individuals talk about their experiences and stories. We still consider ourselves both a comedy and education podcast, but the number one goal is to let queer people of all kinds talk about what they want to talk about and send it out into the world where people can learn, empathize, or discover something about themselves through listening.

**Q: What do you enjoy most about the process of producing My Gay Agenda?**

CJ: I love meeting all our guests! We've had the privilege to talk to over fifty queer people about their unique experiences and identities. I'm constantly grateful people choose to share their stories with us.

Jenn: I’m biased as the self-proclaimed ‘camp counselor’ of the show, but I really enjoy developing the silly mini-games we play with our guests at the end of each episode. Half the time they’re less ‘games’ and more jumping off points for all of us to make more jokes, but they’re always fun to develop and they help us end the show on a lighter, whimsical note, especially when we end up discussing something heavy.

Q: You've done live shows before - what makes a live show particularly special (and how does it compare to the performances you do outside of these live tapings?

CJ: Live shows are where we go beyond the interview format of our regular episodes! Past ones have included a quiz show and an open forum on how gay the city of Philadelphia is. Plus, at the end of each live show, we ask the audience for suggestions of what to put on the Gay Agenda, and that always gets some fun and interesting responses (like mandatory astrology charts, milkshakes, etc.).

Jenn: Lately, we’ve really been exploring different formats for the live shows and I love mixing it up and bringing in the audience! What’s special about MGA live shows is that they’re always different and always full of camaraderie and laughter.

Also, sometimes people sing along to the theme song and that’s pretty neat

Q: What are you most excited about Philly PodFest?

CJ: I'm excited about our unique location at the National Liberty Museum! How many times do you get to do a podcast episode in a museum?

Jenn: Philly Podfest is where we did our first ever live show, so I’m super excited to return! I’m excited to bring our show to new audience members, and, honestly, to see as many other shows as I can!

Q&A with Everything is Awesome / July 14, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. Everything is Awesome will be recording live on Sunday, July 16 at 2:00pm at Tattooed Mom. You can find the full schedule of live shows here. Also, special thanks to Everything is Awesome host Kevin Gallagher volunteering to help keep things running smoothly at Tattooed Mom during the first weekend of the Festival. Kev, you're the best!

How did your show come about? I had taken some time off from podcasting when my son was born—I couldn’t find a way to manage getting a set time for my co-hosts and I to sit down and record on top of focusing on work and being a dad. That’s when I thought of Everything is Awesome, a long-form conversational podcast that didn’t rely on set cohosts; just a new guest each week.

How did you meet your co-hosts? Everything is Awesome only has a co-host when we do our show live. I’ve known Mike DeAngelo since grade school and we’ve been best friends since middle school. Our shared interests and ability to just riff with one another off the cuff was the driving force to bring him in for the live shows.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? The beautiful thing about having a show that is long-form conversation / interview is that you can jump in anytime. There are few, if any, inside jokes. That being said, I do have my own personal favorites that I would recommend:
1. Episode 20 – Irish Fairies was my first big ‘HOLY CRAP’ moment when I booked Erin McGathy (host of This Feels Terrible).
2. Episode 57 – One Shot to the Heart with James D’Amato. James has been a huge inspiration and his podcasts, One Shot & Campaign, are shows that make me smile no matter my mood
3. Episode 63 – Odin’s Beard! (Live from Atomic City Comics) is single handily one of the funniest shows I’ve ever been part of.
4. Episode 69 – Convos with Kiddos features a short conversation I recorded with my son, who loves the idea of a podcast. That one is super special to me.

What do you appreciate most about this medium? The freedom. I love that anyone can literally do a podcast. There is so much passion that goes into creating this, and people who really put their all into it let it show.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? I love performing in front of people—something I picked up when I started wrestling for Falls Township Wrestling. It’s like I get to tell a little story without getting to deep.

How does the show change when you're doing a live recording? Everything is Awesome is normally just me and one other guest for an hour or so talking. When we go live, I tend to dub the show Everything is Awesome: LATE NIGHT because I put a bit of a late night talk show spin on it. We interact with the audience, play games, talk to a guest, and usually have a comedian or musician on to help close us out.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts? You can find Everything is Awesome on AwesomePodcast.com, CoreTempArts.com, and on social media—Facebook.com/RealAwesomePod and @RealAwesomePod on Twitter. You can find me on twitter @ThatNerdyKev (that’s where I do most of my tweeting and twating) and Mike on twitter @Tellest

Q&A with Sex with Timaree / July 13, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. You can find the full schedule of live shows here, and purchase tickets for Sex with Timaree's live recording on July 21 at 9:30pm at Ruba Club here. Tickets also get you access to the Philly Podfest Afterparty at Ruba Club immediately following the live show.

How did your show come about? My show's producer, Nathan Kuruna, who is also the creator/producer of the Philly Podcast Festival, approached me with the idea of turning my sexuality education work into audio form. I'd been writing about sex and giving presentations and trainings for years. I was like "what's a podcast?" To this day, I don't really know how all this works, but because I have a super knowledgeable, reliable producer who had a vision for a thing we could create, we are nearly at 300 episodes.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? Personally, I got a ton out of the Photo Pig episode- this man had never before spoken to anyone about his overwhelming desire to be degraded. It was the center of his life, something he risked his job for regularly and over which he had lost two marriages: because he was afraid to speak openly about this fetish. When we started the episode, he was planning on jerking off while he told me about his interests, but it very quickly become a deeply intimate conversation about his childhood, the meaning behind his behavior, his hopes and dreams for the future. He told me things he had never told another person and I was able to give him resources that he had been missing out on, like Fetlife and Kink Aware Professionals Network. We both got a lot out of that conversation.

Otherwise, I would just scan the list of episodes and see what appeals. We talk to academics, porn stars, artists, inventors, writers, and more. There's an episode for everyone.

What do you appreciate most about this medium? I don't have to wear any make up. I show up in my romper, soaked in sweat from the long bike ride to the studio and for one hour a week, get to be a voice and not worry about how i look while doing my job. That's convenient.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change? We get to tap into visual senses, obviously. So in previous years we've had live pole dancers, drag, burlesque, etc. This year we're doing a BDSM demo. That's something that I could describe on air, of course, but it's not quite the same. Last year we had Flirt Vonnegut commentate on a burlesque performance like a baseball announcer and that was cute, so the people at home could still get something out of it.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts? SexWithTimaree.com- it's a clearinghouse of my sex education work, although I also write for Philly Weekly and do community organizing for the Philly burlesque scene- and you can check that out at Burlesqueadelphia.com

Q&A with By The Book / July 6, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts? Kristen and Jolenta have been friends for years, they met at work. A while back Jolenta felt like her life was falling apart and wanted to try living by different self help books. She convinced Kristen to join her in this endeavor because Kristen is her most adult, down to earth friend. Kristen agreed to live “by the book” to make sure her dear friend doesn’t go off the rails and join a self-help cult.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? We love our pilot episode about “The Secret,” it’s really fun. Also the “French Women Don’t Get Fat” episode, things get very real in that one.

What do you appreciate most about this medium? Mostly we love that it’s intimate. And the fact that women and people of color can more easily make their own work in podcasting, as opposed to other forms of media that are harder to break into or cost more. Also you don’t have to look cute while you’re doing it, we love that!

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change? This is our first live show so we are SUPER excited to experiment a bit and give our live audience a real experience. We plan on doing things like a self help book swap, reading ridiculous book reviews, and other fun things to change up our regular format!

What are you hoping to do in Philly other than record a live podcast? We definitely want to hit up Reading Terminal Market, Liberty Hall, and the Liberty Bell.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts? @bythebookpod, @kristenmeinzer and @jolentag on twitter!

Q&A with we Got This with Mark and Hal / July 2, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. You can find the full schedule of live shows here, and purchase tickets for We Got This with Mark and Hal's live recording on July 21 at 8:00pm at Ruba Club here. There are also VIP tickets that include a meet and greet with Mark and Hal, and all tickets also get you entry to the live recording of Sex with Timaree at 9:30pm.

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts? When I (Hal) knew the Thrilling Adventure Hour was nearing the end of its run, I told Mark "We're doing a podcast together". I'd had an idea for a simple concept of two people taking subjective arguments and settling them objectively as a lark. I told our mutual friend Eric about it and he said "Oh, like whether you should put ketchup on a hot dog?" and we had our first episode. Mark and I met back in 2002 when we improvised together in front of three people in a small theater in L.A. We definitely knew one another over the years, but it wasn't until Thrilling Adventure Hour that we became super close.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? I like to think that our first episode ("Should you put Ketchup on a hot dog?") still holds up. Any episode with John Hodgman (our reigning guest-in-residence) is pretty great, especially his first episode with us. I also think that "Liquid vs Bar vs Foam soap" is a great example of our chemistry. Also, "Best Vintage Toy" with Janet Varney is great because she's such an A+ guest. Same with "Calling or Texting" with Paul F. Tompkins.

What do you appreciate most about this medium? How democratic it is. We can create a show, put it out there, and evolve it without any restrictions or interference from a higher authority. Anyone can. It may not be a level playing field, but it's an open playing field.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change? Our live shows just have more energy. The live laughter is always great, but at any give moment half of the crowd is in vehement disagreement with our stance on something while the other half is in total agreement. It's the best kind of tension.

What are you hoping to do in Philly other than record a live podcast? We both have family here (I'm a hometown boy, and Mark's father is from Philly) that we're hoping to see, and I'm planning on seeing my closest and oldest friends, visiting some of my old haunts, and eating at least one ACTUAL cheesesteak while I'm in town.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts? You can find us at wegotthispodcast.com (which will take you to Maximum Fun, our home for the last two years) and on iTunes or Stitcher or whatever podcasting app you use under "We Got This with Mark and Hal". The show is @wegotthistweets on twitter and this is our Facebook group - on of my favorite places to visit online. Mark is @markgags on twitter and I'm @hallublin.

Q&A with The Flop House / July 1, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts?

Elliott: Dan and I met through performing at a basement comedy theater in New York called Juvie Hall that a mutual friend of ours ran. We became good friends pretty quickly, and it was through Dan that I met the ray of overpowering sunshine that is Stuart Wellington.

Stuart: Dan and I met at Earlham College, where we both went for undergrad. When we both ended up in Brooklyn, Dan and I started hanging out regularly and watching bad movies together. The show grew out of that. I met Elliott when Dan dragged me to Elliott's show in that basement.

Dan: Everyone has already answered the question, but I just wanted to say that I started the podcast in part because I wanted to get Stuart on tape, because I thought he was hilarious, and he wasn’t interested in performing comedy, so he’d never be introduced to the world without a little push. When Elliott joined, he was the motormouthed secret sauce we needed to complete the equation.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners?

Elliott: A lot of people start with episodes for movies they’ve already seen. But I’d recommend the episodes for Bullet to the Head, Foodfight!, and The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure as personal favorites that might provide good entry points.

Stuart: Folks seem to like our Mirrors episode. I really enjoyed watching Easy Rider 2: The Ride Home, and I think that's a really fun episode.

Dan: I think the top ones have been mentioned already, but people also mention Jonah Hex as a favorite. Maybe Fateful Findings too.

What do you appreciate most about this medium?

Elliott: I love a lot of things about the podcasting medium. There’s an intimacy and immediacy to podcasts that really makes listening to them a more valuable experience. You get the feeling that you’re in a conversation (a one-sided one, sure, but still) with the people you’re listening to, and that you inhabit a kind of special private space with them for the duration of the show. A lot of people tell us that listening to our show makes them feel like they’re hanging out with their friends and that they feel closer to us than they do to people on, say, television. It’s an intimate medium, which means you can get away with being both really earnest and emotional and super random and goofy and stupid, often in the same show.

Dan: I couldn’t have said it better.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change?

Elliott: The thing I look forward to the most is the immediate reaction from the audience, which energizes me to no end. I don’t have to wonder if a bit will go over well or flop, and I have a better sense of when to stop talking (not a strength of mine normally) if I’m losing the audience. It’s a real thrill to have people sitting there in front of you, enjoying the nonsense jabbering we do.

Stuart: It definitely adds a bit of urgency to our conversation. And I love any excuse to mug for an audience.

Elliott: The change to the show is 1) we do visual presentations before the show that don’t get recorded and only the live audience sees, which are fun to put together and perform and 2) instead of reading listener letters at the end of the show we take questions from the audience. Which can be more fun because you can interact with the fans and also more unsettling and frightening because you can interact with the fans.

Dan: I look forward to being terrified ahead of time, and then suddenly feeling totally comfortable the moment I step on stage. It’s a weird bit of psychological magic that happens every time. I also just look forward to seeing the crowds – knowing that this silly thing I started as a kind of a lark has grown into something that’s genuinely important for a lot of folks.

What are you hoping to do in Philly other than record a live podcast?

Elliott: For me nothing beats seeing the Duchamp collection at the Museum of Art. He’s been one of my favorite artists since I was a teen, and Philadelphia is lucky to hold all his major works in one place.

Stuart: My wife and I will definitely make a stop over at the 4th Street Deli, which feels like a little slice of Brooklyn away from Brooklyn. I will probably hit up The Reliquary to go record and tabletop game shopping afterwards.

Dan: I was in Philly to cover the political convention for The Daily Show recently, so I might spend my extra time checking out other podcasts at the festival.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts?

Elliott: Our site is at www.flophousepodcast.com and we’re also part of the Maximum Fun network, along with a lot of other great shows, at www.maximumfun.org. On Twitter I’m @elliottkalan.

Stuart: You can find me in Brooklyn at Hinterlands Bar, a bar that I own with my wife. I'm on Twitter as @flophousecat.

Dan: I’m @dankmccoy.

Q&A with Lulu and Pop / June 30, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. Lulu and Pop will be recording live on Saturday, July 15 at 6:00pm at Tattooed Mom. You can find the full schedule of live shows here.

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts? We met while working at a Starbucks in West Philly, I was Mark’s Supervisor, we started a friendship, a few weeks later we were dating, and a few weeks later we moved in together. Four years later we were married!

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners? One of our favorite episodes is episode number 13 which we recorded in Punta Cana but we also recommend episode 01 which is a good introduction.

What do you appreciate most about this medium? We love that we can do it together. It’s basically another fun date for us where we get to have these conversations about things we find important or funny and then can then share them with whomever wants to listen!

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change? We look forward to connecting with our listeners and possibly making some new ones. We are looking forward to the audience aspect of it and the fact that we can interact with other people. Also we’ll have to wear pants….which rarely happens on the show.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts?
Instagram: @Luluandpop
Twitter: @lulupop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luluandpop Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/lulu-and-pop-an-interracial-love-jawn

Q&A with Sawbones / June 27, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-host?

Well, Sydnee and I met around 20 years ago in a community theater production of Wizard of Oz. We dated, broke up for a decade then reconnected and got married. The podcast came later. We wanted something that would emphasize Sydnee's medical knowledge (she's a family physician) with my complete ignorance of even basic functions of the human body.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners?

We did an episode on Medical Cannibalism. Seriously, Victorian people eating mummies for vitality. That's my favorite.

What do you appreciate most about this medium?

It's an intensely personal thing to be piped via headphone directly into someone's brain. It's so flattering to be invited in like that, and we try to always be respectful of that.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change?

Well, we don't curse on our show which adds a thrilling difficulty modifier when doing it in front of a live crowd. Also, sometimes we add songs!

What are you hoping to do in Philly other than record a live podcast?

We do a podcast about medical oddities, so naturally we're going to go to the Mutter Museum!

Where can people find your podcast and hosts?

We're at http://www.sawbonesshow.com or on iTunes, Stitcher, etc.

Q&A with Overdue Podcast / June 26, 2017 by Teagan Kuruna

We have so many great podcasts participating in the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival, so we're highlighting some of them in this Q&A series. Overdue will be recording live on Sunday, July 23 at 5:00pm at Kitchen Table Gallery. You can find the full schedule of live shows here.

How did your show come about? How did you meet your co-hosts?

We've actually been friends since really early in college, where an enthusiasm for Katamari Damacy and two-ingredient cocktails brought us together. Overdue was initially a selfish way for the two of us to stay in touch, born out of us both saying "I don't read enough." Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), enough people started listening that it took on a life of its own.

Are there episodes you consider your “greatest hits?” Which ones are good “entry” points for new listeners?

Our "greatest hits" tend to be one of two types of book: a seminal classic that we can poke fun at while still discussing why it was canonized and installments in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. We'd point new listeners to the Fifty Shades books for a thorough deconstruction of a bad story, or to our Infinite Jest, Jane Eyre, or Peter Pan episodes if you want to hear our takes on some well-regarded classics.

What do you appreciate most about this medium?

Podcasts are a pretty intimate medium - most of the time you're listening with your headphones in or alone on your commute, so you really feel like you're developing a relationship with the hosts. We love getting emails and tweets from people who look forward to spending time with us every week, or people who say that we helped get them through a tough time. We're sure that happens in other mediums, but those connections feel closer in podcasting.

What do you most look forward to when doing live shows? How does the show change?

Live shows change the show by adding a third voice in the mix. We live for bad jokes, so there's nothing like making a roomful of people groan when usually it's just the two of us. We've also found that certain books work better than others for live shows. If it's a newer release or a book that's gone under-appreciated, it isn't as easy to crack jokes because our audience might not be as familiar with the story. When they're listening at home, they can rewind or go look up a synopsis if we make things really confusing. When they're in the room with us, we just want them to sit back and enjoy two goofballs having fun with a good book.

Where can people find your podcast and hosts?

The show's at www.overduepodcast.com! Andrew is on Twitter at @AndrewWrites and Craig is @mcgetting.