Humor and the Abject Podcast

Legendary performance, installation, and video artist Michael Smith, the mind behind the everyman character “Mike” and the terrible toddler Baby Ikki, joins for the latest episode of the Humor and the Abject podcast. We discussed whether or not a Midwest sense of humor exists, his pilgrimage to Burning Man in 2008 for a collaboration with Mike Kelley, having the same name as multiple other people, and whether or not a review I wrote of his 2015 solo show at Greene Naftali completely missed the mark. Today’s episode is sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing and a brand new theme park for the wealthy elite, Midwestworld.

Comedian Liza Dye knows a thing or two about perspective. On this week’s episode, we talked about surviving near death experiences, spirituality, exposing Beyoncé, why Los Angeles is better than New York, the desert of news regarding Celesbians in 2017, and armchair astrology. Episode twelve of the Humor and the Abject podcast is exclusively sponsored by Alex Jones.

DING DONG! It’s Humor and the Abject calling! This week, one of the extremely funny hosts of the Las Culturistas podcast, Bowen Yang, stops by the studio to sit on the other side of the mic. Bowen is a comedian, actor, and producer who is one of the minds behind the shows Live on Broadgay and Lake Homo High. We talked about his podcast, fostering more diverse representation in comedy by doing the damn thing yourself, the genesis of “I Don’t Think So, Honey!”, how crunchy Colorado truly is, and beating jokes to death online. Episode 11 is sponsored by Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” John McCain’s mortal fate, Kraft Cheese’s multiple innovative dairy products, and the world’s most-reviled hockey mom.

Programmer, publisher, and poet Rachel Hyman, AKA @COMETHRUGIRL, was in town from Chicago and set aside some time to stop by the studio. We talked about early weird Twitter, her Banango Street publishing label, necessary breaks from creative endeavors, her rescue Shiba Inu named Kenny, collaborative digital poetry projects, scary podcasts, and more. Today’s episode is brought to you by Seattle, LSD, and Applegate Farms natural hot dogs.

Lorelei Ramirez and Tynan DeLong aren't just comedians, actors, writers, and directors, they're also a danged band. On this week's episode, they shared some of their new tracks in a Humor and the Abject super exclusive. We talked about the importance of panel discussions, paying your dues in comedy, their moms, and That Thing You Do. Episode 9 is sponsored by Hardee's, season two of Fargo, and "Robbing Peter to pay Paul."

Self-described "Relational Stalinist" Michael Portnoy is on the podcast this week talking about his ludicrous interactive game installations, cutting his teeth in New York's '90s alt-comedy scene, why understanding one's body is crucial for performance, and how to effectively muddy the distinctions between theater, dance, contemporary art, and standup comedy. We're sponsored today by Anheuser-Busch's discontinued pale lager Bud Dry, the single 1994-95 season of ABC's hit teen drama "My So-Called Life", and Andrés Muschietti's forthcoming film adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 clown porn novel "It."

I spoke with Los Angeles' finest daughter: comedian, artist, and animator Casey Jane Ellison. She told me about going to art school at SAIC, how she managed to host Touching the Art for the Ovation Network, living a V-Files lifestyle, and how everyone is a conceptual artist. This week's episode is sponsored by Tillamook Cheese and David Zwirner Gallery.

Eric Allan Schwartau and Steven Phillips-Horst of Talk Hole fame join Humor and the Abject this week to talk about their themed monthly comedy nights, skewering the art world, and the intersection of copywriting and design. Darcie Wilder co-hosts. This episode is sponsored by Traverse City, MI, and that scene in The Outsiders when Ponyboy recites a fucking Robert Frost poem to Johnny.

Artist Azikiwe Mohammed stops by Humor and the Abject to talk about his current solo exhibition at Long Gallery in Harlem, his Jimmy's Thrift of New Davonhaime project, the Northern Lights, 9/11, seeing the Donald Trump + Tony Robbins motivational tour at the Javitz Center as a kid, No Child Left Behind, Animaniacs, and why Bard College sucks. Darcie Wilder joins as co-host. This week's episode is sponsored by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Ben Affleck's 2010 Boston crime thriller The Town. Sorry about all the clipping audio. I didn't know how fucking loudly everyone was going to be laughing the whole time and we don't have an engineer.

Erin Markey joins Humor and the Abject to talk about performance art, why Domino's Pizza is bad politically, joining Christian youth groups, joining LGBTQ youth groups, killing boners, and the gayest day of her life. It's also the debut of a new culinary podcast within the podcast, the Savage Table with Alex Savage. Today's episode is sponsored by Ross Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, Blue Takeron, and Alex Savage's personal Twitter account, @focra.

One of Brooklyn's finest comics, Ana Fabrega, joins the podcast to talk about her unorthodox approach to standup comedy, her new writing gig, why the scene in New York is changing for the better, and revealing absolutely nothing about her as an actual person to the audience. We're sponsored today by Wage Theft, Jimmy John's, Mira Gonzalez's Twitter account, Zoe Dubno's YouTube channel, and either a cooking ingredients delivery startup or a streaming television service.

The Humor and the Abject podcast is back this week with comedians Jaboukie Young-White and Amy Zimmer. One episode two, we talked about Jaboukie donning a Borat thong in the new film Rough Night, Amy's thoughts on Tampa, and why creating alternative spaces for comedy is a political act. Also, we discovered that Kickstarter is haunted.

The Humor and the Abject podcast debuts with special guest Darcie Wilder.