The Dinner Party Download

This week: rocker Benjy Ferree’s ode to Peter Pan… We discover the planet that dares not speak its name… and Rico sharpens his conversation skills with Brooklyn’s new king of cutlery.

This week: “The Daily Show’s” Larry Wilmore is pure magic… We learn why even grownups shouldn’t play with guns… star mixologist Todd Thrasher mixes a drink fit for a vampire… and Rico pounds down a serious noodle with a funny name.

This week: Historian/Activist Howard Zinn recalls a different kind of flower power… We learn what happens when TV censors can’t take a joke… and Brendan pigs out on lard pigs.

This week: award winning author Sarah Shun-lien Bynum uses her children to live out her own teen fantasies…We replicate a cocktail recipe… And Rico celebrates athletes by stuffing his face with dough and butter.

This week: legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier gives candy to children… We chill out with a cryonic cocktail… And Brendan discovers the three most beautiful words in the English language: Korean, BBQ, Tacos.

This week: what do Lolita, duck testicles, Chevys, cows, Robert Wagner and booze have in common? This show in 2008, that’s what. We take a look back at the first 12 episodes of the podcast that shocked a nation… and toss in a few new facts for the first dinner parties of 2009.

This week: Director David Fincher isn’t afraid of the dark… We unite our nation with an All-American cocktail… Brendan is granted an audience with the king of mozzarella… plus a joke from THE Tom Jones.

This week: Cartoonist David Heatley literally tells all… we inhale a glassful of London’s killer fog… and star pastry chef Adrian Vasquez makes a peanut butter sandwich that’ll make your brain hurt.

This week: Kevin Barnes of the band Of Montreal defines “sexualien”… Thomas Edison lights up a martini glass… and Rico gets permission to eat endangered birds.

This week: we seek direct engagement with Aaron Aites of the band Iran… We learn the greatest name in football… Pittsburgh gets drunk on black gold… and Obama supporters dream of home-grown on the White House lawn.

This week: Hollywood icon Robert Wagner feels at home on the range… How to mix a cocktail from hell… Orson Welles declares “War” on the radio… and Brendan declares war on cupcakes.

This week: superstar author Irvine Welsh talks about his sexual prowess… We learn the history of the only home in Washington, D.C. that hasn’t lost its value… And the Monterey Bay Aquarium ruins dinner.

This week: “nerdcore” rapper MC Frontalot rhymes the unrhymeable… take a trip down Memory Superhighway… and Brendan gets fat on the tastes of Autumn.

This week: NYTimes reporter/author Sarah Lyall asks a stupid question… we learn the offal truth about “duck fries”… and the French army invades our cocktail glass.

This week: a sober chat with Ezra Feinberg about his psych-rock band Citay… We remember the Great Fire of London with a conflagrant cocktail… and a champion barista drinks deep the mad flava of competitive coffee-making.

This week: author/columnist David Carr discusses ping-pong as a contact sport… Lolita turns 50, but she’s still too young… and how to defraud wine snobs.

This Week: the artist known as Girl Talk tells us about his explosive high school band… A short history of Jesse Owens… How to mix a “Berliner Olympic” cocktail… An introduction to the All-American fruit most Americans have never tasted. [Photo: Girl Talk performs live at the Virgin Festival, August 2007. Credit: Joe Cereghino]

This week: indie-folk duo The Watson Twins shares their secret fantasy…A short history of John Dillinger… How to mix an Old-Fashioned cocktail… Taste a hot sauce 8 times more potent than pepper spray.