The Dinner Party Download

This week: Swedish starlet Noomi Rapace removes her Dragon Tattoo… America’s fake World War… And Quidditch vies for legit-ish-macy. Plus a joke from Talking Head Chris Frantz, and music from The Smith Westerns.

This week: Comedy juggernaut Judd Apatow courts disaster… London’s suds flood… and Rico experiences the sweet taste of Conflict. Plus, a joke from author du jour Dinaw Mengestu and new music from Kiwi band Secret Knives.

This week: Comedian Paul F. Tompkins is no longer driven…A congressional beatdown for the ages…And the cult draining Seagram’s…Plus, new music from the band Tennis.

This Week: Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich gets exposed… the death of silent movies… and Rico is presented with a menu of crimes. Plus Small Black… Guam’s rain of rodents… and a so-so So So Glo joke.

This week: Artist-turned-filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood reveals a secret… San Francisco takes the happy out of meals… And we learn about an invention that really sucked. Plus: new music from Deerhunter.

This week: Oscar-winning filmmaker Davis (“An Inconvenient Truth”) Guggenheim schools us on his latest movie… We take a trip down memory superhighway… Apple’s got a Situation… and a meta joke.

This week: Author/artist/publisher Dave Eggers tells us something he CAN’T do… A British Major fails the cough test… and a long-shot Longshot. Plus a joke from Tony Millionaire and music from Belle & Sebastian.

This week: Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear) gives us a sporting shot… Peter the Great wages war on the hirsute… And Rico meets the baker behind some medical munchies.

This week: The Clientele’s Alasdair MacLean is a minotaur… London’s burning… and the NFL tackles falling attendance. Plus: Moody humor, and a lost gem from the Neil who isn’t Diamond.

This week: Director Spike Jonze channels Flava Flav… We dig up the salty story behind America’s favorite snack… and Brendan learns what it’s like to hustle grilled cheese on the mean streets of NYC.

This week: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan puzzles over the Indian film industry… An explosive burst of red-hot history… And Farai Chideya explains why teens just won’t listen.

This week: Celebrated novelist Gary Shteyngart doggedly pursues mental health… A history lesson you can crank to eleven… and Rico learns French Fries know no limits.

This week: “The Office” star Rainn Wilson goes from artsy to fartsy… Eat Pray Lovers asked to Eat Pay Leave… and the real fake King of Albania.

This week: ’80s teen icon Molly Ringwald barks like a dog (and talk about her new book)…William Shatner speaks the language of hope… And Brendan eats corn smut.

This week: Tennis superstar Venus Williams lives long and prospers…Texas criminals get literate…And a befuddled (or brilliant!) aviator takes a wrong way turn into the history books. Plus, rocker Cass McCombs on cloud control.

This week: Sebastian Junger joins Afghanistan’s band of brothers… a devilish Okie spawns the parking meter… and Rico gets a (tiny) taste of rationed food during WWII. Plus, a joke from author/satirist Gary (“Absurdistan”) Shteyngart… and Cults to join.

This week: Portland sextet Blitzen Trapper eyes us up…the throne stone from Scone…and Brendan meets an artist who bites the dust…literally. Plus Top Chef Ludo Lefebvre eats his own, and new Wavves.

This week Simon Rich kills Hitler…Muhammad Ali vs. the U.S.A…and a sweet and sour honeymoon

This week Rico scares the Jesus out of Paul Verhoeven…three strikes you’re drunk…and Temp of the Month: Kai Rysdall

This week Wallace Shawn critiques power and Brendan…the FBI investigates Louie Louie…and RIco chats with a restarauteur who’s not kidding around.

This Week: Celebrated author Marisa Silver exorcises her right to write… We go on the lam with Ronnie Biggs… and Brendan discovers a sandwich shop inside a bodega wrapped up in an enigma.

This week: Actor Paul Dano is achin’ for bacon… the classic story of New Coke…and why BYOF will sadly not be the new BYOB.

This Week: Victor Vasquez of rap savants Das Racist talks bop… Canada politely explodes… and Alicia Silverstone tries to veganize Brendan.

This Week: Comic Tig Notaro gets all southern-fancy… we admire Wall Street’s big brass bells… and designer Ali Pulver shows Rico how to eat on the street.

A very special episode: almost every joke we’ve ever had on the show, collected in one convenient podcast. Black Francis, Tom Jones, Billy Bragg, Leslie Caron and many, many more regale you with miniature tales of guys in bars, lightbulb-changers, penguins and a mainstream cloud. Some are funny. Some are not. But there are lots of them.

This Week: Garage-country songsters Holly Golightly & Lawyer Dave pack heat… a piece about peace… and Brendan sustains interest in sustainable dinner parties.

Bestselling author Joshua Ferris talks the walk… Renassance Italy burns in vain… and Rico learns what locavores do when it snowcavores.

“Big Fan” filmmaker Robert Siegel has a clipped conversation with Rico… we meet a modern caveman… and Brendan investigates the Food Trend trend. Plus a joke, or lack thereof, from *the* Leslie Caron.

This week: Rock band Midlake gets medieval on Brendan… America’s 1st female senator is silently defiant… and Rico learns why, in restaurants, silence is not an option.

This Week: What do Lamont Dozier, Dr. Albert Hoffman, Swine Flu business suits, Girls and deep-fried butter have in common? They all appeared on the Dinner Party Download this year, and they’re all in our annual Best Of episode. Plus Jonathan Coulton breaks the ice… and download Rico’s favorite tune of the year from rocker Benjy Ferree.

This Week: Filmmaker Terry Gilliam holds the devil at bay… We learn about Japan’s most infamous heist… and Brendan meets a cupcake he actually likes. PLUS the Pixies’ Black Francis breaks the ice… and download a song from rock orchestra Citay.

This Week: Writer George Saunders pitches a tent… an Alabama housewife gets hit on by a star… and a famed deli just can’t quit cold turkey.

This Week: Julian Casablancas strokes the new 90210…Brendan checks out the swimsuit issue of food mags… and we learn about the Motor City’s lemon legend.

This week: Musician Laura Veirs breathes deep… author Jonathan Safran Foer pigs out… and we discover King Tut’s last hut.

This week: pop savant Chuck Klosterman is sharp as a tiger’s whiskers… we lend an ear to the tale of a billionaire kidnapping… and Brendan celebrates Halloween by tasting the worst candy in the world.

This week: Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan pulls out his organ… We get a hangul on Korean literate-ture… and “Food, Inc” director Robert Kenner gives Rico an industrial food complex.

This week: Brendan sizes up humorist Andy Borowitz…we unearth a corny communist plot…and Rico gets tips on tipping.

This week: Billy Bragg makes “Ode” new again… an English Major fails the cough test… and Brendan talks to a cholesterocidal maniac.

This week: Filmmaker Gary Hustwit has designs on Honeybaked ham… Krakatoa bursts without pride… and Brendan breaks the two-second rule with a professional forager.

This week: British comedian Josie Long speaks positively…we supposedly meet the King of Albania…and Rico eats Peruvian and asks “Why fries with that?”

This week: Rich Fulcher, of the cult TV hit “The Mighty Boosh,” raises the decibel level of UK comedy… We race back in time with Jesse Owens… and Brendan samples a drink fit for Olympians. Also: Rico tries and fails to replace Brendan with technology.

This week: pop maestro Ed Harcourt tells Rico his recipes for lamb and schizophrenia… We learn about the aviator who took a wrong turn into the history books… and Brendan says “oui” to nonstaurants.

This week: Humorist Mishna Wolff talks about living in black and white… We sip a bloody mary that’s clearly insane… And Rico learns about the gourmet coal standard.

This week: 80′s metal band Anvil forges ahead… Muhammed Ali KO’s the U.S. Army… and Brendan has designs on David Bowie. [photo: Anvil ]

This week: bestselling author Alain De Botton gets worked over… joy is found in Mudville… and Rico digs the new wave of on-site restaurant gardens.

This week: Norway’s Datarock toot their own horn… we’re knocked out by a drink served beaten, not stirred… and Brendan eats BBQ with a side of vinyl.

This week: Pushcart Prize-winning author Wells Tower gets auto erotic… we learn how to drink trees… and Rico finds out that starting a food magazine is child’s play.

This week: Tony Award-winning rocker Stew ponders art vs. reality… we take a historic bike trip into an *alternate* reality… and Brendan sneaks into the most exclusive culinary shop in the world.

This week: Sundance-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner lives in public radio… We taste the salt that shook the world… and Brendan goes hunting for Easter eggs and finds Grilled Cheese.

This week: Rico chats up Girls at SXSW… Marlon Brando gets an offer he can refuse… and Brendan is forced to rethink his jihad against cupcakes (Hint: it involves meatloaf).