Nerdist pins Chris Jericho and Nick Kroll goes character crazy on Comedy Bang Bang 

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Look, I was in Police Academy. I directed Windy City Heat. I’m part of the problem.” —Bobcat Goldthwait, You Made It Weird

“This is a very long and hard vagina.” —Kyle Dunnigan, Professor Blastoff

“It’s going to be so different this year. The Mayans didn’t predict anything, and so the plumed serpent god is no longer a factor in your every move.” —Greg Proops, The Smartest Man In The World

“It’s so hot, the sweat in my undercarriage could irrigate a small radish farm.” —Jason Sklar, Sklarbro Country

“I think it’s possible to raise the point of who eats what without being racist.” —Ben Calhoun, This American Life

NEW (TO US)

Too Beautiful To Live With Luke Burbank
Luke Burbank co-hosts “Ross And Burbank” on Seattle’s KIRO-FM, but he’s probably best known as a guest panelist and substitute host for NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Andrew Walsh, who co-hosts the podcast Too Beautiful To Live with Burbank, also works at KIRO, and their years in radio make their banter seamless and professional, something that is sometimes sorely lacking on other podcasts. Burbank and Ross’ radio background also informs the show’s format, which has “breaking news” segments and song recommendations from upcoming artists. There’s a new episode almost every day, which gives Too Beautiful the ability to stick with an event as it develops (the most recent episodes have been tracking Burbank through a juice fast), but with each episode clocking in at an hour, there’s just a little too much Too Beautiful to keep up with. [NC]

The Best Show On WFMU
A key component of The Best Show’s greatness is Tom Scharpling’s ability to pivot from a layered, strange character sketch into a spontaneous bit of one-note silliness. This week’s episode leans toward the latter in the best possible way. Scharpling continues his quest to try to write the perfect feel-good song (tentatively titled “Come On Y’all, It’s Time To Have Fun”), offers to join Smash Mouth, and gives A.V. Club comments the business with the help of a slide whistle. Callers get an extra dose of patience from the typically short-fused host, who seems to be in good spirits the entire episode. It all adds up to a fun installment befitting Scharpling’s impending career as a party-anthem scribe. [TC]

Comedy Bang! Bang! #194: Me Gusta Characters! Nick Kroll, Chelsea Peretti
It’s no secret that the best episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang! tend to involve performers who’ve known each other for a long time. Scott Aukerman has an easy rapport with people like Paul F. Tompkins, Jason Mantzoukas, and Nick Kroll, who appears here with his longtime pal Chelsea Peretti. That familiarity makes for some very funny moments, like when Kroll appears as his character Baby and Peretti joins in as Baby’s twin, Tootie. Kroll drops some terrible poetry as Peretti’s ex-boyfriend Chance, but spends much of the episode rapidly cycling through El Chupacabra, Baby, Old Man Juarez, and even The Goat. Listening to him, Peretti, and Aukerman interact makes for the most enjoyable 80 minutes of the week. [KR]

The Flop House #118: Total Recall
Len Wiseman’s Total Recall is by all accounts an exemple par excellence of a pointless remake, but no one has more thoroughly dissected it than the Flop House crew. In fact, the Original Peaches’ pedantic deconstruction of why it’s the type of movie that they would only recommend if the original Total Recall were to suddenly cease to exist borders on being overlong, but is saved multiple times over by being really goddamn funny. The mailbag segment is as strong as ever but also, notably, not totally frivolous, as hosts Dan McCoy and Elliott Kalan dole out some very useful and practical advice for aspiring comedy writers. [CG]

The Fogelnest Files #18: Skullnick Got The Whisper 2000: Jen Kirkman
This week’s episode unfortunately continues an emerging trend on The Fogelnest Files—namely, that Jake Fogelnest’s instincts seems to be at cross-purposes with what makes the show enjoyable. While Fogelnest still has enough energy to keep the wheels moving even when the discussion veers toward redundant tropes, the real problem is that the show’s aggressive nostalgia is beginning to feel like a curmudgeonly dismissal of anything new rather than an endearing hook. It’s especially apparent this week when guest Jen Kirkman launches into a tirade against Andy Kaufman, which would be fine if the show didn’t already have such an unsettling undercurrent of negativity. Luckily, Fogelnest’s masterful clip selection saves the episode. (He’s usually solid in that department, but his A-game is really on display this time around.) The highlight is a toss-up between a commercial for the Whisper 2000 and a snippet from real-life odd couple Royce and Marilyn. [AB]

Freakonimics #108: How To Live Longer
It’s all about mortality in Stephen Dubner’s first check-in with Marketplace this year. Turns out those gratuitous awards we hand out to celebrities and athletes aren’t just pretty prizes they can keep on their mantels. Baseball Hall of Famers, Oscar winners, and recipients of the Nobel Prize all actually live a little bit longer than their peers who never gain the accolades. In fact, people who are nominated for big prizes but never win actually live shorter lives than their peers. There’s a little bit of hand-waving in Dubner’s explanation, but the general gist seems to be that such prestigious awards give winners a kind of resiliency toward other setbacks, confirming their positive outlooks, which in turn is a boon to good health. But is the extended life granted by winning an Oscar or Nobel worth the possibility of never winning and dying sooner? [NC]

Hang Up And Listen: The Kneeling Bronco Edition
A zany weekend for the NFL playoffs eats up the first segment, but the bulk of this episode focuses on the life and legacy of Richard Ben Cramer, a brilliant journalist who died of lung cancer last week. Among credits like What It Takes, his definitive book about the 1988 presidential election, Cramer also did some extraordinary sports writing, including an unflattering biography about Joe DiMaggio and an Esquire piece on Ted Williams that found the humanity of a man who was notoriously prickly with the press. The HUAL crew talks with HarperCollins executive editor David Hirshey, who was Cramer’s editor at Esquire at the time he filed that Williams piece. What stands out is Cramer’s ability to both work around the controls of official access and ingratiate himself to difficult subjects while being honest and fair about them on the record. [ST]

How Was Your Week #97: “Glug Glug”: Carrie Brownstein, Danielle Henderson
Julie Klausner prefaces her conversation with Danielle Henderson by referring to her as her “new best friend”. It’s easy to see why Klaunser is so enthused, as it becomes clear early on that Henderson is an ideal How Was Your Week guest. Like Klausner, Henderson, a Women’s Studies graduate student who authors Feminist Ryan Gosling, has an affinity for thinking deeply about popular culture, which leads to an instant and easy rapport between the two as they talk about privilege, identity, and race. Klausner smartly takes up these topics by walking through Henderson’s biography and experiences. It’s an honest, personal chat filled with many memorable moments—especially when Henderson talks about being raised by her horror-movie-loving grandmother. One of the best interviews that Klaunser has done in a while, it belongs on any HWYW best-of reel. [DF]

Judge John Hodgman: Rhapsody In Blue
All areas may be areas of Judge Hodgman’s expertise, but sometimes a second expert gives an episode a lift, like having Alton Brown offer his thoughts on the issue of canning homemade jams and chutneys. This week, The Long Winters’ John Roderick comes on the show to assess whether a little profanity enhances a song or could be replaced by more delicate language. Elizabeth, a painter, brings the case against her husband Eric, the singer-songwriter of a band called Pocket Vinyl. She paints onstage while he sings, but under certain circumstances—like performing at an all-ages show, say—Elizabeth cringes in anticipation of the bad words that Eric periodically slips into his songs. Judge Hodgman and Roderick offer gentle (and gently mocking) critiques of Eric’s music and explore the art of songcraft in general. [ST]

The JV Club #44: Kristen Rutherford
Those who’ve ever lost a pet might want to skip this episode, which was recorded shortly after Janet Varney put her cat of 16 years to sleep. Varney and guest Kristen Rutherford (head writer for The Nerdist TV show, host of Geek & Sundry’s #parent) both break down into tears as they reminisce about the loss of past pets, which segues into a general discussion of grief and saying goodbye. Their conversation could use more discussion of Rutherford’s adolescence as a Star Trek-loving, group-hating teenager, but it’s ultimately a fun, relaxed conversation that manages to hit emotional highs with all the dead pet talk. The two women are both huge geeks (as evidenced by Varney giving her guest a gift calendar of tiny fairy houses and Rutherford’s ecstatic reaction), which results in one of the show’s most enjoyable games of M.A.S.H. [OS]

Mohr Stories #123: Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey could kick your ass, but if she did, the major embarrassment would be the result of having offended such a cool woman. Rousey, an Olympic judo medalist and the UFC’s first female fighter, is humble and lively in a conversation that’s dramatic and informative, whether or not you care about cage fighting. Mohr, a former wrestler and MMA fan, clicks with Rousey and draws out dynamic anecdotes about the psychosexual dynamics of dating weaker men, beating up a group of guys in a movie theater, and her go-for-broke Olympics strategy that backfired. Fight fans will enjoy technical talk about training and grappling, non-fans won’t be lost in it, and both groups will agree the episode’s major flaw is its short run time (45 minutes). [DXF]

Monday Morning Podcast
Bill Burr returns to the trove of TED Talks for inspiration at the top of the episode, but with better returns than last week. That he’s creeped out by footage in the video of a woman scuba diving in a wheelchair is itself a bit funny, but even better is the ensuing tangent, a quintessential Burr bit in which he rails against pretty much any human activity that involves the ocean. With NFL playoffs in full swing, there’s inevitably a bit of sports talk in the middle, which is amusing though not very memorable, and a couple of unexpectedly grave listener emails at the end provide a welcome (if slightly sobering) break from the usual sex-romp trifle. [CG]

The Moth: Tim King: A Change Of Plans
Tim King’s story this week really does fit the Moth trope of “huge event profoundly changes life,” and it’s about as warm and subtly put together as one could hope. King details how his life’s priorities changed when he adopted one of his students, raised him as his own son, and eventually sent him off to college and a good career. The key is that there’s nothing self-absorbed or contrived about King’s telling: Instead of playing a role, he just gets up and lets himself be a beamingly proud parent. [SG]

My Brother, My Brother And Me #136: Taken Babies
The McElroy brothers somberly admit to using comedy-enhancing drugs (specifically bull semen, “nature’s funniest liquid”) in the intro of this week’s episode, and if that were a real thing, the admission wouldn’t be too surprising, considering how great the rest of the episode is. Griffin’s impression of Bill Cosby talking about jizz, a long bit about Shakespeare’s spectral form appearing in modern times, and a brief aside about birds’ nests are all highlights. But it wouldn’t be a truly great episode of My Brother, My Brother And Me without some musings on a creepy subculture that occasionally rears its head on Yahoo! Answers, and this episode handily delivers, with a cringe-inducing discussion of “adult/teen babies,” which is just as bizarre as it sounds. [CG]

Nerdist #308: Chris Jericho
Where Chris Hardwick’s previous interview with wrestling professional CM Punk felt more like the two of them becoming acquainted with one another, when he sits down with WWE star Chris Jericho, the two waste little time building a rapport. Although the episode starts out a little rough, once it finds its footing, it never lets up. Jericho tells stories of being robbed while traveling in Mexico and texting former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash questions about dinosaurs, and an open and honest discussion of comedy benefits from the quick back-and-forth between the hosts and their guest. The episode barely touches on Jericho’s career in wrestling, or his turn as a musician, but there’s nothing lost, as the episode’s focus on humor is incredibly effective throughout. [DA]

Never Not Funny #1202: Gleaming The Cube With Greg Behrendt
Some episodes of Never Not Funny tend to blend together, not due to a lack of humor or quality, but due to Jimmy Pardo’s adherence to a familiar set of topics, which turns the guest into more of a bystander. Not so with Greg Behrendt, a manic force who can’t be reined in by format, a co-host, or the need to breathe. Pardo can’t help but let him dictate the conversation, so fans of Behrendt’s podcast, Walking The Room, will hear new takes on familiar topics like the difference in intelligence between his daughters, or his relationship with his merchandiser Angelo, plus stories of hanging out with Dave Grohl and why the Kings Of Leon are terribly uninteresting. Behrendt’s engagingly hyperactive persona drives the episode, but the best moments come, as on his own show, when he pauses to process a passing bit of conversation, takes an unexpected angle on it, and twists it for all its comedic worth. [SM]

Professor Blastoff #87: Sexual Attraction Pt. 2 (w/ Sascha Cohen)
The professor’s message this week may be, “We are doing the gay episode, Aaron”—a reference to its companion episode—but guest expert Sascha Cohen offers a much more nuanced look into romantic and sexual relationships outside of heterosexuality. Referencing the Kinsey Scale, Cohen describes herself as “bisexual homoromantic,” a curious orientation that fascinates the hosts and leads to some astute exploration of the historical and societal norms of human sexuality, its relation to evolution, and the hosts’ own experiential perspectives. Not all of the episode’s humor comes from fake gay panic—though Notaro’s aloofness and feint as a rigid homophobe is particularly funny—as Cohen’s near-blindness receives nearly as much attention. Plus, there’s a notable surprise toward the end of the episode that helps to explain Cohen’s frequency on the podcast, as well as her lovely rapport with Notaro. [SM]

Radiolab: Shorts: The Bitter End
This week focuses on one of the hardest questions in life: “How do you want to die?” Sean Cole, a producer on the show, is the narrator for the podcast, which reveals how differently doctors and regular people answer that question. Many of the procedures that doctors perform on their patients are ones they would opt out of, knowing how painful or futile they are. (The most shocking case is CPR, which only has a completely positive outcome 3 percent of the time.) Cole’s own father, a doctor, is against any sort of methods that will prolong his life if he’s in a coma, or suffering from some chronic, debilitating illness. Is it worth going through the terrible side effects of modern medicine for the slim chance of a longer life, and the slimmer chance that the life is actually livable? Cole has no answer, though the resounding “no” offered by medical professionals should give anyone pause next time they go into the hospital. [NC]

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Sklarbro Country #129: Playing Dirty: Sarah Silverman, Jason Nash
Sarah Silverman is an old friend of the Sklar brothers, and their conversation jumps back to the comedy scene in New York in the ’90s (which, by all accounts, was a magical time). Silverman is a game and fun guest, but the best part of this week’s episode happens before she makes an appearance, when the brothers once again ridicule the walking punchline that is Jose Canseco. The former MLB outfielder has been eyeing the mayoralty of Toronto, even though he is not a Canadian citizen and seems to have no interest in becoming one. (The city’s current mayor, Rob Ford, has been removed from office, and is a walking punchline in his own right.) Jason’s theory, that Canseco is like someone who’s always hammered but never wakes up out of the drunken stupor, is tear-inducing. The brothers cap off the bit with a hilarious reading of their favorite New Year’s resolutions Canseco made via Twitter. [NC]

Sklarbro Country: Sklarbro County #34: Beth Lapides, Chris Cox, Dan Van Kirk
Sometimes, the stories Dan Van Kirk digs up with the help of Sklarbro listeners can make an episode without even needing commentary. Such is this week’s bonus episode with UnCabaret host Beth Lapides, featuring the story of a woman’s drunken night out that ends with a striptease during a minor-league hockey game, and two Australian would-be jewel thieves who can’t tunnel into the right location—two stories with near limitless opportunity for comedic digression. Lapides’ story of meditating with Joni Mitchell is also aces. [KM]

The Smartest Man In The World #192: Fulcrums
This week starts out a little slow, but by the time Greg Proops starts covering recent news stories, Smartest Man is firing on all cylinders. The best is a story about girls drugging their parents with milkshakes so they could use the Internet. Proops’ skewering of both the tight-assed parents and the devious girls is worth sitting through a scattered first act. He also lays into the various “experts” who are quoted in the local news articles about the teens, what they were charged with, and the ridiculous drug tests for parents of teens that are easily available at California police stations. Aside from an annoying heckler, the audience participation is better than usual, with a number of one-liners that Proops takes and runs with. [NC]

Sound Opinions: Aimee Mann
Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann is an unintentional force for independent recording artists in the face of corporate rock. In her interview with Sound Opinions, she describes how she worked her way into a major label and back out when one of her albums got shelved, as well as the thematic underpinning to her newest record, Charmer. A few stripped-down live performances with that album’s producer, Paul Bryan, put the new songs in a different context, and Mann’s explanation of misconceptions over how an artist makes money from albums vs. tours makes the less-than-complete band performance even more interesting. [KM]

Stuff You Missed In History Class: 5 Historical Hoaxes
Hosts Deblina Chakraborty and Sarah Dowdey deviate from their usually accurate stories and guide listeners through some of their favorite historical hoaxes. Hindsight makes it especially entertaining to hear about those caught in the web of things like the Cottingley Fairy hoax, which ensnared Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who died believing that hand-copied illustrations were real fantastical creatures. Equally fascinating but far less adorable are the rabbits that met their fate at the hands of Mary Toft, a 16th-century London woman who convinced much of England she was birthing bunnies. Toft’s eventual confession that it was a scam to acquire a pension is as interesting as her disturbing tactics. The other stories in the episode are perhaps less dramatic but just as fascinating, making this an excellent collection of five tales that lack the historical validity that would fill out a full episode. [DT]

Stuff You Missed In History Class: The Great Stink Of 1858
In December, SYMIHC released an episode titled “Subterranean Cities,” detailing hidden cities hidden beneath all corners of the planet. Listeners then sent the show many emails suggesting cities left off the list, with one of the most popular suggestions being the hidden London. By 1810, the city had grown far too fast for its sewage system to keep up, and cesspits and waterways were completely overwhelmed by the widespread implementation of the flushing toilet. Though toilets had been around for centuries, redesigned patents and intense marketing inspired all of London to contribute something new to the Thames. The amount of the city that had to be rearranged and repurposed meant that large chunks of London are now hidden from view. The details of these lost corners and the amusing twist of having human waste involved make this a worthy and entertaining listen. [DT]

Stuff You Should Know: How Death Masks Work
The bizarre tradition of making a plaster cast of a dead person’s face has been around for millennia. Using John Dillinger as a perfect introduction, hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant launch into a quick inventory of other famous figures who have had their dead visage preserved, from Abraham Lincoln going all the way back to ancient Egypt. A wealth of historical data and the morbid spin keep Clark and Bryant more on topic than they’ve been in a while, but no humor is lost. By simply sharing masks they found, they continue to surprise each other with research. They also provide handy tips in how to make a death mask, though it’s as grisly as you might expect. [DT]

This American Life #484: Doppelgangers
The two acts in this week’s show could not be more tonally different, but each has its merit. Urban chronicler Alex Kotlowitz examines the depressing similarities between two young men who exhibit signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after coming of age in distressing circumstances, one as a soldier and one growing up in a high-crime area. But first! Are you eating calamari or pig butthole? The journalistic merit of Ben Calhoun’s story is up for debate, but the topic of eating poopy rectum was clearly a hoot for the show’s producers, and its silliness is engaging. Meanwhile, Fred Armisen is on hand to provide a running impression of Ira Glass alongside Glass. At times, this seems to slightly irritate the host, which is extra entertaining. [CZ]

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #100: The Cross-Time Adventures Of Colonel Tick-Tock: Hey Caesar!
Thrilling Adventure Hour’s “Colonel Tick-Tock” segment can be just plain puzzling, concerning as it does an effete British superhero who primarily battles threats to the fabric of time. Fortunately, the show’s writers know how to assault their odd setups with a down-to-earth silliness. This episode’s main attractions are a nebbishy Harry Houdini and Paul F. Tompkins playing Julius Caesar with a dumb Italian accent. But it turns out that’s enough to make the tricky storyline stick together. [SG]

Uhh Yeah Dude #355
Honest-to-goodness disagreements are rare on Uhh Yeah Dude, but in this episode, Jonathan Larroquette and Seth Romatelli are split over both face tattoos (a.k.a. job-killers) and the question of whether we’re headed toward idiocracy or enlightenment. Those brief moments of discord double as highlights in a conversation that starts out all bad ad-copy read-throughs and Point Break discussion but becomes more philosophical. (Read: gloomy and doom-y with a touch of paranoia.) Sure, it might not be advisable to get all of one’s pop-culture news, superficial science reporting, and relationship advice from one location, but #355 proves one could do so from UYD. [CW]

Who Charted? #111: You Wanna Ocean Tonight?: Jason Mantzoukas
Last week’s episode of Who Charted? with Adam Scott was one to top, but the sharp wit and encyclopedic pop-culture knowledge of Earwolf regular Jason Mantzoukas always makes for a great episode. This week’s episode starts off with another of Howard Kremer’s ridiculous conspiracy theories, which Mantzoukas briefly indulges. Kremer’s insane theory that Frank Ocean is turning the youth of America bisexual is quickly shot down before the crew moves on to a more pressing question: Who is more disliked by society, Mel Gibson or Chris Brown? Mantzoukas also discusses his missed opportunity at hip-hop stardom in a story about running in to El-P and the entire Def Jux crew at a movie theater. The episode takes on a post-award-show angle during the movie portion, leading to a hilarious discussion of Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck’s Golden Globes acceptance speeches. [AF]

WTF With Marc Maron #351: Seth Green
An actor since before he was 10, Seth Green has somehow found a way to stay just outside the big spotlight for 30 years. As a child actor, Scott Evil in Austin Powers, Oz on Buffy, and now the creator of Robot Chicken, he’s navigated the entertainment industry with surprising ease. His conversation with Marc Maron has some great tangents—stories about Macaulay Culkin and how to transition from child actor to adult actor are incredibly insightful—but the most fascinating moment is Green’s transition to a hyper-analytical and academic discussion of how tabloid journalism shifted and expanded post-9/11. Don’t underestimate Seth Green; the guy knows his shit. [KM]

WTF With Marc Maron #352: Elizabeth Banks
It’s not surprising that Marc Maron has an intimidated sort of crush on Elizabeth Banks: A smart, tough broad who somehow found a successful Hollywood career despite a relatively traditional, stable background, she seems like a lot of fun. However, one wonders how long it’ll take for Maron to get the gist that adults can grow up and escape the labels of adolescence. The two also discuss Banks’ conversion from Catholicism to Judaism, her selective number of sexual partners, the strangeness of being famous, and what it’s like to work with Oliver Stone, with a suddenly serious and enlightening interim to discuss the realities of having children via surrogacy. [CZ]

You Made It Weird #116: Bobcat Goldthwait
Pete Holmes’ disarming approach to You Made It Weird helps to bring out a grounded, humble side of Bobcat Goldthwait. Holmes spends a lot of time asking Goldthwait about his movies, getting him to reveal a pretty sober thought process behind potentially incendiary plots like those of God Bless America and Sleeping Dogs Lie. Most amusing is when this friendly, cuddly pair gets into a discussion of their homicidal fantasies. [SG]

You Made It Weird #117: Todd Glass
Pete Holmes is so comfortable discussing his personal life on YMIW that it’s easy to forget that there’s some darkness and ickiness underneath it all, just as there is with anyone else. He manages to put a little edge on it here, with the help of a charmingly gruff Todd Glass. Without getting anywhere close to maudlin, the two talk out their respective ways of handling anger, and Holmes confesses to having felt depressed lately. As is to be expected from a meeting of two solid comics, the episode’s slightly tougher tone only ends up making the banter funnier. [SG]

Comedy Bang! Bang! #193: What Else? What Else? Kristen Schaal, Neil Campbell, Pamela Murphy
The whole conceit to Pamela Murphy’s Nancy Cooper character is that she’s a lifeless, dead-behind-the-eyes “comedian,” but the execution doesn’t deliver any laughs, either. Murphy’s a veteran improviser (she’s appeared on several Improv4Humans episodes), but she’s the last CBB character who should co-host (which is probably why Scott Aukerman did it). Kristen Schaal is great, though, and Neil Campbell is also funny. [KR]

Doug Loves Movies: Jeff Dye, Dave Shumka, BJ Shea and Big Irish Jay Hollingsworth guest
This loose, lively episode occasionally teeters into being too loose and lively, and Doug Benson forgetting to load up new Leonard Maltin Game categories results in a truncated game. The Build-A-Title outing is pretty impressive, though. [GK]

The Mental Illness Happy Hour #96: Escort/Prostitute Lillith
A listener tells Paul Gilmartin about her experiences as a sex worker in an episode that features more gawking than conversation, which is unfortunate for a show that normally avoids the temptation to lapse into voyeurism. [TC]

Mohr Stories #124: John Heffron
Last Comic Standing winner John Heffron returns for an inside conversation about his evergreen comedy topics (without actual samples of the routines they’re discussing) followed by directionless chatter about MMA and fighting Danny Bonaduce. [DXF]

Nerdist #306: Gabe Newell: Valve—The Games
The first of a two-part interview with Gabe Newell, co-founder of the videogame company Valve, focuses heavily on his company’s work, but it offers little more than adoring praise for Newell and his company. [DA]

Nerdist #307: Gabe Newell: Valve—The Company
The second part takes a stab at Valve’s corporate infrastructure, but makes a better case for editing these two episodes together for what could have been a great overview of the company as whole, instead of two laboring chunks. [DA]

Stuff You Should Know: Does The Five-Second Rule Work?
Though the episode is rooted in a fascinating piece of bacteria research, this is mostly an episode for germaphobes. [DT]

The Todd Glass Show #85: Rory Scovel
Without the grounding presence of co-host Daniel Kinno, Todd Glass and his guest Rory Scovel let this episode quickly go off the rails. [AF]

Walking The Room #135: Lumpy And The FC
A hilarious riff on doctor visits necessary for men of a certain age prompts Greg Behrendt to correctly claim the Walking The Room hosts are “so good at this kind of comedy,” so it’s a wonder there’s not more of their standard filth-mongering in an episode bogged down by Los Angeles-based business gripes and general housekeeping duties, not to mention some distracting audio problems. [SM]