Episode 45 - Ever Mainard and Cody Melcher
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
Release Date: 12/10/2013
Episode 115 - Lisa Cohen and Cynthia Kaplan
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
The show rediscovered the mission statement inherent in its title this week, as the 2016 Presidential election came to a close with a twist ending that no one expected, not even the candidates. and join me to sort through our shock, provide irresponsible speculation as to what the heck happened, and to trash Florida, because we're still elitist. Nudist libertarians are discussed. Breaking terrible news to one's children is a topic. Plus: Snake Island!
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Episode 110 - Trace Beaulieu
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
On this Very Special Episode, I am pleased to welcome , the man who was both Dr. Forrester and Crow on the beloved television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. This poor man gets dragged into our usual nonsense about the Panama Papers, black lesbians from Skokie, and a planet that is supposed to destroy the Earth next month, but we also manage to talk about Manos: The Hands of Fate and his latest project, touring the country with Frank Conniff doing the live show The Mads Are Back. It's a very nice conversation with a lovely man.
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Episode 64 - Stephanie Hasz and Mike Lawrence
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
In the middle of a week of sub-zero temperatures, came through Chicago and sat down with to talk about Chris Christie and Bridge-gate and a man who hasn't bathed in 60 years, but then we mostly ended up talking about television shows. A story about Cormac McCarthy's ex-wife descends into a series of vagina-themed jokes. Mike and Stephanie argue about the merits of Star Trek. I trot out my Norm Abram impression from This Old House, and then we defame Full House. Also, Mike was dealing with a faulty microphone, which is why he sounds like he's reporting from inside a...
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Episode 103 - Live from Iowa 2016
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
It's Election Season, and the podcast goes on the road to report live from the Iowa Democratic Caucuses, and brought and along for sociological experimentation. Interviews with local Democratic party officials and a live segement from the caucus site in Dubuque are in the offing. Tim is baffled by The West Wing. Cody is anxious about his peer group. Also, making her debut on the podcast, my daughter, known only as The Vegetarian Teen. It doesn't get much more topical than this, kids.
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Episode 102 - Erik Niewiarowski and Kyle Scanlan
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
David Bowie is dead, and I'm not feeling too good myself. Joining me to discuss his legacy are and , who also indulge me in a discussion of the upcoming election season, an update on the militia in Oregon and the care packages they've received, and Rupert Murdoch's upcoming marriage to Jerry Hall. Robot Sperm are discussed. We take note of Ted Cruz's campaign ad done in blackface. The breakroom at ISIS is discussed.
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Episode 101 - Reena Calm and Mary Zee
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
It was the week that a bunch of ill-prepared rancher militiamen took over a federal building and Oregon, and and were both there to help me make fun of them. Obama was accused of fake crying over gun deaths, when it really should have been Rahm Emanuel. A discussion of the racist Maine governor turns into Massachusetts-splaining on the subject of Dunkin' Donuts. George Lucas is disparaged.
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Episode 87 - Sonia Denis and Xavier Lamont
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
It was the week of the protests and riots in Baltimore after the killing of yet another unarmed man by police, capping off a year of terrible misery. Joining me to explain why their black lives matter are and , who talk about their own experiences, both of casual racism and the not-so-casual kind. Both Ben Carson and Barack Obama are included in the discussion, and oddly enough, OJ Simpson. I mostly keep quiet on this episode, because sometimes it's just best to listen.
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Episode 93 - Bill Bullock and Stephanie Hasz
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
It was a week during which in the wake of yet another gun massacre, President Obama got mad instead of sad, and America spent the week shouting at one another. Also, Volkswagen is poisoning the world, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron really likes pork, and even the possiblity of water on Mars doesn't lift the cloud. Luckily I have two of my favorite and most frequent guests, and , to help me get through it. Bill reveals his fear of Stephanie. Stephanie reveals her fear of space travel. They have a conversation about assault vs betrayal during which I just...
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Episode 60 - Jamie Campbell and Sherman Edwards
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
It's the week that Nelson Mandela died and Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson got fired, so as far as racism goes it was pretty much a draw. and join me to sort through it all, plus several stories about foreign objects being inserted into people for the purposes of art. Jamie waxes nostalgic about Robert Zemeckis films. Kolchak: The Night Stalker is explained. Plus the return of Moral Dilemmas!
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Episode 59 - Adam Burke and Stephanie Hasz
This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes
In this live episode from The Hungry Brain, and help me celebrate Thanksgiving by discussing Toronto mayor Rob Ford and abstinence education in Texas. The 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination is handled in the show's usual tasteful manner. The panel reminisces about their own sexual eductation. Monkey birth control is also discussed.
info_outlineOn the week where the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down, we convene a demographically-accurate all-gay Texan panel of frequent guests Ever Mainard and Cody Melcher, who discuss Rick Perry, Playboy bunny art installations, and how it feels to win one for a change. Ever and Cody perform their "gas station voices." Racist Disney films are discussed. Cody and I debate the end of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ever reveals the true identity of her father at the end, making this the Empire Strikes Back episode.