The Lou Perez Podcast

Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and author of That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore. You may have seen him on FOX's Gutfeld! and Open to Debate (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the head writer and producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel We the Internet TV and produces Comedy Is Murder, a sketch comedy series with Free the People. Lou is a FAIR-in-the Arts fellow, on the advisory board of Heresy Press, and hosts the live debate series The Wrong Take and The Lou Perez Podcast. During my tenure at We the Internet, I made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “How I Became a ‘Far-Right Radical.” How’d I start out? I began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where I was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. For years, I performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and my comedy duo, Greg and Lou. G&L are probably best known for our sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views across online platforms. I was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with the Above Average Network; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. I hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. I’ve opened for Jimmy Dore, Rich Vos, Dave Smith, and Rob Schneider. I’m currently on tour with Scott Thompson. I taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute.

Bretigne Shaffer: The Honest COVID Story No One Will Publish 10/16/2026

Bretigne Shaffer: The Honest COVID Story No One Will Publish Bretigne Shaffer writes children's horror, superhero graphic novels, and dark comedy about COVID — and she self-publishes all of it, because no traditional publisher (or Netflix) will touch a story that's critical of the pandemic response. We talk about her Halloween story Elixir of Fear — a 19th-century patent-medicine salesman who's also a wizard, a "budgie flu," and a whole town swept up in a fear campaign — why great art about COVID hasn't arrived yet, the people now pretending lockdowns "weren't a big deal," and why she moved her family from California to Kentucky. Plus: the lost world of literary journals, short stories as Hollywood IP, B-movie horror vs. gore, The Exorcist, her upcoming short story collection Alligator and her novel Davy Sunshine and the Big Pandemic, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry — and the burning question of whether female unicorns have horns. 🔗 Bretigne Shaffer Website & Substack: Books: Annabel Pickering & the Sky Pirates · Urban Yogini: A Superhero Who Can't Use Violence Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: 0:00 – Intro: Bretigne Shaffer braves a cold 0:58 – The stomach bug that took down Lou's whole family 2:16 – Elixir of Fear: a COVID fable in children's horror 3:35 – The "budgie flu" and how fear campaigns work 4:50 – John Bellairs and scary-but-not-too-scary stories 6:04 – Why write fan fiction you can't sell? 8:12 – Procrastination and the pain of writing 10:07 – Where's the great art about COVID? 12:26 – "It wasn't a big deal": the lockdown memory hole 15:07 – When COVID skeptics couldn't say a word 17:00 – Alligator: her first short story collection 17:10 – Mailing stories to literary journals 19:31 – Tin House, Fiction, and Mark Jay Mirsky 20:37 – Short stories as Hollywood IP 22:07 – Libertarian film studios and fleeing California for Kentucky 22:54 – Halloween, B-movie monsters, and Alligator (1980) 25:09 – Real horror vs. gore: The Exorcist 26:47 – Why she self-publishes 30:07 – Annabel Pickering and Urban Yogini 31:28 – Davy Sunshine and the Big Pandemic 32:53 – Writing for kids vs. adults 34:26 – The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry 36:20 – Do female unicorns have horns? 37:14 – Molière's The Imaginary Invalid 38:46 – Where to find Bretigne #BretigneShaffer #COVID #SelfPublishing #Horror #FreeSpeech #Libertarian #LouPerezPodcast /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/43264763

David Zhang: How China Silences Critics in America 10/09/2026

David Zhang: How China Silences Critics in America David Zhang built a 1.4 million subscriber YouTube channel exposing the Chinese Communist Party — from his base in the US, where he can actually say what he thinks. Born in China, raised in Canada, now in New York, David breaks down how Beijing operates: surveillance, threats to family members back home, and a propaganda machine that's gotten scarily good at targeting Western audiences. We get into TikTok as a weapon, China's economy cratering under Xi Jinping, the comedian who got an entire stand-up competition banned for one joke about the PLA, and the doctrine of "unrestricted warfare" — Beijing's playbook for taking down the US without a single bullet. Plus: the four olds Mao tried to destroy, Chinese tourists at the Louvre, and the Asian gene that means David didn't need deodorant until he was 27. 🔗 David Zhang YouTube: Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: 0:00 – Intro: David Zhang & China Insider 1:52 – Born in China, moved to Canada at 11, then the US 4:33 – Free speech in China: three different threat levels 7:25 – How the CCP threatens creators outside China 9:31 – Stand-up comedy in China — and the joke that got it banned 13:37 – Is being gay legal in China? 15:10 – 1.4M subscribers and the bot armies in his comments 17:04 – Why David's family left China 18:35 – China's billionaires and the capitalism secret 23:21 – Shanghai's LED light shows vs. actual economic collapse 26:54 – FreedomFest Vegas and dying American small towns 30:03 – Outsourcing, COVID, and what we can't let China control 33:30 – Taiwan, TSMC, and the chip supply nightmare 34:36 – "America Against America": Wang Huning's playbook 38:37 – TikTok data harvesting and information warfare 43:06 – Has David ever been back to China? 44:11 – Chinese tourists, the Louvre, and materialism without morality 46:30 – Mao's "Four Olds" and destroying Chinese culture 50:28 – The Asian gene: David didn't need deodorant until 27 51:59 – Wrap-up #DavidZhang #ChinaInsider #CCP #TikTok #China #FreeSpeech #LouPerezPodcast /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/43194803

Aidan Grogan Went Undercover at Socialism 2026 09/25/2026

Aidan Grogan Went Undercover at Socialism 2026 Aidan Grogan is a researcher at the Manhattan Institute. He went undercover at Socialism 2026 — the annual conference sponsored by Haymarket Books, held in Chicago over Labor Day weekend — and sat in on panels that weren't being livestreamed to see what they were saying behind closed doors. In some cases, they were saying considerably more radical things than what made it onto the stream. We talked about: how he got in (registered as Aidan G. with a burner email, wore Marxist pins, didn't iron his shirt, gave up on the disguise by day four); masks required at all times, COVID still surging, it felt like 2020 all over again; the family abolition session — two Yale-affiliated researchers sitting in a circle with Crayola markers on the table, advocating to dismantle the family as an oppressive capitalist institution; Sophie Lewis, Oxford graduate, family abolitionist, currently married; the audience describing the "most culturally celebrated family" as white people, private property, and heteronormativity; the fat genocide panel and the presenter who was herself relatively fit; Sophie Lewis denying any biological basis to sex; the mismatch between revolutionary rhetoric and people with too much anxiety to fire a gun; the old macho Marxists vs. today's conference-goers; Bill Ayers and the career path of a left-wing terrorist (hint: it ends in a tenured professorship); Robert Nisbet's The Quest for Community and why radical politics is a substitute religion for the socially alienated; and the DSA platform calling for abolishing the Senate, the Electoral College, and the checks and balances of the American constitutional order. Read Aidan's coverage → City Journal: cityjournal.org Follow Aidan → Manhattan Institute: manhattan-institute.org Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Aidan Grogan, Manhattan Institute and City Journal 0:43 — What is Socialism 2026? Haymarket Books, Labor Day, Chicago 1:27 — Going undercover — livestreams vs. behind closed doors 3:51 — The viral clip: pronouns, jazz hands, anxiety about clapping 4:11 — Armed revolution calls — "I have too much anxiety to use a gun" 5:35 — How he got in: Aidan G, burner email, Marxist pins, bad clothes 7:20 — Day one vs. day four — what happens when you dress normally 8:20 — Masks required the entire time — felt like 2020 all over again 10:00 — His cover story: "I'm new to socialist ideas and just exploring" 10:54 — The family abolition session — Crayola markers, Yale researchers 12:29 — What does abolishing the family actually mean? 14:17 — The audience answers: white people, private property, heteronormative 16:41 — Sophie Lewis: family abolitionist, Oxford graduate, currently married 17:49 — Do they ever actually live by the ideas they preach? 18:49 — "It takes a village" — and why they mean the government 21:09 — The data: two married biological parents produce the best outcomes for children 23:45 — Low birth rates — opportunity cost, not money cost 26:06 — At war with biology — the left's rejection of reality 27:24 — Queer theory, family abolition, and the roots of the movement 28:27 — Sophie Lewis denies any biological or natural basis to sex 31:38 — The fat genocide panel — presenter was relatively fit 33:29 — The old macho Marxists vs. today's conference-goers 34:15 — Luigi the musical, political violence, and LARPing revolutionaries 36:48 — Champagne socialism — why these people won't actually risk anything 38:48 — Robert Nisbet and radical politics as substitute religion 39:01 — People who want communes nobody would want to be on 43:05 — Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground, and the career path of a left-wing terrorist 45:18 — Should we be worried? Lone wolves vs. organized violence 46:52 — DSA platform: abolish the Senate, Electoral College, and checks and balances 47:50 — Mayor Mamdani and the low bar for praising elected officials 49:59 — American institutions are more robust than the radicals think /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42997958

Andrew Hartz: How Activism Took Over Therapy 09/11/2026

Andrew Hartz: How Activism Took Over Therapy Andrew Hartz is a psychologist and the founder of the Open Therapy Institute — a national directory of vetted, non-activist therapists, plus a peer-reviewed journal, conference, and podcast. He wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed about political activism in mental health, got a grant to do something about it, and hasn't stopped since. We talked about: what an activist therapist actually looks like (APA's division on psychoanalysis lists 90 talks with zero mention of therapy, evidence, diagnosis, or treatment — but plenty on colonial domination, carcerality, and proximity to whiteness); how APA accredited a drag show called "Feel the F***ing Fantasy Redux" for continuing ed credits; a keynote speaker who co-translated Communism for Kids and wrote Abolish the Family; clinics diagnosing patients differently based on their race; patients being referred out for having the wrong politics; how mental health activism is backfiring on the people it claims to help (secondary gains and the evidence against rewarding symptoms); when this all started (earlier than you think — 2014, accelerating through 2019); why Lacanian nonsense writing infected academic psychology and what that sentence actually is; what CBT can and can't do; humor as a mature defense mechanism and why patients who laugh have better outcomes; why AI therapists worry Andrew more than most people realize; and Lou volunteering to coach soccer for a team of first graders despite having never played the sport. Find a vetted therapist → opentherapyinstitute.org Read the journal → Open Inquiry in Mental Health on Substack https://openinquirymentalhealth.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search 0:00 — Intro — Andrew Hartz and the Open Therapy Institute 3:23 — What is an activist therapist? The APA call for papers read aloud 6:24 — APA's division on psychoanalysis: 90 talks, 800 attendees, zero mention of therapy 8:29 — APA accredited a drag show for continuing ed credits 10:08 — Keynote speaker co-translated Communism for Kids, wrote Abolish the Family 11:53 — Lou's SJW Therapist sketch — and how close to reality it actually is 12:21 — Diagnosing people by their race — a white girl's anxiety vs. a black girl's anxiety 13:17 — The intake form that starts with pronouns — and what that signals 14:01 — Patient referred out for thinking she didn't get a fellowship due to affirmative action 14:41 — Who's paying for this? Insurance, premiums, and activist therapy 16:16 — "Evidence is Western" — activist therapists and why they reject research 17:25 — When did therapy start going this route? 2014, accelerating through 2019 19:47 — Lou's SJW Therapist video: January 2019 — right on time 20:12 — Mental illness as identity — secondary gains and how compassion backfires 21:33 — Test anxiety, extra time, and why rewarding symptoms makes them worse 23:52 — Lou used to wet himself before tests. He is not ashamed. 26:06 — The incoherence of activist academia — can anyone read this sentence? 27:23 — "Counter the extractive relations of cis heteropatriarchal racial capitalism" — a real sentence 29:54 — Lacan, oracular interpretations, and how academic nonsense writing spread 33:45 — If you have to build a birdhouse, the sentences have to make sense 36:36 — Greg Lukianoff, CBT, and what good therapy actually looks like 38:10 — Anger, dysregulation, and slowing down the loop 41:53 — What therapy cannot do: eliminate human emotion entirely 42:44 — Lou and the spiral — and why self-control matters 45:32 — Lou volunteered to coach soccer. He doesn't know how to play soccer. 49:30 — Humor as a mature defense — why patients who laugh have better outcomes 52:56 — Was it Good Will Hunting? What Robin Williams got right about therapy 54:55 — AI therapists — what they can replace and what they can't 57:17 — The danger of chatbot therapy for people who struggle with real relationships 58:03 — Open Inquiry in Mental Health journal and how to find a vetted therapist Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: #MentalHealth #Therapy #ActivistTherapy #OpenTherapyInstitute #AndrewHartz #CBT #Psychology #LouPerezPodcast #LionsOfLiberty #AITherapy /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42652045

Barry Maher: A Brain Tumor Gave Me a Novel 09/04/2026

Barry Maher: A Brain Tumor Gave Me a Novel Barry Maher spent 20 years as a corporate speaker and wrote six nonfiction books. Then he discovered he had a brain tumor the size of a baseball. He woke up from surgery with Lady Gaga playing on loop in his head and a complete, fully formed novel already there — vivid as a memory, not a dream. Two years later, that novel became The Great Dick and the Dysfunctional Demon, published at age 76. He's also in remission and can tell time again. We talked about: the moment on an Asian cruise when he couldn't read a clock and didn't know why; why his wife figured out something was wrong before he did (he was putting his clothes on backwards); introducing a ship's captain on stage and then asking him what he did for a living 15 minutes later; the doctor's clock-drawing test and the nurse who wouldn't let him go to the bathroom alone; why a brain cancer diagnosis is like an impending hanging — it concentrates the mind; the novel that emerged from surgery (complete with open crypts, dark spells, sudden death, and the Ralph Lauren version of the Manson family); why The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick are the same story; and the Lady Gaga song that played on loop in his head for three straight days (it's "Always Remember Us This Way" from A Star Is Born — he was not a fan before, and he is definitely not one now). Get the book → The Great Dick and the Dysfunctional Demon by Barry Maher https://amzn.to/4xqVD4y Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Barry Maher? 0:24 — Six nonfiction books, 20 years of corporate speaking — and now a novel 1:18 — The speaking business: cold calling, articles, PR, and repeat clients 2:37 — Lou bombing at a Christmas party and waiting to get paid after 4:21 — The speaking escape hatch: "and the point of that was..." 5:41 — His first presentation: an hour of solid content, to a funeral home audience 6:50 — The cruise where he couldn't read a clock — and didn't know why 7:55 — His wife noticed something was wrong on the second cruise 9:15 — He introduced the captain — then 15 minutes later asked what he did for a living 10:06 — What it's like when your mind is the thing that's broken 10:46 — The doctor's clock test — and the nurse who wouldn't let him go to the bathroom alone 11:29 — He wrote himself off. He didn't let her accompany him to the bathroom. There are limits. 11:53 — Waking up from surgery with Lady Gaga on loop and a complete novel in his head 12:27 — The TikTok husband who can't draw clocks — and why that's not funny 14:01 — The seizure during surgery — and why the story felt like a memory, not a dream 15:01 — A brain cancer diagnosis is like an impending hanging — it concentrates the mind 15:38 — He was in his early 70s. He decided to finally write the novel he'd always wanted. 16:47 — Writing it took two years — and the memory never faded 18:26 — Lou hates writing. Barry loves it now. The brain tumor may be responsible. 20:21 — The title: The Great Dick — as in Great Gatsby meets Moby Dick 21:59 — Lou read Moby Dick aloud at his wife's hospital bed. She put pages in the wedding bouquet. 23:35 — The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick are the same story — he makes the case 24:03 — What the book is actually about 25:22 — Always Remember Us This Way — the Lady Gaga song that played for three days straight 27:15 — Did the tumor affect the part of the brain responsible for creativity? 28:16 — His wife likes the book — even with the original subtitle 29:43 — The antihero Steve Huskey — and why women are rooting for him anyway 30:09 — Health update: cancer in remission, can tell time like a champ 30:36 — Outro /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42650465

Don Frye & Dan Severn: The Wild Early Days of the UFC 08/21/2026

Don Frye & Dan Severn: The Wild Early Days of the UFC Recorded live at FreedomFest 2026 in Las Vegas. Lou Perez sits down with two UFC Hall of Famers — Don Frye (The Predator) and Dan Severn (The Beast) — alongside host Eric Carroll of Dad Talk Today, to talk about the early days of MMA, the wild west of the original UFC, and what it took to compete when nobody knew the rules. Topics include: how Don and Dan each got into the Octagon in the mid-90s (Don needed an outlet during a rough divorce; Dan saw an opportunity when wrestling had nowhere left to go); what it was like to fight in a tournament format — three fights in one night, no idea who your next opponent was, and the whole event might be illegal; Dan starting his UFC career at 37 using Just For Men Number 45 to look more intimidating; the legendary Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama brawl at Pride FC and how it almost didn't happen; Pride FC's testing policy (there wasn't one); Dan Severn at 68 still going to the gym every day with both ACLs gone; how neither of them had ever heard of Brazilian jiu jitsu when they stepped into the Octagon; Don fighting a 600-pound grand sumo champion; and Don Frye's extremely candid prediction on the McGregor vs. Holloway rematch. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Lou Perez with Don Frye and Dan Severn at FreedomFest 2026 0:27 — 33 years of the UFC — how Don and Dan first got into the Octagon 1:00 — Don Frye: going through a divorce, needed an outlet, got in the cage 1:56 — Dan Severn: wrestling had no professional outlet — MMA filled the gap 3:22 — Dan started fighting at 37 — and used Just For Men to look more intimidating 4:36 — Early UFC: no weight classes, no idea who you'd fight, three fights in one night 5:47 — The UFC was illegal — Indian reservations, no guaranteed payouts 6:10 — Dan Severn: 120+ fights, no training camps, never told anyone about his injuries 7:39 — Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama — the legendary Pride FC brawl explained 9:32 — Pride FC didn't test for anything 10:18 — Dan Severn at 68 still goes to the gym every day 11:44 — The evolution of MMA — no Google, no footage of opponents, style vs. style 12:46 — Dan Severn had never heard of Brazilian jiu jitsu when he entered the Octagon 14:42 — From the cage to entertainment — pro wrestling, movies, and the cowboy look 15:30 — Q&A: Have the Beast and the Predator ever fought each other? 17:15 — McGregor vs. Holloway prediction — Don Frye's honest take 18:17 — No weight classes in early UFC — imagine fighting a 600-pound sumo champion 18:36 — Don Frye fought Akebono — 6'11", nearly 600 pounds, grand sumo champion 20:06 — Obesity in America — Dan Severn on the food pyramid and standards 21:23 — Dan Severn shows off an original UFC belt 22:09 — How sports can push back on division — capitalism and the dollar 23:30 — One moment you'd want to relive — both legends answer 24:46 — Outro Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42384515

What Killed Late Night Comedy? (FreedomFest Panel) 08/14/2026

What Killed Late Night Comedy? (FreedomFest Panel) Recorded live at FreedomFest 2026 in Las Vegas. Lou Perez moderates a panel on politics, comedy, and the death of late night TV. Panelists: comedian Boris Khaykin, comedian and podcaster Andrew Heaton, Georgetown law professor and author Randy Barnett, Consumer Choice Center head of media Stephen Kent, and comedian Peter Stewart. Topics include: why Colbert was losing $20 million a year and what that tells you about the economics of late night; the no-monoculture problem — Joe Rogan now outperforms Fox News; how going political gave Colbert a short-term ratings boost and gutted the comedy long-term; the Daily Show's original rule (cut anything designed to get applause, not laughs) and how every show that copied it forgot the rule; the math of splitting one sixth of a dying market; whether Trump actually pressured CBS to cancel Colbert (the FCC and Kimmel story is more interesting); Kill Tony, YouTube, and the new formats replacing late night; the democratization of comedy and what AI tools mean for talent in Nebraska; why writing 252 episodes a year is an impossible creative ask; what it's like to be on Gutfeld! and whether he's actually the new Johnny Carson; and what's still off-limits in comedy. Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Lou Perez moderates the panel at FreedomFest 2026 1:39 — Is late night actually dead? The panel's opening takes 2:35 — We live in the clips economy — nobody watches late night live 3:33 — When did you last watch late night live? The panel answers 5:12 — Colbert lost $20 million a year — the economics of late night explained 5:50 — No more monoculture — Joe Rogan outperforms Fox News 6:43 — Why going political gave Colbert a short-term boost and a long-term problem 8:15 — Short term gains for long term pains 9:33 — The Colbert Report was brilliant. The Late Show was a dad reading the NYT with a band. 10:35 — The Daily Show's original rule: cut anything designed to get applause, not laughs 11:25 — The math: Kimmel, Fallon, and Colbert splitting one sixth of a dying market 12:18 — The Weather Channel sitcom and the pre-cable era of tepid centrist content 13:39 — Did Trump pressure CBS to cancel Colbert? What actually happened. 14:05 — The FCC, Brandon Carr, and Kimmel — government jawboning explained 14:46 — Kill Tony, YouTube, and the new model replacing late night 15:23 — SNL, Alec Baldwin as Trump, and the Instagram kid doing it better 16:37 — Ben Burke live in Naples, Florida — the demographics that surprised everyone 17:39 — Johnny Carson was unifying — a conservative Republican family from the Midwest loved him 18:10 — Kill Tony as an evolution of late night 19:34 — YouTube as a gateway to live comedy 20:18 — Is the FCC still necessary? The property rights argument for radio airwaves 22:23 — Howard Stern and transgression — you need a line to cross it 23:29 — Richard Pryor's masturbation jokes and why taboo topics lose their edge 25:12 — What podcasting did to late night — Conan's pivot 26:47 — Reality TV is cheap. Writing jokes is hard. 27:09 — The democratization of comedy — from 3 channels to 31 flavors 28:16 — Randy Barnett got in trouble on X — Georgetown security called 29:11 — The future: AI tools, zero barriers, a flood of new talent 30:41 — Human connection — why people still show up live 33:39 — Joe Rogan is now an institution — new late nights are forming 36:22 — Lou on Gutfeld! — what it's like to be on the number one late night show 37:57 — Gutfeld vs. Carson — is he actually winning or just winning on the right? 39:30 — The volume problem — 252 shows a year is impossible to do well 41:42 — Kimmel's Charlie Kirk joke, the FCC, and when both sides can be wrong 42:28 — Q&A — what's currently off-limits in comedy? /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42382890

Jon Miltimore: Wildfires, Bob Dylan, and the Making of Rocky 08/07/2026

Jon Miltimore: Wildfires, Bob Dylan, and the Making of Rocky Jon Miltimore is back — writer, commentator, and one of the sharpest guys covering arts, culture, and politics on Substack. This is his second time on the show and we did not run out of things to talk about. Topics include: why California can't fight wildfires and why Native Americans had better land management practices; the World Cup finally breaking through in the US; what to actually expect at a Bob Dylan concert when you're a Dylan fan (Jon didn't get what he wanted; he has no regrets); Ben Askren's double lung transplant and why elite athletes bounce back from things that would end most people; the new Stallone biopic about how Rocky got made — specifically the part where a broke, dog-selling, parking-car Stallone turned down $1 million because he refused to not play the role himself; the Rocky franchise and what it means that it somehow worked as it became more absurd; working out at 44 and 47 and why exercise is mental health; the case for travel sports (and why Matthew Yglesias is wrong); and why you should never outsource teaching your kid to ride a bike. Follow Jon on Substack → https://substack.com/@miltimore Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Jon Miltimore, writer and commentator 0:31 — Canada's wildfires — black skies over New York and Minnesota 2:37 — Why California can't fight fires — federal land, bad policy, and arson 4:38 — Native Americans had better land management — and we stopped listening 5:21 — Private land vs. federal land — the tragedy of the commons 5:38 — Happy Hour Econ — a comedian and an economist walk into a bar 8:50 — The World Cup in America — how soccer finally broke through 10:26 — Bob Dylan at a Bob Dylan concert — what you should actually expect 13:38 — Lou cries at a Bob Dylan concert. He's not embarrassed. 17:21 — Ben Askren's double lung transplant — and why athletes bounce back when others don't 20:44 — Askren retires on his shield — and makes peace with his rival 23:26 — The new Rocky biopic — Stallone turned down $1 million to play the role himself 27:53 — Lou used to go by Rambo as a kid. Old ladies still ask about him. 28:29 — Jon's 13-year-old son shadowboxed like Clubber Lang at age two 29:11 — The Rocky franchise — from gritty 70s realism to superhero movie 32:50 — Working out at 44 and 47 — rowing machines, air bikes, and getting back at it 36:30 — Russell Crowe's comeback — individual agency and why exercise is mental health 41:14 — Travel sports — expensive, worth it, and Matthew Yglesias is wrong 45:34 — Teaching your kids to ride a bike — don't outsource the best moments 51:07 — Auto-deleting tweets and cancel culture — how we need to treat speech differently 52:10 — Outro — find Jon on Substack /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42287865

Liza Libes: How Marxist Theory Took Over Literature 07/31/2026

Liza Libes: How Marxist Theory Took Over Literature Liza Libes is a writer and literary critic at Pens and Poison. Her parents escaped the Soviet Union. She went to Columbia. She found that Columbia's English Department had replaced literature with Marxist theory, postcolonial studies, and critical theory. She's been pushing back ever since. We talked about: the teachers who made us both writers; reading Wallace Stevens's The Snowman — out loud, in full — and the seventh grade class that made Liza stand in the snow for an hour to understand it; Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and the fascism problem; what happened to Columbia's English Department and why it matters for publishing; why Marxism is fundamentally an ideology of resentment (Bertrand Russell said it 100 years ago); the novel Yesteryear and what it reveals about contemporary literary self-righteousness; why writing characters who disagree with you is the whole point; the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey and what "a complicated man" does to Odysseus's character; and Christopher Nolan's Odyssey film — specifically the Cyclops scene he cut, why it was the scene that defined Odysseus, and why its absence drains the heroism from the entire story. Follow Liza at Pens and Poison on Instagram → @pensandpoison Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Liza Libes and what is Pens and Poison? 1:20 — Looking back on your 18-year-old writer self 2:51 — The teachers who made us writers — Brother Patterson and Poetry Friday 5:34 — Standing in the snow to understand Wallace Stevens — The Snowman read aloud 10:31 — The Lost Generation: Hemingway, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot — and the fascism problem 13:03 — Shakespeare and Co., Paris, and missing Notre Dame before the fire 14:57 — Columbia's English Department: literary theory replaced literature 16:58 — Marxist literary theory, critical theory, and postcolonial studies explained 18:28 — Her parents escaped the Soviet Union — why she takes Marxism personally 19:28 — What literature used to be — humanistic inquiry vs. class consciousness 21:41 — Academia made literature esoteric — and publishing followed 23:01 — The DSA voter: overeducated, underpaid, and resentful 24:44 — Yesteryear — the trad wife novel, Anne Hathaway, and literary self-righteousness 26:03 — When the author's voice drowns out the character's voice 27:14 — Dostoevsky, Lionel Shriver, and characters the author disagrees with 30:23 — Writing outside your experience — her trans character, Lou's gay character 33:22 — Lou's story published alongside Joyce Carol Oates and Junot Diaz 35:20 — Her new novel — exploring faith and Jewish theology 37:32 — Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Waiting for Godot 39:03 — The Emily Wilson Odyssey translation — "a complicated man" vs. "cunning" 41:10 — What makes Odysseus great — the Cyclops, the cunning, the hubris 43:25 — Nolan's film: the Cyclops scene is gone — and why that ruins everything 45:42 — Greek hubris — Icarus, Arachne, and why pride destroys heroes 47:24 — The sirens scene: what it should have felt like vs. what Nolan did 48:30 — The overall verdict on Nolan's Odyssey — heroism is missing 49:46 — Outro — find Liza at Pens and Poison /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42214350

Michael Angelo Zervos: Every Country on Earth in 499 Days 07/24/2026

Michael Angelo Zervos: Every Country on Earth in 499 Days Michael Angelo Zervos is a Guinness World Record holder — he visited all 195 UN-recognized countries in 499 days. Along the way he interviewed people in every country about the happiest moment of their life. That project became a book, published by Penguin Random House, out February 23rd. We talked about: how the record works and what actually counts as "visiting" a country; a year and a half of planning vs. the Brazilian who claimed he did it by accident; getting jailed overnight in Liberia for taking a photo of a building; being deported from Nicaragua because they thought he was a journalist; how he got into North Korea during a two-week window that's since closed permanently; what North Korea is actually like (his answer: Plato's allegory of the cave, in real life); Cuba on the ground vs. what the left says about it; traveling through Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan; asking people about happiness in active conflict zones; and what his grandfather being forced to fight for communist guerrillas in the Greek Civil War has to do with any of it. Get the book → The Happiest Moment of Your Life: True Stories from a Journey to Every Country in the World https://amzn.to/4pHdYav Follow Michael on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/theprojectkosmos/ 0:00 — Intro — who is Michael Angelo Zervos? 0:34 — Greeks in America — diners, Coney Islands, and the varsity jacket problem 5:05 — Christopher Nolan's Odyssey — not a single Greek in the cast 6:25 — 195 countries in 499 days — how the Guinness World Record works 8:04 — A year and a half of planning — and the Brazilian who claimed he did it by accident 9:33 — What counts as "visiting" a country? The Guinness rules 11:08 — Project Cosmos — interviewing people about the happiest moment of their life 13:13 — Brand deals, sponsorships, and the reality of Guinness World Record celebrity 14:35 — Traveling as a man vs. a woman — the real differences 16:37 — Married with two kids — how he pulled this off 20:24 — The happiest moment of the trip — waking up in Ghana 21:33 — The Swiss man who came out as bisexual at a phone-free party in Zurich 23:45 — The worst moments: jailed in Liberia for photographing a building 26:57 — Deported from Nicaragua — they thought he was a journalist 27:41 — Left-wing dictatorships and the memory hole 29:50 — North Korea — getting in through a two-week window that's now closed 32:14 — North Korea as Plato's cave — the allegory of the cave in real life 33:44 — His grandfather forced to fight for communist guerrillas in the Greek Civil War 35:29 — Dennis Rodman's translator was a libertarian 36:44 — Cuba — what it's actually like on the ground 38:40 — Poverty porn, romanticizing socialism, and what Cubans actually think 43:42 — The Facebook argument: "Oh no, Starbucks is going to ruin Cuba" 45:38 — What's actually lost when wealth is generated — community and dependency 47:27 — Traveling through conflict zones: Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, Sudan 49:37 — Asking people about happiness in a war zone 50:27 — The book: published by Penguin Random House, out February 23rd 52:23 — Chicken soup for the soul meets Anthony Bourdain — what the book actually is 54:14 — Outro — follow Michael and get the book Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/42172210

Germania Rodriguez Poleo: My Family Fled Venezuela 07/10/2026

Germania Rodriguez Poleo: My Family Fled Venezuela Germania Rodriguez Poleo — journalist, writer, and Venezuelan exile — escaped her country at age 11 after the Chavez regime accused her mother of terrorism, tortured their bodyguard to death, shot at their car, and raided their home. She arrived in Miami as a refugee. Then she went to NYU and voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Her Reason magazine article "My Family Fled Socialism. Then I Voted for Bernie Sanders." tells the story of how that happened — and how she found her way back out. She's also the narrator of the documentary Escaping Venezuela. We covered: her mother's escape on a boat to Curacao and what Interpol red notices actually do to dissidents; the Pinochet whataboutism that follows every conversation about left-wing atrocities; what NYU taught (and didn't teach) about communism, socialism, and US foreign policy; why the pipeline from wealth and privilege to socialism is real and why it matters who makes the culture; the DSA's old platform calling for nationalization of media — and what that looks like in practice in Venezuela; the 32 Cuban soldiers killed protecting Maduro when the US captured him; the 2024 Venezuelan election that was stolen in plain sight; the recent earthquake with 40,000 missing while the dictatorship reports 3,000 dead; why she believes the US should be the policeman of the world; and the tragedy of exile — what it means to have your entire family legacy erased. Follow Germania on social media → @iamGermania Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Germania Rodriguez Poleo? 0:31 — The Reason article: "My Family Fled Socialism. Then I Voted for Bernie Sanders" 1:43 — Her mom: the #1 journalist exposing Chavez — accused of terrorism 3:30 — House raids, shot at their car, bodyguard tortured to death 4:59 — How democracy is lost — and why people allow it 6:07 — Her mom escapes on a boat to Curacao, then flies to Miami 7:07 — Born in Miami — how that gave her some protection 7:26 — Interpol red notices — how dictators use them against dissidents 8:47 — Her grandfather arrested in Rome on Interpol orders 9:13 — The UN Security Council problem 10:06 — The Pinochet whataboutism — and why the left always pivots there 12:05 — NYU, Karl Marx, and an incomplete education 13:26 — No readings on the Soviet Union, Mao, or Cuba — only US horrors 15:03 — The 2002 Venezuela coup — US engineered or not? Her mom was in the room. 16:41 — "Whatever the US does is bad, everyone opposed to it is good" 17:21 — NYU's Karl Marx birthday dance party 18:39 — Why aren't we winning the argument against communism? 19:04 — The pipeline from privilege to socialism — and who makes the culture 20:08 — The documentary Escaping Venezuela — and why it matters 21:06 — DSA, Bernie Sanders, and the Norway vs. Cuba confusion 22:08 — Che Guevara shirts — racism, homophobia, concentration camps 24:08 — DSA's platform: nationalizing media — the Venezuela playbook 26:21 — How authoritarianism starts: shutting down speech in the name of morality 29:04 — Race, identity, and the boxes put on Latinos at NYU 31:06 — NYC Mayor Mamdani — victimhood politics and who's actually brown 32:22 — If the US is so racist, why do people lie about being minorities? 33:56 — Paid propagandists for left-wing dictatorships 36:13 — The US captures Maduro — and the 32 Cuban soldiers protecting him 37:39 — Should the US be the policeman of the world? Her answer: yes. 39:23 — Venezuela is not Libya — why intervention wouldn't cause a civil war 40:09 — The 2024 election Maduro stole 41:14 — The recent earthquake — 40,000 missing, dictatorship says 3,000 42:30 — That's socialism in practice — from richest country to this 42:54 — Cuba: communists vs. thugs — and the cancer it spread 46:04 — "I want to go to Cuba before Starbucks gets there" 48:23 — Her mom: still fighting, now critical of Trump, 200K YouTube views 50:16 — Does she want to go back? The tragedy of exile. 52:20 — Exile is different from immigration — what was taken from her family 54:39 — Trying to revive her grandfather's newspaper 56:05 — Outro /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41982785

Meghan Murphy: Banned from Twitter for "Men Aren't Women" 06/26/2026

Meghan Murphy: Banned from Twitter for "Men Aren't Women" Meghan Murphy is a writer, podcaster, and one of the original people to get canceled on Twitter — permanently banned in 2018 for tweeting "men aren't women, though" and referring to a man who wanted to get his testicles waxed as "him." She's been writing and podcasting independently ever since, and she now lives in Mexico. We talked about: the tweet that got her banned and the Yaniv waxing lawsuits that triggered it; Canada's Bill C16 and what it actually means to have gender identity law on the books; losing venues, hiring private security, and getting stalked around her Vancouver neighborhood; how Joe Rogan and Elon Musk both played a role in keeping her career alive; why she left Canada in January 2021; the cartel "protest" that burned some cars, got wildly exaggerated online, and tanked the tourist season in her Mexican town; the fear of fun — Andrew Huberman, Bryan Johnson, Gen Z, and the obsession with optimizing yourself out of actually living; why she's happier single; why "nobody wants you after 35" is not true; and why guys who call attractive women "mid" are almost certainly not having sex with real women. Follow Meghan on X → @MeghanEMurphy Meghan on Substack → substack.com/@meghanmurphy Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Meghan Murphy? 0:45 — The tweet that got her banned: "Men aren't women, though" 1:36 — Jessica Yaniv and the waxing lawsuits — the rabbit hole 3:20 — Trans widows, skin suits, and Lou's Black Mirror idea 5:15 — Canada's Bill C16 — gender identity legislation and its consequences 6:07 — Getting banned at 11pm on a Friday — and crying at the bar 7:22 — Losing venues, getting no-platformed, and hiring private security for talks 7:46 — Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, and getting back on X 9:10 — How a ban silences other people — the chilling effect 9:54 — Her entire left-wing social circle turned on her 10:43 — Canada's speech laws — brushing up against criminal charges 12:05 — Leaving Vancouver in January 2021 — Covid authoritarianism and fear 13:27 — Stalked in her neighborhood, verbally attacked in public, constant threats 15:03 — Canada vs. America — why things changed here but not there 15:37 — Trump, Canada as the 51st state, and touring with Scott Thompson 18:18 — Life in Mexico — why she stayed and never went back 20:29 — Gentrification, gringos, and the cartel "protest" that tanked the tourist season 26:59 — The fear of fun — Andrew Huberman, Gen Z, and the obsession with optimization 30:55 — Bryan Johnson measuring his son's nighttime erections 33:40 — Living forever for what? If you're not having fun, what's the point? 35:46 — Lou weighs his food — and his brother smokes and has the same cholesterol 37:53 — Being single vs. married — and why Meghan is happier alone 40:12 — "Nobody wants you after 35" — why that's not true 44:10 — Porn, Instagram filters, and why guys don't understand real attraction 48:04 — Lou meets his wife — the audible "wow" at the bar 50:23 — Bitterness is unattractive — and everyone in Mexico is still having sex 50:44 — Outro — follow Meghan on X and Substack /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41734840

Aaron Brown: How to Find the Truth in Bad Numbers 06/05/2026

Aaron Brown: How to Find the Truth in Bad Numbers Aaron Brown is a quantitative analyst, risk manager, and author of the new book Wrong Number: How to Extract Truth from a Blizzard of Quantitative Disinformation. https://amzn.to/4frmg3n He's also about to debate gun control at the Soho Forum in August — and his preparation for that debate is a pretty good preview of what's in the book. Topics include: why out of 28,000 gun control studies, the RAND Corporation found only 20 that weren't statistically crippled; the smoking analogy and what it tells us about legislation that runs ahead of evidence; why gun laws burden legitimate owners and not criminals; why we have a crime problem, not a gun problem; The Lancet paper that claimed US aid saved 92 million lives; how to spot three red flags that tell you a statistic is BS; and Wonder Bread's motto "Helps build strong bodies 12 ways" — which nobody ever actually wrote down. Get the book → Wrong Number: How to Extract Truth from a Blizzard of Quantitative Disinformation https://amzn.to/4frmg3n Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — Aaron Brown and Wrong Number 0:34 — The Soho Forum gun control debate — and who he's up against 3:45 — The proposition: abolish all restrictions on adult firearm ownership 4:48 — Lou on navigating gun laws across state lines (NJ → PA → NY) 7:25 — The wide cultural divide: Scranton airport vs. any other airport with guns 9:04 — RAND Corporation: of 28,000 gun control studies, only 20 weren't crippled by errors 10:04 — The smoking analogy — legislation running ahead of the evidence 12:15 — Gun control laws only burden legitimate owners — not criminals 12:43 — The Glock switch ban and the AR-15 — targeting the popular, not the dangerous 15:18 — "Trump is a fascist" — and you want him to take the guns? 15:42 — Stop calling it a gun problem. It's a crime problem. 17:47 — We can identify the 1% of kids likely to commit 20–30% of violent crime 19:31 — Genetic markers for violence — and why that's controversial 20:48 — The Nordic prison model — does it work, and could it work here? 22:09 — Immigration data: why lumping everyone together gets you bad answers 25:20 — Lou's joke about open borders (for immigrants like his dad, not his cousins) 25:39 — Aaron's Jewish smuggler ancestors — blocked from junk dealing by licensing laws 27:04 — Did US aid really save 92 million lives? The Lancet paper that can't add up 29:13 — They saved 114% of the people — including 46M in China, which gets no aid 31:22 — Most published research findings are false — and we've known since 2005 32:42 — DOGE cuts and the "millions are dead" narrative 36:15 — Three red flags that tell you a statistic is BS 39:18 — Wonder Bread's "12 ways" — nobody ever wrote them down 40:18 — Outro — Wrong Number and the Soho Forum debate /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41510190

Rambo Van Halen: Why a Hollywood Producer Walked Away 05/29/2026

Rambo Van Halen: Why a Hollywood Producer Walked Away Rambo Van Halen is a pseudonym. He's a Hollywood producer — the real kind, the below-the-line kind, the guy making sure the steel gets to the factory — who worked in the industry for decades, walked away in 2019, and wrote a book about it. The book is called Hollywood Samizdat: Notes from Below the Line. It's published by Passage Press. Lou read it. He dog-eared it. They talked for an hour. Topics include: what a producer actually does (mostly administration, definitely not what people think); what happens to actors when nobody says no to them for 20 years; the feminization of Hollywood and why straight guys stopped being able to do their jobs; military veterans vs. film school graduates on set (no contest); Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, and the Amazon river; the unwritten casting rule about who can and can't be the butt of the joke; MeToo — the careers it should have ended, the ones it shouldn't have, and the Joe Gatt story that will make your jaw drop; and why Rambo Van Halen is not his real name and probably never will be. Get the book → https://passage.press/products/hollywood-samizdat?srsltid=AfmBOorHefB5b7WS0T_hiObEIcPzGEWLHKXoL-4gInHttqmha-D5SLui Rambo on Substack → https://substack.com/@rambovanhalen Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Rambo Van Halen? 1:40 — What a producer actually does (it's mostly administration) 3:50 — Building a bubble around the creatives — and what it does to them 6:20 — Film is a business, not a public service — and film school gets this wrong 7:25 — Jim Carrey, Michael Jackson, and what happens when nobody says no 10:55 — Plastic surgery, masculinity, and actors who should leave their faces alone 12:46 — Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, and the men who used to be on screen 16:25 — How Hollywood got feminized — and why straight guys couldn't do their jobs anymore 19:06 — Military guys on film sets — why they beat film school graduates every time 21:32 — Fitzcarraldo, Werner Herzog, and Klaus Kinski's on-set meltdown 25:04 — Why he made his lateral move out of LA in 2019 27:30 — White male shit libs coming at him on Facebook 30:56 — Comedy as a masculine art form — why wokeness couldn't kill it 35:00 — George Floyd, Memorial Day, and saying what you actually think 37:25 — The unwritten rule: the black guy can't be the butt of the joke 43:28 — Roy Price, MeToo, and the careers that got destroyed 45:01 — John Lasseter, Aziz Ansari, and Joe Gatt — three very different MeToo stories 50:37 — The sushi bar incident — actress hits on producer, ignores her date 54:24 — Bikini casting, auditions, and what actresses will do for a role 58:12 — Who is Rambo Van Halen — and why the pseudonym? 1:01:16 — Why he wrote Hollywood Samizdat as a journaling exercise 1:03:08 — On publicist spam, bad podcast guests, and only booking people worth talking to 1:04:01 — Outro — where to find Rambo Van Halen /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41445565

Kira Shishkin: The News in One Text a Day 05/15/2026

Kira Shishkin: The News in One Text a Day Kira Shishkin is the CEO and founder of — a news-by-SMS service that sends you one text per day covering what actually changed the world in the last 24 hours. No ads. No bias. No storytelling. Just primary sources, direct quotes, and a link so you can read the original sources yourself. Kira grew up in Ukraine, came of age in Israel, and built this company after watching both countries get torn apart by information warfare. He knows what happens when people can't trust what they're reading — and he built something to fix it. We got into: why American news is designed to exhaust and trigger you; how Informed.now sources directly from government agencies; why they link to the actual PDF instead of a story about the PDF; what today's top stories were (OPEC output increases, China blocking US sanctions on Iran oil traders, Vietnam getting flagged for IP theft); how real humans — not bots — answer your follow-up texts; and why the only way to keep news unbiased is to make the reader the client, not the advertiser. Try it → Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro — who is Kira Shishkin and what is Informed.now? 1:45 — Why reading the news in America has become exhausting 3:10 — How it works: one SMS per day, primary sources only 5:20 — Why they link directly to the source — and why no one else does 7:30 — The UN, the White House, and healthy skepticism of primary sources 10:15 — Facts vs. storytelling — why Informed.now doesn't tell you what to think 13:40 — How they decide what makes the cut: the significance filter 16:55 — Today's top stories live: OPEC output, China-Iran oil, Vietnam IP 20:10 — The two-way SMS — real humans, not chatbots 24:30 — Lou suggests FOIA requests — Kira puts it on the roadmap 27:15 — What to do when there are no primary sources (war reporting) 30:40 — Growing up in Ukraine and Israel — information warfare up close 34:20 — AI-generated war images, radicalization, and the social media echo chamber 37:50 — Kira's background: think tanks, TurboTax, private equity, crypto 41:10 — The business model: reader-funded, no ads, no investors, profitable 44:00 — Outro and where to find Informed.now /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41207185

Salih Hudayar: The Fight for East Turkistan 05/08/2026

Salih Hudayar: The Fight for East Turkistan Salih Hudayar is the Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile. He was born in East Turkistan, fled to the United States as a political refugee at age 7, and has spent his life working to bring international attention to what the US government and over a dozen Western parliaments have formally recognized as a genocide. We covered: how China invaded and occupied East Turkistan in 1949 with Stalin's help; the 1996 secret document that became the blueprint for genocidal policy; how China created a fake jihadist organization to justify its crackdown; how China and Turkey funneled 20,000 Uyghurs into Syria to manufacture a "terrorism" narrative; Xi Jinping's "show no mercy" speech and the bombing that followed two hours after his plane left; the 2.2 million Chinese officials sent to live inside Uyghur homes; the forced removal of over a million children into military boarding schools; 16,000 mosques destroyed; Muslim names, Ramadan fasting, and the Arabic greeting "Assalamu Alaikum" all banned; and the ongoing organ harvesting program in which an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 young Uyghurs are killed annually for their organs. The genocide is now in its 13th year. Millions remain in concentration camps. This is happening now. Learn more and get involved: 📲 Follow on social media → https://x.com/ETExileGov 📖 Recommended reading: "The Xinjiang Procedure" by Ethan Gutmann (organ harvesting research) 0:00 — Intro — who is Salih Hudayar? 0:25 — What is East Turkistan — and why China calls it "Xinjiang" 1:59 — Mao, Stalin, and the 1949 invasion 2:25 — Born in East Turkistan, fled to the US at age 7 4:37 — His father's mission: never forget where you came from 6:18 — Chinese raids on his family home 7:22 — ROTC, Oklahoma Army National Guard, and a kidney disease that ended his military career 8:13 — The Turkic world: Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks 9:46 — China's 1996 Document No. 7 — the secret blueprint for genocide 11:51 — The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and crushing the independence movement 14:03 — How China created a fake jihadist group to justify the crackdown 17:31 — Were there actual terrorist attacks in East Turkistan? 18:31 — The Tiananmen Square car attack — false flag? 22:04 — How China and Turkey funneled 20,000 Uyghurs into Syria 24:23 — Grooming, brainwashing, and Chinese intelligence operations 32:23 — Xi Jinping's "show no mercy" speech 35:07 — The anti-extremism law: beards, Ramadan, and thought control 37:10 — Phase two: arresting everyone 38:12 — 2.2 million Chinese officials sent into Uyghur homes 41:02 — Children forcibly removed to state "orphanages" 43:19 — Why Muslim countries stay silent — Belt and Road leverage 44:45 — 16,000 mosques destroyed. Muslim names banned. 48:38 — Returning to East Turkistan in 2012 and 2014 53:11 — The Kant massacre: 3,000–4,000 killed 55:26 — His grandfather refused to leave 55:55 — The asylum process 59:05 — Organ harvesting: 25,000–50,000 killed annually 59:28 — How to support East Turkistan Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: TIMESTAMPS: #UyghurGenocide #EastTurkistan #China #Xinjiang #SalihHudayar #CCP #HumanRights #LouPerezPodcast #Uyghur #GenocideAwareness /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41077255

Victor Varnado: Comedy, Gaming, and King Super Nuts 05/01/2026

Victor Varnado: Comedy, Gaming, and King Super Nuts I sat down with Victor Varnado — comedian, founder of Supreme Robot, and the man behind the Worldwide Tic-Tac-Toe Championship. Victor is also King Super Nuts. That's not a joke. Well, it is. But it's also real. Victor built disability gaming software that could let paralyzed, blind, and deaf players enjoy video games without any extra hardware. He got a National Science Foundation grant to develop it. A tech company bought it for pre-IPO shares worth $500,000. The IPO never happened. The company got in trouble with the SEC. Victor never saw a dime. He tells the story without bitterness, which is somehow the most remarkable part. We also talked Richard Pryor, AI, the UCB rap battle scene, and why tic-tac-toe is actually a strategy game. Play the game → highscoregamearcade.com Here's what we got into: 🎤 Richard Pryor over George Carlin. Victor's case: Pryor holding thousands of people simultaneously is a technical feat that only becomes visible once you've seriously studied performance. Lou spent years in the Carlin camp. He's reconsidering. 📚 The histology class that changed how he sees the world. One class rewired him. The example that hit hardest: Carnegie's public library was originally open during hours when the public was at work. It started as a leisure club for the elite. The thing we think of as universally good was a lot more complicated at the start. 💡 Supreme Robot: build the IP first, find investors second. Victor's framework — create something, prove people want it, then go to investors with evidence instead of a pitch deck. His definition of strong IP: when he explains it, nobody says it's a bad idea, and most people who are even partially in the market for it want it immediately. 🤖 AI is like discovering electricity. What stays valuable no matter what: people's time and attention. Whatever you're building, that's what you're actually competing for. 🕹️ He built disability gaming tech — and a company buried it. Voice control layered on top of any game, no extra hardware required. A procedurally generated audio-description track for blind and deaf players. An NSF grant. A $500K acquisition that paid in pre-IPO shares. An IPO that never came. ⭕ Tic-tac-toe is a strategy game — if you put it in the right arena. The Worldwide Tic-Tac-Toe Championship launches to 100 million players via Facebook, YouTube, and Samsung TVs. Grand prize: $0. The system is incorruptible. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro: Victor Varnado and Supreme Robot 01:35 — Growing up in Gary, Indiana and the Jackson 5 04:40 — Richard Pryor vs. George Carlin 06:15 — The histology class that changed everything 09:30 — Bombing at the HBO Aspen callback and going solo 11:30 — UCB, the Hammer Cats, 20 years of NYC comedy 13:50 — Battle Ish: 7 years of rap battle comedy at UCB 18:30 — Supreme Robot explained 21:10 — AI and what stays valuable when everything changes 24:40 — Opening for Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall 26:40 — Opening for Gilbert Gottfried at Caroline's 29:20 — Norm MacDonald on Sam Kinison and what comedy is about 31:55 — The Worldwide Tic-Tac-Toe Championship 37:55 — The NSF grant and the disability gaming tech 40:10 — The $500K he never got 41:40 — Neuralink and the medical future he actually wants Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/41034920

Jason Gagne: Getting Fit When You Think You Can't Start 04/24/2026

Rob Rosen: Wrongful Convictions and the Media's War on Truth 04/17/2026

Stu Smith: Inside the DSA's Private Meetings 04/10/2026

Harris Sockel: Inside Pirate Wires 04/03/2026

Rafael Mangual: Why New York Is Heading the Wrong Way 03/27/2026

Rafael Mangual: Why New York Is Heading the Wrong Way New York City is heading in the wrong direction — and Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute is here to explain exactly why. In this episode, Lou and Rafael break down the real story behind the Washington Square Park snowball attack on NYPD officers, the media's deliberate misframing of the Gracie Mansion IED attack, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's dangerous blind spots on public safety, and why the city's revolving-door criminal justice system keeps putting violent repeat offenders back on the street. Topics include: The Washington Square Park "snowball fight" — what really happened Anti-police disrespect and what it signals about NYC's future The Gracie Mansion IED attack and the media's shameful spin Mayor Mamdani's failure to name the perpetrators or their motivations Why disbanding the NYPD's Strategic Response Group is a dangerous idea The revolving door of criminal justice (the average prisoner has 10–12 prior arrests before incarceration) New York as a "luxury product" — and why people are leaving Rafael Mangual is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of Criminal (In)Justice. His work appears in City Journal, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. 👕 XX-XY Athletics — 20% off with code LOU20: ✍️ Substack: 🎧 Listen: Apple: Spotify: Amazon: YouTube Playlist: Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, author, and producer. He's appeared on Gutfeld!, FOX News Primetime, and One Nation with Brian Kilmeade. He was Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning We the Internet TV, and his sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck" has over 20 million views. He hosts The Lou Perez Podcast on the Lions of Liberty Network. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/40527845

Rainer Zitelmann: Investigated in Berlin for a Putin Meme 03/20/2026

Tommy Dorfman: My NYC Club Empire vs. Live Nation 03/13/2026

Hatem Gabr: Olympic Hockey, Eileen Gu, and Ramadan 02/27/2026

Neoborn Caveman: The Alice in Wonderland Protocol 02/20/2026

Neoborn Caveman: The Alice in Wonderland Protocol Today I’m joined by to discuss the Shakespeare-Lou Perez-David Duchovny connection, the Alice in Wonderland Protocol, and over (re)sharing. Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and the author of . You may have seen him on , , , and (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel . During his tenure at WTI, Lou made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “.’” As a stand-up comedian, Lou has opened for Rob Schneider, Rich Vos, Jimmy Dore, Dave Smith, and toured the US and Canada with Scott Thompson. Lou has also produced live shows with Colin Quinn, the Icarus Festival, and the Rutherford Comedy Festival. For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Greg and Lou is best known for its sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views on YouTube alone. In addition to producing sketch comedy like , performing stand-up across the country, and writing for , Lou is on the advisory board of , a , and host of the live debate series The Wrong Take and (which is part of the Lions of Liberty Podcast Network), and co-hosts . How’d Lou start out? He began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. Lou was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. Lou hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Punching Up Comedy at Freedom Fest, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. Lou taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute. Lou worked with The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as Communications Manager and later as a producer and consultant. Their video "" was broadcast during a USC vs. Notre Dame football game and was a SILVER ADDY® WINNER at the American Advertising Awards. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/40144750

Randall Bock: Growing Up as the World Lost Its Marbles 02/13/2026

Randall Bock: Growing Up as the World Lost Its Marbles PODCAST COPY On today’s episode, my friend Randall Bock returns to The Lou Perez Podcast — or do I return to his podcast? Both really. As the good doctor describes our conversation: Growing Up As The World Lost Its Marbles Reflections on cities, family life, and institutional collapse As prelude to Christmas and looking back on the year, comedian and social analyst Lou Perez speaks with the ease of someone who has lived through several versions of adulthood. He talks first about how California flattened experience for him, stretched days into a pleasant sameness, and dissolved memory as quickly as it created it. “California is like an orgy of perfect weather with the occasional wildfire (!)” he says, and the line works because it carries both pleasure and warning. When he left, the place left him too. “I don’t remember living in LA,” Family life pulled everything back into focus. Marriage and children changed what space meant and altered what mattered. Apartments that once felt fine began to feel constraining, while a house with a yard suddenly felt necessary rather than aspirational. He describes watching his children move through space differently once they had room, and he frames that change as something obvious only in hindsight. COVID accelerated those realizations and stripped away illusions about urban life. Neighborhoods once marketed as communal began to feel regulatory, and neighbors who once ignored each other began to enforce rules by proxy. Leaving did not feel dramatic, and returning later did not feel restorative. The city no longer matched the memory, because time had moved on without sentiment. He talks about a favorite restaurant that closed after marking several stages of his adult life, and he describes paying the final check with clarity rather than grief. The moment mattered because it marked an ending, not because it demanded mourning. Institutions enter the frame because institutions shape daily life, especially when they fail. Universities, media, public health authorities, and police departments all appear not as villains but as systems that stumble when certainty replaces judgment. COVID exposed that weakness quickly. Policies enforced mask-wearing during maximal exertion and restricted physical spaces in ways that made no physiological sense, even to MD-professionals who understood the body well enough to know better. Doctors complied anyway, because enforcement rewarded obedience rather than reasoning. Perez uses humor to puncture abstraction. “You can’t abolish prisons until the moment you want (some criminal) put in one,” Reality resists theory, and fear reorganizes priorities without asking permission. Police body cameras’ ironies: anti-police activists demanded cameras as a corrective; departments adopted them, yet: “Nothing has hurt the anti-police movement more than the very body cams they demanded police wear,” Perez says. The recordings restore context; show why simplified morality tales fail. “For every bad police video, there are hundreds showing what officers deal with every day.” Follow Dr. Randall Bock on Substack: Instagram: X: Tik-Tok: Find Dr. Randall Bock's articles at Brownstone: The Daily Sceptic: America Out Loud PULSE: Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and the author of . You may have seen him on , , , and (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel . During his tenure at WTI, Lou made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “.’” As a stand-up comedian, Lou has opened for Rob Schneider, Rich Vos, Jimmy Dore, Dave Smith, and toured the US and Canada with Scott Thompson. Lou has also produced live shows with Colin Quinn, the Icarus Festival, and the Rutherford Comedy Festival. For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Greg and Lou is best known for its sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views on YouTube alone. In addition to producing sketch comedy like , performing stand-up across the country, and writing for , Lou is on the advisory board of , a , and host of the live debate series The Wrong Take and (which is part of the Lions of Liberty Podcast Network), and co-hosts . How’d Lou start out? He began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. Lou was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. Lou hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Punching Up Comedy at Freedom Fest, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. Lou taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute. Lou worked with The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as Communications Manager and later as a producer and consultant. Their video "" was broadcast during a USC vs. Notre Dame football game and was a SILVER ADDY® WINNER at the American Advertising Awards. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/40087455

James Zimmermann: From Child Broadway Actor to Clarinetist 02/06/2026

James Zimmermann: From Child Broadway Actor to Clarinetist On today’s episode of The Lou Perez Podcast, I talk with clarinet player about being a nine-year-old on Broadway (you may have seen him in The Will Rogers Follies back in 1991), why old people gravitate to the fine arts, the slopification of entertainment, blind auditions, and his firing from the Nashville Symphony. Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and the author of . You may have seen him on , , , and (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel . During his tenure at WTI, Lou made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “.’” As a stand-up comedian, Lou has opened for Rob Schneider, Rich Vos, Jimmy Dore, Dave Smith, and toured the US and Canada with Scott Thompson. Lou has also produced live shows with Colin Quinn, the Icarus Festival, and the Rutherford Comedy Festival. For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Greg and Lou is best known for its sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views on YouTube alone. In addition to producing sketch comedy like , performing stand-up across the country, and writing for , Lou is on the advisory board of , a , and host of the live debate series The Wrong Take and (which is part of the Lions of Liberty Podcast Network), and co-hosts . How’d Lou start out? He began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. Lou was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. Lou hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Punching Up Comedy at Freedom Fest, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. Lou taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute. Lou worked with The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as Communications Manager and later as a producer and consultant. Their video "" was broadcast during a USC vs. Notre Dame football game and was a SILVER ADDY® WINNER at the American Advertising Awards. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/39880580

Sean Malone: How Fatherhood Radicalizes You 01/30/2026

Sean Malone: How Fatherhood Radicalizes You My friend Sean Malone returns to The Lou Perez Podcast to talk about being a new (old) dad, how fatherhood radicalizes you, and why you should cover the Earth before the earth covers you. Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and the author of . You may have seen him on , , , and (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel . During his tenure at WTI, Lou made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “.’” As a stand-up comedian, Lou has opened for Rob Schneider, Rich Vos, Jimmy Dore, Dave Smith, and toured the US and Canada with Scott Thompson. Lou has also produced live shows with Colin Quinn, the Icarus Festival, and the Rutherford Comedy Festival. For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Greg and Lou is best known for its sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views on YouTube alone. In addition to producing sketch comedy like , performing stand-up across the country, and writing for , Lou is on the advisory board of , a , and host of the live debate series The Wrong Take and (which is part of the Lions of Liberty Podcast Network), and co-hosts . How’d Lou start out? He began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. Lou was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. Lou hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Punching Up Comedy at Freedom Fest, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. Lou taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute. Lou worked with The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as Communications Manager and later as a producer and consultant. Their video "" was broadcast during a USC vs. Notre Dame football game and was a SILVER ADDY® WINNER at the American Advertising Awards. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/39856690

Jeremy Kauffman: The Psychology of Libertarians 01/23/2026

Jeremy Kauffman: The Psychology of Libertarians PODCAST COPY New Hampshire supremacist joins me to talk about the psychology of libertarians, Scott Adams’s legacy, and how social media is actually real life. Watch full episodes on YouTube → Listen on Apple Podcasts → Listen on Spotify → 🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → 📖 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: 👕 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: 🌐 | 📧 ✉️ Newsletter: 🎬 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and the author of . You may have seen him on , , , and (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel . During his tenure at WTI, Lou made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “.’” As a stand-up comedian, Lou has opened for Rob Schneider, Rich Vos, Jimmy Dore, Dave Smith, and toured the US and Canada with Scott Thompson. Lou has also produced live shows with Colin Quinn, the Icarus Festival, and the Rutherford Comedy Festival. For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Greg and Lou is best known for its sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views on YouTube alone. In addition to producing sketch comedy like , performing stand-up across the country, and writing for , Lou is on the advisory board of , a , and host of the live debate series The Wrong Take and (which is part of the Lions of Liberty Podcast Network), and co-hosts . How’d Lou start out? He began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz. Lou was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers. Lou hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Punching Up Comedy at Freedom Fest, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. Lou taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute. Lou worked with The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as Communications Manager and later as a producer and consultant. Their video "" was broadcast during a USC vs. Notre Dame football game and was a SILVER ADDY® WINNER at the American Advertising Awards. /episode/index/show/thelouperez/id/39775420

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