This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes

A comedy podcast summary of the week's news, hosted by Peter–john Byrnes.

Episode 115 - Lisa Cohen and Cynthia Kaplan 11/14/2016

Episode 115 - Lisa Cohen and Cynthia Kaplan 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! /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4829451

Episode 110 - Trace Beaulieu 04/15/2016

Episode 110 - Trace Beaulieu 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4298149

Episode 64 - Stephanie Hasz and Mike Lawrence 02/11/2016

Episode 64 - Stephanie Hasz and Mike Lawrence 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 bathroom. This is a very silly episode. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4142993

Episode 103 - Live from Iowa 2016 02/10/2016

Episode 103 - Live from Iowa 2016 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4138093

Episode 102 - Erik Niewiarowski and Kyle Scanlan 02/05/2016

Episode 102 - Erik Niewiarowski and Kyle Scanlan 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4127244

Episode 101 - Reena Calm and Mary Zee 01/27/2016

Episode 101 - Reena Calm and Mary Zee 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/4108028

Episode 87 - Sonia Denis and Xavier Lamont 11/25/2015

Episode 87 - Sonia Denis and Xavier Lamont 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/3977841

Episode 93 - Bill Bullock and Stephanie Hasz 10/28/2015

Episode 93 - Bill Bullock and Stephanie Hasz 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 keep my mouth shut. This episode contains traces of Willie Nelson. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/3894024

Episode 60 - Jamie Campbell and Sherman Edwards 12/15/2014

Episode 60 - Jamie Campbell and Sherman Edwards 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! /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/3241261

Episode 59 - Adam Burke and Stephanie Hasz 12/13/2014

Episode 59 - Adam Burke and Stephanie Hasz 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/3240060

Episode 58 - Cody Melcher, Dave Stinton, and Alexandra Tsarpalas 12/13/2014

Episode 58 - Cody Melcher, Dave Stinton, and Alexandra Tsarpalas It's the beginning of the charity season, and your host isn't feeling particularly chartiable. Returning veterans , , and are dragged into the cynical mire. Compassion fatigue and inefficient charities are discussed. A what-if scenario is discussed in which Mikhail Baryshnikov rules Russia instead of Vladimir Putin. We are collectively mean to a child with leukemia. All that, plus the horrifying dark side of Flipper! /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/3238631

Episode 57 - Chad Briggs and Goodrich Gevaart 07/29/2014

Episode 57 - Chad Briggs and Goodrich Gevaart Chicago has a new mass transit card, and it's terrible. Veteran despairer joins newcomer and gigglepuss to discuss that horror, plus the nightmare of modern customer service. Edward Snowden's government theft is compared to that of Fat Lenny, who ripped off the Navy for millions. Poor people take it in the shorts again. And Chad unveils his newest character, Folksy South American Sheriff. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2977133

Episode 56 - Bill Bullock and Sonia Denis 07/14/2014

Episode 56 - Bill Bullock and Sonia Denis Regular guests and return to reveal their secret identities as Information Technology professionals for a discussion of Healthcare.gov, the failing Obamacare website. The NSA is also in the news as the discussion turns to privacy in the modern age or the lack thereof. Sonia will cut you before telling you if she's single or not. Bill puts his business out on the street. There's also a discussion of Girl Scout cookies as a gateway to lesbianism, and how open mic comedy causes us all to lose faith in humanity. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2943482

Episode 55 - Stephanie Hasz and Katie McVay 07/10/2014

Episode 55 - Stephanie Hasz and Katie McVay Returning champions and join me for a live episode that needed to have the monologue re-recorded due to technical difficulties. Racist NFL owners and bisexual Disney princesses are in the news, plus menstruating t-shirts make an appearance. Katie knows things about football. Stephanie has an unusual crush on an animated character. Katie and Stephanie disagree about boycotting terrible companies, but unite in their belief in ghosts against me. I don't really have much control over this episode. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2937562

Episode 54 - The Byrnes Sisters Strike Again 07/04/2014

Episode 54 - The Byrnes Sisters Strike Again In previous episodes, my sisters have ruined Christmas, and Memorial Day. Now they ruin a funeral. This episode was recorded after attending the funeral of a close family member, and my sisters help produce an episode where the humor is as black as pitch. It's the full set of Kubler-Ross stages, it's the laugh that catches in your throat, it's the tears which might be of laughter or pain. It's This Week in Despair. This episode also contains a tribute to our fallen comrade and former guest, the late Dan Ronan. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2927452

Episode 53 - Andy Fleming, Jason Earl Folks, and Derek Sheen 07/02/2014

Episode 53 - Andy Fleming, Jason Earl Folks, and Derek Sheen It's our first-ever three-guest show! Seattle comic is in town to join stalwart regulars and on a week where the government has been shut down, giant Chinese wasps fill the air, lizard people roam the streets undetected, and local restaurants are serving blasphemy on a bun, so the show is even more apocalyptic than usual. We learn what American voters believe. Killer bees make a comeback. Jason would prefer to fight a bear. And the latest Bigfoot news, of course. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2923294

Episode 52 - Matt Drufke and Joe Herrmann 06/19/2014

Episode 52 - Matt Drufke and Joe Herrmann Fellow comedy dads, über-nerds, and loud laughers and join me on a week where Ted Cruz redefines a waste of time on the floor of the Senate. Pregnant priests, warp drive, and the deliciousness of babies all get discussed. We get nostalgic for how Rodney King was merely beaten. What would Jesus do? Probably not cut the food stamp program. Joe gets horrible parenting advice. It's our first episode with an Easter Egg! /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2899466

Episode 51 - Adam Burke and Stephanie Hasz 06/09/2014

Episode 51 - Adam Burke and Stephanie Hasz and are my two most frequent guests, but they've never appeared together on an episode...until now. On this special LIVE episode from Chicago's Hungry Brain, we have to sort through the wreckage of yet another gun massacre, plus the Costa Concordia makes a surprise return appearance. Espionage figures are discussed, including an Egyptian stork and Jackson Pollock. Hawai'ian names are pronouced. Clowns are disparaged. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2880840

Episode 50 - Stephanie Hasz and Nathan Rabin 06/06/2014

Episode 50 - Stephanie Hasz and Nathan Rabin Our 50th episode is also one of our most entertaining. First-time guest and long-time regular guest join me for a discussion about Miss America, Juggalos, and Vladimir Putin. Our historical relationship with Russia is explained thorugh the filter of Rocky IV and Hawaii Five-O. Tattoos are shared. Speaking ill of the dead is approved of by all guests, and then exemplified by an extended trashing of the works of Michael Crichton. Nathan and I try to out-do one another on obscure 1980s film references, and go deep into the weeds. Stephanie is patient. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2876393

Episode 49 - Will Miles and Liza Treyger 06/05/2014

Episode 49 - Will Miles and Liza Treyger We recorded this episode on September 11th, which is like Christmas for despair fetishists. and join in my nostalgia for terrible things, as George Zimmerman popping up in the news gives us an opportunity to review the Trayvon Martin case, and an analysis of Syria and Rwandan genocide somehow turns into a discussion of Sex and the City. Will and Liza explain OKCupid to me. Will reveals his family's UFO abduction past. Liza reviews her preferences in flowers. I conclude the episode by explaining the BDSM themes in early Wonder Woman comics while attempting to not sound like a total creep, and fail completely. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2873987

Episode 48 - James Fritz and Zach Peterson 06/04/2014

Episode 48 - James Fritz and Zach Peterson On our very first ever live episode, delivered to a largely indifferent coffeeshop audience at the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, we're joined by one of the guests on our very first episode, , because sometimes you want a friend when you go skydiving without a parachute. He's joined by the Bard of Nebraska, , as we run through the week's news, which includes marijuana legalization, NFL concussions, and Syrian diplomacy, only two of which involve brain-damaged people. James plays Carnac the Magnificent with the musical segues. Zach is in need of an aspirin. We had a lot of fun. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2872016

Episode 47 - Ralph Hardesty and Kerri Lendo 06/03/2014

Episode 47 - Ralph Hardesty and Kerri Lendo It was a week where reporters threatened to murder whistleblowers and a racist rodeo clown was the toast of FOX News, so what better week to go visit Austin, Texas? Recorded during the Out of Bounds Festival, this episode features two of Austin's finest, and star of stage and screen . Kerri is not opposed to sending SWAT teams after hippies. Ralph shares his secret shame regarding Miley Cyrus. I suggest that a disgraced cop kill himself. VC Andrews makes a strong showing near the end. I think the heat got to us. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2871313

Episode 46 - Sonia Denis and Charlie Rohrer 12/11/2013

Episode 46 - Sonia Denis and Charlie Rohrer It's a week when there's a new Royal Baby and a new panelist on The View, so first-time guest is joined by the canny veteran to help sort it all out. Charlie doesn't like babies. Sonia doesn't like anyone. Genital-hungry Israeli snakes, Jenny McCarthy and other horrible creatures make an appearance. Sonia reveals her new hit song for next summer, and takes us to the bleakest subject matter we've ever had on the show! /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2589450

Episode 45 - Ever Mainard and Cody Melcher 12/10/2013

Episode 45 - Ever Mainard and Cody Melcher On the week where the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down, we convene a demographically-accurate all-gay Texan panel of frequent guests and , 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. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2587770

Episode 44 - Sonia Denis and Andy Fleming 11/04/2013

Episode 44 - Sonia Denis and Andy Fleming Regular panelists and are back for a very strange episode in which a discussion of Paula Deen and Rupert Murdoch is delayed so I can explain the plot of Last Tango in Paris and give a brief history of sexual lubricant. Other topics include eyeball licking and breast-milk-flavored lollipops, both of which will haunt your nightmares forever. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2536523

Episode 43 - Drew Frees and Stewart Huff 10/15/2013

Episode 43 - Drew Frees and Stewart Huff From the heart of Bloomington IN, and join me for our first remote recording, made during the Limestone Comedy Festival. It's a episode in which the difficulty of major social change is discussed in the wake of the NSA scandal, and how the poor are well and truly screwed in this country. We also talk about bare boobs in New York City, so there's something for everyone. Well, maybe not for rich straight women. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2510141

Episode 42 - The Return of the Byrnes Sisters 10/02/2013

Episode 42 - The Return of the Byrnes Sisters My sisters previously , and now they're back to ruin another holiday. Memorial Day usually means cookouts, and on this food-themed show we discuss marijuana-infused bacon, insect-based protein, and how everything gives you cancer. Suzanne makes a brave stand against poisioning one's family. Pepperoni pervert perpetrators make an appearance. My sisters salute our Presidents on Memorial Day with a series of graphic sexual references. They're terrible people. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2494057

Episode 41 - Cody Melcher and Ranjit Souri 09/11/2013

Episode 41 - Cody Melcher and Ranjit Souri The co-hosts of the delightful podcast , and , don their tinfoil hats and join me on a trip down the rabbit hole, as the news this week leads us to a series of conspiracy theories. The IRS scandal and Benghazi are given their due, but also the theory that tornadoes in Oklahoma are created by the White House to distract us from their crimes. We discuss sexy Tasmanian ghosts, and devils. Cody unveils his funeral plans. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2467999

Episode 40 - Steve Walker and Brian Wille 09/03/2013

Episode 40 - Steve Walker and Brian Wille This week, and Brian Wille join me for a discussion of bodily horrors, with multiple stories of terrible things being inserted or excreted from a cornucopia of orifices. The revenge of bees, and the 3-D printing of guns also come in for scrutiny. I am accused of working for the NSA. Bad parenting decisions come in for review. Brian is called upon to represent all of Central and South America. No diapers were soiled in the making of this episode. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2458174

Episode 39 - Joel Ingersoll 08/21/2013

Episode 39 - Joel Ingersoll Sometimes the peril of doing a topical show is that you end up processing tragedy in real-time. When my guest agreed to do the show months in advance on a trip through Chicago, he had no idea that he'd be talking about the bombing at the Boston Marathon, which happened just days before we recorded. The result is a conversation that's sometimes sober, sometimes funny, but never dull. We spend a surprising amount of time talking about baseball. The recently-dead Margaret Thatcher is spoken ill of. The actress Jeri Ryan is praised for her political impact. I discover the existence of a Minnesota foodstuff with an ethnic slur in its name. /episode/index/show/weekindespair/id/2443505

This Week in Despair with Peter-john Byrnes

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