This week's classic episode brings us part one of The Sound of Young America's first live on-stage show (aw!), recorded at The People's Improv Theater in New York City.

The standup comedian Heather Lawless, who is part of the live show Variety Shac, begins with ruminations on her body issues and other relatable topics, related in her fabulous Southern drawl.

Then we hear from Mike Daisey, the amazing storyteller, actor, and author of 21 Dog Years: A Cube Dweller's Tale. Mike spends some time telling us stories of his time spent in frozen Northern Maine, giving us a alternately funny and scary portrait of his youth.

The actor, director, and writer David Wain then joins the stage for a conversation with Jesse to talk about his film The Ten and being a part of the hotbed of creative talent that was the sketch comedy show The State.

And finally, we wrap up with a performance from hip-hop group Tanya Morgan. Enjoy.


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This week's guests are two writers. First, we welcome V. Vale, legendary underground publisher behind Re/Search Publications, a series of zine-like books on the counter-culture, including ZINES! Volume One: Incendiary Interviews with Independent Publishers.

We also talk to acclaimed author Josh Karp, who wrote A Futile and Stupid Gesture, an exploration of the history of National Lampoon and how it changed America's comedy scene.




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On this week's show, we entertain two wonderful (and entertaining) guests.
Jimmy Carr is one of the UK's most popular standup comics. Here in the US, he's hosted the game show Distraction on Comedy Central and appeared on Late Night and The Tonight Show. His new book, written with his long-time friend Lucy Greeves, is "Only Joking: What's So Funny About Making People Laugh?

Then we talk with Amy Sedaris.
She's a rabbit lover and taxidermied squirrel owner, as well as the author of "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence." The book provides domestic advice of many types, ranging from recipes to costumes to how to make fake food out of felt.

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This week on The Sound of Young America, a new New Yorker and an New Yorker of long standing.

First we talk with Roz Chast, long-time New Yorker cartoonist. Her cartoons have now been compiled into a stately tome called "Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006."

Then a chat with Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader. He talks about how he got the gig after Lorne Michaels came to see him perform in a Southern California backyard, and what it's like to be the new guy at one of television comedy's most revered institutions.
He's TSOYA listener, by the way.

Be sure to check out our bonus audio for discussion of his upcoming movie projects, which involve Michael Cera of Arrested Development, the folks behind Reno 911 and Mr. Show's Bob Odenkirk, among others.

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Bonus Audio: Bill Hader

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This week on The Sound of Young America, two men who hold the keys to WORLDS OF WONDER.

Chris Elliott came to prominence in the early 1980s as the buffoonish foil on "Late Night with David Letterman." His career has also included the cult sitcom "Get A Life" and film "Cabin Boy," as well as several seasons on the hit sitcom "Everybody Love Raymond." Most recently, he's become an author, and his absurd 19th century mystery, "The Shroud of the Thwacker," has just been released in paperback. Be sure to take a listen to our special bonus questions for Chris for comedy nerd insider info on his specials, "Action Family" and "FDR: The One Man Show," among other stuff.

Then we speak with Terry Gilliam. Since his days as a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, he's directed many acclaimed films, including "Brazil," "Time Bandits," "The Fisher King," & "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas." His most recent film, "Tideland," a dark & disturbing fairy tale, is in theaters now.

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Bonus Extra Question with Chris Elliott

Incidental Music by DJW

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This week on The Sound of Young America, we explode your brain with the power of music and ideas. Our first guest, Daniel J. Levitin, is the author of "This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession." Levitin a former record producer, who today is a neuroscientist studying the relationship between the brain and music.

Then we speak with the electronic music duo Matmos. Their new album, "The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast," presents ten biographical sketches of historical figures they admire. The music itself is composed of sounds related to the figures, including a cow's reproductive system played in the manner of a bagpipe.

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Two old friends, both of the show and of each other: We chat with each separately, and in special blog-only bonus audio (below), we squash a long-simmering feud between them regarding cat care and a series of vicious attack ads.

Jonathan Coulton is a comic singer-songwriter. For a year, he wrote and released (free) a new song every single week. Some, like "Code Monkey," which he performs on the show, have become internet phenomena. Enjoy free downloads of his three musical performances below.

John Hodgman is the author of "The Areas of My Expertise," a compendium of entirely fabricated facts, history and trivia. For many years, Hodgman was a literary agent, and counted among his clients the B-movie star Bruce Campbell. Today, he's best known for portraying the PC in the Mac-Vs.-PC advertisements for Apple, and for his regular appearances on the Daily Show.

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Blog-Only Bonus Audio:

Bonus: Hodgman Vs. Coulton

Bonus: Hodgman on Dungeons & Dragons

Incidental Music by DJW

Download Jonathan Coulton's Musical Performances:
Code Monkey / Lyrics
You Ruined Everything / Lyrics
The Future Soon / Lyrics

You might also like these past TSOYA episodes:
"All World Knowledge" with John Hodgman and Fred Rees: MP3
"On the Road" with John Hodgman and Henry Rollins: MP3
"ComedyCopia" with a song from Jonathan Coulton
"Joketacular" with a song from Jonathan Coulton

We continue our journey into The Sound of Young America's vast audio archive with this program from The Sound of Young America Classics.

Grammy-winning rapper Killer Mike is a native of Adamsville, Georgia, outside of Atlanta. Since debuting on the Outkast single "The Whole World" in 2001, he has emerged from the shadow of his legendary mentors, combining a ferocious delivery with lyrical density in a manner reminiscent of Ice Cube in his hey-day. He recently released "I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind," a two-CD "street album" with his crew, Grind Time Rap Gang.

Please note: we had a little phone trouble 2/3 of the way through and Mike had to go on speakerphone, apologies for any audio quality issues.

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We continue our journey into The Sound of Young America's vast audio archive with this program from The Sound of Young America Classics.

Guests Joe Flaherty & Allison Silverman. Joe Flaherty was a cast member on the seminal sketch comedy program SCTV. Allison Silverman is the Emmy-winning co-head writer and supervising producer of The Colbert Report.

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We continue our journey into The Sound of Young America's vast audio archive with this program from The Sound of Young America Classics.

Guests Michael J. Nelson, Ron Moore and Steve Eley. Mike Nelson was the host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, now he makes commentaries for Rifftrax. Ron Moore is co-creator of the SciFi Network series Battlestar Galactica. Steve Eley is editor of the sci-fi podcast Escape Pod.

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Bonus Audio:

Extended Interview with Steve Eley
Download (mp3)