WDEK Podcast Ep. 50: Negin Farsad, Mike Recine & Beth Wawerna - Feb. 28, 2017

We celebrate our 50th Episode of WDEK on Mardi Gras with party horns, beads and great guests.  Shonali shares a feel good story about a NYC cabbie. Christian gives us his take on rules for shushing at the movie theater.  We have new WDEK T-Shirts for sale at the show and now online.

Our first guest is a comedian, writer, filmmaker, author, Ted Fellow…the list goes on and on, Negin Farsad.  She made a film which came out in 2014 called The Muslims Are Coming which follows a group of Muslim American comedians as they visit towns all over the US to combat Islamophobia. Turns out it can be exhausting combatting Islamophobia.  She also met Bono and turns out they have something in common.  Negin has a political roundtable podcast called Fake the Nation and wrote a book called How to Make White People Laugh. She is an inspiration.

We play a special WDEK 50th Ep trivia game with our WDEK regular audience member Isabel Restrepo.  Somehow Isabel wins a WDEK t-shirt without passing the quiz.  Our second guest is comedian and writer Mike Recine. Out of the gate Shonali brings up Mike’s side hustle, Recine Brothers Pasta Sauce and wants a jar of sauce.  We are sorry to hear Mike’s grandmother just passed away. Mike is originally from Jersey and the 2016 presidential win threw Mike off his comedy course. He’s been rethinking his views on his people, the working class. “Tastykakes” & “WaWa” are mentioned.  Look for Mike performing stand-up live all over the country or check out Mike’s Comedy Central half hour on Hulu or his Conan guest spots online right now. #GetItOffYourChest features our audience member Stacey Mills who talks about reactions to her camouflage jacket.  Shonali requests being polite to loved ones.  Christian reiterates his shushing policy.  

Our last guest is musician Beth Wawerna of the band Bird of Youth. She and Shonali share a connection to Atlanta and a love of The Rock*A*Teens and The Replacements.  All of which their influences can be heard in her music. A former music journalist, Beth now plays in a band comprised of multi-talented musicians.  They have released two full lengths, Defender and Get Off. She plays two songs, one called Glory Knows and the other titled Dad. Thanks to all who celebrated our 50th Ep with us!  Remember to save the date, April 23rd for our first ever all day WDEK Fest at DCTV in downtown Manhattan.  

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Ep. 48: John Roberts Jr. & Eleanor Friedberger - Nov. 29, 2016

It’s a rainy night in NYC, only a few weeks after the election and our mood has taken a turn for the “what the hell happened?"  Christian does in fact return to the show after a two month absence.  He brings us stories regarding cologne and Shonali shares her important scientific findings as to why the election turned out the way it did.  Christian and Shonali been longtime fans of both of our Ep. 49 guests!

Our first guest is comedian, John Roberts Jr. who is gay (don’t worry - he’s out) and an Emmy nominated voice actor for the character Linda Belcher on the show "Bob’s Burgers.” But before that, did you see him on YouTube in one of our all time favorite videos The Christmas Tree. We are so happy John is back from the West Coast where he smoked too much pot and now resides only an hour away from NYC with his two cute dogs, Yoko and Iggy. He’s also back to cooking at home with his mom. Love ya for it John! As we head towards our 50th episode in February and our upcoming WDEK All Day Fest on February 18th, we are looking towards sharing more with you about a youth homeless shelter called The Covenant House.

Listen to Alan Weinroth explain in more detail what this organization does for kids in need. Shonali sings the Neil Young song, “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” and she screws up the lyrics a little. Audience member Anthony Cangelosi joins us on stage for #GetItOffYourChest.  We are currently searching for therapy for him.

Our final guest is musician Eleanor Friedberger (solo performer, member of Fiery Furnaces, & Shonali’s fashion icon.) Her hair is the best! She has been on tour for the past year in support of her latest album “New View” - including playing in Tel Aviv on our election day and Rome the day after. Shonali insists it takes a lot of work to be the leader of a touring band.  Fortunately Eleanor now has her own room when she tours. We are excited to hear Eleanor play “Your Word” and “Sweetest Girl” for us.  Til we meet again - next show is January 3rd, 2017 at HiFiNYC. 

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!