Esteban Gast is a comedian, content creator, and educator. He’s the comedian in residence at Generation 180 where he created the Climate Comedy Cohort. I saw him recently at an event hosted by Adam McKay’s company. This is my first time talking to him and it’s almost eerie how much we have in common. This is a chatty episode, couldn’t help it.

Calling All Writers!

Mike Royce is a writer and producer. His list of credits is not short. One Day at a Time, Men of a Certain Age, Everybody Loves Raymond, and that’s just scratching the surface.

Additionally, during the recent writer and actor strikes, Mike was very vocal advocating for creatives and Unions.

Alonzo Bodden is a comedian and actor. He won Last Comic Standing (Season 3), he’s a regular on the NPR show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” and that’s barely touching his resume. I’ve known Alonzo for a long time and always loved crossing paths with him. I get to know a bit more about the man behind the content in this episode, though we definitely dive into the weeds of the current state of affairs. Tough not to.

Lee Camp is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and show host. He hosted the teeth-as-sharp-nails political comedy show, Redacted Tonight, which tragically got axed as the result of years of misdirected nationwide hysteria.

I’ve known Lee for a long time, given the theme of the show, I’d originally planned for him to be a December episode, but he’s got a new show out, so the time is now!

Eddy MacKenzie is an actor, musician, and comedian. I first met Eddy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023. The fest was in its last week, many performers were understandably tired. Eddy was a constant force of positive energy. The way he speaks, it’s hard to describe, but it’s almost like constant laughter. He’s the type of guy where when you’re around him, you can’t help but be in a good mood. Recently, he played Piglet in the cult-horror film Blood and Honey 2.

Eleanor Goldfield is a journalist, filmmaker, and, more than anything, she’s a creative radical. She co-hosts Common Censored and Project Censored. Also, I hope she doesn’t mind my saying so, she put out some killer music a few years back. I’ve been following her for years now, and figured now was a perfect time for us to dive into the world.

A few years before Colin Kaepernick, there was Chris Kluwe.

Chris Kluwe is a former NFL punter, writer, musician, and activist. During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, he got in trouble for his decision to be outspoken in support of marriage equality. I became aware of him around that time and have followed him ever since. He published a piece recently about how he was essentially blacklisted from the NFL. This is his story.

Jess Pettitt is a speaker, author, and researcher. Recently, she did a deep dive into Project 2025. Somebody had to.

I first met Jess on the NACA circuit, basically the college performance circuit, many years ago. I’ve always enjoyed hearing her take on things, and was curious, especially after her 2025 project, to know her assessment right about now.

Sam Richard is a writer, editor, and publisher. He is the orginal editor and current operator of Weirdpunk Books, a publisher in Minneapolis, MN. I found out about him online. Wait, a punk rock horror publisher that’s unapologetically leftist, queer, and DIY? In the Twin Cities no less? Yes, I’m in. Sam runs a great publishing house and he’s got quite the story. Please welcome to the show, Sam Richard.

Bryant Odega is an educator and activist. His first memory is of ICE coming to deport his father. He recently graduated from Harvard. I first became aware of Bryant when he ran for City Council in my district in Los Angeles. In the times we’re living in, many people are wondering what they can do, and how they can fight back. I think this episode helps answer, or at least partially answer, that question.