Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets to understand where the heck Halloween came from, a holiday that generates over $10 billion in retail sales in the US each year. Why does an average American spend $60 on the scary day, and is it more tied in with paganism, Christianity, or scary monsters? David meets with Regina Hansen - a writer and scholar who teaches at Boston University - to talk about why we used to carve turnips instead of pumpkins, before calling up professor of philosophy and religion Justin Sledge to talk horror movies. Finally, David decides to use the spooky season to try and communicate with a ghost that’s been waking him up every morning at 3am.

Hasan Minhaj (The King's Jester, Patriot Act, The Daily Show) is a comedian, writer, political commentator, and actor. Hasan joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his vulnerability and fear surrounding his new special, how he gauges its success based on the emotional resonance with the audience, and how he sees the beauty in Monica in a unique and specific way. Hasan & Dax rehash the Vanity Fair lie detector test incident, how their Illuminati event brought them closer together, and dealing with certain dreams and moments closing. Hasan explains how everyone needs to try to be more empathetic, how intoxicating public attention is, and Dax tells him that he's only one ingredient away from Eddie Murphy.

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Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about the weirdest place they woke up after a night of drinking.

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Siddhartha Mukherjee is an author, biologist, and physician. Siddhartha joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how the evolution of cells can advance medical technology, how some body parts can reject cancer cells, and how the view of the opioid epidemic has changed. Siddhartha and Dax talk about where the idea of reclaiming one's identity came from, what it means to be an insider or outsider of a certain group, and the differences between RNA and DNA. Siddhartha explains the different ways to organize a book, why he doesn't own a television, and how cells communicate with each other in the human body.

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Monica and Liz are feeling "floopy" in episode 2 (of 10) of Race to 35. They discuss the previous nights' shots, the potentially deathly air bubble, substitute trays, and how they shouldn't be allowed to make purchases or decisions of any kind. They talk to Douglas NeJaime who is a professor of Law at Yale. Douglas specializes in parentage law and provides insight on what we deem legal parents in this country. Liz and Monica also talk to Dre and Rachel - a beautiful married couple who chose to use Dre's brother as their donor and sperm sample.

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier sets out to understand why America - despite all its advancements in innovation and technology - has decided to stick with the puzzling shower curtain. Why, while countries like New Zealand embrace the shower door, is America stuck in a long-term love affair with the fabric (or sometimes plastic) mistress? David calls his old friend Harvey from the Toilets episode to discuss American showering habits, before spending the day with the self-proclaimed “Glass Queen” who spends her days removing shower curtains and replacing them with glistening shower doors. He talks to professor David Schmidt about his complex mathematical simulations of shower curtains, to discover why the shower curtain insists on sticking to your body while you shower. Maybe this is a clue to why 66% of Americans shower daily, compared with 80% of Australians… and why 10 million Americans shower once a week or less.

Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale, Mad Men, The West Wing) is an actress, director, and producer. Elisabeth joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how seriously she takes her roles, what she has learned about directing other actors, and how she loves getting constructive feedback on performances. Elisabeth and Dax talk about if they are vain people, making shows about misogynistic worlds, and their skincare regiments. Elisabeth explains what ballet taught her about acting, what a "oner" is in filmmaking, and how she feels about attending award shows.

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Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about the craziest thing they've witnessed at a funeral.

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Reza Aslan is an author and expert on world religions. Reza joins the Armchair Expert to discuss where the idea of Christianity came from, the history of religious conversion in Iran and Persia, and what part religion plays in global conflicts. Reza and Dax talk about whether or not people are born believing in a higher power, who the historical Jesus Christ actually was, and how religion is really a form of emotional language. Reza explains why he converted from Islam to Christianity and then back to Islam, if it's possible to recreate the idea of faith in Artificial Intelligence, and how people often insert their own beliefs into scripture.

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Day 1 - Liz and Monica embark on their fertility journey. They sit down with Monica’s BFF - who has gone through the egg retrieval process herself - to ask questions and discuss their fears about the upcoming 10 days. They talk needles, they learn what follicles are, and they equate the vaginal ultrasound wand to an uncomfortable dildo. At the end of the episode, Liz and Monica administer their first shot on air and it is quite a rollercoaster.