Dumb Nerds: Comedians Talking About Smart Topics They're Too Dumb For

Get ready for an ep all about the Most Happiest Place on Earth- Disneyland! Guest Eileen O’Connell (Skeeterial Podcast) comes on to talk all about her Disneyland experiences. Eileen dishes out some secrets to make the most of your Disneyland experience. Cassi chimes in to talk about what it why like to have Disneyland an hour and a half away from home and then literally living down the street from her in college where most of her friends worked at the park. Eileen and Cassi dive a bit into the history of Disneyland and how’s the park has changed and expanded over the years, along with the different Disney parks around the world. It’s an episode guaranteed to make you feel nostalgic and remember that Disney’s got theme parks on lock! (And everything else.) 

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What are your thoughts on Veganism? Could you completely give up the consumption of all animal products as best you can? This includes meat, dairy, eggs, honey, products tested on animals, etc. Vegan actor and improviser Bozant Katzakian comes on to talk about why he chose to go vegan 5 years ago, what it’s like to work on a Farm Sanctuary that protects its animals from being used for profit and tips for people wanting to make the lifestyle choice to go vegan and become an animal rights activist. Cassi and Bo also get into the history of veganism which dates back to the ancient times of Japan and India. They discuss when “Vegetarian Clubs” showed up in England during the 1800s and how artists like George Bernard Shaw influenced people to stop eating animals. Currently we are in the Vegan Boom of the 2010s. Just 15 years ago going to a restaurant as a vegan was nearly impossible, now there are vegan grocery stores and “butchers” in Europe. It’s only a matter of time before they make there way to the rest of the year. Will future people look back at us in disbelief over how we used to consume animals?

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What is consciousness? We’re all experiencing this subjective phenomena but what the hell is it? Here’s the thing, no one knows! Scientists and philosophers have been trying to figure it out for hundreds of years and we’re not much closer to figuring it out. Super fun guest and host of “Science Time” Alex Berg comes on the show to discuss different theories of consciousness with Cassi. Alex and Cassi are by no means experts on this mysterious topic but are super nerds about it. They discuss their personal experiences with trying to understand consciousness, they attempt to recall great scientists and the experiments the scientists have conducted to getting closer to comprehending this phenomenon, as well as show examples to unpack our own internal biases. Cassi and Alex also get off topic and talk about one of their favorite animals, octopuses! This is a great episode if you want to stretch your brain into the great unknown and walk away with a lot of reading and video recommendations on consciousness! Enjoy! 

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It’s October! That means Halloween season is finally upon us and what better way to get spooky then with our returning guest, Clark Canez (Ep 5 Greek Mythology) to talk about Victorian Spiritualism! Clark and Cassi have a blast talking about how the invention of seances by New York sisters led to such a seance craze that the sisters visited Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd in the White House to conduct a seance for them! We discuss how the loss of Queen Victoria’s husband put the Queen into a lifelong mourning that greatly changed the ritual of mourning, funerals and death superstitions. During this time photography was invented and it didn’t take long for this death obsessed culture to use photography to try and capture ghosts. (And some people made a very good living creating fake ghost photos!) This is a super fun, eery episode that will get you into the Halloween spirit. You may also find yourself wishing you lived in the Victorian Age! 

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Did you our knowledge of nutrition is relatively new? Like Vitamin C wasn’t discovered until the 1930s! Guest Kenny Prawat (Crowning Jewels, io Sketch team “Jeff!”) and host Cassi Jerkins bond over their parents lack of nutritional knowledge and feeding them junk food as kids. For instance, remember when McDonalds had that $0.39 cheeseburger on Wednesday nights deal in the 90s? Yeah, that was dinner for these poor kids all the time. As Kenny and Cassi grew older they both developed an interest in cooking and from there they slowly learned which foods are healthy for you and why. (Hint: unprocessed food directly from the ground is the best). Kenny and Cassi also get into how food companies constantly use buzzwords to sell food. Buzzwords like “Fat Free”, “Organic” and “Gluten Free”. Kenny provides lots of tips on how to eat healthy and for cheap. He also has gives a PSA to the “youths” to stop ordering avocado toast at restaurants. Cassi can’t stop talking about her calorie tracker app. Enjoy! 

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Host Cassi Jerkins takes the week off from the usual format to destress and give you fun facts that will make you feel good about life! For instance, did you know cows have best friends? Wearing perfume or cologne increases your happiness? That scientists believe the center of the galaxy smells like raspberries? There’s a lot of neat fun facts coming your way, plus some tips on actions you can take to live a happier, more positive life! We love you! 

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“Digimon”, short for “Digital Monsters” was an amazing Japanese media franchise that was very popular in the 90s and has been making a comeback with the film series “Digimon Tri”. The franchise consisted of virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card care. Sound similar to “Pokemon”? It came out a couple years before “Pokemon” and the “Digimon” craze swept Cassi’s elementary school and guest Will Choi’s (Asian AF, Drunk Monk & Korean Drama Podcasts) elementary and middle school as well. Will loved “Digimon” so much that he spent his middle school life writing “Digimon” fan fiction with two of his best friends. Cassi spent her 4th and 5th grade battling other kids on the playground with her “Digimon” virtual fighting pet! Will and Cassi bond over their love for “Digimon” and discover they had a very similar childhood with age differences in siblings, writing fan fiction and having “Saturday Night Live” and "All That" inspire them to get into comedy. This a nostalgic conversation you won’t want to miss and perhaps you’ll discover/reawaken your love for Digital Monsters. 

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Pregnancy. Making, having, raising babies. Lots of animals do it! For decades, centuries, even longer than that! You get it. So what’s there to learn? Uh, so much! Artist and animator Kelly Matten joins Cassi to talk about her recent experience with being pregnant and having her daughter, Daisy. Kelly goes from making the decision with her husband, (shoutout to Dungeon Master and all around badass Lars!), to trying to conceive, getting pregnant but having to keep it a secret for 10 weeks, to dealing with being pregnant, to delivery to having to pause the recording with Cassi to put Daisy down for a nap. Kelly and Cassi get into what it’s like to be pregnant, why it’s such a sensitive and highly debated issue for mothers and potential-mothers-to-be, all the way to dealing with postpartum depression. Cassi, mother of cats, attempts to understand pregnancy by talking about octopuses. You’re guaranteed to learn something and get a fresh perspective on what Kelly says is the weirdest thing she’s ever done, and she’s been to Burning Man six times! 

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How many of us are lucky to have a bar we frequent where everybody knows our name? How about for 11 seasons? Hilarious comedian and writer Matt Manser joins host Cassi Jerkins to talk about the hit TV show “Cheers”! Matt watched the show as a kid learning many adult issues from it. Matt and Cassi get into the different characters that created such a dynamic ensemble which lead to the popular spin off show, “Fraiser”. Cassi learns that Frasier was originally written for one of her favorite actors of all time, John Lithgow, but Lithgow turned it down giving Kelsey Grammer the most prominent role of his acting career. (Honorable mention to Sideshow Bob). Cassi reflects upon John Lithgow’s career and her love for him a bit too long and Matt has to reel her back in. Matt tells Cassi about some of his favorite Cheers episodes which involve Cliff Clavin trying to write a joke for Johnny Carson and another where he almost wins “Jeopardy”. So pour yourself a beer and enjoy this week’s Dumb Nerds ep all about “Cheers”! 

This episode is dedicated to the late Jay Thomas, Carla's hockey playing boyfriend who got written off the show because Jay talked ill of Rhea Perlman on a radio show. RIP

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How much do you know about Bob Dylan past “Blowin’ in the Wind” and his distinctive raspy voice? Guest Jonathan Harris (UCB) knows a whole lot! Like seriously a lot. Jonathan pretty much rattles off Bob Dylan’s entire music career in order from album to album, dates and the inspiration behind it and all. It’s pretty incredible. Jonathan and Cassi get into how Bob Dylan became a huge music folk star at 22, only two years after moving to New York in the early 1960s to pursue a career in music. From there Bob Dylan goes from poetic folk singer-songwriter to electric with “The Band” to Christian rock star in the 1980s to still cranking out albums and touring today! That’s right, at 76, Bob Dylan is still making music and is touring on what he calls “The Never Ending Tour”. Pretty incredible, right? Jonathan and Cassi also talk about their own personal relationship with Dylan’s music, including their favorite albums/songs, going to some of his concerts on the “Never Ending Tour”, watching Martin Scorsese’s documentary, “No Direction Home” and the 2007 film “I’m Not There” where a ton of people play different versions of Bob Dylan including Cate Blanchett and the late Heath Ledger. Give it a listen! 

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