“Turn on, tune in, drop out.” The words of hippie-philosopher-king and psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary became a mantra of the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s, but what can those words mean for us today, in the brave new world of 2016, where we’re more likely to drop our smartphone in the dang toilet than we are to drop acid. Where do we turn for truly transcendent and immersive experiences in the age of freakin’ Google Plus and Wikileaks? Will and Jimmy have the answer: the THEATRE, of course! We continue to explore the world of immersive theatre, with a trip to PARADISO, an escape-room-cum-theatrical-experience nestled among the karaoke bars of K-Town. Then we’re joined by special guest and substitute curmudgeon Dave Steffey, who went with Jimmy to THE ENCOUNTER, a one-man 360-degree aural experience currently wowing crowds nightly in a packed Broadway house. Finally, we create our own aural experience that will blow your minds. Listen to Episode 108

Jocks. Nerds. Stoners. Geeks. Babes. Dweebs. Hunks. Teachers. Students. Young love. Young hate. Cramming for a test. Making out behind the bleachers. Throwing a paper airplane in class. Falling asleep at your desk. Prom. Kings and Queens. Grades and Grads. The intercom. The cafeteria. Clubs. Sports. Dates. Recess. Passing. Failing. All of the above. That’s what a yearbook captures. And for three students at Jackson Hills High, the yearbook is a chance to get together and learn a little about themselves. Starring Adrian Burke, Molly Ringwald, and the chunky-cheeked boy with the big poofy hair. Listen to Episode 107

We saw all the good plays that were written after Shakespeare, so time to do his ones now. And even Shakespeare wrote a bunch of clunkers, so we asked ourselves “what’s the other good play that was written before he wrote his crap?” That turned out to be a Euripides joint from about 2000 years before Hamlet. So this here is what we think of the old plays that are still hanging around. Hey, did you know most problems from old stories could be solved just by using a cell phone? Never consume media from before 1997. Listen to Episode 106

“O Mercy! O Misery! Where have thou left me now, my forgotten land? Where supple yesterday, where have you gone and cast me now? Where is that honeyed land of my youth? The humble town of my dewy childhood, the general store, the sun-dappled porch, the livery, the well worn cask and demijohn.” This is not a quote from anything, but imagine a frail old man with a bit of a rural accent saying it on his deathbed. And then picture this: he’s dying in a grimy metropolitan hospital. And one more thing: no loved ones there, just anonymous nurses. Pretty poignant stuff, no? And this old man that we made up, who speaks a little like a two-bit Walt Whitman, he does bring up a good point. Whatever happened to good old small town America? We call the quaint outpost of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and check in on its lovable cast of residents. Listen to Episode 105

The boys are pivoting their critical purview toward the food and beverage world (while still maintaining their vice grip on Broadway and its environs), so what better way to plant a flag in food critic territory than a 45 minute ice cream blind tasting followed by a 45 minute giddy sugar high. Stefanie Flamm, comedian and ice cream lover, meticulously lays out a bounty of that good coldness and everyone digs in and has a good time and ohmygod I can’t feel my hands im going into diabetic shock its perfect so delicious its all i ever want to eat ever again Listen to Episode 104

We here at Free the Show love finding and distributing obscure, specialized podcasts that wouldn’t normally reach your average comedy fan’s ears. When we first came across this exhibit, we were all like… “business stuff? That sounds boring. I’ll have no serious thoughts about the private sector today, please and thank you.” But never has such a complex and well-executed narrative been delivered on accident by an otherwise mundane product as you will hear in this special presentation of Business Hours, a podcast only for employees of one specific company. Listen to Episode 103

Folks eat all the time, but do they ever really think about what goes on behind those swinging doors to the kitchen of their favorite restaurant? You’re not gonna believe this… we got a deeply undercover, anonymous source to give us the *scoop* (of ice cream! Hah!) on what life is like at one of the best restaurants in America. Hear stories of celebrities being doofs, classic kitchen hijinks, and what your server really thinks when you order that $15 purple cocktail. It’s kind of a restaurant confidential report, if you will, and we are very proud to invent it and bring it to you. Listen to Episode 102

Will was feeling sick, so he and Jimmy sit down to take it easy and look up his ailments on trusted online medical diagnostic source WebMD. Due to scheduling constraints, this episode is presented in its entirety, without certain edits that the listener might notice could have been made to expunge certain gross yuckiness. Free the Show apologizes. Listen to Episode 101

In celebration of one hundred episodes, Will and Jimmy attempt the most impressive feat in Free the Show history. We recorded an episode of the podcast, but rather than releasing it, we painstakingly transcribed it, formatted it as a script, and cast understudies to play Will and Jimmy. The original recording was recreated as faithfully as possible, down to sound cues and stutters. Special thanks to Frank Marasco and Adrian Burke, your Will and Jimmy for the evening, and to Stefanie Flamm and Karl Rudeen, who assist in smaller roles. Here’s to another one hundred! Listen to Episode One Hundred

Randy Reiman is a man who lives in New York City, and thus, has to grapple with distractions in every waking moment. Luckily for us, Randy is a comedian, and was able to step away from the mic at the Lafferito Barn for a few minutes each day to put his blisteringly funny philosophies onto paper. From that paper sprung a theatrical piece, which don’t forget we are theater experts, for us to enjoy, called Randy Reiman’s Attention Span. It’s making its debut at FringeNYC on Saturday, August 13th, and running for about a week after that. Will thought of a promo blurb on the episode that is “meathead knights battle pervy senators to install songs and sketches on your heart,” and that sounds pretty good. So check it out, and enjoy our own play we wrote for Fringe fest, called Sniffing the Daisies and Plucking the Lilies. Listen to Episode Ninety Nine