JOSH CHAMBERS is not only a key member of the social media team for Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast and a full-time high school English and Communications teacher -- he's also something of a car fanatic.  

He joined Dan to talk about their favorite motor vehicles from motion pictures and television shows.  Cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles -- anything with wheels and a motor qualified.  And since Dan grew up in the 70's while Josh was a total 80's kid, thee weren't many overlaps in their choices.

Buckle up -- the pop culture references (and laughs) come fast and furious in this one.

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It's second part of our mini-episode on THE MUPPETS!

Muppets historian and author CRAIG SHEMIN, with pop culture fanatic/huge Muppets fan ANDREW LAPOSHA, join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on the history and enduring legacy of Jim Henson’s innovative and revolutionary little creations.

For PART TWO, we go in-depth and behind-the-scenes with THE MUPPET SHOW -- including memorable moments from Elton John, Linda Rondstadt, and Steve Martin -- leading into the Muppet movies...then on to Henson's unexpected passing and what would come next for Kermit and the whole Muppets family.

 It's the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational “LET’S TALK TEN” ever -- and we'd love for you to join us.

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 The first of a TWO-PART mini-episode on THE MUPPETS!

Muppets historian and author CRAIG SHEMIN plus pop culture fanatic/huge Muppets fan ANDREW LAPOSHA join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on the history and legacy of Jim Henson’s fuzzy ping-pong-eyed creations and why love ‘em.  

PART ONE starts from the very beginning -- from the five-minute local “Sam and Friends” spots through the guest spots on 1960's variety shows, to the phenomenon of Sesame Street, one of the greatest and most influential television shows of all time.

All the big names are here – Kermit, Miss Piggy,  Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Rowlf, Fozzie Bear, Ernie and Bert, Statler and Waldorf….  

PLUS: great moments from all the shows, including stuff that you might not have even known existed. 

 It's the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational “LET’S TALK TEN” ever!

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Writer FELICE NEALS joins Dan to talk about their favorite spooky cinematic fare.  From old black-and-white classics to some of the current "art-house horror", from gory slasher flicks to tense thrillers, Dan and Felice can't help but ponder:

* Why are we compelled to watch stuff that's probably going to scare the crap out of us?
* Why does Felice love The Blair Witch Project while Dan is decidedly not a fan?
* Does Dan relate everything he watches back to his West Virginia childhood?
* Midsommar versus Hereditary -- discuss amongst yourself.
* What's the deal with terrifying, blood-thirsty hillbillies?

Plus the special "Halloween version" of the "Let's Talk Ten" theme song!  And more!
 
BOO!

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Dan is joined by SAM PANCAKE – veteran actor (“A Million Little Things”, “Samboyant! A Gay Hollywood Memoir”), podcast host ("Sam Pancake Presents the Monday Afternoon Movie"), and master raconteur -- for a hilarious, Me-Decade-tastic conversation about their favorite “MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES OF THE 1970'S”.  

Everybody remembers “Trilogy of Terror” – especially that psychotic little Zuni doll.  But how about “Satan’s School for Girls”?  Or our national obsession with the Bermuda Triangle?  

 Dan and Sam sure do, as they share a lot of laughs talking about those and other cogent topics:

-- How “horny” were the 1970’s, anyway?

-- When running away from disciples of Evil, how come nobody can remain upright for more than five yards?

-- Were Richard Crenna, Darren McGavin, and David Janssen all the same person?

-- And lots more!

SUPER-SPOOKY BONUS: A SPECIAL-EDITION “HALLOWEEN” version of the “Let’s Talk Ten” THEME SONG, created by April Fisher.  

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In 1966, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and many other musical greats released albums that would define the 1960's and inspire listeners for decades to come.

So who'd the Recording Academy choose to award its  Album of the Year Grammy?    For the third time (!) that decade, Frank Sinatra -- for a warmed-over "greatest hits" package -- where Ol' Blue Eyes spent nearly as much time talking about himself as he did singing.

Before writing the whole thing off as just another terrible choice from Academy voters (see also Dan's "Parallel-Universe Oscar" mini-episodes), Dan figured it was only fair for him to listen to Sinatra's 1966 Album of the Year, "A Man and His Music" to judge for himself -- and while he was at it, he listened to a ton of albums from that year to determine what was REALLY the true and rightful Album of that Year.

(SPOILER ALERT: It wasn't Frank.)

Besides Dan's many opinions and lots of cool trivia, this is a tuneful episode -- you'll hear everything from Sinatra to Stevie Wonder to Dylan, The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, The Mothers of Invention, Bill Murray....and a lot, lot more.  

At less than thirty minutes, it’s a perfect listen for a commute, your morning workout, or a jaunt to the grocery store and back.  

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Once again, host Dan Fisher looks back on the Oscars -- and whether or not the Academy got things "right" in their choices.  This time, the year is 1982.

The Academy would give Best Picture that evening to the three-and-a-half-hour epic biopic Gandhi -- but was that really the best motion picture in a year that brought us E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Tootsie, The Verdict, Sophie's Choice, My Favorite Year, and many other terrific films?  Should Ben Kingsley have beaten out Dustin Hoffman, Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman, and Peter O'Toole for Best Actor?  Is Best Actress winner Meryl Streep overrated?  These questions still gnaw at Dan, nearly forty years later.

To make things even more interesting, Dan's adding Parallel-Universe "kicker" nominations for each category -- ones that would never, ever meet the Academy's idea of what's "best", but that deserve some form of recognition and reappraisal.

Like the real-life Oscars, these Parallel-Universe ones may delight you, or they may infuriate you.  But you will certainly find them, and this "mini" episode of "Let's Talk Ten" -- to be funny, thought-provoking, and entertaining.  

And the winner is.....

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Film writer/critic and podcaster ADAM LONG joins Dan Fisher for a free-wheeling conversation about their favorite "CULT MOVIES" -- films that were overlooked, or sometimes outright flops, on their initial releases but that found their (sometimes fanatical) audiences eventually.  

No spoilers, but some of their favorites might be familiar,  others a bit more obscure -- but if you're a real movie maniac, you might consider Dan and Adam's Top Tens a browsing list for when you're in the mood for something slightly weird or unconventional.

It's just a jump…to the left…..

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Another "mini" episode that's not particularly mini -- there's just too much great stuff to edit out.

Renowned cartoonists MIMI POND (National Lampoon, The Village Voice) and TERRY BEATTY (Batman & Robin Adventures, Rex Morgan M.D.) join Dan Fisher for a panel discussion on their shared love of MAD magazine -- its history, their favorite features and artists, and the influence that MAD had on their lives -- as well as on modern humor and our culture.

The conversation includes remembrances of personal interactions with many of the legendary Usual Gang of Idiots (what did Al Jaffe say about Dave Berg?), seeing MAD for the first time ("Starchie!"), and MAD vs. The National Lampoon.

New episodes  -- "minis" like this one, alternating with the Top -en-based "regular" episodes -- drop every Monday.

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A great debut album won't just change the lives of the musicians who made it.  It can change yours too, just by hearing it for that first time.

Dan Fisher and Baltimore-based producer/mixer/sound mixer Mat Leffler-Schulman talk about the debut albums -- some well-known, others not so much -- that made  differences in their lives, that changed their perceptions of what music was and what it could be.  For Mat, much of it would hold a strong influence as to what he would do for the rest of his life.

Packed with fun and sonically adventurous samples, like a great debut album, this episode will be one that you'll want to discover before all the "cool" kids claim to have gotten to it first.

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