Off The Beat with Brian Baumgartner

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and golf enthusiast Bob Parsons is on the podcast today, talking about how he came up with the name GoDaddy, using psychedelics to heal PTSD, and the best golf clubs on the market.

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Brian catches up with his old colleague, former writer on The Office and co-creator of Jury Duty, Gene Stupnitsky. He talks about his childhood as a Ukrainian immigrant, getting fired from every assistant position he ever had, and the secrets of getting kids to say dirty jokes without ruining their innocence.

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This week, Brian sits down with Crash and Narcos star Michael Peña (or as we like to call him, the King of Hilarious Callbacks.) The two chat about everything from the double-life Michael lived as a child to the confidence that Sidney Poitier instilled in him and the embarrassing moments on set of Jack Ryan that didn’t quite make it to final cut.

This episode was recorded on July 6, 2023.

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For the second time on the podcast, Brian gets to pick the brain of the brilliant Ben Silverman, visionary executive producer behind The Office, Ugly Betty, Jane the Virgin, The Biggest Loser, and many more. He talks about his childhood being raised by theater and television in Manhattan, the disappointment of attaining his childhood dream, breaking into new fields in media, and he even gives Brian some Japanese lessons.

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On today’s episode, Brian speaks with the greatest US soccer player of all time, Landon Donovan. He talks about moving to Europe at 17, seeing the sport gain popularity in the US, and the influx of soccer teams coming to San Diego. 

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Brian’s golf buddy, former Green Bay linebacker and current co-host of The Pat McAfee Show, AJ Hawk is going off (the beat) today, talking about his career in football, becoming a fixture at the American Century Golf Championship, and what he is (and isn’t) giving up as The Pat McAfee Show moves to ESPN.

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One of Brian’s favorite people (and everyone’s favorite HR rep) Paul Lieberstein is on the show today. He talks about his early, terrible spec scripts, his excellent new show Lucky Hank, and the real reasons behind the writer’s strike.

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Brian meets a new friend today, the talented and omnipresent Jake McDorman (he’s everywhere!). He shares his experience moving to Hollywood by himself at 17, the NSFW first scene he shot for What We Do in the Shadows, and how he stays in the zeitgeist by being in multiple shows at once.

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Brian catches up with the hilarious writer and comedian Amber Ruffin, who tells him all about making a career in professional improv, working with her sister, and her lifelong love of (not) learning.

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On this episode of Off the Beet [Farm], Brian catches up with his dear old friend Rainn Wilson. Instead of talking about The Office, they go much deeper into how he harnessed his childhood struggles to play some of the weirdest characters out there, traveling the world for his new show Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, and okay fine, they do talk about The Office a little too.

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