Enough of this "serious journalism" crap...let's get back to the format of bloviating bitch fests from Punditocracies past! Aaron returns from sabbatical (aka, Thai brothel) to help Gavon (aka, Thai prostitute) opinionate on Gonzo-gate, Iraq supplemental squabbling, the tragi-comedy that is the presidential slate for '08, animate scrotum Don Imus' inappropriate ejaculation, and a waste of DNA named John Derbyshire who said awful things about the victims at Virginia Tech. It's a politics & culture return to fecal flinging form!

Do you remember these timeless comedy hits from Neil Hamburger, The World's Funnyman?

-"Why did the chicken cross the road? To take pictures of Princess Di, dead in her car."

-"What's the difference between Courtney Love and a porcupine? Well, if you get pricked by a porcupine's needle, you're not likely to get AIDS."

-"Why did God create Domino's Pizza? To punish humanity for their complacency in the Holocaust."

All of these swingin' gags, and a whole lot more, will be on display when Mr. Hamburger himself appears at the Jackpot Saloon on April 25th! This living legend of entertainment--even though he was busy spreading the gospel of funny throughout the savage hinterlands of Australia--was kind enough to chat with Punditocracy about his upcoming gig. It's a gut-busting politics and culture knee-slap-a-thon with stand up sensation Neil Hamburger! Act now, and we'll throw in a case of genital warts for free!

No, this episode of Punditocracy isn't about the seminal Alan Moore graphic novel...although it certainly got your attention, didn't it ya' nerd? We in fact speak with media watchdog Danny Schechter, an Emmy award winning journalist who has devoted much of his forty year career to calling the corporate news on their bullshit. He's an author ("When News Lies"), a blogger (www.mediachannel.org) and a documentary filmmaker ("In Debt We Trust"), whose film "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" will be screening at Liberty Hall on March 14th. We spoke with Mr. Schechter about Iraq, Iran, media consolidation, and why all you're hearing about instead is Anna Nicole Smith. It's the Politics & Culture Podcast's frontal assault on the fourth estate!

Rules for Punditocracy's Oscar Preview drinking game:

*Every time Gavon mentions Peter O'Toole in various states of undress, 1 Drink

*Every time special guest pundit Maggie threatens violence upon "Dreamgirls," 2 Drinks

*Every time we say "f-ck," 1 Drink (And you better call an ambulance, for you'll soon die of alcohol poisoning)

*Every time the politics & culture podcast takes the piss out of the 79th Annual Academy Awards, Chug

[For a copy of the for reals Oscars Drinking Game, which you'll need to fully appreciate our live blogging of the Oscars on Sunday night, check out the Punditocracy blog on Lawrence.com!]

This filthy and furious installment of Punditocracy takes a look at Lawrence's role in the underground punk movement of the '80's, as detailed in the new documentary "American Hardcore." We interview Steven Blush, author of "American Hardcore: A Tribal History"; Paul Rachman, director of the film adaptation; and Jeff Fortier, Lawrence music promoter and witness to the hey-day of Kansas punk. It's a politics and culture gobcast slam-dancing directly into your face!

On this very special, very erotic holiday episode, we answer the question that's been nagging you the entire time that you've had your head in the gas oven: "Why am I pathetic and alone on Valentine's Day?" The answer dear, slowly asphyxiating listener is simple...you are an unpleasant person. That's why we here at Punditocracy, world renowned for our self-lovemaking skills, are here to point out your failings as a person in a demoralizing public forum. So put down that bottle of pills you little Anna Nicole and enjoy the sweet, sensual sounds of the politics and culture podcast as we explain why people treat you like you have a VD on VD.

It's Punditocracy's preview of the upcoming panel, "Blog to the Chief: The Impact of Political Blogs on the 2008 Election," part of the Dole Institute of Politics Presidential Lecture series. We speak with panelists Joan McCarter (the editor and blogger at Dailykos.com known as "mcjoan") and Jerome Armstrong (founder of MyDD.com and co-author of "Crashing the Gate"), as well as panel moderator David Perlmutter (professor of journalism at KU and author of the soon to be published, "Blog Wars"). This Corinthian leather upholstered edition of the politics and culture podcast still has that "new media" smell!

This installment of the politics and culture podcast may burst the seams of you iPod, because it's a morbidly obese marathon of punditry. Galen and Aaron return for some roundtabling on Iraq, '08, and jihadist Mooninites. It's not just a surge, it's a full blown bloviation escalation!

Daniel Bernard Roumain (or just DBR) is a classically trained musician whose style veers just as easily from

hip-hop to Handel, a collision of influences he refers

to as "dred violin." Born of Haitian immigrants and

based out of Harlem, DBR has collaborated with artists

as diverse as Phillip Glass and DJ Spooky. He's

currently on tour with his nine piece orchestra, The

Mission-which includes an amplified string quartet,

drum-kit, keyboards, DJ and laptop-to perform "The

Civil Rights Reader," a collection of compositions

serving as musical portraits of leaders from the civil

rights era. DBR and The Mission will bring "The Civil

Rights Reader" to the Lied Center on February 2nd, and he

was kind enough to sit down with us (via cellphone) for a chat.

He's pasty, balding, and otherwise your typical wad of doughy Midwestern albinism, but Jim Gaffigan is a comedy rock star. The Indiana-born actor/writer/comedian is a frequent guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Night with Conan O' Brien" (co-starring in the "Pale Force" cartoons with O'Brien) and has displayed his acting chops in series ranging from "Law & Order" to "Sex and the City." Although you might know him best as a Sierra Mist pitchman, Gaffigan's white bread and butter is stand up comedy. His routine-targeting everything from Hot Pockets to his painfully Caucasian upbringing-is profanity-free yet bitingly satirical. He's just finished his second Comedy Central stand-up special, "Beyond The Pale," and his stand-up tour stops in Lawrence in support of the broadcast, DVD, and CD.