Really? no, Really? with Jason Alexander & Peter Tilden

Ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham joins us on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. Jeff joins Jason and Peter to discuss his journey from going from getting his first puppet as a Christmas gift to being a smash hit in the comedy clubs to selling out massive arena tours. Jeff also has a lot of great stories about his first time performing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to roasting GE CEO Jack Welch. Jeff will also tell us the origins behind his most famous characters and reveal which of his puppets is internationally loved all over the world. He'll also take some time to show us how to finally use our puppets.

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I'm looking at a robotic dog that's freaking me out because it's kind of acting like a real dog in the way it looks at you, the way it responds. And I wasn't sure how I would feel about an animatronic dog design. I think specifically for people who have issues, neurological issues like Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and what this dog can do for those people. And is it for those people, or is it for the family who feels guilty that they have to care, take that person, and that is an intense job in this country: Caretaking. I know too many people who are dealing with parents and family members who have all times, and it is it's horrible for the person, but for the caregiver, it's just an endless 24 hour cycle. Will you get no break? So is this dog really helpful for that? I know that the CEO, Tom Stevens, created the dog for his mom, who had Alzheimer's and dementia because they had to take away her dog.

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We originally wanted to title this episode "How the worst day of life became the best day of life", but we realized it was better to let Pete Holmes explain everything that happened to him leading up to his stand-up career and the creation of his HBO show, Crashing, that he made with Judd Apatow. On this episode of Really? no Really? Jason and Peter do a deep with Pete on how an incident liking catching your wife in an affair with another man can not only serve as comedic and artistic inspiration, they also delve into how you respond or handle such a situation. That's where factors like therapy and spirituality come into play and emphasizes the need for comedy in our lives. We'll also discuss comedy justice, Simpsons jokes that didn't get cut, those College Humor Batman sketches and why we all need a Larry David in our lives.

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When comedian Rick Glassman was first diagnosed with autism, he loved talking about it in his act because it was a new discovery for him. But then he became more self-conscious about it because of people's preconceived ideas of what being on the spectrum is. On this episode of Really? no Really?, Rick explains to Jason and Peter how he found himself in these positions where he was teaching, explaining and selling something that didn't leave him feeling comfortable and didn't want to talk about it for a long time. Now, Rick is back on the other end where he's comfortable talking about it. However, Rick also explains this is a journey into his form of comedy involves an autism diagnosis and isn't exclusive to it.

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Steven Cyr, long time Las Vegas casino host, Vegas Insider, and a man who spent decades standing at the intersection of money, addiction, psychology, ego, luxury, and absolute human madness. That's a six way intersection, by the way. On this episode of the Really? no, Really? Podcast, you're about to hear the secrets of Vegas revealed, including whether casinos use coolers. The cooler. That's the thing I got to know to stop a player from winning big. We've seen that in movies. A guy quitting and the table is running too hot. They bring in a guy, a dealer to to take over the blackjack table. The cooler. Steve's going to tell us this guy can't manipulate the deck.

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Chad Maisel and Neale Mahoney, authors of the report, Taking On The Annoyance Economy, explain why every app, website, airline, pharmacy, streaming service, grocery store and parking meter now feels like it's determined to break you on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. We used to think companies wanted loyal customers. Now it feels like companies want hostages. Everything is designed to wear you down. The unsubscribe button is hidden like it's a nuclear launch code. Chad and Neale sit down with Jason and Peter to delve more into this $165 billion economy that's made of hidden fees and junk fees and what steps consumers are doing to fight back.

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Jason had an emergency this week and could make this episode but Peter held down the fort. With the Olympics heading to Los Angeles in 2028, the issue on how cities bid to hold the Olympics is one that drives Peter crazy. On this episode of Really? no Really? Podcast, Peter speaking economist, Andrew Zimbalist, author of the book, Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup, breaks down how the bidding process works and the aftermath these cities have to deal with.

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Gary Gulman is one of the sharpest and the most respected stand up comedians working today. Known for his brilliantly detailed observational comedy, Gary has built a career turning the smallest human anxieties into epic philosophical events. Whether he's talking about state abbreviations, Trader Joe's childhood misunderstandings or the emotional collapse triggered by a routine email, he somehow makes overthinking feel heroic. Gary's acclaimed HBO special, The Great Depression earned widespread praise for Very Good, Very Good for its honest and darkly funny exploration of depression and mental health, showing a level of vulnerability that's rare and stand up very rare. He's also appeared on nearly every major late night show, released multiple acclaimed specials, and is widely regarded by comedians as one of the best joke writers alive. He can take a completely normal thought buying cereal, sending a text standing in line and reveal that modern civilization may actually be hanging by a thread.

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You know you've made it in the music industry when "Weird Al" Yankovic requests to parody your song. "Weird Al" has spent more than four decades turning hit songs into time capsules that often outlive the originals. In a career that includes Grammy Awards, Platinum records, best-selling tours and the number one album decades. On this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast, Jason and Peter sit down with Al and discuss his journey being a shy kid on the accordion to being the king of parody music. "Weird Al" has an extensive library of parodies that not only spans genres and decades, it's also a reflection on music history and culture ranging from Madonna to Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Coolio just to name a few. But not everyone has been on board for the "Weird Al" bump. Jimmy Page is a fan of Al's but wasn't crazy about a Led Zepplin polka. Al, Jason and Peter delve more into this. We'll also discuss how Al's career has taken some pretty wild and amazing turns from selling out venues like Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden to writing his own parody biopic and casting Daniel Radcliffe playing himself.

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Eighty-seven million households in the United States own pets. Over $147 billion in spending for the pet food industry and related services, such as grooming. But we bet of the 87 million pet owning households, nobody feels confident that they're feeding their pet the right food. On this episode of Really? no Really? Jason and Peter speak with Bonnie Wertheim, Cultural Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal and author of the article, "My Accidental Journey into the Wide Wild World of Pet Wellness." Bonnie will answer our big questions such as whether we are feeding our pets the right food?

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