Chicago is stuck in a polar vortex so CJ and Sean talk about drinking in cold weather. We share stories about football games in subarctic temperatures and how bars change their rules when it gets super cold, almost like they are welcoming weary travelers. We also talk about the science of why drunks don't feel cold but are actually more in danger of it than sober people.

Comedian Mary Kelly tells the story of when she went on a Corned Beef Sandwich Crawl for St Patrick's Day. Mary hits just about every Irish pub and sandwich shop in Milwaukee before finally have one-too-many shots of whiskey and it all comes out while the band is playing. Mary joins CJ and Sean in the studio and they share some more St Patrick's Day stories. We talk about how much Americans spend binge drinking on St Patrick's Day alone, why Chicago had to move it to a weekend holiday because of the chaos and how LA is so healthy- they ru a marathon on the day.

Legendary Chicago comedian Dwayne Kennedy tells the story about when he was so drunk at a club, he left to sleep on the hood of a parked car but still had the wherewithal to prepare his wallet and ID for when the police eventually woke him up (which they did). Dwayne also talks about why he quit drinking and then joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share more drinking stories and hilarious standup stories from his Emmy-winning career, like the time he promoted a nonexistent album on Jimmy Kimmel.

Dwayne's story leads to other stories on the theme of falling sleep while drunk. We discuss why your body becomes so sleepy when drunk and also share stories about falling asleep on city streets along with famous cases of people sleeping in the wrong house drunk.

Adam Burke, one of our favorite comedians and drinking buddies, stops by to promote his amazing new album, "Weaponized Empathy". We share a clip from the new album then talk with Adam for almost the entire episode. Adam explains how he recorded the album, then moves on to hilarious drinking stories from his various ports of call, throughout his life- Western Australia, Northern Ireland, London, Chicago and (in one we still can't believe) Dallas. Adam's stories about drunk red necks that split time between the outback and beaches of AU always put us on the floor laughing. Checkout his new album- available everywhere online.

The podcast took a few weeks off because CJ was in the hospital due to a 'bum' lung, which he explains. This leads to a conversation about how often, even though CJ is sober, drunks end up in the hospital. Sean tells the story about the time he failed a stroke test and they institutionalized him. Then we share stories from the live show where a bartender ends up in the hospital due to an ill-planned attempt to hide a hickey and a bouncer nearly watches his friend die, then land in the hospital, when chugging a beer nearly ends in a drowning.

Chicago comedian Conor Cawley tells the story of a weekend trip to Mexico gone-wrong. Conor comes to from a blackout, trying to bribe a Mexican Federale while learning Conor has no money. Conor shares what happens next at the live show, then joins CJ and Sean to answer questions on this story plus Conor shares some holiday drinking stories. Conor's story leads to a theme of BRIBES on this episode, where we talk about the challenges -- and unique benefits -- of drunk bribing. Everything from the Olympics to Private bar parties is in play for bribing.

The Blackout Diaries Podcast is now back to a weekly release schedule. Apologies for the missing weeks in Feb- we were recovering from some illness and, much as Santa needs people to believe in him for his magic to work, The Blackout Diaries loses some of its mojo during Dry January and Dry Feb.

But we are back! And for those of you listening in Chicago- check out Conor's album recording this week at The Joinery.

LONG time friend of The Blackout Diaries, John Leadley, tells a story about the time he and his friends bought a bar off a guy in jail and how that bar was saved when gay people started drinking there. John Leadley is a comedian and bartender and one of the first ever performers at our life show. He joins CJ and Sean in the studio to talk about what it was like to own a bar in college, along what its like to own a bar now-a-days. CJ and Sean then talk about Chicago and LA gay bars , including the hilarious union demands that were made at one Chicago club.

Professional gambler and all around good-time Kevin Meeusen tells a few drinking stories at our live show about how the Internet has made gambling too well-documented and therefore too embarrassing. Kev calls in from his bunker in Vegas to talk gambling with CJ and Sean. We talk about how seemingly unethical all modern gambling commercials are, how alcohol effects gambling (both good and bad.. and, we hate to break it to you, its mostly bad) plus some famous court cases where drunks sued casinos for their losses.

Comedian Claire Sundbye performs at our live show, telling three of the most questionable decisions she made while drunk. They range from falling in love with a stripper to picking fights online with an internet troll. Claire joins CJ and Sean in the studio and we talk about how hard it is to interact online, sober or drunk, but particularly drunk. This leads to a topic about how dangerous the modern internet has become -- with everything from your bank to job connected -- when drunk. CJ and Sean talk about apps that are designed to prevent you from using the internet while drunk, along with some studies about how much money we waste online when drunk shopping and why modern AI can identify drunk people online very quickly.

Chicago legend Robert Hines, one of our favorite standups, tells a story about the time in high school when his New Year's Eve date with a woman who did not want fool around went south and ended with her attacking him. Robert's big-hearted brother drove his date home. Robert joins CJ and Sean in the studio to share more details on the story along with some other hilarious, family stories. We also talk about Robert's legendary youtube character, Jones Big Ass Storage and Good Ass BBQ. Robert details how he's been shafted on the royalties for those videos and is looking for legal help so he can re-claim his comedy creation. Please go to Robert's go fund me (link below) to help him in that battle if you have extra money. Finally, CJ and Sean discuss more NYE topics, including the science behind why we birds have even worse hangovers than us. Robert's go fund me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Robert-L-Hines-legal-fund?member=26762561&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=sms&utm_source=customer