The Human Centipod

Jena talks about her new book “Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera,” what long form improv taught her, how Chicago wasn’t such a fan of hers (but NYC was), an incident with an interview where she was taken very out of context and made to look bad and forever deemed “The Muse of Mediocrity." Jena and Carmen also compare their experiences at the Edinburgh Festival. Finally, Jena talks about working with Sasha Baron Cohen on the Borat sequel as well as her time on Letterman. Oh, and there’s also a really fun technical glitch!

The actress - who brings the hilarious Stevie Budd to life on the Emmy-winning sitcom - sits down with Carmen and John for the entire ep. She's on to promote her new rom-com, "The End of Sex" which the duo loved way more than they thought they would. Seriously, who watches rom-coms anymore? Well, John and Carmen are here to tell you to watch this one! Funny, poignant and well acted, it's quite the treat among the blah superhero pickings out there. Emily talks about working with an intimacy coordinator on a movie set for all the sex scenes (oh yeah!). Then John picks her brain about her new graphic novel "Amelia Aierwood - Basic Witch." Finally, the threesome gets into what the writer's strike might mean for our entertainment future - if it happens!

Carmen tags out of this episode thanks to a hilarious root canal (so you know what she'll be TRYING to talk about next ep)! John does his best to make their guest feel at home - Zach Zimmerman, a kick-ass standup and now book author of the hilarious collection of essays, ”Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)?” There's also some real poignant parts, too! John and Zach discuss his writing process, Zach trying out as a male cheerleader in high school, Zach coming out to his Christian relatives, and they both share stories of having their lives saved by professionals: firemen in Zach’s case, lifeguards in John’s. Why don't you save your own life from boredom by listening to this episode?

Welcome to the latest episode of "The Social Butterfly Effect," where Carmen and John talk about how social media is taking over our lives and leaving us with no time for anything else, am I right??? The duo discusses some serious issues in this one, like plastic surgery and how it's taking over our feeds. But, they’re also going to have some laughs along the way, because let's face it, if we don't laugh, we'll cry. Not that you’ll be able to tell anyone’s crying thanks to all the plastic surgery, am I right??? John and Carmen also talk about how corporations have us by the balls and how we're all addicted to attention (watch Chris Rock's new special.) Carmen also relays her recent iPhone service chat experiences with a tech helper named “Manmeat" who gave her some virtual love. Next, John fantasizes about adding a sex robot to his and Carmen’s bed and, not to be outdone, Carmen wants to add her own sex robot, too (see “Manmeat”). The duo saves the episode's real gold for last when they talk about Judy Gold and her amazing one-woman show Off-Broadway. Overall, it’s a real family-friendly episode if you fast-forward through certain (most) chunks. Enjoy!

We talk Donald Trump's indictment, which feels like it was ages ago but we always give it a new twist. Then there's Dilbert’s Scott Adams and racism, diversity in the workplace, a new cafe near the duo and the sweet, horrible woman who runs it, and NOT a movie review of Peacock’s “Poker Face.” Somebody has cramps in this episode, can you guess who?

In the first episode of Season Five of the Human CentiPOD, Carmen and John review their European comedy tour (or, rather, Carmen’s comedy tour that John hijacked for seven days). Thanks to a German-wide airport strike, Carmen and John got to feel what it must've been like to be a German Jew in 1939 as they tried to escape - only to run into totally different problems in London. Also, John forgot to pack something very important for the trip that doesn't involve his penis for once. Movie Review: HBO's "The Last of Us" starring Pedro Mandalorian as the guy and also a girl is in it. BONUS: Carmen sleep talks for a change.

It's the final episode of Season 4 before the duo launch into Season 5 sometime in April. If you're a Patreon member, you will get exclusive mini-episodes in the meantime, lucky bastards. In this finale of all things "fin" Don Lemon's horrible misogyny is discussed ad nauseam. So is Patricia Heaton's response (bet you weren't aware of that one - but she did). Movie Review: "My Policeman" starring Hairy Styles. In the end, Carmen and John discuss their favorite moments from their fourth season of their AM radio knock-off known as a podcast. Or at least moments. See you in April!

John went to KIDSCREEN - a conference for producers and writers and investors, etc. for all things animation. Held in Miami this year and starting on Super Bowl Sunday (because nerds who draw cartoons don’t watch), Carmen learns (as will you) everything you never wanted to know about the animation world. The duo next launches into cures for bad backs. Well, not so much cures as complaining. Somehow this leads to talk of colostomy bags as John recounts the time his dad had one for three months. It's an episode full of literal crap for a change - enjoy!

Miley Cyrus’ new song "Flowers" is discussed and dissected at length - and very lovingly since Carmen thinks it speaks to her personally and John thinks it's the perfect theme song for the social media age - everyone is isolated so you have no choice but to love yourself, so you might as well love yourself better. Then Carmen quizzes John on relationships before he launches into telling old Valentine's Day jokes he wrote on a CBS show from long, long ago. The duo wraps up by asking Chat GPT specific love questions. That's right, they use the most powerful AI tool in history to answer Magic 8-Ball-style questions. Happy Valentine's Day!

Carmen and John spend most of this episode celebrating the beginnings of Black History Month. But before that, they finally detail what happened with last week's "Lost" episode. THEN...the new - and critically contentious - MLK statue in Boston is discussed (mostly because it looks like a penis - which the duo just can't see). Other segments include: "Some Of Our Favorite People Who Happen Be Black" and "Let's Use Chat GPT to Solve Racism" including the AI's thoughts on whether or not there will be a race war and, if yes, what should everyone wear for it?