This Is Your Afterlife

Completing the Unexplained Legends set with the second co-host of that wonderful comedy conspiracy podcast, Denis Len. Irish comedian, Edinburgh Fringe comrade-in-arms of mine, appearer on the BBC New Comedy Awards and the So You Think You're Funny? final, and consummate This Is Your Afterlife guest. We're in a new classic era, can you feel it?

Content warning: existential crises, fear of death, fear of standup, customer service gaslighting, video games as peak experiences.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Denis on Instagram at @denislen3d.

Listen to Denis and Roger O'Sullivan's brilliant podcast, Unexplained Legends!

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

He is one half of the comedy conspiracy podcast Unexplained Legends, which is so funny it kept me from using it to fall asleep. He's a BBC New Comedy Awards nominee. He's an Irishman. We performed at the same warehouse venue above Bar Bados—a Scottish tiki bar, yes—at my first Edinburgh Fringe. I love Roger O'Sullivan, and I really, really think you will too.

Content warning: warm water and cold tea, depression and bipolar disorder, therapy, balming out, Iceland, The Training Grounds and, on occasion, The Proving Grounds.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Roger on Instagram: @rogerocomedy, and Twitter: @rogerosullivan.

Most importantly, LISTEN TO UNEXPLAINED LEGENDS, Roger's hilarious podcast with comedian (and future guest) Denis Len about conspiracy theories, unexplained mysteries, and paranormal legends.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

Raphael Jose Martinez is a punk rock Swiss Army knife of an artist, a fan of the show, and an open book. A real "(sensitive) dudes rock!" episode we got right here.

Content warning: difficult-to-express thoughts around disability and deafblindness that we awkwardly but I think productively sort through, matter-of-fact death 'tudes, playing Misfits at the funeral, me ripping off the Hirokazu Koreeda film After Life, horticulture, true friendship.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Raphael on Twitter: @CityCelluloid

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

It's the first backward episode of the show, with Neo-Futurist ensemble member Cat Huck! We start with Cat dissecting one of her plays, "Hold," and I realize we've been talking about her coma moment, the death of her friend Ben.

Content warning: suicide, grief, lilac leather, going to war with roosters, one person's love vs. the spirit of Love.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Cat on IG: @cathuck

See Cat and the rest of the Neo-Futurists in The Infinite Wrench every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Chicago.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

You've seen Thomas Kelly on TV in hella commercials, and the lucky ones of us have seen him perform on stage with the legendary Chicago improv team Sand alongside previous TIYA guest Mike Brunlieb (and Scott Nelson and others). Thomas and I go way back, and this is an especially cozy chat. The rare in-person This Is Your Afterlife!

Content warning: self-improvement, "Do you know who I am?," vampire lit, praise for doing bits, afterlife as cake or life as cake or maybe both but at different times?

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Sand on Instagram: @sand.improv

Join Sand's mailing list by just emailing Thomas directly and asking: [email protected]

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

Befitting the producer he is, Patrick Cotnoir (The Chris Gethard Show, The George Lucas Talk Show, ASSSSCAT) would book the hell out of his own funeral. He answers the usual TIYA questions and tries to deconstruct the show in the process. According to me, he fails!

Content warning: Nothing, discomfort with self, booking your own funeral, SPOILERS (skip from 35:11-40:00 if you haven't seen the episode of The Chris Gethard Show we mention).

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @patrickcotnoir, and Instagram: @cotnoir.

Get tickets to Patrick's new show, Untitled Improv Project, at Dynasty Typewriter in LA.

Watch The George Lucas Talk Show on YouTube: @TheGeorgeLucasTalkShow.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks to Associate Producer Sam Welbel!

---

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

It's the second annual This Is Your Afterlife New Year's Special, initially recorded as a Patreon bonus episode with Claire Favret. Call it the Solstice Special. I come hard out the gate with depression and we dive into darkness and its purposes, plus all of Claire's family's solstice traditions, which are many. 

Thanks for spending any part of your year with me and this show. See you in 2023!

Content warning: ungrateful children, Eve Bunting's Night Tree, winter solstice, resolution sprees, ongoing muffled scream.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes like this one! Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Claire, @clairefavs, on Twitter and Instagram.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Transcript: This Is Your Afterlife on Podscribe

Music = Future: "Use Me" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

Zoe Witt (Teen Vogue, LA Times) has written pieces I've loved about living with diabetes in the era of insulin price-gouging. "Insulin Legislation Is Leaving Out Many Diabetics: What to Know" is a great intro to an issue that makes its way onto Netflix and comedy stages despite 99% of people having no clue of the real stakes.

Zoe's also an organizer with Mutual Aid Diabetes (MAD), a volunteer-run resource hub connecting diabetics of all types with vital medication, supplies, and information they need to stay alive.

And hey, Zoe has a need right now! Bell's palsy symptoms are keeping her from working, so she needs funds to keep her housed and healing. I've donated $10 to Zoe's Venmo. Can you match or exceed me? Email [email protected] with what you donate, and I'll report our total next week! Here are their payment handles:

Venmo: @Zoe-Witt

Cash App: $ZoeWitt

Content warning: insulin rationing, suicide, astrology, writing a birthday card to Jeff Bezos, perfect pasta meal, let your disability stop you!

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Zoe, @zoehaswitt, on Twitter and Instagram, and check out their website for more writing.

Give to Mutual Aid Diabetes at mutualaiddiabetes.com/donate. Follow MAD on Twitter at @MutualAidBetes and on IG at @mutualaiddiabetes.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Transcript: This Is Your Afterlife on Podscribe

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

"A high-ranking angel is banished from heaven and forced to work customer service in purgatory as punishment." That's the description of Luca Harsh's original pilot, Purgatory, Inc. It's a fun show that's easy to imagine animated on your streamer of choice. Add Luca's transit activism into the mix, and you've got a classic TIYA guest. Thanks to friend of the show Whitney Wasson for suggesting them!

Content warning: hidden autism diagnosis, forced fun, beach volleyball with coworkers, mushroom suit!

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Luca, @lucaisharsh, on Twitter and Instagram, and check out their Linktree for links to all their projects.

Also check out Commuters Take Action at ctaction.org.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Transcript: This Is Your Afterlife on Podscribe

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"

Psalm One is a dope, experienced, independent rapper from Chicago who I just love. Her most recent album, Bigg Perrm, is one of my favorites of the year. She's also an author! Her first book is a memoir, Her Word Is Bond: Navigating Hip Hop and Relationships in a Culture of Misogyny, and it's great for the reasons she is: direct, unflinching, shocking, relatable, and funny.

The way Psalm One talks about her career—making high-quality work for years, watching peers rocket to success, feeling and battling resentment, and powering through it all with love for her craft and belief in herself—I find it hella affirming. I was stoked to talk to her, and I'm stoked to share our conversation with you.

Content warning: domestic violence, exclusive funeral, bonding through complaining, thinking you've transcended.

Patreon supporters make This Is Your Afterlife possible and get awesome bonus episodes. Become an Afterhead at patreon.com/davemaher.

Follow Psalm One on Twitter: @PsalmOne

Listen to and buy her music on Bandcamp.

And get Her Word Is Bond straight from the publisher, Haymarket Books.

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and culture essays, plus music recs. And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Transcript: This Is Your Afterlife on Podscribe

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"