You may know the host of the Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People podcast, comedian Chris Gethard, from his standup, his appearances on This American Life, Broad City, or his other podcast, The Chris Gethard Show. But in this incarnation of the affable host, he takes a backseat to whomever wanders in via the phone.
He never knows who it may be and neither do we. The caller remains anonymous, and is never allowed to reveal their identity (although in the case of this latest episode, the guest has plenty of breadcrumbs scattered across the web which easily lead to his identity.)
Each mystery guest has one hour -- to the second -- in which to engage with Gethard, and this week's guest, the Writer of 18,000 Songs, takes full advantage of his time on Beautiful/Anonymous.
Gethard is fascinated with the man's undertaking, the sheer ability to write 18,000 songs, as well as his moxie. The guest takes singer Tom Petty to task for being a sell-out and a bit of a layabout -- after all, he's only recorded and released a few dozen songs in his day.
The conversation gets into whether the image of the tortured artist is more myth and show biz illusion that reality (the guest claims to be happy, well-adjusted and sane.) And there's a partial rundown of some of the subjects that the Writer of 18,000 songs sings about: Office supplies (including a stapler), household cleaning products, and poop. Copious amounts of music around the topic of poop.
Gethard seems bemused by the mystery artist's relentless bravado throughout the hour-long conversation, using the last few moments to dare the guest to improvise a song about being on the show.
Beauty in this case may be in the ear of the beholder, but I don't think song #18,001 is going to be a chart-topper.
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Hopefully that whole "women aren't funny" thing is a dead issue by now but, have you any doubt, cue into the Motherhood In Hollywood podcast. Hosted by actress, Emmy-winning writer, and mom Heather Brooker, this latest installment welcomes another woman-on-the-workfront, Rachna Fruchbom, who went from stay-at-home-mom (or SAHM) to writing on Parks & Rec and now is a staff writer on ABC's Fresh Off The Boat.
Already the mother of one, Fruchbom was super-pregnant when this show was recorded, which lends itself to all kinds of reminiscing for both host and guest, mostly about how damned uncomfortable it gets when you're just about to have the baby.
Interestingly, the guest was a script reader at Smoke House Pictures, George Clooney's production company, and didn't turn to writing until she became housebound raising her first child.
Moms listening will certainly be able to relate to some of the situations shared by both Fruchbom and host Brooker, while the rest of us may learn a thing or two we didn't know before -- like the reason new mothers may seem so chatty in line at the store or the post office is because it may have been days since they had a conversation with an adult. Or how toddlers don't understand that SAHMs are working just as hard as daddy, who blissfully skips off to work every morning, leaving mom holding the diaper bag.
My reactions to the stories I heard in this episode were alternately laughter, sympathy and awe at being able to churn out creative work while juggling the responsibilities of being a mom.
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Podcasts I'm also listening to this week: Dopey: On Drugs & Addiction -- Episode 26, and improv4humans -- #237: Jenny Owen Youngs, Tim Meadows, Katie Dippold, Eugene Cordero
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The Beautiful/Anonymous, Motherhood In Hollywood reviews and other podcasts mentioned originally posted as part of This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com.
Marc Hershon is the host and executive producer of Succotash, The Comedy Podcast Podcast, featuring clips from comedy podcasts from across the Internet as well as interviews with podcasters, comedians, and assorted show biz folk.