Succotash Epi21: Save Our Hard Drive Drive!

Succotash is legal! Well, at least we've turned 21, as in episode 21. Now that our podcast is officially an adult, we intend to stay out late, stop listening to our parents, and vote for whatever candidate spends the most money on TV commercials.

I'm continuing the campaign we kicked off last episode, the Save Our Hard Drive Drive. In an effort to stir more emotions about donating money to our efforts to retrieve some unproduced interviews off of my broken external hard drive, I feature a quick Skype conversation with comedian/writer/podcaster Ed Crasnick, who is the subject of one of the lost interviews.

Here's the picture that I promised I'd include during this podcast - it's the contents of the "Bob Ducca Resolution Ointment Application Kit" that I discovered included in a shipment I'd ordered from First Aid Global in Tarzana. Considered that image of my eyeball is from my @hershco Twitter avatar, I have to assume that Todd West, GM of the company and whose card was included in the bag, must be a Succotash passer. I love it!

In addition to the bouquet of comedy podcast clips included in this 'sode, and the chat with Mr. Crasnick, I've got a couple of other little tidbits: An audio sketch by Steve Shaw from New York, a short musical ditty by writer Chet Haase and a fresh new commercial from the good folks at Henderson's Pants. Speaking of which, our announcer Bill Heywatt is observing Lent this year and has sworn off the sauce until after Easter. So in lieu of Boozin' With Bill, we have him onboard reading an original poem, Ode To A Rose.

This episode is capped off, as usual, by friend-of-Succotash and top-notch political wag Will Durst in our Burst O' Durst. (Get more of him at http://WillDurst.com and watch him tweet as @WillDurst on Twitter!)

Comedy podcast-wise, here's who we have in this new episode:

Affirmation Nation with Bob Ducca

This installment of AN is about three weeks old and was called in by Bob from the road. I'm a little concerned that there's been nothing new since then. Is Bob okay? You might check in with http://Earwolf.com or on iTunes to see if Mr. Ducca's been rescued.

The David Feldman Show

The edgy, funny, politically savvy David Feldman continues to create entertaining content each week for his show on Peninsula radio, which is then released as a podcast. This particular clip delves into the news of the Richard Nixon love letters to wife Pat that were recently made public, and features Frank Conniff and Rick Overton doing the voice of Nixon. Catch all the fun at http://DavidFeldmanComedy.com, iTunes or on Stitcher.

Delicious Mediocrity

After some 86 episodes, the guys behind this Seattle-based comedy p'cast are calling it quits. Well, not quits, but they ARE switching gears, changing formats and ditching the current title in favor of a new monthly show that will be performed in front of a live audience. This is part of their farewell announcement.

Girl On Guy

Providing a woman's touch to the heavily testosteroned world of comedy podcasts, comedian Aisha Tyler goes one-on-one with Jimmy Pardo. Pardo's Never Not Funny podcast set the bar for comedy podcasts when he hit the 'net in 2006 with a paid model for a show and he proved the exception to the rule that people wouldn't pay for such a thing. Check out the full conversation at http://GirlOnGuy.net, iTunes or download her smartphone app for iOS or Android.

Podsmack

Fun title for a rollicking show from Walla, Australia. The three hosts - Matt Olsen, Sheyne Halloran, and Dana Simpson - are less than a dozen episodes into the podcasting game so far, but they're such big supporters of Succotash that we figured we'd give 'em a spin. The focus of this particular clip was so captivating that it actually inspired this week's Henderson' Pants ad. See more of them at http://podsmack.net or on iTunes.

The Rob & Joe Show 

Booming out of the Baltimore area, comedian/radio personalities Rob Maher and Joe Robinson have pulled themselves from the rubble of terrestrial radio and now put this show on live, online, every Monday night at 7:30 PM EDT. It then gets the podcast treatment at http://RobAndJoeShow.com and on iTunes.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour

TAH is one of the hottest comedy tickets for live shows in Los Angeles. It stages once a month and sells out way in advance. Presented in the fashion of an old-style radio show, it's a perfect format for modern-style podcasting. This clip features TV star Nathon Fillion (Castle, Firefly) as Cactoid Jim, King of the Martian Prairie.

BTW, this 21st episode of Succotash originates from Studio P in Sausalito, California - The Home of The Hit! - and I want to thank our engineer/producer Joe Paulino for pulling it all together, as well as Scott Carvey, our Musical Director.

If there's a comedy podcast out there that YOU listen to (or that you HOST), feel free to tell us all about it via marc@SuccotashShow.com, on our Succotash Hotline at (818) 921-7212.

Until next time, please remember to pass the Succotash

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi20: Chatting With Kenny & Dorien

I had no idea it was going to take this long to get to the next episode of Succotash. Between moving, a bum hard drive and the day gig (you don't think podcasting actually pays, do you?), it's been hard to scrape this epi together. But because it's been so long since the last show, I kicked in an extra half hour of audio goodness.

Dorien Davies and Kenny Stevenson

The core of this epi is my interview with Kenny Stevenson and Dorien Davies, a couple of sketch players, actors and now movie "hyphenates" who were recently in range while Kenny's group Oh, Brother! was performing in the 2012 San Francisco Sketchfest. (A few years ago, the three of us were also heavily involved in an innovative LA-based sketch group, called Fries On The Side.) I caught them on a sunny Sunday just before they headed back down south and we did the interview in Washington Square Park. (Needless to say, the audio experience of being outside is a little different than the perfectly balanced environs of Studio P - so please bear with the lesser sound quality.)

Kenny and Dorien not only talk about their experiences going through training and performances with The Groundlings in LA, but the excitement of writing, producing and starring in their first feature-length film. Missed Connections is heading for film festivals starting this month, so get the inside scoop on how it all came about right here.

During a break in the interview, I play Drinking Beer And Smoking Cigarettes, a novelty comedy song by comedian Perry Kurtz that dropped on YouTube less than a month ago and already has almost a million hits.

Tacking on an extra half-hour allows us to hear a decent number of podcast clips as well. Here are the shows in store for you, along with links to their homesites:

• Way Too Hip Radio

I've been meaning to get a clip up from LyonHart and Labrat for some time. I had an interview with LyonHart back when Succotash was just a few episodes old and they've been big supporters of the show You can check them out live every Monday night at 7 PM EST at http://WayTooHip.com or afterwards on iTunes.

• The Dana Gould Hour

Our clip is harvested from the second-ever episode of The Dana Gould Hour, a brand new offering from the show's namesake, who is a very funny comedian and writer (most notably on The Simpsons). In this segment, he's joined by fellow comic and writer Ed Crasnick. This and all future episodes of TDGH can be had at http://DanaGould.com and on iTunes.

• Probably Science

What is it about comedians and science? From Bill Nye, The Science Guy to the Professor Blastoff podcast, they go together like Goober's peanut butter and jelly. This newcomer to the podcast fold (less than a dozen 'sodes so far) features a trio of self-avowed "professional comedians and incompetent scientists" - Matt Kirshen, Brooks Wheelan, and Andy Wood - who take a look at science-oriented items in the news and have at them. Episodes also features guests, such as this clip from epi7 with Kyle Kinane. Catch up with the eggheads at http://ProbablyScience.com and iTunes.

• Royal & Doodall

This pair of rollicking Brits - Angus Doodall and Tommy Royal - have been stalwart retweeters of our Succotash Twitter feed and are fans of the show, despite the fact we haven't gotten around to playing a clip from their show...until now. In this clip, a segment they call "Redneck Sports", you'll hear their impression of a couple of Southern-fried hicks. There's a lot more to be had at http://RoyalAndDoodall.podbean.com or on iTunes.

• The Anti-Semantic Show

These spirited East Coasters - Ryan Anti-Hero, Pinder, Pradogod and Drew - describe themselves gleefully as "four assholes with microphones" so prepare to take the show as advertised. It's all in good fun, of course, including this clip where they're talking about possible ways, if unconventional, ways to protect yourself from a wolf attack. Find more fun at http://anti.libsyn.com and iTunes.

• Snitch & Lins

This is why it helps to reach out and let us know about your comedy podcast. Michael Snitch and Lindsey Price have just dropped their 30th 'sode and I'd never heard of them until they shot me a clip from their show. Have a listen and go find yourself a bunch more at http://SnitchAndIns.com or on iTunes. You can even see them here on YouTube.

We close the show with a Burst O' Durst, our episodic commentary by political comic and raging moderate Will Durst. Find more of his insights at http://WillDurst.com and follow him on Twitter @WillDurst.

To help remind you that we now have merchandise, faithful listener Mary Bernstein got herself a Succotash baseball jersey and is currently using a picture of her in it as her Twitter avatar (follow her @MaryElizabethhB). Take a look...

Finally, I've found a good use for funds that we take in through our Donate button on the website. (You DO know that we are listener-supported, right?) I have several very good interviews with comedian friends that are trapped on the faulty hard drive I mentioned way back at the start of this blog. turns out that it's going to cost a cool $1000 bucks to retrieve the data off that drive, so I'm kicking off the Succotash Save Our Hard Drive Drive! So far, we've still got $988 to go, so give generously won't you? And we'll see you back here next time.

Until then, please pass the Succotash!

Cheers,

Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi19: Boozin' With Bill Is Back!

This epi is really a mixed bag. No interview this time around, but plenty o' clippage. Including two of the biggest big names in show biz, stuff from across the pond in the UK. And a song — more or less — from past guest and Friend of the Succotash Fred Stoller, all about a podcast interview gone wrong.

Are podcasts changing the way people relate with each other? The more of them I listen to, the more I believe that it may turn out to be doing so, slowly but surely. We've got a clip from one show where a host returns after a stay in a mental health facility and I talk a bit about how such a thing used to be something shameful, not to be discussed. The way the others on the show treat the situation takes a lot of the gravitas out of the proceedings. (You may heard about comedian Todd Glass and his recent visit to Marc Maron's WTF podcast, where he chose to reveal that he is not a heterosexual. Again, a fascinating (and brave) approach to breaking social convention wide open.)

As trumpeted in the headline for this epi, our booth announcer Bill Haywatt returns for a Boozin' With Bill segment. His featured drink, "Life & Death", takes so long to prepare that we end up playing a couple of clips before drinking this most recent concoction. Follow the directions and prepare the recipe at your own risk.

You can now get Succotash all over yourself by patronizing our webstore and grabbing some of our merch over at the Succotashery. If you don't want to help us to keep the show going that way, perhaps you'd consider giving our Donate button a click and shoot us some bucks. It's right on our site, on the right.

Here's a rundown of this epi's clips. Click their titles for links to their home sites or check iTunes or Stitcher Smart Radio for the episodes...

Here's The Thing

Catch a few minutes of superstar actor Alec Baldwin, slumming in podcastland and interviewing superstar executive producer Lorne Michaels. Baldwin talks about his experience of hosting Michael's baby, Saturday Night Live, and does he say the writers raped him? You'll have to listen...

Illusionoid

This show is fast becoming a favorite of mine — some shows I listen to just for the clips, favorites I catch every week — and these Toronto-based improvisors (Paul Bates, Lee Smart and Nug Nahrgang) JUST took the coveted Globehead Improv Tournament championship for 2012. In this clip, they are joined by Whose Line Is It Anyway alum Colin Machrie.

The Last Podcaster Standing

As mentioned above, this clip earmarks an interesting milestone in comedy podcasting: A near-straight forward account with a regular kind of guy revealing the depths of the difficulty of dealing with everyday life. To the point where the guy — TK1 — checked himself into a mental hospital. His sympathetic-yet-laughing confederates on the show (Grant, Jason, Joe, Tom, and Stephanie) make his re-entry as painless as four cut-ups possibly can, one imagines.

Van Full Of Candy

The guys from VFOC are trying their hands (mouths?) at livecasting (as opposed to podcasting) and I happened to be privy to their "Episode Zero" test of the system over at Blog Talk Radio. So I called in to see how it was going.

I Am Idiot

Over in London,  three blokes (Howard, Keith and Ben) are I Am Idiot.They shot this clip over to me and most of the action deals with a little mind game they like to call "Impossible Choices".

Self-Help For Stoners

Author Robert "Chazz" Chute has turn the topic (and title) of one of his books, Self-Help For Stoners, in a platform (and title) for a podcast. Here we catch a blast from his Letters section. (Wonder if he's going to turn another of his tomes into podcast fodder? It's got a great title: Death & Mind Control (For Fun And Profit).

Nick Creeps On Peeps

There's a podcast for everything, as is proven by Nick Gauss, host/stalker of NCOP. In this clip, he's joined by one of his co-hosts from the other podcast he's involved with, Divided by Zero. In each edition, Nick stakes out some person to watch in a public place, then riffs on what they're doing and what their lives must be like.

Burst O' Durst

Or, rather, BURSTS O' Durst. We've got a double header this week — one in the first half, one in the second. Politicomic Will Durst supplies us with straight unadulterated comic views of first White House resident Barack Obama's State of the Union address and then the GOP Soap Opera that IS the run-up to this year's presidential election.

In addition to the clips, we've got promos from Chillpak Hollywood Hour, the UK's Badger's Briefcase, and The Thrilling Adventure Hour (with Superego). And, of course, a word from our perennial sponsor Henderson's Pants.

That's it. Fingers tired now. Go, friends, and pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi18, With Our Guest: Cole Stratton

It's January, which is S.F. Sketchfest time in San Francisco. Now in it's 11th year, Sketchfest has bcome a Big Deal in the national sketch scene, taking place in multiple venues across the city with over a hundred shows. And with some very big names gracing the stage — this year bigger than ever —the festival has gained massive attention. That was one great reason to have Cole Stratton as our guest, as he is the co-founder and co-organizer of the event.

If you've never had a chance to check out S.F. Sketchfest and you're within driving distance of The City By The Bay, you should definitely try to get in to see at least one of the shows (if you can still get tickets - many of the bigger name shows sell out quick!) For the full lineup, hop over to http://SFSketchFest.com. 

The other great reason to have Cole on is that he's also the co-founder and co-host of Pop My Culture, a very popular podcast that's about ten years younger than Sketchfest. It made a bunch of Top 10 Podcast lists last year and just fell in as one of fleet of p'casts under the Nerdist banner. Cole and his co-host, Vanessa Ragland, make for an engaging team and have had an impressive lineup of comic and celebrity guests on their show.

It's always a little more fun for me to have a fellow podcaster on a Succotash 'sode (the last time was Epi8 with Rob Celli from What Duvet Said), because they're invited to chime in on the various clips that we feature. Normally we don't play as many clips when we interview a guest but, this being one of our out-of-Studio-P interviews means that the guiding hand of engineer/producer Joe Paulino wasn't there to keep me more professional. so we have ten clips, a Burst O' Durst, a classic Henderson's Pants commercial...and the episode runs 17 minutes over our usual one hour time.

We also have a Skypversation with Kelly Carlin, spoken word performer and friend-of-the-show, who is performing her show A Carlin Home Companion at S.F. Sketchfest on Friday, January 27th.

Succotash News: We have merchandise! What's a podcast, after all,without something to try to sell you? Now we have it! There's not much in the "Succotashery" so far — several styles of t-shirts, coffee mugs hats and some other stuff, all sporting the spiffy new Succotash logo. We'll bring more stuff online in the coming months but, for now, click on this link (or over on the ad on the side) and check out the swag!

Succotash Reminder: Yours truly is a contributing reviewer for This Week In Comedy Podcasting, Jesse Fox's delightful column at Splitsider.com. There's a fresh rack of the funniest and hottest comedy p'casts reviewed every week.

For a full lineup of who Cole and I talk about on this show, it's right here! (As always, just click on a show's title to be taken to their website. All the shows are available through iTunes. And some of them (including Succotash) can be found on your smartphone or tablet's Stitcher Smart Radio app.)

Pop My Culture

As is our custom whenever we have a fellow podcaster along, their show gets to ride shotgun. Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland's hot p'cast features guest comics, actors and celebrities chewing the fat about the latest trends, movies, music and media. The guest this clip is Jim Rash, familiar to fans of NBC TV's Community as Dean Pelton, and also co-writer of the hit movie The Descendants.

The Bugle

This fun news-based comedy show straddles the Atlantic with one host, John Oliver, based in New York and the other host, Andy Zaltzman, holding down the fort in England (where the show originates from.) Epi178 is a historic episode of sorts as it is the last one produced under the banner of the London TimesOnline. From here on out the lads are on their own (but if you already subscribe to The Bugle on iTunes, you should receive the new episodes without interruption.)

Never Not Funny

Fast n' furious Jimmy Pardo is the host of this long-running comedy podcasts - one of the firsts to get out there, actually. He's also got a pay-to-play model going for the "Pardcast", so you'll have to visit his site to get the whole magilla. You can sample every episode through a free 20 minute hunk that's up on iTunes, though.

Jordan, Jesse, Go!

Jesse Thorn and Jordan Morris host fast-paced conversational show. Our guest, Cole Stratton, has worked with them a lot over the years and says they're as fun in person as they sound on their podcast. In this clip they're joined by "the Bitter Buddha", comedian Eddie Pepitone.

The Long Shot Podcast

Pepitone again? Yep, only here he's on his home turf, where he is a regular along with Sean Conroy, Jamie Flam and Amber Kenny. This quartet often has a guest but, even when they done, they hold court and laugh it up about current events, disturbing dreams and pretty much anything their wide-ranging conversations turn up.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour

Our guest, Cole, has lots of good things to say about this imaginative show, which is a monthly comedy staple in Los Angeles as a live stage show. Done in the motif of an old-time scripted radio, the cast and their slate of impressive guests consistently deliver a great listen. And since it's meant to be a radio offering, it's translation from stage to podcast is dead on.

You Made It Weird

Comic Pete Holmes and his show is now part of the Nerdist network of podcastery. Patterned in the spirit of Marc Maron's WTF show, Holmes has a knack for making his guests (often fellow comedians) feel a little uncomfortable at some point in the show but seems to usually all end in laughter. Here he talks with the very funny Nick Kroll. (Side note brought up by our guest this week: Holmes is the voice of the E-Trade baby on the TV commercials!)

Pod F. Tompkast

We've featured this very creative show before and with good reason - host Paul F. Tompkins is one of the funniest, fastest and inventive comedians around. The scripted longform material performed on the Tompkast is difficult to do justice to in the time we have, so do yourself a favor and grab a full show soon.

This My Show

Podcaster Jeremy Wein is a tribute to the idea that if you want to do a podcast, just go ahead and do it. He's not a comedian himself but he's managed to crack the code to get a lot of funny people to sit still with him long enough to do a decent interview. Here's he's caught up with NBC-TV's Parks & Recreation's Aziz Ansari. (Apologies to Jeremy - in the episode, I give out his site as ThisMyShow.com...it's actually ThisMyShow.NET)

Big Pop Fun

Another Nerdist family podcast? Yeah, I'm not sure why they're so prevalent on Succotash this episode — I swear there's no payola involved (but a fellow can dream, can't he?) — but they do have a quality lineup over there. This one is a young p'cast, hosted by veteran comedian Tom Wilson, most famous for his role as Biff (and Buford) Tannen in the Back To The Future movies. He's also a good interviewer as you can hear in his 3-part chat with comedian/writer/director Steve Oedekerk.

We close out the show with our Burst O' Durst feature, faithfully supplied to us by the politically bent comedy stylings of Will Durst.

That's it for this batch. Write me sometime at marc@SuccotashShow.com and let me know what's on your mind. You can also call into the Succotash Hotline at (818) 921-7212 and sound off about something you've heard or something you want to hear.

Thanks for listening! (You are listening, aren't you?) Don't forget to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi17: Happy 2012!

Back with producer Joe Paulino in Studio P for this New Year kickoff show! Succotash Epi 17 is stuffed full o' clips, this time a look back at some of my personal favorite p'casts. But we're only retreading a couple of cuts — I've selected a bunch of recent clips from amongst the podcasts I tend to listen to most (when I'm not scanning, scrolling and slicing up bits n' pieces of the known and unknown p'casts that have yet to grace our show...)

2011 was a banner year for Succotash, mainly because we kicked this whole mess off last April. Our first lucky break was getting a kickass theme song provided to us by our musical director Scott Carvey. And we've gotten a lot of nice ratings on iTunes (but we can always use more!), kindly comments on Twitter, got picked up by Stitcher Smart Radio, and yours truly started contributing reviews weekly to This Week In Comedy Podcasting over on Splitsider.com.

On the downside, we have yet to attract a sponsor (besides Henderson's Pants who, between you and me, doesn't pay us squat), which led to the brilliant idea of trying out being listener supported. While I'd love to be able to say this is your Succotash, not a single soul has clicked over there on the sponsor button since we put it up. Which means this is still my Succotash, damn it!

We're sure glad you're listening, of course, and we welcome your emails, tweets, and voicemails called into our Succotash hotline (1-818-921-7212). We're looking forward to an amazing 2012 — in addition to our usual lineup of funny, new, and interesting podcast clips from around the internet, we're looking into doing some live shows, hooking you up with some more amazing interviews, and just having a whole lot more fun before the Mayan prophesy takes over and kicks our butts in December...

Here's what we're serving up this episode:

Affirmation Nation

Can I play too much of Bob Ducca? I think not. To prove it, here's a rundown of everybody's favorite ex-stepdad with a list of his New Year's resolutions. Seth Morris kicked off this series over on Earwolf this year and the world's never been a brighter yet sad sackier place.

Comedy Bang Bang

Another offering from Earwolf — this time from one of its founders and operating partners, Scott Aukerman — CBB changed its handle from Comedy Death Ray Radio this past year but has retained its commitment to keep providing warped, weird and funny stuff thundering down the pipeline.

The David Feldman Radio Show

Ringmaster David Feldman is an old buddy of mine from his San Francisco standup days, but that's not why we feature him on Succotash. It's because his show is inventive, funny and often hard-hitting when it comes to taking the world's politicobankstershitheads down a peg or five.

Fitzdog Radio

There's something endearing about Greg Fitzsimmon's sincerity even when his humor gets biting. He has few qualms when it comes to exposing his own faults to his audience, a disarming quality which tends to make his guests open up (probably more than they were expecting to.) This clip is a sample of him at his soul-bearing best.

Mike And Tom Eat Snacks

I probably play clips from MATES more than is good for me, just from a calorie intake standpoint alone. But the repartee between hosts Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh, based around the simple notion of picking, tasting and rating snacks, is unique in the realm of podcastery and always makes me laugh out loud even when I'm by myself, which is vaguely disturbing.

Succotash

What?! Yes, I'm narcissistic enough to think some of the shit we do on this show is hilarious. Witness one of our Boozin' With Bill segments. Or any of the Henderson's Pants commercials. Then, of course, our occasional guests can rip the place up. One of our most pointed-out pieces is from Epi3, when Dana Carvey was our in-studio guest and we got a call from Sir Paul (no last names, please...)

Superego

I only discovered Superego this year - they've been around for a few - and I'm glad I did. Rooted in improv, this four-man team is always joined by a crew of some of LA's funniest improv, sketch and standup performers. And they never fail to throw together some stunning audio comedy.

This Week With Larry Miller

I've been a fan of standup comedian Larry Miller since he first worked a week headlining at Seattle's The Comedy Underground, which I managed in the mid-80's. His podcast has already had over a million downloads and it's a delight to see this raconteur storyteller capturing the attention spans of some younger listeners who have maybe never seen him on stage.

What The Fuck

Arguably the hottest podcast on the interwebs for the past couple of years, Marc Maron and his combination of manic self-introspection and probing, insightful interview style makes for a thoroughly entertaining show. Grab you some right here.

Burst O' Durst

We round out the first show of the year with a shot from our regular contributor, raging moderate politcal wag and wit Will Durst. He started shooting his reports to us early in our inception and continues to be a terrific flagpole in our comedy podcast bigtop.

That's quite a little lineup for you - hope it keeps you sated until the next epi is served up. Next time we'll have an interview from an old comedy chum and a bunch of fresh clips from show we haven't featured before. Until then, please remember to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi16: Jon Manfrellotti, Interviewed

Apologies in advance to anyone who believed me when, during the last edition of Succotash - that would be Epi15, that there was going to be a "regular" clip-heavy version this time. As luck, the Fates and some long-ago reserved vacation time would have it, I'm vacationing in Honolulu, Hawaii, as I both record this epi and bang out this blog entry. Since, therefore, I'm about 2400 miles from my beloved Studio P (and my equally beloved executive producer Joe Paulino and his audio magicianship), I'm opting to run an interview as the core of this edition.

Jon Manfrellotti

It's a great interview with a longtime friend of mine, comedian/actor Jon Manfrellotti. You might recognize him from his recurring roles on TV, either as Gianni on Everybody Loves Raymond or as Manfro, the bookie from Men Of A Certain Age. I talked to Jon about his standup career as well as his acting work, then we also veer into his favorite hobby: playing guitar. There are parallels between getting into a comedy career and starting a podcast, as well as maintaining both, and we hit on that a little bit, too.

In addition to the interview, I do manage to get in five podcast clips and a Burst O' Durst, so it's like presents under the tree. I even run 15 minutes over with this episode to give you a little extra Succotash for the holidays!

Here's who's up this time around...

Affirmation Nation

One of my favorite podcasts to come on the scene this year is Seth Morris' character of Bob Ducca and his short daily attempts to make life just a little bit better. Check out Bob's Christmas wish list, then go catch him over on Earwolf.com and on iTunes.

Wrong Foot Podcast

Podcasting is a great medium for audio sketches and you'll find the folks behind theWrong Foot Podcast stretching the envelope. They can be found at WrongFoot.net and on iTunes.

Delicious Mediocrity

We've featured Derek Sheen and Douglas Gale before, but that's because they put out a nice, consistent product when it comes to interviews and commentary. With a comedy angle steeped in the Northwest, catch more at DeliciousMediocrity.com and iTunes.

The Gentlemen's Club

Host Caleb Bacon has cranked out the episodes and features a mixed bag special of guests, ranging from strippers and porn stars to comedians, actors and sports celebrities. The clip we include here features adult film actress Randi Wright talking about her antics on TV. Get yourself a free pass at GentlemensClubPodcast.com or on iTunes.

The Dhead Factor

In a previous appearance, these guys from Australia's capital were only doing a rambling commercial - here's an actual clip. I was recently interviewed by Jabs, one of the Dheads, and you can catch that show and their others at TheDheadFactor.tumblr.com and iTunes.

We finish off the show with our regular feature, the Burst O' Durst, done up by politicomic Will Durst, who spouts off on his own site at WillDurst.com and on Twitter as @WillDurst - follow him!

You can also follow us, @SuccotashShow and, if you REALLY want to help a podcast out, jump up our listing in the podcast section of iTunes and rate us and/or click that li'l ol Donate button the right hand side of the page...that one...right there. No, no...THERE. We'd really appreciate it.

My New Year's Resolution is  to deliver a full-on clip-heavy episode of Succotash first thing in 2012. Until then, however, get busy with Epi16 and please be sure to pass the Succotash.

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi15: More Succotash, More Often

Christmas comes early to all you loyal Succotashians: We're going to start getting our episodes out more quickly! Since April, Producer/Engineer Joe Paulino and yours truly have been averaging a new 'sode about once every two or three weeks - sometimes even longer. (Hey, we gotta work for a living, just like you!)

BUT we've hit on a new format that should allow us to crank out more Succotash more often. By featuring interviews every other episode — with comedians, podcasters, comedian/podcasters, and other folk from the business of show — it really saves us production time. (People think doing a show featuring clips from other shows is easy, but it's very labor-intensive and we don't have interns, segment producers or anyone else running around here screening podcasts.)

In between those shows, we'll still feature our usual crop o' podcasts, but this will allow us to get more shows out to the listeners a lot more frequently.

Fred Stoller & Mitchell

Our interview this episode is with comedian/actor Fred Stoller, who you may recognize from his many appearances on TV and the occasional film. In addition, he does quite a lot of voiceover work which we talk about in the course of the interview.

Check out Fred's movie Fred And Vinnie and you can also click over to Atom.com to see current webisodes of his web series The Gate Show.

We had time to feature just one podcast this episode:

• The Comedy Point

Soul Joel heads up a crew on The Comedy Point that broadcasts live once a week — Tuesday nights, 5-8 PM, EST – in Philly and South Jersey on 1460 AM. The show then podcasts for the rest of the week.

• Cupla

This week we also feature some music from someone other than our crack music director Scott Carvey. It's a group called Cupla out of Canada (and I just realized that it's pronounced "coop-la", and NOT "cup-lah", as I pronounced in the episode. Sorry, guys!!!) and we play their single I'm Going during a break in our interview with Fred.

• Burst O' Durst

Finally, we have a great entry from regular contributor and political comedy assassin Will Durst presenting his Top Ten Comedy News Stories of 2011.

That's going to do it for our epi15 this time around. I'm off on vacation through the rest of the year, so we may not have any fresh Succotash until the end of the year...we'll see if I can find enough motivation while in Hawaii to pull one together. If we don't, have a happy holiday!

(And if you're looking for that perfect gift idea, why not pass the Succotash?)

— Marc Hershon