Episode 1564 - Moon Zappa

Matt Groening discovered the things that helped shape his artistic sensibility when he was 12 years old: psychedelia, the Grateful Dead, Catch-22, and of course cartooning. Matt explains to Marc how the road to creating The Simpsons started in Portland, Oregon and had stops in New York City, Los Angeles, the Licorice Pizza record store, the LA Reader and the office of James L. Brooks. They also talk about The Simpsons becoming a breeding ground for comedy writing talent and Matt reveals, for the first time, who was the real inspiration for Homer Simpson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite having close relationships with innumerable people in the entertainment industry, Mark Flanagan is aware that a lot of people don’t know much about him, even his first name. They just know him as Flanagan, owner and programmer of the LA nightclub Largo. Flanny talks with Marc about his family’s escape from Northern Ireland during The Troubles and his obsession with music that brought him to Largo in the early ‘90s, eventually owning the club where he could showcase the people he most admired in music and comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Judd Apatow was an early fan of WTF and a perennial supporter of the show throughout its run. So when he asked Marc if he could be a guest one more time for an episode where he plays his favorite moments, of course the answer was yes. And because Marc’s general practice is to never listen to the episodes, he is hearing most of these clips for the first time and reacting to them accordingly. It’s a unique look at the history of the show, curated by a self-described “comedy nerd” and longtime WTFer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When WTF started in 2009, Never Not Funny was already there. Jimmy Pardo has been in the podcast game for almost 20 years and was a direct inspiration for Marc back when he wanted to start one of his own. Jimmy and Marc talk about being there in the early days of the medium, how they each learned how to make podcasting work as a business, why Jimmy held onto some bitterness through the years, and how they’ve each come to let go of the things that used to bother them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether Christopher Guest is creating characters, writing scripted comedy or doing long form improv, it’s all music to him. Christopher talks with Marc about his musical background, jazz clubs, the British comedy revue Beyond the Fringe, the National Lampoon, Lily Tomlin and other building blocks that paved the way for his work on This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and more. They also talk about Christopher’s longtime collaborations with Michael McKean and Eugene Levy, as well as his daily routine involving guitars, newspapers and fly fishing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.