David Misch has written for everything from “Saturday Night Live” to “Mork & Mindy.” He now teaches classes on the history of comedy… and he’s distilled his wisdom — and that of other comic luminaries — into the primer “Funny The Book: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Comedy.” He gives Brendan a crash course in Sumerian humor and the wild(e) birth of standup.
Each week on chattering class, we're schooled by an expert in some party-worthy topic. The topic this time around? The creator of Wonder Woman, William Marston. And our teacher is indie filmmaker Angela Robinson. Her new biopic is called "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women." Listen as Angela shares with Rico how she heard about Marston’s fascinating life story, why she became obsessed with it, and how his psychological theories influenced her point of view.
Back in the early '80s, four lanky Brits calling themselves Depeche Mode, armed only with primitive synthesizers, started churning out pop hits. Nearly 40 years later they've sold over 100 million albums and are one of the most popular live acts on Earth. This weekend they'll become the first band ever to play four consecutive sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Rico spoke to Mode's main songwriter, Martin Gore, and his fellow founding member, Andy Fletcher, about their synth beginnings, their shift to more political music, and the worst night of their musical lives.