This week: Comedy juggernaut Judd Apatow courts disaster… London’s suds flood… and Rico experiences the sweet taste of Conflict. Plus, a joke from author du jour Dinaw Mengestu and new music from Kiwi band Secret Knives.
Icebreaker: Dinaw Mengestu
Much-heralded author Dinaw Mengestu dictates a joke about African politics. (His second novel How to Read the Air debuted this week.)
Small Talk: A Bandwidth Apart
The folks at Marketplace regale us with some news stories you might’ve missed. Like the report that says a fifth of prime-time internet bandwidth is eaten up by customers of a single company.
(Radio listeners heard Andrew Womack, founding editor of daily online magazine The Morning News, tell Brendan & Rico about a terrifying development for family-owned farms.)
A History Lesson With Booze: The London Beer Flood and “The Last Call to Porter”
This week back in 1814, enormous vats of ale at London’s Meux Brewery burst, letting loose a tsunami of beer. Sound awesome? Not for the people it killed. Hear the sobering tale, and chase it with a cocktail that won’t help you dry out.
“The Last Call to Porter,” as created by bartender Katie Rose of Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge in beer-soaked Milwaukee, WI:
- 1 oz. Knob Creek Bourbon
- 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse
- 1/2 oz. Benedictine
- Porter beer
Shake up the hard liquor until it’s fit to burst. Strain into a coup glass, then flood the mix with your favorite porter beer (Katie recommends Milwaukee’s own Mudpuppy Porter). Don’t drink it in a basement.
Guest of Honor: Judd Apatow
Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow has conquered TV (Freaks and Geeks) and film (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) with his signature blend of lowbrow laffs and bromantic sincerity. Now he takes on the publishing world with I Found This Funny — an anthology of his favorite prose humor. He tells Brendan about his limited vocabulary and why he can’t get past love.
Next Friday (Oct 29) Judd hosts an evening of music and comedy in LA to launch the book. Guests include Lindsey Buckingham, Randy Newman, and Garry Shandling, among others. Proceeds go to 826LA’s free student tutoring program.
Main Course: Conflict KitchenPittsburgh, PA’s Conflict Kitchen is a take-out food window that serves up street cuisine from countries with which the U.S. is in conflict. Their forthcoming specialty: Bolani, the street food of Afghanistan. Co-founders Dawn Weleski and Jon Rubin give Rico a taste, and explain why waiting in line for it can make you a better citizen.
One For The Road: Secret Knives – “The Northwest States”
New Zeland’s Secret Knives carve walls of shimmering guitar into plaintive, hummable pop. Evidence: “The Northwest States,” a gem off their Affection LP. Best listened to while surfing into a timewarp. (Current play count: 80!)
Music On This Week’s Show:
Sea & Cake – “The Argument”
The Wedding Present – “Signal”
Link Wray – “Jack The Ripper”
Tipsy – “Liquordelic”
Budapest Chamber Orchestra – Johann Nepomuk Hummel: “Piano Concerto 3 (Finale: Vivace)”
ZZ Top – “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”
Bright Eyes- “We Are Nowhere and It’s Now”
DJ Shadow – “War Is Hell”
Secret Knives “The Northwest States”
