Oct. 30: Marlene Swidzinski

When the cat's away, the mouse will play. It's the last Sunday of the month, so regular host Guy MacPherson is taking it easy. Colleen Brow gets in the game tonight. She welcomes Marlene Swidzinski. When a polka princess leaves the old country (Saskatchewan) for the downtown eastside, she's bound to ask, "Where are the men who can polka?" Colleen will talk with Swidzinski about her prairie Slavic origins, eventual urbanization, and her comic insights on art, society, motherhood, and livestock.

Tune in to 100.5 FM at 11 pm. Or livestream the show at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 438ish: Sean Kent

It's almost US election time! Better get this puppy up and running. It's my conversation with Texas-based standup comic Sean Kent, an avowed anti-Trumpist. And that's what we talk about for most of this very special Election '16 episode. He even tells us about the time he was kicked out of a Donald Trump rally just outside of Austin. Sean was with us back in 2010 (not 2006 as I incorrectly thought) if you want to compare episodes. Back then he gave us the full hour. This time we only got about 40 minutes of talk so I've supplemented it with his standup comedy. So this way you get some laughs along with the political conversation. Although I guess there are plenty of laughs as it is in their general election.

Have a listen before it's too late, especially if you're an American voter. You can click on the gizmo, or go subscribe to What's So Funny? on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever fine podcasts are dispensed. See you there.

Podcast episode 437ish: Sophie Buddle

This one was a long time coming. But totally worth the wait. Since this episode aired on the radio, the big $25,000 Sirius comedy competition has come and gone in Toronto. Our guest, Sophie Buddle, didn't take home the big bucks but she did achieve her goal of placing, finishing in the top 3. Not bad for a 22-year-old. Not bad for anyone, actually. We talk about her start in comedy at the tender age of 15, a photo shoot that wasn't a whole lot of fun, hobnobbing at a Hollywood Emmy Awards party, and she explains why Woody Allen is innocent. And funny.

Listen before it gets any older. You can click on the link below or go download the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you go to get your podcasts.

Oct. 23: Steve Bays

Tonight rock 'n' roller Steve Bays joins the 5-timers club. Coincidentally, while in a Gastown tourist shop this very afternoon, I heard his band, Mounties, playing over the speaker. Last time he was with us, I heard him playing at a coffee shop the same day. Kismet, baby. But his other group, Hot Hot Heat, just released their latest and last album and it's fantastic. So we'll talk about that, play a couple of tracks for you, and I'll find out why they say this is their last album and why they're not touring it. Maybe I'll convince him to keep the band going. I'll do my best. We'll also talk comedy because Steve is a huge comedy fan who has composed music for various comedy shows.

We're on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. If your old-timey radio is on the fritz, you can livestream us at coopradio.org.

Oct. 16: Sean Kent

We survived the storm of '16. Someone make the t-shirts. Just before it "hit" yesterday, I spoke with Texas comic Sean Kent, who was headlining the MIX all weekend. I thought I better turn it around quickly because we mostly talked about Donald Trump, a figure Sean has contempt for (for proof, see the photo below of him flipping the bird to Trump at a rally – and he tells us the story behind the photo in this episode). I figured if I sit on this and run it in a few weeks, twelve other Trump scandals or controversies could emerge. Or Hillary, for that matter. So that'll air tonight. Sean's been on the program once before. I told him I thought it was in 2006, but a careful search of the archives proves I was wrong: we spoke in 2010. So you can go find that one to listen to it to warm up for tonight's show.

We're on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. You can livestream us at coopradio.org, too, if you'd rather.

Podcast episode 436ish: Efthimios Nasiopoulos

Tune in to this podcast episode just to hear me nail the name Efthimios Nasiopoulos. Efthimios joined us at the last minute when our regularly scheduled guest fell ill. I ran into him at Yuk Yuk's on the night when he told me he just moved to town the week before from Toronto so I dragged him down to the studio and we faked it for an hour. He talks about glaciers out west (he considers anything west of Toronto to be "out west"), he opens up about his two broken engagements to be married, reveals how he retired undefeated from boxing, and discusses jobs like limo driving and serving summonses to unsuspecting folk.

Here it is. Have a listen to my conversation with the biggest name in comedy (tied with Costaki Economopoulos) by clicking below or finding us on iTunes or Stitcher or the like. And give us a rating, why don't you?