"I think the poor guys just going through changes."

Happy New Year!

Today we're discussing The Simpsons Season 6 Episode 10 Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy from 1994. It's the one where Homer and Grandpa sell their own aphrodisiac in a traveling medicine show.

I'm joined by my new friend Sunset Appleton- we talk about how we've been watching The Simpsons for longer than we can remember (literally), and why the show lends itself to memes and shitposts more than other media. We also dive into the bizarre history of the medicine show- white suits, painless dentistry and the superhero who told kids to drink 16 martinis a day. We also cover the wild history of the twin bed.

You can follow Sunset at complexpastiche on Instragram.

Follow this show at bartannicapod on Instagram.

Sunset Recommends: "Step Right Up" by Tom Waits

Harrison Recommends: The "Simpsons Mental Health" Facebook Group Step Right Up by Brooks McNamara "Slurf Song" by Michael Hurley Alice In Wonderland test footage - Unbirthday Mad Tea Party - Disney

Research:

A Cultural History of Twin Beds by Hilary Hinds Hawkers and Walkers by Richardson Wright Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones by Ann Anderson Quackery, A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Peterson

"Does love outweigh everything else? I guess it has to, if you’re a sitcom.”

Happy Holidays!

Today we’re discussing The Simpsons Season 14 Episode 17 Three Gays of the Condo: when Marge and Homer have a big fight, Homer moves out of the house and into an apartment in Springfield’s gay neighborhood, with sexy results! It guest stars Scott Thompson and Weird Al.

My guest is Jamie Brew (Clickhole, The Onion); we discuss his AI company, Botnik Studios and his current project, Robot Karaoke. We talk about how he started making comedy with predictive text, using Craigslist to generate song lyrics, and the one thing AI art will never be able to properly reproduce.

We also talk about the ups and downs of Marge and Homer’s relationship, and if the show intentionally keeps it from truly changing, why there will never be another Rip Taylor, and how this episode totally wastes a cameo by Weird Al.

You can follow Jamie @jamieabrew on IG/Twitter & @jbrew on Bluesky.

You can follow this show @bartannicapod on IG.

Robot Karaoke

- Regularly in NYC at Wonderville, Boshi's Place and elsewhere

- Every month at The Elysian Theater in LA

See upcoming shows at: https://theweirdalgorithm.com/

Botnik: Seinfeld Script

Botnik: Harry Potter and The Portrait of What Looked Like A Large Pile of Ash

Botnik: Fake Coachella Names

1040: Yesterday

CCK Philosophy: The Simpsons and the Death of Parody

Jamie Recommends:

The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang.

Harrison Recommends:

These articles & books about gay neighborhoods-

There Goes the Gayborhood by Amin Ghaziani

Who Are the People in Your Gayborhood by Daniel Baldwin Hess and Alex Bitterman

The Life and Afterlife of Gay Neighborhoods Alex Bitterman

Gay Urban Identity by Paul Ruiz

“It’s asking you to think both too much and not enough.”

To celebrate the show's 6 month anniversary we've got a great new episode for you. Today we're discussing the format-breaking episode from The Simpsons Season 11 Episode 22 Behind the Laughter. It's a parody of VH1's Behind the Music, where the Simpsons star in a TV show about their life. But they aren't actors, they're just playing themselves in a scripted sitcom, which is The Simpsons tv show we all actually watch. As I'll say more than once, this is a weird idea!

I'm joined by the very funny Alex Nichols, an actor/improviser/photographer based in Denver. We discuss whether this episode succeeds as a parody, the insane reason The Simpsons was banned in Alex's house growing up (it's not why you think!), and if the best part of the whole episode is in the last 5 seconds. We also talk about MC Hammer's unique rise to fame, the album Willie Nelson wrote for the IRS, and why doctors used to spray fire hoses at depressed people.

You can follow Alex on Instagram and Letterboxd at alexnichols. And watch his new sketch, "Miss", on YT: Miss by Nickels and Coal

You can follow this show on Instagram at bartannicapod.

Alex Recommends:

Documentary: Close Up on Internet Archive

Harrison Recommends:

Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling by Jason Mittell