Dystopia Tonight With John Poveromo

Day 177 - Quantifying The Mysteries of Life with John Doe

Man, having John Doe on Dystopia Tonight was a fucking blast. We covered just about everything from his incredible and varied career, his new album, touring, quantifying the mysteries of life, what people were fucking to in the 30s, hanging with John Waters, his friendship with Dave Alvin, supernatural stuff, and more! Enjoy!

Day 176 - Tom Dreesen ”Leaving The Neighborhood”

Tom Dreesen is a living legend in comedy and entertainment. Opening for Sinatra and being one of the few individuals to actually get close enough to call him a friend and father figure is extraordinary enough but Tom’s career expands beyond that. Opening for and palling around with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frankie Avalon and the Four Seasons, and starting his career as one of the only black and white comedy acts with Tim Reid barely scratches the surface. He’s a comedy store legend defending his fellow comics in the historic strike that allowed comedians to be paid for their work, coming up with Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Elayne Boosler, Mike Binder, and other greats. He’s had an incredible career and I was lucky enough to get to talk to him about it. Enjoy guys!

Day 175 - Jamie Kennedy

Jamie Kennedy was a blast to talk to on Dystopia Tonight! It’s always a good time when another comedian who has also got a killer podcast (“Hate To Break it to Ya with Jamie Kennedy”) comes to hang out and shoot the shit for a bit. We do a deep dive into his career, one of my favorite comedy documentaries done by Jamie, called “Heckler” and talk about the past and present states of comedy, social media, our current dystopian climate, Elon Musk, surviving Hollywood and more! Enjoy!

Day 174 - Knock Knock Give A Sock with Adina Lichtman

Adina Lichtman is a young philanthropist and founder of the non-profit Knock Knock Give A Sock (KKGS). Adina’s goal is to reimagine the concept of “charity” and how members of a community care for one another. Rather than simply seeking donations, which often feels transactional and anonymous, KKGS fosters genuine connection between members of a community and those experiencing homelessness. She does this by inviting companies to collect socks for those in need, and then brings employees and those living in shelters together to share a meal side-by-side. By giving community members an opportunity to share a meal, she humanizes the experience of homelessness and creates a dynamic where community members feel genuinely responsible to care for one another. \

During the pandemic, when in-person events weren’t possible, Adina authored two children’s books to keep her mission alive. Titled “Knock Knock, Give A Sock” and “Knock Knock, Where’s My Sock?,” the books tackle the issue of homelessness from two vantage points - the perspective of a young girl who learns that her neighbor is homeless and in need of a pair of socks, and from the perspective of another young girl who needs to move to a local shelter and loses her lucky socks. Both books feature a strong young girl who’s able to make an impact in her community regardless of her housing status. 

We talk about benefits and the community she’s been growing through her charity work, the causes and perceptions of homeless and her goals for the future to expand this amazing charity. Enjoy!

https://knockknockgiveasock.org/

Day 173 - Bill Persky

Legendary Emmy Award Winning television writer, director and producer Bill Persky climbs out of the world behind the golden age of television to talk to us on Dystopia Tonight about his beginnings as a comedy writer for comedians with his writing partner Sam Denoff, his relationship with the late George Shapiro and Carl Reiner and his incredible experiences as a writer and a story consultant on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

 

We talk about what lead to him working with Carl Reiner, what Carl passed on to him, his relationship with Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore and the rest of the cast, each epsiode he and Sam Denoff wrote together and much more.

 

This is only part 1 of a 2 part interview with Mr. Persky and it was an honor having him on. Enjoy this one guys!

Day 172 - Rolling In The Thunder with Amy Annelle

Loved getting to talk with Amy Annelle about her life and career on Dystopia Tonight. Truly a road warrior as her passion for music and performing kept her Van Lifing before Van Lifing was even a thing! She’s traversed the country performing anywhere that would have her, leaving her lyrically limitless and full of stories from places she’s been and people she’s met. After discovering her cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Buckskin Stallion" at the end of the Oscar winning film 3 Billboards I haven't been able to stop listening to her catalogue of incredible music. Enjoy everyone!

Day 171 - From The Inside Out with Dan Dion

Dan Dion was once described by the late George Carlin as a photographer who takes a picture of you from the inside out. Which Dan has said is the greatest compliment he’s ever received. Nothing I say here can rival that so I’ll just add that having my first set of professional photos as a comedian done by Dan left an indelible mark as to how they should be done for the rest of my career. He’s had an incredible career and is a genuine fan of comedians and the art of comedy. He’s a huge part of comedy history captured in a way very few of us can understand. Talking to him about his life and career for an hour makes you feel like you’re right there with him. Enjoy this one guys, it’s a blast!

Day 170 - A Mic, A Light And A Place To Stand with Robert Klein

An evening with Robert Klein wrapped in Dystopian foil and served to you via the internet is just what the comedy doctor ordered! Getting to digitally sit down with a legend is always a blast but with Robert it became illuminating in a way I had not expected. Attentive an extremely generous with his Robert and I take a deep dive into his childhood, his passion for comedy and performing, his extensive career spanning every avenue of entertainment, his friendships and some stories with George Carlin, Madeline Kahn, Robin Williams, Paul Reiser, Jerry Seinfeld, Jonathan Winters, and more! We also talk about him being a student of History, getting into some current events, past politics, and where we’re currently headed as well as always being able to dodge the censors, and all the over talk of “sensitivity” in comedy today. Enjoy!

Day 169 - Pandemic Pillow Talk With Summer Moore and Starr Session

Summer Moore and Starr Session join us to talk about their new series Pandemic Pillow talk!

"In a world where the standard method to find a suitable mate is swiping men holding dead fish, a levelheaded woman undertakes actual 'online' dating during a global pandemic and finds that she should be quarantining from online dating instead."

We talk working through the pandemic, their creative and collaborative process, dating ups and downs, social media, and more! Enjoy!

Day 168 - Ukranian Comedian Sviat Zagaikevich

As comedians we’re constantly talking about or being talked about - the balls it takes for anyone to get on a stage alone for a given amount of time and try to make an audience laugh. But in Ukrainian comedian Sviat Zagaikevich’s case he and his fellow comics have set the bar impossibly high by performing stand-up comedy in a bomb shelter while Russians invade and the ever looming presence of Nuclear war could take them out in an instant.

It’s a far cry from being heckled on stage. Or as of recently getting slapped at the Oscar’s and tackled at the Hollywood bowl. All that aside getting to speak to Sviat was a blast and inspiring. His humanity shines through when he talked about everyone having to play a part in this current war and he knows where he and his friends stand. Up against a brick wall, mic in hand, making people laugh while all hell breaks loose. Enjoy this one guys. I definitely did.