Culture Dumps

The term “fitness guru” gets thrown around a lot these days, but it was never more fitting than in the case of Richard Simmons. A life-long food addict with a heart of gold, Richard soared to the highest echelons of fitness fame and helped the world lose an estimated three million pounds! But the darkness he defeated as a young man would come back to haunt him in his old age…

The Little Rascals are best known now for the 1994 film that has gone on to be a multi-generational classic. In fact, there is almost nothing really dumpable about it. However, when you look back just a little further in time, you will find that the same cannot be said for the original Little Rascals cast, aka Our Gang. What started as a macabre Hollywood joke, the Our Gang curse soon became an undeniable tragic force with about a dozen tragedies attached to the gang. AND HOW!

IMPORTANT! It is highly recommended that you watch the film “Gypsy 83” before listening to this episode! Todd Stephens is the critically acclaimed writer and director that brought us such seminal pieces of queer cinema as “Edge of Seventeen,” “Gypsy 83,” and “Swan Song.” Todd recently released the 25th anniversary director’s cut of his 2001 goth-roadtrip masterpiece “Gypsy 83.” Ryan sits down with Todd to fan out, talk growing up goth, the impact of queer cinema, and why small towns are both heaven and hell.

This episode concludes our two-part series on the rise and fall and fall of Carlos Mencia. A wise person once said “a thief is a thief is a thief.” Well, case in point. Ryan and Eric discuss the notorious night at the comedy store that saw the destruction of one monster career and in many ways, the birth of another. And, as an added bonus, it turns out, Carlos still be stealing.

Carlos Mencia was a standout star of the 00’s, but accusations of joke stealing brought him down lower than the level of those he was accused of stealing from. Accusations of joke stealing were nothing new in the world of comedy when Mencia was on top of his game, but the rise of the internet and social media would bring the once industry-only rumors to the public. Ryan is joined by Eric D of Methsyndicate to uncover the whole story.