WDEK Podcast Ep. 99: Subhah Agarwal & Michael Cyril Creighton - 1/25/22

Happy New Year!  Justin, Christian and Shonali are together again virtually for their 99th episode. 99 months together and they start the year out with a bang. Insert - Shonali's video of a downpour in her apartment.  Christian coins the term twinergy.  Our first guest is stand-up comedian, writer, actress Subhah Agarwal (Late Night with Lilly Singh, Westworld, The Jim Jeffries Show.)  She's bicoastal which we find out is not as not as glamourous as you might think.  She started doing stand-up when she was 17 years old bc as she says, she was a "bizzarre" child! Subhah is getting married this year and is having an Indian wedding.  To her fiancé's delight, there will be no "big robes" used during the ceremony.  Follow Subhah on her socials and catch her live on a stage near you!

For the first time ever Christian  shares his singing talents in singing his recent collaboration with Adele! It's an emotional performance. One you might want to watch for yourself on YouTube or FB Live. 

Our last guest of the evening is actor, writer extraordinaire Michael Cyril Creighton (Only Murders In The Building, Dexter, Spotlight, High Maintenance.)  We find out what "character bleeding" means. Do you remember how self-centered we all were before the pandemic began? We discuss Michael's dream job working on Only Murders In The Building and what he's looking forward to in 2022.  Be on the lookout for Michael in the upcoming final season of Dexter. 

Please join us next month for our 100th Episode of We Don't Even Know! It will be SPECIAL! 

WDEK Podcast Ep. 98: Julie Felix and Rashad Bashir - 11/30/21

Christian and Shonali are back with two celebrations under their bigger belt lines - Halloween AND Thanksgiving!  Our special guests are NYC comedian, actor, host Rashad Bashir and for the first time ever, Christian's twin sister Julie Felix, an expert leader in diversity, equity and inclusion join us on the show. 

Don't tell us you can't figure out what Shonali and Christian's 2021 Halloween costumes are.  They discuss pandemic weight gain in the chest area AND the stress of Thanksgiving leftovers.

Julie Felix, Christian's twin sister joins us for the first time on WDEK!  We delve into Christian and Julie's childhood which started out in the womb together.  Womb Wars Julie Christian illustration by Jasper Patch. 

 The two grew up in Deerfield, Illinois in which Julie says they were "99.9% of the 1% of diversity in Deerfield."   Shonali and Julie unite in their throat scratchers status which Christian hates.  Julie shares her pet peeves about her brother.  Can you guess what they are?

Our next guest is comedian, actor, host Rashad Bashir!  We discuss Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Bashirs.  Don't get Rashad started on cooking.  He is also known as Chef Bashir in his home and we want some of his honey glazed brussel sprouts NOW.  Rashad can dance too, just ask his fiancée! We talk about the beginnings of Rashad's comedy career,  Dave Chappelle's recent controversial comedy special, and the show We're Here.  

Rashad teaches us how to be better business people.  His Venmo, IG and PayPal QR codes are shared here.  Don't try to steal his Listerine flavored masks idea from him!  Follow Rashad on IG at @rbashir_comedy and/or see him regularly at Harlem Nights Bar - every Monday night at 6PM or on Saturday at 7PM EST.  

We are taking December off to be with our families!  Happy Holidays and we will be back in 2022!

WDEK Podcast Ep. 97: Joaquín Torres & Jordan Carlos - 10/26/21

It's October and the creepy crawly mood is upon us.  Shonali has her jack-o-lanterns lit. Christian says there's a chance that he'll be an N95 mask for Halloween.  Justin and his family will be "Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti" (3 Happy Dead Guys!)  Our special guests are former actor turned public servant,  Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco Joaquín Torres and comedian, actor, writer Jordan Carlos. 

Christian Felix, Shonali Bhowmik, Jordan Carlos

You ever consider what it would be like to leave your current occupation to embark on a journey as a public servant? Our first guest has done that. Joaquín Torres explains how attending the Obama inauguration in 2008 inspired him.  He quickly transitioned from a professional actor who received an MFA from NYU to working for a San Francisco mayoral campaign within no time.  Now he is occupying his first job title for which he will need to win an election as Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco. He explains that the acting bug never leaves you but the education that comes from acting always stays with you. Learn more about Joaquín at JoaquinTorresSF.com!

Shonali's Game Changer this month emerged from the trauma of wearing a jumpsuit.  Christian endorses the fanny pack!  Writer / journalist Mickey Rapkin sends in a #GameChanger via text!

Comedian, writer, actor Jordan Carlos joins us after putting the kids to bed and walking the dog.  Jordan loves history as it is a predictor for the future. We discuss grappling with what our roles are in the conversation surrounding race today.  For this conversation, Jordan puts on his glasses and shares his personal evolution as someone who was seeking white approval to someone who currently is only working on projects helmed by Black peers.  Check out Jordan's work on Tha God's Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God on Comedy Central on Fridays; his podcast #Adulting with Michelle Buteau which is coming back and Phoebe Robinson's upcoming 1/2 hour comedy Everything's Trash.   Jordan and his family have their Halloween costumes DOWN. Listen to Ep. 97 for the details.

WDEK Podcast Ep. 75: Trish Tillman, Clare O'Kane, Gary the Vampire, Lauren Maul - 10/29/2019

We are 75 Episodes old as of of tonight, October 29, 2019.  Our guest co-host is choreographer, teacher, tennis fanatic and trivia master Joe Celej. Joe joins Shonali Bhowmik to discuss all things horrific.  Joe and Shonali are joined by guests artist Trish Tillman, comedian Clare O'Kane, Gary The Vampire and performer, musician, comic Lauren Maul.  

Trish Tillman is a visual artist who lives currently in NYC and in one of Oscar Wilde's former residences.  We discuss the plight of an artist - working all alone for hours on end and not talking to anyone; having multiple jobs to supplement your income as an artist and making art as a child in Washington, DC.  Shonali is convinced Trish's sculptures are influenced by the art residency she did in India in terms of the colors, decorations, materials and simple forms she uses. We discuss Bollywood horror films, slackers & Trish's solo show opening at Aysa Geisberg Gallery in Chelsea on Thursday Nov.7.  Go to her opening party from 6-8pm to see her gorgeous work up close! 

Picture by Daria Huxley

Thomas Kelsey joins us from the audience to play the game, Name That Mystery Candy!  We blindfold him and find out how many candies he named correctly after Joe inserts the candy into Thomas Mouth. Congrats to Thomas who won some seriously wonderful gifts! 

Clare O'Kane is a comedian from San Jose, California. We discuss opening for the emo punk band Jawbox, being a newlywed, DNA testing and how she's changed as a comedian in the past 9 years.  Make sure to check out her comedy album, Let It Be and her work as a writer on the second season of Shrill. Be on the lookout for Clare in a comedy club near you! 

Gary The Vampire (aka comedian Matt Little) makes a surprise appearance at WDEK.  He's really loud and was born in the 1600's before NYC became edgy.  He quickly let us know, he's not into Halloween and we commiserate with him.  Did you know that Vampires wear jean jackets?  

Our final guest of the night is performer, creator, musician, comic and all around do everything artist Lauren Maul. She calls herself a good witch and hosts her own show called Gathering of the Coven during the full moon. She fills us in on her latest project, an album of love songs which come from her recent agreement with her husband to have an open marriage.  It turns out initially it wasn't easy for Lauren's husband to go along with Lauren's request, but a year later accommodated for her.  Lauren performs two original songs in the Red Room live, 1) With A Witch and 2) All Her Things. We hope you enjoy. 

Direct download: WDEK_Ep._75_-_October_29_2019.mp3

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 4: Katie Compa, Brad Lauretti, Nimesh Patel, Maggy Adeleye & John Early - 11/3/20

In our final edition, Part 4 of the WDEK Election Special Episode, comedian Katie Compa shares with us ways she copes with ongoing Election Day anxieties.  

Musician Brad Lauretti brings us the fire.  We talk the John Lewis graphic novel, existential threats & good people believing false propaganda. He gives us his Election Day predictions along with performing his song Dumb It Down. 

Find out how comedian & weed smoker Nimesh Patel's father voted on the NJ legalize marijuana referendum.  Have you ever heard of the Indian beverage bhang? Let Nimesh and Shonali explain.  Go now to check out Nimesh's new half hour comedy special  online at Patel2020.com.

Musician Maggy Adeleye shares her beautiful voice with us by performing her song Fullstorm.  Christian has fro jealousy.  We talk voter unenthusiasm & invisible voices. 

 Jason's twin brother Jiminy makes a special appearanceo on WDEK also the WDEK crew loves each other.

Our final guest is one of our first ever WDEK guests; comedian, actor, & activist John Early.  He comes with a beard! You have seen him on Search Party as Elliott Goss, but most recently you may have seen John work his ass off on behalf of the Marquita Bradshaw for Senate campaign in Tennessee.  We discuss politicization of bread & butter issues, his sweater & for the first time ever, he announces his candidacy to the world. His Twitter is @bejohnce! Make sure to watch this comedy classic Sardines Out of A Can.

WE DID IT EVERYONE! That's it for the 4 part Election Day special. We hope our marathon show provided some comfort, fun and silly nonsense to soothe your minds as it did ours! 


WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 4: Katie Compa, Brad Lauretti, Nimesh Patel, Maggy Adeleye & John Early - 11/3/20

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 1: Marcellus Hall, David Cross, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold & Cocoon Central Dance Team - 11/3/20

WDEK Election Day Special: Please Vote America was a special episode with comedy, music, guest pop ins from across the country, videos and chat all in place. Our guests include John Early, Tash Neal, Chelsea White, Kendra Cunningham, David Cross, Cocoon Central Dance Team, Jon Glaser, Marcellus Hall, Tommy Do, Katie Compa, Negin Farsad, Nimesh Patel, Katie Compa, Eric Slovin, Tyson Meade, Marcellus Hall, Maggy Adeleye, Brad Lauretti, Emmrose, Matt Arnold and more!  We celebrate voting!

In Part 1 of 4, our guests include Marcellus Hall, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold, Cocoon Central Dance Team & David Cross.  Our first guest is musician, illustrator Marcellus Hall joins us performing a brand new tune off his forthcoming album called The Kitchen Sink Blues. 

Comedian Jon Glaser appears in his most amazing Detroit Pistons attire. We divert our thoughts on voting to discuss #urbanwildlife and Jon leaves us with #moreproof of why Christian's fears of squirrels are warranted. 

Matt Arnold of The Iowa Idea Podcast joined us from Iowa, duh. He gave us the lowdown on Iowa demographics and voting patterns.  He also is our first guest to own a laminate WDEK press pass. Check out his friend Andre Wright's #HumanizeMyHoodie movement/

Cocoon Central Dance Team (Sunita Mani, Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel) shared their talents with us via video! For those of you who would like to SEE these wunderkinds in action - check out our video of the show at 45:37 on Facebook and 45:29 on YouTube!

Our next guest is comedian, actor, writer David Cross. He takes a break from his hat modelling side hustle gig to talk to us about all things including Covid19 travel, voting, James Patterson vs Rob Pattinson, makeup skills, skincare & pondering with us on just WTH are Trump voters thinking.  

David along with us thank all of you who have been working as first responders, voting workers, volunteering to get out the vote, and those of you who voted! Looks like 2021 may be looking up for us!  Stay tuned for parts 2-4!  

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 1: Marcellus Hall, David Cross, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold & Cocoon Central Dance Team - 11/3/20

WDEK Podcast Ep. 85: John Feal and Keisha Zollar - 10/27/20

Out the gate, our show gets down to the real. Shonali & Christian break it down regarding snuggle buddies during covid, cult leaders and unique social distancing philosophies. The description "Hobbit Ball" was invented in this discussion.

Our first guest is John Feal, inspirational activist and founder of The Feal Good Foundation.  He was a 9/11 responder and is responsible for enacting 13 pieces of legislation which provides & protect the healthcare of 9/11 and first responders injured and/or currently sick caused by their heroic work.  He has partnered with Jon Stewart for years doing this work and they are currently working to pass legislation to provide healthcare for veterans sickened by their work near burn pits. The best description of why John is so successful is that he calls bullshit when he sees it.  You must follow him on Twitter @JohnFeal1 (The Real John Feal) to witness this. He was suspended on Twitter for a few days because he is so real. There's so much important here to listen to but takeaways are "America needs a break," "Help a stranger," "Everyone can get involved." 

Special announcement! We are hosting our own WDEK Election Day Special livestream on Nov. 3rd with special guests from across the country including David Cross, Tash Neal, Jon Glaser, Negin Farsad, John Early and many more.  

Our final guest is writer, comedian, actress Keisha Zollar. She is the founder of the first UCB all black sketch comedy group, The Astronomy Club which also got its own Netflix series.  She has spent the better part of the pandemic in her time working in her studio apartment which she shares with her husband and her dogs, Johnny Cash (just passed away), Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams Sr.  Listen to find out what gives Keisha hope these days and how she fulfills the notion of being authentic.  Check out her work currently on the reboot of the British satirical television puppet show, Spitting Image and she's working with Lilly Singh on her upcoming special! 

Stay strong all and catch us on our Election Day Marathon Special on Nov. 3rd on YouTube Live or Facebook Live here. 

WDEK Podcast Ep. 85: John Feal and Keisha Zollar - 10/27/20

WDEK Podcast Ep. 76: Kenice Mobley, Angelline Chung & Hope Hall - 11/26/2019

We welcome back Christian Felix aka Mr. Cardigan to the show.  Shonali & Christian discuss their preparations for the holiday season and seeing friends vs family over the holidays.  

Our first guest (00:08:45) is comedian & filmmaker Kenice Mobley.  Kenice is from North Carolina and came to NYC via Los Angeles and Boston MA.  Kenice has only been in NYC for the past 2 1/2 years and she has already made a big impact on the NYC comedy scene.  Kenice tells us about a time when she received a "high volume" of Richard pics from men. Find out how she dealt with them.   Kenice has a podcast called Love About Town w co-host Rohan Padhye discussing love, sex & relationships.  Christian and Shonali lobby to be on her show.  

Our second guest (00:26:50) is actress Angelline Chung who also happens to be a Julliard graduate thanks to her parents in Singapore. Angelline hails from Singapore and was on a television show there called Shall We Talk?  Her dream role is one which would deal with issues of mental health.   Angelline discusses how although Hollywood is doing it's best, it still needs to do more  regarding inclusivity and white washing Asian culture.  Angelline educates us as to exactly what "yellow fever" is.  She explains how this mindset and behavior is detrimental to everyone involved especially Asian women. 

We #GetItOffYour Chest (00:59:03) with former Ep. 21 WDEK guest, Pete Miser.  Christian and Pete have a heated conversation regarding chicken vs turkey for Thanksgiving.  Shonali is the Judge Judy of this debate.  Also don't loudly restate your partner's name over and over in a condescending way on a flight so that the entire flight feels bad for your partner. 

Our final guest (00:59:03) is cinematographer, filmmaker and photographer Hope Hall. She is currently Senior Road Videographer for Senator Elizabeth Warren 2020 Campaign. She was President Obama's Principal Videographer in the White House.  Hope is one of the most positive people we have had on the show.  Yes, her name is fitting.  We ask Hope what makes working for Senator Warren so special. We discuss Hope's unusual career transition into filmmaking and photography.  We share (1:35:21) some of Hope's helpful tips on mindfulness and getting through the tough times.  We are lobbying her to have a weekend seminar on these tips so we can all be as powerful a force as she is.

Another year winds down for We Don't Even Know.  We wish you the peace and joy during this holiday season and we will be back next year, for our live taping on January 28, 2020. 

Love,

Shonali & Christian

 

WDEK Podcast Ep. 71: Ato Essandoh, Sam Morrison & Kendra Morris - 6/25/2019

It's the beginning of the real summer of NYC.  Its time to bus out your washcloths y'all!  Christian and Shonali went to Mexico City and must poll the audience on flip flops. The first guest of WDEK Ep.

Christian Felix Ato Essandoh Sam Morrison Shonali Bhowmik Kendra Morris, photo by Justin Joseph Hall

It's the beginning of the real summer of NYC.  Its time to bus out your washcloths y'all!  Christian and Shonali went to Mexico City and must poll the audience on flip flops. The first guest of WDEK Ep. 71 is accomplished actor Ato Essandoh.  Christian starts reading off his IMDB which is way too long to list here but check it out for yourself. Currently he's one of the television stars of CBS' The Code, was the star of Netflix' Altered Carbon and HBO's Vinyl; also holding roles in movies such as Django Unchained, Blood Diamond, Jason Bourne and so many more. Ato shares his journey from being a chemical engineering student at Cornell to becoming a professional actor.  Christian and Ato get educated as to the new national dance craze, The Git Up by Shonali. Ato is refreshingly humble for being such an accomplished actor.  He comments on luck in the business and his obligation to help others out.  By all accounts Meryl Streep is perfection in a human. 

Shonali shares a personal story about her love for Bigfoot and shares and special email she received about Bigfoot from her friend Steve in Savannah, GA.

WDEK's second guest is comedian Sam Morrison.  He too went to Cornell as Ato did.  Who knew artists graduated from Cornell? Sam is more interested in having a conversation with Ato than Shonali and Christian but they lock him down and find out that within two years of graduating and living in NYC, Sam's comedy career has skyrocketed. Shonali wants to call his mom Pam to explain his success. Sam came out as a gay man on stage mostly because he was bombing.  Sam won the Make Me Laugh Comedy Contest and his solo show Hello, Daddy! is previewing from July 12 - July 27, 2019 at 59 E. 59 before he goes to Edinburgh.  Check it out! 

Christian tells a story which makes him look bad when the show is interrupted by Theo The Choreographer.  Theo claims the "show is off the rails."  Theo who was hired by Shonali and Christian instructs them as to how to improve the show. Shonali & Christian promise they will work harder. 

WDEK's last guest is soul singer-songwriter musician and animator Kendra Morris. Kendra is from Florida as is our guest Sam Morrison. Kendra comes from a family of musicians. She quit after one semester of college to focus on her music career and partying. After quitting her "shitty' all female band which she moved with to NYC and in which SHE confesses was the problem, Kendra shares how she gained perspective in NYC and also specifically gained inspirational insight from her old friend Anton of Brian Jonestown Massacre.  Kendra was recently featured on both last year's Czarface Meets Metalface and this year's Czarface Meets Ghostface albums.  Catch Kendra on tour this coming fall! 

Thanks to our guest appearance by Theo The Choreographer, aka Theo Koppel. Our next show is on July 30, 2019. See you there and follow us on all socials at wdekpodcast!

WDEK_Ep._71_Final.mp3

WDEK Podcast Ep. 59: Emily Flake, H Jon Benjamin & Rob Townsend - May 29, 2018 →

Welcome to our 59th Episode of WDEK Podcast. Justin the intern starts the live show on a Tuesday night at the Red Room in NYC! Christian just returned from father's retirement party in Chicago. Shonali just returned from Nashville where she kept up with the news about a racist crazy tv star and her tweets. What's it like to have your creative work rejected in person to your face over and over? 

We ask our first guest that question. She is cartoonist, illustrator, writer and performer Emily Flake.  She has "cobbled" together a living as a cartoonist for a long time now. She's come a long way from being an ad sales person for alt weekly New York Blade to becoming a successful cartoonist who has had hundreds of her works featured in the New Yorker.  She's written a book about parenting called Mama Tried. She's a parent who refreshingly doesn't think being a parent is the MOST awesome thing in the world. How cool is that? Look out for her upcoming YA (Young Adult) book she's working on now, a fictional fanzine from 1992.

Our second guest is H. Jon Benjamin, a comedian, actor and writer probably most famous for his work as the voice of Bob in Bob's Burgers and the voice of Archer in Archer.  Benjamin as Shonali calls him (they are old friends) used to host a comedy show in the East Village called Midnight Pajama Jam. It was the best. JB's written a book that just came out called Failure is An Option: An Attempted Memoir.  Shonali's been listening to the audiobook and loves it.  She is intrigued by Jon Benjamin's love for disco, roller skating and disco balls.  Jon explains what the main take away from his book is in two words.

We Get It Off Our Chest with illustrator musician Marcellus Hall who refuses to rap with us.

Our final guest is musician, singer, songwriter Rob Townsend.  Rob is originally from Spartanburg, SC.  He's also a part time sailing instructor and may be the only gay sailing captain on the Hudson. We like the idea of a gay sailboat. We discuss the difficulty of selling music during an era where everyone gets their music free.  Rob moved to NYC from Austin, TX where he was in a folk band.  His music has changed drastically.  He is humble and self deprecating but we think he's awesome. He sings an original song called Clatskanie and a Randy Newman tune called Short People! Welcome to our new sound engineer Ezana Million! ENJOY!!! Photo by Daria Huxley.

Direct download: WDEK_Chapters_Ep._59.mp3
Category:general, comedy, good+times -- posted at: 12:14pm EDT

WDEK Podcast Ep. 53: Becky Yamomoto, Mars Ganito and Mike DuClos - June 27, 2017

We return from our two month break after our WDEK Variety Fest with a Sizzling Summer Show - SSS show - BAM! Is it still considered alliteration if the words start with the same letter although letter doesnt have the same sound - Sss vs sh? Will you look that up for us?  While Christian is away, our special guest host this month is a longtime friend of WDEK; the multi talented (musician, illustrator and writer) Mr. Marcellus Hall! Our first guest is comedian, writer & actress Becky Yamomoto.  Find out how she got to NYC and created a successful career here as a standup & actress although her Mom and Dad never go to her shows.  Her web series Uninspired is one of Shonali’s favorites.

Shonali performs a new song yet to be released called The Dream Is Still Alive with Marcellus on harmonica.  Our second guest is Mars Ganito, guitar player, singer and one of the leaders of the punk pop indie band Aye Nako. We talk about life on the road, growing up in Arkansas within a large family and his love of country music. Mars has described his band’s music as “sad songs about being queer, trans and black,” however we don’t find them so sad. They make us happy.  Reminiscent of the best of early indie rock bands like Superchunk, Helium & Pavement; their sound is ragged, raw and dissonant but also catchy, fresh and original.  Special guest co-host Marcellus Hall performs one of his new tunes called Our Devices.

WDEK’s last guest is Mike DuClos, a brilliant musician who has performed with lots of great bands and musicians   Listen and learn about tourbus etiquette and performing with Joan Baez and Dire Straits.  Mike is what we call a professional musician. He’s even played on Broadway before.  He hated that.  He’s a great storyteller who is known in most circles as being a “wise ass.”  He agrees.  Listen and decide for yourself.  Thanks to all of you who support us and listen to our show.  We have t-shirts for some of you lucky fools! Email us! And lastly Listen to Aye Nako’s Spare Me!

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

WDEK Podcast Ep. 51: Colin Buckingham, Selena Coppock & M. Lamar - March 27, 2017

Returning from Hawaii to a blizzard has Shonali feeling down.  Leave it to Christian to come up with a story about his jacket to cheer her up.

The Get Out of A Funk episode starts out with special guest actor & performer Colin Buckingham.  Shonali is impressed with Colin’s stage combat skills which he has had to use in real life. Do you know what a “half nelson” is?  If you want to fight a drunk person “take out their knees.”  Colin has a achondroplasia which is a form of dwarfism. We discuss labels, entitlement, empathy and privilege.  In addition to acting professionally on film and tv, Colin has recently joined the cast of Sleep No More.  He is also in a new tv show which he can’t tell us anything about.  Look for him in Black Magic for White Boys at Tribeca Film Festival pilot series.

Our second guest is comedian, writer, actress Selena Coppock.  Selena has a popular twitter feed @NYTvows which makes fun of what she calls the “wedding industrial complex."  She has written a book and she is currently on a television show called Red Oaks on Amazon, but she is yet to release a comedy album.  Well that is until now!  Selena has plans is tape her first live comedy album very soon.  Make sure you are there!

Our last guest is musician & artist M. Lamar.  Lamar opens with a performance of "They Took You From Me” from his latest releast “Funeral Doom Spiritual.”  Originally from Alabama, Lamar has lived as a musician in New York City for the past 10 years.  He is a fan of metal music and classical music and has coined himself “Negro gothic devil worshipping free black man in the blues tradition.”   Find out why and what his mom thinks about that. Lamar comments on how current moments speak to so many other moments of the past, be it police brutality today or being on a slave ship.   Lamar recently performed at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.  The New York Times wrote about it.  Check it out. Christian and Shonali are proud to announce their very first all day We Don’t Even Know Variety Fest to happen Sunday April 23 at DCTV, 87 Lafayette Street. Make plans now to join us and our amazing lineup! 

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

Ep. 47: Jeffrey Joseph, Amanda Duarte, Tyson Meade & Nimesh Patel - Oct. 25, 2016

Comedian Nimesh Patel fills and special guest co-host for our spooky October 2016 edition of We Don’t Even Know. How Indian do you believe Shonali and Nimesh are? They wonder if anyone really cares.

Their first guest is comedian, actor, writer and teacher Jeffrey Joseph. What does he not do? We find out why he left a successful career in comedy to destress himself for ten years and what made him come back. Besides performing standup regularly, he teaches playwriting to youth and knows qi gong, a Chinese energy cultivation exercise. He also went to India before Nimesh ever did. What does that say about Nimesh?  Shonali and Jeffrey are chicken pox nose scar twins. Shonali has some frightening news for you.  Sorry to bum you out.

Our second guest is Amanda Duarte, a writer, performer, comedian and is responsible (along with her new friend - NYTimes writer, Jessica Bennet who created the art) for starting the viral sensation #PussyGrabsBack.  Sales proceeds of her PGB shirts on spreadshirt.com go to the Rape and Incest Network.  Amanda is not scared of ghosts, but she does share what she is scared of.  Go see her monthly show Dead Darlings at Judson Memorial Church. Today’s #GetItOffYourChest guest is former WDEK episode 13 guest and Shonali’s former personal trainer, Reno Villacis.

Here from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, our special musical guest is a musician, painter and writer named Tyson Meade.  Tyson and Shonali have infectious laughs that could get on Nimesh’ nerves.  Tyson has a similar story to Jeffrey Joseph’s, in that he quit music for 10 years and has recently rediscovered himself as a musician.  In his early years as a musician, he influenced artists like Kurt Cobain, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips and Billy Corgan.  In between those years and now, Meade ran a boarding school in China and taught electricians to learn English in Saudi Arabia. He rediscovered music while helping a prodigal violin player student in China.   The end result is a new solo album to be released by him in February, and one released last year titled “Tomorrow In Progress.”  Enjoy him hear singing "Tiniest of Guys" and “She’s Gone Mad.”  Enjoy and next month Christian will return for our November episode. 

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

Ep. 46: Tessa Hersh, Adam Wade, Yazan Fahmawi and Jordan Clifford - Sept. 27, 2016

While Christian is away, Jordan Clifford, comedian, producer, actor is our special guest co-host on Episode 46 of We Don’t Even Know.  Jordan Shonali and Jordan are in need of new outgoing voice mail messages. Jordan has the look - he has a beard.

Our first guest is performer, teacher, writer, singer, actress, comedian Tessa Hersh, who along with all of her creative endeavors is currently happily teaching teachers.  Our intern Justin Hall shares a highlight from his father’s experience as a teacher. Tessa explains sometimes a teacher must tell a child "you can’t masturbate here.“  Tessa performs regularly at the UCB Theater and has her own web series on Refinery 29’s Riot YouTube channel. Check out her Truth Fairy series where she drops truth bombs on Riot which we love - the Baby Shower Rebellion Musical resonates particularly with Shonali.   Jordan is never ready for a fist bump.

Our second guest is Adam Wade, the world champion (that’s what we call it - he’s a 20 time winner) of the Moth Storytelling Radio show and also from New Hampshire. He too is a writer, comedian, actor, teacher AND he co-starred in Sardines Out of A Can with Shonali. Adam was on Girls and Lena Dunham instructed him to be meaner.   Adam’s mom tracks his geographical location with her phone.  Our studio audience practices Adam's Tony Robbins influenced motivational advice. Turns out #DestinationSlice is not an effective dating technique.  Our audience member Walter Patrishan joins us on stage for #GetItOffYourChest.  Find out why the salad assembly line stresses Jordan out, impolite germaphobes bother Shonali and wrapping things unnecessarily in plastic gets to Walter.

Our last guest of the night is musician Yazan Fahmawi, a singer, guitarist, and songwriter from New York, who plays a blend of rural country blues, folk, and psychedelia.  He went to the UN School and describes it as utopian.  His secret to finding his unique sound and voice (literally) was sitting with a recorder and getting freaky.  Yazan is a lifer, when it comes to being an artist.  He shares his astute and insightful take on art, life and happiness and believes "Everybody’s a weirdo!” We agree and are so appreciative of his brand of weirdness.  Yazan performs three of his song gems on our show - Tell Me Baby, I Wanted More of You, and Hahaha!  Enjoy!  And also so nice to meet Fontikady Sivion from Brukina Faso.  

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

EP. 43 - Kim Barker, Sasheer Zamata & Holly Miranda - May 31, 2016

We catch up with Christian who auditioned to become a hand model & Shonali who returned from her honeymoon in Peru. Their new segment GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST is now open to audience members.  Please share your rants with us on stage at the next show. We will rap right along with you. Highlights of Ep. 43 include Christian’s first time receiving a mani-pedi and Shonali’s new fluency in Spanish.

WDEK’s first guest is journalist, NY Times reporter and author of the Taliban Shuffle, Kim Barker.  Kim shares her need to write a dark comedy about war after being the bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune in South Asia.  The movie version of her book, became Whiskey Tango Foxtrot starring Tina Fey.  Kim grew up wanting to be a superhero but settled for being a journalist.  Find out about bruised peaches, her 18 points twitter rant and her love of writing New York stories, “a wonderful big awesome corrupt place.” WDEK’s long time sound engineer Stephen Kurpis is leaving but not without giving us his famous secret marinara sauce recipe. One secret - do not use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (see below).  Thank you Stephen.

Comedian, actress and SNL cast member Sasheer Zamata talks duvets with Christian and Shonali. They are hard work.  Our conversation with Sasheer covers SNL, celebrity, Larry Wilmore’s use of the N-word and what it’s like to be confused with other funny black women. Also, watch out for Sasheer’s mom who may very well become one of the newest cast members of SNL.

Our musical guest is Holly Miranda, also a former Tennessean who was given speech therapy to lose her accent when she moved to Detroit.  Holly who has been playing music since she was 16, very poignantly explains she “had a life” when she took five years off between her latest album and her previous one.  We talk Joshua Tree, Ayahuasca, and song writing. Between Christian, Shonali & Holly they have written at least 3 fan letters - find out to whom by listening to this special episode of We Don’t Even Know. What a treat to hear Holly Miranda perform three beautiful songs for us.  We melt.  Please follow us on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.  We will meet again on Episode 43!

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

Ep. 39 - Roger Clark, Patricia Clarkson & Matt Higgins w Guest host Katina Corrao - Jan. 26, 2016 →

Happy New Year everyone! We dive into 2016 with special guest co-host comedian Katina Corrao along with our special guests: NY1's Roger Clark, super star actress Patricia Clarkson and comedian/actor Matt Higgins. Our venue for our podcast is HiFi bar in the East Village and it was filled with guests ancy to get out of their homes after being cooped up over the weekend due to Jonas, the second biggest recorded snow storm in NYC.

Shonali touches on the loss of David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Clarence Reid and Lemmy of Motorhead. Katina doesn't listen to any of those artists. Katina and Shonali did watch Netflix during the snowstorm.

Our first guest is a reporter on Shonali's favorite network, NY1. Roger Clark was lucky enough to cover the unplowed streets of NYC and talk to all the complainers. Roger, a pizza box and snow = 2,000 views instantaneously on FB. Shonali is dying to know what goes on behind the scenes of NY1. Let's start a Roger Show. Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Dallas - which one does Roger NOT watch? We have Emmy Award winning and Oscar nominated actress Patricia Clarkson join us uncensored. Like Shonali, Patti is a southern gal, a NY1 watcher and loves Roger Clark. What was Patti's coming of age music? She goes on and on about Jasper, Shonali's husband which Shonali loves!

Photo by Daria Huxley

Katina raves about Patricia's amazing comedic performance in Motherlover. When Patricia talks about the snow you just want to melt. Find out what question Christian asks her via letter which causes her to jump off of her stool. Look for her starring in the film Learning to Drive with Sir Ben Kingsley.

Our last guest is comedian actor performer Matt Higgins. He is an improv master and auditions for commercials, like Shonali and Katina but unlike Patricia Clarkson. Do you know what state the Grand Canyon is in? Have you ever seen someone do Alphabet improv? Well listen to the master. Should Matt's new granddaughter call him PeePaw? We think so. Duct tape makes Matt a dreamboat dad. And that's a wrap! Follow us on Twitter @WDEKpodcast and on Facebook.

We Don't Even Know - Ep. 38 - David Cross, Dolly Wells & Will Sheff - Dec. 29, 2015 →

This is Christian and Shonali's last WDEK of 2015. They had a great 2015 BUT the Happy Holidays weren't so happy for one of their audience members who thinks Shonali and Christian are too positive.

Ep. 38 first guest is comedian, actor, writer and director David Cross. David has maintained his success for a long time. Shonali believes David's success has something to do with promptly answering emails. Which do you think is David's favorite thing to do: stand up, acting, editing, writing, or directing? David's holiday party was intense. Check out Jon Benjamin and David's Icelandic Blue on YouTube. The third and last season of David's show Todd Margaret comes out this week. In the Christmas spirit, David leaves us with words about Jesus.

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

The second guest on WDEK is Shonali's latest girl crush; actress and writer Dolly Wells of HBO's Doll & Em. Dolly and Shonali take shoe pics together. Dolly moved to Brooklyn recently from England and explains (Americans) our differences. She loves Jordan. Dolly created her HBO show with her very best friend, successful actress Emily Mortimer. The show was huge in England. Dolly's kids, her husband and her mother are all cast within the show. Dolly says she and Emily once took 9 years to write a script for a screenplay. She inspires us all to shoot a pilot instead of writing treatments. In addition to requesting another season of Doll & Em from HBO, look for Dolly in the show Blunt Talk with Patrick Steward and a very tiny part in the movie 45 Years.

Ep. 38 musical guest is songwriter, musician and leader of Okkervil River, Will Sheff. Will's band started out in Austin, Texas where he worked at a video store and played music in his house. After he was written up in Rolling Stone, everything changed for his father. Will sings an unreleased song that he did lots of research on called Famous Tracheotomies. Find out why Will and Shonali are fellow fans of the Rock*A*Teens. Will plays Car and Driver from the Rock*A*Teens - Sweet Bird of Youth. Have you heard of the musician David Wiffen? David Cross joins the discussion and shares his new favorite musician, from the 1970's, Chic Clerggg from Greenland. Happy New Year everyone! Please follow us on Twitter @WDEKPodcast and contact us at WDEKpodcast@gmail.com

We Don't Even Know - Ep. 32: Todd Perlmutter, Lisa DeLarios and Adam Schatz - April 28th, 2015 →

Shonali returns from New Orleans where she overate and went to a lingerie store for the first time. Christian just started seeing a nutritionist. Now they both understand the importance of taking proper measurements.

This episode's first guest is musician, former Blue Man Group creative director and Pianos owner, Todd Perlmutter. His first gig as a voice over artist was for a horse byproduct. Todd has been successful for a long time but there was a time when he hit rock bottom. Chicken was involved. He played drums for MC Shan before Yo MTV Raps was a thing. Todd is a brilliant drummer and producer who currently plays in a surf band and a tuba duo. Be on the lookout for his new theatrical production company producing a Western philharmonic project. Any can can dancers out there?

Our second guest Lisa Delarios is a stand up comedian from Texas. She moves back and forth from Texas to NYC often. Although she has lots of big time comedy credits, Shonali wants to talk about Texas comedy credits. Lisa was voted 3rd Funniest Person in Austin, TX twice where she says there were only two comedy clubs. Lisa works for ASPCA and has five pets and two roommates. She has a big heart.

Our last guest is musician Adam Schatz. He plays in a number of musical projects, most notably his own band Landlady and the band Man Man. Adam's parents are cool folks who play in an electric country band covering artists like Gram Parsons and the Byrds. How cool is that? Adam performs two songs for us including Driving in California and The Fourth of July or is it J-U-L-Y You Ain't Got No Alibi? You will have to listen to find out. Oh and here is the video Christian talks about earlier in the show.

We Don't Even Know - Ep. 26- WDEK at HiFi w Amy Ryan, Jena Friedman, Roger Clark and Matt Whyte - September 23, 2014 →

Christian and Shonali host another edition of WDEK in front of a live audience at HiFi.  Special guests include actress Amy Ryan, comedian Jena Friedman, NY1 reporter Roger Clark and musician Matt Whyte.  Christian has a brand new industrial blender and cooking injury. If you had to get plastic surgery, what kind would you get?  Even Justin shares his thoughts?  What is it like to become a professional actress just after high school?

Academy Award nominated actress Amy Ryan answers that question and more.  Catch her in Birdman with Michael Keaton, Louder Than Bombs with Gabriel Byrne, and Steven Spielberg's newest with Tom Hanks.  Unbelievable right?

Comedian Jena Friedman shares her insight into the ebola epidemic, Letterman, The Daily Show and American Girl mania.  Follow her on Twitter ya'll.

One of our favorite tv personalities, NY1's morning features reporter, Roger Clark is a bowler, a rock n' roller, and sometimes gets star struck. Have you seen him doing parkour, air guitaring to Rush, or break dancing at the Flushing YMCA?  Check out his band Perp Walk.

Musician and former Earl Greyhound, guitar player/vocalist, Matt Whyte just finished a new solo release called Rupe Shears.   Find out why kids in high school liked him outside of the fact he wore Malcolm X glasses. For the WDEK audience he played two songs.  One called The Hoover Dam, and the other was a Bossa Nova tune, which he sang in Portuguese so we have no idea what that one was called.  

Stay tuned for a pic of Christian's injury. 

Ep. 26: Amy Ryan, Jena Friedman, Roger Clark and Matt Whyte - September 23, 2014