The Final Edition Radio Hour

These are classic and eerily prescient sketches selected by archivist and writer Joe Davis. It's all there - the apocalypse, Republican cruelty, black people killed by police, Trump running for office, even social distancing, in a way. And somehow, no matter what happens, all the money goes to the same largest corporations. Funny, that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In memory of John S. Marshall, one of the founding members of "The Final Edition." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week … we’ve all been indoors. Same as you. Didn’t even record last week, and probably won’t until the end of the month. Recording this is the first time I’ve spoken out loud all day. So … you know … typical weekend, really. And yet we have new sketches at the top of the show, all about diseases - followed by classic sketches, also about diseases and germs. Communicable diseases in particular tend come up now and then - which is why good leadership involves … you know … recognizing and planning for that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We whisper a sweet goodbye to Mike Bloomberg - and an actual, sincere goodbye (more or less) to James Lipton. Also, you just moved your clock forward - and yes, it’s stupid, and no, we shouldn’t be doing it anymore. The entire second half of the show is the final episode of the audio play, “The Invisible World.” I apologize for the differences in the sound quality from one moment to the next with that production. I didn’t record it in a studio. I was just lugging a laptop and a couple of microphones all over New York. You get what you get. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Utah sees all the other states going their own way and decides it’s going to do the same. Ben and I talk about soup - which we both enjoy. We have an outtake from a recording session in which Ben is just trying to be nice. And we determine the value of human life. The answer is … well … you’re not gonna be surprised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I had the flu. … Well, I don’t think I had THE flu. I had A flu. … Maybe. Anyway, my voice was shredded. So we put that to good use. And Valentine’s Day is coming up. So we talked about … love? I guess? If that’s how you care to define it. Plus, one of our writers has really strong opinions about Harley Quinn. And two members of the case have lived in Philadelphia at some point, so we get obsessed with their hockey team mascot. You don’t have to know anything about hockey to get the jokes. But do yourself a favor and look up news articles about the Flyers’ mascot, Gritty. It’s hilarious if you don’t listen to the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re heading for the first political primaries, if you’ve got the stamina for it. We sit through class with a substitute teacher. Again - stamina. Some entire continent burned down. And. You know. Guns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back with all new material - some of it about Christmas, some of it about the new year already having gone to shit, some of it about growing older, and a little of it, of course, about drugs. Ah drugs. Also, we’re starting a new five-part web serial called The Invisible World. This one is set in Connecticut. Don’t ask. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re heading into Thanksgiving … and if you’re thankful for this show, you should probably thank the guy who started it. Which would be Tony Hendra. So. All the sketches this week were written by Tony - as far as I can tell. It’s a little tricky to be sure without actually telling him we were going to do this. But I’ve confirmed as much as I could with Jeff Kreisler - and I’ve listened for certain signs that I think characterize a Tony Hendra sketch. They’re always clever, they’re sometimes tragic, and they tend to reference literary and religious sources. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know I said we’d be starting a new audio drama series this week. But we’ll wait, because we’ve got a lot of theme shows happening over the next few weeks. So this week, we’ve got sketches about patriotism. Because everybody right now is questioning everybody else’s. For some reason. Not sure why. Must be something on TV. I don’t keep up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I’ve been dealing with a loss of listeners because somehow our uploads to our distributor, Acast, have not been transferring properly to an Android app called Doggcatcher. And by “this week,” I mean close to a month. And by “loss of listeners,” I mean … like … a LOT of listeners. And by “dealing with,” I mean getting no solutions, as Acast, Doggcatcher and I sort through various error messages. So this week, we’ve got sketches about computers — because God, they’re driving me out of my fuckin’ mind. Also, the entire second part of the show is the concluding segment of “The Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing.” I’m just going to let that one play out, including the credits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Wells Fargo wants something from you, John Cena is giving something away, my home state is on fire and … it’s Veteran’s Day sometime around now. Also, the next-to-last episode of The Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing. It’s going to be kind of a sad one. But you knew this was coming if you’ve been paying attention, or if you were working in newspapers about thirteen years ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Halloween, and we’ve got a collection of sketches about vampires and zombies and weirdos - although I guess, technically, all of our show are about weirdos. Plus, episode five of the Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing - which is not really about Halloween. But what do you care? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some sketches about the stupid divisions in this country - with a note of hope. Maybe misguided hope. I don’t know. Plus episode 4 of the Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing - which is also political, but in a dumber, earlier, less scary, more small-town way than what we’re used to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re moving toward the holidays: with Halloween, and gnomes, and Tucker Carlson, normal subway riders and lots of other mythical creatures. Plus, part three of “The Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing.” And at the end of the show, Ben sings again. I’m warning you now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have more sketches about the media - because, of course, this show is made by people in and on the fringes of media and largely, currently, unemployed by it. Resumes available online. We’ve also got episode 2 of The Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing - which also involves the media. It’s almost like I planned what I’m doing. Almost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we visit Area 51. And we continue getting motivated. Also, we’ve got the first episode of a seven-part series I did a few years back called “The Obscure County Election That Changed Nothing.” I worked for awhile at papers in New Jersey, and that title pretty much sums up my experience there. And finally, to cap off the show, Dominique has written an epic. About a car ride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, no small number of sketches about food and TV. And it’s already football season - which seems weird somehow. Plus Corey Lewandowski testified before Congress. Remember that? Didn’t we all learn something? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, every sketch is new. A few more things about vacation. Plus, Samantha interviews a fan. Ben and I talk about baseball while it’s still the season. And apparently conservative Christians are telling me how to be a Jew. So … thanks? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back with new sketches as well as some classics - many of them about vacations, since we just got back from one. And work. Because you can’t have vacations without work. Though you can have work without vacations. Trust me on that one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.