Official Home Of Dystopia Tonight with John Poveromo

Guests

Patty Lynn

Touring musician turned songwriter and producer Dwight Baker and singer-songwriter Patty Lynn, began making music together on a lark, never dreaming anything would come of it. Baker describes it as “kind of like what happens when two friends hold hands and jump in a freezing lake just to see what it feels like.” Thanks to the undeniable chemistry between the pair, the music took on a life of its own and The Wind and The Wave soon found themselves with a major-label record deal, embarking on …

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Paula Poundstone

PAULA POUNDSTONE is a comedic force known for her improvisational skills, wit and sharp sense of humor. With a career spanning several decades, she has established herself as a beloved and respected figure in the world of stand-up comedy.

Paula's comedy style is characterized by her quick-thinking, impeccable timing, and engaging storytelling. Her ability to find humor in everyday situations, coupled with her unique perspective on life, allows her to connect with audiences on a …

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Paul Provenza

Paul Provenza is a television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians.

Provenza was born and grew up in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx, New York City, and graduated in 1975 from the Bronx High School of Science. In high school, he started performing stand-up comedy, making his stage debut at age 17 at the original The Impr…

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Paul Reiser

Comedian, actor, television writer, author and musician Paul Reiser is one of Hollywood’s most prolific creatives.

2024 is a busy year for Reiser. On the heels of his new comedy The Problem with People, out this fall, which Reiser wrote, produced, and starred in alongside Colm Meaney and Jane Levy, Reiser has projects across a multitude of media formats. In March, Carter Burke, Reiser’s iconic character from Aliens re-emerged in a What-if… concept comic book from Marvel comics and he…

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Paul "Silky" White

Paul ‘Silky’ White is a comedian and musician from Liverpool. Since 1994 he has avoided adulthood, wealth and financial security by doing something he loves instead.

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Peggy Boyce

Peggy Boyce is a former stand-up comedienne/juggler who has appeared in major comedy clubs and festivals. Peggy has been a supporter of women in comedy since 1992 through the “Mary Jo Comedy Awards,” and the Executive Producer of the “Funniest Female Comedy Series” and “Ladies of Laughter.” She has also provided public relations, special events and sponsorship marketing services to corporations that include Anheuser-Busch, CIBA, Citibank, Harrah’s Entertainment, Kraft and MasterCard.

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Pete Carter

Pete Carter is the number one Michael Jackson impersonator in the world, creator of Six Flag's Ghoul Master show for Fright Fest, a photographer, video editor, choreographer, director, makeup artist, actor, writer and producer.

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Peter Asher

Peter Asher, CBE (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and record producer, helping to foster the recording careers of James Taylor and Linda Rondstadt among others. As of 2018, he tours alongside Jeremy Clyde of Chad and Jeremy in a new duo entitled Peter and Jeremy, where they perform hits from both of the…

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Pick Withers

He first played a drum in the Boy’s Brigade and was given a few rudimentary drum lessons by the band master, Barry Bond, who owned the local bicycle shop. He became a professional musician at the age of 17, joining a band called The Berkeley Squares when they went to Germany.

After six months of touring in Germany, the band returned to England, struggling to maintain their professional status, whence Pick jumped ship and joined a band called the Primitives, who went on to become very…

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Queeny King

Being born into an infamous cult in India and performing at the notorious San Quentin State Prison sounds like a far-reaching fantasy, but it’s nothing less than reality for ​Queeny King​. The alt-pop anarchist channels years of raw, lived experience into a riotous debut solo single called ​“Freakshow”​ (produced by David Lucius King and co-produced by Queeny) that finds her rockstar musicality and personality on full display. It comes equipped with a fittingly gritty music video where graff…

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Rachel Ana Dobken

Asbury Park Indie-Soul goddess is a quadruple threat (drums, guitar, vocals, piano) with a knack for blending indie-rock, soul and jazz. Described as “My Morning Jacket meets Lake Street Dive,” her music is raw and honest with a stage presence so emotionally captivating it's been compared to the likes of Janis Joplin and Jeff Buckley. Rachel has studied jazz at Bard College and describes herself as “My Morning Jacket-meets-Lake Street Dive.” The Asbury Park native has a knack for blend…

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Retrofile

Retrofile are a Canadian alternative pop band from Edmonton, Alberta, formed in 2017. The band is composed of Luke Martino (Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Synthesizers), Noah Martino (Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Synthesizers), and Austin Goossen (Lead Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizers).

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Rhett Miller

Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II is the lead singer of the alternative country band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

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Richard Chassler

Richard Chassler is an actor, comedian, and writer who’s worked with the best of’em and has stories for days as his career and talent has allowed him to traverse through almost every facet of show business.

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Richard Zoglin

Richard Zoglin is the author of three books: Elvis in Vegas: How the King Reinvented the Las Vegas Show (Simon & Schuster, 2019); Hope: Entertainer of the Century (Simon & Schuster, 2014); and Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America (Bloomsbury, 2008). He spent more than 30 years as a writer and editor at TIME Magazine, and is now an op-ed contributor to the Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.

Zoglin began his journalism career in …

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Ricky Byrd

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, guitarist /singer- songwriter Ricky Byrd (inducted in 2015 with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), has had a career in music spanning over 40 years.

Although best known for his time spent with The Blackhearts, Byrd has also recorded and played with Roger Daltrey, and toured with Ian Hunter and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes respectively. He has also been blessed to have had the chance to, at one time or another, share the stage with music royal…

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Rita Rudner

A house-filling favorite in Las Vegas since she opened as one of the hottest tickets in town in June 2000, Rudner is known for her epigrammatic one-liners. Over the course of a multi-year run she sold almost two million tickets, grossed over a hundred million dollars and become the longest-running solo female comedy show in the history of Las Vegas. She was named Las Vegas’s Comedian of The Year nine years in a row and in 2006 received The Nevada Ballet’s Woman Of The Year Award. In October …

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Ritch Shydner

Ritch Shydner was born in the small town of Pennsville, New Jersey. He studied business and sociology at Gettysburg College. At Gettysburg College he and sidekick, Camillo "Mad-Dog" Melchiorre, wrote, produced and starred in comedy skits for parents' weekends and fraternity events. Carmen "Honest-Abe" Volpecelli and Pluto "Fenderhead" Dombrosky also contributed to their nearly-famous Used Car Salesman skit. After graduation, Shydner was a substitute teacher…

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Rob Bartlett

Robert James Bartlett (born May 18, 1957) is an American comedian, actor, impressionist, and writer, who gained widespread fame on the radio show Imus in the Morning.

Bartlett started in stand-up comedy at Richard M. Dixon's White House Inn, a talent showcase club on Long Island. While working there, he met Eddie Murphy, and together formed two-thirds of the improvisational trio The Identical Triplets. After the two separated, he headlined at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Ve…

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Robert Klein

Robert Klein is a man of many talents, establishing himself as a stand-up comic, a singer, and an actor. Klein was born in the Bronx and planned to study medicine, but instead chose to study acting at Yale School of Drama. While in New Haven, Klein learned about The Second City, and at 23 years old, he traveled to Chicago to try out. During his audition, he was paired with Fred Willard in a successful improvised scene, and the two were cast at the same time in 1965 in a cast with David Stein…

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Robert Smigel

Robert Smigel, born on February 7, 1960, in New York City, is an American comedian, writer, producer, and puppeteer. He is best known for his work on "Saturday Night Live" (SNL), where he created the popular "TV Funhouse" animated segments and the character Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Smigel started his career as a writer for SNL in the mid-1980s and quickly became known for his sharp wit and unique comedic style.

In addition to his work on SNL, Smigel has contr…

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Robert Wuhl

Robert Wuhl, the renowned actor, comedian, and writer known for his roles in "Good Morning Vietnam," "Bull Durham," and "Batman," brings his incisive wit and captivating anecdotes to Dystopia Tonight. In this episode, we explore Wuhl's multifaceted career, spanning stand-up comedy, acting, writing, and producing. He shares insights into the creation of his groundbreaking HBO show, "Arli$$," which paved the way for hits like "Entourage" a…

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Roddy Bogawa

Roddy Bogawa is a filmmaker and artist known for his unparalleled storytelling approach and his ability to delve into themes that deeply resonate with audiences. His films, blending documentary and narrative elements, offer an enthralling and thought-provoking journey. I’ve been captivated by his exploration of complex subjects like identity and memory, enriched by his experimental techniques, which truly set him apart as a distinctive voice in independent cinema. Throughout his career, Boga…

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Ron James

‘...a master comedian with a distinctly Canadian viewpoint’ - St. John’s Telegram

‘...scarcely time to breath between fits of helpless laughter’ - Halifax Herald

Consistently hailed by audiences and critics from coast to coast, RON JAMES has been selling out theatres in Canada for more than 20 years.

This verbal gymnast marries a comedian’s eye for satire with a writer’s ear for language, taking fans on a two-hour roller coaster ride, that cuts a wide swath through…

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