Story & Craft with Marc Preston

Comedian & Podcaster Alex Pearlman from “Too Many Tabs” and YouTube’s “Crashing Out” joins us on Story & Craft to talk about his career and personal stories.
Alex shares his take on Donald Trump and Elon Musk and on how social media algorithms shape the news. Growing up, he watched the evening news at the dinner table, and 25 years of stand-up taught him to break big stories down quickly. On “Too Many Tabs,” the comedy history podcast he makes with his wife, he takes the long view, such as the 80-year fight for the 40-hour work week.
He describes the weekly podcast “Crashing Out,” which he co-hosts with Philip DeFranco, who has covered news on YouTube for 20 years. The conversation also covers the live tour that just wrapped, where he found audiences everywhere looking for hope. Alex recalls asking Bernie Sanders in his Capitol office whether anyone in Washington is thinking about the rest of the century.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Alex Pearlman joins Story & Craft
04:36 Growing up watching Dan Rather and the evening news
07:08 How short videos and algorithms shape what we see
08:07 Why he calls himself a stand-up comedian, not a journalist
10:56 Comedy heroes George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor
13:37 A typical day of scrolling, family time and picking what to cover
17:04 The moment his young son told him to put the phone down
25:39 Planning for his toddler’s future with trades, college and AI
32:26 “Too Many Tabs” and the long view on the 40-hour work week
33:37 Andrew Carnegie’s libraries, Elon Musk and the Gilded Age
37:51 What he learned on tour: everyone is looking for hope
39:27 Meeting Bernie Sanders in his Capitol office
45:21 If he could go back in time and fix social media
49:35 Building a healthy news diet, starting with local news
57:31 “Crashing Out” with Philip DeFranco and the tour that just wrapped

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Actor & Comedian Chloe Radcliffe from “The Tonight Show” and Comedy Central’s “Eyes Down Here” joins us on Story & Craft to talk about her career and personal stories.
Chloe breaks down writing for Jimmy Fallon and watching Anthony Jeselnik at the Hollywood Improv. She names Eddie Izzard as her biggest influence and traces her path to stand-up through national speech and debate titles and a job at Target headquarters. A writing job on “The Tonight Show” came with her 15th application, after years of trying and time in the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop.
Her hour-long special “Eyes Down Here” took ten years to put together, and she explains why she bikes through New York daily and how a tandem lets her share that with other people. Next up, she is doing a live run of her solo show “Cheat” in Los Angeles from November 4 through 8 at G-Son Studios, the old Beastie Boys recording studio. She also explains why her phone background reminded her to write down every idea for eight years.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Chloe Radcliffe joins Story & Craft
01:42 A lucky YouTube find and Minnesota roots
03:53 New York years, a furious New Year’s Eve and life on tour
08:34 The phone background that kept her writing everything down
10:14 Eddie Izzard and finding stand-up
13:37 Self-employed parents, a math degree and a job at Target
16:29 Speech and debate champion, only child and learning to delegate
19:44 Landing a writing job for Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show”
22:06 Why she rides a tandem bicycle through New York
25:10 Ten years to build “Eyes Down Here”
30:48 Craigslist hobbies and a belief in patterns
34:13 When a joke bombs and the bro-ier rooms
37:53 Watching Anthony Jeselnik and her solo show “Cheat”
41:19 The Seven Questions
44:46 Tour dates and goodbye

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Actor Patrick Renna from “The Sandlot” and YouTube’s “Dugout Dads” joins us on Story & Craft to talk about his career and personal stories.
Patrick shares why Meryl Streep might be the greatest actor ever and how Danielle Fishel co-hosts the companion podcast. He recalls a James Earl Jones story from the set of the baseball classic he filmed at 13 and why it still resonates across generations. Patrick also traces his start in school plays and his teenage work on “Son in Law” with Tiffani Amber Thiessen and Pauly Shore.
He explains how a Little League final that ended with crying parents and kids playing tag inspired the series, which brings back his Sandlot castmates as the dads. Along the way, he discusses his “GLOW” role on Netflix, a Hershey’s campaign with his son, and pitching networks with Chris Paul’s company, OH DIP Entertainment. He also shares the advice he would give his 16-year-old self, including an audition tip from Bryan Cranston.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Patrick Renna joins Story & Craft
03:18 The Little League loss behind “Dugout Dads”
06:35 Filming “The Sandlot” at 13 and its lasting fan love
08:23 From school plays and a Boston move to Hollywood
14:47 Playing second base and rooting for Boston and LA teams
18:31 Favorite movies growing up and working alone at 16
21:29 Making “Ricky 6” with Emmanuelle Chriqui
26:03 Playing a wrestler’s superfan on Netflix’s “GLOW”
28:20 Putting his son in a Hershey’s campaign
30:22 Why he says kids shouldn’t start acting too young
36:15 Pitching “Dugout Dads” with Chris Paul’s OH DIP Entertainment
40:17 The Seven Questions
43:25 The James Earl Jones story from the set of “The Sandlot”
45:14 “Son in Law” with Tiffani Amber Thiessen and Pauly Shore
55:51 Wrapping up with best wishes for “Dugout Dads”

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Actor Missi Pyle from “Dodgeball” and Prime Video’s “Sterling Point” joins us on Story & Craft to talk about her career and personal stories.
She talks about filming “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and shares her take on Apple TV’s “Pluribus” and “Widow’s Bay.” Her time on “Stick” comes up too, where she plays a love interest for Timothy Olyphant’s character in a season that also features Owen Wilson and Rhea Seehorn. Missi also looks back on theater at Germantown High School in Tennessee, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the “Dodgeball” character whose costume fans now buy on Amazon.
Her friend Megan Park, who once played her daughter on a show, created “Sterling Point,” and Missi shares what is coming when season two films next June. Other stories include choosing a Jenny McCarthy series over testing for Chuck Lorre’s “Two and a Half Men” and playing a cult leader on “Y: The Last Man.” She also tells the story of her marriage to a man with a bear sanctuary in Montana and why she is now thinking about becoming an EMT.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Missi Pyle joins Story & Craft
02:35 From Texas to Tennessee, a Montana bear sanctuary, then L.A.
08:08 Filming “50 First Dates” at a Rainforest Cafe and Adam Sandler
10:05 Growing up watching TV and wanting to be in the show
17:54 The Germantown High School theater teacher who changed her path
24:09 The “Dodgeball” character fans dress up as for Halloween
31:26 Life is just lifey and the Shoney’s comment that drove her
35:07 Megan Park and what is next for “Sterling Point”
36:44 Tim Curry’s advice and the “Two and a Half Men” near miss
39:21 Watching “Widow’s Bay” and movie nights with her daughter
41:57 Filming “Home Alone 4” with French Stewart in Cape Town
44:15 Playing a warden, joining “Stick,” and raving about “Pluribus”
47:09 Playing a cult leader on “Y: The Last Man”
50:10 The Seven Questions
58:29 Where to watch Missi Pyle now in “Sterling Point” and “Stick”

STAY IN THE KNOW
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Actor Necar Zadegan from “The Rookie” and CBS’s “CIA” joins us on Story & Craft to talk about her career and personal stories.
She talks about the Taylor Sheridan phone call that shaped her “Mayor of Kingstown” role, working with Nathan Fillion on “The Rookie,” and her Broadway debut alongside Robin Williams. Necar also shares how her Iranian family moved back to the United States from Germany after the 1979 revolution, and how she made her professional debut at 16 at the Edinburgh Fringe. Landing her first series regular role, the First Lady on “24,” came while she was performing “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” every night, before she ignored advice to skip Broadway.
A guest spot on “Law & Order” in New York led to CBS’s “CIA,” and she explains why a show about hiding in plain sight appealed to her. She describes shooting “NCIS: New Orleans” during COVID, wrapping the final season of “Mayor of Kingstown,” and her character’s high school history with Jeremy Renner’s character. Necar also previews the Chris Rock-directed film “Misty Green” and Amazon’s “Joseph of Egypt,” before sharing why her go-to pizza order is a margherita with a side of anchovies.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Necar Zadegan joins Story & Craft
07:35 Born in Germany, raised in California after Iran’s 1979 revolution
12:52 Landing the First Lady on “24” opposite Anil Kapoor and Cherry Jones
17:12 Flying to Hawaii for her one-episode role on “Lost”
18:18 Her professional debut at 16 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
19:46 Broadway with Robin Williams in “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo”
22:55 The press day when Robin Williams turned it on
25:18 Shooting “24” by day and ignoring advice to skip Broadway
30:48 Working with Nathan Fillion on “The Rookie”
31:58 Shooting “NCIS: New Orleans” during COVID
34:20 How “Law & Order” led to CBS’s “CIA”
36:13 Working with Taylor Sheridan on “Mayor of Kingstown”
38:03 The call that unlocked her backstory with Jeremy Renner’s character
43:20 The Seven Questions
57:47 What’s next: “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Misty Green,” “Joseph of Egypt”

STAY IN THE KNOW
Website: https://www.storyandcraftpod.com
FOLLOW THE SHOW
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/storyandcraftpod
CONNECT WITH MARC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airpreston
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcpreston

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