001-People Of Earth Meet Kevin Brennan

"People of Earth Meet Kevin Brennan" is episode 1 of the Misery Loves Company podcast on the Riotcast Network. It was released on 31st January, 2016.

On Mic

 * Kevin Brennan, stand-up comic & writer
 * Lenny Marcus, stand-up comic & writer

Lenny's Intro
"From a studio high above the Comedy Cellar, you are tuned to a brand new podcast called with Kevin Brennan and Lenny Marcus. I'm Lenny Marcus and ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, people who love anarchy, people who love no holds barred discussions, people with thick skin, people who love comedy, and especially people who just want to kill an hour of their lives listening to the rantings of a possible lunatic; one of the funniest guys in the world. Strap in kids. Let me introduce you to Sweet K, Kevin Brennan"

Synopsis

 * Kevin's first words are "First of all"; a saying that he often uses
 * Kevin questions why the world needs another podcast and jokes that even his mother has her own podcast
 * Lenny and Kevin introduce Lenny to the audience. Kevin describes Lenny as "a Jew from Long Island, so that's not that simple".
 * The amount of antisemitism still in the world is discussed mainly by Kevin.
 * Kevin previously thought that Jews had been exaggerating and using it for comedy purposes, but has apparently recently changed his mind.
 * Kevin read an article about Kuwaiti airlines not letting Jews and Israelis on their planes in line with the country's entrenched antisemitism.
 * Note that Lenny is Jewish American, as is Kevin's friend and fellow comic, Dave Attell.
 * Lenny adds that he is not exactly loud and proud about his Jewish background when he's on the road; particularly in the South of the US.
 * Kevin discusses his wife's negative reaction to being criticised on Opie with Jimmy; yet, according to Kevin, she loves it when others are the targets and when people reveal "personal sh*t" on shows like Howard Stern and The Real Housewives.
 * Kevin recounts his recent stand-up experience in State College, Pennsylvania, with a fellow unnamed comics, one of whom was dating a gender-fluid person. Kevin struggles with the insistence by the comic to call his biologically female partner they and them, because the person didn't identify as either a he or a she. Kevin saw her as clearly a woman.
 * Kevin recalls wondering whether his own wife was transgender, when they first met.
 * Recent NFL news is discussed.
 * Anger/depression associated with fans losing to unbelievable unforced errors while the players don't seem to get bummed out.
 * Racial politics; in particular the perceived cultural and behavioural differences between white and black players and the code words used by commentators such as 'very heady ball player' and 'very athletic'

Quotes

 * Kevin: "That's what the world needs is another podcast"


 * Kevin: "It's not going to be a show about Jews"
 * Kevin to Lenny: "You look real Jewy with your glasses on"
 * Kevin: "Don't marry a boxer, then be like, he hit me. Yeah, he's going to hit you if he's a boxer."

Star-F**ks & Slams (Name Drops)

 * Manny Dworman (deceased) & his son Noam, past and present owners of The Comedy Cellar in New York. Noam has appeared on many podcasts including Misery Loves Company and Keith and the Girl.
 * Howard Stern, radio shock jock veteran
 * Amy Schumer, comedian and movie/TV star, who wouldn't help Kevin to get more Twitter followers
 * Jim Norton, comedian, who Kevin sees as an expert on transgender relations. Norton is the co-host of Opie with Jimmy, on Sirius XM satellite radio and YouTube
 * Robert Kelly, with whom Kevin has a complicated relationship. Robert is mentioned in many episodes, as he is the boss of the podcast, but Kevin and he do not appear to particularly enjoy each other's company. It does seems clear, however, that each respects their comedy.

Apologies
Lenny realised that apologies go a long way and decided to end each episode with a list of all those slighted by Kevin
 * Robert Kelly, comedian

Further Information and References

 * The Comedy Cellar in New York Oral History in which Neal Brennan gets a quote, but no mention of his brother, Kevin
 * Cracker Barrel, Old Country Store, a restaurant and store that 'serves food meals at fair prices', according to their website.