0.05: Big Block of Cheese Live (with Dulé Hill, The Memory Palace, The Allusionist, and more)

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A live Big Block of Cheese Day from San Francisco Sketch Fest! Hrishi and Josh are joined by Dulé Hill to answer questions from fans - including a semi-surprise guest. Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace (@thememorypalace) podcast tells the history of the big block of cheese, and Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist (@AllusionistShow) gets VERY salty with her language as she explains the origin of the word “sh**hole.” Saltiest of all, though, is the fifty-pound wheel of Pecorino Romano that we actually had delivered to the Marines’ Memorial Theater to feed our hungry questioners. 

Backstage: Josh, Nate DiMeo, Dulé Hill, Hrishi, and Helen Zaltzman. © photo by @jakubmosur.

Backstage: Josh, Nate DiMeo, Dulé Hill, Hrishi, and Helen Zaltzman. © photo by @jakubmosur.

4.15: Inauguration: Over There (with Gene Sperling)

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For our discussion of Inauguration: Over There, Josh regales Hrishi with tales of shooting in his underwear and throwing snowballs at Janel Moloney. Plus, we’re joined by West Wing writer and former Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling (@genebsperling). He tells us how the Clinton administration's regrets over the handling of the Rwandan genocide led to the Bartlet administration's doctrine for the use of force.

footnotes —
Jill Sobule - Heroes
Tootsie - I Said Good Day, Sir!
Babes in Toyland

4.14: Inauguration: Part 1 (with Danica McKellar)

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Inauguration: Part I is the first part of our two-part series about a two-part series of West Wing episodes. Josh and Hrishi dig up fun facts about presidential bibles, and cast a critical eye on CJ's flirting and Josh's mean sass about Jack Reese. They also talk with Danica McKellar (@danicamckellar) about how a character named Tracy became Elsie Snuffin.

footnotes —
McKellar Math
Wesley Theological Seminary
 

4.13: The Long Goodbye (with Jon Robin Baitz and The Alzheimer’s Association)

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As the West Wing takes a trip to Dayton, OH, for The Long Goodbye, Josh and Hrishi talk to playwright Jon Robin Baitz, who playwrought the episode. He talks about how his own father's illness informed the script in ways he didn't realize at the time, and gets props from our hosts for finally letting C.J. get some.
 

footnotes —
The Alzheimer's Association
NIH - National Institute on Aging
Alzheimer's 24/7 Hotline - 800-272-3900

4.12: Guns Not Butter (with MAZON and The ONE Campaign)

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For our discussion of Guns Not Butter, Josh and Hrishi go on a hunt for Hrishi’s Hebrew name that is almost as intense as Donna’s quest to get Josh’s phone into the hands of Senator Hardin. Tom Hart of ONE (@OneCampaign) makes the case for foreign aid, and President Abby Leibman (@MAZONusa) backs Charlie up on the subject of food stamps on the military, but not one single person sides with poor Josh Lyman on the remote prayer issue.

footnotes —
Josh takes the SNAP challenge
MAZON - A Jewish Response to Hunger
Heifer International
Josh's fundraiser for MAZON
The ONE Campaign
Sports Night - I told many, many people
New York Times - Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer