Dumb Nerds: Comedians Talking About Smart Topics They're Too Dumb For

D&D is not just for nerds! Well It mostly is but more and more “pretty” people are getting on board. So why not start the new year off by nerd-ing about Dungeons & Dragons?! Super fun and nerdy guest Lars Hansen (2-Count Kick Out Podcast) comes on the show to talk about his 25 year D&D journey thus far beginning with his dad handing him a D&D book he found in a bargain bin to Lars becoming a Dungeon Master for Cassi and their friends in a 3 year campaign and today he is a certified DM at The Guild House in Bellflower, Ca. This is a great episode for nerds who love D&D and for people who want to know what this once taboo role playing game is all about!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s almost 2018! Happy New Year! So… Are you excited? Hopeful? Want to make it your best year yet?! Guests Libby Doyne & Inessa Frantowski suggest making a vision board. Libby and Inessa get into how making a vision board can help you achieve your goals and make your year great! They even provide some science behind how they work. (While also acknowledging it’s pretty “hippy-dippy”.) This is a fun episode that will make you want to cut up some magazines or at the very least write down what it is you want in the new year because why the heck not?! Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Super talented and funny guest Shay Dominguez moved to LA from St. Louis to do improv and has no regrets doing so because she’s living her best life! Are you living yours? Shay and Dumb Nerds host, Cassi Jerkins, give tips on how to be your happiest self, pursue your dreams, achieve goals and demystify the stigma behind self-help, motivational speakers and positive affirmations. They also spend a lot of time talking about the thing they both love the most - improvisational comedy. Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you a fan of reality TV? Did you watch “Flavor of Love”? Guests Jesse Esparza and Julian Gonzalez (Extra Extra Podcast) are huge fans and they think it changed the course of television history! The gang gets into this 2006 hit VH1 show along with reminiscing on what they were doing back in ’06. This ep has a lot of personality so buckle up and enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!!” How many times have you and your friends screamed that in terrible delight? We have Tommy Wisseau to thank for such a treasure. Comedian Zach Olsen (UCB, Bay Watch Watch podcast) comes on to talk about his love for “The Room”, a 2003 independent drama written, directed, produced by and starring Tommy Wisseau. Cassi and Zach also take a field trip to the movies before the recording to see “The Disaster Artist”. Spoiler alert: They loved it! (And will not spoil the film for you.) Instead Zach and Cassi get into what makes “The Room” so perfectly bad, how it got made and why Tommy Wisseau is so fascinating and strangely mysterious. It’s an episode guaranteed to make you want to watch “The Room” and quote Tommy’s lines and laugh all day. Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember that time in history when people claimed women were witches and if they denied it, they were hung/burned at the stake? We do! Guest Kelly McInerney (IMDWeed Podcast) and Cassi talk about the history of the Salem Witch Trials and how it was just crazy! The things young girls do when they don’t have a high status in society or access to a smart phone. Cassi also provides most of her knowledge from Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible”. (She played Mary Warren!) Kelly and Cassi also talk about traveling to Salem today, teenage voodoo, Doug the Psychic, scary movies and the joy of having a Movie Pass. Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astrology! What’s your sign, listener? Guest Hannah Faust (LA City Municipal Dance Squad, UCB Hot Hot Goss) explains astrology and goes deeper than what media has painted astrology to be. Hannah shows how you can use astrology to serve yourself, and also how to be one of those people who can accurately guess people’s signs. She also gives hot tips on great apps and books to learn more about astrology. Cassi manages to give Hannah an astrological epiphany on mid-life crisis and Hannah makes Cassi wonder if she’s a new baby soul. After some great astrology talk, Hannah whips out her tarot cards and pendulum and gives Cassi a tarot card reading. Surprisingly the cards read true to what’s going on in Cassi’s life and they give warm, gentle advice on pushing forward to becoming even more of a badass Queen of Swords. Cassi opens up a little bit but not too much, but let's give her a break, she’s working on it! Enjoy this fun and more-personal-than-usual episode.  Shout out to Maddie.   See acast.com/privacy for

Tacos! Who doesn’t love tacos? Who also doesn’t love getting off topic and talking about music, whether people on death row get to drink alcohol with their last meal and finding that special someone to eat tacos with? Wonderful guest and friend Marcella Riley (“White People Do Black Things” podcast) comes on to talk about her love of LA tacos and gives hot tips on where to get some good eats! Cassi and Marcella have been friends for a few years now and this is a classic fly on the wall conversation of what these two talk about off the mic. That’s right, John Mayer gets brought up, there’s an undertone of darkness and they’d be dancing while podcasting if they could. Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know there’s a large bird with razor sharp claws that can kills humans? Oh yeah. It can cut up a human with ease. So whatever you do, don’t piss off a cassowary! Jen Curcio (Cara & Jen’s Sleepover Party) comes on to tell Dumb Nerds listeners about cassowaries, a bird native to Australia and the New Guinea islands. Even though they are capable of murder, these 6 foot tall majestic creatures are pretty gentle. Jen is fascinated by cassowaries and plans to one day go visit them. Before she gets to actually meet one, she has other ways to honor them like naming her car after one. You’re in good hands this week so sit back, relax and learn about this fascinating bird that is a descendent from dinosaurs!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Halloween! This is a favorite holiday for many people and did you know it’s been around for over 2,000 years?! It began as an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The night before All Saint’s Day was believed when spirits could walk among us and All Hallow’s Eve was a tradition to honor those who have past so they wouldn’t get upset and take your soul! The wonderful Lucé Tomlin-Brenner is back and schools Cassi on the history of Halloween! Lucé also blows Cassi’s mind with stories of how people in Ohio celebrate Halloween verses the suburbs of San Diego. Real pumpkins patches, apple picking, apple cider slushes, poetry reading and more! What?! There’s so much to talk about and this could easily have been a 6 hour show but we give you this hits and will leave you appreciating this spooky holiday. Enjoy!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get ready for an ep all about the Most Happiest Place on Earth- Disneyland! Guest Eileen O’Connell (Skeeterial Podcast) comes on to talk all about her Disneyland experiences. Eileen dishes out some secrets to make the most of your Disneyland experience. Cassi chimes in to talk about what it why like to have Disneyland an hour and a half away from home and then literally living down the street from her in college where most of her friends worked at the park. Eileen and Cassi dive a bit into the history of Disneyland and how’s the park has changed and expanded over the years, along with the different Disney parks around the world. It’s an episode guaranteed to make you feel nostalgic and remember that Disney’s got theme parks on lock! (And everything else.)   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are your thoughts on Veganism? Could you completely give up the consumption of all animal products as best you can? This includes meat, dairy, eggs, honey, products tested on animals, etc. Vegan actor and improviser Bozant Katzakian comes on to talk about why he chose to go vegan 5 years ago, what it’s like to work on a Farm Sanctuary that protects its animals from being used for profit and tips for people wanting to make the lifestyle choice to go vegan and become an animal rights activist. Cassi and Bo also get into the history of veganism which dates back to the ancient times of Japan and India. They discuss when “Vegetarian Clubs” showed up in England during the 1800s and how artists like George Bernard Shaw influenced people to stop eating animals. Currently we are in the Vegan Boom of the 2010s. Just 15 years ago going to a restaurant as a vegan was nearly impossible, now there are vegan grocery stores and “butchers” in Europe. It’s only a matter of time before they make there way to the rest of th

What is consciousness? We’re all experiencing this subjective phenomena but what the hell is it? Here’s the thing, no one knows! Scientists and philosophers have been trying to figure it out for hundreds of years and we’re not much closer to figuring it out. Super fun guest and host of “Science Time” Alex Berg comes on the show to discuss different theories of consciousness with Cassi. Alex and Cassi are by no means experts on this mysterious topic but are super nerds about it. They discuss their personal experiences with trying to understand consciousness, they attempt to recall great scientists and the experiments the scientists have conducted to getting closer to comprehending this phenomenon, as well as show examples to unpack our own internal biases. Cassi and Alex also get off topic and talk about one of their favorite animals, octopuses! This is a great episode if you want to stretch your brain into the great unknown and walk away with a lot of reading and video recommendations on consciousness! Enjoy!

It’s October! That means Halloween season is finally upon us and what better way to get spooky then with our returning guest, Clark Canez (Ep 5 Greek Mythology) to talk about Victorian Spiritualism! Clark and Cassi have a blast talking about how the invention of seances by New York sisters led to such a seance craze that the sisters visited Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd in the White House to conduct a seance for them! We discuss how the loss of Queen Victoria’s husband put the Queen into a lifelong mourning that greatly changed the ritual of mourning, funerals and death superstitions. During this time photography was invented and it didn’t take long for this death obsessed culture to use photography to try and capture ghosts. (And some people made a very good living creating fake ghost photos!) This is a super fun, eery episode that will get you into the Halloween spirit. You may also find yourself wishing you lived in the Victorian Age!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn mor

Did you our knowledge of nutrition is relatively new? Like Vitamin C wasn’t discovered until the 1930s! Guest Kenny Prawat (Crowning Jewels, io Sketch team “Jeff!”) and host Cassi Jerkins bond over their parents lack of nutritional knowledge and feeding them junk food as kids. For instance, remember when McDonalds had that $0.39 cheeseburger on Wednesday nights deal in the 90s? Yeah, that was dinner for these poor kids all the time. As Kenny and Cassi grew older they both developed an interest in cooking and from there they slowly learned which foods are healthy for you and why. (Hint: unprocessed food directly from the ground is the best). Kenny and Cassi also get into how food companies constantly use buzzwords to sell food. Buzzwords like “Fat Free”, “Organic” and “Gluten Free”. Kenny provides lots of tips on how to eat healthy and for cheap. He also has gives a PSA to the “youths” to stop ordering avocado toast at restaurants. Cassi can’t stop talking about her calorie tracker app. Enjoy!   See acast.c

Host Cassi Jerkins takes the week off from the usual format to destress and give you fun facts that will make you feel good about life! For instance, did you know cows have best friends? Wearing perfume or cologne increases your happiness? That scientists believe the center of the galaxy smells like raspberries? There’s a lot of neat fun facts coming your way, plus some tips on actions you can take to live a happier, more positive life! We love you!   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Digimon”, short for “Digital Monsters” was an amazing Japanese media franchise that was very popular in the 90s and has been making a comeback with the film series “Digimon Tri”. The franchise consisted of virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card care. Sound similar to “Pokemon”? It came out a couple years before “Pokemon” and the “Digimon” craze swept Cassi’s elementary school and guest Will Choi’s (Asian AF, Drunk Monk & Korean Drama Podcasts) elementary and middle school as well. Will loved “Digimon” so much that he spent his middle school life writing “Digimon” fan fiction with two of his best friends. Cassi spent her 4th and 5th grade battling other kids on the playground with her “Digimon” virtual fighting pet! Will and Cassi bond over their love for “Digimon” and discover they had a very similar childhood with age differences in siblings, writing fan fiction and having “Saturday Night Live” and "All That" inspire them to get into comedy. This a nostalgic conversation you w

Pregnancy. Making, having, raising babies. Lots of animals do it! For decades, centuries, even longer than that! You get it. So what’s there to learn? Uh, so much! Artist and animator Kelly Matten joins Cassi to talk about her recent experience with being pregnant and having her daughter, Daisy. Kelly goes from making the decision with her husband, (shoutout to Dungeon Master and all around badass Lars!), to trying to conceive, getting pregnant but having to keep it a secret for 10 weeks, to dealing with being pregnant, to delivery to having to pause the recording with Cassi to put Daisy down for a nap. Kelly and Cassi get into what it’s like to be pregnant, why it’s such a sensitive and highly debated issue for mothers and potential-mothers-to-be, all the way to dealing with postpartum depression. Cassi, mother of cats, attempts to understand pregnancy by talking about octopuses. You’re guaranteed to learn something and get a fresh perspective on what Kelly says is the weirdest thing she’s ever done, and she

How many of us are lucky to have a bar we frequent where everybody knows our name? How about for 11 seasons? Hilarious comedian and writer Matt Manser joins host Cassi Jerkins to talk about the hit TV show “Cheers”! Matt watched the show as a kid learning many adult issues from it. Matt and Cassi get into the different characters that created such a dynamic ensemble which lead to the popular spin off show, “Fraiser”. Cassi learns that Frasier was originally written for one of her favorite actors of all time, John Lithgow, but Lithgow turned it down giving Kelsey Grammer the most prominent role of his acting career. (Honorable mention to Sideshow Bob). Cassi reflects upon John Lithgow’s career and her love for him a bit too long and Matt has to reel her back in. Matt tells Cassi about some of his favorite Cheers episodes which involve Cliff Clavin trying to write a joke for Johnny Carson and another where he almost wins “Jeopardy”. So pour yourself a beer and enjoy this week’s Dumb Nerds ep all about “Cheers”!

How much do you know about Bob Dylan past “Blowin’ in the Wind” and his distinctive raspy voice? Guest Jonathan Harris (UCB) knows a whole lot! Like seriously a lot. Jonathan pretty much rattles off Bob Dylan’s entire music career in order from album to album, dates and the inspiration behind it and all. It’s pretty incredible. Jonathan and Cassi get into how Bob Dylan became a huge music folk star at 22, only two years after moving to New York in the early 1960s to pursue a career in music. From there Bob Dylan goes from poetic folk singer-songwriter to electric with “The Band” to Christian rock star in the 1980s to still cranking out albums and touring today! That’s right, at 76, Bob Dylan is still making music and is touring on what he calls “The Never Ending Tour”. Pretty incredible, right? Jonathan and Cassi also talk about their own personal relationship with Dylan’s music, including their favorite albums/songs, going to some of his concerts on the “Never Ending Tour”, watching Martin Scorsese’s documen