Category Archives: Podcast Episodes

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Chris and Ally are back in the studio together for the 50th SmorgShow Podcast Episode.   Breaking News: Obese Ohio Man Dies After Being Fused to Chair for Two Years,  Chris discusses some famous April Fool’s Day job firings, Chris and Ally discuss their plans for their next old-time radio play, another installment of game show, “Get A Life”.

Baba Gonesh talks about launching his brand new podcast series, “Not Just for Baba Anymore – The World View and Wisdom of Baba Gonesh” then delivers this week’s installment of “Baba News”.  Stories include: Man marries his dog, Man Eats a Snake for 100 rupees, Elephant Dung as a source of livelihood, and Elephant Boy returns to school.   Finally, Philip Donald performs.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Katie Thompson

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The Chris and Dave reunion show!   Dave Jackson joins Chris in the SmorgShow studio for this special reunion episode.   Chris and Dave discuss their voiceover acting class, go down memory lane from the old Smorgasbord radio show years, and call old SmorgShow contributors Peet McCain and Jerry Malauskas.   Baba Gonesh visits with another installment of ‘Baba News’ and discusses the 2011 Holi Festival.  We take a call from the hotline and give away another exciting life on our game show, ‘Get A Life’.

Featured Artist of the Week: Freeky Clean

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It’s Ally’s birthday weekend and Peet joins in on the fun remotely from Cleveland.   Peet discusses the gift certificate for a Second City acting class that he gave Ally.   Ally describes how her party this year will involve a video scavenger hunt at the local mall.   Baba Gonesh is in the studio this week to delivery news from India:  Monkey catchers in India finally get a pay increase, the world’s largest family, and a man-eating elephant devours 17 human beings before being brought to his death.    Finally, another installment of “Get a Life”.

Call us at 312-95-SMORG and tell us about your boring and worthless life.    You can then swap that life for something more exciting by choosing door #1, 2, or 3!

Earlier in the episode we mentioned we were going to call Dave Jackson for his birthday.  We actually did try to call him but we were not able to reach him.  That portion of this show was edited from the final production.   Happy 46th birthday, Dave!

Featured Artist of the Week:   Todd Koal

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Image from Surveillance Video

On this episode, Baba Gonesh calls in with a play-by-play recap of the near tragedy at Baba’s restaurant where a man tries to blow up the place.    Chris talks about his visit with Dave Jackson over the weekend and his plans to take a voiceover acting class.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Kyle Dine

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On this Valentine’s Day show, we welcome Granny Rose back to our studio to talk about how to celebrate the holiday.  Baba Gonesh recites a few sentimental love poems, and Phillip Donald performs his latest hit, “Be My Valentine.”

We also debut our newest segment, “Get a Life” which was originally featured on the Chris and Dave Smorgasbord radio show.   If you have a boring life and want to exchange it for something more exciting, please call our hotline at 312-95-SMORG.   Tell us why you are deserving of a new life and select door #1, 2, or 3.

Also, the 2010 Stella Award winners are discussed.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Carles Bellot

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On this special anniversary episode, Chris and Ally look back on their first year of podcasting.   We play the top 5 listener favorite bits from the first year,  Peet calls in with a special anniversary message, and Chris and Ally are featured on the Podcast Answerman show where host Cliff Ravenscraft offers suggestions for growing the SmorgShow audience.   Baba Gonesh presents a disturbing tale of the Bedbug and the Flea.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Brett Ryan Stewart

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Jerry, Ally, and Chris at Baba's Restaurant

This week we bring you our show live from Baba Gonesh’s restaurant, “The Hidden Palace: A Taste of Baba”.   Old Smorgasbord Radio Show member Jerry Malauskas stops in and co-hosts the show with us.   We discuss Indian cuisine including the basics of an Indian meal, terminology, spices, and desserts.   We go through Baba’s buffet items and Baba joins us to discuss the proper etiquette of eating in an Indian restaurant.   News Balls:  a Hitler-mocking dog, a Russian exorcist killing, Romanian witches who use cat excrement to curse the country’s taxmen, and the star realignment impact on the horoscope.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Junkyard Groove

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On our first show of the new year, we re-connect with Dave Jackson from the original Chris and Dave Smorgasbord radio program.   Dave gives us an update on what he has been up since Chris and Dave disbanded and the challenges he faced with his radio career. We go down memory lane with a few highlights from the original show.   Baba Gonesh presents the story of “Tenali Raman’s Gift”, and News Balls:  Top 10 offbeat stories of 2010.

Featured Artist of the Week: Kelly Harper

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On this special Christmas Eve episode Granny Rose reads ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”.   Baba Gonesh has a very somber message to deliver about the children of India and how the listening audience can help a child in need.   For more information, go to Baba’s blog entry at http://www.smorgshow.com/compassion

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This week we devote the entire episode to our latest radio play production, “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens.   It is a relatively faithful rendition of the original story, shortened to around 45 minutes in order to keep in line with our usual show length.  We brought in a large cast of actors to play the many characters of the classic story.   This was by far our most ambitious production which would not have been possible to pull together if we had not previously done the other old-time radio dramas from our earlier episodes, like “Sorry, Wrong Number”, “On a Country Road”, and “The Sisters”.     We had a great time over the past couple weeks preparing, directing, and producing this show.   We really hope you enjoy the final outcome of it.

We would like to thank all the people who made this recording possible, some of whom even braved the nasty winter weather by making the long journey to our studio to lay down their tracks.   We also want to thank our loyal listeners for making 2010 a very memorable year for us as we brought you our new weekly podcast of the SmorgShow.   It has been a very rewarding year and we look forward to doing more of it in 2011.    Merry Christmas to all and ‘May God Bless Us Every One!’

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On this week’s show, Chris discusses the tragic decapitation of Bobblehead Chris.  We replay a major error that was overlooked on episode 39.  Then we go into the way-back machine and dig up an old audio segment from an early Chris and Dave Smorgasbord broadcast where a caller performed the classic Dr. Seuss story, “Mr. Brown Can Moo“…and then we debut our own new version of the song!   Baba Gonesh presents another Indian Folk Tale, “The Heron and the Crab”.

‘News Balls’ with Jerry Malauskas:  What the 12 days of Christmas costs in 2010, a woman calls 911 to report her snowman was stolen, Lee Harvey Oswald’s original coffin is up for sale, a woman gives birth at a McDonald’s, and the sad passing of Prince Chunk the cat.   Finally, we play an exclusive track from the upcoming CD by Jordan Martyn, a recently featured New Artist of the Week and a new fan of the SmorgShow Podcast!

Featured Artist of the Week:  Annie Fitzgerald who is also celebrating a birthday today.

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Special Thanksgiving Episode:  Turkey Trivia, “Cookies and Milk with Granny Rose”: Granny Rose shares some of her favorite Thanksgiving Traditions; Baba Gonesh discusses how not to have a disastrous holiday; “News Balls”: First family to line up for Black Friday sales is found outside of Best Buy nine days prior to Black Friday; “Cooking with Judy”:  Judy shares turkey preparation tips and a special recipe for Cranberry Chutney.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Jordan Martyn

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It’s Baba Gonesh’s 68th birthday and we celebrate the special occasion with him live in the studio.  We also discuss the India holiday, Diwali as well as the new NBC sitcom “Outsourced”.   Another installment of “Emergency: 911″ where we play a couple of outrageous 911 calls.   News Balls: A man is forced to eat his beard, a man is arrested for stealing sandwiches from Subway, a man tries to run over his girlfriend after she rejects his marriage proposal, and a Twitter threat to blow up an airport is taken seriously by British authorities.

Featured Artist of the Week : Jamie Lynn Noon

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SmorgShow SpookFest ’10: Chris and Ally share tips for Halloween pranks and provide history behind some well-known superstitions; Scary supernatural stories; Baba Gonesh presents another Indian Folk Tale, “The Wind and the Moon”; Halloween News Balls: Peet delivers a special Halloween dramatic reading, and Chris and Ally read several Halloween-related news stories; Phillip Donald performs.   This episode will give you chills.   Mature audiences suggested.

Featured Artist of the Week: Bryan Baker

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We are back in the basement studio again after a successful radon mitigation.  We talk about our plans for a new home studio.  We then debut a new feature this week called “Emergency!”, where we present outrageous 911 calls.   Baba Gonesh presents another Indian Folk Tale “The Golden Swan”, and News Balls:  Runaway crocodile blamed for plane crash, a woman drives around with a corpse on her front seat for 10 months, and a couple of fast-food restaurant attack stories.

Check out this video we talk about on the show about a woman who flips out at a McDonald’s drive-thru after being told they do not serve Chicken McNuggets at 6:30am.   There is no sound to this clip – the action begins at about 1:15 into the video:

Featured Artist of the Week:  Kim McClean

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A show all about Chris as he celebrates his 44th birthday.   Baba calls in with “You know when you’re getting older when…” jokes.   Phillip Donald sings a special birthday song for Chris.  News Balls: A man’s mile-long trip through a sewer pipe, a man is charged with toilet paper assault, airborne toilet paper bombing explained, and a grandmother’s ashes are accidentally sold at a yard sale.

Featured Artist of the Week: Subplot A

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Those who have been following our show recall that we have been testing our home for radon gas.  Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.  It’s a radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of the elements in the soil and can get into homes through cracks in the basement foundation or other means.   The SmorgShow studio is located in our basement, so we decided to do a test back in September after someone advised us to do so.

Results from that test showed we tested slightly higher than the recommended maximum so we did a second test as a precaution.   The results of the second test just came back and showed we were at 3x the recommended level and therefore we must proceed with getting this problem fixed by a licensed radon mitigation contractor (what a cool title!).  Until that happens, we are moving our studio to another location.

So this week we bring you an abbreviated episode.   We have another exclusive performance by Phillip Donald, Baba Gonesh presents another Indian Folk Tale about “The Little Mice and the Big Elephants”, and News Balls: Older than 52?  Then you are probably grumpy, Hot Dog Heist: 10-foot weiner stand goes missing, and a man buys skeleton decorations for Halloween from a yard sale only to find the bones are real.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Tim Miller

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Ally discusses her weekend retreat, Mystical Melinda visits the SmorgShow studio, Baba Gonesh returns from India with another Indian Folk Tale about the Sparrow and the Elephant.  News Balls:  a very disturbing iPhone charger hits the market, an Arizona inmate ends up nearly naked after an attempted jail escape, 600 pounds of trout go mysteriously missing from a pond, and the winners of the Ig Nobel science awards are announced.

Featured Artist of the Week: Brian Keith Wallen

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Chris with Fred Moore

This week, we bring you our very special version of Family Feud.  The SmorgShow Players go up against the staff of Baba’s Village Restaurant.  Then, an exclusive interview with former WDGC-FM General Manager, Fred Moore.   Chris and Ally catch up with Fred on the road during his local performance of his “Hootenanny” show.   And Jerry Malauskas makes his debut appearance on the SmorgShow Podcast in ‘News Balls’: stories include a new product out of China turns your iPod Touch into an iPhone, prison guards catch an inmate trying to sneak in with a cell phone hidden in his rear end, and a computer glitch produces a very strange E-Fit of a crime suspect.

E-Fits Gone Terribly Wrong

To book Fred for your next event, check out his website: http://www.programsunlimited.org

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Chik-Fil-A Grand Opening in Aurora, IL

Chris and Ally discuss the upcoming visit to see former WDGC-FM General Manager Fred Moore, the results from the radon gas test are read, another installment of “Where’s Tisha?”,  Chris reads a review from the first Roger Waters “The Wall” concert on the tour and tries to get Ally syched about going to the Chicago show this week, the Chik-Fil-A Aurora grand opening, Chris announces the launch of his wife’s new weekly podcast “Blooming Beauties”, News Balls:  A Naperville, IL woman charged in a dog poop-infused meltdown, the development of an anti-aging ice cream, the 2 quadrillionth digit of pi is calculated, and a Craigslist robber is outsmarted by a Sherriff who was involved in the transaction.   Finally, Baba Gonesh calls in from his vacation in India where he is celebrating the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.  We learn all about Lord Ganesha and the story of how he got an elephant head and fell off his mouse vehicle.

Featured Artist of the Week : Manny

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Chris and Ally recap the Northern Illinois Annual Geocaching Pig Roast and Picnic.   With the grand opening of the first Chicagoland opening of Chik-Fil-A, Chris and Ally discuss the fast food restaurant’s unusual hiring practices, Philip Donald performs, Baba Gonesh Indian Folk Tales, News Balls: How much time and money is wasted by men who don’t ask for directions and a bizarre death for ELO cellist.   Finally, remembering the events of 9/11 on the 9th anniversary of the attacks.  The show closes with an audio montage of the events that day.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Annie Fitzgerald

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Chris and Ally unveil their new iPhone show app and demonstrate the bonus feature functionality.     Ally shares her tearoom adventure.  Chris discusses the need to have the basement studio tested for radon gas after realizing that he spends almost all of his waking time there.   Calls from the 312-95-SMORG hotline.  Another installment of “Where’s Tisha?”.  Baba Gonesh shares a joke.   News Balls:  A woman’s decomposed body found trapped in her boyfriend’s chimney, a dog gets sick for 3 months after swallowing 12 bras, and a man while waiting for a “ghost train”, gets killed by a real one.    This show brought to you by Porky Puffs.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Admiral Twin

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Chris cooks up a pizza in the studio and kicks back after a long and trying week of technical challenges.  Chris discusses the saga with installing a new computer and wireless network for his mother.  Chris and Ally check in with Peet after shipping a new microphone to him.   They would like him to play a character in the upcoming old-time radio drama they are recording and need to get the audio quality up to par.   Baba Gonesh is in the studio this week and presents “Comedy Camel”.   News Balls:  A family sues Wal-Mart after finding a dead mouse in a carton of milk, a man fakes his death to avoid a trial, and an ex-soldier who is jailed for stealing rare falcon eggs.

Featured Artist of the Week:  Lisa Bouchelle

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Chris and Ally recap their Disney World vacation.   Baba joins us by phone to give an update on the action he has had to take with his restaurant as a result of the threatened lawsuit.  We then connect with Pete remotely from Cleveland, Finally, another installment of “News Balls”: The toad-licking chef, the JetBlue Airways steward incident, and a dog who chews off owner’s toe to save his life.   Chris also talks about future plans for the show including a new SmorgShow Podcast iPhone app.

Featured Artist of the Week:  This is the Good Fight

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