The Comedian Next Door

John Branyan
  • 4.7 (14)
  • COMEDY INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

The Comedian Next Door

  1. 1D AGO

    Riff 78 - Uncovered winter debris and flattened hamsters

    We start off fighting with a cheap plastic recorder that won’t cooperate and complaining about all the trash showing up now that the snow is melting. Then things take a hard turn when we talk about the morning we found a stranger sitting on our living room couch at 5:30 AM.  That moment changes how we see our own habits. Leaving the doors unlocked used to feel normal, even harmless. After that morning, it feels careless, and we end up installing an auto-locking digital system. One unexpected person on a couch is enough to turn a casual routine into a security upgrade. From there, we wander into some childhood memories—like techniques for flattening hamsters and lizards. It’s uncomfortable and a little funny in hindsight, but mostly it’s about how small mistakes had very real results.  We also talk about AI, comparing it to a nervous friend who sounds confident but gets things wrong. That leads us into a debate about the tangled timeline in Primer and how some kids somehow guess the twist in The Sixth Sense right away. We wrap up by unpacking why hearing “you did your best” can feel like a quiet insult—like the recorder that won’t play right, the door that now locks itself, and the headlamp shining on a problem we didn’t want to see.

    1h 7m

  2. 4D AGO

    TCND: Talking to Yourself and Artificial Intelligence Taking Over (Peanut Butter Spoon)

    Welcome to the kitchen table, Neighbor. John admits he often talks to himself...  And that leads to a discussion about how to not go crazy if you're ever stuck on a deserted island...  THEN: John sent us an article this week about the imminent take-over of artificial intelligence.   But does the average person really understand what kind of tool it is?  And, what should we do about the fact that AI sometimes talks people into killing themselves? Email the Comedian's family at nextdoor@johnbranyan.com .

    57 min

  3. FEB 12

    Riff 77 - Spit Valves, Kid Rock, and Christianity

    We started by talking about our musical instruments, which we loved deeply in theory and stored carelessly in reality, proving that passion and maintenance are not the same skill set. In high school we somehow managed to be both band kids and athletes, demonstrating that blowing into brass and colliding with linebackers can coexist as long as no one asks too many questions. We treated our instruments like priceless treasures while also leaving them in car trunks during temperature swings that would alarm a meteorologist. Naturally this led us to celebrity culture, where authenticity is expected to be spontaneous but professionally managed at all times. We used Kid Rock as an example, mostly because nothing says “quiet spiritual reflection” like stadium lighting and pyrotechnics. We discussed how celebrities are supposed to represent their faith publicly, but only in ways that don’t inconvenience their brand managers. We wrestled with the idea that when a famous person talks about Christianity, we immediately suspect a marketing strategy, yet when they don’t talk about it, we suspect cowardice, which is a terrific system. Wealth came up, because apparently following Jesus is simple until your house has more square footage than the New Testament. We examined how fame turns every belief into a press release and every doubt into a headline. Hollywood, of course, typecasts everyone, including people who are just trying to have a thought, which makes it difficult to be a nuanced human when you’ve already been labeled “The Faith Guy.” We reflected on interviews, where the goal is often to sound natural while answering pre-approved questions in a room full of lighting equipment. In the end we concluded that genuine conversation is surprisingly rare, mostly because it involves two people talking without a script, which in modern media qualifies as reckless behavior.

    1h 4m

  4. FEB 9

    TCND: Black History Month and Ogden Boys (Emphasis on Boys)

    Well, as you know, we're a week into Black History Month. How are you observing this very important holiday? Can we take credit for our teenager's really excellent paper on Uncle Tom's Cabin, or do we need to make our own offering? THEN: We talk about racists.  Of course, you can tell who's in power by looking at who you're not allowed to criticize... And, when it comes to the Ogden Boys, you're not allowed to criticize their online shenanigans. (Read: immaturity.) So, make from that what you will.   LATER: The Peaches explains what women want.   Contact the Comedian's family by emailing nextdoor@johnbranyan.com .

    49 min

  5. FEB 5

    Riff 76 - Doomsday Clock, Black Pepper, and Hibernation as A Life Strategy

    We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, which is another way of saying we wandered bravely from topic to topic with the confidence of people who believe curiosity is a form of planning. It started with musical dreams, which immediately ran into taxes, because nothing crushes artistic ambition faster than discovering the government would also like a solo. From there we examined the mysterious phenomenon of celebrity wealth, which turns out to be mostly an illusion created by sunglasses, confidence, and someone else paying for lunch. Naturally this led us to government conspiracies, because once you realize famous people don’t have as much money as you think, it’s only a short hop to assuming someone is hiding something. We discussed survival skills for the collapse of society, a scenario everyone is very confident about despite having trouble assembling IKEA furniture. The Doomsday Clock came up, which is reassuring because it’s good to know the end of the world is being managed by people who own a clock. We also talked about zombies, because every serious discussion eventually circles back to zombies, the one apocalypse we’ve fully rehearsed thanks to television. Along the way we touched on personal health journeys, which mostly involve learning what foods now hate us, and food preferences, which are deeply emotional and should never be questioned. Black pepper emerged as a cultural force, gold mining as an economic mystery, and hibernation as an underutilized lifestyle choice for anyone tired of the news. In the end, the conversation proved that modern life is complicated, confusing, and possibly ending soon, but at least we can laugh about it while seasoning our food aggressively and considering a long nap.

    1h 4m

  6. FEB 2

    TCND No-Guilt Sermon and Katy Faust the Not-Anonymous Activist

    First up: Luke has a pretty gnarly cold and feels pitiful. But he really enjoyed the sermon at church today, and he wants to recommend it to EVERYONE... Later:  Katy Faust is a pro-life activist and founder of "Them Before Us" ministries. But there was a time when she was blogging anonymously...  until she was doxxed! Email the Comedian's family at nextdoor@johnbranyan.com .

    49 min

  7. JAN 29

    Riff 75 - The Nap Tripod and Nuclear Weapons Solve Everything

    We kicked things off by butchering the Jaws theme on plastic recorders—which we’ve decided are essentially musical sewer pipes—before pivoting to the high-brow realization that physics is actually God’s art museum and humans are just the ones writing the placards.We spent a good chunk of time roasting Hollywood for its recycled plots, rebranding Jaws as the "ultimate fishing film" and realizing Avatar is just a blue-tinted Fern Gully where the characters use their tails as universal adapters. Our nostalgia took us back to the glory days of mastering the "tripod" head-prop to nap in geometry class without face-planting, a skill far more useful than our Gen X school fundraisers involving "high-quality" trash bags and overpriced wrapping paper. To wrap up, we lamented the fact that taking a sick chicken to an exotic vet costs $250—proving yogurt is the only affordable healthcare for poultry—and left everyone on a spicy cliffhanger regarding our upcoming deep-dive into the scandalous world of black pepper.

    1 hr

  8. JAN 26

    TCND: Just the Essentials, Please (Helpful ChatGPT)

    We didn't plan what we would talk about before we hit "record."  But, is that such a bad thing? We've been having some tech troubles with our poor Rodecaster recorder... AND: the Peaches also struggled with some "helpful" AI software, making unauthorized changes to her drama club script.  (But it didn't meeeeeean to do it!) THEN:  Luke has been reading a book about saying "no" more often, in order to say "yes" to what truly matters.  The book seems to be full of great advice, so of course the Peaches and John have to be a little bit contrarian about the whole thing... So what about you, Neighbor?  Do you struggle with feeling like you can just work HARDER in order to please everybody?   OR are you more of a contrarian yourself?    Email the Comedian's family at nextdoor@johnbranyan.com

    54 min
See All (371)

4.7
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The Comedian Next Door

Information