Danny Jacobs

Shows

Episodes

  1. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - The Interview with Lisa and Sheila (Bonus Episode)

    JUL 8

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - The Interview with Lisa and Sheila (Bonus Episode)

    In this special bonus episode, we hear Toughen Up from the shared perspective of Stephen’s sisters, Lisa and Sheila. Hear how they navigated a childhood of fear, loss and abandonment, and more importantly, where they are today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 24m
  2. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 1: Mom, Dad and the Fighting

    APR 22

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 1: Mom, Dad and the Fighting

    In our first episode, we meet Stephen’s tough girl Jersey mother and his post war(s) farm boy father, as they attempt to raise him, his two sisters, and themselves in a tiny apartment in Van Nuys, California. Then, Danny and Darren start exploring what’s behind his parents' pain, what happens to feelings frozen in time, and where is the Grace in all of this madness? If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 5m
  3. Episode 5: How to Destroy a Marriage

    10/15/2024

    Episode 5: How to Destroy a Marriage

    Wherein Danny and Darren try to answer a seminal question: How was it remotely possible that Danny's mom could have stayed with his dad for thirteen years? And how did she finally leave him? This episode takes a winding journey -- from Chicago to D.C. to St. Louis -- and ultimately to a better understanding of the marriage of Richard and Sandy Jacobs. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    53 min
  4. Episode 4: How to Destroy a Courtship

    10/01/2024

    Episode 4: How to Destroy a Courtship

    Wherein Danny and Darren try to answer an enduring question: what kind of woman would marry someone like Richard Jacobs? In search of some explanation - any explanation - they go all the way back to Sandy's childhood. And along the way, they discover some truly shocking developments that change Danny's perception of who his Dad really was.  Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.  If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/DESTROY and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    54 min
  5. Episode 3: How to Destroy a Home Part 2

    09/17/2024

    Episode 3: How to Destroy a Home Part 2

    Wherein Darren returns to the "scene of the crimes", The Royal Manor, and discovers way more than he could have possibly imagined. In the dark recesses of Danny's childhood attic, long held secrets are revealed, and Danny is forced to confront a childhood he hoped would stay in the shadows.  Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.  If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 6m
  6. Episode 16: How to Create Something New

    MAR 25

    Episode 16: How to Create Something New

    Wherein Danny returns, at last, to the scene of the crime(s). Danny (alongside Darren and Sandy) go back to his childhood home, The Royal Manor, and Danny confronts his past head-on. In this, the season one finale of How to Destroy Everything, old feelings will burst to the surface, the ghosts of the past will be reckoned with, and the future will become all the more clear.  Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 13m
  7. Episode 14: How to Destroy a Brotherhood Part 2

    FEB 25

    Episode 14: How to Destroy a Brotherhood Part 2

    Wherein Danny and Darren sit down once more with Danny's brother and delve deeper into understanding each other's perspectives. Danny's brother brings a unique point of view - one of understanding for Richard and even empathy for him, compelling Danny to reevaluate some of the conclusions he's drawn about his father. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at www.betterhelp.com/destroy and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 12m
  8. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 5: Homeless and The Edges of Town

    MAY 20

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 5: Homeless and The Edges of Town

    We now find Lisa, Sheila and Stephen taking refuge with their Uncle John in Washington State, where young Stephen learns some hard life lessons on a construction site. They return to Mission Viejo, just in time to lose whatever housing Maureen had established, as she enters psychiatric treatment. Sheila and Stephen are taken in by a compassionate family, until Maureen is ready to start over, moving them all to the far edge of town. We then hear Darren, as a parent, express concern over “little Stephen” while Danny and Stephen bond over their shared clowning skills as a survival mechanism. Then, our hosts explore the scars and strengths of homelessness, agree on “the Devil you know,” and finally ask Sandy’s take on Toughen Up! If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 3m
  9. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 6: Mom Hustle and The Girl Upstairs

    MAY 27

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 6: Mom Hustle and The Girl Upstairs

    In this chapter of our story, we find Maureen is officially back on her feet, though struggling to make ends meet for her and the kids. After a variety of jobs, she ends up working in a factory and takes in some of her fellow employees as roommates to pay the rent. Stephen is displaced when a particularly provocative boarder rents his room, upending a family already desperately in need of stability. We then hear Danny and Darren reflect on how this episode is a true snapshot of 60’s and 70’s America, how Stephen lacked the rock of stability of Danny’s grandparents and how Stephen’s mom’s secrets and schemes eerily mirror those of one Richard Jacobs. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 1m
  10. Episode 6: How to Destroy a Career Part 1

    10/29/2024

    Episode 6: How to Destroy a Career Part 1

    Wherein Danny and Darren dive into the absolutely bananas career of Richard Jacobs, from all its promise to its absolute peril. This episode covers multiple arrests and criminal charges, getting fired from the SEC for accessing a classified database, and winning a United States Supreme Court case. And this is only part 1! Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    52 min
  11. Episode 10: How to Destroy a Childhood

    JAN 7

    Episode 10: How to Destroy a Childhood

    Wherein Danny and Darren explore the second half of Danny's childhood, which included awkward trips to the ice cream shop and a burgeoning desire to perform as a way of covering up his shame. Additionally, they'll investigate Sandy's side of post-divorce life as they finally solve the mystery of how she was able to afford a decade's worth of lawsuits without going bankrupt. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 6m
  12. Episode 12: How to Destroy a Daughter-in-Law

    FEB 4

    Episode 12: How to Destroy a Daughter-in-Law

    Wherein Danny and Darren bring the podcast full circle by exploring the moment that started it all from a different persepective: Danny's wife. As she illuminates her side of the disaster that led to the termination of Danny's relationship with his dad, our intrepid hosts then speak to the other wife, that of Danny's brother. How does a narcissist affect his kids when they grow up, get married, and have families of their own? What better way is there to find out than by talking to the wives. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. For tickets to Danny's improv show at the Groundlings, head to www.groundlings.com/shows/theunderstudies. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at: www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 14m
  13. Interregnum: How to Destroy the Calm Before the Storm

    MAR 18

    Interregnum: How to Destroy the Calm Before the Storm

    Wherein Danny and Darren check in one last time with Sandy and talk about the entirety of her podcast journey. In doing so, they discover the incredible strides that Sandy has made in her own personal evolution. Additonally, Danny and Darren bring on Danny's wife, Katie, to discuss her perspective on how the podcast has changed her husband. And finally, our intrepid hosts make a big announcement about what's next for the show.  Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/DESTROY get on your way to being your best self Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1 hr
  14. Episode 11: How to Destroy Australia

    JAN 21

    Episode 11: How to Destroy Australia

    Wherein Danny and Darren explore the newfound freedom Danny felt as a young adult out from under his father's thumb for the first time in his life. But then, Danny gets pulled back into his father's chaos when he agrees to go on a (mostly) paid vacation to Australia. Terrible doesn't do the trip justice. It was so traumatizing that it sends Danny into a mental health spiral as he finds himself abandoned in a foreign country. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and please don't forget to share, rate and review! If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. This episode is sponsored by brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/destroy and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 3m
  15. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 3: Wes, Skatebarn, The Big Split and Frank

    MAY 6

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 3: Wes, Skatebarn, The Big Split and Frank

    Wherein young Stephen seeks refuge from his own family at a house “down the street.” His father then reveals a side of himself that no one could have imagined, just before the marriage finally falls apart. Gene moves away while Maureen makes a new “friend.” Then, hear why the boys call this “The Darren Episode” and define the true meaning of an oasis. Then, Danny and Darren explore the hidden meaning behind Stephen’s sound effects and what it meant to have his father reveal that he could “fly.” Head to https://bubblycleaning.com/HTDE to get your first 3 hours of cleaning for only $19. Thanks so much to Bubbly Cleaning for sponsoring this episode! If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 10m
  16. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 4: The Road to 333

    MAY 13

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 4: The Road to 333

    After losing their suburban home, Maureen moves with Stephen and Sheila into a Travelodge, only to dispatch her children on an epic road trip with their fugitive sister Lisa. Heading north, the three siblings experience a shared moment of grace on a rainy night, outside of a Canadian liquor store. Then Danny and Darren push in on the fear and loneliness of the children being left to fend for themselves. Danny speaks of The Triumph of Small Things, while Darren reminds us we are all members, to some degree, of “The Destruction Community.” If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    48 min
  17. Episode 15: How to Destroy Richard Jacobs

    MAR 11

    Episode 15: How to Destroy Richard Jacobs

    Wherein Danny and Darren finally track down their white whale: a member of the support group founded to bring together people who had been sued and harrassed by Richard Jacobs. But as Danny and Darren get into the details of said group, so much more is revealed than they ever imagined possible -- about the group, yes, but also about Danny and where he goes from here... Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min
  18. Interregnum: How to Destroy a Live Show

    APR 15

    Interregnum: How to Destroy a Live Show

    Wherein Danny and Darren confront their audience live for the very first time. Danny discusses his complicated feelings about St. Louis, and surprise guests abound. Recorded at famed St. Louis merch shop, Stl-Style, Danny and Darren search for some meaning and share final thoughts from the journey they've just completed. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron a  www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. Head to https://www.BubblyCleaning.com/HTDE to get your first 3 hours of cleaning for only $19. Thanks so much to Bubbly Cleaning for sponsoring this episode! Get 15% offOneSkin with the code DESTROY at https://www.oneskin.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 12m
  19. How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 7: Driving School, Dad's Big Surprise and Blowing the Hatch

    JUN 3

    How To Destroy Everything Presents: Toughen Up - Episode 7: Driving School, Dad's Big Surprise and Blowing the Hatch

    In this seventh chapter, we find a mid-life Maureen facing her fears and calling upon her brother, Jimmy, to finally teach her how to drive. Then, Eugene shocks the family with a surprise marriage announcement. After Sheila leaves the nest for college, Stephen is left at home with his mother, doing his best to fill the role of "Man of the House." Then Danny relates to the role reversal that took place between Stephen and his mother and Darren makes an observation about the sheer resiliency of this family.  If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything and please don't forget to share, rate, and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 14m
  20. Episode 7: How to Destroy a Career Part 2

    11/12/2024

    Episode 7: How to Destroy a Career Part 2

    Wherein Danny and Darren tackle the second half of Richard Jacobs' "career". With his reputation in tatters, Richard attempts to regain his law license and aims his considerable talents (and relentlessness) at members of the St. Louis community, representing himself in a reign of terror and leaving trauma in his wake. Listen to HTDE on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you would like to support this podcast, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/HowToDestroyEverything. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/DESTROY get on your way to being your best self Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 4m
Danny Jacobs on Apple