Lewis Black's Rantcast
The Laugh Button
Lewis Black is providing you the opportunity to get whatever the hell is bothering you off your chest! Night after night on the road, Black delivers his wildly popular The Rant Is Due livestream where citizens of the world write in to tell him whatever is pissing them off. Lewis Black's Rantcast channels that anger in ways only a man whose devoted his entire life to ranting can do. The tirades are sometimes big. They are sometimes small. But when filtered through the comedic mind of Black in a live environment, they are always hilarious. We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/us/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy
#115 - Best of the Rubber Chicken
This week's Rantcast is the best of the Rubber Chicken! Check out Lewis and the Rubber Chicken's best moments from this past year. Thank you all for rants and continued support. As always, please remember to take care of each other. It's the most important thing we can do. Make sure to check out Stark Raving Black premiering at 3 PM ET on Lewis Black's YouTube channel! This week's live rants come from the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, California. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Honey: https://www.joinhoney.com SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#114 - Best of 2022
Hey ranters! This week, let's take a look back at some of Lewis's best moments from The Rantcast! Thank you all for your continued support. As always, please remember to take care of each other, it's the most important thing we can do. This week's live rants come from the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Chime: https://www.chime.com/ Honey: https://www.joinhoney.com/explore SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#113 - Happy New Year!
Happy new year! This week, Lewis lets the ranters tell us what's on their mind. Enjoy! This week's live rants come from the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Chime: https://www.chime.com/ Honey: https://www.joinhoney.com/explore SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#112 - Goodbye, Good Riddance 2022
Our host checks in this week from his personal cable access studio. This year has been so horrific, Lewis wouldn't ecven change out of his sweatpants this week! He's also been feeling a little under the weather, so he didn't get to spend Christmas with his friends the way he normally would. Sean Hannity admitted that he never believed in thie big lie…really? How can anyone take him, or anyone else on Fox News, seriously? A bomb cyclone just recently hit most of the country. Towards the end of the episode, our host takes a look at the news of the day. As always, please remember to take care of each other. It's the most important thing we can do for one another. This week's live rants come from the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 00:00 - Start 00:46 - Intro Rant 25:42 - GhostBed Ad Read 26:55 - Fort Wayne Live Rant For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com GhostBed: https://www.ghostbed.com/pages/lewis SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#111 - Feliz Navidad
Lewis checks in this week from his personal public access studio. There's no rubber chicken this week, he doesn't want to talk to everyone after what happened last week. Elon Musk put up a Twitter poll asking people if he should be the CEO of Twitter, Trump has to be punished for what he is doing. Carlos Correa signed with the Mets for $315 million. While Lewis was trying to record this week's episode, the boiler in the upstairs part of his house started to leak and actually leaked through the ceiling. This is the second time this has happened to our host. As always, please remember to take care of each other, it's the most important thing we can do, especially during this time of year. Thank you all for listening and the support this year. Merry Christmas! This week's live rants come from the Palladium Theater in Carmel, Indiana. 00:00 - Start 02:20 - Intro Rant 24:13 - Microdose and GhostBed 29:17 - Carmel Live Rant 44:18 - Additional Rants 48:14 - Outro For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Microdose Gummies: https://www.microdose.com/ GhostBed: https://www.ghostbed.com/pages/lewis SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#110 - Assaholic's Anonymous
Lewis checks in this week from Florida. The sunshine state! He had his last few shows of the tour (so far!) this past weekend. Lewis is taking a nice, long break before he hits the road again in January. Recharge and reset! Our host reads a fiery rant from "Arthur Ritis" to start things off this week. Listeners and ranters, do you want the rubber chicken to continue to make an appearance on the podcast? Let our host know! This week, Lewis was joined by a new friend. A Funko Pop of Anger, the character Lewis voiced in the movie, Inside Out. As always, please remember to take care of each other, it's the most important thing we can do for one another. This week's live rants come from the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Center in West Palm Beach, Florida and the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Microdose Gummies: https://www.microdose.com/ Honey: https://www.joinhoney.com/explore SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#109 - The Election Is Now Over...So Let The Next Election Begin
Our host this week checks in from his public access studio. It's crazy that another election is already around the corner. We got some great news…the price of gas is coming down! However, great news never lasts long. Inflation continues to rise. The World Cup is here. The US team has been eliminated, as if they ever had a chance of actually winning. Lewis wraps up his tour in Florida this weekend. After that, our host has a nice break from the road. Even though Lewis is off the road, he doesn't want you to stop sending in your rants! Please keep them coming. As always, please remember to take care of each other. It's the most important thing we can do for one another. This week's live rants come from the Warner Theater in Torrington, Connecticut and the Borgata's Music Box Theater in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#108 - Guns and Butter
Our host checks in with us from home again this week as he returned from his vacation in Vermont. While in Vermont, Lewis ate at an absolutely terrific restaurant called the Reluctant Panther. All compliments go to the chef, Sigal Rockland. It was a spectacular Thanksgiving meal. It really feels like Christmas up there. Which can be a bit much at times. When are we going to realize that our current gun laws don't work? It's astounding how after the recent slate of mass shootings nothing will still get done. It's all just senseless, senseless violence. The topic of gun laws is just a never ending argument that just goes in circles. It's never going to change. 63% of the American people live paycheck to paycheck. How is that possible? This is the richest country on Earth and over half the country is struggling to get by. And yeah, yeah, we know about inflation. Here's an idea, and this one helps with lightening the cost of living in this country. Free healthcare. Canada, and a lot of countries in Europe, already provide the citizens free healthcare. We should be able to do it too. Adding on to this week's bad news, 2,700 people were from a furniture factory in Mississippi. 2,700 people. Every single one of those workers are going to have a really difficult time recovering from that. And that's just not right. As we are about 25 days out from Christmas, our host reminds you to take care of another. It's the most important thing we can do for each other. Especially during the Holiday season. This week's live rants come from the Waterville Opera House in Waterville, Maine and the Paramount Theater - Rutland, Vermont For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Chime: www.chime.com/lewis SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#107 - Twitter is in the Sh**ter
Our host checks in with us home from his humble abode as Elon Musk nearly destroys Twitter, winter comes to New York in full force and Buffalo gets an unbelievable amount of snow. Oh my! This year, fall didn't happen. It went from summer right into winter. There wasn't even a chance to feel a slight chill in the air. You probably didn't even have a chance to grab your fall jacket. No. It went right into freezing cold weather. How about that crazy amount of snow Buffalo got? Unreal. There's some people in this country who have psychotic amounts of money and just love to play around with it. Elon Musk is one of them. How are you going to take over a company and not know what to do with it? Firing the staff, bringing them back and throwing them in the deep end? Having a vote to decide if the former leader should be allowed on the platform or not? Speaking of the former leader, he decided to announce he's going to be running again. Politicians are already asking people to donate to their campaign again. Really? Give people a break. We just got done with that. Atleast give us until after Thanksgiving. Lewis takes some much needed time off this week and is going on vacation. He's heading up to Vermont this week (instead of traveling internationally) with his friend, Neil. Vermont really is beautiful this time of year. Also, Lewis recently went to a benefit in Bethesda, Maryland for a cystic fibrosis run by his friend Rich. Rich has even started a new organization called the "Luvu Project." The "Luvu Project" does extraordinary work when it comes to mental health in the workplace. The link is below to check out the project. Also, if you're interested, a link is below to the kickstarter for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. This kickstarter helps fun programs at the library such as their youth writing program, Sophie's Banned Book Club, Social Justice Writing Workshop Series, as well as increasing access to its education programs to learners from all over the world. Lewis wishes you all a lovely Thanksgiving. And as always, take care of each other. It's the most important thing we can do for one another. The Luvu Project: https://theluvuproject.org/ The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sh5/core-of-the-american-experience-kurt-vonnegut-and-education The live rants this week come from the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey and the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. 00:00 - Start 1:32 - Intro 1:39 - Intro Rant 24:43 - Ad Read 2 26:34 - New Brunswick, NJLive Rant 40:13 - Englewood, NJ Live Rant 52:59 - Outro For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com MICRODOSE GUMMIES Visit www.microdose.com and use code LEWIS to get free shipping and 30% off your first order. SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#106 - Ten Billion Dollars...For Nothing
Our host checks in with us this week from home and he's pissed off because so much money was wasted on this year's elections. It's ludicrous how nothing gets done and nothing new gets said every election cycle. Here's an idea…if you have a political ad on TV, and you don't bring up one new point or say something of note, that's it you're out. You're done. Ten billion dollars spent..on nothing! The Washington Commanders are currently being sold for around five billion. This year's election cycle makes that seem like a bargain. Also, climate change is in full swing. Lewis went to bed Saturday night and it was 70 degrees. He woke up Sunday morning and it was 40 degrees outside. We're going to hell in a hand basket and nothing is going to change. How come no one wants to work a public service job anymore? When our host was a kid, there were so many people who wanted a public service job. Lewis just got home from shows in Ohio and North Carolina. Marietta, Ohio is a really nice small town. Durham, North Carolina has really changed a lot (for the better) since our host used to spend time there in his younger days. Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill are really great food towns. All the shows from this past weekend were truly amazing. Our host thanks you for all the support over the years as the world becomes more psychotic and we all continue to struggle with it. As always, the most important thing we can do for one another is to take care of each other. The live rants this week come from the Peoples Bank Theater in Marietta, Ohio and the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, North Carolina. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com MICRODOSE GUMMIES Visit www.microdose.com and use code LEWIS to get free shipping and 30% off your first order. SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FbbI6zNALJhHAhwOJhEyg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#105 - Stuck Inside of Memphis with the Mobile Blues Again
Our host Lewis checks in this week from the Home of the Blues, Memphis, Tennessee! We're recording this week's episode in the parking lot of Sun Studios. Sun Studios has produced some legendary, great music. Countless hits. Midterm elections were this week and all the news coverage of it has been people standing in line. Even though people are standing in line to vote, our host reminds you that you need to give people a reason to vote! One political party comes up with solutions they can't explain. The other political party wants to keep their good ideas a secret. It's important to vote. It matters. Lewis is sick of people saying that George Carlin didn't vote. How do you know that to be true? He could just be saying that because he's George and he is a comedian! But then again, voting probably did genuinely bother him a lot. Lewis had an extra day to spend some time in Memphis. If he's being honest, he ordered enough BBQ to feed a family of six. Also, if you're ever in…
#104 - Candy Corn Still Sucks
Lewis checks in this week from the pacific northwest as he had shows in Oregon and Washington. Our host wants to thank all of you for the outpouring of love and support after the passing of his mother, Jeannette. As Lewis heads into the final leg of this year's tour, he looks forward to some time off he has coming up. During his time off from the road, our host plans to do some fixer upper work around the house. Maybe he can even get his toilet working again! Lewis wants the rants from Eugene, Oregon to be used in this week's episode, but his crackerjack technical staff says otherwise. Also, our host leaves us this week with a very important reminder (the same way he ends every live show)...take care of each other. It's the most important thing we can do for one another. The live rants come from shows at The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon and McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com SUBMIT RA…
#103 - For Jeannette Black
Jeannette Black. September 8, 1918 - October 10, 2022. The live rants come from this past weekend's shows in McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA and the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, CA. For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/pages/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/lewis-blacks-rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack/ https://mobile.twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack/ https://www.youtube.com/lewisblack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#102 - Really, Herschel? REALLY???
Lewis checks in this week from sunny California! As Lewis heads up to San Francisco for a show, he has one question for Georgia Senate Republican candidate Hershel Walker…really? Herschel, REALLY? It's come out in the news recently that the former pro football player has paid for an abortion for a woman he was having a relationship with. Even though he's representing a party that is anti-abortion, does this recent revelation make him pro-abortion? Oh, and by the way, don't elect someone who can't contribute anything. That's no way to run a Senate. Anyway…moving on from that…if you're ever in the area, be sure to stop by Albertson's in Paso Robles, California. They have absolutely terrific wine at great prices. Unfortunately, our host didn't get to make a stop there this trip, but he highly recommends it if you're ever in the area and looking for phenomenal wine. Also on this trip, Lewis got to stay at one of his favorite places in the country, the Mission Inn in…
#101 - Between a Rock and a Hard Place...From an Asteroid to Ian
Lewis checks in this week from the west coast for the 101st episode of The Rantcast. Our host discusses Hurricane Ian that ravaged through Florida last week. As Lewis watches the news, he realizes that the only thing to distract us from the usual news stories that are covered constantly in the news (court cases, politics, etc.) is some kind of major catastrophe and/or natural disaster. One story Lewis watched on the news was about how homes in Florida are going to be rebuilt after the latest hurricane. Well maybe, at this point in time, it might be best for everyone in Florida to live underground covered by concrete. 7 feet of concrete, at least. How come everyone is wearing plaid on TV? Our host was never a fan of plaid. He tries to dress up, which is why he deserves to be on a top 10 "hey, he tried" list for best dressed. Our host also explains just how much you can learn from fantasy football. For example, the hatred you can have for an individual you don't even know! Apologie…
#100 - Episode 100
Lewis checks in this week from the Midwest as The Rantcast reaches its 100th episode! Triple digits! A huge THANK YOU to all the fans and ranters for all the support, and of course the rants, as we hit our centennial episode. One of Lewis's stops in the Midwest this week was in Indianapolis, Indiana. While in Indianapolis, Lewis stops by one of his favorite places, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. While this may be the 100th episode, Lewis will be celebrating Kurt Vonnegut's 100th birthday on November 11th! One thing our host wants to showcase is the free expression graffiti wall, located just outside the museum and library. Lewis is sure that's something the famed writer would have loved to see. "And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove…
#99 - Political Spam-O-Rama
Lewis reports this week from New England on his day off as he's back on the road for shows in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. Our host has had hit with politicians asking for donations. The constant barrage of spam emails for a wide variety of candidates is too much. How much money could these politicians even need? What did these candidates do before email? However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The good news this week is that there's no news! Inflation continues to do what it always does…inflates. Our host had a great week this week and it felt good for him to be back on stage working out his act. A huge thank you to all the New England crowds this weekend who came out to support. It's banned books week as multiple libraries are sending out the "banned books" to places where those books are banned. You can't ban books. How people grow is by reading something that challenges their thinking. Maybe next week our host won't be so irritated as he heads to th…
#98 - Happy Birthday, Mom!
Jeannette Black turned 104 this past week, a staggering age to have reached. How did she manage this achievement? There is no reasonable explanation, though avoiding sweets may be one of her secrets to longevity. On being presented with a Carvel ice cream birthday cake, she proclaimed it to be, "too sweet". Or it may be her lifelong embrace of sarcasm and negativity, a sensible outlook given that she has lived through two once-in-a-century pandemics. On the other side of the Atlantic, Queen Elizabeth II died after a reign of over 70 years. Whatever she embodied socially and politically, she did provide a consistent unifying presence for the UK, and was the only monarch most living humans have known. Unless you turned 104 this week, in which case you have lived during the reigns of five sovereigns: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, QEII, and now King Charles III. To put that in mathematical and historical perspective, if you take Jeannette's birth year, 1918 and subtract her 104 y…
#97 - Master-Baiting
The dark prince of distraction and chaos had a day in court this week, and for once one of the crony judges the former leader appointed did his bidding. In a ruling that has been nearly universally derided by legal experts across the political spectrum, the panoply of classified and not classified documents the former president stole from the people's house will be examined by a special master to determine their importance. All of this is of course an unnecessary delaying tactic designed to prevent the American people from getting a full understanding of what was taken and what has disappeared. What was in those empty folders? Inquiring minds and Federal prosecutors would like to know. The news media has become engulfed in this story and is reporting it with the same horserace analysis that they will proffer to the upcoming election season. It's all a giant sporting event to them, unconcerned as they are that the consequence of the next election might make it the last election of any c…
#96 - Redacted
Lewis takes time on his birthday to celebrate with some of the people he loves the most, you the audience. As school has started for many American children, it's dictionary time at the Rantcast. The word of the week is redacted, which means "edited especially in order to obscure or remove sensitive information". The FBI has been busy literally redacting the former leader's ill-kept horde of classified documents. But if we take a more figurative meaning of the word, many things in society have been redacted in the past couple of years: memory, the connecting ties between us all, Constitutional rights, civility, and the occasional podcast recording. While many Americans have many complaints about many parts of the federal government, there is at least one agency that is trying to provide some edifying news. NASA is back in the business of returning humans to the moon, starting with the launch of the Artemis I rocket. One possible consequence of the lunar return mission is that…
#95 - Senator Chuck Ghastly
The people have spoken, and the rubber chicken has been given a reprieve from being retired back to the annals of comedy history. He lives! She lives!! They live!!! (We will reserve questions about the gender of the rubber chicken for another time.) Much like our rubberized feathered-friend, another public figure with links to the Jazz Age is going back to the people to get their vote. In this case it is sitting Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who, if re-elected would be 96 years old at the end of his next term. While that would make Sen. Grassley decidedly on the old side of elderly, it would still put him several years shy of Lewis's mom Jeannette, who will turn 104 in a couple of weeks. Lewis paid a visit to his mom this past week, and though her stories of teaching immigrants may have been a conflation of past events, or possibly fiction, they are still more coherent than Sen. Grassley's incomprehensible interpretation of the $80 billion going to the IRS. It's OK to make thing…
#94 - Unprecedented
It has come to your host's attention that some in the audience are upset with and/or annoyed by the rubber chicken. Maybe they don't understand the importance of the rubber chicken in the history of American comedy, especially on the Vaudeville circuit. Many of those old Vaudeville theatres still exist, and Lewis will be performing at several of them in the coming months including the Paramount Theatre in Rutland VT, the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, IN, and the Fox Theatre in Tucson, AZ. From coast to coast the spirit of Vaudeville lives on in these venues, where the appearance of a rubber chicken would not elicit a hint of controversy or surprise. But without the proper historical context, appearances by the rubber chicken in more modern forms of media have unleashed an unprecedented level of criticism. So, we want to hear from you the audience; should the rubber chicken stay or go? Let us know in the comments. As for the events of the week, the word unprecedented applies to man…
#93 - CPAC Sucks!
After a week in the wild which included attending a raucous wedding in California, Lewis is back at home, in his personal public access station. The week was low-lighted by the hellscape of the CPAC convention, which featured a speech by Hungarian prime minister/autocrat Viktor Orbán. He said out loud exactly what most in the audience already believe, but may be a bit shy about saying publicly. Like a Greek tragedy where the arrival of the foreigner reveals the secrets of the society, Orbán's speech consisted of every hatred known to live in the heart of the white patriarchy. Meanwhile the Senate actually got some stuff done, including steps in the right direction on climate change, taxation, and prescription drugs, but the process to get to the final vote was so arduous and convoluted that leads one to wonder how any of us as individuals can affect any change in our communities or even keep connected to reality. One way your host attempts to connect with the laws of cause and effe…
#92 - Taking A Break
Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Want to see Lewis live? Tickets are available here: https://www.lewisblack.com/tickets Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack Twitter – https://twitter.com/thelewisblack Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/OfficialLewisBlack New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#91 - Oh, Canada!
It's always good to travel internationally, as it gives the traveler the opportunity to tune out the troubles at home and embrace the local culture. And this week your host was fortunate enough to visit our neighbors to the north and perform at the Falls View Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario. With a view of the eponymous falls, the hotel and casino complex lets the American traveler escape from the relentless cascade of news of our impending doom, while being washed over by the aural and visual majesty of one of the natural wonders of the world. So if you have the opportunity this summer, get out into nature and try to find the joy that being in the wild provides. If your journey leads you out of the USA, all the better. And don't worry, the chaos and craziness of our great experiment in democracy will be there when you return. The live rants come from the show on July 22, 2022, and feature a variety of Canadian perspectives on their neighbors to the south, parking, toddlers at basebal…
#90 - Fun, Fun, Fun
Summertime and the living isn't so easy. So it's time to reclaim the joy of the season and have fun, fun, fun until our collective T-Bird gets taken away, or yet more of our Constitutional freedoms are negated by radical, extremist justices who wouldn't recognize fun if you spotted them the F and the U. The warm glow of summer also gets diminished by the constant reminder that every new high temperature, wild fire, and melting tarmac portends the increasingly imminent melt down of the planet. But let's get out there and have some fun while we can still tolerate being more that 4 feet from an air conditioner. Lewis offers some recommendations for summer fun, including seeing relatives, taking in a theatrical production, visiting a museum, and partaking in some fine dining and beverages. If you're anywhere near the Upstate New York area, you can check out the National Comedy Center, comedycenter.org, the Chautauqua Institution, chq.org, or your host on 7/22 at the Falls View Casino in Ni…
#89 - Is A Fetus A Passenger?
Lewis is met with another week of ridiculous news in what seems like a society that's continually going in the wrong direction. But hey! There's maybe some good news... for the people of England. Well, at least we'll get to see a possible court case when they question a fetus on the stand, huh? This week Lewis reads rants submitted from his fans and they have some really important things to get off their chests. Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/live SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://www.lewisblacksrantcast.com https://thelaughbutton.podlink.to/Rantcast. FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack https://twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack https://www.youtube.com/OfficialLewisBlack New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button Podcasts. For advertising opportunities email: adv…
#88 - Bang! Bang! Bang!
Happy 4th of July! Don't we all feel super patriotic right now? Another day in America brings us another mass shooting at a parade in Chicago while we get the second opportunity to witness folks in the city of where our Declaration of Independence was signed run in fear from more gunfire as the Rocket's Red Glare fills the night sky. As if that wasn't bad enough, airlines are kicking us in the nuts as the biggest nuts in country right now, SCROTUS is taking its conservatism all the way back to the 1930s. Wooohooo, Let's celebrate! Where's the BBQ? This week Lewis reads rants submitted from his fans, some the night he recorded his most-recent comedy special and others from fans that just had to get some things off their chests. Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/live SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://www.lewisblacksrantcast.com https://thelaughbutton.podl…
#87 - And, And, And...
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it does. We're completely dumbfounded by the lack of leadership going on in the political spectrum right now. From new Supreme Court rulings that are about as politically motivated as can be, to an ineffective government that appears completely broken. Lewis attempts to make sense of it all. The live rants this week come from the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem PA (Mar 7, 2020). SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://www.lewisblacksrantcast.com https://thelaughbutton.podlink.to/Rantcast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack https://twitter.com/thelewisblack https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack https://www.youtube.com/OfficialLewisBlack New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button Podcasts. For advertising op…
#86 - The Summer Of Our Discontent
We are now entering the summer of our discontent and Lewis is aware of it, from the latest revelations from the conservative questioned during the ongoing January 6th Committee hearings. But there's no shortage of things to rant about from rapid inflation that continues to ask the working man to make the most sacrifices while your host doesn't have the highest of hopes for the results of the impending gun control laws. So enjoy this week's Rantcast from the mind of Lewis and the minds of the people of Philadelphia. The live rants this week come from the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, PA on March 2020. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Want to see Lewis live? Tickets are available here: https://www.lewisblack.com/tickets Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.l…
#85 - The United States of Trauma
From gun control to climate change to preserving democracy, the litany of issues not being fully addressed keeps getting longer. And at a time when we desperately need to get on with ensuring a safe and sane future, the larger cultural and political forces in the country continue to stand in the way. Across the political spectrum leadership has taken a holiday, forced by a compromised electoral system to be more responsive to donors than to the citizens they represent. So enjoy this week's Rantcast as your host tries to find a sliver of hope in a country determined to immolate itself both figuratively and literally. The live rants come from the Virginia Theater in Champaign IL on May 1, 2022. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Want to see Lewis live? Tickets are available here: https://www.lewisblack.com/tickets Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple…
#84 - Memorial Daze
The 84th edition of the Rantcast is about guns and gun control and the scourge of gun violence in America and the inability of the large majority of the country to summon the political will to keep our schools, churches, supermarkets, streets, and other public gathering places from continuing to be the sites of mass death. It asks when will enough be enough. It asks how many more children have to die before we take action. One impediment to action is semantics. In the recent national discourse about this subject the definition of evil has come into question. On this matter, evil is seeing what is in front of you and knowing what needs to be done, and feigning blindness. Evil is creating a system that protects guns and gun users and gun manufacturers wholly while leaving the people those guns are supposed to protect completely exposed to random and not-so-random acts of gun violence. It is an insidious evil destined to turn every day into a Memorial Day. Lewis' Rantcast intro may insp…
#83 - For Bruce MacVittie
In this week's episode, Lewis remembers his friend Bruce MacVittie, an accomplished stage and screen actor who passed away earlier this month. Lewis met Bruce through their work with 52nd Street Project, a community-based arts organization that brings NYC tweens and teens together with professional artists to create a variety of works of art. Aside from working with the kids, there was also some time for the adults to share a glass of wine or two. During these tastings Lewis came to appreciate wine and learned from Bruce to ask a critical question: do you like the taste for the price? Bruce will be deeply missed, so raise a glass for this consummate artist, and check out an exemplary example of his work, the episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" from season 6 called "The Subway": https://youtu.be/qhplAN8ie2w The news this week somehow reached new tiers of horrible, with events happening too fast to contemplate. There are massive problems in the country, from multiple plague…
#82 - Happy Mother's Day
In an America where almost anything jurisprudence-related – no matter how unreasonable it seems in the current context – can be justified if you can find a quote from an old, dead Englishman, it's a good time to reflect on the Bard's sentiments regarding the legal profession. Among Shakespeare's most famous locutions, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" (Henry VI, Part 2) can be interpreted in several ways but in the current moment let's posit that it's criticism of lawyers for siding with the wealthy and privileged to protect their power and money from the peasants. A majority of the justices on the Supreme Court have aligned themselves with this feudal sentiment, and as they (and many members of Congress) are lawyers, it speaks poorly of what is being taught in law schools. And regarding the SCOTUS Leak, the less said about the better, though the one thing it clarified is that the news media is a feeding frenzy of speculation determined to instill fear of the…
#81 - May Day, or Mayday
In this week's episode, Lewis delves into the history of May Day and why in the US we moved the celebration of labor to the end of the summer. Honoring the working class at the same time as the rest of the world was too communal an experience for our nation of rugged individualists, and it was stained by links with socialists and anarchists and by fears of association with the 1886 Haymarket Riots. President Grover Cleveland thus proposed having the celebration for those who labor in September and it became a federal holiday in 1894. Now, more than a century later, we join together the first Monday each September to pay lip-service to the hard-working laborers who keep our economy and society functioning, while also somehow highlighting the importance of management and owners. Lewis also offers a modest proposal for relocating refugees and migrants, explores the vague return to normalcy that was the 2022 NFL draft, and offers this athletics-related opinion: Wizards is the worst name in…
#80 - For Gilbert Gottfried
In this week's episode, Lewis pays tribute to his friend and fellow comedian Gilbert Gottfried, a foul-mouthed angel who made a career out of finding the line of taste and then crossing right over it. He revived the Aristocrats joke as a way to recover from a post-9/11 moment of comedic transgression, and could make almost anything funny, including waiter's trays. He will be terribly missed and if anything has happened "too soon", it is Gilbert passing. In other news of the week, a federal judge ruled that the CDC's mask mandate on public transportation was enacted without a proper mandate, just in time for new variants to put the lives of the immunocompromised (and the unvaccinated) at further risk. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' turn toward autocracy continued with his attacks on the House of Mouse, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's turn away from having any recollection about anything at all also continued, as she took the stand to recall her part in the January 6th Insurrection…
#79 - 420
The rubber chicken is on leave after pumping out an extraordinary quantity of eggs for Easter. And like his coworker, Lewis is also on vacation, enjoying some rounds of golf and some time away from America's work-in-progress infrastructure. The live rants come from the show in Huntington NY on April 3, 2020. The show went so well that Lewis will be back at The Paramount on May 15th to film his next special. Tickets are available here: https://paramountny.com/shows/lewis-black-special-live-taping/ Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Want to see Lewis live? Tickets are available here: https://www.lewisblack.com/tickets Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram…
#78 - This Is America
This week's episode comes from somewhere on I-20 near the Georgia/South Carolina border, possibly the bumpiest stretch of road for a locale that doesn't see much wintry weather. The bumps in the road (sorry) is a theme that carried forward from the previous night in Atlanta, where one of the patrons had had a little too much to drink and not enough talk about the current president. The gentleman in question, disinhibited by the night's imbibing, could not keep that sentiment to himself, and felt that it was his Constitutional right to be heard. Misinterpreting the meaning of the First Amendment, he would not be silenced, and while being removed from the premises declared, "This is America!" Throughout most of America, the audience will be self-policing, using their combined feedback to control the wayward members of the crowd. Unfortunately, this was not the case in Atlanta. Other than this interruption to Saturday evening's proceedings the week was mostly good for your host, highlight…
#77 - North Carolina Beats Duke
From a time when the Kansas Jayhawks don't exist, this week's Rantcast celebrates the brave, valorous young men of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team who defeated the despised Blue Devils and sent Coach K on his merry way. In another televised display of possibly manufactured animosity, there was the slap heard round the world at the Oscars ceremony, with slapper Will Smith valiantly protecting his family from a not-great joke made by slapee Chris Rock. This was followed by one of the most bizarre speeches ever made at an awards ceremony, which begs the question of why he was allowed to stay at all. If only we could all be the vessel of love and see beyond our personal, collegiate, and political divides. Which bring us to this bit of advice for rant submissions: it is not enough to say that you like or dislike this leader or the former leader. We need specifics. What policies do you like or not? What actions do you think need to be taken? And as with rant submis…
#76 - Spring?!? It's Time to F'n Focus
Lewis is ready for spring temperatures, but the climate will not comply. While he's waiting for the vernal season to kick into high gear, and recovering from the Pat's vs. Geno's cheesesteak challenge, the main distraction from the madness of March is March Madness and the joy/trepidation of his UNC team facing the despised Duke Blue Devils. Go Heels! With the turn of the seasons, it is also a time to contemplate the larger questions of life and the world. A prime example at the moment is: how is hatred learned? In the cases of Pat's and Geno's or UNC and Duke, similarity and proximity may play a factor. Whether cheese comes in the form of a slice of American or as "whiz" may not seem that consequential, but for some people it's a difference to base an identity on. (As an aside, there are many Philadelphians who argue that both Pat's and Geno's suck and that there are many better cheesesteak options easily procured in the greater Delaware Valley area.) L…
#75 - Live From the National Comedy Center
This special Rantcast episode comes from the National Comedy Center in Jamestown NY. The Comedy Center is the only American cultural institution solely dedicated to comedy. Located in Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, New York, the museum documents the history of comedy through exhibitions about comedians, cartoonists, writers, and other artists whose work exemplifies the full range of comedic styles. In 2019, Congress designated it as the official American institution dedicated to comedy. If you are in the area, or planning you summer vacation, it is an excellent place to learn about comedy and have a bundle of laughs along the way. To visit the Comedy Center (or make a donation), please visit comedycenter.org. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Want to see Lewis live? Tickets are available here: https://www.lewisblack.com/tickets Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lew…
#74 - I Got No War Jokes
There's on old adage about New England that if you don't like the weather, just wait. And just like the wearying vicissitudes of the northeastern climate, the wider human experience provides an endless variety of new ways to redefine insanity. From war to pestilence to trading for Carson Wentz as your solution at QB, no amount of reason can sway certain members of the species from terrible decision-making. The news media may be the only people happy with the situation as it gives them license to fall into their natural tendency of being an endless funnel of the awful. Their operational focus being offering limitless speculation on how we are going to die today. The big news – non-Apocalyptic category – comes from the world of sports where the teams that Lewis roots for are doing their best to have their worst seasons; a real feat considering he roots for the Orioles. And the Wizards. And the Commanders. His only hope for distraction comes from March Madness, though the broadcasts a…
#73 - No Internet, No Cell Service, But Lots of Pot
Coming to you from somewhere along the treacherous, no guardrail road from Loleta to Redding, this week's episode answers the timely question of what kinds of infrastructure in Humboldt County need to be fixed. The answer: all of it. From the bumpy roads to the lack of phone and internet service, the pot basket of America is in sore need of better streets and the ability to connect to the outside world. If it were possible to pave the roads with marijuana, Humboldt would have the best thoroughfares in America. And in this secluded region of the endless expanse of the Golden State, weed is the one thing that unites the left and the right; that and a fervent distrust of authority. But even in that area of agreement, the sides cannot find common ground on which authority they do not like. Some distrust the federal government, some distrust the state government, some distrust the local government, and some distrust religious authority. All of them want the freedom that living in a rural, s…
#72 - Tucker Carlson, Go Tuck Yourself
Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lewis escapes to the real magic kingdoms in California, Napa Valley and Humboldt County. They are lands of free-flowing wine and wondrous strains of weed, and great places to be while the world reaches a new level of self-immolation. From the horrific images on television to the absurd support for the Russian leader from members of the right wing, the cups are not deep enough to truly obliterate the acute sense that things have gone completely off the rails. This foreboding feeling is not helped by your host's lack of skill at tasting wine. It's either drink or not, there is no taste. And while the acute crisis in Ukraine will hopefully end soon, the ongoing climate crisis advances unabated. The view out the windows of the tour bus may be beautiful, but the lack of snow and rain, and the remains of last summer's forest fires are a constant reminder of the larger tragedy taking place. The live rants come from the Uptown Theatre in Napa on Fe…
#71 - California Here I Come
While stuck in traffic somewhere on I-80 west of the Donner Pass, Lewis recounts his travels in the Golden State and while highlighting one of the best rants from the weekend, gives his review of the George Romero film "Monkey Shines". The live rants come from the shows in Reno, NV, Monterey, CA, and Turlock, CA. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack Twitter – https://twitter.com/thelewisblack Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/OfficialLewisBlack New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button For advertising opportuni…
#70 - Legitimate Political Discourse
As Lewis traverses the frigid upper Midwest, the news from unseasonably warm Washington is as surreal as the weird Mid-Atlantic weather. First, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is spying on members of Congress with a reconnaissance force called the "Gazpacho Police". Gazpacho of course being the Gestapo of soups (h/t to whomever first uttered this idiom.) Then the RNC said that what happened on January 6th is "legitimate political discourse". Even Orwell would have rejected that description as too unhinged to be credible. What must be seen to be believed, however, is that the state capitols of America are booming. From Des Moines to Madison to somewhere near Minneapolis that it's almost St. Paul, buildings are being built and roads are being paved. And judging from recent accommodations, the hospitality industry in the capitols is also on the rise. Don't let anyone say that there aren't great hotels and restaurants outs…
#69 - F@#$ the Cold
Originating from yet another undisclosed location somewhere on America's interstate highway system, this week's episode features a rubber chicken who has had enough of overland transportation. It is no way to travel for a fake fowl more acclimated to a warmer, sedentary lifestyle. So, he, like many of his fellow Americans, is ready to go on strike to get the better working conditions that he deserves. And as they have both had enough of the cold, one area of agreement between management and labor is that the naming of winter storms has to stop, and that the invention of new terms for cold and cold-related weather must be curtailed. To keep warm, Lewis brings the healing power of ranting with some special rants about teachers and statuary hall in Congress. Plus an open letter from an anonymous author to their cousins. They know who they are. The rants come from the Williamsport Community Arts Center in Williamsport PA on 2/29/20. If you're in the Williamsport area and in need of superla…
#68 - In the Heart of the Heart of the Heart of the Country
Coming to you from somewhere near the Kansas-Oklahoma border, this week's episode features your host using words that only someone who has spent too much time in the flat part of the country would use. Gussied? Check. Crinoline? Check. And while Lewis was not able to visit Tulsa's own Oral Roberts University, he did have time to address the current great effort at overweening religiosity, book banning. And all he asks of those banning books is that they turn their censorious eyes toward his literary contributions. It can only help sales. The rants come from the past weekend's shows in Salina KS and Tulsa OK, where Lewis greatly enjoying getting back to reading rants in front of a live audience again. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – h…
#67 - On the Road, Really, I'm on the Road
Recorded live somewhere on an interstate near the Colorado/Kansas border, Lewis recounts the news of the past week, which, very much like the terrain he is transiting, is a lot of endless gray sameness. The live rants come from the Broome County Forum in Binghamton, NY on March 5, 2020. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack Twitter – https://twitter.com/thelewisblack Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/OfficialLewisBlack New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button For advertising opportunities email: advertise@th…
#66 - My Déjà Vu is Déjà Vu-ing
Two weeks into 2022 and the disquieting sense of déjà vu persists. While the title of this week's episode would be a great title for a disco song, it's not great as an apt description of the new year. The same issues that plagued 2021, including an actual plague, continue to hamper any sense of progress or anything that doesn't resemble a rudderless drift. For example, this past week the anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection passed, fortunately without incident, but we still have no idea what exactly happened. All we can say for certain is that the former leader is a poor loser and his behavior wouldn't be acceptable from a child who struck out in T-ball. It was ever thus with the man. The real news this week was the passing of Bob Saget and Sidney Poitier, and this episode is dedicated to their memory and the great works of art they created. While Lewis was never fortunate enough to meet Sidney Poitier, the effect he had on his view of race and society was possibly equ…
#65 - Lots of Tools, Lots of Fools
Lewis rings in the new year by taking a look back at all the wonderful and joyous events of 2021. And like many things in the media today, that previous sentence bears only a partial resemblance to the truth. While some ostensibly good things happened last year, it has mostly left us with more questions than answers. For instance, why will people refuse to get vaccinated but will avail themselves of every ounce of modern medicine that can be found in an emergency room? Who knew about the Insurrection beforehand and why wasn't more done to stop it? Why does the state of Texas have its own electrical grid? Why do people think it's a good idea to mass themselves in Times Square during a pandemic? And rhetorically, if three billionaires can launch into "space" but we can't continue the child tax credit, does that mean we have a problem with inequality? On the plus side, the usage of profanity has exploded which means that at least some of the populace is getting a better handle on their an…
#64 - Happy New Year! I Sure Hope So
In the final Rantcast of the year 2021, Lewis ponders the unfathomable contradictions and conundrums evident in the pluralistic American society. How can a group of people who can't seem to get anything done on time still manage to shop themselves into Yuletide oblivion and get all the Christmas gifts under the tree in time to perpetuate the myth of Santa Claus (or Father Christmas for the Anglophiles)? How can a civic body that would rather go to the dentist than actually vote get their knickers so in a twist about the right to vote? And have we so lost our minds as a country that nothing seems amiss when animated bears sell us toilet paper and a live, costumed emu hawks insurance? Maybe we can all agree that no one is waiting for Sunday night, especially when it involves the Washington Football Team getting trampled by actual Cowboys. With the assaults of insanity from all sides in politics, the media, and the marketplace, Lewis has an important message as we transition to 2022: don'…
#63 - What's the Matter with Manchin?
Having left the great state of Florida, the land where freedom goes to get sun-baked into insanity, Lewis reports in from a parking lot in suburban Baltimore. While he enjoyed his time in the sunshine state, the governor there seems to be lost in a florid freedom fog of Covid-denial, and the populace is following suit. Fortunately the audiences at the shows were able to enjoy their theater-going liberty and showed up en masse, vaxxed and masked. Meanwhile, the news this week is filled with the onslaught of Omicron and the meandering machinations of Sen. Manchin and his worries that funds to the citizenry will go to drugs and hunting. In all these stories, the news media does nothing to separate fact from opinion, and as usual relies on conflict narratives to keep the eyeballs fixed on the page and the screen. The good news this week is that the former leader was booed for getting a booster and Lewis got to see his mom. And a gift-giving tip from your host: at-home COVID tests make a gr…
#62 - Tornadoes in December? Mother Nature Must Be Pissed
This week's Rantcast comes from an undisclosed location in Florida. As your host tours the Sunshine state, it's important for him to not just maintain social distancing, but to hide from the sun-baked masses entirely. The citizenry there acts as though there's no global pandemic occurring and mask wearing is not even an afterthought. Despite this alternate reality, the shows in Florida have gone well, with audiences who have not forgotten how to behave in a theatre and may be the only people in the state who civilly comply with a mask requirement. The only downside is that tickets for the show in Jacksonville have not sold well (this is not something new) leading Lewis to wonder what other excitement is to be had in Jacksonville. Meanwhile the news this week was dominated by the tornadoes in Kentucky and surrounding states, a meteorological phenomenon rarely seen at this time of year. Something is clearly terribly wrong with the climate for this to be happening as winter approaches. No…
#61 - Oh My God, There's an Oh My God Variant
After a hiatus to get ready for appearing in public again, Lewis is back with a new episode of the Rantcast. And while he spent his time away preparing his new act, the rubber chicken started working on getting his degree in psychology. That advanced education will come in handy as not a day goes by that doesn't traumatize the American psyche. From new COVID variants to the undermining of basic civil liberties to the trudging slog that is the Federal legislative process, the relentless flood of disturbing news assaults unabated. Hopefully we can hang on until the rubber chicken graduates. In the meantime, your host is back performing live shows, finishing this crisis of a year in the land that calls the climate crisis home, Florida. Appropriately, the live rants come from Sarasota, where Lewis performed on February 8, 2020. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Check out Lewis' Grammy-nominated special, Thanks For Risking Your Life https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE…
#60 - **CLASSIC EPISODE** If You Don't Skip This Thanksgiving You Might Not Be Around For The Next
Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving! As we all sit around and give thanks for making it another year during these uncertain times, we thought it would be great to revisit an older episode of Lewis Black's Rantcast. We decided to visit last year's Thanksgiving episode just to take a visit to where we were this time last year and remember that we've come a long way, even if it doesn't seem like we've had to. Also, yesterday news broke that Lewis' special, Thanks For Risking Your Life was was just nominated for a GRAMMY! Now is the time to take the long weekend to watch, buy, or stream it now - https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE ________ As we embark on what might be a very non-traditional Thanksgiving for most across this nation, Lewis reflects on the last few weeks of turmoil. Is he able to bring levity to the situation? You will have to listen for yourself. For the second episode in a row Lewis pulls some fresh user-submitted rants before whisking everything to Austin, TX where he set…
#59 - NY Comic Con Edition
Last October, the folks at NY Comic Con asked its festival-goers to submit their rants about one of the nation's largest pop culture events. They then invited Lewis to perform those rants as part of a special edition of the Rantcast for their Metaverse online programming. As the 2021 festival just wrapped, Lewis is diving into his archives to deliver a never-before-available to the public NY Comic Con edition of Lewis Black's Rantcast. Enjoy and Excelsior! OUR SPONSORS Mint Mobile http://www.mintmobile.com/lewis For great cellular phone service for only $15 a month. Better Help http://www.betterhelp.com/rantcast For 10% off your first month SUBMIT RANTS TO LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' latest special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE SUBSCRIBE TO THE RANTCAST https://www.lewisblacksrantcast.com https://thelaughbutton.podlink.to/Rancast FOLLOW LEWIS https://www.lewisblack.com https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack…
#58 - On The Road Again
Lewis is finally back on the road, as the "It Gets Better Every Day" tour gets rolling throughout the lower 48. To start, he performed six shows in four days at Hilarities in Cleveland, a comedic version of spring training. There he was treated to some excellent food including a fantastic walleye and a great Greek salad. The shows there went well, with the support of the club's owner Nick, who, unlike many a comedy club owner, knows how to treat the comedians, the staff, and the patrons with kindness and respect. Being in Ohio was a bit of a shock for your host as in his hometown of NYC people are still acting with COVID caution, maintaining social distancing and voluntarily wearing masks indoors. This is despite the relatively high vaccination numbers. Conversely, in the Buckeye state, there's a general feeling that the pandemic is over and they are throwing caution to the wind. Other than performing before incredibly generous audiences, the highlight of the week for Lewis was…
#57 - Is There an Expiration Date on Stupid?
Twenty years after the September 11th attacks it's hard to say that we have learned any valuable lessons from that tragedy. Do we have more common sense and a better understanding of foreign relations? Nope. Do we care about the people of New York more than we did 20 years ago? Fuhgeddaboutit. And after two decades of daily being told to never forget, the one thing we can't seem to remember from that day is how to act in unison with singular purpose. We don't agree on the facts of that day, and it may be that on that day the last shreds of something approaching universal truth disappeared in a conflagration of jet fuel, printer paper, and copier toner. The full-on assault on the truth and common sense may have started soon after the towers fell when Larry Silverstein, who had signed a 99-year lease on the buildings a few weeks prior, sued his insurance companies saying that it was two attacks and not one, so he should get double the money. So from the very beginning of the rebuil…
#56 - All For None, and None For All
Twenty years ago this week, the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history. Following the horror of that triple death-from-above assault, the country was about as united in purpose as it can be, and in agreement, mostly, about what we saw happen. Not so much now when we cannot even agree on what reality is. Our views on the events of the world have become so distorted through our siloed lenses that the current lethal attack on the country has not corralled us to a similar unifying principle. Is it because we can't blame foreign terrorists? Without humans to directly blame for the daily mortality that is approaching the death toll from that one terrible day, some people now think that doctors are the terrorists because of their incessant need to dispense medical advice based on facts and research. It makes one despair that we will ever escape the pandemic. So, your host has a singular message this week, with a hat tip to writer Wendy Molyneux: Get Vaccinated! Bec…
#55 - Al Roker You're Nuts
The good news of the week: Lewis' Baltimore Orioles finally won a game! Also, he had a birthday. The bad news: the endless cycle of problems of the world. Hurricanes, COVID, Afghanistan, the assault on voting rights. The same horrors on repeat, all with a moronic dose of grandstanding and unnecessary risk. First up is Lewis' mainstream media pal Al Roker, who, as he is wont to do, reported about a hurricane from within said hurricane. Is this really required? If we have announcers calling baseball games remotely, why can't Al report about the weather from the comfort and safety of a TV studio. We know you're committed Al, but this seems like a crazy level of dedication to the job. This particular weather system hit a little too figuratively close to home for your host, whose grandmother was also named Ida. For those of you familiar with Lewis' mother, it really should have been called Hurricane Jeannette. Next, on the foreign affairs front, Sen. Lindsay Graham wants to impeach…
#54 - God Must Really Hate Haiti
While the tribulations of the world were on an endless loop of Haiti, COVID, and Afghanistan, Lewis' anger this week comes from a very personal place, but with a universal lesson. After a year and a half of being extra careful with everything germ-related, Lewis and a group of fully-vaccinated, often-tested friends had dinner together last week, only to find out the next day that one of their fellow diners has COVID. And that friend was supposed to go on a well-deserved trip to Italy the next day. The unfairness of it all made him angry. Very angry. So, there was some yelling that happened, and thus the lesson. What we hear a lot of in the public discourse is the fevered fanaticism of a loud minority, whether about vaccines, masks, guns, or climate change. Their reactionary amateurish spewing brings neither beneficial relief for themselves nor does it serve any higher societal function. It is just noise going out into the unmediated void, propped up by ads for gold, CPAP machines, and…
#53 - Idi-f*ck-its
A week off did nothing to temper Lewis's anger or his sense that history has folded in on itself. Twenty years of US intervention in an Asian nation and it all ends in an ill-planned fleeing on overcrowded flights. Kabul in 2021 or Saigon in 1975, either way the images of departing Americans should forever dispel any further imperialist notions. Your host has himself visited Afghanistan, having performed there on two USO tours. From his observations from flying over the country, it was obvious from the haphazard nature of the terrain that the country could never be conquered. So here we are, unable to get our act together to defeat enemies foreign or domestic or viral, each attempt at a solution confounded by our own idiocy and delusional sense of self-worth. While the Taliban overwhelms the Afghan forces, COVID continues its resurgent march through the unvaccinated. America leadership seems to be defined by a hubristic inability or unwillingness to accurately assess any problem bey…
After a nearly 500-day hiatus, due to the biblically cataclysmic global plague, Lewis made his "post"-pandemic performance debut. Was it outdoors? Yes. Was it in front of physically present live humans? Indeed! And while he may have had the comedy equivalent of the "twisties", the audience at the Chautauqua Institute could not have been more gracious or appreciative. All in all, a great way to get back on the road. Originally founded as a Methodist adult camp, the Chautauqua Institute is located in western New York state, and features a wealth of programming where adults speak intelligently to each other. Amazingly, this kind of place still exists in America. Followers of Lewis Black will know that in nearby Jamestown is the National Comedy Center which features a treasure-trove of material about the history and development of comedy in America, including exhibits on Ernie Kovacs, the Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, and Muppet Fozzie Bear. It also hosts the Lucille Ball Comedy Fe…
#51 - We Are The Variant
As the Delta Variant comes riding in like whichever of the four horsemen of the apocalypse represents Pestilence (it's the white one), the Pandemic is turning downright biblical. And to paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13:11, the time for childish ways has ended, which means that if someone asks you if you've been vaccinated, answer the question like an adult. Yes or No. It's very simple. Too simple in fact for some Republicans in Congress who are afraid to say whether they have been vaccinated. In what world do they live in that they are too scared to declare their vaccination status because it might offend the followers of the former leader, when we all know that the former had COVID and was vaccinated. Whatever it was that they learned in their student government days, it was not how to lead. Your host served a term on his junior prom committee and managed a neat fiduciary trick that resulted in a free senior prom, which is a lesson in leadership many of our purported leaders could learn.…
#50 - Three Billionaires Walked Onto a Launchpad
There are 50 states in the United States, 50 ways to leave your lover, 50 is the age when you become eligible to join AARP, and this is episode #50 of Lewis Black's Rantcast! Those 50 episodes have contained many recurring themes from impending and present climate catastrophe to the Covid-19 pandemic to rich people not wanting to pay taxes to the sclerotic machinations of a nearly psychotic nation whose politicians, particularly those who follow the former leader, cannot seem to escape from a nihilistic doom cycle. And this episode does not disappoint. Around the planet, from the wildfires in the US west to the biblical floods in Western Europe, the ravages of global warming can no longer be ignored or escaped. Except that is, if you happen to be one of the nation's benighted billionaires who launch themselves into what may or not be space on an almost daily basis. They say it's for "space tourism" but we all know that it's to save themselves from the defiled planet the re…
#49 - Jeff Bezos Is An Evil Overlord
Three billionaires are currently in a race to get to space, of course there's nothing more pressing to the people of earth right now than to have the news spend a Sunday morning talking about it. In a time when people are having trouble paying for healthcare or a house, we have the news giving us commercials for something only rich people can do. It's conflicting, because while space exploration is important, this is such a weird time for this to happen. When we have a cracked system from the pandemic it's Virgins vs Amazons dominating the Sunday news cycle. But hey! With any luck, a petition to keep at least one of the evil overlords in space could help us out, right? Meanwhile, on the ground people are still fighting science. Both with the vaccine to bring the pandemic to its knees or the fact that half of the US is on fire because of climate change. Lewis is considering turning the articles he reads about it in to his act, just a reading the facts to get chuckles. The rants th…
#48 - The Dogs Get Depressed
Since the founding of the Republican party in the mid-1850s, politics has been dominated by a two-party system that clearly isn't working too well anymore. Third parties have been tried before, from Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party to Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats to Ross Perot's Reform party to current incarnations like the Libertarian Party and the Green Party. None have achieved much lasting electoral success. So, given the current state of American politics, the time may now be right for the Rubber Chicken Party. The RCP has one platform: empathy for the citizenry. While many human elected officials seem to only have empathy for corporations, a legislative branch of rubber chickens will definitely have more compassion for the people, and will be better equipped to represent the voters rather than multinational corporations. Never mind a chicken in every pot, it's time for a rubber chicken in every seat in Congress! (As an aside, it was not Huey Long, or Herbert Hoover who…
#47 - Stopping Voter Frogs
Do you follow @TheLewisBlack on Twitter? If not, you may have missed one of his recent posts about the irony of Senate Republicans voting to not vote about voting rights, thereby killing (for now) HR 1. The usual reactionary backlash emerged as some in the Twitterverse did not get the joke, or were under the impression that what Lewis says has an actual impact on what happens in the halls of Congress. The point was that if it's so important to Republicans that this not become the law of the land, they could do the citizenry the favor of actually debating the issue, giving their side of the argument and outlining exactly what they think will happen if the law passes. Instead we got Grand Guignol political theater, minus the visible puppet strings. The Rantcast was on vacation last week as Lewis ventured south to check in on his mom, and to visit his alma mater, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. UNC has been in the news lately as the board of trustees intervened in the hiri…
#46 - Rep. Louie Gohmert's Brain Is In Orbit
Did you know that the rubber chicken is not just the mascot for the Rantcast, he is also an accredited member of the press? Along with many news outlets, the rubber chicken can officially report that, in a huge surprise, rich people do not pay taxes. The bird's usual beat is natural resources, and while on a failed fact-finding trip to Washington, he witnessed Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) espouse two utterly confounding theories about the climate crisis. First, in a House committee meeting, the Congressman asked if it was possible to fix climate change by changing the orbit of the moon around the Earth. Later, he promulgated the hypothesis that caribou need the warmth from oil pipelines to aid in their dating prospects. He said these idiocy-inducing statements at the exact moment that the southwest is in a megadrought and the man-made Lake Mead is at its lowest level since the Hoover Dam was built. Not to be outdone on being a slave to the petrochemical industry, a Louisiana legis…
#45 - I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
As the collective COVID-induced confusion begins to abate (maybe), one thing has become abundantly clear: the tolerance for nonsense and magic thinking in the country has reached new heights. From the Federal government to state legislatures to your host's humble center-of-the-universe metropolis, the onslaught of balderdash, hogwash, and malarkey rampages unabated. It starts with the former leader's delusional warblings about the election having been stolen, which has unleashed a torrent of state laws restricting voting rights when no voter fraud in fact occurred. Many of those very same legislatures have then moved on to an area of expertise they know even less about than voting rights: health departments. In their blinkered understanding of the scientific method and human biology, they have determined that scientists and doctors should not be the people giving out advice about health-related subjects. When you follow the turtles all the way down you reach the point where some Re…
#44 - Memorial Daze, Or Maybe Texas Should Secede
While there is an effort afoot to add our nation's Capital as a new state, it may be time to let certain other states to secede. The Lone Star state is high on the list to go their own merry way. There are myriad reasons for this, but it starts with the Republican-controlled legislature, who took it upon themselves to honor the sacrifices memorialized on Memorial Day by passing extremely restrictive voting rights laws (enactment TBD). As if infringing the rights of voters wasn't enough, they also passed an extremely restrictive reproductive rights law, basically telling half the population that they do not have autonomy over their bodies. Also Ted Cruz. The machinations by Texas lawmakers belie a pervasive attitude among GOP politicians that their main purpose is to win elections, by any means necessary, not to actually govern. They are dinosaurs heading to their own oblivion, trying to hurt as many people as possible on the way out. What is needed instead are leaders who have visi…
#43 - The United States of Sisyphus
As the unofficial start of summer approaches, and we emerge (maybe) from the pandemic, now may seem like the time for hope and optimism. This is not the place for that. Instead, as your host points out, we are living in a continuous Sisyphean loop of politics, where just as it seems we may actually get something done, the boulder of democracy comes rolling back down. Among the things Congress is not getting done: infrastructure, voting rights, and a Jan. 6th insurrection commission. They have plenty of time to grandstand and make specious claims about liberties being infringed, but they can't actually do the work that they were elected to do. Whatever the cause, it is Congress that is keeping the country from living up to its potential. Simply put, they need to grow up. The view outside the Beltway isn't much better as the same disputes keep popping up, as if history itself is also stuck in a loop. This can be seen in the conflicts between the Israelis and the Palestinians, between…
#42 - It's This Simple, America Has an Intelligence Shortage
Lewis continues his southern sojourn, this time from multiple undisclosed locations in the Tar Heel state. And while the eastern seaboard dealt with the gas shortage, Lewis has a diagnosis for the true cause of what ails America: an intelligence shortage. As evidence: hoarding gas because people thought there was a gas shortage caused the gas shortage. As a sidebar, Lewis thinks all squirrels are rabid, based on no proof, which is confirmation of his own intelligence shortage. It's OK, because he went to North Carolina to try to find his mind again, and thanks to the comforts of the undisclosed location, and some relaxing rounds of golf, he may be up to 1/3 functional. This is more than can be said for many in our leadership, especially those in charge of our emergence from the pandemic. They appear to be playing a game of three card monte, rather than defining a clear process to return to normalcy as a group. Finally, Lewis encountered an intelligence shortage of the artificial…
#41 - Cyber Ninjas, Soon To Be a Netflix Special
This week's Rantcast comes from an undisclosed location in the Tar Heel State, aka North Carolina, where Lewis has traveled to hit the links and visit supermarkets. Did you know that the 12th state's motto is esse quam videri, Latin for "to be, rather than to seem"? It's advice that many of our lawmakers have never learned, as from coast to coast "seem" has taken on a higher value than "be". There's no need for a resume anymore, BS alone can see you through to the highest reaches of government. In Arizona, a hitherto unheard-of cabal called the Cyber Ninjas was hired to help count the votes that have already been successfully counted and verified. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that eviscerates the state's voting rights and only invited Fox News to the ceremonial signing. This was appropriately evocative of coverage by the Soviet-era TASS News Agency. And in the hallowed halls of Congress, Liz "waterboarding isn't torture" Cheney (R-WY) may be r…
#40 - There Isn't Much American Culture In Native American Culture
After a one-week dental surgery-induced hiatus, the Rantcast is back! A lot happened in that interval, but the eternal question remains: when will we ever get back to being smart? That time is clearly not now as the stupid train rolls on, this time stopping at the door of Rick "Google It" Santorum. The former Pennsylvania Senator propounded the inanity that there was nothing of significance happening on this continent before white Europeans arrived. He seems to be forgetting both the fact that millions of people already lived in the Americas and that the British deemed it a good idea to go to battle wearing bright red coats. The backlash came as expected, with the backlash to the backlash forgetting that there's a difference between so-called "cancel" culture and the consequences of being dumb as a post. The continuing pandemic revealed more stupidity as the goal of herd immunity slips away because some of the herd have decided they don't want to wear masks and don't want…
#39 - Bagram, Kandahar, Kabul, Oh My!
Back when Lewis was barely AARP age-eligible, US forces invaded Afghanistan and now, nearly 20 years later, your esteemed host is fully qualified for Social Security. And come September, the US military will have fully withdrawn from the Central/South Asian Republic. What did it all mean? Did the US occupation amount to anything? From having done three USO tours there, Lewis has some personal observations: The experience of being there was a truly life-changing experience, akin to an insane LSD trip (not in a bad way); the level of sacrifice from the soldiers there, whatever the justification of the mission, was astonishing; and that saying "thank you" to those who served is meaningless without actually supporting the troops with whatever they need once they return stateside. In other news this week, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip passed away and so did Ponzi scheme perfecter Bernie Madoff. Lewis was once in an ABC miniseries about the latter which featured Richard Dreyfus as…
#38 - Thoughts & Prayers & Cray, Cray
Many subjects divide the denizens of the United States and the list easily comes to mind. Now, we must add the legendary rubber chicken to our culture war. Some consider the chicken's caterwauling the epitome of crass comedic laziness, while others, including your host, believe that the rubber chicken is a celebrated figure in the history of comedy going back to at least the Vaudeville era as a gag mainstay. Also, Lewis couldn't afford a real sidekick. In other areas of American division, there are problems at the southern border, where people from other countries are trying to enter the US; maybe we should stop telling people how great America is if we don't want them to come here. Mitch McConnell is upset that CEOs are getting involved in voting rights; Kaitlyn Jenner is considering running for governor of California as a Republican, a group of people doing their best to do away with trans people; and to continue the hypocrisy train, the former leader called on his supporters t…
#37 - And the Beat Goes On
The signs of spring and renewal are in the air, as Lewis forgoes celebrating Passover and Easter isn't his thing either. So, no hunting for eggs and no mom's brisket (not a big loss as Jeannette's version involved boiling the meat until it was the consistency of rubber). Another sign of spring comes from the start of the baseball season, where Lew's Baltimore Orioles opened the season with a sweep of the hated Boston Red Sox. Despite this early season success, they are still an insult to birds nationwide. In other baseball news, the 2021 All Star Game was moved out of Georgia as a protest against their recently enacted restrictive voting law. This is not cancel culture, but an otherwise conservative organization understanding which side of history they want to be on. Renewal was also a theme in the political world, as the Biden administration proposed a sweeping (but not sweeping enough for some people) infrastructure bill. Will it cost a lot of money? Yes, but it's necessary…
#36 - When Gun Violence Hits, Common Sense Is The First Casualty
Another week, another mass shooting. And Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had a completely inappropriate, but totally within character response, wherein he disingenuously claimed that any attempt to curtail gun violence can be seen as mere theatrics. (It bears repeating that Sen. Cruz attended Princeton and Harvard Law School and their admissions departments have a lot of explaining to do.) The parade of bad faith policy making rolled on, this time in the Peach State, where Georgia Republicans passed a 90-page bill severely restricting voting rights. That's a lot of words to obscure the simple message, "we don't want black people to vote". It wasn't all bad news down South, as the Alabama legislature relaxed the ban on teaching Yoga in schools once it was explained that stretching is in no way an endorsement of Hinduism. The little ones still must be shielded from speaking a non-English word, in this case "namaste". In other good news, Lewis had successful Nitrous-aided dental surger…
#35 - My Brackets Are Broken, Does That Mean Spring Break Will Break Us?
The madness in America continued this week on many levels and in many forms. Spring breakers descended on Miami causing chaos of near catastrophic proportions. No masks, no problem, as the Florida free-for-all mentality meant that everything was allowable, as long as someone was making money from it. March Madness, a.k.a. the NCAA Tournament began and Lewis felt guilty for watching but it provided a necessary distraction. What did he need a distraction from? The sinister madness, the one that leads people to kill other people because of how they look or where they come from. That madness is compounded by law enforcement officials who characterize the perpetrator as "having a bad day". In addition to the madness, there was the usual stupidity. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) did something stupid. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) did something stupid. And a bank robber used a loaner BMW to do something stupid. Ingenious, but also stupid. Finally, and in an unrelated matter, if you're in the Tulsa ar…
#34 - The Stupid Just Get Stupider
Another week, another Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) verbal inanity. This time he claimed he was more afraid of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, than the insurrectionists who actually attacked the Capitol on January 6th. In further "I'm Just A Bill" news, the American Rescue Plan passed and was signed into law by President Biden, all without a single GOP vote, leaving Lewis to wonder what exactly Republican lawmakers think their job in Washington is. Helping the American people doesn't seem to be it. This week also marked the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown, and every news outlet spent it memorializing and remembering a hell that is ongoing. What does Lewis remember? The vertigo-inducing moment when he realized the leader was going to nothing to protect the American people. And it was one year ago, on March 13, 2020, that Lewis performed for the last time prior to the lockdown. He then fled the scene and hightailed it back to New York to spend the next 10 weeks in…
#33 - Sen. Ron Johnson Gives Jackasses a Bad Name
Congress managed to actually pass a law, the American Rescue Plan, but not before Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) used valuable legislative time to have the full text read on the Senate floor, rather than discuss why he's opposed to it. The House also passed the For The People Act, and Lewis, a voting rights ambassador for the ACLU, has some choice words for those who act to restrict the franchise. Also, something happened with Meghan and Harry and Oprah. This rants this week include an interesting perspective on the pandemic lifestyle; a 10-point diatribe about how the Netflix interface operates; a plea to let the pharmacists on the front lines of Covid testing and vaccines do their jobs, without corporate interference; a trilogy of takes on the Dr. Seuss publishing controversy; a rumination in wonderment on where the class consciousness is; and finally, a combustible and epic tale of chasing an insurance payout check through the labyrinthine complexities of the American banking, insurance,…
#32 - Orlando Is No Cancun
The rubber chicken joins the fight for $15, as the junior senator from Texas, fresh off his quick sojourn to Cancun, popped up at the CPAC convention. Ted Cruz was in Orlando alongside the former leader and a mob of maskless minions, all there to pretend that Joe Biden isn't president and that nothing happened at the Capitol on January 6th. Sen. McConnell, now the minority leader, plays it both ways in the fallout of impeachment number 2, showing that there is no issue he can't squirm his way clear of. And to fix all that ails our country, Lewis proposes a new constitutional amendment that would create pyrotechnic consequences for officials who lie to the public. Let's get Amendment no. 28 on the books! Finally, in international news, the oldest living person, a 117-year old woman from France has survived the pandemic. In true Gallic fashion she celebrated with Champagne and foie gras. Lewis heartily approves. This week's rants include a discourse on how to properly cook chic…
#31 – When The Going Gets Tough, Ted Cruz Goes To Cancun
Just when its citizens needed help the most, Texas leaders take vacations and Lewis has a few thoughts about leadership from Ted Cruz on down. Speaking of leadership, our former Leader is having a bit of an issue with his tax returns, but that's okay! According to Q-Anon he's going to assume the Presidency again on March 4th, hooray! This week users brought Lewis yet another constitutional amendment followed immediately a risk analyst who really wonders about the liability 55 gallons of personal lubricant. An old school complaint re-emerges with a modern twist, a rant in 3 codas, people with odd company loyalties, a lady requesting Lewis curse for her, the age old debate about senses of humor, and a woman who wonders why her son is averse to hygiene. By pure serendipity, the live rants come from Houston this week, much love to the people of Texas right now. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! h…
#30 - Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight, Everybody Fight!
The rubber chicken might be running for a Senate seat in 2022 because we all know it would've voted to impeach had it been in office. The second impeachment of our leader brings back memories of when Lewis was involved in an impeachment during his college senate years. After thinking about it, that might've been the moment he realized he wanted to pursue a career in comedy. This past week brought the birthday of Lewis' father so he was reminded of a moment about a prejudice epiphany as the passing of jazz great Chick Corea, brings up a great story about when he and Lewis met when they were both accepting their Grammys. For the rants this week Lewis reads some new constitutional amendments; someone who heard a previous rant about Weetabix and provided some Swedish translation on the subject. A lady who accidentally labeled her neighbor with the wrong political affiliation, an expat in South Korea who might be okay with strict COVID guidance, a man who has a serious bone to pick w…
#29 - Congratulations, You Are A COVID-19 Benefit Winner!
This week, Lewis is surprised to learn he was "selected" as a COVID-19 benefit winner. After reading that email, he also might know a Saudi prince that wants to give him millions of dollars as well, okay!? The second impeachment of Donald Trump is underway and if the incompetence of members of Congress doesn't make you mad, you might just not be paying attention. But it's not all bad news! After too long a delay, Lewis' mother will finally get her vaccine this week and the fine folks at the NFL decided to pay tribute to frontline healthcare workers by holding a super spreader event so they will have someone to take care of. How nice of Roger Goodell and the gang? This week's rants are top notch, as Lewis hears from a few ranters that feel public servants both don't represent us well and spend too much time on social media. Rants about the lack of understanding about social distancing. A Canadian who adores a British accent (Lewis is not great at it), a woman who has a rea…
#28 – Jewish Space Lasers In Outer Space!
We have new conspiracy-theory embracing people in Congress and Lewis is seriously considering running the rubber chicken for office. Why not? It can't do any worse. When are we going to declare enough is enough? Lewis' mother finally got her stimulus check, but not in check form because nothing can be easy these days. For the rants, Lewis received some more user-submitted rants and the start off with two back-to-back ones in different countries that both tackle the McDonald's drive-thru. Additionally it appears Canada is not handling COVID response any better than we are in the US, a 15 year-old learns how to use a can opener, and Robert presents Lewis a few ideas for a new Constitutional Amendments. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google…
#27 - Have A Good Life
Well, we have a new administration in White House but our outgoing Leader departed in an interesting manner, would we have expected anything else? Lewis also received his COVID vaccination this week and tells the story. While the loss of Hank Aaron stings losing Larry King was a bit more personal for Lewis since he's been on Larry's show and did a benefit for the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. While the live rants this week take us to Conchord, NH fans also submitted their quest to get the vaccine in Plano, TX. A transgender woman who can't wait to leave Missouri, the little things when it comes to grocery shopping, and all things Pennsyltucky. Lewis references comedian Mike Wilmot's stand-up bit "Sandwiches Will Overcome Racism" watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E47BI39mPk Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's…
#26 - I Want A Pardon Too!
It's Inauguration and Inoculation Day for Lewis as he's celebrating the peaceful transfer of power with a needle in his arm. Just perhaps it will be enough to get rid the vibe of the last 4 years have generated. The bus is not rolling this week but that just allows for an episode of fresh listener-submitted rants. Some people have the state of affairs on their mind and let them rip, while others would rather bide their time by simply airing their grievances about Fitbits or the classic terrible reward for a job well done. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack Twitter – https://twi…
#25 - Too Little, Too Fucking Late!
The United States had a really dark week and like many of us Lewis is grappling with how to make sense of it. One thing is certain, he knows there are plenty to blame on the assault on our democracy and he has their numbers. As do many of the people submitting rants, from serious inquiries about how to explain it all to a child, people still not taking the pandemic seriously, the red tape our healthcare system provides, and a man from Iowa who was part of a COVID test group. Before you think this episode is nothing but doom and gloom, have faith because TV commercials are still enraging people and one young man might just have the best car out there just to spite his father. Then Lewis pulls an episode of rants straight out of Montclair, NJ. Where the locals don't want you there, they got out of the city already, there's no more room! Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/Le…
#24 - 2021 or 11,800
Happy New Year! The year is 2021 - has the ticking over of the new calendar solved all of our problems yet? Probably not, and like many of us Lewis is trying to hold on as best as possible. Which is tough, because the world and its leaders are doing their best to throw the worst at us. And you know things are truly crazy when his Washington Football Team wins its division. Luckily we have some great listener-submitted rants that prove we're not all losing our minds. Then we roll into Shippensburg, PA's at the Grove Theater for some live rants straight from the folks at Shippensburg University. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple – https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google – https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon – https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website – http://www.lewisblack.com Instagra…
#23 - Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum, Boy Are We Dumb!
It's the final Rantcast of 2020 and Lewis is coming in hot as he attempts to even begin to figure out how to wrap up the year. In a nutshell, it will take an entire 365 days to summarize everything that happened. On this episode, Lewis fields rants from an American abroad who just returned after spending the last few months attempting to explain how the U.S. handled the pandemic to foreigners. Someone also has a bone to pick with those preaching "love thy neighbor." How little St. Louis is doing about contract tracing, and even some anger about hot chocolate. But it's not all negative... Lewis also learns he played a small part in someone's encouragement to start to pay it forward during the holiday season. The live rants come from Worcester, MA where Lewis has some fond memories yet also had some of the worst Chinese Food of his life. This episode is brought to you by Better Help - Listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting http://www.BetterHelp.com/rantcast Submit rants to…
#22 - A Coyote In The Bronx
Here's something you don't see everyday... a coyote in the Bronx. But that's just what happened to Lewis this weekend when he was headed to the golf course. Perhaps it's a metaphor for these times we live in, or maybe the coyote was just playing through on his way to track down its prey. If you're also thinking metaphorically, the US also got its vaccine this week - good news since its also been unable to execute the most basic of civic duties to prevent the spread, but who is keeping track? The live rants pick up again in Springfield, MA as Lewis also fields some user submissions from around the globe including an Australian who has a bone to pick with delivery drivers, someone who was was horrified to see what her neighbor did with hand sanitizer, a healthcare professional that calls bullshit on it all, and the age-old rage against some good avocado toast. This episode is brought to you by Better Help - Listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting http://www.BetterHelp.com/ran…
Bonus Rant - "He Didn't Lose!"
A special rant from Lewis Black titled, "He Didn't Lose" written by his friend Richard Dresser. It takes a look at the past 4 years of Donald Trump's presidency. Submit rants to Lewis https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe to Lewis Black's Rantcast Apple - https://bit.ly/rantcast Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3oNaPFh Google - https://bit.ly/37Zb35u Amazon - https://amzn.to/37bg8Za Follow Lewis Website - http://www.lewisblack.com Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack Twitter - https://twitter.com/thelewisblack Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#21 - The McRib Is Back!
Lewis notices that the McRib is back and if that's not a metaphor for some people's happiness, what is. Fresh rants come pouring in from fans, some long, some right to the point. Before we roll into Rochester, NY Lewis takes this opportunity to read a special rant by an old friend and writer Richard Dresser titled, "He Didn't Lose." It sums up the world we've been living in for the last 4 years quite nicely. This episode is brought to you by Better Help. Get 10% off your first month by visiting www.betterhelp.com/rantcast Submit rants to Lewis - https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe - https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#20 - Hey! That's A Great Question
Thanksgiving has passed, and while there's plenty to be thankful for, there's just as much to rant about! Lewis might be thankful for his football team wining this weekend, but he's also just as fired up about the world and how our journalists just can't seem to be good at their job. This week Lewis also took new rants from fans who take aim at Christmas carols and bad teacher appreciation weeks. This episode is brought to you by Better Help. Get 10% off your first month by visiting www.betterhelp.com/rantcast New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button Submit rants to Lewis - https://www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE Subscribe - https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#19 - If You Don't Skip This Thanksgiving You Might Not Be Around For The Next
As we embark on what might be a very non-traditional Thanksgiving for most across this nation, Lewis reflects on the last few weeks of turmoil. Is he able to bring levity to the situation? You will have to listen for yourself. For the second episode in a row Lewis pulls some fresh user-submitted rants before whisking everything to Austin, TX where he set up shop at the Moody Theater (where they tape the iconic Austin City Limits) in a city where memories of live performances and great food are sorely missed these days. Lewis' new special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE [Subscribe] https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#18 - Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent
Lewis returns after a week off and perhaps taking the week of the Presidential Election was the wise choice. Because whew! What a week it was! While its not news that our leader has learned anything new during that time off, this show did. Over the past few months, you fans have been submitting many, many new rants to Lewis and he wants to showcase that. This episode features new rants from you loyal fans submitted in the last few weeks. Then we throw it off to San Antonio, TX - a city Lewis likes to call the margarita of cities. Stay safe out there! To submit a rant to Lewis, visit www.lewisblack.com/live Lewis' new special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button [Subscribe] https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe [Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack [Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack [Twitter] https://twitter.com/thelewisb…
#17 - A Classic American Tale
It's Election Day and as the American public is making important decisions about its future at the voting booths, Lewis shares some thoughts he typed on a word processor (in another century) that are just a relevant then as they are now. We visit two destinations in North Carolina and then to Tennessee reading the rants of the people and, as always they never disappoint. Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button [Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack [Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack [Twitter] https://twitter.com/thelewisblack For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#16 - I Think Her Husband Is A Cheap Prick!
Lewis is fresh off 3 hours of dental surgery and he's learned a few things. Mainly he'd rather be strapped to the chair with a dentist wrenching away at his mouth than dealing with the news of the day and he's probably not the only one who feels this way. This week's rants come from the good people of Milwaukee and the world's best green room and then rolls through Grand Rapids. Be sure to check out Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life which is available now! Watch, buy, or stream: https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button [Subscribe] https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe [Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack [Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack [Twitter] https://twitter.com/thelewisblack For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#15 - Are There Any Adults In The Room?
It's that time of the year and we're not talking about the fucking Candy Corn! We're talking about election season and right now there seems to be no adults in the room wanting to actually tackle the important topics for the people like the pandemic, relief packages, civil rights, or even determining what even needs to be worked on together, it's mind boggling! We're taking a trip through Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, and San Diego where, well it seems the fires never seemed to stop between the recording of these rants and present day. Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE New episodes arrive every Wednesday via The Laugh Button [Subscribe] https://link.chtbl.com/rantcastsubscribe [Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/thelewisblack [Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/thelewisblack [Twitter] https://twitter.com/thelewisblack For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughb…
#14 – I Like Millennials, But Don't Be An Asshole!
Well, it's another week another round of strange times getting stranger. No, we're not talking about the impending election, we're talking about October and fucking pumpkin season and all the nonsense that comes with it. The rants this week take us through beautiful parts of California – Monterrey, Sacramento, and Napa where apparently some of those in the audience feel Lewis has an issue with Millennials. Sadly that's not true, he just thinks you're being an asshole for not telling him what app he should use to bring them out to his shows. New episodes arrive every Wednesday. Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE For advertising opportunities, email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#13 - Put Your Makeup On, Fix Your Hair Up Pretty...
When you think of the number 13, you probably wouldn't want to find yourself anywhere near a casino, yet here we are on a run in Atlantic City, NJ at the Borgata. But have no fear, the number is lucky as the rants were particularly inspired as we talk to a rowdy New Jersey gambling audience in a town where only Donald Trump could bankrupt three, count 'em, three casinos. Unbe-fucking-lievable. New episodes arrive every Wednesday. Lewis' new special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is available now! Watch, buy, or stream it now https://tlbrecords.lnk.to/LewisWE To advertise email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#12 - It Gives You a Sense of Existential Dread
Lewis feels good in his undisclosed location. Well that's not entirely true, because he's learned about Zoom fatigue and how it makes promo junkets even less fun than they already sometimes are. Oh, and there's a political debate happening - that's fun right? So much fun that he's forced to go and be bad at golf in a somewhat futile attempt to take his mind off of things. Whoooo! This week, the rants are coming from Marietta, OH, Pittsburgh, PA and North Bethesda, MD. Not far from his hometown. Be sure to pre-order Lewis' forthcoming stand-up special Thanks For Risking Your Life. Which is available as audio and video on October 6th. But you can pre-order now https://TLBRecords.lnk.to/LewisWE New episodes arrive every Wednesday. To advertise email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#11 - You Can Hear The Wild Applause
Lewis is back in his NYC bunker marking the end of summer and mourning the loss of RBG while at the same time celebrating her commitment to the cause. While that may seem somber, you can still back and enjoy rants that take us through the Northeast of New London, CT, Northampton, MA and Rutland, VT. Perhaps it will be bright spot in what is officially deemed the greatest shitstorm of our lives. While you looking at your calendar (and we know you are) be sure to mark October 6th as the release of Lewis' new special, Thanks For Risking Your Life. It will be available for preview on both Pandora and SiriusXM, before the street date, just follow this link https://TLBRecords.lnk.to/Lewis New episodes arrive every Wednesday. For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaugbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#10 - The Ball's In Your Court JT, Good Luck!
For a brief moment, Lewis has stopped running. He's back in NYC trying to enjoy his Labor Day but just can't seem to believe reports that American's feel they've gotten better during the Quarantine. Why? Because he sure doesn't think he has. While home, take the moment to get your teeth fixed as we roll with rants through the middle of America with stops in Elkhart, Indiana then to Glen Ellyn and Springfield, IL. While you are at it, be sure to mark your calendars for October 6th which is when Lewis' new special, "Thanks For Risking Your Life" is released both on audio and video. It was recorded March 13th, right as the government shutdown was issued and the last performance Lewis did in 2020. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#9 - The Idea Seemed Thrilling At The Time
This week, Lewis is coming to you from an undisclosed location and he might not be wearing pants. Call it him trying to reclaim something he's lost during these trying times or an example that he has completely lost it. One thing is certain though. He hasn't spent this time wisely attempting to better himself - no new languages learned nor great novels read. This week we find rants from Elgin, IL where people from Baghdad checked in live. We can only assume it's because they heard that Lewis would be in Elgin. We also check in from St. Louis and Cincinnati, where Lewis is asked by an aspiring comedian if they should write a Full House spinoff and a couple prays for the first words of their infant to not be "f-ck." New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#8 – Otherwise, Stop The Bullshit
This week we're coming to you from the parking lot of a BBQ restaurant. What's more American than a tour bus, the open road, and some BBQ? Fresh off a week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we learn, in addition to performing there, Lewis once built a log cabin on a lake decades ago. It's a fine setting to visit the rants from folks in NY like Troy, Port Washington, Long Island, and then Englewood, NJ. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#7 - I Need To Go Some Place Where People Are Bitter
This run of shows is just outside of where I live in NYC. Starting off in New Brunswick, NJ just down the street from a comedy club where I would start out and right next to a theater where I had a "legendary" run of my play, if you could call 15 nights legendary. If you ever are looking for people with salty takes, New Jersey is one of the best. We also found ourselves in Hershey, PA where an entire city was built around the philanthropic wishes of a chocolatier, it does wonders for your diabetes. Then, a casino in Bethlehem provides the right mix of slot machine abuse and outlet shopping, my mother would be so proud! Even with her penchant to call bullshit on it all. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email: advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#6 - The Small Space Where Comics Go To Die
Lewis is reunited with his tour bus and the road. While live shows are still not possible, being back on the bus offers a reprieve and the comfort of seeing the United States pass by through the window. After a lifetime on the road, having to sit in one place too long during a pandemic offers its own set of torment. Breaking out on the road allows for a re-connection with family before taking to the Northern peninsula of Michigan as rants from the last trip through Peoria, Ann Arbor, and Battle Creek recall less complicated times. New episodes arrive every Wednesday. For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#5 – We All Live On A Peninsula, You Do The Math
Valentine's Day weekend brought us to Florida. Besides the lovely weather, we mostly took away from this location the facts that the Orlando Airport is possibly the worst airport in the country, Scientologists have overrun Clearwater, and traffic is a mess. Apparently, we all wasted 97 hours in traffic last year, and nobody paid us for it. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#4 – You Know Who Doesn't Carpool? People That Work For A Living!
You might think the American Southwest is always a warm place to be, but you'd be wrong! Go there in February and you'll be in for a surprise. It might also surprise you to learn Tucson is one of the only cities in the Southwest that rank among the worst places to live. But we go there anyway. While there, we dive into rants about my mother questioning retirement, Republican almost dying at my show, and we're asked the age-old question, "Do we need to curse in all of our rants?" Special thanks to John Bowman for appearing on this episode. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#3 - My Grandma One Time Yelled At My Neighbor's Dog To, "Shut The Fuck Up!"
California calling! As we wind our way through the state we learn sometimes things are as literal as they seem. A suggestion for those in charge, if you are going to name your city after a river it might be wise to make sure people can find the actual river! I've also always had a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles. Driving there makes me realize I have serious anger issues. And holy shit! does that place make you feel like you have no grasp on this thing called show business. Special thanks to John Bowman for appearing on this episode. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#2 - He's Even Competitive About Allergies
Reno, Nevada has rowdy crowds, but it's a calmer version of Las Vegas. You should go visit, it's a comfortable place to lose your money! During this run I'm asked why I haven't moved to Canada yet and you know what? I don't know. Perhaps because this run of shows has some really nice theaters to perform in. Special thanks to John Bowman for appearing on this episode. New episodes arrive every Wednesday For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#1 - The Word "Irony" Doesn't Apply
Well, we're here with the first-ever episode of my Rantcast, even though I hate podcasts I'm doing this shit. On this episode, we roll through the Pacific Northwest to find out what really pisses people off. Turns out it's everything from the complex, like government shutdowns, to the small, like local newspapers, and the weird, like selling out to Al Roker. Enjoy! Oh, and I've been recording these rants for a long, long time. So there are plenty. Prepare to sit back and relax, we've got nothing but time! Special thanks to John Bowman for appearing on this episode. New episodes every Wednesday via The Laugh Button podcasts For advertising opportunities email advertise@thelaughbutton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lewis Black's Rantcast - Coming July 22nd
On July 22nd Lewis Black's Rantcast is coming to The Laugh Button Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices