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Explaining the Bloop and David Chang’s “The Mind of a Chef” with Jason Kottke

Jason Kottke, master collector of the internet’s most fascinating links (assembled at his website, kottke.org), shares some current favorites. He recommends diving in to explore the world’s unexplained sounds and David Chang’s new PBS show, The Mind of a Chef, airing now on PBS and also available online.

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Years before he became famous in Britain for skewering celebrities on Popworld and Nevermind the Buzzcocks, Simon’s Amstell’s childhood ambition was to be on TV. And unlike most kids with dreams of TV stardom, he made it a reality — but found it less fulfilling than he had hoped. Comedian, writer and TV host Amstell joins us this week to share his experiences in the entertainment industry, including navigating the delicate line between crafting clever comedy and bullying his celebrity guests as a TV host, writing and starring in Grandma’s House, a sitcom with parallels to his own life, and seeking enlightenment on a Shamanic quest in South America.

Simon Amstell will be performing his very funny and deeply personal stage show Numb in early 2013. His most recent stand-up special Do Nothing recently aired on BBC America.

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Jordan Morris ranks America’s stuff

In this era of constant hustle and bustle, who can keep up with what’s HOT and what’s NOT in these United States? Fortunately, expert stuff-ranker Jordan Morris joins us this week to fill us in and set us straight.

Jordan Morris co-hosts the podcast Jordan, Jesse, Go!. You can follow him on Twitter at @Jordan_Morris.

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Brian K. Vaughan on creation, from babies to universes

Brian K. Vaughan has the kind of strange and epic vision that’s made for science fiction and fantasy. He’s written award-winning comic book series like Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man, and crafted otherworldly storylines for several seasons of Lost.

His works are notable for their intimacy and beautiful, meticulously crafted characters, despite grandly epic settings. His most recent comic book series Saga is a prime example: Vaughan presents a fundamentally domestic story of parents trying to give their child a good life, backed by a colossal, galactic war. He joins us this week to share why he enjoys storytelling on a grand scale. Vaughan also explains why writing stories about lesser-known comic characters — like Marvel’s weird wildman Ka-Zar — can be preferable to writing about the big names like Spiderman, and he tracks how fatherhood has affected his writing.

A collection of the first six issues of Brian K. Vaughan’s monthly comic book series Saga is available now.

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The Outshot: Brass Eye‘s Paedogeddon

Please be advised: the content in this week’s Outshot may be objectionable to some listeners.

As more details emerge surrounding the BBC’s recent horrific pedophilia scandals, Jesse recalls a special episode of the satirical UK television series Brass Eye, called Paedogeddon. The episode was made in response to a similar panic about pedophilia in Britain over a decade ago. Here’s a look at Brass Eye’s take on media hysteria.

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