Episode 497
with Paul F. Tompkins, Sarah Marshall, and Buffalo Nichols
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reveal what our listeners have "gotten wrong" in the world of pop culture; comedian Paul F. Tompkins unpacks "weekend water" and passive-aggressive carolers; social critic Sarah Marshall, host of the podcast You're Wrong About, discusses why our misperceptions of the past are largely influenced by the news cycle; and Austin blues artist Buffalo Nichols performs "These Things" from his new self-titled album.
Paul F. Tompkins
Actor and Writer
Comedian, actor, and writer Paul F. Tompkins is nothing short of comedy podcast royalty. He has appeared on over two hundred episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang!, and hosts such popular shows as THE NEIGHBORHOOD LISTEN and SPONTANEANATION, among others. In March 2020, he and his wife, the actor Janie Haddad Tompkins, co-created the podcast Stay F. Homekins. Tompkins’ TV credits include more than two dozen appearances on HBO’s "Mr. Show,” and he is the voice of Mr. Peanutbutter on the hit Netflix animated series "Bojack Horseman.” Website • Twitter
Sarah Marshall
Writer, Critic, Podcaster
Sarah Marshall is a writer, podcaster, and media critic who wonders why we keep falling for the same old myths. Why is the maligned woman a staple of our news media? Why do we believe that serial killers are brilliant? How do we keep stumbling into all these moral panics? These are some of the questions that propel Sarah’s work as co-host of the popular modern history podcast You’re Wrong About, which has been highlighted in the New Yorker, the Guardian and Time Magazine. She loves Portland, Oregon, Philly and Las Vegas in that order, and rumor has it she is writing a book about the Satanic Panic. Podcast • Twitter
Buffalo Nichols
Austin Blues Musician
Folk and blues musician Carl “Buffalo” Nichols was born in Houston, raised in Milwaukee, and is now based in Austin, TX. Nichols spent years as a sought-after sideman in the Milwaukee scene, but it was his travels in Europe and West Africa that helped clarify his musical vision. “I want more Black people to hear themselves in this music that is truly theirs,” he says. In 2021, he became the first solo blues act to sign with Fat Possum records in almost twenty years, and the storied label released his self-titled album last October. Instagram • Listen
