This week's Focus Group edition of Arts & Crass included me and fellow Minneapolis comic Anil Bandhakavi. We talk with Jesse Irvin and John Dick Winters of the Race to the Coffin Comedy crew from Pittsburgh. We talk jokes, suicide, white guy comedy, race, and more. It's a good one!Jon Stark

Australian superstar comedian and relentless podcaster Wil Anderson comes to Arts & Crass! Wil is one of the best comedians in the entire world. And a genuinely generous and kind man. We are lucky to have him.Jon Stark

Peace and kindness, mostly puppies, and good thoughtsJon Stark

Join the comics of Minnesota while they drink beers and talkJon Stark

Group Conversation at its most chaotic, brought to you by Minneapolis comedyJon Stark

This podcast features the late great Bill Young and the very much alive Nick Piontek. Unless you're listening to it in the far future, in which case Nick is also dead. Everyone's dead. Spoiler: Everyone was dead all along. Brought to you by geekiana.comJon Stark

Leah Mansfield came to the Casket Arts studio for a funny and serious chat. We also welcome local bilingual labor mediator James Wells! Leah takes time from her busy road schedule to mix it up with local Minnesota comedians, share comedy insights, and get us into a serious conversation about child rearing. This show was recorded right after comedia…

This week we tried a new experiment. Instead of the usual focus group, I asked the question: what if comedians could have a conversation with each other's ideas through sets? So a few brave souls came to the Casket Arts Studio 314 for a special edition of Arts & Crass where we played a kind of game. The winner is YOU. Guests include Patrick Ryan Ba…

Phil Kolas and David Harris join us for a night of classic Borscht Belt humor and magic.* This was a really fun episode as we get deep with two of Minneapolis' truly funny guys who also happen to be nice (being nice without being funny is basically the worst thing you could ever be, take it from your host). This episode is again sponsored by Geekia…

Spoiler: the twist ending was simply breaking the episode into two parts so we could include the complete Alvin Irby performance and interview. It's a good one, so get into it!Jon Stark

The Arts and Crass studio stage is seized this week by Alvin Irby, Kait Varkados, and Benjamin Hoffman. We get to laugh, get to know the limits of medical diagnostic terminology, and get to catch up with an old friend. Kait sets the appearances record for the show's short history, and Ben says farewell after we just barely meet. It's a night of dic…

In this episode we probe the comedic brains of two of Minnesota's hottest young standup comics. Robert Fones steps in for an absent friend and gives us a good show, after which we go deep on the subject of our youthful shames. Turner Barrowman Casey relates his terrifically awful roommate experience and waits patiently for Jon to stop gushing about…

In this stunning edition of Arts and Crass, Sid Oxborough and Justin Colucci drop by the Dancing Fork Studios for back to back joke-telling-and-a-chat. We get deep on comedy, impvov vs. standup, and the places performers come from. And Justin Colucci gets serious. Strap yourself in, this one is a little like how it must feel being in heaven with al…

More Focus Group follies--group conversation among comedians. Friend of the show Matt Kohr returns, bringing with him Mike Linden and Laura Westley-Williams. We talk immigration, celebrity self-help, and lessons for pedestrians. Time for your Arts & Crass: Focus Group report! This episode's interstitial music is "Metal" by The Rainy Saturdays.…

Arts and Crass welcomes Xchel Hernandez and Carly McMenomen to the Casket Arts stage. We talk sexual Everests, passive aggression, behavior in the women's undergarment industry, and how to love what (or WHO) you're doing. It's good stuff, so get your house in order and enjoy today! This episode is again sponsored by Geekiana.com. Use the coupon cod…

The inaugural Focus Group findings podcast launches, with looser group conversation between comedians. Friend of the show John Conroy appears and he brought a posse including Phil, Alvin, Matt, Robert, Eric, Jamie, and Kate. It's a lively night as we tackle a range of topics from the mayor's chair to the step daddies we never wanted to be. Get your…

This week Mike Lester & Robert Baril drop by the Arts and Crass studio for a dynamic point-counterpoint. We hear great stories from both of them including a rippin yarn about performing in a lock ward for the good men who gave so much for our country. Alex Wanna features as he and Jon go deep in the jokes, feeling sad, and the talky girl-focused dr…

Back to school with Josh, Trevor and ...uh...a drug addled horse! Getting back on a regular schedule, Arts & Crass Live returns with Josh Florhaug. We talk jokes and relationships, and the White Man's Burden I guess? Trevor Wade reminds the youth of America they don't need to say no to drugs, they need to sell drugs to future cops. Acid Horse mater…