How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer

This week on the podcast we have HUGE breaking news about our years-long quest to be inducted into our high school's prestigious Hall Of Fame—and we couldn't pick a better guest to share this important moment with than musician, photographer and bass tech, Brian Diaz! We talk about Brian's formative musical experiences from playing saxophone in the Long Island ska band Edna's Goldfish to being the bass tech to some of the ...

You know Craig Wedren as the frontman for the post-hardcore band Shudder To Think and composer for the soundtrack of your favorite television shows and movies, but were you aware he grew up as a scrappy kid in the Cleveland suburbs just like us? From sharing the same hangouts as Jonah to participating in his high school's theatre program like Vanessa, we share a long list of similarities. However one thing we don't share i...

This week on the podcast, the Bayer siblings lament the demise of the Dunkin' Donuts in Solon where Jonah spent his teenage years with other young punks, talking about NOFX and eating Bavarian cream doughnuts. We explore why you need to tear down an entire building to build a drive-through, the rise of "grab and go" food culture (the breakfast crowd is lovin' it) and the rise of the "third place." We also discuss our own t...

On today's new episode the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome writer, producer and dear friend Ariana Jackson! You may know the show "Brilliant Minds" that Ariana currently writes on, but did you know that Ariana formerly wrote and performed and sang as a member of BLOOMERS? That's right, we get into Ariana and Vanessa's time in their collegiate all-female sketch comedy and musical parody troupe, plus Vanessa reveals a...

On today's podcast we are joined by longtime bandmates and honorary siblings, Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins of the band Tigers Jaw! We start the episode with Jonah's adventures selling a used air fryer, what its been like for Ben and Brianna to be playing music together for 20 years and how the town of Scranton has handled the influence of "The Office" for better or worse. We also get into Ben's now defunct but still belov...

This week on the podcast the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome brilliant comedian and absolute delight Josh Gondelman! First we get into Jonah picking out a new phone and discuss the many color options and ask how so many people  are so sure of what color they want?? And we try to figure out what's going on with home shopping networks selling precious metals and jewels so urgently before "they close the mine"?! Plus w...

This week on the podcast we joined by musician, music manager and car wash enthusiaist, Gabe Saporta of the bands Midtown and Cobra Starship We talk about Gabe's journey from Uruguay to New Jersey and how he became involved in the punk and hardcore scene as a kid. We also talk the inspiration behind Gabe's moisturizer company Brotege, get a lesson in entrenpeneurship and learn what it was like to write a hit song for the s...

You know Tim Kasher as the frontman for Cursive and The Good Life, but did you know that Tim and his mom were also the masterminds between a secret Beanie Baby scam that saw them selling Ty Bears for thousands of dollars through the Omaha World Herald classified ads? Actually, no, you couldn't—because Tim shares this exclusive story for the first time for HOW DID WE GET WEIRD LISTENERS? From hiding Peace Bears from his co-...

Today on the podcast the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome their friend, star of Broadway's Aladdin and of the new Scrubs revival, Michael James Scott! First they check in on their parents' cruise and a very honest critique by their dad. Then Michael and Vanessa get into the absolute blast they had filming Scrubs together and Jonah asks them how much time was spent filming vs. in craft services and the honest answer i...

On today's new episode the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome actor, producer and writer Martin Starr to the podcast! You may know that Martin played the adorably geeky Bill Haverchuck on the iconic show "Freaks and Geeks" but did you know he had to make the difficult decision to leave his beloved arts highschool to play that role? And speaking of schools, will Jonah and Vanessa pursue their nominations to potentially ...

Vanessa and Jonah are thrilled to welcome to the pod Curb Your Enthusiasm star, Susie Essman! In this episode, we get into a real story about an encounter our parents had at their condo complex, Susie talks about how parking in NYC gives her faith in humanity and why having people fear you can be a positive thing when people compare her with her with Susie Greene. We also discuss Susie's strategy for getting out of school ...

This week on the podcast we are joined by another dynamic sibling duo, our old friends Eddie and Riley Breckenridge of the post-hardcore band, Thrice! After Jonah gives a quick update on Partygate, we talk about what it's like to be in a band with your brother, Riley's college baseball career and Eddie's barista tips. We also discuss what it was like to go to the same high school as Rage Against The Machine and if their te...

Today on the podcast the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome the delightful and hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson! You may know Jesse from Modern Family but did you know that he and Vanessa are both winners of The Great American Baking Show Celebrity Edition?? Plus we have some updates and hometown reactions to Jonah's bombshell admission of calling the cops on a party in highschool! Then the trio get into their thoughts o...

This week we have a very special podcast with Joyce Manor guitarist/vocalist, Barry Johnson whose new Lance Bangs-directed video for "Whatever It Was" is inspired by the "The Great British Bake-Off!," a spin-off of which Vanessa won in real life! Barry talks about growing up in Torrance, California, where his single mom was a bartender. From having childhood birthday parties at the Descendents' favorite Mexican restaurant ...

This week on the podcast Jonah tells a story that he's been holding onto for over 30 years about calling the cops on a high school party that he wasn't allowed to attend. (If you went to high school with Jonah and ended up getting grounded, he apologizes, but also get over it?) From the humiliation of being rejected from a house party by a power-hungry babysitter to the bittersweet feelings of seeing his classmates take th...

We are thrilled to be joined this week by New Found Glory guitarist, Chad Gilbert! We talk about the time Jonah saw Chad sing for Shai Hulud perform in Cleveland on Chad's very first tour in 1996 when he was only 15 years old and how he had to ask his mom for permission to go on the road with a bunch of young adults. We also discuss what it was like for Chad growing up in South Florida, what it was like representing the ha...

This week on the podcast we are joined by the chef and co-owner of No Comply Foods, Stephen Browning! We delve into the restaurant industry from comping meals to having people post photos of Stephen's food with bad music. (For good music, request the JO-NAH COMPLY playlist next time you're in the restaurant.) We also get into our shared love of skateboarding, from building boards to watching online videos of tricks that ar...

For our first ever in-person podcast, this week Jonah and Vanessa are joined by a bonafide musical and pop-culture legend: "Weird Al" Yankovic! Vanessa runs her own song parodies from college by our guest today to get his feedback, we dig deep into the history of Weird Al's favorite cereal and present him with a very special gift. Along the way we also talk about his favorite cartoons from growing up, his tour rider snack ...

Today on the pod the Bayer siblings are thrilled to welcome one of their oldest dearest friends, writer, producer and co-creator of the new Disney Plus show "Electric Bloom" Alex Fox!! They get into the magical history of Alex and Vanessa's friendship AND realize that Alex and Jonah both spent some time living in the storied Oakwoods apartments in college! Plus Jonah gets into some more gripes with Dunkin Donuts and Vaness...