Tom Barnard Podcast

The Fairness Doctrine was done away with in the 80s, and we continue to feel the sting. Or at least, we assume we do. It's possible the news would suck just as bad with it as without. You know what else sucks? Having to change our clocks twice a year. Apparently we're this close to that being federally struck, although states still have the option to be jackasses about it. Here's hoping Minnesota won't. (They will.)

Canada is on fire yet again, and pouring smoke into America. What can I say. It's their national pastime. America's national pastime, on the other hand, is remaking movies over and over. The latest remake is The Odyssey, which has been mired in controversy since it was announced. But is it good? Tim and Mike saw it. You'll have to ask them.

Today's show is all about animals. We've got dogs and cats in studio. We've got footage of an elephant. We talk about The Littlest Hobo, assuming any of you know what that is. We also talk about a man who breached the Today Show building and freaked out for a while. He's not an animal, but it was worth mentioning nonetheless.

Tony was born with poor vision and lost what remained by 15. He is now the assistant vice president of communications at the America Foundation for the Blind, a producer and voice talent for the new documentary Possibilities, and an expert on the life of Helen Keller. He also sails. Like, on an actual boat. If you want to figure out how he manages that, you'll just have to listen to this episode.

Did you know that ventriloquism goes back 3000 years? For a given definition of "ventriloquism", that is. For a more modern one, you're looking at the 1700s. You know what else happened in the 1700s? The year 1776. That's right - America and ventriloquism were born out of the same cultural zeitgeist, which is why Americans are still at it today.You can learn more about April's book (250 Years of American Ventriloquism) or April herself at http://aprilbrucker.tv/!This guest was booked using PodMatch! Interested in being a guest on the show? Reach out to us at https://www.podmatch.com/member/tombarnardpodcast.

It's Twitter's 20th birthday. It goes by X now, because it's going through an identity crisis as it reaches adulthood, but we'll always remember it as Twitter. We'll also always remember when WB was a juggernaut of the entertainment industry, rather than the bargaining chip it is today. How you mess up DC and Bugs Bunny, we'll never know.

Ethan got his first stitches today. Alex has gotten stitches ten times. Not ten stitches - ten different times getting stitches. One of us has also had the cops called on us because some busybody thinks we're abusing our spouse. Don't worry, it was just a minor rock throwing incident.Also, Andy was on a podcast! It's called Phantom Electric Ghost, and you can find his appearance here: https://found.ee/tCNvi7

Robert DeNiro is worth over 500 million dollars. That's a lot of money, but it's child's play compared to some of the higher paid athletes. They're making $700,000,000 across a single contract sometimes. They're also winning, so I guess that's what it takes these days. Hint hint.

Sam Neill and Josh Grisetti both died within the past few days. Jack Nicholson is 89, but he remains alive. Barry Manilow is a sprightly 83. Why did we bring those two up? To be honest, I don't remember.

You've probably heard your fair share of bad news. War, famine, that sort of thing. All the horsemen are involved. But it's easy to become desensitized to run of the mill apocalyptic visions. Today we've got some stuff that'll really make you say "why are you telling me this". Don't worry, we pepper in some positive stuff too. We're not doomers.Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/10/july-10th-2026/

They're taking fictional characters and making them real, like with Moana. They're also taking real actors and making them into fictional AI versions, like James Earl Jones. It's a madhouse. A madhouse! At least we can remain secure in our knowledge that they will never stop making Evil Dead movies, ever.Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/10/july-10th-2026/

Netflix is reporting massive drop-offs on season 2 of its shows. Why? Is it the gap between seasons? The binge watching making content more forgettable? Where have all the viewers gone, and where are all the fans? Where's the die-hard group of friends who always makes watch plans? Oh yeah, speaking of which, Bonnie Tyler died.Episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/10/july-10th-2026/

In part one of today's show, we talked about shows that brand themselves as "dark humor" to position themselves more favorably. In part two, we talked to someone who wrote a book of actual dark humor about his time in the military. Now, in part three, we're talking to someone who became a stand-up comedian as a way to channel his anxiety and bipolar disorder into - you guessed it - dark humor. I didn't set the whole day up this way. It just kind of happened. Maybe the universe is telling us something.You can find Dave's books at https://davemowry.com.This guest was booked using PodMatch! Interested in being a guest on the show? Reach out to us at https://www.podmatch.com/member/tombarnardpodcast.Episode discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/08/july-8th-2026/

Jason is a Wisconsinite and Iraq War veteran. He was blown up by an IED, thrust back into civilian life without a clue how to navigate it, and has gone through years of therapy. And now he's written a book where he jokes about it all. Ha ha, right? It's raw, it's honest, and it brings us back to that "dark humor" topic we were just talking about in the previous segment.You can find his book (and author bio) here: https://www.amazon.com/Waves-Shrapnel-Jason-Thomas-Rumbaugh/dp/B0GS282MSCEpisode discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/08/july-8th-2026/

The Emmy nominations are out. Given how Taylor Sheridan's shows make up 90% of all network programming at the moment, you'd think he'd at least have gotten one of them. Nope. Maybe people are getting tired of very similar shows about life on a ranch. They're also tired of Stranger Things, mostly because the last season was apparently not great. But you know what we'll never get tired of? Noticing how men in the mid 20th century always looked 30 years older than their age.Episode discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/08/july-8th-2026/

Frequent listeners may have learned that Jude has mental problems. Namely, attachment issues. Not that being a lunatic is unusual for a dog. It's part of what makes life interesting. You know what else makes life interesting? Buttery flavored crusts. Sorry, I mean buttery crispy crusts. Sorry, I mean...what was the line again?Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/july-6th-2026/

The Twins are doing okay. But it's still early. You don't need cataract surgery to see a pattern in recent years: we start out strong, then we tank. Will this year be different? Statistically, it will not. But you never know.Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/july-6th-2026/

Everyone on the show is always watching things. Everyone except one person. Well that all changes today. Naturally, he's breaking his streak of not watching things by watching slightly stale rom coms starring Miranda Cosgrove. Also Hoppers. That's relatively new, right?Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/06/july-6th-2026/

Divorce is all the rage these days, but not in our studio. At least, not yet. You never know what the future might hold. That's true about comedy itself, too. 20 years ago, social media had virtually no impact on a comedian's success. Now it's what makes or breaks you.Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/03/july-3rd-2026/

So far this year, the big movies have all been for kids. Mario. Toy Story. Now Minions & Monsters. So what of Supergirl? We don't talk about Supergirl. Metaphorically, I mean. We literally did talk about Supergirl.Official episode discussion: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/03/july-3rd-2026/

Tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of America, which is a pretty big deal. It's no 200, but not all of us got to experience that one. Here's to 300, right? And speaking of things that are sure to last 300 years, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married today. If you want, you can sit there and watch a live stream of their guests arriving. Exciting stuff. Not as exciting as eating 70ish hot dogs in ten minutes though. Oh, sorry, did I say exciting? I meant disgusting.And yes, "overmorrow" is a word. It means "the day after tomorrow". Neat, huh?Official discussion link: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/03/july-3rd-2026/

Steve used to be a wildlife biologist. He has a PhD in it, in fact. But a few years ago, he felt the need for a change. So he took the retirement buyout, got remarried, and moved to Germany. Personally, I think that's a bit too much change all at once, but it's been working out for him, so who am I to judge?Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/06/30/july-1st-2026/

Homeschooling is tough. It's a lot of time, energy, and sometimes money. But with certain kids it just makes sense. Linsey has been homeschooling since 2004, so she knows a thing or two about how to make it work. If you're interested in homeschooling, or just want to listen to us talk about how the school system has changed over the years, this episode is for you. You can check out her book at https://www.homeschoolhacksbook.com/.Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/06/30/july-1st-2026/This guest was booked using PodMatch! Interested in being a guest on the show? Reach out to us at https://www.podmatch.com/member/tombarnardpodcast.

Actually, it's not really the heights I'm afraid of so much as the falling. But you can't have one without the other. And speaking of falling, Supergirl has not been doing well. Probably because people only have room for one superhero movie at a time at the moment. Just like how they have room for zero national news outlets. We'll see if the NBCUniversal split fixes that. I'm guessing it will not.Official discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/06/30/july-1st-2026/

Brad was a CEO and attorney for almost twenty years. Lucrative, yes, but not creatively fulfilling. That's why he wrote Recoil of Justice, a book about a lawyer turned possible vigilante. It's not a an autobiography, I promise.Check it out at https://bradeldernovels.com/

The Buffalo Rodeo (that's a rodeo in Buffalo, MN, not a rodeo consisting entirely of buffalo) came and went. Bob gives the scoop on how it went. He also wishcasts Minnesota teams winning titles. We'll see how that pans out.

Minions. They're still a thing. Just ask anyone under the age of 8. It can't be all young children though - it's projected to make over $70 million in its three day opening. Will it beat Supergirl? Only time will tell. But my sources tell me that time says "yes".

Despite being a very early episode, this was actually Dr. Rose's second appearance on the show. There are a lot of Dr. Roses. This one in particular is the author of Rewiring Your Brain.

Rudy would come back several times, but this was his earliest appearance in late 2012.

This was Lou's first appearance in 2012, and his only one until he was on the Tom Barnard Morning Show around ten years later.

Frank and Mark joined us in November 2012 for this episode.

This is when Dave Mordal came to our studio in November of 2012.

The first appearance of Tim Slagle on our show. He would be back many times.

This would have been recorded on or near Halloween 2012.

Mike Evans is best known as a celebrity journalist who was with KQ for many years. He's second best known for something about a birth certificate. It's all a little fuzzy.

This was Paula's second appearance on the show.

Originally recorded in 2012.

Sean Hampton was arrested for impersonating a police officer. That's not what he's famous for, but it is the first thing we bring up. Don't worry, it was all a big misunderstanding. Today he's most well known for being the producer of the Matt Walsh show from 2019 to 2025, a success we attribute to him coming on our show and learning about the glory of podcasting.If you're wondering where lost episode #54 is, I'm keeping that one in the vault because it's really bad.

Clabe Taylor is the author of TexMex, a book about how useless the government is at fighting Mexican cartels. It was written in 2012, but it could have been written today. Or in 2002. Or in 1992. You get the picture.

Laura Ortiz was a regular on Holliston, where her name was also Laura. Despite sounding like she's 11, we have it on good authority that she was not.

Originally aired sometime in 2012

Jimmy Francis's wife, Juliet, is raising money to fight Alzheimer's through My BOB Country. Dan, Alex's husband, is doing a bike ride for Alzheimer's. And of course, Tom is fighting it directly by zapping it out of his brain, or whatever. Details are still a bit fuzzy on what exactly he does. But the point is, humanity is uniting in the battle against Alzheimer's. Could a cure be on the horizon?

Toy Story 5 is set to be the latest billion dollar hit. And why shouldn't it? It's a beloved franchise, and they're returning to their roots of making poignant observations via talking toys. Maternal Instinct, on the other hand, is twisted in every way a documentary can be. We recommend taking the kids to see the former.

It was supposed to be last weekend. Then it was supposed to be this weekend. Now it's the weekend of the 4th? We're starting to wonder if this wedding is happening at all. Not that we're that starved for entertainment. We've got plenty of clips of people experiencing America for the first time thanks to the World Cup.

Nick's in the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Maybe he'd have had more warning if he had used the new (as of roughly 1990) Super Doppler Radar. You may be thinking "how could doppler radar possibly predict appendicitis?", and you'd be right to do so. But this is Super Doppler. It can do anything. Probably.

Constance's son Miles had brain surgery at just six years old. That's tough. Lots of emotions involved. Kids always feel emotions, but they rarely fully understand them, which can lead to strange behavior and difficulty as a parent. Enter color theory, which helps kids communicate how they feel using colors rather than specific language. Are you feeling turquoise today? If so, visit https://www.colorfulcapesoffeelings.com/. By the way, turquoise is the color I've assigned to curiosity.

Why do so many people die at 99? Aside from because 99 is very, very old, I mean. And speaking of things that are old, Toy Story 5 will be the most recent entry in an over 30 year series. Will this one be good? We sure hope so.

Jack and Tom both spent years in Minnesota radio. They drifted apart over the years, and now they're back in the same room once more. The result? Decades of stories.

It's back to the 70s day: WKRP is in the news and videoconferencing is impossible. We do mention a Jumbotron, which didn't exist until the 80s, so that's a bit of an anachronism.

Kristyn's got her eyes on a budget-friendly $6000 projector, and the family's getting served sushi by robots. Will the luxuries never cease? Yes, actually: after we went to a Twins game, we have no money. Spent it all on bottled water and parking.