The JV Club with Janet Varney

Get ready for a San Francisco-style hair-buzzing with one of the shining stars of You’re the Worst, Aya Cash, as we dash from Buddhism to dental care jewelry (yep) to the startling discovery of youth that not every citizen is a Bay Area liberal in this final episode of 2015! Happy New Year!

Direct download: JVC183_Aya_Cash.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

All-around badass journalist (and former sex/dating columnist) Jessica Ogilvie drops by, and the tangents are nothing if not feverishly robust and tendril-like. What can we say? She’s fascinating, brave, and funny… and she took her written M.A.S.H. results home to frame.

Direct download: JVC182_Jessica_Ogilvie.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:02am PDT

Not unlike making lemonade from lemons, learn how to make the best of learning to play the clarinet when your heart called out for a flute from  terrific guest Collette Wolfe (“You’re the Worst”). The woods of Virginia, a friend who tells you when your fashion’s bad, and Janet’s seeming inability to stop talking about post-Feminist Feminism also punctuate Episode 181.

 

Direct download: JVC181_Collette_Wolfe.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

The absolutely splendid Ingrid Oliver ("Doctor Who”) can breeze seamlessly from evocative quandaries about politics to the wonders of a Whopper Junior in Episode 180 of the podcast, where the Janet-New-Friend-Swoon-O-Meter (previously not actually a thing, now very much a thing) goes off the charts.

Direct download: JVC180_Ingrid_Oliver.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Heads-up! We did things a little differently this week for a podcast mashup! Carla interviews Janet about doing improv as a teaser for Carla’s new improv podcast, Improv Yak… until the proverbial tables are turned and Janet gets back to the place she feels most comfortable: asking people about their weird teen habits.

Direct download: JVC179_Carla_Cackowski.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Guys, it’s just two gals from Tucson, Arizona, talkin’ shop. A teenaged Kate Walsh (Private Practice) body-paints, yearbook staffs, and drama clubs her way through a couple of high schools, including the one Janet attended! Are these two connected by a magical Arizonan connection? Or is it a Vonnegut-esque granfalloon? Either way, they’re both in love with their new web series, Everyone’s Crazy But Us.

Direct download: JVC178_Kate_Walsh.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Throw on your band uniform and pick up that flute for a march with Mary Holland (Blunt Talk), whose people-pleasing teenage spirit went from a small bluegrassy town to the sexy seclusion of a boarding school in Episode 177, where Janet’s middling detective skills are put to the test.

Direct download: JVC177__Mary_Holland.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:51am PDT

It’s a Portland-tastic live episode from the delightful All Jane Comedy Festival in Oregon, featuring the brilliant talents of Sarah Mirk (Bitch Media), Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney), and musical guest Hutch Harris (The Thermals)!


Heads up, Akron! The simply superb Rhea Butcher arrives armed and ready for Episode 175 with a killer hairstyle, insightful thoughts on teenage sexuality and skateboarding, and a justified robust admiration of Claire Huxtable.

Direct download: JVC175_Rhea_Butcher.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Show off your grungiest snowman with Episode 174’s guest, voice actor-virtuouso and author Tara Platt, who didn’t always rise to the top of the popularity heap in her youth as a practical atheist during her family’s many ramblings. Figure out where your own safety nets lie as Tara and Janet trapeze through fear, change, stability and a good  spoonful of harissa, which may or may not be the thing we thought we were talking about. Mysteries!

Direct download: JVC174_Tara_Platt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:44am PDT

Climb into your co-ed dorm’s shower and have a good laugh/cry with the fantastic Jessica Merizan (don’t worry, she knows you think it’s “marzipan”) as she and Janet slip and slide all over about 30 different tangents at once, including mafia (the game, not the crime syndicate) and Guillermo del Toro’s wonderful monsters. And! Janet finds out what Xanga is, which until this moment she didn’t even know started with the letter “x."

 

Direct download: JVC173_Jessica_Merizan.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:02am PDT

Episode 171 brings the extraordinary you-have-to-hear-it-to-believe it story of actress and comedian Lisa Kate David, who has become a bit of an expert on dating in LA with no nipples. And that’s just part of what has been the mother of all roller coasters of a life. So pull your fresh baked bread out of the oven and huddle in!

 

Direct download: JVC172_Lisa_Kate_David.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:13am PDT

Have you said hello to your bottom teeth lately? Check in with the lovely set of Joy Osmanski (Grey’s Anatomy, The Loop) in Episode 171, where you’ll also find genetic mysteries, late night television, and the commonalities between Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ashley.

Direct download: JVC171_Joy_Osmanski.mp3
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Come see Janet this weekend at LA Podfest, www.lapodfest.com

Direct download: JVClub_fest.mp3
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With the Boys of Summer gone but not forgotten, Episode 170’s guest Kelly Carlin shares stories of adventurous ropes courses, making it alive through the high times of Los Angeles in the 70’s-80’s, and how her art/work informed her bond with her legendary father, comedian George Carlin. Plus: the endless virtues of peanut butter!

Direct download: JVC170_Kelly_Carlin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:09am PDT

Episode 169 brings us to the end of Boys of Summer, and better way to go than with the one and only Dana Gould (Full disclosure, no search was done to determine whether there are other Dana Goulds out there)? It’s an episode replete with tangents, including defining nostalgia, a Simpsons episode origin story, and two people hurtling uncomfortably forward into a conversation about body hair and sex.

Direct download: JVC169__Boys_of_Summer_-_Dana_Gould.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Fathers of the late ’80’s early ’90’s, protect your daughters! Protect them… from THE PROMINATOR. There’s more to be said about this episode with the multi talented and hilarious Christopher Sabat (Dragonball Z), but it’s really, really tough to follow something as horribly wonderful as THE PROMINATOR. So discover yourself with a listen, why don’t you?

Direct download: JVC168_Boys_of_Summer_-_Christopher_Sabat.mp3
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It’s a party of Janetors and Adventurkateers with episode 167 and Boy of Summer Hal Lublin (The Thrilling Adventure Hour). Will someone please help Hal find his lost plush Pluto doll? Or at bare minimum, make him a t-shirt like the one he describes on the podcast? These are pressing human issues.

Direct download: JVC167_Hal_Lublin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Eat your heart out, Billy Idol! Janet and Boys of Summer guest, the simply wonderful Ron Funches (Undateable) ignore hits like "Eyes Without a Face” from the semi-comfort of a dressing room at Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco. And in an unprecedented turn of events, Ron spends the entire podcast lying down. Friendship!

Direct download: JVC166_Boys_of_Summer_-_Ron_Funches.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:12am PDT

Turn that baseball cap around for Episode 165, because it’s tennis in Texas with the deeply awesome James Roday (Psych)! Peel the oniony layers of a man who knows the immense value of emotive singer/songwriters, a heaping plate of Mexican food, and a puffy vest.

Direct download: JVC165_Boys_of_Summer_-_James_Roday.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Look out! Episode 164 in the Boys of Summer series brings you Janet’s first boyfriend, the talented and possibly-too-handsome Barrett Kime, also known as the Prince Charming to her clunky, pumpkin-toothed Snow White in their first grade musical. And it was pretty much all downhill from there for the next decade, with rock-throwing, surreptitious smooching, petty jealousies and everything else that comes along with young, young, YOUNG love.

Direct download: JVC164_Boys_of_Summer_-_Barrett_Kime.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

It’s the badass creator of You’re the Worst, Stephen Falk! Episode 162 lets you straddle the disparate high school worlds of theatre, jazz band and sports, and then fall in love with the new girl in school, who naturally drives a stick-shift pick-up truck. Swoon!

Direct download: JVC163_Boys_of_Summer_-_Stephen_Falk.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Swoon over the delight that is musician Rhett Miller (Old 97’s) as Boys of Summer rocks on, with a robust list of awesome and embarrassing erstwhile band names, tales of the Lone Star state, and a tip of the hat to Seventeen magazine. No episode has ever been groovier.

Direct download: JVC162_Boys_of_Summer_-_Rhett_Miller.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Who ain’t afraid of no ghosts? Depends on which version of episode 161’s guest, Gabriel Diani (The Selling), we’re talking about. So crack open your favorite comic book (ours is Mondo Man) and throw on some oldies to get yourself in the mood for this podcast treasure.

Direct download: JVC161_Boys_of_Summer_-_Gabriel_Diani.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:50pm PDT

Enjoy Janet’s stumble through the early part of Episode 160 with the insanely funny John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory) as he does his very best to be gracious about a common misconception. Then! Stick around for a look at New York’s Hell’s Kitchen in the 80’s… or at least one city block of it. And get your straight edge on!

Direct download: JVC160_Boys_of_Summer_-_John_Ross_Bowie.mp3
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Bing Bong! It’s time for another Boys of Summer episode of The JV Club with comedian and actor Amir Talai. So! Reflect on your Mindset- are you open to failing to become better at something? Have you spit into a cup to find out your origin story? And vitally important: when was the last time you watched Man on Fire?

Direct download: JVC159_Boys_of_Summer_-_Amir_Talai.mp3
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Hey Everybody— it’s the sublime Marc Evan Jackson! The latest Boys of Summer episode will reveal some compelling and charming new things about the man you may also know as Sparks Nevada from Thrilling Adventure Hour. Addendum: you will not be asked to sign a pledge to abstain from drinking, smoking, sex, or dancing during the consumption of this episode. We are not the boss of you.

Direct download: JVC158_Boys_of_Summer_-_Marc_Evan_Jackson.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Breakdance your way through Episode 157 with one of the busiest and coolest guys around, Dante Basco (Hook, Avatar: The Last Airbender), who reminds us that family, curiosity, and the occasional all-night conversation with friends can yield rich rewards. And find out what it means to “know what you know” (then you’ll know)!

Direct download: JVC157_Boys_of_Summer_-_Dante_Basco.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

The JV Club’s Boys of Summer returns with gusto, courtesy the wonderful Colin Hanks! Sink into episode 156 where you’ll marvel at the benefits of a multi-purpose room and, perhaps most importantly, learn how to say two VERY useful phrases in everyone’s favorite dead language, Latin.

Direct download: JVC156_Boys_of_Summer_-_Colin_Hanks.mp3
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Episode 155 finds artist, writer and educator Kimberly Brooks popping over to share her boundless insights in an exploration of too many things to list… but here are a few anyway: Art! Feminism! Physics! Fearlessness! Eggs Florentine!

Direct download: JVC155_Kimberly_Brooks.mp3
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Welcome Episode 154’s hilarious guest Colleen Smith (No You Shut Up!), who patiently puts up with Janet’s attempts to force her into writing a children’s book based on her experiences as a lanky redhead in the beautiful state of Hawaii. Aloha!

Direct download: JVC154_Colleen_Smith.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

It’s Episode 153 with the endlessly awesome and prolific Felicia Day (Geek and Sundry). Learn the pros and cons of spending your high school years outside of high school proper, where you have the chance to become as weird and as wonderful as you like. And! One of the swiftest and most satisfying sets of M.A.S.H. answers you could dare to dream for!

Direct download: JVC153_Felicia_Day.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Meet the high school thespian who wasn’t afraid to tuck her giant 80’s bangs under her babushka for the most authentic Fiddler on the Roof performance in Episode 152 of The JV Club, with the inimitable Mary Birdsong (Reno 911). You’ll also find out more about the origin story of her delightful last name, celebrate unaffordable horses, and learn the surprising way Mary’s mom got her to Paris.

Direct download: JVC152_Mary_Birdsong.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Saddle up, because episode 151 with Jennifer Hale (Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo) is a whirlwind of slipping through the timestream, listening to your gut, and lessons only a horse can teach you. NOTE! Regardless of your age, you will want to be Jennifer Hale when you grow up.

Direct download: JVC151_Jennifer_Hale.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

It’s the 150th Episode of The JV Club, and how better to celebrate than with one JV chit-chatting with another JV (the simply fantastic Jean Villepique)? With stories from a tall girl with big dreams from a small town in New Jersey, it’s an episode Bruce Springsteen could (and should!) write a song about.

Direct download: JVC150_Jean_Villepique.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

There’s just something about people from New Mexico that makes them special. That’s certainly true of Episode 149’s guest, the huge-hearted Natalie Garcia (MaeDay Rescue), who is a veritable renaissance woman with a love of vintage attire, singing music, and saving pups.

Direct download: JVC148_Natalie_Garcia.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Get a jump on space travel with the extraordinary Zelda Williams (Legend of Korra) and her incredibly awesome voice. Tales of private school, voice acting, and the puzzles of social media lead up to one of Janet’s worst MASH categories ever, which Zelda navigates like a champ.

Direct download: JVC148_Zelda_Williams.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Episode 147 welcomes Alison Haislip (Attack of the Show) for a deep dive into some pretty important issues. Of course we’re talking about hair color, psychics, and dessert for breakfast. Kick the soccer ball of conversation around with us for an hour, won’t you?

Direct download: JVC147_Alison_Haislip.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:37am PDT

I’ll just say it: Episode 146 is one of the most inspiring to date. Way to go, Erin Fitzgerald (Chie from Persona 4)! From the far reaches of Ottawa, Ontario through the lovely Victoria, British Columbia, Los Angeles has the good fortune to be called home by this shining star, who knows a good chocolate croissant when she tastes one.

Direct download: JVC146_Erin_Fitzgerald.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Get naked (just remember to tape up!) with the wickedly funny Paula Marshall (Californication) in this episode covering all the basics: Sex, Politics, Religion, and, of course, Ghosts.

Direct download: JVC145_Paula_Marshall.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Are you an alligator or a turtle? Do some Animal work (and find out what that even means) with the sparkling Molly Quinn (Castle) in episode 144 of The JV Club, which also includes discussion of some other A-words: Adulthood, Affection, and Amaretto sours.

Direct download: JVC144_Molly_Quinn.mp3
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This week’s guest — comedian Janine Brito — comes to you direct from Los Angeles via New York via San Francisco via Alabama with a bunch of other exotic locales in between. Along the way: Icelandic grandmothers, British schools, SNL obsessions and a couple of pretty remarkable early-life curveballs.

Direct download: JVC143_Janine_Brito.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Episode 142 welcomes “Skepchick” Rebecca Watson, who reminds us that every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven. And speaking of heaven, turns out there may not be one. A look at atheism and secular humanism with a sprinkling of Christianity is supplemented with plenty of R.E.M. and the scientific discovery that humans have two different stomachs! You heard it here first!

Direct download: JVC142_Rebecca_Watson.mp3
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It’s comedian Cameron Esposito (Put Your Hands Together) and SHE! IS! GREAT! There’s nothing like a story about a medical semi-crisis in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language to get the old podcast blood flowing. But it doesn’t stop there… because who doesn’t love talking to their parents about sex? NOTE: the prior two references are NOT RELATED.

Direct download: JVC141_Cameron_Esposito.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Things get groovy with the luminous Seychelle Gabriel (The Legend of Korra) with rhapsodic waxing on the brilliant Jimi Hendrix, song-and-dance numbers featuring high school teens and Toto classics, and Korra fans, don’t worry… some chatting about Korrasami.

Direct download: JVC140_Seychelle_Gabriel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Janet falls into the lull of the hypnotic Amber Benson (The Witches of Echo Park) yet somehow also manages to talk faster than she maybe ever has. This may be an episode where even more conversations are begun and never finished than usual, and that’s really saying a lot. AND, you have the chance to win a signed book from Amber! Now go win it!

Direct download: JVC139_Amber_Benson.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

This is an episode that can only be described as second to nun. [insert 100 groans here] But really! It’s the amazing and wonderful Maureen Johnson (The Name of the Star) and talk of metaphorical time traveling via one strict Catholic high school (shhhh… don’t tell anyone she was a Protestant!). Advisory: This episode may be habit-forming. “Habit" forming. Get it? Nuns? Habits? [slams door in own face]

Direct download: JVC138_Maureen_Johnson.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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