If you’ve listened to all of the previous episodes of The Popdose Podcast — hell, even if you’ve only listened to three minutes of any given episode — you’ve likely thought the following at some point: “Man, these guys are assholes.” Well, we’re not necessarily taking that as an insult (even though we know you meant it as one). Some people actually strive to be assholes. Do we? We’re not saying, but we’ll tell you this: we do not intend to be douchebags. What’s the difference? So glad you asked!

See, on today’s podcast, we’re talking about assholes. We’re talking about how one becomes an asshole, what qualities make them an asshole, and what famous assholes we can look to for inspiration, guidance, and perhaps even warning. That’s why we’ve gone with the brilliant title of The Popdose Podcast, Episode 7: Assholes. And don’t worry, we’re not the only assholes on today’s show; no, today we’ve invited a Special Guest Asshole to join us — someone who’s an expert on the subject. Click, download, listen away, and for the love of assholes everywhere, please leave us a review on iTunes!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 7: A**holes (1:04:39, 74.0 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton, with special guest Chris Illuminati, co-author of Assholeology: The Science Behind Getting Your Way – and Getting Away With It.
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Show Notes

0:00 No time to waste, assholes! We jump right into our topic, starting with Jeff recounting a story of when he was an asshole to one of his brothers. It involves a turkey.

3:53 Jason shares his history of mouthing off to cops, and which family member he gets his assholish tendencies from.

9:03 It’s time for everyone’s favorite new game, Rock & Roll Assholes! We’re not going to spoil the show by revealing all the people we discuss, but we’ll tease you with a few: Daryl Hall, Murry Wilson, Don Henley, and Lou Reed. Also, Jeff names one specific artist that we’re almost positive has never been called an asshole before — ever.

30:29 Special Guest Chris Illuminati jumps onto the podcast, but unfortunately can’t get a word in edgewise before the three of us start in with the mother jokes. He tells us all about the origin of his awesome new book, and how he came to join the other two authors. He also illustrates the distinct differences between an asshole and a douchebag, and even breaks down the a-hole/d-bag demographics for the fine state of New Jersey. We test his knowledge on the previously-mentioned Rock & Role Assholes and others, and ask him to weigh in on specific asshole-ish scenarios. Chris Illuminati is clearly an expert in this field, and we’d like to thank him for joining us, and also give a big thanks to Don Povia at Hugging Harold Reynolds and the Blogs With Balls podcast — Don came in at the very last minute and made our chat with Chris technologically possible. You rock, Don!

EnDOSEments

52:46 Jeff endorses the Snowball USB Microphone from Blue Microphones, which he used for the first time during this podcast — with great results.

55:09 Dave endorses the medium of podcasting in general — go out and find some new shows to listen to! He specifically mentions The Sporkful as a new podcast he’s currently enjoying.

58:51 Jason endorses Super Mario Bros. Wii. It’s awesome and that is all you need to know. (Apologies for the digression into his triathlon training, but Dave started it.)

Wrappin’ It Up

1:01:15 Thanks again to Chris Illuminati for being such an awesome guest — go buy his book! Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes, and to visit our Facebook fan page as well as the Popdose Twitter feed. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in April!