Photo Courtesy Nick Semrad
Last night Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, better known collectively as the hosts of the “Stuff You Should Know” podcast, stopped at Turner Hall for the Milwaukee leg of their tour. The pair came out each with a drink in hand, since, as Josh said “if you go out on stage without one stiff drink in you, you’re a fool.”
They started out with a comedy routine praising Wisconsin for all our contributions to the world and culture, even if some weren’t actually from Wisconsin. They praised Lakefront beer and Spotted Cow, and (of course) our wide varieties of sausages. This was all before even beginning the podcast.
Eventually they sat down and started doing what the audience came for, explaining things that we should know. Last night’s topic was public relations. They went over the career of the originator of public relations, Edward Bernays, and the influence he has had on society, for better or worse.
According to Bryant and Clark, Bernays was involved in everything from staging a fake grass roots protest that was just a front to sell lucky strike cigarettes, all the way to overthrowing the Guatemalan government to help Chiquita sell more bananas (yes, you read that right, look it up).
The podcast portion of the performance wrapped up with famous PR horror stories from companies like U.S. Airways and Domino's Pizza.
The show ended with a Q&A session that allowed fans to learn more about Clark and Bryant. One fan took the opportunity to get on stage and propose to his girlfriend of two years, and of course, she said yes.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Photo by Nick Semrad
Performances like this demonstrate the growing popularity of the podcast genre and provide another profit generating avenue for performers, who would commonly have to rely on the very people Clark and Bryant were throwing shots at all night to make a living.
You can listen to Stuff You Should Know for free through the iPhone podcast app or here.
