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Tom Rhodes Smart Camp — Comedy
Tom Rhodes Smart Camp

About Smart Camp podcast
Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books, and adventures. I have been a comedian for more than 40 years, traveling the world to perform comedy. Whenever I can, I will share my adventures with you on this podcast. Together with my creative partner and best friend, Ashna, we ‘re offering a blend of wisdom, humor, and heart.

Tom
I have been a comedian for more than 40 years. I travel the world, performing comedy. Exploring diverse cultures and connecting with people from all walks of life while doing comedy is at the heart of my journey. Whenever I can, I’ll share my adventures and a global perspective with you on this podcast.

Ashna
Ashna, Dutch artist, photographer, and my ex-wife, is my best friend and she’s an essential part of the Rhodesies production team. We’ve traveled the world together for 8 years. With her background in cognitive psychology and her passion for philosophy and the arts, Ashna shares her unique European perspective.

Copyright: © 2011 Tom Rhodes

Latest Episodes:

241 MeToo Oct 25, 2017

Show notes

Yes, #metoo. We both. Hear our stories and how it affected and changed us forever. Massage requests, butt squeezes, shame, blame, enablers & abusers. We go right into the Weinstein affaire and Tom's own #metoo story. How it affected him and changed his life perspective forever. Ashna explains how her experiences changed her career path. Our book this week is "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It by Mae West.

We recorded this episode deep in the AM, right after we landed from Las Vegas and right before Tom had to go to the airport for his Tokyo flight. Thank you for supporting us!

Become our patron and receive podcast goodies!

www.patreon.com/tomrhodesradiosmartcamp

240 Las Vegas Strong with Brad Garrett Oct 18, 2017

Show notes

I'm back in Las Vegas right after the worst mass shooting in US history.

I sit down with Brad Garrett, the man who taught me to love Vegas and we talk about how this city responded, bounced back and showed the best that humanity has to offer. We also talk about our bully megalomaniac president Trump and how his supporters are too think skinned to tolerate jokes about him. Northern California wildfires, Harvey Weinstein and everything that is happening in the world now. I have infinite respect for Brad as a performer and as a human being, he has treated me like a king since I first started working for him and he has made me love Las Vegas, a city I once had no desire to work in. These are tough times for America, Las Vegas and the world but Brad easily reminds me that making jokes and helping people forget their problems is the magic power all jokeslingers possess. That is why it is my pleasure to present to you now the one and only Brad Garrett! #VegasStrong

239 Fantasyland Oct 04, 2017

Show notes

This episode was recorded in room #4 at the Mill Valley Inn. All important information about America's past and future are answered under the canopy of the ancient redwood trees. Ashna and I talk about the Kurt Anderson book 'Fantasyland" about how America went haywire. We also talk about the Ken Burns documentary "The Vietnam War. Our yearly trip to Northern California is in full swing now and we talk about what is great and irritating about Arcata, California. What trimmigrants are and the old theaters were where Charlie Chaplin and Robin Williams performed. We talk bookstores and classy women's fashions only won indoors by veterans. Pop a wheelie and ride it half way down Elm street! Hooray for humanity!

238 Status Anxiety Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

This episode is a roller coaster of emotions for me because I just received bad news an hour before recording that I am still processing. Not every podcast episode can be happy and cheerful but thankfully, Ashna pulls me back from the brink and helps me to see the bright side of life. It all comes down to status anxiety and that is what we discuss at length in this episode from every angle. We also talk about Allan du Botton, the entertainment juggernaut that is Netflix, the poet Pablo Neruda, my favorite Italian movies and the Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam war. The number one enemy of happiness is envy. Curb your desires now and enjoy the brains and hearts of the Tom and Ashna show! Shalom amigos y amigas!

237 Steve Hughes Sep 13, 2017

Show notes

Steve Hughes is a comedy legend. He has sliced and diced up some of the best stages that the world comedy circuit has to offer. I've worked with Steve many times, I was even working with him on the night that I met Ashna.

Several years ago he had a meltdown that led to him moving back home to Australia. Finally after much worry I got to come back to Sydney and see him. He is as feisty as ever even if he has turned to the right on some issues. Steve is one of my all time favorite comedians and someone I always enjoy shooting the shit with. After not seeing him for four years I am happy to have this conversation with him to catch up, find out how his meltdown happened and how he has recovered from it to be back up and telling it like it is on the comedy stage. There is no one else like him and that is why it is my pleasure to present to you now the one and only Steve Hughes!

236 Mickey D Sep 06, 2017

Show notes

Mickey D is the only comedian I know of who has climbed Mount Everest.

I met Mickey while doing the Edinburgh festival several years ago and he personifies everything that I love about Australians. He is brash, ballsy, and good humored about even life's toughest circumstances. I sat down with him while I was in Sydney to delight the world with his perspective on life and capture his unconquerable Australian spirit. He is a comedian and a human being that I love and did I mention that he climbed Mount Everest? He is a unique comedy powerhouse and that is why it is my pleasure to present to you now the one and only Mickey D!

235 Wil Anderson Aug 29, 2017

Show notes

Hello from the other side of the planet!

This episode of Smart Camp comes to you from Sydney where I talk with charming Australian comedy superstar Wil Anderson. I first met Wil at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2000. Since then we have worked with each other in London, New York, Montreal and Los Angeles. His effervescent charm and comedic intelligence always delights me when we get to spend time together and this episode is packed with important knowledge that should be living in your brain. Wil and I discuss the championship boxing match of the century, when Jack Johnson became the first black heavy weight champion of the world in Sydney in 1908. You will learn where the term "Great White Hope" comes from and the aftermath of Jim Jeffries getting his ass beat in Reno. (Not the comedian Jim Jeffries). You will learn why there is no pride in genocide and the proper way to arrange statues in Sydney. Why are all Australians made of money and what did the Aboriginal people say when the first white English people to arrive asked them what they called kangaroos. Why should Australia Day be called Invasion Day? Learn why the Melbourne Demons should embrace full evil. Learn a brief history of Ben Cousins and why Ned Kelly's last words are tattooed to his stomach. Wil teaches me how he uses advertising and marketing as a sense to look at the world on his show "Gruen" that has been running for ten years on Australian television. Learn how by using your data companies know more about you than you do. Let us help you see that advertising is emotional pollution and how to remain happy in the modern world. What memorable clash did Wil have with Heath Ledger and what are Mick Jagger's best one liners? Embrace how charitable acts always come back to you and how owning your choices in life is the path to contentment. I know so many beautiful lunatics in the comedy world and it is a joy to be back in Australia and get to gab it up with the one and only Wil Anderson!

234 Playboy Laughs with Patty Farmer Aug 23, 2017

Show notes

Patty Farmer is an entertainment historian who has authored the new book 'Playboy Laughs' chronicling the history involving Playboy magazine and stand up comedy.

The recently deceased Dick Gregory got his big break performing at the Playboy club in Chicago and used to have to take the bus to get there because he was so broke when he started. For all the criticism that has fallen on Hugh Hefner for being sexist he doesn't get enough credit for breaking the color barrier in terms of hiring performers at his clubs and models for his magazine at a time when the United States was racially segregated. In this episode we talk about my own personal history with Playboy magazine and how the Playboy interviews were a very important part of my entertainment apprenticeship. We discuss the rise of George Carlin and Lenny Bruce who performed at the Playboy clubs and which entertainer who couldn't keep his hands to himself. This important period in American entertainment history and the history of American censorship is but a distant memory for those who remember and this is a conversation I was happy to capture for the Smart Camp audience. So put on your bunny ears and you fluffy slippers and find out why the Playboy empire was a crucial component in the history of American comedy. It is my pleasure to present to you now the one and only Patty Farmer!

233 War & Peace Aug 16, 2017

Show notes

Ashna and I are fresh back from Europe (Paris, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Norway) and we are full of stories to share! This episode is all about war & peace. We talk about our visit to the Nobel Prize center in Oslo. Who decides who gets awarded? What is the link between dynamite and the prize? And learn why Alfred Nobel was a very peculiar man and the extraordinary mistake that changed his life and created the Nobel Prize.

Why should you definitely NOT go to the Edvard Munch museum in Oslo to see The Scream. Why should the USA reconsider their fear of paying taxes? What the consequences are of my Instagram obsession. What brilliant strategy did Ashna use to bring peace in her family and what Tom could learn from that to bring peace to his.

What stories in Ireland from Irish folklore should never include the truth? Where did the term "Lynch mob" come from? Where did the expression "Wouldn't give you the time of day" come from? Why should you never let the truth get in the way of a really good story?

All of these questions and many others will be answered as well as travel tips from my 5 week tour of Europe and general knowledge nuggets that will enrich your life with wisdom and laughter. Dig in and get happy now! Shalom amigos y amigas!

232 Rembrandt with Nina Siegal Jul 17, 2017

Show notes

I kick off this visit to Amsterdam by celebrating my obsession with the artist Rembrandt! In this episode I talk with noted Rembrandt author Nina Siegal about all things Rembrandt. Why did Rembrandt paint so many self portraits? Why did he own so many turtle shells? What were the poor choices he made that led to his downfall? Why did he fall out of favor with the religious society of Amsterdam? Why was Rembrandts body dug up and where is he buried now? You will learn many details about the fascinating life of one of art history's greatest masters. Nina Siegal wrote the best selling book 'The Anatomy Lesson' about the Rembrandt painting 'The Anatomy Lesson Of Dr. Nicholaes Tulp' and aside from being very knowledgable about the life of Rembrandt she is also an expert on the Jewish history of Amsterdam. As a bonus you will learn why true Amsterdammers when they say goodbye, they say "Mazzel" and why the soccer team of Amsterdam "Ajax" get anti-Semitic slurs when they play around Europe. This episode is full of Smart Camp Knowledge Nuggets and that is why it is my pleasure to present to you now the one and only Nina Siegal!

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