John Branyan's Comedy Sojourn Podcast

We're trying to cut down on the microphone clunking, Neighbor. Let us know how that's going. Also, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Comedian's house! Unfortunately, we can't think of very many good words to describe it… So let's get down to business talking about whether Christians should be jerks! Nobody actually thinks being a jerk is a good thing. But, sometimes, comedians say things they don't mean, to help make a point. The Peaches isn't convinced that John made his point very well this time. But, luckily, she was there to help prompt a better dialog in the comment section! (You can follow John Branyan on Facebook, and read the post in question for yourself.) Next, someone on Telegram thanked us for talking about women's sins and pointing out examples of Feminism taking over the church. He said there aren't any other people (to his knowledge) that are covering this topic as solidly as we do. SO, we've got another example for your consideration today. Do Christians tend to take

Hey, Neighbor! The Podcast Ninja (Luke) shot a deer. Silas wants a quesadilla. And we've been decorating for Christmas... After all of that, we get busy talking about WHATEVER WE WANT, because we can draw connections with any two ideas if we think about it long enough! (Send us your suggestions for two seemingly-unrelated topics. We will tell you how to make them connect. It'll be fun.) There’s a meme that sometimes makes the rounds saying, “People will provoke you until they bring out your ugly side—and then play the victim because you went there!”   John says it’s never appropriate to display your “ugly side”—especially if you’re going to blame others for your behavior. That’s what prisoners with criminal mindsets do. Before we share a quote like this one, we should ask ourselves if we still agree with the sentiment when it gets spoken by someone we don't like... Sidenote: if you can't see things from another person's perspective, you won't be able to make comedy. You need to know what people think th

Welcome to the kitchen table, Neighbor Pkarlgh! The ladies in our family get together once a week for "Just Because I Love You Day," and this time John is crashing the hen party. So, we're recording two podcasts at the same time. On the mics: John, Peaches (Amanda), Megan, and Tabby. (You can find the Four Sisters' podcast, Just Because I Love You, by clicking this link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4JRPgFcJV1xmZKO7MXhd1C ) There are twice the number of children usually in the background, so please bear with their happy chatter. On the mics: John, Peaches (Amanda), Megan, and Tabby. First of all, John's feet smell terrible and Megan had to intervene. Next, we read an email from a Pkarlgh who wants to know if we've ever caused bridges to be burned in our own family by being too blunt. JUST KIDDING! First John interrupts with a different email about how awesome our podcast is. Okay, THEN we read the letter asking how we navigate those tricky/sticky subjects when we're interacting with close

We have a HOUSEGUEST at the table today! We're chatting with Joel Berry, managing editor of the Babylon Bee, and John is proud to be one of Joel's very first friends. Joel knows a thing or two about being funny in a culture that finds everything offensive. Join us as we discuss what it takes to run a successful satire website, while still maintaining a clear conscience before God. In this episode: --Huckabee's GORGEOUS greenroom --How Joel landed his dream job --Comedians and childhood trauma --Saturday Night Live's Abortion Clown --Self-Deprecation --Mocking Bad Ideas rather than People --Crossing the line "If we reach the point where Christians take back this culture for Jesus and the Church is back on top, we'll be back to writing all our jokes about the Church again." --Joel Berry Please check out the Babylon Bee's Guide to Wokeness on Amazon.

Hey, Neighbor! Sorry for the technical glitch in the intro. No idea what's going on there. John just came back from St. Louis, where he was hanging out with Tim Hawkins' family. They recorded a podcast which will get published next week and involves important conversation about grapes. NO SPOILERS! You'll just have to listen when it's available. Also: tune in Wednesday, because we've got a HOUSEGUEST in the form of the Babylon Bee's managing editor, Joel Berry. And now the moment you've all been waiting for... Introducing PKARGHLINA! (Pronounced: Carlina) Anytime we want to share a true story of a woman doing something foolish, we call that woman "Pkarghlina." Sometimes she has babies with five different men. Sometimes she calls herself Mama Bear and wastes the time of the police. It doesn't matter what Pkarghlina's real name is. What matters is the behavior that should be avoided. We're writing modern day morality tales over here, Neighbor! Don't be a fox...or a Pkarghlina. Finally, we

Hi, neighbor! If you're listening, we call you "Pkarlgh." It's another challenging day in Homeschool Land. Shockingly, when you set out to educate your children, it's not all smiling faces and photo ops. Lots of people think they can solve this problem by throwing another trillion dollars at the public school system--to reward the "good teachers" who are trying to get 8-year-olds to stop writing more wrong answers before you've finished erasing the first one… John thinks there are actually people in the world who WANT to educate their own kids, but the Peaches thinks the word "want" isn't quite accurate. Nobody WANTS to kill their flesh daily. Only self-sacrificial love will motivate someone to keep marching down the Parenting Path, on really hard days like today. Cami is making banana pancakes in the background, so please allow for a few important recipe-related interruptions. Next, apparently some people think we need to water the deserts until they become forests… Also, someone asks John

We're here at the kitchen table with a neighborhood celebrity--our FLF brother--Adam "AD" Robles. To kick off, we joke about not knowing what we're supposed to be talking about. Except, it's not really a joke, and we literally don't know what we're talking about… Eventually, we find our rhythm and dissect the way "Evangelical" leadership has failed to defend itself against Cancel Culture. (Hello, Josh McDowell!) But maybe the falling away of cowardly pastors is a blessing in disguise?… In this episode, we cover: -AD's massive network of executive staff -Why John's podcast is boring -How Josh McDowell cancelled HIMSELF -Should Christians be FEARED in the culture? -Should parents be FEARED by their children? -Feminism permeates the culture, including churches -How Evangelicals regularly misjudge the cultural moment -Plus, Pkarlgh (our listener) gets a suave new Spanish nickname! "If Josh McDowell could not stand up to the woke Everything-Is-Racist mob, then maybe it's time for him to step aside. The la

Welcome to the Comedian's house, Neighbor Pkarlgh! If you don't want to spend a long time shooting the breeze about Japanese food, we apologize in advance. .... John published a post about "Peacemaking" this week, and the Peaches wasn't impressed with his delivery. It was a bit rambly and unorganized. Buuuuut, there were some strong points. Here's the private message John received: "I do have to ask, have you become a Facebook troll? Hahaha! It's funny. But you seem to donate your opinions, many of which I also agree. But they are unsolicited. As I am tempted to throw my two-cents into a Facebook thread, I am also reminded that 'blessed are the peacemakers.' Are you helping to keep the peace?" This is a perfectly reasonable question! But, sometimes comedians aren't very nuanced when they have a point to make. There are two issues with this private message. #1. Private messages are like dragging someone out of the townsquare into a dark alley, where there are no witnesses, so you can confront them. #2. The def

Welcome to our house, Neighbor! We're not over-exaggerating when we say John and the Peaches aren't seeing completely eye-to-eye on this episode. Be prepared for a little bickering... A listener weighs in on a recent episode. Do teachers WANT their students to be as offended as possible? The Peaches disagrees with both John and the Neighbor who sent us this email. Many, many, many Tik-Tok, Instagram influencers claim they were raised by parents who didn't LOVE them enough, and it caused them to have low self-esteem. (Their parents were selfish.) So, they think the solution is to LOVE THEMSELVES in ways their parents never did. In other words: they want to become as self-focused and self-absorbed as their parents were. Eventually, the Peaches brings up the Golden Rule, and that's where things start to go off the rails. What happens when people start reading the Bible for OTHERS instead of applying it to themselves?... Well, it doesn't work. (We agree about that.) But John thinks it's possibl

This episode is dedicated to reading comments, emails, and reviews from people who aren't very impressed with John Branyan (to say the least). Welcome to the kitchen table, Neighbor Pkarlgh! If you have always wanted to tell John that he's an incompetant loser who wouldn't understand humor if it fell from a tree and knocked him over, then you're going to love this! If you'd like to send us some hate mail, you can contact us here: nextdoor@johnbranyan.com Thanks for laughing with our family, Pkarlgh!

We've got a HOUSEGUEST at the Kitchen Table today: our friend and educator, Chris "Shoof" Scheufele. Chris travels the country giving talks to students about how to be emotionally resilient. Recently, he delivered a speech at a new school that went GREAT! Everyone laughed, they clapped, and they wanted to have him come back again soon… Well, ALMOST everyone… We talk about the way a small minority of offended teachers can control the entire school. Why does the principal allow this to happen? How can Christians stand up to Cancel Culture? And is Chris interested in joining a group of Christian allies who will stand up for him whenever he's attacked by humorless nincompoops? All this and more in today's HOUSEGUEST episode! You can find Chris at chrisintheclassroom.com and on Facebook on the "Chris in the Classroom" page.

Hi, Neighbor Pkarlgh! We decided to record a podcast in the middle of the Facebook Outage, because we thought it might be headline news for longer than 10 minutes... John talked to his Computer Coding Genius friend who gave us some insider information on why the whole system went down for the longest blackout in the platform's history. THEN, we give an update about the Speeding Ticket Lady from last week's episode about toxic femininity. (Spoiler: she still has dozens of people encouraging her bad behavior.) NEXT, too many people just KEEP TALKING when they're upset, which only makes everything worse. If folks would learn to SHUT UP until their strong emotions pass, the world would be a better place. We understand that sometimes you feel like venting! And sometimes you make mistakes and get frustrated with yourself and others. But it's better to JUST SHUT UP. FINALLY, the Peaches reads one of her old blog posts (from 2010) about how you should NEVER say "shut up" to anyone. Her tirade is pretty funn

The Peaches didn't write a proper summary for this episode, Neighbor. Here are the bare basics: our culture finds it much easier to identify and call out "toxic masculinity" than to recognize when WOMEN are being toxic. So--today we're talking about sinful female behavior (with examples from social media). But, before all of that, we share a plan for how to handle our new Serial Scam Caller next time he rings the Comedy Business Phone with a thick Hindi accent… Please consider supporting John Branyan by joining the Comedy Clique at johnbranyan.com

We're at the kitchen table with good friend and ventriloquist, David Pendleton--but DON'T CALL HIM DAVE! If you've never listened to a conversation with David before, you won't know that he's an expert on German Baptist theology. (It's a long story, Neighbor Pkarlgh. But you can listen to the German Baptist episode of the Comedy Sojourn by clicking here: Scandals, Forgiveness, Foot-washing, and German Baptists ) Today, David gives just a brief description of the baptism ceremony in the German Baptist community--and then we're able to seque nicely into talking about a DIFFERENT kind of fundamentalism which is infecting the culture... That is, Woke Fundamentalism. David has been a staff member at Campus Crusade for Christ since the mid-80's, and he has an insider's perspective to share regarding the recent criticism of (and subsequent apology from) Josh McDowell. David's testimony may or may not include examples from Cru's internal message boards. This is an extended episode detailing how a once st

We have SO MANY THINGS TO TALK ABOUT, Neighbor! Tune in next Wednesday for our houseguest episode with David Pendleton with some BREAKING CULTURAL NEWS. There’s a scandal related to a respected Christian institution, and you probably aren’t even aware of it, yet. But that’s why you listen to the Comedian Next Door! So you can be “in the know.” Next, John wants to get to the mail—but he has to suffer the Peaches’ sound effects first. (He was so proud of that Mouth Honk last week, and now, suddenly, it’s a burden...) Our listener, Pkarlgh, writes to us from Canada using plenty of commas and making several observations about the sad state of our culture. She closes with a question about what to call “healthcare” when it’s being controlled by tyrannical professionals who hold political grudges. We have some suggestions, of course. Later, John has a quote from G.K. Chesterton. But it takes awhile for him to read it because we enlist the help of the Podcast Ninja (Luke) to demonstrate a perfect British acc

Welcome, Pkarlgh! The birthday party prep is in full swing, and 5-year-old Emery was given the best chore ever! This reminds John of a new segment idea: Is This a Joke?! As the culture continues to swim in irrationality, there are a lot of things happening that would have been considered unbelievable 20 years ago... For example: Atheist chaplains and women who put their sons in dresses and then complain that they're being bullied... Is this a joke? Related: John is very proud of the new sound he can make with his mouth. Let us know if you're as impressed as he is, by emailing nextdoor@johnbranyan.com . Finally, it's mail time! How can we be respectful toward our bodies as temples and have dignity as Christians made in God's image--while we're laughing at everything? It's a good question, Pkarlgh! We should want to be mature...responsible...respectable...and to maintain a human dignity. However--we shouldn't be too preoccupied with being SEEN as very grown up. C.S. Lewis has a great quote ab

Hi, Neighbor! When you're hanging out at the Comedian's house, we affectionately call you "Pkarlgh." So welcome, Pkarlgh. We're just getting back from the Fight Laugh Feast Conference, literally minutes before recording, and John is sporting some stylish new Ear Gear. How comfortable are his new headphones?... Well... the Peaches gives the best description she can muster. Hard consonants are funny, Pkarlgh. That's your free advice from the professional today. And speaking of funny words, please wish Collin "good well" on his 8th birthday. Feel free to ask if you can share some of his lollipop or soda. We'll know whether you listened to this episode if you use the special phrase! After we talk about "duck" and "suck," we discover there is another relevant word, used by an angry Feminist when addressing unvaccinated individuals. The Podcast Ninja (Luke) shared his favorite take-away from the Conference: tyranny happens incrementally, through hundreds of tiny compromises. Long story very short,

We don't know what we're talking about today, Neighbor Pkarlghl! But that never stops us from filling 45 minutes with meandering conversation... Emmi (5-years-old) treats us to a very quiet recitation of "The Elephant." Then we get ready to open the mailbag. (But first--a quick plug for the Fight Laugh Feast Conference. John says we'll be recording the next episode live at the conference, and hopefully that's true!) This week, someone mistook John's youngest daughter, Tabby, for his wife. (Awkward.) And someone else named their computer "Pkarlgh" in honor of this podcast. (Awesome!) Then the Peaches' is asked for an update about the vaccine mandate being imposed on her husband, who's a registered nurse. Luke was granted a religious exemption, and the Peaches shares the details about the scathing letter they wrote and gave to the hospital. Healthcare is a mess right now! Good employees are being fired (or walking out), and the leadership teams are panicking. Facebook groups of angry healthcare wo

We are laaaaaate, Neighbor Pkarlgh! It has been a busy weekend at Vacay with Comics. (And, also, our microphones weren't turned up…but that may have been a smaller percentage of the problem.) Vacay was a success, despite Luke and Joe trying to ruin our reputation with alcohol. Completely unplanned, both John and The Peaches are talking about Parents With Problems. First, a father of two kids is "NOT OKAY" (his words, not ours), because the pandemic is cramping his style. It turns out, he can't really decide whether he wants his kids to go back to public school or he wants to keep them home, safe, where they are driving him crazy. Then, John reads a post from a mother of a newborn who is also NOT OKAY. (Our words, not hers.) She is afraid the new baby will get sick, so she won't let anyone hold him…including the big brothers and sisters. The Peaches reads a post she wrote on this subject long before the COVID circus. Excerpt: "PLEASE, please don't believe the lie that you can prevent tragedies if

Welcome to the kitchen table, Neighbor Pkarlgh! Our houseguests are physically in the house with us, for once. Normally, when Juan and Melodee are in town, we selfishly keep them all to ourselves, and we talk and play games without recording anything. But, today, we're sharing a portion of our conversation about speaking TRUTH without lacking LOVE. (This is one of Juan's favorite topics.) "I've given a lot of thought to this Truth and Love debate that we're all having… One of my favorite authors is CS Lewis, and he says the enemy always introduces errors into the world in pairs of opposites…" -Juan DeVevo Can we think of examples of speaking Truth -without- love? And what do Harriet the Spy and Rosie O'Donnell have to do with this? Plus: the Peaches tells the DeVevos about a "gender non-binary" Kindergarden teacher who is brainwashing 5-year-olds in a nearby town. While Christians have been agonizing over whether they're loving enough, the culture has been taken over by crazies who have no prob