Joel McHale reveals his secret 5am pre-flight ritual, the secret to his marriage, and a Dave Grohl story he's never told — plus, hidden in this hour, the confession that becomes Lowland Hum's new song "Tarantula" on Friday. | Podsongs #173

"I'm Irish, so I could drink turpentine and it would be fine." — Joel McHale

Husband-and-wife folk duo Lowland Hum (Daniel and Lauren Goans) guest-host Podsongs from a friend's studio near their Virginia log cabin and interview comedian and actor Joel McHale (Community, The Soup, Animal Control, Crime Scene Kitchen, Scream 7). Inside this hour: the thing he drinks at 5am before every single flight, the reason he refuses to check a bag, the backstage Dave Grohl story he's never told anywhere, the one thing his wife never does that keeps the marriage working, what cobra actually tastes like, packing procrastination as an existential crisis, an animal that "in two months could kill us all" — and somewhere in all of it, the moment that became Lowland Hum's new single "Tarantula". Even Joel doesn't know which one. See if you can spot it before the song drops.

New single "Tarantula" by Lowland Hum — out Friday 24 July 2026. Pre-save it and hear the answer the moment it lands: https://ffm.to/tarantula

CHAPTERS

00:00 Warm welcome and delays

00:25 Log cabin heat wave chaos

01:17 Woods talk and how memory fragments

02:26 Joel's inside-outside portal office

04:10 Seattle roots and Northwest life

07:00 Meet the host, Jack

08:06 Travel, airports and kid logistics

10:39 Joel's 5am airport ritual and travel kit

13:33 Packing anxiety and style trends

19:02 The perfect pants rabbit hole

23:54 Do acting roles follow you home?

32:48 Flow state across standup, hosting and Scream 7

35:51 Lowland Hum's origin story and gratitude

39:15 Therapy, the inner critic and motivation

43:31 The emotional dial and tour energy

46:32 Tour van naps

46:53 Saying yes to everything: the hustle

48:29 Pro mode onstage

51:40 Collaboration chemistry and 20-year friendships

54:48 The blindfolded audience experiment

01:00:03 Music nerd tangents and the untold Dave Grohl story

01:06:24 Tarantulas and cougars

01:12:27 Food memories and Rome

01:15:32 Goodbyes and the blindfold show

01:19:00 Aftershow: finding the song's entry point

01:24:46 Patreon and community

01:28:08 Closing song tease

GUEST & MUSICIAN

Joel McHale: https://joelmchale.com

Lowland Hum: https://www.lowlandhum.com

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