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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"You're in despair. You just don't know you're in despair." — Peter Rollins

On this episode of Podsongs, John Kunkel of The New Division takes the guest-host chair to interview Northern Irish writer, philosopher and theologian Peter Rollins as inspiration for a brand new song. John opens up on his influences — Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran — before the conversation turns to Rollins' work: questioning certainty, exposing the contradictions we live by, and finding freedom from the relentless "tyranny of happiness," with Los Angeles cast as a spiritual "Mecca" selling wholeness to anyone who can afford it. Along the way Rollins unpacks desire, sacrifice, work and alienation, ideology, AI and the unconscious, the films that shaped him, and the parables behind his "pyrotheology" — and the talk becomes the seed of "Idols," a song about the things we all end up worshipping, good and bad.

New single "Idols" by The New Division — out 26 June. Stream/pre-save: https://ffm.to/tnd_idols

TOPICS

• Peter Rollins on desire, contradiction, and ideology
• The tyranny of happiness and the demand to enjoy
• Los Angeles as a spiritual marketplace
• Lacanian psychoanalysis and the unconscious
• Why desire needs obstacles
• Sacrifice, meaning, and fulfillment
• AI, consciousness, and the technological singularity
• Films, storytelling, and creative inspiration
• John Kunkel’s influences: Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran
• Writing a song live on the podcast

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro: welcome to Podsongs
01:29 Why UK music hits different (New Order, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen)
04:45 Keeping new wave alive
06:18 Moving abroad: music logistics
09:47 Writing 150 song demos
14:41 Who is Peter Rollins?
28:17 Peter joins the call
31:50 LA and the demand to enjoy
37:01 The tyranny of happiness
38:35 The superego's demand to enjoy
40:19 Why fulfilling your dreams can backfire
41:53 The enjoyment hidden in sacrifice
44:33 Why desire needs obstacles
47:39 The unconscious and Lacan's "object a"
52:56 Filmmaking and prohibition
57:43 Negative universality and politics
01:01:16 The church of contradiction
01:05:29 AI, singularity and the unconscious
01:12:42 Music tastes and influences
01:14:08 Film picks: They Live and ideology
01:19:49 Who inspires Peter now
01:20:34 Writing the song live
01:21:20 The Vegas parable and unknowing
01:26:02 Where to find Peter Rollins
01:28:43 The profane temple and lack
01:34:51 Post-interview debrief
01:39:07 "Idols" — song outro

GUEST & MUSICIAN

Peter Rollins: https://peterrollins.com

The New Division: https://www.newdivisionmusic.com

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#PeterRollins #JohnKunkel #NewDivision #Philosophy #Theology #Psychoanalysis #Lacan #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Consciousness #Ideology #Desire #Happiness #Spirituality #Songwriting #SynthPop #NewWave #PostPunk #Podsongs #JackStafford

Australian singer-songwriter William Crighton joins host Jack Stafford for a remarkable conversation with legendary explorer, anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis — bestselling author of The Serpent and the Rainbow and one of the world’s leading voices on indigenous cultures, psychedelics, anthropology and human consciousness.

Recorded on Wade Davis’ 70th birthday, this episode explores Aboriginal songlines, Dreamtime, psychedelics, race, optimism, creativity, music as trance, fatherhood, indigenous wisdom and the modern crisis of meaning.

Before Wade joins the conversation, William discusses his evolving sound, his acclaimed album Water and Dust, collaborations with William Barton and Jeff Lang, touring in Canada and China, his prison songwriting programme and his focus on lower-carbon solo touring.

During the episode, Wade says:

“Despair is an insult to the imagination.”

Later:

“Give your destiny time to find you.”

That line inspired William to write a brand new original song called Destiny, which closes the episode.

Podsongs is the podcast where musicians interview inspiring non-musical guests as inspiration for a new song.

Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

00:34 William Crighton’s Sound Journey

04:30 Authenticity, Art & Service

05:32 Why William Chose Wade Davis

08:57 Wade Davis Stories & 70th Birthday

10:58 Touring Canada & Musical Roots

12:53 Australia, Landscape & History

14:43 China, Walkabout & The New Album

20:00 COVID Lockdowns & The Birth of Podsongs

22:11 Wade Davis Joins The Call

24:02 Aboriginal Dreaming & Songlines

28:52 Why Race Is A Myth According To Genetics

38:49 Optimism As A Choice

43:04 Psychedelics & Phases Of Life

46:44 Sacred Experience vs Religion

48:07 Music As Trance & Prayer

53:30 Nature, Myth & Metaphor

56:45 Hope In An Age Of Change

01:05:09 How Landscape Shapes Culture

01:08:53 Egalitarianism & Human Connection

01:17:11 Elder Wisdom & Destiny

01:23:48 Lucky Breaks, Risk & Saying Yes

01:28:07 Final Reflections & New Song

01:32:24 “Give Your Destiny Time To Find You”

Wade Davis:
Wade Davis Official Website

William Crighton:
William Crighton Official Website

Pre-save Destiny:
Pre-save Destiny on Spotify

Podsongs:
Podsongs Official Website

#WadeDavis #WilliamCrighton #Podsongs