#caleb bacon

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Sober Man School

Mick Betancourt is a television writer, stand-up comic, and host of the podcast: The Mick Betancourt Show.  Thanks to his alcoholism, he almost didn't have any of that.  And thanks to his sobriety, he has all of that and more. 

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Man School with British Funny Dude Matt Kirshen!

Matt Kirshen [Twitter] is a British comedian who decided to give life a full-time try in America.  After being a finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing, Matt felt that living in Los Angeles would be the best move for his career.  He can be heard on the podcast Probably Science.

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Man School #78: One Good Brother

Aaron Roden [Twitter] is the host of the wonderful Air Raid podcast, and he's also one good brother.  Growing up, his younger Brad had a rare immune disease called chronic granulomatous disease (aka CGD.)  When they were in their 20s, Aaron was able to donate his own bone marrow and that saved Brad's life.

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Alonzo Bodden Donated His Kidney

Alonzo Bodden [Twitter] is a stand-up comic and podcaster who only has one kidney.  That's because he donated the other one to his brother.

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The Best Ice Bucket Challenge?

Me, Zane Lamprey, and Brian Unger get wet for ALS... but it's not all water.

Don't forget to donate!

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James Ellroy was Divorced Twice

James Ellroy is one of America's finest novelists.  Some of his 19 books include: LA Conflidential, White Jazz, American Tabloid, Shakedown, and the Black Dahlia.  His latest novel, Perfidia, comes out in September and is available for pre-order now.  James is a man whose live has full of love and passion -- as discussed on Man School #55 -- but he's also been Twice Divorced.

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Interview: Caleb Bacon from Sullivan & Son

Caleb Bacon is a television writer currently writing for the TBS hit show ‘Sullivan & Son’, which is executively produced by Vince Vaughn amongst other big timers in the entertainment industry.  Caleb has written and worked behind the scenes on a host of television shows including Deadwood, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Luck, John From Cincinnati, Big Love and Animal Practice. So it’s safe to say that he knows a thing or two about the industry.

Above all, Caleb is a great guy who recently did an awesome show on Cogo.

Okay, lets dive into this. Can you tell me a little bit about your podcast and describe it in your own words?

  Yeah! Can I use your words?

  Yeah, you can use whatever you want.

  [Laughs]

It is called Man School with Caleb Bacon and it is a show where I talk to a variety of men about their real life experiences. Things that they personally have been through, whether they be difficult, unique or interesting and we will have an honest conversation about what that experience was like. Then, hopefully the conversations are something that people find to be inspirational, motivational or at a very minimum entertaining.

  Yeah, I listen to your podcast a ton and to me it feels almost like a dad to a son relationship, if that is possible in a podcast. Something like rules you leave to your son sort of vibe. This made me wonder, when did you decide to do this & what made you want to do this podcast?

  That is cool and interesting thought!

I got sober from drugs and alcohol a little over six years ago and I found that the biggest thing that helped me was just talking to other men about what they had been through. This was the first time in my life where it wasn’t like people lecturing me. Like the school principal or people just telling me what to do. It was about people who have had similar experiences and were to put things out in a way where it was like “Oh! That makes sense for me. I will listen to that” I just kind of took that and tried to apply it to as many areas of my life as I could with whatever problems I wanted to get over or get through. But, I also found that it was a really fun and entertaining thing to do. Just having a real, honest conversation with other guys, which most people do not do.

  You know, podcasts are great because it is almost like hanging out with the show.  The Man School Podcast really seems to have that feeling.  You are hanging with Caleb Bacon and his guests every time you listen to the podcast. But okay, lets get into something a little less serious. Star Trek or Star Wars, do you have a preference?

  Star Wars.

  Yeah me too!  I never got that into Star Trek.

  Nah, no. It didn’t speak to me to.  I am afraid of the new Star Wars movies, but I will see them.

  I feel the exact same way.

When you have been working with us and on previous podcasts raising money, you have been delivering pizzas to anybody who wants one for a donation. I was just wondering, what kind of pizza do you deliver?

  It’s not up to me. It is whatever they want from the deliver.  So far that has meant either going to someone’s house or meeting at a pizza place of their choice. They do have the option of me just giving them the pizza and me just walking away.

  But that’s not fun.

  Yeah. But everyone has decided to eat the pizza with me. I am open to be just a delivery boy though!

  You are a pretty established TV writer. Could you just dive into your journey and how you got started in that, as well as how you reached to where you are at now?

  I am currently writing on a TBS sitcom called “Sullivan and Son” produced by Vince Vaughn and I am at my office at Warner Brothers as we speak. I had a lot of jobs behind the scenes of shows and dramas. I worked on a lot of HBO one-hour dramas (Big Love, Denver, John From Cincinnati), but I had always loved comedy. Then as soon as a I got a chance to work on the comedy projects, as I had been moving my way up the writing ladder a little in Drama, I decided to entirely focus on comedy. I had some support staff positions and was able to turn that into full-time writing.

  Are you happy that you went down this comedy field?

  Yeah, it is the best thing ever because you get to laugh all day long.

  I imagine that is a blast.

  You get to work with hilarious people and your job is to be funny. I get to laugh. I get to make other people laugh. The hours can be really long though.

  What sort of advice would you give to aspiring TV writers?

  Write your balls off or write your ass off. Pick one and just write it off, because it is really easy on trying to come up with a strategy of how to have a career in it, as opposed to putting in the right kind of work. A lot of people think you just need that one good script, but if you write one good script the next one should be even better.

  “It takes time to perfect your craft” sort of concept?

  Yeah, yeah. Another thing would be to know as many people as you can. People want to hire someone who they want to spend time with, because you spend so many hours together. You cannot be anonymous.

  If you have to single somebody out: who has been your favorite person to work with? Either with Man School or while writing?

  I would say Rob Long, who is the co-creator of Sullivan and Sons. He is one of the funniest people I have ever known and is one of the smartest people I have ever known. He is full of great stories and very supportive of me. So you cannot beat that!

  He sounds like a great guy. 

  He has bought me a lot of nice lunches! He was one of the head writers on ‘Cheers’, which is my favorite show of all time.

  Okay, I cannot help but ask. Your name is Caleb Bacon, are you a snobby bacon eater or do you enjoy all types?

  I will try all types, I won’t necessarily enjoy them, but I will have a go. We have this thing on set we refer to as ‘crack bacon’. It is bacon glazed with maple syrup and black pepper. It is sweet, spicy and addictive as hell.

Everyday on set we have three types of bacon for pickup. Regular bacon, turkey bacon and crack bacon. So, I am pretty happy.

  Any shout outs or plugs or anything you would like the readers to know?

  I just want people to listen to Man School and when you hear an episode you think would resonate with a friend, send them that particular episode.

Caleb Bacon is a great guy and that kind of person who is a joy just to talk to. He is currently working on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son. In 2013, he launched his own podcast called “Man School with Caleb Bacon.” If you listen to just one episode you will get hooked and listen to thirty. Check them out at http://manschoolshow.com out and on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/man-school-with-caleb-bacon/id596163957.

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Tear Down # 16: Publishing Jeter, Snapchat's Got Balls, and is Podcast Discovery Broken?

Subscribe to the Tear Down Show in iTunes. 

Welcome to the sixteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Ty Hildenbrandt (@tyhildenbrandt), sports broadcaster and host of the Solid Verbal podcast. 

Caleb Bacon (@CalebEatsBacon), Host of the Man School Show podcast and writer for Sullivan and Son on TBS.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights

David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Entrepreneur pro tip of the week:

Don't crowdfund just because everyone else is crowdfunding. A poorly planned and executed crowdfunding effort can do major damage to your online brand.

Build influencer relations through content - For more, read Increase Visibility By Pulling a PR 180

Media disruptors of the week:

We both agreed it's Batkid. How could it not be Batkid? It could possibly be the media disruptor of the year.

Today’s topics:

Jeter's Readers - Derek Jeter is opening a publishing company

What do you mean $3 billion in cash isn't enough? - Snapchat turns down a $3 billion cash offer from Facebook. 

Does podcast discovery need a redo? - Mashable offers some solutions, and we offer some recommendations.

Plugs for all:

Man School Show

The Solid Verbal Podcast

Please read "The Most Unprofessional Trends in Content Marketing."

Creative Commons photo attribution to Rubenstein.