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Speakeasily vs. the '80s

The Speakeasily Hour Minute Podcast and Speakeasily Vs. The '80s are audio shows of ill-repute that grew out of the Speakeasily comedy collective. Morphing from a live Bay Area burlesque show into a web-based video burlesque talk show into a sketch comedy thrupple, the hydra-headed Speakeasily now provides comedy podcasts for your listening pleasure.
Speakeasily Vs The '80s is a rip-roaring trip down the drain of '80s trash cinema with special guests from the live performance, podcast, and film worlds.
The Speakeasily Hour Minute Podcast provides interviews with cutting edge performers and comedians, plus reviews of films and snacks -- the only two things in life that matter.
Speakeasily's comedy sketches and podcasts stretch the boundaries between surreal and shtick, intellectual and gross-out, counterculture and trash culture.

ODESSA LIL (Audra Wolfmann)
Host and creator of Speakeasily, Odessa Lil's razor sharp wit has earned her the designation of "stand-up dominatrix," which we can only assume means that she's punishingly funny. Ever since she ran the original club night SpeakEasily (the first-ever weekly neo-burlesque show in Oakland back in 2004), Odessa Lil has been whipping audiences into shape at shows like Bombshell Betty's Burlesqueteers, Barbary Coast Burlesque, The East Bay Express Best of the East Bay Party, and the Hubba Hubba Revue, not to mention film openings, rock shows, and private parties. One of the few female MCs in a scene dominated by men, Odessa Lil spelunks fresh comic territory with an olde-timey flair. Did we just say spelunks? Odessa Lil is available to those hiring for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, funerals, divorce proceedings, difficult labors, home foreclosures, and seances.

KLINGON VANNA WHITE (The Indra)
Babs Bernsteinowitz, aka the "Klingon Vanna White", was an outcast on Kronos, her native planet. As a child she felt she never belonged in a world surrounded by drab, utilitarian colors. Her love of bling, luxury, and product presentation made her Klingon family disown her. Heartbroken she came to Earth to find her new family. She was adopted by the Bernsteinowitz family in Queens and occasionally slips into the colloquial accent of her chosen people. She's good in a Bat’leth fight but isn't quite as prone to violent outbursts as her people on Kronos. Klingon Vanna White has an ill fated decades long marriage and performing career with her future ex husband, Shecky Davis Jr. They are currently sorting out the details of their dissolution and totally wish each other the best for fuck's sake. They are well known as co-hosts of "Speakeasily" the variety show hosted by Odessa Lil. They are never on the show concurrently due to the multiple restraining orders. Klingon Vanna White still remembers the sting of rejection from her own family on the day she came out as a Klingon who loves non-functional creative fashion. So she has started a support group for other Klingons who were disowned by their families. No one should be outcast for wearing bright flashy clothing. 

SHECKY DAVIS JR. (Desmond Miller)
Working every room from Chico's Chuckle Barn to Hayward's Ha-Ha Hut, Shecky Davis Jr. has seen and smelled it all. Speakeasily isn't so bad.

Oct 18, 2020

Speakeasily Vs. The ‘80s welcomes comics industry luminary and C.H.U.D.thusiast Jann Jones (AKA Pickles Kintaro) to discuss the great Regan-era tale of government environmental conspiracy. C.H.U.D. – it’s an acronym that has become a noun, a verb, an adjective, and even a dance, but we dive deep into its...


Sep 19, 2020

Speakeasily Vs. The ‘80s welcomes Bay Area art curator, artist, Dj, actor, activist, and overall ‘80s pop culture nerd Jeff Bostic to discuss the 1985 feel-good suicide classic Better Off Dead! From dare-devil skiing to guitar-playing hamburgers to psychotic paperboys, this one has it all. The first film in...


Aug 24, 2020

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on because Speakeasily Vs. The ‘80s welcomes “Flash” Gordie The Mailman Adams of the Gordcast and Zardozen Minutes podcasts for the space opera spectacular Flash Gordon (1980)! Prepare to blast off for Mongo, and don’t forget your S&M gear, green Twinkies, and cha-cha...


Jul 19, 2020

Pour yourself a cup of ambition because Speakeasily Vs. The ‘80s welcomes Jamie Bancroft (AKA Dolly Trauma), a founder of Austin International Drag Festival and the upcoming website The Drag Channel, to discuss the sexual harassment classic, 9 to 5 (1980). Are you thirsty for Dabney?

Jamie Bancroft: 


Jun 6, 2020

Speakeasily Vs. The ‘80s welcomes two titans of podcasting – Mogwai Minute’s Neil Brown and Bat Minute’s Niall McGowan – to vibe out with us for the 1988 romantic occult comedy VIBES. Cindi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, and Peter Faulk make up the wackiest and sexiest version of the Three Stooges since Moe Howard...