Penn Radio is a 45 minute
radio show (well 1 hour with commercials) hosted by
Penn Jillette and
Mike Goudeau. Jillette and Goudeau broadcast from Jillette's Vegas area home ("
The Slammer") from something Jillette refers to as the Vintage Nude Studio. Apparently Jillette used to collect
nude playing cards and when he created his studio he incorporated these playing cards into the
décor. The cards are laid out in such a fashion that their order would only be meaningful to a fellow
magician.
Both Jillette and Goudeau are professional, working
jugglers. Among Jillette's various careers (magician, comedian,
skeptic, actor, indie movie producer, and juggler) Jillette seems to identify himself most as a juggler. Goudeau is a former juggler for
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, a writer for Jillette's
Showtime Bullshit show (which they have to call "bulls hit" on the show as it is broadcast over the public airwaves), and a juggler for the
Lance Burton Show at the
Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Penn Radio is syndicated by
CBS radio's "free fm" format, a kind of corporate
Air America. It's only available on half a dozen radio station. However one can download it via the
podcast route (http://www.923freefm.com/pages/1419.php).
On the show, Jillette and Goudeau cover a lot of ground. I guarantee you'll learn more about professional
juggling in any week of Penn Radio than you've ever learned before. To paraphrase Jillette, unlike standup comedians who are terminally unemployed, any competent juggler is never unemployed in America. There's always work. However, unlike comics, there's never been a juggler who has truly made it big as a juggler. Hell, even
ventriloquists have made it big. (As Jillette notes about ventriloquists, we are the first generation to grow up without a ventriloquist. Generations previous have had
Edgar Bergen and
Señor Wences. The closest we've come is
Jay Johnson and Bob from the sitcom
Soap.)
When Penn isn't talking about ventriloquism he's giving the background scoop on the fourth season of
Bullshit or issues relating to
skepticism,
atheism,
libertarianism,
magic, and
comedy. Some of the stuff he says can be challenging. For example, he has almost nothing nice to say about
Michael Moore. However, he's unfailing polite on the phone to callers, even if their beliefs are diametrically opposed to his.