#153 - Author & Comedian Trey Toler

#155 - Gabe Wardell | Atlanta 48 Hour Film Project

This week's guest is Gabe Wardell, a filmmaker, film educator, writer, former executive director in Atlanta's film community, and the longtime producer who helped build the Atlanta 48 Hour Film Project into one of the most competitive cities in the world for the competition. After spending years helping creatives through organizations ranging from the Atlanta Film Festival to Coca-Cola Studios, Gabe is back at the helm for the project's landmark anniversary season, which kicks off June 12–14 and culminates with screenings at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/48hourfilmproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Atlanta48HFP Website: https://www.48hourfilm.com/atlanta

#154 - Comedian Derrick Stroup | George Clark

This week on The Popcast, I'm joined by comedian Derrick Stroup — an Alabama native whose rapid-fire storytelling and Southern observations have made him one of the fastest-rising stand-ups in comedy right now. You’ve seen him on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, touring with comics like Nate Bargatze and Bert Kreischer, and now his brand-new Netflix special Nostalgic is streaming now — filmed at the historic Lyric Theatre in Birmingham and packed with stories about growing up a ‘90s kid in rural Alabama. Derrick also brings his first-ever headlining theater tour, the “Running Hot Tour,” to Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater on May 27th and 28th. Derrick, thanks for coming on, man. Tickets: https://www.centerstage-atlanta.com/events/derrick-stroup/ PLUS: A preview of my new show, "The Sunday Show" with co-host, George Clark.

#153 - Author & Comedian Trey Toler

Trey Toler has lived enough lives to fill a book – which is exactly what he did. He spent his teens as an unlikely caregiver, navigating medical crises and adult responsibility before most kids had a driver's license. In his twenties, he found his footing on stage as a stand-up comedian, performing regularly at Atlanta's Laughing Skull Lounge and eventually running the shows there, along the way earning the mentorship of Margaret Cho and an internship at Turner Broadcasting's Adult Swim. He traded the mic for a career in media and advertising, where he discovered the same instincts that made him good onstage—reading a room, finding the truth that connects—made him good in recruiting and sales too. " Good Damage is the debut memoir from Trey Toler about the messy, unscripted "after. “ After the illness, the loss, the burnout, and the exhausting performance of recovery. The story begins with a Southern childhood governed by rules no one explains: sunscreen and flip flops are gay, and umbrellas are for women. Trey comes of age as the boy who could never quite get those rules right, raised in a church where the preacher says homosexual the way you say abomination (slow, careful, like the word itself could spread). At the heart of the story is his mother—her fierce beauty, her harrowing brain surgery, and her eventual absence. Trey explores the deafening silence that follows when the person who made the world feel safe is gone, and the strange, delayed grief that refuses to arrive—or leave—on schedule." https://ripples.media/books/good-damage/ Find him on Instagram and TikTok at @Toler_the_Trey and on Substack at @TreyToler1.

#152 - Actor Vivian Bang + Rocsi Diaz and The Miz

Actor Vivian Bang talks about her play Detroit and Rocsi & The Miz talk about the return of American Gladiators.

151 - BBQ Brawl Contestant Dakari Akorede

This episode fires up the grill with the new season of BBQ Brawl, where team captains Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan and Brooke Williamson lead elite pitmasters in a battle for the title of Master of ‘Cue. My guest is Atlanta’s own Dakari Akorede — Chicago-born, Atlanta-based, and the pitmaster behind Chicageaux BBQ Company, blending South Side tradition, live-fire discipline and bold flavor. By day he runs multimillion-dollar operations as a senior executive, and off the clock he’s an award-winning barbecue competitor bringing real smoke and no shortcuts to the ranch. Dakari joins me to talk about representing Atlanta on BBQ Brawl.