SNAFU with Ed Helms

Tig Notaro, deadpan stand-up comedian, writer, actor and podcaster, joins a live stage chat. They roast each other and unpack highlights from a book of historic screwups. They riff on bizarre Cold War plans, the Ever Given fiasco, research that uncovers forgotten stories, and how these tales make perfect dinner-table fodder.

Rory Scovel, stand-up comedian and actor known for specials and the Crimeless podcast, adds sharp humor and personal reactions. He and Ed dive into Ivan Boesky’s rise via arbitrage, his public persona and infamous greed speech. They trace the scandal, prosecutions, and lasting fallout. Conversations turn to accountability, ambition, and the human cost of high finance.

Chelsea Handler, comedian and bestselling author, joins to chat travel, touring life, and wild adventures. They imagine 1930s luxury aboard the Hindenburg and dissect its stunning rise and fall. Conversations jump to microdosing, modern tech risks like AI and space travel, and life on the road.

Adam Scott, award-winning actor from Parks and Recreation and Severance, joins to explore the Azores Glider: a midair crisis when Air Transat Flight 236 lost both engines. They cover maintenance missteps, a worsening fuel leak, the eerie glide without power, the RAT saving vital systems, and the tense manual approach and evacuation. Conversation mixes suspense with aviation drama.

Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer are film afficianados. This week, they help Ed uncover cinematic treasures that just may be synonomous with a very spooky moment in American hubris; the time we decided to literally NUKE SPACE! Find out what "Dr. Strangelove," "The China Syndrome," and "The Iron Giant" all have in common with today's SNAFU built for Cinemascope. Subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPodBuy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jake Johnson, actor and comedian known for New Girl and voice work in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, brings off-the-cuff banter and anecdotes. The conversation dives into the Joseph Dombey Affair: a lost meter and kilogram at sea, Caribbean privateers, and how a dramatic voyage nearly derailed early U.S. metrication. Sharp, funny, and oddly suspenseful historical storytelling.

Jack Barsky, a former KGB illegal who infiltrated the U.S. in 1978 and later defected, shares his undercover life. He recounts tradecraft training, assuming a false identity, and clandestine communications. He also describes the slow ideological shift, falling in love, and the risky choice to stay in America.

Adam Grant is a thinker. The kind of thinking that makes you think twice. Which is precisely what the victims of a certain financial fraud deployment have been told throughout history. But today, Ed and Adam head to the top of this pyramid, to unveil the origin of the ultimate form of foul play: The Ponzi Scheme. Subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPodBuy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Corrigan, four-time NYT bestselling author and warm storyteller, joins to talk history and human feeling. They unpack Operation Cottage, a fog-shrouded WWII mission that went comically wrong. Discussions jump from radar mistakes and chaotic landings to how the Japanese quietly evacuated Kiska. The literal fog becomes a metaphor for anxiety and decision-making.

Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway are two titans of podcasting. Their ever-prescient analyses of today's political, technological, and cultural worlds have set an elevated standard for journalists across the board. Today, they help Ed analyze an event from our past that may feel eerily familiar: The Palmer Raids. Although they took place in 1919, their echoes in modern times may just give you goosebumps.  Subscribe to the SNAFU YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@SNAFUPodBuy the SNAFU book: www.snafu-book.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.