The Swirl with Bry & Dave

It’s the Episode You've Been Missing. We know you’ve all been wondering how they feel about the third-rail issues, so after an in-depth catch-up on the eventful month of May and the entrance into Mercury’s retrograde, Bry & Dave get BACK TO BASIQUE(s). In an old-school, meat & potatoes conversation, they let loose on Israel/Palestine/Anti-Semitism, the True Wages Of Ally-Ship, and the Return Of Broadway: Burn It All Down? Somewhere in the mix, they throw in a new “Analytics Check” with some countries/protectorates you may recognize, Bry’s father’s heart attack adventure and an emergency 9 days in Kansas City in which Men Were Driving Bry Crazy, some TV recommendations, and a bittersweet accounting of American Idol. Also, as they approach the 1-year Anniversary of “The Swirl With Bry & Dave,” the Big Question: Should we do a year 2? (REPLY IN THE COMMENTS!). Then go to @sandiegosymphony.org #BroadwayByTheBay for Bryonha’s [astonishing—DG] 52-minute one-woman concert of music theatre classics. And check out our previous episode, BONUS PROUD HUSBAND PROMO ALERT: “BRY BY THE BAY” for excerpts and loving commentary. In the meantime, please RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE, and SUPPORT! And TASTE THE SWIRL (while you still can). LINK IN BIO.

Well, now Dave’s gone and done it. A quick and dirty secret solo episode of bootleg snippets fresh from his iPhone of his wife Bryonha Marie’s solo concert dropping tonight, “BROADWAY BY THE BAY,” with the great Rob Fisher and members of the San Diego Symphony to open their venue, The Shell. This concert will stream until the end of June, and you will not want to miss it. Here’s the list of songs, some of which you’ll get a taste of from that epic night last March in 40-degree Pacific Ocean winds: EVERYTHING’S COMING US ROSES BROADWAY BABY SUMMERTIME CAN’T HELP LOVIN’ THAT MAN ADELAIDE’S LAMENT TILL THERE WAS YOU AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME ONE HUNDRED EASY WAYS BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT WHEN YOU’RE GOOD TO MAMA HOME CABARET COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS All performed by the incomparable, impossibly versatile, legendary Broadway Beast, Bryonha Marie. Get your tickets ($25) to stream the full concert with the real glorious audio now until the end of June at sandiegosymphony.org, and click on “Broadway By The Bay.”

Sometimes you choose the topic, and sometimes the topic chooses you. For this one, we needed someone who could speak about death with wisdom and experience, strength and hope, but above all… be hilarious. So went to the woman who wrote the book. Alexandra Silber’s “White Hot Grief Parade” (Pegasus Books), is all that and a week of Broadway shows. Join us as this brilliant Broadway diva, memoirist and novelist (“After Anatevka,” also Pegasus Books) breaks down the raw truths and profound glories of love, loss and Fiddler on the Roof in an indelible episode of The Swirl. Also, be sure to stick around for the new game, “You Say You Love ‘Ragtime?’ I’ll Give You Ragtime!’” and see if you score higher than ‘Ragtime’s’ #1 fan. PS, don’t call her Alex. You can call her Al.

It’s CAREER WEEK on THE SWIRL! And we’ve got a music-filled, jam-packed piece of entertainment for your podcast-listening joys. We start with some follow-up plans and strategies from our very popular AAPI Checki-In Emergency podcast with Erin Quill & Pearl Sun – just because it isn’t in the news, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Then it’s time for a quick “Vaccination Update” and a new stab at a new jingle. (Get vaccinated, everybody!) This week’s THIS WEEK IN GAGGERY is next, with a shout-out to our sister Chantal Nchako’s gag-worthy shoe line CHOOBIZ (www.chantalnhako.com), before launching into our discussion of our careers, the navigation of their twists and turns, and how Swirly racial dynamics played a role even in the best of recent times. Then, in a far-reaching, freewheeling interview, the great singer-songwriter Morgan James talks us through her journey to the center of Broadway, Motown The Musical, Sony Music, Singer/Songwriter Recording Artist for LA Reid, and Producer and Star of the all-female “Jesus Christ Superstar,” punctuated by some choice music excerpts you will not wanna miss. Pick up Morgan’s latest album “Memphis Magnetic,” “Quarantunes,” on her YouTube channel, or on every platform from her website, www.morganjamesonline.com. You are so very welcome. Songs by Morgan excerpted on this podcast: “I Wish You Would,” “You Know My Name,” and “I Don’t Mind Waking Up (To A Love This Good”) With Ryan Shaw; and excerpts from “Jesus Christ Superstar, She Is Risen”, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice: “Simon Zealots,” and “Gethsemane."  Enjoy this very special musical episode, and… you know the rest.

In a departure from the music, bells & whistles of our usual episode, Bry & Dave check in on their friends/work colleagues Erin Quill (Avenue Q, the Fairy Princess Diaries blog @fairyprincessdiaries.com) and Pearl Sun (Come From Away, If/Then) in the wake of the anti-Asian murders in Georgia and the rise in hate crimes since the pandemic, to see how they’re holding up and to hear their perspectives as artists, activists, and women of Asian descent. Bry & Dave mostly listen as these two remarkable women unpack with candor, pain, wisdom and humor their experiences as parents, children of immigrants and American citizens, a discussion of the reluctance to call a hate crime a hate crime, and what may be going on in the “Oppression Olympics” among marginalized communities. An unmissable episode. Places you can learn more, do more and donate to AAPI resources and organizations: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a35866266/how-to-support-asian-american-community-organizations/ https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-to-help-asian-communities-2021.html https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-help-the-asian-american-community-donations-educational-resources-more/

This week’s title says it all – it’s the SEX EPISODE. The Sexisode? Anyway, we go there this week where we've never gone before: our origin sex-stories, same-sex revelations, and the bi-racial reverberations through intimacy and marriage, American history and Broadway. First, there’s a review of our Vaccine Experience, some reflections on the Year 1 Anniversary of the Pandemic, and an unlikely detour through the Phantom Tollbooth. This is the juicy one! Especially this week… Taste The Swirl!!!

It’s Food Week on The Swirl! Everybody’s (first-or-second) favorite Pandemic Topic. First we do our weekly catch-up with with some big Bryonha news about a San Diego Symphony comeback, a new country to add to the Analytics Check, a This Week In Gaggery on COVID-19 vaccinations you will find informative about how we got our first shots and YOU CAN TOO, and then a geek-out interview with our special guest, Broadway dancer-diva transformed into food guru (@katiewebbernyc) Katie Webber (“The Reset”), who gives us the lowdown on protein in a plant-based life, and the act of Sarah Coopering your way into the next phase of the pandemic. Then it’s time for the Bridgerton conversation you didn’t know you needed, and this week’s anonymous reading that should make it all all right. It’s all about the foodjamins, baby! TASTE ‘EM!

New season, who dis? It’s Bry & Dave, back with an all new-and-improved Season 2 format of The Swirl! With an emphasis on how big topics of our time, including love, sex, marriage and hair intersect are filtered through interracial and inter-generational relationships, The Swirl With Bry & Dave 2021 promises to be LIT. We kick off our next chapter with a recap of the previous six weeks diving into the Raw Vegan Cleanse life, a new double “This Week In Gaggery” involving an epic discovery for Dave and the biggest dream-achievement of all time for one of Bry's besties; before launching into an intimate, in-depth discussion on love, sex, and black-girl fetishism with Dear Evan Hansen’s Kristolyn Lloyd, more revealing here than you’ve ever heard her before. Ending with a reading of the epic Oriah poem from the Goldsmith-Parham wedding you won’t wanna miss. It's Valentine's Day! So spread out the rose petals, put up your feet and Taste The Swirl Season 2, 2021!

YES, IT'S OUR JUMBO-SIZED SEASON 1 FINALE!!!  Well, this title sums it up, an episode so jam-packed it should be a two-parter. First, Bry & Dave share their Top 10 Things They’re Grateful For About 2020 and see if any of them line up with each other (EXTRA CREDIT: Guess Which One Does). Then it’s a rip-roaring, no-survivors-spared hour-long interview with Broadway legend Douglas (“The Scarlet Pimpernel”) Sills. There is some friendly reminiscing, great advice about Doug’s other secret life, and finally some hot dish about the genesis of Spamalot you will not want to miss. Then Bry & Dave bid farewell to this hot mess of a year with some inspiring words (and a rare bonus track) from the legendary Burt Bachrach-Hal David-Larry Kramer 1973 Hollywood Movie Musical flop “Lost Horizon,” which might just surprise you like it sneaks up on Bry & Dave. Have a Swirly New Year, everyone, and we’ll see you again for Season 2 in January. Stay safe, stay home, and wear a mask!

We culled your questions from all around the world to a tight five, and after an opening segment encompassing our top-of-mind issues (shout out to Meryl Streep and “The Prom” on Netflix), we have special guest star Marcia F. Goldsmith (BA Journalism, MA Social Welfare), aka Grammy (Dave’s mom) to answer them in our semi-recurring segment, “Ask Grammy”. Grammy tackles all issues big and small, from the history of Democracy to living space strategies, to some personal observations about Growing Up Goldsmith. Then it’s off to a surprising and informative “This Week In Gaggery” and a special edition of “Call Out/Call In” you won’t want to miss. We end the week with a rare find, not available on iTunes, of a favorite serenade of Bry & Dave’s from Jerry Herman’s “The Grand Tour.” Also, it’s the Holiday Season, so don’t be afraid to click on the Anchor podcast link at the end of these notes and show your appreciation for your favorite podcast, to keep it going in the new year! That’s one way to make sure you’ll always be able to TASTE THE SWIRL!