436 Admitting That I Was Wrong

Was it a blue wave or a blue tsunami? This week on Tom Rhodes Smart Camp, Tom and Ashna reflect on an election that left them stunned, hopeful, and asking one big question: Does character still matter in politics? From Donald Trump and the changing political landscape to rising living costs, inequality, and the influence of tech billionaires, they explore what happens when power and profits take priority over people. The conversation turns to AI, addictive social media, and the importance of protecting our freedom to think for ourselves. They also discuss Los Angeles, affordable housing, and what makes a city a good place to live. Along the way, they find inspiration in David Brooks, philosopher Meghan Sullivan, and the TV series The Diplomat and The Lowdown, bringing the conversation back to morality, human connection, and what it means to live a good life. A lively, funny, and sometimes heated conversation about politics, humanity, and the hope that decency might be making a comeback. As Tom says: "Hooray for humanity!"   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan   About Smart Camp podcast Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books & adventures.  

A cigarette butt lands Tom Rhodes in court. A 20-year-old joke lands him in an internet feud, a misunderstanding on Kill Tony. And somewhere along the way, Tom discovers something more valuable than being right. Coming to you from Las Vegas, Tom looks back at jokes he wishes he'd never told, the Hollywood sitcom failure that turned out to be a blessing, and a public accusation against another comedian that took a surprisingly beautiful turn. There's also a near-threesome ruined by one badly timed joint, a ridiculous lifelong grudge against the Milwaukee Brewers, and a courtroom encounter with a judge who happens to love comedy. It's a wild ride through the absurdities of life, the mistakes we make, and the unexpected rewards of learning to let go. Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan   About Smart Camp podcast Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books & adventures.

What do a near-death scuba diving experience, a suitcase full of French baguettes, and a plane surrounded by armed police have in common? Just another adventure in the life of Tom Rhodes. Coming to you from Las Vegas, where he's battling a brutal cold between comedy shows, Tom takes us on a wild ride through his latest travels in the South of France. Along the way, he revisits an old encounter with a diving instructor who nearly killed him, discovers the joys of French country living, makes an unexpected peace with Tesla, and finds himself wondering why his flight is surrounded by machine guns. There's also incredible food, unforgettable films, a little political chaos, and plenty of Tom's signature observations about the absurdities of life. But beneath the laughs and travel stories is a simple reminder: sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery to realize just how good you've got it. Pour yourself a coffee, settle in, and join Tom for another funny, unpredictable, and thoughtful episode of Tom Rhodes Smart Camp.   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan   About Smart Camp podcast Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books & adventures.      

Tom is back from Japan, about to get on a plane to France, and feeling pretty damn good about life—which seems like the perfect time to talk about how not to be an asshole. This episode, Tom cracks open Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, a 90-year-old book he picked up for a dollar and fully expected to be outdated. Instead, he finds himself underlining advice that feels remarkably useful in 2026: remember people's names, listen more than you talk, give people genuine appreciation, control your temper, and avoid arguments like snakes and earthquakes. Along the way, Tom remembers the sales advice his father gave him that became surprisingly good comedy advice, the relationships that taught him to shut up and listen, and why sometimes the most compassionate response to someone's problems is simply, "Dirty bastards." There's also Abraham Lincoln's furious letter he wisely never mailed, Benjamin Franklin learning to stop correcting everyone, a near-death encounter crossing the street in Bangkok, an elbow to the ribs on the Tokyo Metro, French dinner-table wisdom, Los Angeles rage management, and the enduring human desire to feel important. It's Dale Carnegie the Tom Rhodes way: comedy, travel, relationships, anger, empathy, questionable encounters with strangers, and some genuinely useful advice for getting along with your fellow humans. Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan

Tom is back from a month in Asia with a suitcase full of stories, questionable observations, and a new appreciation for Japanese baseball. In Japan, he finally gets the baseball experience he's been chasing for 15 years, eats ramen worthy of a spiritual awakening, sings karaoke with strangers in Osaka, wanders through Kyoto's temples, and discovers that even the garbage trucks are cute. Along the way, his reading of Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan sends him down a rabbit hole of emperors, samurai loyalty, World War II, and how Japan became the country it is today. Then it's off to Thailand for comedy, khao soi, extraordinary coffee, an unforgettable crab curry, and a return to a Phuket beach that carries a very different meaning than it did ten years ago. It's travel the Tom Rhodes way: history, food, comedy, baseball, strangers, cultural misunderstandings, old memories, and the occasional existential detour. And finally, a piece of rock-and-roll knowledge that shakes Tom to his core: was Cheap Trick's Live at Budokan really live at the Budokan?   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan

Konnichiwa from Tokyo! Tom is back in Japan for the first time in 11 years, broadcasting from the Mustard Hotel in the vintage shops and record-store-filled neighborhood of Shimokitazawa. This first dispatch from Japan is about returning to a place that left a lasting mark on his life. Tom reconnects with comedian friends he met more than a decade ago, performs at the Tokyo Comedy Bar, and finally gets inside a Japanese baseball stadium after once traveling all the way to Osaka only to spend two nights listening to sold-out Hanshin Tigers games from outside. There are rainy Tokyo adventures, strangers coming to the rescue, gifts for people who touch his heart, Japanese cultural curiosities, samurai jokes that work much better in Japan, and the extraordinary experience of watching baseball with thousands of fans singing and chanting as one. Tom is also traveling through Japan with history on his mind. Reading about Babe Ruth's legendary 1934 tour of Japan and Emperor Hirohito leads him into the nationalism and militarism of 1930s Japan, the road to Pearl Harbor and World War II, and some bigger thoughts about what can happen when too much power is concentrated in one person. Baseball, comedy, friendship, history, vintage T-shirts, Tokyo rain, and 11 years of memories coming full circle. Tom's Japanese adventure is just getting started.   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan   About Smart Camp podcast Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books & adventures.    

One question, three perspectives. Tom, Ashna & ChatGPT. Hosted by @_tomrhodes & @ashnarodjan. Weekly episodes. DM your questions.   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan  

Episode 430. One question, three perspectives. Tom, Ashna & ChatGPT. You decide...  Hosted by International comedian and writer Tom Rhodes and Dutch Cognitive Psychology Ashna Rodjan. Weekly episodes. DM your questions.   What skills are needed in 2026? Is the environment doomed? Is the World Cup Rigged?   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! DM your questions. Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp https://patreon.com/ashnarodjan More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan  

In this Smart Talk episode of Tom Rhodes Smart Camp, Tom and Ashna answer three audience questions from very different angles: Tom as a comedian and storyteller, Ashna as a European with a psychology background. Then they ask ChatGPT the same questions and decide: useful wisdom, or total BS? Hi guys, Tom & Ashna here, we're starting something fun. In an effort to put out more podcast episodes, Ashna and I decided to record conversation using Riverside. These are the types of conversations Ashna and I normally have so we thought it be great to share this with you. When her and I are sharing or talking about art, literature, or movies that we've been consuming, it always prompts great conversation that goes in other directions also. Please keep the questions coming. Thank you to the listeners that submitted these questions and we encourage everyone submit more. It's nice to know that there are so many people that care about this podcast.

Hear all about my journey to the land of kindness and my experience filming a clean comedy special for Dry Bar Comedy. Also listen to me delight your skull by telling you about my visit to Moon's Rare Books & learn why there are so many Peruvians living in Provo. "He is rich who owns the day."   Hooray for humanity! We're dropping new episodes every Thursday-ish.   Connect! Be part of the Rhodesies team and get goodies: https://patreon.com/tomrhodessmartcamp More Tom  https://www.instagram.com/_TomRhodes More Ashna https://www.instagram.com/ashnarodjan   About Smart Camp podcast Tom Rhodes Smart Camp is a festival of ideas, knowledge, stories, books & adventures.