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“Awareness is peace.”
Pete Holmes
Comedian! Writer! Author! Spiritual seeker!
One of my favorite people, Pete Holmes needs no introduction. But I’m going to give it to you anyway.
A stand up veteran with a cornucopia of comedy specials, television shows and late night appearances to his name, Pete is best known as the creator and star of the semi-autobiographical HBO show Crashing, a riotous and touching series he executive produced alongside Judd Apatow loosely based on Pete’s life in the early days of his comedy career.
In addition, Pete hosts You Made It Weird — hands down one of my absolute favorite podcasts (I was honored to be a guest) — and is the author of the brilliant and just released Comedy Sex God*. Part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, part sacred quest, I can’t recommend this book more highly. Equally hilarious and profound, it hits bookstores everywhere this week. Pick it up immediately*. Read. Ponder. Thank me later.
A long-time fan of Pete’s, we were first introduced by our mutual friend (and former podcast guest) Rob Bell. From that moment forward I have yearned to get this fellow traveler on the show. It finally happened. And the experience is everything I hoped it would be.
Comedy. Sex. God. And everything in between. We cover it all.
We discuss his evangelical upbringing and how his failed attempt to live up to picture perfect standards forced him to question his faith and re-examine long-held beliefs, catalyzing the soul-seeking journey he has pursued ever since.
We talk comedy and creativity. How he squares Christianity with alternative faith modalities. And what he has learned spending time with spiritual savants like Ram Dass and experimenting with psychedelics.
We explore how fatherhood has impacted his spiritual and professional perspective. What it’s like working with Judd Apatow. The experience of being a celebrity with a big show on HBO. And, more importantly, what happens when that show suddenly goes away.
But mostly, this is a beautiful exploration of the messy, confusing, wonderful, mysterious, disorienting thing we call life.
You can watch the entire conversation on YouTube at bit.ly/peteholmes441 (please subscribe!) and the podcast is of course available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
As Pete would say, GET INTO IT!
Peace + Plants,
Photos courtesy of Ali Rogers
Listen, Watch & Subscribe
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Thanks to this week’s sponsors
Note: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support the sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url’s and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click “Sponsors”.
SHOW NOTES
Pick up Sex Comedy God* by Pete Holmes
Background, Context & Reference:
- Connect With Pete: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
- Podcast: You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud
- Podcast: You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes Episode #347 with Rich Roll
- HBO Series: Crashing | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
- The New York Times: Pete Holmes of ‘Crashing’ Finds Humor in His Church Roots
- New York Post: ‘Crashing’ star Pete Holmes is way more content than his alter ego
- Forbes: Pete Holmes Is A Very Silly Man, And It’s All By Design
- CBS News: As “Crashing” ends its run, Pete Holmes and Judd Apatow reflect on the series’ essential themes
- Vanity Fair: Pete Holmes Took His Broken Heart and Made It into Art
- The New Yorker Radio Hour: Rhiannon Giddens Plays Live, and Pete Holmes Finds Religion
- Vulture: Pete Holmes’s Crashing Shall Crash on HBO No More
- The Hoya: Pete Holmes Reflects on Sharing His Story Through Television
- Vanyaland: Pete Holmes looks beyond ‘Crashing’ and into world of a ‘Comedy Sex God’
- AM New York: What happened to ‘Crashing’? Pete Holmes had a feeling the end was near
- Collider: Exclusive: Pete Holmes Goes Deep on ‘Crashing’s Cancellation, That Finale, and a Potential Movie
- Documentary: Ram Dass, Going Home
- Film: Eraserhead* Director: David Lynch
Notable Books Discussed
- Book: Love Wins* by Rob Bell
- Book: This Naked Mind* by Annie Grace
- Book: Tuesdays with Morrie* by Mitch Albom
- Book: This Is It* by Alan Watts
- Book: The Universal Christ* by Richard Rohr
Notable People Discussed
- Rob Bell: author, speaker, former pastor and 2x podcast guest
- Nadia Bolz-Weber: Lutheran minister, public theologian, two-time New York Times bestselling author and podcast guest
- Ryan Holiday: Author of: The Obstacle Is The Way* and Ego Is The Enemy* and podcast guest
- Melanie Joy: social psychologist, author, primarily notable for promulgating the term ‘carnism’ and podcast guest
- Ram Dass: spiritual teacher and author of the seminal best-seller Be Here Now*
- Judd Apatow: filmmaker, comedian, executive producer of Crashing
- Jaboukie Young-White: stand up comedian, writer & The Daily Show correspondent
- Luke Dempsey: editor-in-chief of Hudson Street Press
- John Mulaney: stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer
- Bhagavan Das: American yogi, singer and teacher who lived for six years in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
- Bill Burr: stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster
- Duncan Tressel: actor, voice actor and stand-up comic, known for his podcast The Duncan Trussell Family Hour and his appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast
- Maharaj-ji: was a Hindu guru, mystic and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman
- Leonard Cohen: was a singer, songwriter, poet, and novelist whose work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality and romantic relationships
- Terence McKenna: was an American ethnobotanist, mystic, psychonaut, lecturer, author, and an advocate for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants
- Father Richard Rohr: author, spiritual writer, and Franciscan friar
- Alan Watts: was a British-American philosopher who interpreted and popularised Eastern philosophy for a Western audience
-
Joseph Campbell: was an American Professor of Literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the human experience
- Eckhart Tolle: author, spiritual teacher and public speaker
- Matt Ruby: actor and producer, known for The Comedy Show Show
- Penn Jillette: magician, juggler, comedian, inventor, author of Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales*
- Dave Stone: comedian from Los Angeles who travels the country performing comedy and finding the best places to eat
- Mooji: Jamaican spiritual teacher, based in Portugal where he runs an 30-hectare ashram called Monte Sahaja and gives talks and retreats
Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy:
- RRP #251: Faith Provocateur Rob Bell
- RRP #354: Rob Bell Is ‘The Heretic’
- RRP #428: Nadia Bolz-Weber Is Shameless
- RRP #347: James Altucher On The Art Of Thinking Differently
- RRP #177: Kevin Breel’s Confessions Of A Depressed Comic
- RRP #427: Brian Koppelman On The Artist Within
Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, audio engineering and show notes. Video, editing and graphics by Blake Curtis and Margo Lubin. Theme and interstitial “Be Still” music by Ana Leimma.
*Disclosure: Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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