We love all of our guests on this podcast and are delighted that they helped amuse you to sleep. There are some among those guests who seem to have an extra-special ability to get what we’re asking for, to grasp the mission, to understand the assignment. They speak in extra hushed tones, they choose astoundingly benign subject matter, they delight and bring forth some nice laughs, they drone, they lull, and they conk you right the heck out. On this, our 150th episode, we bring you some all-stars of that craft. Demi Adejuyigbe talks film photography, Paget Brewster shares bone broth secrets, Chris Kluwe breaks down NFL punting in more steps than you thought possible, Lulu Miller offers thoughts on dolphins and other animals, Hanif Abdurraqib walks you through his band shirt collection, and Janet Varney communes with nocturnal critters. You’re in good hands here. Night night.

Roxane Gay is one of the greatest writers in the world today. Everyone knows this. We’re so thrilled that she agreed to be on our show. Roxane is the author of books like Bad Feminist and Hunger, writes for the New York Times, is a respected social critic and noted professor. All this means that she travels a lot and she joins us, using a very soothing voice, to share her opinions on air travel. Hear about her favorite airports, such as Indianapolis, and her least favorite airports, like JFK in New York. We even get some book recommendations from Roxane since we had her on the line and she is Roxane Gay, after all. You’ll drift off to sleep dreaming of travel without ever waiting in a TSA line.

You might know Jon Lovett as the host of the podcast Lovett or Leave It or as one of the hosts of the influential Pod Save America show. On those shows, Jon and others talk about big events in politics and try to make sense of it all. Which is hard. But it turns out that America itself, the very Constitution of this nation, may have a fatal flaw it in it, a loophole that could be activated and instantly make it a totalitarian country (or, depending on how you see things, even more so). It’s a loophole, Jon Lovett tells us, first brought up by Kurt Gödel, last name pronounced like the ladies’ undergarment. He was an influential mathematician and logician from Eastern Europe who found the loophole while studying for his citizenship test. He passed but, crucially, never revealed the loophole even though his pal Albert Einstein wanted him to. And then Gödel died in 1978, secret still safe. So you’ll be able to sleep safe.

We understand that for many people, Jodie Sweetin is forever linked to Stephanie Tanner, the character she played for eight years on Full House and four more years on Fuller House. But we doubt Stephanie was nearly as much into Lego building sets as the real Jodie is. In fact, we seriously doubt anyone is as much into Legos as Jodie. She joins us to talk about some of her favorite sets that she’s put together and how the little interlocking bricks play a major role in establishing peace of mind. Jodie loves nothing better than to get a big kit to put together, turn on a grisly true crime podcast, and then meticulously follow the directions of assembly. Not exactly transcendental mediation but certainly meditative. She shares with us how her daughters have always had toys of their own and are not to play with Mom’s bricks. You’ll doze off to Jodie’s familiar voice extol the virtues of precise assembly.

Actor and writer Bridger Winegar has appeared in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and as the host of his own delightful podcast I Said No Gifts, where his guests insist on bringing gifts, despite the title and he acts upset but really loves it. Bridger has had his iPhone for a long time, it gets used a lot, and, frankly, it’s pretty worn out. So he needs a new one. But rather than simply buy the latest edition, Bridger is going to take a more considered approach, verbally examining and evaluating ALL iPhone models that have ever come out, dating back to the original 2007 model. As you doze off, you’ll hear Bridger carefully consider all his choices and examine each feature of every phone. It’s kind of like being stuck at the cell phone store but you’re listening to someone really funny and kind and clever and also you’re in bed and can go ahead and fall asleep.

The comedian Myq Kaplan has appeared on The Tonight Show, Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and many other television programs. He also hosts two podcasts, has released comedy albums, and has a new comedy special, Rini, which is also the name of his girlfriend. That’s an unusual name but then so is Myq. He used to be Mike but changed it at summer camp one year and it stuck. You can change your name whenever you want to. Myq loves advice columns. Your Dear Abbys, your Ann Landerses, even your Dan Savages. Just likes hearing solutions that go with people’s problems. Myq also thinks there’s a correlation between people who like advice columns and fans of cryptic crosswords. So lean back, relax, listen to the gently repeating problem-solution continuum of our talk with Myq. And get a GNS. That’s good night’s sleep. Sincerely, Sleeping with Celebrities.

We were so excited (though we kept it subdued) to meet the hilarious Wendi McLendon-Covey from Reno 911!, St Denis Medical, Bridesmaids, and Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar. Wendi enjoys going to concerts and says it gives her the same satisfaction as travel but it’s shorter and cheaper. You’ll find that listening to Wendi talk about concerts is like traveling or going to a concert yourself but with the added benefit of not leaving your comfy bed and knocking out a GNS yourself. GNS stands for Good Night’s Sleep and it’s an acronym we’re going to use some more. We hear about some of Wendi’s favorite shows, including George Michael at his ripped jeans and leather jacket finest. Best of all, Wendi very much understood the assignment of our show and uses her most soothing voice so your trip to a GNS is assured.

You might know Eddie Pepitone from standup stages around the country, as “The Heckling New Yorker” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as an actor on Reno 911! or Bob’s Burgers, from his brand new comedy special The Collapse, or from his podcast Apocalypse Soon. Or if you’re a close follower of people who get worked up about purchasing binoculars and then never really use the binoculars, you might know him from that because that’s also who Eddie is. He fills us in on his constant search for just the right shopping decision that will solve his problems and set his world in order but he just can’t seem to find it. True contentment lies within, of course, you Sleepyheads know that, but let’s not tell Eddie. Using a much softer voice and calmer demeanor than he’s traditionally known for, you’ll drowsily follow along on Eddie’s shopping quest and ultimately doze off while he’s still comparing features and prices. Maybe he’ll buy a canvas chair.

Allison Raskin has a pretty diverse array of interests. She’s a former Buzzfeed video creator, co-host of the podcast Just Between Us, and the author of numerous best-selling books, including Please Send Help, Overthinking About You, and the new Save the Date. How does she unwind from this busy life? By being obsessed with Inspector Gamache, the Quebecois crime solver found in novels by Louise Penny and on television, played by Alfred Molina. Join us for a meandering conversation about Gamache’s brilliance, maple taffy, and the Quebec lunchtime experience of the “trio”, where you get a half sandwich, a cup of soup, AND a small salad. You don’t have to choose in Quebec. You can have it all. Drift off to sleep with that happy contented thought in your head.

Look, it’s okay. You’ll be able to sleep just fine. Sure, witches can be scary but keep two things in mind: witches are pretend so they can’t hurt you and some list-making analytical thinking is a great way to doze off to some shuteye that is guaranteed toad, broomstick, and cackle-free. SwC returning guest Lindy West teams up with Meagan Hatcher-Mays to do the honors. The two of them host the podcast Text Me Back Podcast. Find out if the witches at the beginning of Macbeth outrank Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing in Practical Magic. Do Erivo and Grande defeat Strega Nona? You’ll have to tune in and find out, obviously. As one famous melting witch once said, what a world, what a world.

Can you improvise a musical? Sure, you can. But isn’t it hard to do? Absolutely. That’s why hardly anyone does it. I mean, who wants to do hard things? Well, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino do. They’re the hosts and creators of Off Book, a podcast where they improvise a whole new musical with each episode. They’ve also appeared on shows like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Goldbergs, and Comedy Bang! Bang! (forgive our use of exclamation points, Sleepyheads). Jessica and Zach travel a lot and they sure do love tiki bars. You know with the pineapples and the garish decor and all that. They join John Moe to talk about the forgotten (and perhaps made up) oyster musical Oyster Ranch, the role of the “Edward Albee” in a theater, and all the things, like airplanes, that should be made tiki.

Fans of the long-running animated comedy Archer already know Amber Nash as Pam Poovey, the former H.R. director at ISIS. She has superhuman strength and a dolphin hand puppet. Pam does, not Amber. Amber has human strength and we don’t know about the puppets. Amber is the host of the brand new Rephrasing: An Archer Rewatch Podcast here on Maximum Fun. She’s also a devotee of the Vermont Country Store Catalog, a compendium of folksy and sometimes odd items that shows up as a kind of print portal to a rustic and slow-paced Vermont that exists only in the mail-order-verse. Tour around this soothing place with Amber, help her shop for one-of-a-kind gift ideas for the eccentric and rustic folks on your holiday list, and hear all about store founder Vrest Orton. He was pals with H.P. Lovecraft and his name was really Vrest. You’ll fall asleep in the Vermont portal but wake up safe and rested in your own bed.

Steve Agee is a beloved actor, writer, comedian, and all-around funny person, seen most recently as John Economos in the John Cena DC Comics series Peacemaker on HBO. You may have caught his work in films like The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2. You didn’t see him in Meatballs, the 1979 Bill Murray summer camp comedy, because Steve was just a wee boy back then. Steve has seen Meatballs, though. Oh has he ever. He loves the film, loves summer camp in general, although in his middle-age he has realized what a terrible employee Bill Murray’s character really is in the film. Insubordinate rule breaker who should be fired, when you stop and think about it. Steve also talks about what it’s like to have a job like his where a day of labor might mean having to kill a gorilla with a chainsaw. Not a real gorilla, Sleepyheads, it’s just pretend. And we won’t play that scene for you. We want you to sleep. Steve has a very soothing voice, by the way. So that will help. He even listens to the show! But he probably won’t listen to this episode because that would feel weird.

We grant you that listening to actual D.C. hardcore music will probably not put you into the best state for sleep. The dulcet tones of Roman Mars, however, discussing said scene? Yeah, that ought to do it. Roman is the creator and host of the beloved and hugely popular podcast 99% Invisible and a public radio veteran so, yes, his voice is as smooth as butter spread on top of more butter. He shares with us the deep caring and mutual love within hardcore, the camaraderie that lies beneath the music and he conveys that will likely punch your ticket on the Dreamland Express. Also, Roman reveals which popular Taylor Swift song is secretly a punk song.

Host John Moe leads off this episode by extolling the virtues of foster dog caretaking and he enumerates the many dogs his family as tended to in the last year: Cowboy, Bug, Beans, Ducky, Pork Chop, Radar, and Car Wash. All these dogs were, and all dogs are, eccentric. Then we welcome cartoonist Nathan Pyle, the man who brings you those Strange Planet cartoons where aliens attempt to understand the eccentric ways of human beings. We are a fascinating and bizarre species as Nathan illustrates in his hilarious works. Nathan tells us all about his favorite YouTube habit, the key to his happy algorithm: long blocks of old commercials. He just adores them, finds them relaxing, distracting, and altogether peaceful. Hear about a young Shaquille O’Neal, the Easy Bake Oven, and the Got Milk? campaign as you drift away to sleep.

J. Kenji López-Alt knows more about food than you or I put together. He has won James Beard Awards, contributed to New York Times Cooking and Serious Eats, and his books include The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, and a children’s book titled Every Night is Pizza Night. But he’s no snobby foody. He pays careful attention to how to stack ingredients in the humble hardshell taco so that you maximize flavor and minimize structural collapse. He also has thoughts on the burger (don’t think toppings, think bottomings). This is an episode that will fill you up, not with tacos and burgers, shouldn’t eat those in bed anyway, but with wisdom and practical advice on how to make your next meal architecturally correct and tasty too. For olives, he likes the sliced up ones. Yep, straight from the can.

Actor and comedian Baron Vaughn is familiar to audiences for his work on Grace & Frankie, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and The New Negroes with friend of the show Open Mike Eagle. He’s familiar to his family for watching a whole lot of those multi-episode, sepia photograph-intensive, history rich documentaries by Ken Burns on subjects like baseball, the Civil War, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Doritos, although we made that last one up. Baron tells us all about his favorite Burns works and why he actually hasn’t made his way all the way through most of them because, yeah you guessed it, he dozes off after a while. You’ll doze off as Baron shares his Burnsian adoration as well as his passionate interest in the history of comedy.

You have definitely seen actor, writer, and director Ravi V. Patel on a screen before. He’s one of those guys that seems to be in everything. Perhaps most recently as a team mentor on the new season of LEGO Masters Jr. or maybe co-starring on Animal Control with Joel McHale or acting in Ghosts or being put through some grueling paces on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. All the while, he has a family with young children. It’s a very busy life for Ravi and he’s able to accomplish all this, in part due to an extremely detailed nutrition and fitness routine, which he will tell you all about. He’ll even tell you what type of book to read at bedtime (if you’re not listening to the show) and how many grams of protein to get each day (it rhymes with schmirty). You’ll be asleep before you know it, even as Ravi goes off to film some new television show.

When you have two guests on one show, you’re going to get a variety of topics, especially when they have such diverse interests as tennis great Patrick McEnroe and Broadway icon Melissa Errico. The two, married 26 years, take us on a very friendly and relaxing jaunt through a very old-timey English castle (that somehow has a sauna and Pilates room), various off-the-beaten-path tourist spots in Italy, plus Frankfurt, Copenhagen, and Capri, home of those pants. And we get in plenty of discussion of tennis, which you can enjoy without keeping score (in that weird tennis way), running, or grunting. You can just lie down and let the anecdotes wash over you. Patrick tells us that his older brother, John McEnroe, has recorded a sleep story for a major sleep aid app, but that will cost you money and our show won’t. Also, while Patrick will definitely send you to sleep, we have a hard time believing the same about John, having seen him get really super mad at line judges.

As hosts of the Happy Wife Happy Life podcast, comedians/writers/actors Kendahl Landreth and Jordan Myrick help their listeners navigate everything related to relationships. Here on our show, in this episode, they bring that gift of harmony to society’s views of chihuahuas, especially their own rescue dog, Angel. As you drift off to sleep, you’ll hear about Angel’s peculiarities, why these dogs are not necessarily annoying but possibly misunderstood, and you’ll hear the surprising information that one of Paris Hilton’s chihuahuas was 23 dang years old when it finally passed away. 23. Can you believe that? Turns out, Paris was an excellent tiny dog caretaker. You’ll love spending your sleepytime with Kendahl, Jordan, and Angel who doesn’t bark at all during show. Not so yappy at all, you see.