Nathan Pyle, Strange Planets, Hour Long Blocks of Old Commercials, and Rescue Dogs

Episode 137

24th September 2025

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.

Episode notes

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.

Get your copy of Nathan Pyle’s new book, Tuck Me In, wherever books are sold.

Hey Sleepy Heads, is there anyone whose voice you’d like to drift off to, or do you have suggestions on things we could do to aid your slumber?

Email us at: sleepwithcelebs@maximumfun.org.

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John’s acclaimed, best-selling memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback.

In this episode...

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Guests

  • Nathan Pyle

About the show

Getting to sleep can be difficult sometimes. Now you can achieve that urgently needed rest by taking advantage of our most precious natural resource: celebrities. Each week on the slyly humorous and reassuring Sleeping With Celebrities, host John Moe talks with a different guest from the world of entertainment about something they know a lot about. The conversation is guaranteed to be just interesting enough to draw your attention away from your own swirling anxieties but never interesting enough to keep you awake. No startling revelations, no dramatic screaming confrontations, but plenty of low-key dialogue, intricately laced deadpan comedy, and a ticket to dreamland.

Podcast art by Stefan Lawrence.

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