Cute Video Post-Schmoes!

Sean Astin shows off his Fellowship tattoo to LOTR nerd Tiffany Smith and autographs her tee shirt.

Video from Schmoes Know Movies

Here is a behind the scenes glimpse during a break in last night's Schmoes Know Movies podcast. Sean  discusses the fact that he does have a number of lesser known films, and weighs in on the upcoming Star Wars trilogy from Disney.



From the actual podcast, Sean talks about why "Django Unchained"made him mad:

Sean Astin on Schmoes Know Movies: Video & Photos

Sean Astin was a guest on last night's "Schmoes Know Movies" podcast on the Toadhop Network, talking about the Oscar nominations and process. (Sean is a voting member of the Academy.)

Watch or listen to the podcast here.

Panoramic view of Toadhop studio, posted by @kozpan. 

Sean Astin to talk Oscars on Schmoes Know Movies

Sean will be a guest on Toadhop Network sister show "Schmoes Know Movies" this week, Thursday, February 7, 8-10pm PT. ( That's 11pm-1am ET; I'll be catching it the next day!) It's a good bet Sean will be talking about the Oscar-nominated films, a topic he's been recently tweeting about!

Listen live or catch up on old shows here.

Sean on Schmoes Know Movies

Sean made a guest appearance this morning on "Schmoes Know Movies" on Toadhopnetwork.com. He talked about his movie famous movies: The Goonies, Rudy and The Lord of the Rings, including such tidbits as his idea for a Goonies sequel!

Watch or listen here.

Sean Astin and the hosts of Schmoes Know Movies

The show is also available for download on iTunes.

Sean to guest on Schmoes Know Movies

Sean continues to make the rounds on sister shows on Toadhopnetwork.com, guesting on "Schmoes Know Movies" on Wednesday August 22, 8-10am PT. You may remember Sean first became acquainted with the network when he appeared on "2 Guys and a Mic" in February, and just visited "About Last Night…" earlier this week.

"Schmoes Know Movies is the hilarious and insightful podcast for lovers of all things cinema. Hosts Kristian Harloff and Mark Ellis bring their popular web series to the airwaves with hysterical banter, the latest news and celebrity guests. Join us every Wednesday morning for perhaps the greatest movie show in the galaxy…"

Sean on "About Last Night…" Monday

Sean will be a guest on "About Last Night…" a sister show to Vox Populi on Toadhopnetwork.com, Monday, July 30, 2012, 3-4pm PT. Be sure to give it a listen/watch!

"Comedians Brad Williams and Adam Ray share crazy stories from their lives on the road. From sex, to sports, to booze, when a dwarf and a Jew come together the results are unpredictable but always entertaining."

Update: The episode can be watched or downloaded here. Well worth listening to Sean's story of his one and only stand-up comedy experience!!

Mackenzie Astin subs on Vox Populi

Mackenzie Astin

While his big brother Sean is in Toronto filming an episode of SyFy's Alphas, Mackenzie Astin guest hosted on today's episode of Sean's political webcast, Vox Populi.

Since he is not the political junkie Sean is, instead of a political theme, Mack chose the topic of inspiration: the inspiration that can be found in Sean's roles of Mikey, Rudy and Samwise; and on a much more personal level, how Sean helped inspire Mack in his own life.

It was a very personal, riveting and moving hour. If you missed it, the episode is online now at http://www.toadhopnetwork.com/f/Vox?date=20120705, or you can get the iTunes podcast here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vox-populi/id524848035

Do check it out! It's definitely Radio Worth Watching!

UPDATE: Watch here: http://www.voxpopuliradio.com/episodes/episode-10-july-5-2012/

Vox Populi promo video

"There's nothing that's phony about Sean Astin. What you see is what you get. And that's a tremendously winning quality for talk radio."

—Michael Medved, radio talk show host, author and political commentator

Vox Populi: Radio worth watching!

Are you tuning into Vox Populi: The Voice of the Occasionally Interested People? If not, you are missing out on fascinating and thought-provoking discussions of the topics of the day. Here's the description of yesterday's episode from the web site:

The main topic of the show today was exploring the meaning of the Obama Campaign's Commercial regarding Governor Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital. The featured guest Dr. Noam Chomsky spoke about the advertising industry's dominance in shaping political thought in America. Today marked the appearance of Vox Populi's 1st in-studio guest Mackenzie "Mack" Astin, the younger brother of Host Sean Astin. The brothers enjoyed some repartee picking up on Chomsky's commercialization of the political sphere. Several callers offered substantive comments on the subject and a good time was had by all…

Permanent link for 05/17/12 episode.

Mackenzie and Sean Astin

Vox Populi airs live on Toadhopnetwork.com Thursdays, noon-2pm PT. More information on watching/listening options at the Vox Populi FAQ.

Vox Populi FAQ

Sean's new political web show, “Vox Populi: The Voice of the (occasionally interested) People,” debuts Thursday, May 3, noon-2pm PT (noon-1pm summer hours), online at the Toadhop Network. Here are answers to some common watching/listening questions. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Read our exclusive interview with Sean about Vox Populi here.

• When is the show broadcast?
It is broadcast live each week on Thursday, noon-2pm Pacific Time (noon-1pm summer hours). The premiere show is May 3.

• How do I listen/watch live?
Go to http://toadhopnetwork.com during the broadcast, and audio will stream automatically. You can watch video of the live broadcast at http://toadhopnetwork.com/live/

• How do I listen/watch later?
Go to the Vox Populi page http://toadhopnetwork.com/f/Vox to listen to or watch any of the archived shows. You can also download audio-only mp3 files from that page.

Vox Populi is also available as a downloadable audio podcast, with new episodes automatically delivered to your computer or mobile device. The first episode is available now.

Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vox-populi/id524848035
Link to paste into podcasting software: http://www.toadhopnetwork.com/podcast?categoryID2=341
(Download iTunes for Mac or PC here.)

• How do I listen live on my mobile device?
The website methods described above should work on most mobile devices. (I have tested on iPad and iPhone.) Toadhop is working on a mobile app that will make it easier.

• I don't live in the US. Can I still listen/watch?
Yes, the above methods should work internationally. You must have an iTunes Store in your country to subscribe to the iTunes podcasts, but all other methods should work anywhere with internet access.

• How can I contact the show?
You can follow on Twitter @HostVoxPopuli, send email to seanastinvoxpopuli@gmail.com or leave a voice message at 1-626-VOX-TALK (869-8258). You can call into the show live at 1-888-520-4374.

Also check out the Vox Populi web site.

~~~

If you have additional questions, please suggest them in the comments! Thank you and happy listening!

Read our exclusive interview on how the show was born!

Sean's new show: Vox Populi

Sean has long been a political junky, and he likes to talk. What makes more sense than combining the two in a weekly internet audio/video podcast? “Vox Populi: The Voice of the (occasionally interested) People,” hosted by Sean, will premiere Thursday, May 3, noon - 2 pm PT, on the growing Toadhop Network.

(You may recall Sean was a guest earlier this year on Two Guys and a Mic on the Toadhop Network. Watch/listen to that podcast here. Sean comes in around 32 minutes into the show.)

Sean graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his new show.

~~~

How did the idea for doing a radio blog come about?

I've had the idea of doing a politically themed show for longer than I can remember. My mom [Patty Duke] was President of the Screen Actors Guild and my father [John Astin] did lots of Directors Union business. They were very active with causes they believed in, like gay rights, water safety, Muscular Dystrophy and many others. In my house there was much discussion of the world and the ways that people could work—including in politics—that might improve our world. From student to Presidential elections and many in between, I have fallen in love with government and political leadership. Campaigning is a natural for me and while I'm not quite a wonk, I do watch CSPAN for pleasure, as well as download Supreme Court decisions so I don't have to trust news commentators' analysis.

Recently, I did a string of media appearances to promote an inspirational Twitter campaign I am doing called #Run3rd. It is about encouraging people to make dedications about their loved ones and causes they believe in. One outlet that I wanted to do was the ToadHop Network on a show called Two Guys and a Mic. I had a great time and the setup looked perfect for the show I had in mind. I pitched it and they went for it. Ta Da, a show was born.

What unique talents or perspective to you hope to bring to the show to make it “Radio Worth Watching?” [ToadHop Network’s tag line]

I am me. It's hard to encapsulate the variety of experiences I've had that give me a unique vantage point to work from. But, at the risk of throwing out my resume, I've served on two Presidential appointments and campaigned seriously and visibly in three Presidential elections. I've appeared on countless political shows, Bill Mahr, Bill O'Riley, Chuck Todd, Larry King, etc. I was educated at UCLA with degrees in History and American literature and Culture. I could go on for a while, but let it suffice to say that I think my personality and perspective on the world, combined with a burning curiosity to learn, and what I hope is a core fairness and a genuine desire to help give people a platform to express themselves, are hopefully the recipe for a successful show.

Tell us about the name “Vox Populi.”

My favorite television show in the history of the medium is "The West Wing." There is an episode where President Bartlet [Martin Sheen] is at a Hollywood mogul's mansion for a fundraiser and Josh [Bradley Witford] is sitting at a table. Marlee Matlin (who is hearing impaired) and he are chatting, and at the end of their conversation she signs "Vox Populi Vox Deus." Trying to sort it out, Josh asks, "The voice of the people is the voice of dog?" She corrects him by mouthing, "The voice of the people is the voice of God." It's a funny, sweet and poignant moment. I've always liked to believe I have a populist streak. So, because the ToadHop Network has really bold, colorful titles, I thought Vox Populi would look good in a cool graffiti font. We ended up with something different, but there it is.

I used to call it Civic Duty in my mind, but that didn't sound pompous enough so I went for Vox Populi instead.

What is the format of the show? Will listeners be able to call in?

There will be callers in. The tone of the conversation will be both serious and fun, but constructive not combative. I expect that we will pick through current events and news stories, and have segments dedicated to different aspects of our political culture and government. I hope to bring interesting people into the show and conduct interviews that are meaningful and worth listening to.

Will you have guests? Anyone lined up? Who would your LOVE to have on your show?

It's a surprise who will be on the show. As soon as I start calling people to invite them, I will begin keeping it secret. I'm interested in interviewing elected officials and people who have significant insight into the process. As the Presidential election cycle gets even more spun up, I'm eager to interview surrogates and others. I also want to interview opinion makers, historians, etc. I could go on forever. I just want to find really cool people who love and live government, politics, news, etc.

What topics do you want to cover? Will you take suggestions for topics from your listeners?

My appetite for this stuff is huge, so the topics will run the spectrum from hot button issues to the inner workings of government and current events. Topics suggested by listeners will be vital to the success of the show!

At the beginning I expect that the show will succeed or fail on the strength (or not) of my personality. Going forward, I'm hoping to shape the show into an experience that people become familiar with, enjoy and really get something out of.

~~~

Be sure to check out Vox Populi with Sean Astin, available worldwide on the Toadhop Network: Radio Worth Watching, Thursdays noon-2pm PT! Note that you can watch/listen on the website after the show ends, or subscribe to the podcast via RSS feed or iTunes.

While you are waiting for next week, read Sean's Toadhop bio here and follow him on Twitter @HostVoxPopuli. You can send email to the show at seanastinvoxpopuli@gmail.com or leave a voice message at 1-626-VOX-TALK. Also check out the Vox Populi web site.

See the FAQ for details on how to watch/listen to the show!

Watch Sean's visit to 2 Guys & a Mic

Sean was the guest on "2 Guys and a Mic" podcast last night, talking about Run3rd and other topics. You can listen to or download an mp3 audio file or watch the video on the Toadhop Network web site. Sean's interview starts about 30 minutes into the one hour broadcast.

Sean and Marisa Coughlan

Read the interview on running that Sean mentions here.

Warning: there is crude language in the first half of the program.

Sean on 2 Guys & Mic podcast

Sean will be a guest on the "2 Guys and a Mic" podcast in LA this Tuesday, February 28, 8pm PT, 11pm ET.

Listen and watch the episode here..