Michael R. Carlson

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Michael R. Carlson (born 1984) is an American actor, musician, and podcaster, known for co-creating and co-hosting the theme park podcast Podcast the Ride.

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Early life

Michael R. Carlson grew up in Schaumburg, Illinois, the son of Jeff Carlson. He attended Schaumburg High School, graduating in 2002, before starting his post-secondary education at Harper College and eventually transferring to Illinois State University. [1] Following school Michael moves to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and comedy.

Career

Five days after arriving in LA, Michael got hired through a friend to help write comedy material for the comedian and actor Pauly Shore. After a year in that position he became a production assistant on the lot of the CW Network. [1] During this time he also started taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and began to book acting gigs in TV commercials. Most notably he would be directed by Peter Farrelly in a commercial for Miller Lite. [2]

Starting in 2014 Carlson would make 34 appearances on the YouTube competition show Movie Fights produced by the channel Screen Junkies. He won 13 of those appearances and competed in three title matches, most memorably losing the belt to the puppet Cucumber during MOVIE FIGHTS EXTRAVAGANZA!! .

Podcast the Ride

In 2017 Carlson helped launch the podcast Podcast the Ride with co-hosts Jason Sheridan and Scott Gairdner. [3] Initially focused on theme park attractions, particularly those at Disney and Universal Studios, they would subsequently expand their topics to include a wide variety of pop culture touchstones such as Casamigos Tequila, the musical career of Annette Funicello, and the character Blu32 from the David Copperfield Vegas show. They gained considerable notoriety for their long form series on the stores, restaurants, and theming of Universal CityWalk and Downtown Disney. [4] The CityWalk Saga would be lauded by Vulture as one of the best podcast miniseries of 2018 tying with Doughboys. [5]

Over the course of the show Carlson has made notable contributions to the music of the podcast, composing the theme song and its many variations as well as one off projects like the unofficial sequel to the McGruff album Smart Kids entitled Smart Teens 2020. The EP includes the songs Vaping, Raves, Families, and Hookup Apps.

Personal life

Carlson has a daughter (born 2022) with partner Lindsay Katai, writer on the show Infinity Train and cohost of the podcast Teen Creeps. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Gire, Dann (2014-01-21). "Schaumburg High grad glides into commercial success". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2025-05-29. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  2. ↑ Miller Lite TV Spot, 'Subliminal Advertising' Song by Apollo 100 . Retrieved 2025-05-30– via www.ispot.tv.
  3. ↑ Shure, Marnie (2020-01-14). "Disneyland, dissected: The hosts of Podcast: The Ride unpack their theme park obsession". AV Club. Archived from the original on 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  4. ↑ Raftery, Brian (2018-10-10). "Podcast: The Ride and the Joys of Obsession Learning". Wired. Archived from the original on 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  5. ↑ Kramer, Mark (2018-12-19). "Best Miniseries — (tie) Doughboys' Octdoughberblessed & Podcast the Ride's CityWalk Saga". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  6. ↑ Andrews, Travis M. (2022-09-07). "Streaming TV is having an existential crisis, and viewers can tell". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
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