About Us
Founded in 2018, The Marx Brothers Council Podcast is easily the longest-running Marx Brothers podcast in the history of human civilization.
Somehow, every month, we find more to say about the lives and works of these extraordinary artists—often in the company of extraordinary guests.
“EIGHT GREAT MOVIE PODCASTS”
VANITY FAIR
“HIGH MARX”
THE COURIER
MATTHEW CONIAM is an author and film scholar whose books include The Annotated Marx Brothers and That’s Me, Groucho! He is the author of the Marx Brothers Council blog, and the founder of the Marx Brothers Council Facebook group, from whence this podcast sprang.
NOAH DIAMOND is a writer, performer, and designer whose credits include the first-ever revival of I’ll Say She Is, for which he adapted the book and lyrics and played the role of Groucho. His books include Gimme a Thrill. More about him at noahdiamond.com.
BOB GASSEL is the editor and producer who makes Matthew and Noah seem almost coherent. If you’ve watched TV in the last few decades, you’ve probably seen something Bob edited. Bob is also the voice, heart, and soul of the Marx Brothers Council Podcast on Twitter.
Before there was a Marx Brothers Council Podcast, there was Matthew’s Marx Brothers Council blog. There, he published his original “annotated guides” to the Marxes’ films, later expanded into The Annotated Marx Brothers. The comments section of the blog soon attracted a formidable rogues’ gallery of Marx experts and enthusiasts. One of them, Bob Gassel, suggested that Matthew move the conversation to a Facebook group, where it has thrived since 2013, and has expanded to include more Marx superfans and Marx notables than any other group of its kind. Five years after the group’s debut, Matthew and Bob teamed up with Council member and Marx Brothers revivalist Noah Diamond to create The Marx Brothers Council Podcast.
The best way to learn about the Council’s Facebook group is to join and participate in the conversation right now. As an introduction to the group ethos, here are the opening paragraphs of Matthew’s description:
“We’re more of a discussion group than a fan page, so a general knowledge of the Brothers, their lives and their career is presumed. Don’t post well-known stills, your favourite quotes, ‘memes,’ GIFs, YouTube links or clips from the films unless to make some specific point. It’s not that we don’t like them, and it's certainly not that we don’t like you — it’s just that we’ve seen them already.
“We split hairs and wallow in minutiae for its own sake: if you’re the kind of person who leaves comments like, ‘You need to get out more’ or ‘Don’t analyse it, just enjoy it’ when the conversation gets intricate, this may not be the group for you.
“We are fortunate to count among our members many well-known Marx Brothers experts, scholars, performers, and members of the Marx family. Writing their names will prompt Facebook’s invitation to tag them — please do so only if you actually want to (i.e.: if it is something you specifically want them to see). If you’re just mentioning them in passing please hit ESC to kill the tag — that way they won’t be constantly summoned to posts!
“I usually let ‘cats/dogs that look like Groucho’ and ‘cats/babies doing the mirror routine’ posts stick around for a day or two, tops.”
