What compels some people to never leave their hometown, while others crave a nomadic life without a home the moment they can take off on their own? That's how this episode begins; find out where the Gorilla Men fit into that spectrum. Hometowns are common things for most of us, but some people move about or travel so much, answering "Where are you from?" is difficult. We discuss that for a bit before traveling to our next point: the benefits of travel...

Are there benefits to traveling even a little bit? How about traveling a lot? Obviously, there are -- and we discuss them...but we also discuss the drawbacks. Then we get personal as we talk about other countries we've visited and the most interesting places we've seen in our travels. Of course, as writers, we take a side trip into this question: can writers believably set stories in places they have never visited...and how writers can go about doing just that. Then we hit the road!

The Great American Road Trip: we're biased when it comes to road trips -- we love them! Christopher goes as far as making the argument that there is no shame in not having seen many different countries when there is so much to see in the states. We talk about road trips' effect on our writing and reminisce for a moment about the best road trips we've ever taken.

Then it's back to the big, wide world as we discuss our dream destinations and places we'd love to visit that would make others say, "You're crazy for wanting to go there!" Finally, we wrap it all up by discussing our favorite places to travel.

We'd love to hear your dream destinations or favorite trips in the comments!

This Just In: the apes behind Men in Gorilla Suits are talking about the news this week!

Breaking Story: Men in Gorilla Suits ask, "When did the news become interesting to you?" Then those nutty monkeys talk about whether they prefer their news televised or if they'd rather find it online. They also ponder this: "Has 24-hour cable news added to the news or damaged it?" This pundit says it's all about money and is clearly right because the Gorillamen ask what influence advertisers have on the news -- and whether it's good or bad?

"LIBERALS!!!" (Calm down, Tex!) Does the word make your flesh crawl, or are you one of them? ("Serpent!") Doesn't matter; all that does: "Is there a liberal bias in the news?" And...what effect have pundits had on "news"? Also: is news from other countries better?

These days, news travels faster than ever. In a rush to be first with a story, do news stories suffer? If so, how? Then: "Social media as news — accurate or not?"

Why share actual news online when you can share...MISERY!!! Interviews with grieving families, court cases that have no real effect on your life, and sensational stories you'll forget by next week -- is that news, or just a sensational grab for ratings? (Probably pretty clear where the Gorillamen stand on this one-- watch out for their hurled poo!)

But "the news" is really an easy target. Is the news to blame for the shift it’s taken, or are we the problem?

"What's that? Some people avoid the news entirely?! HERETICS!!!" The Gorillamen talk about the movement to avoid the news. (Can you imagine that, avoiding the news? It's rumored one of the Gorillamen didn't even know about the Navy yard shooting that had the nation saying, "Oh, you wacky Mondays...does 12 dead even count as a mass shooting anymore?")

Really, it all comes down to this: does the news actually affect us, or is it presented in a manner to make us believe it does?

Is the news even important anymore?

If you don't listen, clearly...you don't want to be informed. So listen to this week's episode and express your rage, thoughts, or anything else you feel in the comments below. Because these days, the news is interactive, and even the slack-jawed knuckle draggers have a say!

(Views expressed are those of an unseen narrator and do not reflect those of Men in Gorilla Suits.

Maybe...)

This isn't a boring history lesson, or an episode chock full o' trivial things like, "Hey, did you all know the first person to kill at the Battle of Hastings -- in 1066 -- was a juggler?" (<----- That's for real, right there! Don't mess with jugglers!) This episode is about our relationships with history. What many deem to be a boring subject really isn't when you consider how much the human mind lives in the past, whether it's a head full of nostalgia or thinking about your place in the universe...that's all history!

We begin the episode with a bit of personal history, discussing the first time we remember even thinking about the topic. Also, who (or what) got us interested in history? With that beginning, we move on to our favorite periods of American history and world history. Many "man on the street" interviews make it look like Americans know very little about history...we spend some time discussing if that's true before moving on to what history even is.

History takes hold more when it's presented as a story rather than a bunch of dates and events we must commit to memory. We talk about how this affects our perception of history, and then move on to how history is covered: is history really written by the winners, or are there places one can go to find all sides of a story? What are the best sources for understanding history -- and what are the worst? Where do we go when we're in a mood to take in some history? We close it out with the best representation of history -- and the worst -- we've seen in popular media.

If you're a history buff, we'd love to hear your thoughts about history...and if you think history is just a boring subject, we just might change your mind...

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.meningorillasuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/migstitlecard31.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-670" alt="Comedy mask." src="http://www.meningorillasuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/migstitlecard31.jpg" width="475" height="275" /></a></p>
We're not talking about the mechanics of humor this week -- we're talking about <em>why</em> we laugh. Is laughter really the best medicine? We talk about our first memories of laughter (and would love to know yours). Along the way, we realized there are dark corners when it comes to laughter; we walk down the alley and discuss at what point we began laughing at more...raunchy things. There are things guaranteed to make us laugh every time we see them, and we tell you what those things are.

Why do people laugh at things they feel are taboo? The Internet: is it good or bad for laughter? Why can something as fun as laughter also be seen as an insult? We also talk about why some people laugh when they're nervous. Are comedies really all that funny? If so, what comedies make us laugh the most? Find out <em>who</em> makes us laugh the most! We close it all out talking about the hardest we've ever laughed and our favorite things about laughter.

We're not saying this episode is a laugh-riot, but hopefully it will make you appreciate laughter on a much deeper level.
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If you haven't visited Men in Gorilla Suits since the last episode, we posted some of our favorite videos that can be found online right here. And...here are some other videos mentioned in this episode (remember, we never claimed to have high taste in humor):

<strong>Mr. Sparkle Makes Shawn Laugh:</strong>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dnaLRbbc-54" height="315" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<strong>LA Beast Drinks Three Bottles of Sriracha Sauce and [WARNING] Vomits. Big Time! (NSFW):
</strong>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/toJDo046mm4" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<strong>Beavis and Butthead at the Hoover Dam (NSFW):</strong>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/T2cIGYpFA68" height="315" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<strong>Will Sasso Michael McDonald Vine Bit:</strong>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/djPq-QI4mjs" height="315" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>