This week on Down to the Wire Jacob Racco welcomes back Hassan Phills for his second stint on the podcast. Joining Hassan is comedian Alistair Ogden, both stopped by the studio during their tour date here in Ottawa. Hassan is coming off of the new new Crave Original show Office Movers, while Alistair is fresh off of a string of shows in niche transgender coffee shops. The show looks a little different today compared to his last visit on the podcast. Today Jacob reads out 5 headlines and both comedians have 90 seconds to guess if they are real or fake news. Whoever guesses the LEAST amount of correct guesses has to face a punishment. The news stories in question today are: Leaked emails reveal scale of Swedish minister’s bananaphobia Elon Musk’s former dorm-mate alleges billionaire used to ‘haunt’ girls’ floor Greek man convicted for sneaking onto neighbour's' properties to smell their shoes Man Who Suffered Concussion After Skiing Accident Forgot Girlfriend Dumped Him the Day Before—And They Married 7 Months Later Smuggler caught with ‘over a dozen lobsters’ strapped to his body

0:00 - Meet Hassan Phills & Alistair Ogden

4:32 - Swedish Ministers bananaphobia

11:57 - Elon Musk Pranked Girls at Queens University

17:45 - Greek Man Convicted for Sniffing Shoes

27:25 - Man Forgot Girlfriend Dumped Him After Ski Accident

38:42 - Smuggler Caught with Lobsters Strapped to Body

44:30 - Punishment Discussion

54:45 - Punishment (Grocery Store Prank)

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Today we welcome back friend of the show, comedian Moe Ismail who is coming off of an appearance on the new Crave original, 'The Office Movers'.

In today’s episode we introduce him to the new format we've been testing out, where we read out a headline and our guest has 90 seconds to guess if its real or fake news.

HOWEVER, we add a twist. And by twist I mean punishment.

Today's slate of Back Page News is:

In Japan, this man with six partners wants to father 54 children, earn the title of ‘god of marriage’ (4:26)

Eighteen treated for severe nausea in Stuttgart after opera of live sex and piercing (13:10)

Police hunt 43 monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina research facility (21:38)

From Fireball to Crierball: Thanks to Fireball Whisky Football Fans Can Drink the Tears of Their Biggest Rivals (32:26)

Elon Musk's Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn (39:22)

Follow Moe Ismail on Instagram and check out his podcast, 'Pretty Hairy'

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Today we welcome back friend of the show, comedian Akeem Hoyte-Charles.

Last time he was on the podcast we cold called the teacher who got fired over her rap career, making a strong dent in Down to the Wire history.

In today’s episode we introduce him to the new format we've been testing out, where we read out a headline and our guest has 90 seconds to guess if it’s real or fake news.

To close out the show we hear out Akeem's rant on how Home Alone IS NOT a Christmas movie.

Today's slate of Back Page News is:

German Woman Ends 10-Year Relationship with Airplane (1:12)

Ohio Man Attempts to Rob Bank Using Only Interpretive Dance (12:30)

Huge bronze poop statue 'honoring' Jan. 6 rioters appears on Capitol Hill (17:20)

Woman arrested for training squirrels to attack her ex-boyfriend (23:24)

Starbucks’ new CEO faces backlash over 1,000-mile commute by private jet (36:26)

Ottawa’s #1 Comedy Show takes the stage for a second time. Welcome to Down to the Wire, Ottawa's favourite comedy podcast, filmed live at the Laugh Lounge. Hosted by comedian Jacob Racco, this event blends stand-up comedy with the a satire spin on late night talk shows, featuring reactions to weird headlines in the news. This live edition of Down to the Wire showcases stand-up acts from a few of Ottawa's funniest comedians – Kamar Babar, Kia Mazhar, George Assily, and Bobby Knauff – each comedian takes the stage for side-splitting sets before joining Racco at the desk for a podcast-style deep dive into some of the most unusual headlines from around the globe.

We're spicing things up in the studio this week and putting our guest on the spot. Today Jacob will read out five goofy headlines and our guest will have to guess whether they are real or fake news. Today's guest Big Norm will have a few minutes to ask questions about each story to try and press Jacob before making his guess. Todays real (or fake news) headlines are: Man Shoots His Male Doctor After He Made Him Cum During A Prostate Exam (0:28) Family told to change son's 'Skywalker' name or seek Disney's permission (7:10) Vladimir Putin urges citizens to 'have sex during work breaks' to address Russia's dire birthrate (15:08) Icelandic Mayor Apologizes After Naming All Town’s Streets After Ex-Girlfriends (24:33) California firefighter arrested for allegedly starting 5 wildfires (32:51)

Follow Big Norm on ⁠Instagram⁠ and check out his podcast Extra Gravy

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0:28 - Man Shoots His Male Doctor During A Prostate Exam 7:10 - Family to change 'Skywalker' name or seek Disney's permission 15:08 - Vladimir Putin urges citizens to 'have sex during work breaks' 24:33 - Icelandic Mayor Names All Town’s Streets After Ex-Girlfriends 32:51 - firefighter arrested for allegedly starting 5 wildfires 46:14 - Outro (Podcasting & Racist Candy)

This week we are joined by Toronto comedian Rasha E, who flew in just for todays episode because I'm a fly in our guest type guy now (as long as they're flight attendants). Today we get into some odd news stories we found such as; The viral ‘Chase bank glitch’ is actually a crime and could land you in prison (7:42) Maduro decrees Christmas will start in October as Venezuela cracks down on dissent (25:27) A toddler cried non-stop during a flight. Two strangers locked her in the bathroom (42:47)

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We throw some of the darkest news stories we found this past week at Kia Mazar, and he was not happy. This weeks slate of news is unlike our normal rotation of weird and funny news, unfortunately its been a dark week. This weeks news is kicked off with a twisted story about a husband adding cocaine, MDMA to wife's drinks while making love with her daughter, in hopes he would marry her. (5:44) Next, Japan's plan to lure Tokyo women into rural marriages for cash is axed. (24:49) Then to conclude the news, Yemen weapons dealers are now selling machine-guns on X, the app formerly known as Twitter. (39:56)

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0:00 - Teaser

1:00 - Meet Kia Mazar

5:44 - Freaky Old Man and Step-Daughter

24:49 - Japan Luring Women to Farms

39:56 - Selling Guns on X (Twitter)

This week New York comedian Danny Martinello drops by for his second stint on the podcast. He fills us in on how New York has been treating him and the differences between America and Canada. Todays news features a call in where we track down the Pennsylvania man who posted up a billboard seeking out women Next up, American Airlines banned a lesbian woman after accusing her of sex with a man Then we get into the lawsuit Disney is trying to drop over a loophole in the terms and conditions.

Follow Danny Martinello on Instagram and check out his podcast Dude Buddy

Click the links to check out Jacob Racco on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠

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0:00 - Intro

2:04 - Danny Martinello

9:50 - Man Seeks Dates with Billboard

32:11 - Lesbian Accused of Sex with Man

59:14 - Disney Allergy Lawsuit