Hey, it's Brian, and I'm back with another one, for those of us who just can't wait until

after Thanksgiving to get into the Christmas spirit. If you're listening in real time,

Thanksgiving is one week from today. No doubt that has you thinking about festive, extended

family gatherings filled with good food, glad tidings, and warm memories. Well, that's one side of it, at least, because, of course, families are made up of people,

and people have their quirks and their foibles.

And because, just as it is with the rest of life, stuff happens during the holidays.

Put it all together, and every family has a unique brand of merry mayhem and a vault of crazy stories that only that family could have ever produced.

Danny Pellegrino is a best-selling author, actor, and screenwriter.

He's the host of the hit podcast Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino.

He's also the host of a very merry iconic podcast with

Danny and Jenna, Jenna being comedian and writer Jenna Brister. His latest book is The Joliest

Bunch, Unhinged Holiday Stories. It's a nostalgic trip through his most festive memories in a collection

of stories that are heartfelt, hilarious, and, for better or worse,

true. I caught up with Danny earlier this year to talk about the book, Christmas, family,

and more. Here's our conversation. I hope you enjoy it. Danny Pellegrino, welcome to Christmas

past. Hi, Brian. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

So I suppose I should start with an apology because we are recording this interview in early 2024, which means that your book, which came out in 2023, somehow I got through the entire

Christmas season without it coming across my radar. What happened was recorded books,

for whom we both recorded audiobooks, tweeted at both

of us, and that's how we became aware of your book. So I picked it up in audiobook and print

in early 2024, and that's been a great way for me to kind of keep the Christmas spirit going

into the new year. So in a way, I'm kind of glad I discovered it late because it's just been a

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