John Waters on "Punk Rock Christmas," Serial Mom, and Liarmouth

The Pope of Trash himself John Waters joins Kyle Meredith to dive into his enduring holiday-themed spoken word tours, his provocative take on Christmas traditions, 1994's Serial Mom, the unmade Liarmouth adaptation, and the irreverent artistry that's defined his career.

Waters, who has been delighting (and shocking) audiences with his Christmas tours for over a decade, promises fresh material every year. (Get tickets to this December's run of shows here!) His approach combines biting social commentary with festive absurdity — this year’s show reportedly includes advice on "how to talk dirty using only Christmas words." Ever irreverent, Waters embraces the traditional in his own subversive way: "I don’t have a tree. I decorate the electric chair from Female Trouble."

Waters continues to break boundaries with his work, most recently releasing a delightfully bizarre holiday single on Sub Pop Records. The B-side, "Punk Rock Christmas," is a spoken word piece blending his trademark wit with biting cultural critique, while the A-side, a cover of The Singing Dogs’ "Jingle Bells," takes holiday kitsch to an absurd, joyful extreme.

Despite his many creative endeavors, Waters has faced roadblocks with his long-awaited film adaptation of his novel Liarmouth. "Aubrey Plaza was ready to star, I wrote the script, and they loved it," he explains, but securing a budget has proved elusive. Waters, ever pragmatic, acknowledges that studio leadership changes quickly, leaving room for hope that the project might still see the light of day.

Listen to John Waters chat about all this and more in the new episode or watch it on YouTube. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.

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