#655 - Sal Vulcano

Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · April 27, 2026 · 2 h 12 min

Theo Von and comedian Sal Vulcano discuss fatherhood, Sal's new projects, a found 1985 wedding tape, the Artemis moon mission, and assorted comic tangents.

Summary

Comedian Sal Vulcano returned to This Past Weekend with host Theo Von. The conversation opened with Impractical Jokers approaching its 13th season, fans who watch the show during intimacy, and a meandering discussion of Highway to Heaven, Lost, Sal's round of medical screenings, and testicular self-exams. Sal described his upcoming solo talk-show podcast Minouche, the paused Hey Babe and Taste Buds podcasts, and Foul Play, a TBS prank series he executive produced with NBA player Anthony Davis. Von reflected on filming his own movie during the Los Angeles wildfires.

Sal spoke at length about fatherhood after the birth of his son, describing the joy of experiencing infancy a second time, his daughter's use of color-coded emotional zones from occupational therapy, and difficult decisions around sleep regression and boundaries. He said revealing his family publicly on a previous episode felt like a weight lifted. Von discussed wanting a wife and children and his nervousness around intimacy, mentioning attendance at recovery meetings.

Sal recounted finding a VHS tape labeled as Stu and Amy Shankman's 1985 wedding at a Salvation Army in 1995 and appealed to the couple to reclaim it. Other tangents included his frozen goldfish kept for over 15 years, a horse-riding scare, whether comedians should laugh at their own material, and the Artemis II lunar mission, which Von viewed skeptically as a possible distraction. The pair also recalled the Challenger disaster, watched the viral Shamokin Dunkin' Donuts fire news clip, discussed Loyal's dog-longevity drugs, and recalled Von's roast of Octomom Nadya Suleman.

Chapters

1:09
Impractical Jokers and TV nostalgia
Sal discusses the show's 15-year run and fan habits before the pair riff on Highway to Heaven and Lost.
8:35
Medical checkups and self-exams
Sal describes his round of medical scans and the two look up how to do a testicular self-exam.
25:42
Dancing and blues-club ham
Sal recounts a night of dancing at Motown Mondays while Theo recalls ham at a Baton Rouge blues bar.
33:24
New projects: Minouche, Foul Play and Theo's movie
Sal outlines his new talk-show pod and TBS series with Anthony Davis, and Theo reflects on making his film during the LA fires.
44:19
Fatherhood and going public
Sal describes life with two young children, emotional coaching, and the relief of revealing his family.
1:02:10
The Shankman wedding tape
Sal tells the story of a 1985 wedding VHS he found in 1995 and appeals to the couple to reclaim it.
1:08:59
Intimacy, laughter on stage and the frozen fish
Theo discusses nervousness around intimacy, the two debate laughing during sets, and Sal recounts his long-frozen goldfish.
1:26:53
Horses and salutes
The pair discuss farriers, proper military salutes and Sal's frightening childhood horse ride.
1:34:50
Artemis II and the Challenger
They debate the Artemis moon mission, lunar colonization, and remember the Challenger disaster.
1:47:02
Dunkin' Donuts clip and dog stars
Theo plays the viral Shamokin news clip, then they discuss vanished animal stars and dog-longevity drugs.
1:54:10
Parenting boundaries and wanting kids
Sal explains handling his daughter's sleep regression and urges Theo to have children.
2:02:53
Octomom and wrap-up
Theo recalls roasting Nadya Suleman, they guess the octuplets' birth weights, and Sal plugs his tour and shows.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Linked moment · 2:39Skip to 2:39 using a listen link in the info box.
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano attributed the show's popularity as background viewing to its format, which requires no following of a storyline.
“You just turn it on and it's good. Like playing in the background, it played all day long”
Listen from 2:39 · Impractical Jokers
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano said he once considered Lost the greatest show he had seen, but found its final seasons maddening.
“I thought Lost was the greatest show I had ever seen in my life. And then the last two or three seasons, it was like maddening”
Listen from 7:17 · Lost (TV series)
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano said his hiatus podcasts Hey Babe and Taste Buds will return, and that his new show Minouche would launch around May.
“We have full intentions to bring them both back. No joke”
Listen from 34:02 · Minouche (podcast)
Theo Von
Von said his movie shoot proceeded during the Los Angeles fires because the production was already paid for and locked in.
“But once you've already paid and got shit locked in, you're kind of locked in”
Listen from 38:53 · January 2025 Southern California wildfires
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano said Foul Play was the highest-rated new series on TBS in years and that a fire-themed prank was cut after the LA fires.
“It rated the highest new series on TBS in years”
Listen from 41:33 · Foul Play (TV series)
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano said Anthony Davis told them he loved making pranks more than basketball, which led to developing the show together.
“He's like, I love this more than basketball. He's like, this is what I really want to do”
Listen from 43:26 · Foul Play (TV series)
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano argued that having a second child lets parents absorb early stages more fully because they are no longer overwhelmed.
“You're able to really absorb it because it's not like you're like a deer in the headlights”
Listen from 48:21 · Fatherhood
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano described asking his three-year-old daughter nightly what she was most proud of to build her confidence.
“what were you the most proud of today? It positions her mind to think that way and then, like, build our confidence of it”
Listen from 53:34 · Fatherhood
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano said going public about his family felt like a relief after years of guarding his privacy, though he will never post his children online.
“I want to I won't ever post my kids online. Like I want to shield them from that”
Listen from 57:36 · Fatherhood
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano advised that parents should stay calm when children are hurt because kids mirror the parent's reaction.
“They're going to reflect your energy, and they're going to react the way you teach them to react to something”
Listen from 59:43 · Fatherhood
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano recounted buying Stu and Amy Shankman's 1985 wedding tape at a thrift store on the couple's tenth anniversary.
“So I found this blank cassette of this people's wedding on their 10-year anniversary”
Listen from 1:03:13 · Shankman wedding VHS tape
Theo Von
Von urged Vulcano not to suppress his natural laughter on stage, arguing it warms audiences.
“Don't ever fight your laughter. Your laugh is one that warms people”
Listen from 1:17:50 · Stand-up comedy craft
Theo Von
Von asserted that humans will not inhabit another planet.
“inhabit another planet. We're not going to”
Listen from 1:39:47 · Artemis program
Theo Von
Von expressed skepticism about the Artemis mission, suggesting it may serve to distract the public from troubling world events.
“i do believe in one they're trying to distract us from a lot of the horrible things that are going on in the world right now”
Listen from 1:42:09 · Artemis program
Sal Vulcano
Vulcano explained he resists going to his crying daughter at night because giving in would teach her crying always summons him.
“if they want you to come upstairs and they cry and that brings you upstairs, they know that they can get you upstairs every time”
Listen from 1:54:37 · Sleep regression
Theo Von
Von said he would like to have children with a spouse if God wills it and his life is set up safely for it.
“I think I would really like to have kids. I'll have to have a spouse that is like, we can go down that road together”
Listen from 1:58:23 · Fatherhood

People

In the conversation

Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
Sal VulcanoAmerican stand-up comedian, podcaster and co-star of Impractical Jokers

Discussed

Anthony DavisNBA player who stars in the TBS series Foul Play
Floyd MayweatherBoxer who appeared in a cut Foul Play segment
Michael LandonActor who starred in Highway to Heaven
Bruno MarsSinger who quoted Impractical Jokers during a concert
Christa McAuliffeTeacher killed in the 1986 Challenger disaster
Nadya SulemanMother of octuplets known as Octomom
Steve LittleActor from Eastbound & Down who appeared in Theo Von's movie
Chris DiStefanoComedian and Sal's co-host on Hey Babe
Joe DeRosaComedian and Sal's co-host on Taste Buds
Jim NortonComedian who introduced Von to the Dunkin' Donuts clip
James MurrayImpractical Jokers co-star known as Murr

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From the publisher

Sal Vulcano is a stand-up comedian, podcaster and co-host of the popular show “Impractical Jokers” on TBS. Sal returns to talk about neighborhood hams, what he’s loved about growing his family even more, and a wedding tape he found that he desperately needs to get back to the owners… Sal Vulcano: https://www.instagram.com/salvulcano/ ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner #CELSIUSLiveFit https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Perplexity AI: Ask anything at https://pplx.ai/theo Prize Picks: Go to https://link.prizepicks.com/LME0/THEO and use code THEO to get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Play Responsibly. Better Help: This show is brought to you by BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/theo Shopify: Start your free trial with Shopify today at http://shopify.com/theo Ultra: Don’t sleep on @ultrapouches. New customers get 15% Off with code THEO at http://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend Twitter: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer:…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy Interviews·Parenting