Overview of #655 - Sal Vulcano
Theo Von sits down with comedian and Impractical Jokers star Sal Vulcano for a wide-ranging, highly improvised conversation that moves from family life and parenting to old TV shows, weird medical checkups, absurd childhood memories, and the mechanics of making people laugh. The episode is loose, funny, and full of tangents, but it also reveals a more reflective side of Sal as he talks about being a dad, staying private, and learning to balance work, family, and creativity.
Main Topics Discussed
Sal’s career and current projects
- Sal talks about filming Season 13 of Impractical Jokers.
- He shares details about a new project called Minush:
- A talk-show / sketch-comedy hybrid.
- Built around “big guest, small talk,” with edited absurdist bits.
- He says he’s already shot about 10 episodes.
- He also mentions Foul Play with Anthony Davis on TBS.
- Sal says he’s touring stand-up and plans to keep expanding internationally.
Parenting, family, and privacy
- Sal opens up about being a father to two kids and how much he enjoys it.
- He describes how:
- The second child gave him a chance to experience early childhood in a less frantic way.
- He loves watching his kids interact, cuddle, and develop their own emotional language.
- He talks about:
- Wanting to keep his kids off social media.
- Feeling a sense of relief after being more open publicly about his family.
- Using routines, songs, and daily reflection to help his daughter build confidence and emotional awareness.
Comedy, laughter, and stage presence
- Theo and Sal discuss whether comedians should laugh at their own jokes.
- Sal says he often naturally laughs during sets and sometimes worries it looks like a crutch.
- Theo encourages him to keep it, saying Sal’s laugh adds warmth and honesty.
- They both agree that being genuinely amused is part of what makes comedy work.
Health, body checks, and awkward doctor visits
- A long running bit centers on Sal’s recent medical testing:
- DEXA scan
- CT angiogram
- Blood panels
- MRI
- This leads into a goofy but surprisingly informative discussion of testicular self-exams and how to check for lumps or abnormalities.
- Theo and Sal riff on:
- Doctors doing old-school physicals
- Self-checking instead of being too shy at the doctor
- The weirdness of talking about men’s health openly
Pop culture nostalgia and TV talk
- They revisit Highway to Heaven and Michael Landon, with both men marveling at the premise of an angel and an ex-cop traveling around helping people.
- They also discuss Lost, including:
- Its confusing later seasons
- How people got deeply invested in the ending
- How frustrating it was when the show didn’t fully pay off
- Sal and Theo also talk about old childhood shows and the way family-friendly TV can be something both kids and parents enjoy.
Notable Running Bits and Stories
The Shankman wedding VHS story
One of the episode’s best stories:
- Sal bought a VHS tape of a stranger’s wedding at a Salvation Army store in 1995.
- The tape was labeled with a couple’s names and wedding date.
- Years later, he tried to locate the couple and return the video.
- He says he still has the tape and even digitized a copy.
- The story becomes a weirdly touching example of how random objects can carry emotional weight for decades.
The frozen fish in his freezer
- Sal tells a story about a goldfish he had for years.
- After it died, he wrapped it in foil and put it in the freezer instead of burying or flushing it.
- He says the fish is still in his freezer more than 15 years later.
- It becomes one of the episode’s strangest recurring jokes.
Bruno Mars and celebrity admiration
- Sal shares a story about being at a Bruno Mars show where Bruno allegedly shouted out Impractical Jokers lines during a performance.
- The moment was so unexpected that Sal didn’t even realize what had happened until later.
Air Bud, animal stars, and horses
- The two go on a long nostalgic tangent about old animal celebrities:
- Air Bud
- Lassie
- Benji
- Clifford
- Spuds McKenzie
- Rin Tin Tin
- They wonder why modern Hollywood has fewer animal stars.
- The conversation also drifts into horses, bareback riding, and the technical differences between horseshoes, farriers, and parade horses.
Space skepticism
- Theo gets unusually skeptical about modern space missions, especially moon missions and the Artemis program.
- He questions:
- Why people are going back to the moon
- Whether the infrastructure for long-term lunar life makes sense
- Whether some space imagery is staged or misleading
- Sal mostly plays along as Theo spirals into conspiratorial-but-comic commentary.
Takeaways
- Sal Vulcano is in a very productive phase: family, stand-up, TV, and a new experimental talk/show hybrid project.
- Parenthood is a major emotional anchor for him now, and he speaks about it with real tenderness.
- The episode thrives on absurdity: weird medical talk, dead fish, wedding tapes, animal fame, and conspiracy-adjacent space jokes.
- Beneath the silliness, there’s a recurring theme of gratitude, privacy, and learning to be present.
Projects and Updates Mentioned
Sal Vulcano
- Touring stand-up
- Impractical Jokers Season 13
- New project: Minush
- TBS project: Foul Play with Anthony Davis
Theo Von
- Mentions an upcoming live-taped podcast with Mike Tyson in Los Angeles for Netflix Is A Joke Fest
- Promotes his tour at theovon.com/tour
Final Tone of the Episode
- Fast-moving, goofy, and off-the-cuff
- Heavy on improvisation and inside jokes
- Surprisingly heartfelt when the conversation shifts to kids, family, and how much love changes a person