Oh my gosh! Charlie Berens is the guest on this week’s podcast. Last fall, the Los Angeles (by way of Elm Grove, Wisconsin) actor, writer, and Emmy-winning host first made his mark with viral voiceover videos imagining what it’d be like if Titanic‘s Jack Dawson and Bane from Batman hailed from Wisconsin. More recently, Berens rose to regional notoriety as the host of Manitowoc Minute. Through about 20 episodes, the weekly Wisconsin-influenced news segment has garnered millions of views on YouTube and Facebook.

While back in his home state for a run of performances (including a pair of sell-out shows at Turner Hall), Berens met host Tyler Maas at the Cactus Club to discuss the origin of the character that’s quickly struck a chord in his home state, his path to L.A., where he hopes to bring the segment, and the care he puts into the 90 seconds of northwoods-accented perspective he puts into the world each week. Before episode’s end, Berens also makes a bold prediction about the Packers. If you like the Manitowoc Minute, you’ll love the 50-some minutes we spent getting to know the man behind “The Minute.”

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music comes courtesy of Piles (“Blue Glue”) and Amos Pitsch (“Lake Effect”). Subscribe to On The Record via iTunes or Stitcher (for free!).