MICHAEL TOWNSEND + MATT JOHNSON + JAY MCCAROL

About this episode

This episode features interviews with artist Michael Townsend and filmmakers Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol discussing their respective projects.

On the Saturday February 21, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet artist Michael Townsend. Have you heard about the Netflix movie “Secret Mall Apartment”? It’s the wildly popular story, set in the early two thousands, about a group of eight young artists and friends from Rhode Island who secretly built and lived in a hidden 750-square-foot apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall in Providence, Rhode Island. They discovered an unused "nowhere space" in the mall's structure, snuck in furniture, tapped into electricity, constructed walls (including smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock to build a fortified, lockable entrance), and even furnished it with everyday items like a TV, gaming system, books, and couches—all while filming much of the process themselves. They lived there undetected for four years (until 2007), when they were eventually caught and charged with trespassing. Then, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol of “Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie.” The movie, which blends footage from the 2007–2009 web series of the same name, begins with unemployed musicians Matt and Jay (Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol) hatching a plan to land a gig at the legendary…

People in this episode

Guests: MICHAEL TOWNSEND, MATT JOHNSON, Jay McCarrol

Topics covered

• art
• film
• documentary
• music
• comedy

Keywords

• Secret Mall Apartment
• Providence Place Mall
• Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie
• 2007
• 2009
• Rivoli
• CN Tower
• Skydome
• young artists

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Netflix

Books & works: The Richard Crouse Show, Secret Mall Apartment, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie

Places: Rhode Island, Providence, Toronto

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