Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen

When does pushing for what you want become pushing too far? Jay sits down with comedian, writer, performer, and Valley Heat creator Christian Duguay for a conversation about boundaries, bad decisions, creative confidence, and knowing when to make the call and when to leave something alone. At the center of Valley Heat is Doug Duguay, a fictional character who keeps finding himself in increasingly ridiculous situations. He suspects his pool guy is dealing drugs. He worries about his wife's yoga instructor. He obsesses over a mysterious car parked outside his house. And somehow, almost every questionable decision Doug makes seems perfectly reasonable…at least to Doug. Christian admits there's more of himself in Doug than you might expect. That leads Jay and Christian into a bigger question: How do you know when you're being persistent and when you're just being pushy? Jay has always believed in making the phone call, asking for the opportunity, and fighting for what you want—even if that occasionally means annoying someone. Christian has traditionally been more cautious. He didn't even show Valley Heat to his manager until he'd made ten episodes and knew he believed in it.  But by the end of their conversation, the two find some common ground: sometimes the phone call you're afraid to make is exactly the one you should make. As Christian puts it, most of us have needed someone to give us advice, open a door, or push us in the right direction—and sometimes getting what you want requires having the nerve to ask.  They also talk about Christian's years at The Groundlings, abandoning stand-up, struggling with creative confidence, making music, building the bizarre world of Valley Heat, and why sometimes the best thing a creative person can do is make something they like and put it into the world. So where's the line? When should you push and when should you back off? Follow Christian Duguay: Socials: https://www.instagram.com/csduguay/  Podcast: https://valleyheatpodcast.com/  Subscribe to Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen for more conversations with writers, comedians, actors, creators, and thought leaders exploring life, creativity, politics, and the human experience. Website: https://www.dontbealonewjk.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dontbealonewithjaykogen/ https://www.instagram.com/jaykogen/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dont.be.alone.wit Substack: https://substack.com/@jaykogen Merch: https://shop.app/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Arrested Development to insubordinate rebels: John Levenstein tells all. Long before podcasting was cool, John Levenstein (Arrested Development, Kroll Show) was already doing it — mostly because he had no idea what he was signing up for. In this episode, the veteran writer/showrunner gets refreshingly honest about what actually makes a comedy writers' room work. His controversial take? Not everyone needs to agree. In fact, forcing consensus on a writing staff is its own kind of bullying — the showrunner's job is to make the call, not manufacture harmony. John also makes the case for "wasted time" as secret sauce: some of the best jokes in Arrested Development came from writers chasing pointless tangents that turned into five seconds of pure gold. Sometimes the grinding, chaotic, deadline-crushing process is the recipe. Then things get personal. John opens up about growing up without a male role model, why authority has always struck him as absurd, and how that turned him into a lifelong "insubordinate rebel" — one who somehow also became one of the most trusted, well-liked insiders in the business. He's the guy everyone wants to text, the friend who asks for nothing, and — surprisingly — a guy singing lessons made genuinely happy. Equal parts industry insight and unexpectedly moving personal story. Don't miss it.Follow John Levenstein: Socials: https://www.instagram.com/saltinwound/ Subscribe to Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen for more conversations with writers, comedians, actors, creators, and thought leaders exploring life, creativity, politics, and the human experience. Website: https://www.dontbealonewjk.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dontbealonewithjaykogen/https://www.instagram.com/jaykogen/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dont.be.alone.wit Substack: https://substack.com/@jaykogen Merch: https://shop.app/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is America really doomed or is there still a path forward? In this episode of Don't Be Alone, Jay Kogen sits down with Leigh McGowan, better known as Politics Girl, for an honest conversation about the future of America. Together, they explore whether the country has reached a breaking point, why so many people have lost faith in politics, and what it would actually take to rebuild trust in our institutions. From the rise of independent media to the influence of money in politics, government reform, voter engagement, healthcare, and the future of democracy, this conversation goes far beyond partisan talking points. Whether you agree or disagree, it's a thoughtful discussion about where America is headed and whether there's still reason to hope. In this episode: Is America really beyond repair? Why Politics Girl believes hope still matters The biggest mistakes both political parties have made Can democracy survive growing division? The future of media, messaging, and political influence What everyday Americans can do to make a difference If you enjoy thoughtful conversations that challenge ideas rather than shout over them, be sure to subscribe for new episodes every week. Guest: Leigh McGowan (Politics Girl) Follow Politics Girl: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/politicsgirl Website: https://www.politicsgirl.com/ Socials: https://www.instagram.com/IAmPoliticsGirl/https://www.tiktok.com/@iampoliticsgirl Subscribe to Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen for more conversations with writers, comedians, actors, creators, and thought leaders exploring life, creativity, politics, and the human experience. Website: https://www.dontbealonewjk.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dontbealonewithjaykogen/https://www.instagram.com/jaykogen/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dont.be.alone.wit Substack: https://substack.com/@jaykogen Merch: https://shop.app/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Heller talks about walking away from the perfect man just before her wedding and breaking down with a mid-life panic attack on stage and committing to being a Jew to find happiness and trying to live as a perfectionist and being an all or nothing person.  She discusses her one woman show and her ability to get people to explore their life stories through drama to understand who they really are.  She makes Jay explore his deepest fears on the show!  Bio:Barbara Heller is an award winning playwright, podcaster, documentarian, songwriter, 30 year curriculum writer and coach. You may have seen her in the past as a host on tv or heard her voice in blockbuster movies, TV shows and commercials, including Snatched, The Heat, The Arrival, Kung Fu Panda 3, Disney Jr.s’ Vampirina.  Pending on her schedule she can be hired to perform her Award winning One Woman Show, Cosmic Conversations which was performed in 6 countries including at the Edinburgh Fringe or to do a Creative Writing Workshop in your community! Subscribe to her award winning podcast See One Beautiful Soul  here. My mission is to inspire people to let go of their past and heal it through the re-telling of our stories through Inner-Child work and Artistic Expression.  When we gather in community, learn about our origin faiths, and encourage each other to get clear about our Spiritual Values, that is when we soar. May we dance, sing, meditate, pray, forgive past trauma, and thus mirror and heal one another, our families, our larger communities and cause beautiful ripple effects to reverberate and heal the whole world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Show Notes: On this episode legendary writer and show creator talks about being the first white guy on stage at the Apollo, getting a show about alcoholics cancelled because the network president was an alcoholic, the pleasure of writing a first draft, and driving way too fast, and how music drives his writings and the time he was oddly alone with Bruce Springsteen and told him a dirty joke. Bio: on Reo has always been quick with a quip, from the time he got his first laugh sometime back in junior high school to the jokes he wrote for traveling comedians, through the half century he spent “pushing the limits” of sitcoms to the book he is currently negotiating with Random House—The Tibetan Joke Book of the Dead.  “It’s about Hollywood and death which are probably synonyms,” said Reo, the recipient of WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to be presented at the 2026 Writers Guild Awards. “I think you’re born with a funny gene, or maybe it’s the way you’re raised. Nobody else in my family was particularly funny, but I got a laugh in the seventh grade, and I thought, ‘Maybe I can do this. This is nice because it stops people from hitting you.’ I read that Woody Allen was making $500 a week writing jokes, and I thought, ‘Well, fuck, I can do that!’” And he did, effectively launching a career that has spanned seven decades, earning writing credits on series such as Sanford and Son, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, M*A*S*H, and Rhoda and creating or co-creating Blossom, My Wife and Kids, The John Larroquette Show, and The Ranch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brilliant comic, Leah Rudick, talks about growing up in Ohio, being a drama kid, writing and doing sketch comedy, and eventually moving out to LA and becoming a stand-up. Working with her brother. She talks about how being shy gave her the courage to be in front of people while wearing the mask of performing. She talks about making TikTok Instagram her character playground. Leah talks about how creative ambition pushes her forward, how having a husband in booze helps, how nothing matters, and the glory of Peach Pouch Pie! Bio: Leah Rudick is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, and comedian. Known for her viral original characters including "Wealthy Woman," "Joannie," and "Love Coach," Rudick has built a devoted fanbase of nearly 2 million followers across socials with her signature "weird girl" comedy. She was most recently named one of Deadline's Comics to Watch in 2026. In addition to acting and developing her own projects, she is currently headlining a national tour. Festival credits include Moontower, Just For Laughs, SF Sketchfest, and Laughing Skull. In 2023, her debut comedy hour, Spiraling, released on Amazon and Apple TV.  TV credits include High Maintenance (HBO), Commuters (IFC), and Crowd Control (Dropout TV). She co-wrote and co-starred in the critically acclaimed web series Made to Order, featured in Marie Claire, IndieWire, and the New York Observer. On the big screen, she co-wrote and co-starred in the indie feature Sweet Parents, which took home top prizes at Brooklyn International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, and The Lower East Side Film Festival. Rudick began her comedy career in New York with her sketch duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, earning praise in Time Out NY, Washington Post, and Complex Magazine, which named her one of "25 Funny People Who Should Have Their Own TV Show." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when two people with complicated pasts — failed marriages, sobriety journeys, and a chance meeting at a 4th of July party — fall in love but decide not to move in together? Claudia and Jonathan join us for a conversation as layered and surprising as the indie film they made together, D(e)AD — a project born from personal heartbreak, an ex-husband who may or may not have faked cancer, and the haunting feeling that the not-so-great people from our past never fully leave us. They'll take you behind the scenes of making a movie with friends and family, funding it through Kickstarter, and then getting it into theaters one screen at a time — from cities across the US to London to Bosnia — all while navigating the soul-crushing gauntlet of festival rejections, fake IMDB credits, and music licensing processes that take six months just to say no. Along the way, Claudia opens up about using her parents and daughter as the raw material of her art, and why storytelling is how she survives. We also get into Jonathan's origins — from writing a fake Nightline to a history with cartoons and the discipline of keeping art beautifully simple — and the question that ties it all together: would you trade your messy, painful, hilarious past for a different one?  And how, bubble wrap can save your sanity. Bio:   Claudia Lonow started her career as an actress, playing Michele Lee’s chubby, loud-mouthed teenage daughter on “Knots Landing.”  Favorite episodes include: the one where she has kidney failure and is saved by Donna Mills kidney; the one where she runs away with the town murderer, “Chip,” and drives her mother to drugs; and the one where she almost loses her virginity, but instead winds up donning clown make up and singing “Put On A Happy Face” with her mom. Lonow’s next career was waitressing.  She did stand up comedy for a while, working across the country and doing some television.  When she gave her best joke to Sarah Silverman, and Silverman killed with it, a writer was born. Her television-writing career took off when she wrote a semi-autobiographical spec pilot about a former nighttime soap opera television actress who gets sent to rehab, called “Rude Awakening.”  Showtime bought the show, which ran for 55 episodes.  Lonow has been creating and writing television ever since: “Good Girls Don’t” for Oxygen; “Accidentally On Purpose” for CBS and “How To Live With Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life)” for ABC.  Lonow moved into directing with the award winning shorts, “Bummed” and “Keep Calm and Tampon.” Lonow just completed directing and acting in her first feature, the very indie film, “D(e)AD” written by and starring her daughter, Isabella Roland, her partner Jonathan Schmock and pretty much everyone else in her family. She is currently developing various other TV and film projects, has gotten back to stand up and is threatening to do a solo show. Jonathan Schmock is an actor, director, comedian, show creator, artist and Emmy nominated writer, (group Emmy but still). As a stand-up he was half of the comedy team The Funny Boys with Jim Vallely. As an actor you’ve seen him in such varied things as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Star Trek Enterprise, The Big Bang Theory, Arrested Development, Shameless, The Simpsons, The Mentalist (the guy who did it) and NCIS Los Angeles (the guy who didn’t) among others. As a writer/director he co-created Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Brotherly Love and worked as an executive producer/writer on Dharma and Greg and Good Girls Don’t, Real Time and many more. Most recently he acted in and produced the indie film D(e)AD, which can be seen and purchased online, (hint.)  His editorial cartoons can be seen at jonathanschmock.com. His paintings have appeared in a group show at the L.A. County Museum of Art, (no shit.) He hopes to continue writing about himself in the third person for many years to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of the great James Borrows we rebroadcasting this episode of "Dont Be Alone with Jay Kogen". We talk with James Burrows about his reign as Hollywood's greatest sitcom director, being the son of Abe Burrows, the genetics of comedy, his book "Directed by James Burrows", "Cheers", "Will & Grace", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Taxi", "Friends", the scripts that make him want to direct, the ones that don't, his amazing memory, his humble beginnings, the decade it took him to learn how to direct, working with geniuses like James L. Brooks, Chuck Lorre, and Kohan & Mutchnick, and Andy Kaufman. And Jimmy explains how his two best friends are Al Michaels and Bruce Springsteen. BIO: James Burrows was one of television's most respected and honored creative talents. Over his distinguished career, Burrows was the recipient of eleven Emmys, five Directors Guild of America Awards, the 1996 American Comedy Awards' Creative Achievement Award, the Television Critics Association's Career Achievement Award, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame and was honored by the US Comedy Arts Festival with their Career Tribute Award. He was the recipient of 22 nominations for the Directors Guild of America Award, thus bestowing him the honor of being the most nominated director in the history of television at the Guild. He was honored by the DGA with the Inaugural 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Television. In November of 2015 he directed his 1,000th episode, which was recognized by a TV Special on NBC in January of 2016. Burrows' success as the director of television pilots was legendary. He directed the first two episodes of the "Frasier" reboot's second season, and wrapped the pilot "Mid-Century Modern" for Fox, which went to series. In January of 2020, he received his fifth DGA Award for directing the Emmy Award-winning show "Live in Front of a Studio Audience #1: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons." He was also asked back to direct "Live in Front of a Studio Audience #3: Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life" in December of 2021. In June of 2022, he published his autobiography, "Directed by James Burrows," which received considerable attention and praise from the industry. Burrows was probably best known as co-creator, executive producer and director of the critically acclaimed series "Cheers." The hit show, which aired for 11 seasons, is tied for the most nominated Comedy series in the Television Academy's history and is in third place for most Emmys received by a Comedy Series. Burrows also received numerous awards for his work on "Will & Grace," "Frasier," "Friends," "Wings," "Night Court," "Taxi," and "Dear John." For the first time in 25 years, he returned to the stage in the spring of 1998 to direct the highly acclaimed "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, starring John Mahoney. Burrows learned his trade from the very best, the legendary writer/director Abe Burrows, whose noted career included such classics as "Guys and Dolls," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," and "Cactus Flower." Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, Burrows graduated from Oberlin College and continued his education at Yale, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Burrows relocated to Hollywood to work as a dialogue coach for "O.K. Crackerby!," a short-lived television series starring Burl Ives. When the show ended, he returned to New York and initially worked as a stage manager before directing several off-Broadway shows, such as "The Castro Complex," and stock productions of "The Odd Couple" and "Never Too Late." In 1974, Burrows moved back to the West Coast when he was invited to visit MTM Productions in Los Angeles and offered a job directing an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Mr. Burrows and his wife, Debbie, resided in Los Angeles and between them they had four daughters. He passed away on June 19, 2026. He left an indelible mark on American television. He will be remembered and missed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In memory of the great James Borrows we rebroadcasting this episode of "Dont Be Alone with Jay Kogen". We talk with James Burrows about his reign as Hollywood's greatest sitcom director, being the son of Abe Burrows, the genetics of comedy, his book "Directed by James Burrows", "Cheers", "Will & Grace", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Taxi", "Friends", the scripts that make him want to direct, the ones that don't, his amazing memory, his humble beginnings, the decade it took him to learn how to direct, working with geniuses like James L. Brooks, Chuck Lorre, and Kohan & Mutchnick, and Andy Kaufman. And Jimmy explains how his two best friends are Al Michaels and Bruce Springsteen. BIO: James Burrows was one of television's most respected and honored creative talents. Over his distinguished career, Burrows was the recipient of eleven Emmys, five Directors Guild of America Awards, the 1996 American Comedy Awards' Creative Achievement Award, the Television Critics Association's Career Achievement Award, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame and was honored by the US Comedy Arts Festival with their Career Tribute Award. He was the recipient of 22 nominations for the Directors Guild of America Award, thus bestowing him the honor of being the most nominated director in the history of television at the Guild. He was honored by the DGA with the Inaugural 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Television. In November of 2015 he directed his 1,000th episode, which was recognized by a TV Special on NBC in January of 2016. Burrows' success as the director of television pilots was legendary. He directed the first two episodes of the "Frasier" reboot's second season, and wrapped the pilot "Mid-Century Modern" for Fox, which went to series. In January of 2020, he received his fifth DGA Award for directing the Emmy Award-winning show "Live in Front of a Studio Audience #1: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons." He was also asked back to direct "Live in Front of a Studio Audience #3: Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life" in December of 2021. In June of 2022, he published his autobiography, "Directed by James Burrows," which received considerable attention and praise from the industry. Burrows was probably best known as co-creator, executive producer and director of the critically acclaimed series "Cheers." The hit show, which aired for 11 seasons, is tied for the most nominated Comedy series in the Television Academy's history and is in third place for most Emmys received by a Comedy Series. Burrows also received numerous awards for his work on "Will & Grace," "Frasier," "Friends," "Wings," "Night Court," "Taxi," and "Dear John." For the first time in 25 years, he returned to the stage in the spring of 1998 to direct the highly acclaimed "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, starring John Mahoney. Burrows learned his trade from the very best, the legendary writer/director Abe Burrows, whose noted career included such classics as "Guys and Dolls," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," and "Cactus Flower." Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, Burrows graduated from Oberlin College and continued his education at Yale, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Burrows relocated to Hollywood to work as a dialogue coach for "O.K. Crackerby!," a short-lived television series starring Burl Ives. When the show ended, he returned to New York and initially worked as a stage manager before directing several off-Broadway shows, such as "The Castro Complex," and stock productions of "The Odd Couple" and "Never Too Late." In 1974, Burrows moved back to the West Coast when he was invited to visit MTM Productions in Los Angeles and offered a job directing an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Mr. Burrows and his wife, Debbie, resided in Los Angeles and between them they had four daughters. He passed away on June 19, 2026. He left an indelible mark on American television. He will be remembered and missed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harper Steele talks about transitioning and the differences in how she experiences the world as a woman and how the world experiences her.  The differences in parenting, writing, and comedy. Trying to fight off who she really was for years. Her fears of being judged.  How finding her true self saved her life. How road trips are different. How being macho was an odd priority before. How that reflected her comedy. How a teacher started her writing. How the movie “Will & Harper” has affected other transpeople and how she has been mostly accepted by the world and completely accepted by her friends. Her love of thrift stores and vinyl records.  And our mutual love of The Eurovision Song Contest.  Bio: Harper Steele is a comedy writer who launched her career in 1995 at the renowned show "Saturday Night Live." For over thirteen years, she served the show in various capacities, eventually ascending to the position of head writer for four years. This period of her career was marked with a notable achievement, with Steele earning a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002. Following this, her creativity found a new platform at Funny or Die, where she assumed the role of creative director. Steele's writing prowess was not limited to television, as she contributed to the scripts of several films, including "Casa de mi padre," "The Ladies Man," and "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga." Alongside her writing career, she also served as an executive producer of HBO's "Funny or Die Presents." Her multifaceted career in comedy writing and production was depicted in the 2024 Netflix documentary "Will & Harper," which also explored Steele's gender transition and its impact on her friendship with longtime friend and collaborator Will Ferrell. The documentary "Will & Harper" received critical acclaim, premiering at the 40th Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and earning a nomination for a People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Steele's comedic and political viewpoints, often referred to as "purple-haired woke," advocate for humor as a catalyst for positive change. Such viewpoints have earned her accolades within her industry circles, with Jimmy Fallon describing Steele as "one of the funniest people I think I've ever met in my lifetime."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Screenwriting Legends SCOTT ALEXANDER and LARRY KARASZEWSKI discuss their origin stories of being film nerds, drive-in movies, how looking on the back of Variety was glorious when they were kids, how Shakey's Pizza's silent movies influenced them, meeting the first hour at school and deciding to go to the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles, why they program screenings including The Wrong Guy, what makes a good story from real life, why offbeat losers make better subjects than heroes, how directors like Tim Burton are loyal to the script and love stories of art and outsiders, why awards are fun but stupid, their process of deciding on ideas in a shockingly random way, sinking time into ideas that go nowhere, the amazing Marx Brothers movie that can't seem to get made, how they can't shake a movie once they love it, how producers are just as stupid as they are, whether everyone has a movie in their lives and why someone doesn't make a bio movie about them, and how pickleball can save your life! Bio:SCOTT ALEXANDER and LARRY KARASZEWSKI met when they were freshman roommates at USC’s School of Cinema. On a whim, they wrote a screenplay during their senior year, which sold a week after graduation. They are best known for writing very unusual biopics with larger-than-life characters. They wrote the highly-acclaimed ED WOOD, for which they were nominated for Best Screenplay by the Writers Guild. They followed this with THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, for which they won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay, as well as a special Writers Guild award for civil rights and liberties. They scripted the extremely postmodern MAN ON THE MOON, the life story of Andy Kaufman. They wrote BIG EYES, the strange-but-true story of Margaret and Walter Keane, for which they received an Indie Spirit Best Screenplay nomination. For their first television project, they created the hit miniseries AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON, for which they won the Emmy, Golden Globe, PGA and WGA Award for Best Limited Series. Their most recent film, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, is the celebrated tale of Rudy Ray Moore. Other than biopics, Alexander and Karaszewski are quite eclectic. They wrote the hit Stephen King adaptation 1408. They produced the Bob Crane biopic AUTO FOCUS, and they wrote and directed the comedy SCREWED. They have also written numerous family films, including PROBLEM CHILD, PROBLEM CHILD 2, AGENT CODY BANKS, and GOOSEBUMPS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bennett Yellin and Peter Farrelly talk about meeting each other in school and immediately connecting over their shared sense of humor. Bennett talks about substance abuse in college, while Peter discusses being a very hard driver at work. You talk about getting very lucky working with Eddie Murphy and David Zucker, and about bringing Bobby Farrelly into the group when they were writing movies together. Peter talks about being extremely loyal, living in Ojai, and never feeling like Los Angeles was really his town. Bennett talks about growing up in Beverly Hills in an Orthodox Jewish family. Peter tells a story about using the wrong knives while staying at Bennett's house because meat is not supposed to touch milk. Peter says he doesn't think Rotten Tomatoes is fair, and he also doesn't think criticism is very helpful. Bennett recently wrote a horror movie, Día de Muertos. Peter is a good audience member and wants everyone to contribute. Bennett knew everything about movies, while Peter knew almost nothing about them. Peter also has a very happy crew. Bio:  -Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are best known for directing and producing quirky and romantic comedy films such as Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself and Irene, There's Something About Mary, and the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid. Farrelly solo-directed and co-wrote the comedy-drama Green Book (2018), which won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018, the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, and the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. He has been married to Melinda Farrelly since December 31, 1996. They have two children. -Born and raised in Los Angeles, Bennett received his B.A. in Fiction from U.C.L.A.  Still not ready to enter the real world, he enrolled at UMass in Amherst for an M.F.A. in fiction.  It was there — on the first day of school — that he met and befriended Peter Farrelly.  On a lark, they tried writing a comedy together and this spec script ultimately got into the hands of Eddie Murphy and the Zucker Brothers, creators of Airplane and The Naked Gun.  Both Murphy and the Zuckers asked the duo to write movies for them, and their career was off and running. Yellin wrote exclusively with Peter for years until they asked his brother Bobby to join them.  The three went on to write a number of unproduced features together until they created Dumb and Dumber in 1994 and reunited in 2014 to co-write the official sequel chronicling the further idiotic adventures of Harry and Lloyd, Dumb and Dumber To. In 2007, the Farrelly Brothers branched out on their own and Yellin partnered with James Robert Johnson to create a professional writing duo that has endured for sixteen years.  Among the plethora of projects they’ve tackled during their career — some produced, others not — the two have co-written Let’s Scare Jessica to Death for Paramount Pictures, the Fox situation comedy Unhitched, the direct-to-DVD thriller Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, Paramount Pictures’ Hotel For Dogs 2, the Anchor Bay action-thriller In the Blood with Gina Carano, the 20th Century Fox family film, Santa’s Little Helper, and the Warner Brothers re-boot of the Police Academy series, Police Academy: Takin’ it to the Streets.  More recently, Yellin and Johnston have co-written a live action family stage show adaptation of the hugely popular Angry Birds IP, and their original supernatural thriller Dia de Muertos has recently completed filming and is set to be released in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cheri talks about growing up in a rough house with a lot of kids and a young mom and pretending to escape and maybe grab some attention. She talks about imitating TV shows, soap operas and Joe Cocker. She talks about moving from Pennsylvania to California to pursue dreams of acting after a break-up and found herself in the heart of Panorama City nowhere near Hollywood.  Later she found early success in LA @ A&M RECORDS. In fact she was so successful it was a little hard to give it up when it was time to start performing full time after she became a star at THE GROUNDLINGS. She talks about how her writing at The Groundlings helped her at SNL. How Laraine Newman was always encouraging even while breast feeding. How Matt Piedmont and Will Ferril were great writing partners. How sitcoms are pure fun. And how making charcuterie boards with vaguely dirty names is going to change the world for the better. Bio: Cheri Oteri was born in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia and later moved to LA, where she worked in promotions for A&M Records. She joined the Groundlings, and in 1995, the producers of Saturday Night Live saw one of her monologues, which led to an audition and eventually being hired as a cast member, where she starred for five seasons.  As of late, Cheri can be seen recurring on Happy’s Place for NBC, Mid Century Modern for HULU as well as in And Just Like That… for MAX. She has also appeared in several films, including Scary Movie, Inspector Gadget, Liar Liar, Dumb and Dumberer,Shrek the Third, Southland Tales, and Grown Ups 2. In 2009, Oteri became a regular voice on Fox’s animated comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up, which later moved to Comedy Central. She also voiced “Esther” on Disney’s Puppy Dog Pals. Cheri has made multiple guest appearances on sitcoms such as The CW’s My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, TruTV's Those Who Can't, NBC's Just Shoot Me! (in which she was nominated for an Emmy), Hot in Cleveland, and as an emotionally unstable nanny on the Golden Globe and Emmy award winning series Curb Your Enthusiasm. She has appeared multiple times on CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper & Andy Cohen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, Michael Elias, talks about growing up in the Catskills, where you had to make your money in the summer to survive the winter, and how that created a lot of tension. He also talks about taking acting classes, dealing with being an actor, and how acting helped him build scenes and characters. He talks about working for Glen Campbell without realizing how talented he was. He discusses his book Benders, L.A. and talks about going to Plato's Retreat and not scoring. He talks about Steve Martin and how The Frisco Kid was not what he originally thought it would be. It was originally supposed to be directed by Mike Nichols and star John Wayne. Carl Reiner may have made The Jerk better. Garry Marshall made Young Doctors in Love better, but some movies simply don’t turn out the way you want them to. Michael wants people to know that Jews were all over the West and that minorities helped build this country. He says there was always a hangout somewhere. Mel Brooks was an egalitarian. Michael talks about having many writing partners, including Arnie Kogen, Rich Eustis, and Frank Shaw. He talks about getting kicked off The Ed Sullivan Show, writing for The Tonight Show, and learning from Neil Simon and Ed Weinberger.  He wishes he could tell his mother what’s going on in his life now and imagines writing letters to her today. He also talks about giving yourself permission to stop reading books halfway through. He remembers me playing with the microphone at my bar mitzvah. He talks about paying rent at forty-two dollars a month while working as a substitute teacher. His father, a doctor, never really understood what he did until he saw the pilot of Head of the Class. Howard Hesseman had demands even though he was about to be fired. Bio: Michael Elias grew up in the Catskill Mountains, a Red Diaper Borscht Belt Baby in a world of artists, intellectuals, tumlers, folk singers, boxers, and Jewish gangsters, some of whom sleep at the bottom of Loch Sheldrake. His childhood heroes were Jerry Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Rocky Marciano, and Abe ‘Kid Twist’ Reles. Educated in the classics at St. John’s College, Elias took his knowledge of ancient Greek and philosophy to New York, trained at the Actors Studio, acted in The Living Theatre, La MaMa and the Judson Poets Theatre. From there Elias and Frank Shaw dove into the world of stand-up comedy, playing coffee shops, night clubs, with five stints on The Tonight Show. Fired from Ed Sullivan they abandoned the act and came to Hollywood where he and Shaw wrote sit-coms, variety shows, and The Frisco Kid. After parting ways, Elias participated in the anti-Vietnam War movement, earned a subpoena from a Nixon grand jury, and teamed up with Rich Eustis and created Head of the Class. Elias continues to write novels and screenplays in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife Bianca Roberts and their dachshund Mabel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actress/Author Annabelle Gurwitch talks about living with stage 4 cancer, dating a hard rock tour manager, making each day count, the search for cures, ketamine fails, finding joy in writing, medicine overload, and the joys of hand painted wallpaper. Bio:  ANNABELLE GURWITCH is a New York Times bestselling author of six books, and two-time Thurber Prize finalist. Her writing appears in The New Yorker and New York Times, Hollywood Reporter amongst other publications. Annabelle was the longtime co-host of Dinner & a Movie on TBS, an NPR commentator, she was in too many tv shows and movies to name, but she fell into one of Larry David's comas of unknown origin on Seinfeld, she made Candace Bergen's Top 3 List of secretaries that she fired on Murphy Brown, and in her role as Rabbi Gurwitch on Better Things,  she Bat Mitzvahed Academy Award winning actress Mikey Madison. She performs with The Moth Mainstage and serves as a patient advocate at scientific conferences around the globe.  Her latest hilarious and helpful memoir  is a national bestseller: The End of My Life is Killing Me. Annabelle says it's never too late to write your sex, drugs, and rock n roll memoir. She wrote this book after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, and she's learned what's important to pay attention to and find joy even in the darkest hours. She celebrates female friendships, being in it just for the sex at 60, and tells the story of how she found herself selling merch for a heavy metal band on a low rent van tour of Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor/writer talks about being in The Vacant Lot, the sketch show immediately after Kids In the Hall and how the CBC tanked it, what it takes to be a bad waiter, why Canadians are funny in the US, how Canada makes people take turns being successful, how show business culls the herd, and the great conversation he had with his dad on the day he died.  Bio:  Paul Greenberg is an Emmy-winning writer, producer and performer whose work spans television and film. He co-created the cult sketch comedy series The Vacant Lot and the mockumentary-style series International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division. Greenberg has collaborated with some of the biggest names in entertainment, most recently with Jim Carrey on the script for Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and has served as Neil Patrick Harris’ main writer for his hosting duties, which includes the Emmys, Tonys and Oscars. As a performer, he can be seen alongside Dana Gould as the painfully naive bandleader, Rusty Steel, on the satirical talk show Hanging with Dr. Z. Currently, Paul is at work again with Jim Carrey on the aptly titled sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wendy Liebman - talks about her joke prompts as a help for writing, people who want to be picked on in the audience, being an actress as and turning to stand-up, slowing down your performance, the audience as a community, jokes that lead you somewhere, the joy of the Jindo dogs, AI stealing jokes, Steven Wright, the plusses of being a comedy team, Phyllis Diller, comics who get their own sitcom, jokes vs. stories, and what it takes to sue a personal injury attorney. Bio: Wendy Liebman took a class called “How to Be a Stand-Up Comedian” at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in 1985. She has since appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Show, and Late Night with Carson, Letterman, Leno, Fallon, Kimmel, Ferguson, and Rosie, and won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian. She has recorded specials for HBO, Comedy Central, and Showtime, was a semifinalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two rescued Jindo dogs, who are as trainable as a carrot. Her special Wendy Liebman: Taller on TV is available on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comic/Writer/Actor/Podcast-Entrepreneur Al Madrigal talks to Jay about representing our culture in our work.  We also chat about the dangers of a guest based podcast, the pleasures of morning golf vs lunch, how Neal Brennan’s podcast “Blocks” is better than Jay’s, ADD, Vyvanse, roadrage, comic on comic anger, leaving the parent’s staffing company business to be a comic, the reality of show business having no guarantees despite everything looking great, never buy a car until the show is being picked up, good work ethics, trying your best, mentors from school and comedy clubs, writing more, his comic book PRIMOS - connecting with comic book giant Axel Alonso and developing a diverse character, superhero for Jews, latinos has no representation on TV, The trouble getting latino ensembles on TV, writing every single day, fighting ICE, digging in, making peace with people who disagree, clubs vs cults, standing up now is when it counts, gardening, and the dangers of wearing a pilgrim outfit, murder and turkey throwing in his family’s past. Bio:  Al Madrigal broke out of San Francisco’s vibrant comedy scene with a sharp wit and an even sharper sense of timing — talents that would take him from stand-up stages to television screens and writers’ rooms. Al Madrigal cut his teeth in San Francisco’s stand-up scene, drawing on his Mexican and Italian roots to shape a comedic voice that’s sharp, self-aware, and distinctly his own. Madrigal’s star began to rise when he won a Jury Award for Best Stand-Up Comedian at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, leading to multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Conan O’Brien. In 2011, he began a five-season stint on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as the “Senior Latino Correspondent,” a role he recently revisited following the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025.  His first one-hour special, Why Is the Rabbit Crying?, premiered on Comedy Central in 2013 and was named one of the top 10 comedy specials of the year by Westword and The Village Voice. His follow-up, Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy, released two years after his award-winning 2015 docu-comedy Half Like Me, was recognized in Decider and Vulture’s Top 10 Lists. Rolling Stone Magazine praised him in an article titled “The Best Stand-up TV Right Now,” saying, “The Daily Show alum spins comedy gold.” As an actor, Madrigal boasts a diverse IMDb page, with roles in Lopez vs. Lopez, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bob’s Burgers, St. Denis Medical, Single Parents, About a Boy, Lucifer, Rutherford Falls, and feature films such as Air and The Way Back with Ben Affleck, and Night School alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.  Madrigal has lent his voice to a range of television projects including Jim Carrey’s I’m Dying Up Here and Broke with Jaime Camil. He is also developing an extensive slate of TV projects under his current deal at CBS Studios. But his writing isn’t limited to just TV. In 2022, Al teamed up with AWA and former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso to publish his Mexican and Mayan-influenced comic book, Primos.  Behind the camera, Madrigal has executive-produced stand-up specials for Demetri Martin, Ronny Chieng, Neal Brennan, Shane Gillis, Whitney Cummings, Mae Martin, and Bill Burr, his partner in the number one-rated comedy podcast network, All Things Comedy. He was appointed to the board of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers where he provides industry access and helps amplify underrepresented voices to champion stories rooted in cultural authenticity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comic/Writer Jim Vallely talks about dignity, flirting, young people, being a joke guy, Arrested Development, Golden Girls, My Wife & Kids, Don Reo, our mutual love of The Rockford Files, how being broke is good motivation, having a daughter who's working while you're unemployed, jokes vs emotional engaging of the characters, casting is 1/3 of a show, boyish only lasts so long, trying to not be an asshole, Sit N Spin, late night rewrites because the show runner has "heard that one before", Bea Arthur and Betty White could do no wrong, mentors, bad notes, the business working itself out, & watching Carl Reiner transform into Alan Brady.Bio Jim Vallely was in a comedy duo in 80’s, who were good enough to the tonight show three times in the eighties…Then he wrote for The Golden Girls, Two and Half Men and Arrested Development for which he won an Emmy and a Writers guild award.  He hasn’t had to borrow money from his relatives in forty years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comic, Writer, Podcast Greg Fitzsimmons talks about growing up in a the son of a well known radio personality who lived large but was a tough dad, learning how to be a fighter, being a Boston comic when being brave was more important than being funny.  The power struggles on Ellen. Being on the road. Having kids and dealing with them differently than his family did. Actually living past the age of his dad’s death. And why the Rizzler is a spokesman for his generation.  Bio: Greg has achieved success as a stand-up, an Emmy Award winning writer, and host of the hugely popular FitzDog Radio podcast. He is a regular on Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and has made more than 50 visits to The Howard Stern Show, 20 trips to The Joe Rogan Experience and has become a regular on “Lights Out w/ David Spade”.Greg’s one-hour Netflix special, Life On Stage, was named a Top 10 Comedy Release by LA Weekly.  His 2011 book, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons, climbed the best-seller charts and garnered outstanding reviews from NPR and Vanity Fair.  Greg was recently seen in the hit Netflix series, Santa Clarita Diet, he co-starred on the Emmy-winning FX series Louie, spent five years as a panelist on VH1’s Best Week Ever, hosted Pumped on The Speed Channel in 2012 and he starred in two half-hour stand-up specials on Comedy Central. Greg wrote on the hit Judd Apatow HBO series, Crashing, HBO’s Lucky Louie, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The Man Show and many others.  On his mantle beside the four Daytime Emmys he won as a writer and producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show sit “The Jury Award for Best Comedian” from The HBO Comedy Arts Festival and a Cable Ace Award for the MTV game show he hosted called Idiot Savants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s AUDIO ONLY show we talk about the value of anonymity, how to try and not let The Simpsons take over your life, being writers and actors, bad auditions, the value of improv, The Tracey Ullman Show, Chicago (the city), singing dancing, the thoughts behind jokes, being actors and writers, the origin of The Simpsons, how actors often know their characters better than writers, being a creative couple, improvising plays, how to not be precious about your ideas, visual art, do we need an audience, the joys of being a character actor, Krusty the Clown, John Waters, and Marlon Brando! Bio: DAN CASTELLANETA is Co-Executive Producer and four-time Emmy recipient for his work (Homer, Grandpa, Krusty, etc.) on The Simpsons. Besides acting in numerous film, TV, and theater roles, he has written for The Simpsons (WGA Nominated “Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore”), and The Tracey Ullman Show. He performed his acclaimed one-man show WHERE DID VINCENT VAN GOGH? in LA, NYC, Chicago, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Aspen HBO Comedy Festival. He starred as the acerbic Oscar Levant, in his play FOR PIANO AND HARPO (Garry Marshall Theater, Burbank). His play A PURPLE DAWN premiered at Geneva College and Northwestern College, Iowa, BINKY PETUNIA (Little Renegade Theatre, LA). Other plays, co-written with Deb Lacusta: THE BANANA TREE (Telluride Playwrights Festival, Adirondack Theater Festival, Bloomington Playwrights Project), FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER (Here for Now Theatre, Stratford, Ontario), FORTUNES, as well as FOOD COURT, and THE SONS OF MOTHERS. A Second City alum, Dan co-founded the improv scenario group Instant Theater Chicago and the Improv Co-op LA. He also co-wrote and co-directed the award-winning film The Long Isolation. DEB LACUSTA is a writer, improvisational actress, and video artist. She has written numerous episodes of The Simpsons (WGA Nominated “Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore”). Co-writing with Dan Castellaneta: THE BANANA TREE (Telluride Playwrights Festival, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Adirondack Theater Festival), SHOCK & AWW (Sci-Fest LA, Outstanding Short Plays, Vol. 4), ROSEBUD and DYNAMITE SALES (UCSB, Dramatic Publishing); EARTHERS and PIECES OF EIGHT (Organic Theater/Chicago, Theatre 6470/LA), FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER (Here for Now Theatre, Stratford, Ontario), FORTUNES, and OLD MAN IN A BIG CAR (Fanatic Salon Theatre, starring Paul Dooley).  She starred in and produced Castellaneta’s play FOR PIANO AND HARPO premiering at the Garry Marshall Theatre LA. She co-founded, with Castellaneta, the improv scenario group Instant Theater Chicago, and the Improv Co-op LA. She also co-wrote, co-directed and produced The Long Isolation, which has won numerous film festivals awards, and the art film Starring Marlon Brando. BGS University of Michigan, BFA Otis College of Art, MFA Art Center College of Design. Her art and video performance work has been seen in museums and art galleries here and abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmy Award-winning producer/writer Al Jean has worked on THE SIMPSONS since it became a series in 1989. He has a credit on over 600 episodes and been showrunner for 22 seasons. In addition to nine Emmy Awards, he has won two coveted Peabody Awards and was nominated for two Golden Globes. Currently he serves as executive producer and showrunner. He also served as writer and producer on "THE SIMPSONS MOVIE" (which took in over $525 million worldwide), working heavily on the film throughout its entire four-year production and was producer and writer on the Oscar-nominated short film “THE LONGEST DAYCARE” and 2020 short “PLAYDATE WITH DESTINY”. In 2021 he wrote and produced the Disney+ shorts “The Force Awakens From Its Nap” (nominated for an Emmy) and “The Good, the Bart and the Loki.”  Jean co-created “The Critic” and “Teen Angel” and served as producer of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” for which he won three CableACE Awards. Other television credits include “The PJ’s,” “Alf” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”  Episodes of THE SIMPSONS Jean has written or co-written include “Moaning Lisa,” “The Way We Was,” “Treehouse of Horror II & III,” “Stark Raving Dad,” “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala (annoyed grunt) cious,” “Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder,” “Day of the Jackanapes,” “I Won’t Be Home for Christmas”, “Mr. Lisa’s Opus”, “Daddicus Finch” and the Emmy-winning “HOMR.” Al also co-wrote Funny or Die’s “SNL Presidential Reunion Video” which is credited with helping establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, Jean served as vice president of the college’s humor magazine, “The Harvard Lampoon.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author David Wolinsky talks about whether the internet is helping or hurting more, AI destroying movies and TV, dopamine addiction, The Onion, going cold turkey on social media, the email monster, and the idea that asking questions without having the answers is better than trying to figure it out. Bio: He's a former Onion editor best known for once interviewing the watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher turned oral historian, author, and documentary researcher. Now, he's very much in the "serious" business. His journey into oral history began with an independent initiative following Gamergate in 2014, where he recognized a gap in traditional journalism's ability to address emerging issues in digital communities. In response, he conducted interviews, launched a website, and began publishing these conversations online to highlight diverse perspectives on serious issues facing media, workers in "cool" industries, and fan subcultures. He's not an academic, but Stanford wound up stepping in to preserve all the 500+ hours of interviews this entailed. This continuum of work has resulted in a book, The Hivemind Swarmed, which will be published August 2024 by Beacon Press. The oral history, which received advance praise by Ken Burns, exemplifies his ability to take initiative, conduct in-depth research, and produce insightful interviews without external funding or institutional support. (And also, his ability to get household names to take the work of a non-household name—me—seriously.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Edelman is an outstanding stand-up, writer, and creator of Just For Us talks about making his acclaimed broadway triumph, the death of his friend and collaborator - Adam, retiring the show, loving that others can do it, always being a student, staying curious even when you know alot, being an introvert on stage, being miserable does not equate to quality, jokes that don’t quite work, me winning an Emmy, the power of greeting the fan after the show, how funny is his Rabbi, valuing religion even when you question it, the value of nuance, Jesus vs David Blaine, how do you keep your fans, known vs famous, wanting to be on The Amazing Race, reality television is not real, John Cena’s last match, and dumb conspiracy theorists. Bio: ALEX EDELMAN - One of the most critically hailed comedians of his generation, Alex Edelman is best known for solo shows that blur the line between his stand-up comedy roots and narrative-driven storytelling. His last offering, JUST FOR US, played more than 500 performances all over the world - including acclaimed runs off- and on-Broadway. It premiered as an HBO original comedy special in April of 2024, earning him a place on the Time 100 list, a Tony Award, and an Emmy Award for Best Writing for a Variety Special. Edelman appeared in Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut for Netflix, UNFROSTED. Beyond stand-up, he writes regularly for TV and can next be seen starring in Peacock’s The Paper, a Greg Daniels-helmed spiritual successor to The Office. He also writes on the show as a Consulting Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comic Writer Debbie Kasper discusses her tumultuous life and what it would take for Jay to make his one woman show. Bio: Debbie Kasper is a multiple Emmy-nominated writer and an award-winning solo performer. After touring the country a few times over as a comedian and also with several theatrical shows she wrote & starred in, Debbie turned to television writing (Roseanne and The Rosie O'Donnell Show). She has written a few books, (You're Not That Pretty & Everything Else My Parents Told me) and contributed to several websites and anthology books. Monkeys on My Back & Everywhere Else is her fourth one-woman show. She's won awards for two of the earlier ones. After a personal tragedy, she stepped away from showbiz for almost a decade...but now she's back...in the format she loves most, and she's talking about all of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Edelman is an outstanding stand-up, writer, and creator of Just For Us talks about trying to be an artist, how Greg Daniels is the best writer/showrunner/teacher, The Paper, the strength he gets from friends, the music in dialogue, meeting at UnCaberet, the greatest sitcom jokes of all time, camera awareness in a mock documentary, how everyone is a director now, AI, and how Alex refuses to use it even for sex. Bio: ALEX EDELMAN - One of the most critically hailed comedians of his generation, Alex Edelman is best known for solo shows that blur the line between his stand-up comedy roots and narrative-driven storytelling. His last offering, JUST FOR US, played more than 500 performances all over the world - including acclaimed runs off- and on-Broadway. It premiered as an HBO original comedy special in April of 2024, earning him a place on the Time 100 list, a Tony Award, and an Emmy Award for Best Writing for a Variety Special. Edelman appeared in Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut for Netflix, UNFROSTED. Beyond stand-up, he writes regularly for TV and can next be seen starring in Peacock’s The Paper, a Greg Daniels-helmed spiritual successor to The Office. He also writes on the show as a Consulting Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Corey talks about the journey to become a boxer and why he needed to challenge himself and turning that into a podcast called “From Writer To Fighter.”  He also talks about coaches and sparring partners being key to learning, the danger and pain of it, being in the moment, becoming a writer with the encouragement of teachers, working for Jay as a writer’s assistant, the process of learning to run the room, writing with a partner, being married, going on a silent retreat, and why Matt Tarses hates Jay.  Bio:Josh Corey is a television writer and fledgling podcaster. His recent credits include DMV on CBS and Haunted Hotel on Netflix. Together with his writing partner, he’s been writing and producing TV shows for the last twelve years. Josh’s work often explores themes of family separation and masculinity, the two funniest themes. His new podcast, From Writer to Fighter, is the true story of Josh’s attempt to fight a “real boxing match,” even though his wedding is six months away, he’s 37 years old, and has zero athletic experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Feldman talks about turning tragedy into comedy and drama by being open. She also talks about being a young stand-up, writing for other comics, sexual harassment in the writers room, having to be better than men, her motherhood journey, how to be a show-runner, the Groundlings, deciding that her future was writing not acting, and all the guests that won’t do my podcast but does her new podcast with Jesse Klein, “Here To Find Friends”.  Bio: Over the course of her career, award-winning writer and producer Liz Feldman has carved a space for diverse voices and developed her own niche genre: the traumedy, which blends black comedy, heightened mystery and heartfelt drama that plumbs the darker, emotional depths of the human experience. Feldman is the creator and executive producer of the acclaimed and Emmy®-nominated Netflix series, DEAD TO ME and Netflix’s recently released NO GOOD DEED. In 2025, Feldman launched her new podcast alongside Jessi Klein, HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS, produced by Headgum. The show focuses on making new and meaningful friendships as an adult, with Feldman and Klein interviewing celebrity guests that they would very much like to be friends with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor comic and writer Jamie Kaler talks about trying to manage a career while still making dinner for his girls, how's staying home to be a dad forced him to find other outlets, how podcasting in social media is the next big hurdle, how the navy helped him be funny, how stand up comedy has changed, and how to survive the wild ride of show business. Bio:Jamie Kaler An accomplished actor, comic, host, voice-over artist and podcaster, Jamie Kaler is probably best known for his starring role as “Mike” on the hit TBS show, “My Boys”. His prolific acting career includes appearances on Friends, Will and Grace, How I Met Your Mother, Parenthood, King of Queens, The Middle, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, NCIS, Shake it Up, That 70’s Show, and American Housewife, as well as numerous films including, The Family Stone, The Wicked, Aftermath, and over 200 commercials. He is currently recurring on ”Tacoma FD” on Netflix, and is the host of  both “America: Facts vs. Fiction” and “Haunted Live” on Discovery Plus. As a Dad Influencer, he has created extensive content for The Dadlands, the web series, Dads in Parks, the podcast, “Father Time”, and his current weekly live virtual show, podcast and personal brand, “The Parent’s Lounge”. As a voiceover artist, his credits include the “Bloopers Host” on Robot Chicken, "Travis the Announcer" on Loud House, Fallout 4, and numerous commercial campaigns. As a comedian he was one of the New Faces at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and has appeared on Chelsea Lately, The Late Late Show, Live at Gotham, Mock-pocalypse, and World’s Dumbest. His two albums “Happy Father Daze”, and “HomeSchooled” (on youtube) hit #1 on iTunes. His new Dry Bar Comedy Special, “Father at 50!” was just released. Originally from New Hampshire, Jamie graduated from Boston University on an NROTC scholarship and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for 5 years before beginning his career as a performer.  When not working, he is obeying every command of his wife, Kate, and two daughters, Hannah and Claire.  Full list of credits. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0435695/ Check him out on: https://jamiekaler.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/jamiekaler https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJamieKaler Twitter/Instagram/Tik Tok @jamiekaler  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk with Texan/South Asian stand-up, writer, director about his journey from Texas, his love of comedy and its connection to his father’s love, a family of doctors, was stand-up a phase, bad jokes, going to USC film school, his love of sitcoms, Jess Oppenheimer, making his first pilot, putting his road career on hold while he takes care of his mother, opening for the great D.L. Hughley, being nominated for an Emmy while driving for a rideshare company, and the future of sitcoms and rideshare and can they be combined? Bio:  Jay Mandyam was pushed into doing stand-up comedy by one of his college professors at the age of 19. He has worked with national headliners including: Whitney Cummings, Chris Hardwick, Tim Allen, & his comedic idols Christopher Titus and Paul Reiser. For the last few years, Jay has been seen opening regularly for Russell Peters, DL Hughley, and the late Louie Anderson. Jay’s comedy focuses on himself; sharing stories about all the times his big mouth has gotten him in trouble. In 2018, Jay made his international debut by touring India. As for television, Jay was featured on the hit HBO show “Silicon Valley”. He also made a couple of appearances on Comedy Central’s “@midnight”, Howard Stern’s “The Wrap Up Show”, and "Modern Family". In addition to stand-up, Jay is an accomplished writer, having written on the Netflix show “The Fix”, and Adam Sandler’s Netflix special “100% Fresh”. In 2019, Jay was seen every night as “Indian Jay” on "The DL Hughley Show" on TVOne. When the world shut down in 2020, Judd Apatow convinced Jay to go to USC to work on his directing skills. Jay was the first student at USC to do a multicam sitcom pilot with a studio audience as his thesis project, which was nominated for a college Emmy. Most recently, Jay was seen alongside Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedy and radio legend Phil Proctor talks about the origin of the Firesign Theater, his love of radio, his many careers as an actor, reporter, writer, comedian, author, and how he made the New York, San Francisco, and LA scenes when there were scenes to make!  He also talks about his biography “Where’s My Fortune Cookie” and how he almost died three times.  Let’s see if he survives our podcast. Bio: Proctor is a founding member of the thrice-Grammy-nominated Firesign Theatre, one of Rolling Stone’s “Thirty Greatest Acts of All Time” and whose archives were purchased by the Library of Congress. He’s appeared on-and-off Broadway, toured the USSR with the Yale Russian Chorus and the US and Canada with Proctor & Bergman and the L.A. Guitar Quartet in Don Quixote. He has appeared in scores of commercials, audiobooks, video games, films and TV shows, receiving Theatre World, LA Weekly, LA Free Press and Drama Critics' awards, and the Norman Corwin Excellence in Audio trophy as well as a recent Emmy for the PBS-aired documentary Feast Your Ears: The Story of WHFS Radio. His voice credits include memorable characters in Academy Award-winning films for Pixar and Disney from A Bug’s Life to Inside Out, the Drunken French Monkey in Dr. Dolittle, Dr. Vidic in Assassin's Creed, Simon Stagg in Batman: Arkham Knight, and Howard in the multi-Emmy-winning Rugrats, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also added scores of voices to the Golden Age of Pulp Fiction series and appeared on Irish radio and live on stage with his late wife, Melinda Peterson, at the 77th Science Fiction Convention in Dublin. He was the announcer for 3 seasons of Big Brother and has a recurring role as Detective Polehaus on the long-running Adventures in Odyssey and can be seen in many old--time radio recreations at the Online Radio Theatre on YouTube. He is a 15-year member of the Antaeus Theater and to accompany his autobiography and audiobook, Where’s My Fortune Cookie? co-authored by Brad Schreiber, he co-wrote What to Say to Your Crazy Right-Wing Uncle, with Samuel Joseph and God Help Us! a political comedy which toured the U.S. and Canada starring the late Ed Asner. He currently co-hosts Phil & Ted’s Sexy Boomer Show, every Tuesday afternoon on KPFK with Ted Bonnitt, featuring conversations with friends like John Goodman, Penn Jillette, Weird Al,  Laraine Newman and Harry Shearer among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation continues and we talk about being more confident as we get older, learning to be happier in the writer’s room, Linda Lavin, bad table reads, dealing with notes, notes are not helpful, politics in shows, Ryan Murphy’s genius, trying to make multi camera sitcoms in a world that may not want them, being high school friends, Sidney Pollack, David getting the writer’s job, Jay was polished, Alan Zweibel, being 22 and wearing a sport coat, being a team who loves each other, shabbat, wives don’t want to hear their husbands complain, shows that don’t use the writing staff, getting on board a story, the big idea of a story, fighting for your money, paying the price for fighting, trying to avoid the fight and winning anyway, juries love them despite being fancy guys, Jeff Zuker’s wife predicted Zuker’s loss, bicycles, live performance, and how nice it is to hang with old friends.    Bio: David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are the creators and executive producers of "MidCentury Modern", and are perhaps best known for the 16-time Emmy Award-winning comedy series “Will & Grace,” which ended its 11-season run on NBC in April 2020. The trailblazing series is still praised for its significant social impact and groundbreaking representation of queer characters. High school friends Mutchnick and Kohan started their entertainment careers almost 25 years ago as writers for “Dream On”, “The Dennis Miller Show”, and “The Wonder Years”. Mutchnick graduated from Emerson College and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. Kohan is a proud alumnus of Wesleyan University, where he majored in English and philosophy. Mutchnick is married to entertainment lawyer Erik Hyman. They live in Beverly Hills with their twin daughters, Evan and Rose, named for the couple’s maternal grandmothers. Kohan is also co-creator and producer of daughters Olivia and Nora. He currently lives in Los Angeles with Nora and his wife, Blair, a board member and motion picture agent at UTA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max and David talk war stories about working on “The SIngle Guy” including Ernest Borgnine, playing poker, NBC screwing Jay over, Buz Kohan, David Bowie, The Garth Brooks Joke, Max telling the show runner stuff he shouldn’t, having your partner being yelled at, the love of Jim Burrows, lunch of Walter’s, setting up boundaries, Will & Grace, Mid Century Modern, early success, why they never hired Jay Kogen, feeling like a fraud and then feeling like you know stuff, rebooting Will & Grace, being best friends, their daughters are best friends, and David gives advice on being a twin and showing little kids “Stage Coach.”  Bio: David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are the creators and executive producers of "MidCentury Modern", and are perhaps best known for the 16-time Emmy Award-winning comedy series “Will & Grace,” which ended its 11-season run on NBC in April 2020. The trailblazing series is still praised for its significant social impact and groundbreaking representation of queer characters. High school friends Mutchnick and Kohan started their entertainment careers almost 25 years ago as writers for “Dream On”, “The Dennis Miller Show”, and “The Wonder Years”. Mutchnick graduated from Emerson College and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. Kohan is a proud alumnus of Wesleyan University, where he majored in English and philosophy. Mutchnick is married to entertainment lawyer Erik Hyman. They live in Beverly Hills with their twin daughters, Evan and Rose, named for the couple’s maternal grandmothers. Kohan is also co-creator and producer of daughters Olivia and Nora. He currently lives in Los Angeles with Nora and his wife, Blair, a board member and motion picture agent at UTA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer/Actor/Singer/Improviser Jim Wise talks with Jay about meeting as runners on The Garry Shandling Show, song Improv, acting, writing for Mad TV, Jay Leno, The Groundlings, singing for a living, being one of the best song improvisers in the business, and how Jay pushed him in all the right directions.  Bio:JIM WISE is a fervent improviser and an alumnus of the Groundling Theater. If you’re in your 30s, you may recognize him as the irascible Coach Tugnut from Disney Channel’s EVEN STEVENS. If you’re between the ages of 40 and 50, you might remember him from NBC’s JUST SHOOT ME as Kenny the Psycho who threatens to fold David Spade “like a lawn chair.” And, if you’re in your 20s, you may have heard Jim’s powerhouse lead vocals on “Goofy Goober Rock!” in THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE. As a Writer/Producer, Jim’s credits include MADTV, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, BEST TIME EVER WITH NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, and CARPOOL KARAOKE. Jim also enjoys the distinction of being one of two writers who wrote for both THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO and THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON. Finally, Jim is delighted to be a guest on DON’T BE ALONE WITH JAY KOGEN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writing legends John August & Craig Mazin talk about their journey to screenwriting, podcasting, & writing a book.  They talk about how to boil  down 15 years of shows down to a book, the origin of the scriptnotes podcast, the need to help people combined with being annoyed by people, what each of them considers good writing, why people who hate books on writing wrote a book on writing, there are no rules to screenwriting, customizing your process, the moment they thought the might be good enough to make a living at writing, their messiest jobs, their best jobs, the changing nature of show biz, and why the Scriptnotes book weighs a lot less than you think it does.  Bio: Craig Mazin is the multiple Emmy® award-winning co-creator, executive producer, writer and director of the smash hit HBO series THE LAST OF US. An addition to setting viewership records for HBO, THE LAST OF US has earned 51 Emmy® nominations including 9 Emmy® wins, a Peabody Award, an AFI Award, a BAFTA Award, two SAG Awards, a DGA Award, a WGA Award, a GLAAD Award, two Film Independent Spirit Awards, and four Golden Globe Award nominations. Previously, Mazin served as creator, writer and executive producer of the HBO limited series CHERNOBYL, for which he won 2 Emmys®, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Peabody, and awards from the Writers Guild, the Producers Guild, the Television Critics Association and the American Film Institute. Looking ahead, Mazin is executive producing the upcoming HBO E-sports drama DAMAGE alongside writer, director and executive producer Celine Song. In addition to his work in television, Mazin has written numerous hit feature films, which have grossed over one billion dollars in theaters worldwide. Mazin can be heard on the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes, which he co-hosts with fellow writer John August. Bio: John August is a screenwriter whose credits include Aladdin, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie and the first two Charlie’s Angels movies. He directed the 2007 film The Nines starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He earned a BAFTA nomination for his script for Big Fish, and a GRAMMY nomination for his song in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In 2016, he received the Writers Guild of America West’s Valentine Davies Award in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and civic service. In addition to his work in film, John wrote the Arlo Finch middle-grade novel trilogy, and the book for the Broadway musical of Big Fish. Since 2012, he has co-hosted the popular weekly screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes. His company, Quote-Unquote Apps, makes utilities for writers (including Highland and Weekend Read) along with Writer Emergency Pack, which is used in 2,000 classrooms nationwide. Born in Boulder, Colorado, John received a BA in Journalism from Drake University and an MFA in Film Producing from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He lives in Los Angeles with his family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael McKean talks about going from goofball to respected dramatic actor, how his high school drama teacher, NYU and Carnegie Mellon  pushed him into a lifetime of being a creative person, Christopher Guest being his roommate, the credibility gap, being a long haired hippie, how Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall got him on “laverne & shirley”, being a writer, Annette O'Toole being the perfect partner, always searching for the right performance, glenn gary glenn ross, how being in real rock groups like “the left bank” led to “spinal tap, and how being in a movie with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Barkin can go from elation to disaster. Bio: Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, and musician. Over his career he has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. McKean started his career as Lenny Kosnowski in the ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1983. He was briefly a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for its 19th and 20th seasons from 1994 to 1995, and played Gibby Fiske in HBO series Dream On (1990–1996). He has acted in films such as Used Cars (1980), Clue (1985), and The Big Picture (1989), the latter of which he also co-wrote. He is also known for having collaborated with Christopher Guest acting in his films such as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). He co-wrote the song "A Mighty Wind" (for the Guest film A Mighty Wind), for which he won a Grammy Award, as well as "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from the same film, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019 for his role as Chuck McGill on the AMC series Better Call Saul (2015–2018; 2022). Since 2020, he has voiced Lou Pickles in Nickelodeon's Rugrats franchise. He has acted in shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Grace and Frankie, Breeders, and The Diplomat. On stage, McKean made his Broadway debut as Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray (2004). He took on dual roles portraying J. Edgar Hoover and Robert Byrd in the political epic play All the Way (2014). He has acted in Broadway plays such as the Tracy Letts play Superior Donuts (2009), the Gore Vidal revival The Best Man (2012), and the Lillian Hellman revival The Little Foxes (2017). To date, McKean is the twenty-second highest-earning game show contestant of all time, having accumulated $1,115,400 during his appearances on Celebrity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writers Tom Gammill and Max Pross discuss being comedy writing partners and then not being partners on SNL, Gary Shandling’s Show, Seinfeld and dozens of great comedies, while Marc Wolodarsky and Jay Kogen, also former writing partners, do the same.  They discuss the state of show business, what’s life like after writing, becoming an EMT, writing novels, pilots with puppets, development hell, pitching shows to people who weren’t born when we started, Harvard Lampoon, David Letterman, and The Simpsons!  Tom Gammill was writing partners for 40 years with Max Pross before Max dumped him. Their credits include “SNL” “Letterman” “Seinfeld” and “The Simpsons”. After the breakup Tom wrote and starred in the play “A Morning With Ernie Bushmiller” which ran for one performance, and was a Consulting Producer for the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Wally Wolodarsky began his career as a writer on The Tracey Ullman Show. Writing with Jay Kogen, he received an Emmy. Wally was a writer and producer on The Simpsons for the first four seasons, where he won his second Emmy. With his wife Maya Forbes he has written several features and television shows including Monsters vs. Aliens, A Dog's Purpose and The People vs. O.J. Simpson. Wally produced Infinitely Polar Bear starring Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana. Together, Maya and Wally wrote and directed The Polka King starring Jack Black and The Good House starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. Max Pross spent forty-two years writing for television, and now atones by working as an emergency responder.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UnCabaret founder and host, Beth Lapides, talks about creating the show to have a place to perform then how it shifted to a place where she nurtured Taylor Negron, Judy Toll, Patton Oswalt, Margaret Cho, Bob Odenkirk, Janeane Garofalo, and everyone else to be the best performer they could. She talks about how to be creative and how to stop getting in your own way, how life is change and change is good.  She finds joy in pulling weeds and eating just the right amount of pizza. Bio:  BETH LAPIDES works at the intersection of comedy, creativity and consciousness. She is the creator, host and producer of the legendary, genre shifting, UnCabaret - widely considered to be the original “alt-comedy” show. The LA Times called her the ‘godmother of alternative comedy.” She’s produced UnCab for Comedy Central, Amazon Studios, audible etc. And created its spin offs Say The Word and The Other Network. UnCabaret continues to help launch and relaunch some of your favorite iconic comedic voices. Beth is the author of Recorded Books’ original audio book “So You Need To Decide,” which was on Vulture’s Top 10 Comedy Books of 2022 and which Variety called “a potentially life-changing treasure.” Her first published book, “Did I Wake You? Haiku For Modern Living,” opened the door to a wave of comedy haiku. Her very first books were handmade artist books and were shown, among other places at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her wide ranging muti-disciplinary career has included writing for O Magazine, correspondent-ing on NPR’s All Things Considered, touring her solo shows – currently It’s A Lot – hosting a daily radio show for Comedy World, shepherding an extremely short lived talk show for MTV, developing a pilot with an Emmy award winning producer, hosting a podcast called Life and Beth, and running a campaign to make First Lady an elected position. An occasional actress, she was the first guest star on Will and Grace and the performance artist on Sex and The City – and has appeared in many indie films most often as an offbeat authority figure. Beth had a parallel career as a teacher and muse, known for her ability to help creators find their authentic voice – understand their own process, transform, complete and produce their work. She’s gone from teaching comedians to coaching a vast array of creatives - currently in a framework called The Infinite Creator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane Black, Jim Herzfeld, Fred Dekker, and David Silverman look back on their formative years at UCLA and the shared house that became a creative hub and lifelong support system. What began as a loose collective of film-obsessed college friends evolved into a 24-hour open-door hangout where movie watching, gaming, writing, joking, and low-budget filmmaking fueled both friendships and ambition. In the early 1980s, these young creatives found their voices, their confidence, and their drive by building a scene together. The group reflects on how that community shaped their careers and helped launch work that would later define modern film, television, comedy, animation, and genre storytelling. From blockbuster screenwriting and cult-classic filmmaking to animation history and television production, their shared origins reveal how collaboration, camaraderie, and persistence can have a lasting impact on both art and life. The episode celebrates the power of creative tribes and how a single house full of passionate film nerds helped produce some of the most influential movies and shows of the last three decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry discusses his brilliant autobiography Comedy Samurai, becoming a writer, Friday's, arsenio, seinfeld, mad about you, borat, curb your enthusiasm, and all of the strife and feeds, and turmoil they and he created. We talk about the passion that drives you to take risks. And why wearing pajamas is dangerous.Bio: Larry Charles, rose from the mean streets of Brooklyn and the working class housing projects of Donald Trump’s nefarious father Fred, to become the director of BORAT, BRUNO, THE DICTATOR and RELIGULOUS amongst others. He directed Bob Dylan and an all star cast (Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jessica Lange and Penelope Cruz among others) in the film, MASKED AND ANONYMOUS which he and Bob wrote together.  He has also directed numerous episodes of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and was one of the original writers and producers of SEINFELD. He has been nominated for 12 Emmys, winning two, 8 Golden Globes, winning one, a Peabody award and some other stuff too. He has collaborated with a diverse group of cultural icons from Mel Brooks to Michael Moore to Nicolas Cage. In 2018 he created, directed, wrote and starred in the four-part limited series for Netflix, LARRY CHARLES’ DANGEROUS WORLD OF COMEDY. His new film for A24, Dicks: The Musical (formerly and more preferably Fucking Identical Twins), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in the fall of 2023 and won The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award.  And yet, despite all this, or because of it, he remains kind, humble and grateful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The always in demand, Michael Hitchcock, talks about how children's theater led to adult theater which led to a career of acting and writing with the groundlings, mad tv, christopher guest, crazy ex girlfriend, currently the lowdown and nobody wants this.  We chat about writing vs acting and what it takes to realize where you should be. Bio: Actor, writer, producer (and when he was a teenager, semi-professional magician), Michael currently appears as Ethan Hawke’s frenemy “Ray” in the critically acclaimed dramedy “The Lowdown,” available on FX and Hulu.  He also plays Kristen Bell’s rather clueless dad in the Netflix hit comedy, “Nobody Wants This.” Many dog lovers recognize him as Parker Posey’s husband “Hamilton Swan” in the Christopher Guest iconic comedy “Best in Show,” and has appeared in Guest’s other celebrated films “Waiting for Guffman,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration,” and “Mascots.” Additional acting credits include “The Paper,” “Jackpot,” “Palm Royale,” “Your Place or Mine,” “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Black Monday,” “Space Force,” “Bridesmaids,” "Glee," "United States of Tara," "Men of a Certain Age," “Super 8,” “Serenity,” "Entourage," "Party Down," and "Arrested Development." Writing and producing credits include the acclaimed television series “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” “Glee,” and “Mad TV.”  He also wrote the films "House Arrest,” “The Ultimate Christmas Present,” and “Where the Day Takes You.”  He is an alumnus of the sketch and improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings, and has performed comedy improv for the U.S. troops all over the world including Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Bahrain, Cuba, Guam, Honduras, and Kuwait. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SCTV legend Dave Thomas reflects on the bold choices that shaped his life and career, from growing up in Canada to navigating success and uncertainty in Hollywood. He discusses how Shakespeare and literature helped ground him early on, and the pivotal decision to leave a lucrative advertising career to pursue improvisational comedy at Second City. Thomas shares stories of becoming head writer on SCTV and collaborating with comedy icons such as Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Harold Ramis, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Joe Flaherty. The conversation spans his career-defining work on SCTV, the creation of the McKenzie Brothers, Strange Brew, Mad Magazine, and later successes including Grace Under Fire. Thomas also explores his transition into animation, running his own studio, voice work across major animated series, and eventually shifting into dramatic television with shows like Bones and The Blacklist. He touches on international experiences, including time spent in Ukraine and Thailand, and reflects on lessons learned across decades in entertainment. Throughout the episode, Thomas emphasizes that success in Hollywood depends on having at least two of three essential elements: talent, drive, and luck—along with the courage to take risks and follow creative instincts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor/Writer/Kid-In-The-Hall Dave Foley talks about what to do with the next 20-30 years of our lives, finding love, making comedy he’s proud of, aliens, conspiracy theorists, Canada, Trump, keeping friendship alive from two coasts, and the day he fell out of a train. Bio:  Dave Foley rose to fame as “the cute” member of the revered sketch group, “Kids In The Hall”.  He went on to star in “News Radio” and dozens of movies and TV shows, He’s also the co-writer and star of the cult darling movie, “The Wrong Guy”. Most recently played Danish Graves on season 5 of “Fargo” on FX. And he currently hosts the "REALLY?!. with Tom & Dave" podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kathy talks about surviving Trump, the Groundlings, Stand-up, her parents who loved show biz, Sia, Joan Rivers, relationships, dating younger guys, saving every dime, and why she made Jay pay for their date. Bio: Two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin is a towering figure on television, on tour and in publishing. In 2013, Kathy was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing and starring in an unprecedented 20 televised stand-up specials - more than any comedian in history. In 2014, Kathy made history again with her 6th consecutive Grammy nomination and first win for Best Comedy Album (Kathy Griffin: Calm Down Gurrl), joining Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin as the only other female comedians to ever win Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album. Her hit Bravo series, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List aired for 6 years and won 2 Emmys. It was nominated every single year of its run. The series also earned her a GLAAD Media Award for Best Reality Program.Kathy starred on NBC's Suddenly Susan and guest starred on multiple legendary TV series including Seinfeld, Law & Order: SVU, Glee, You, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Additionally, she has lent her unique voice to animated characters in Shrek Forever After, The Simpsons, American Dad, Futurama and Dilbert. Kathy’s unrivaled style of humor and prolific comedy pedigree has made her one of television's go-to hosts for premier live events. Kathy drew huge worldwide audiences to CNN's New Year's Eve special, which she co-produced and co-hosted with Anderson Cooper for 10 years. Kathy co-hosted The Billboard Music AwardsLIVE three years in a row, the 41st annual Daytime Emmy Awards LIVE and AARP's Movies for Grownups Gala. Her sure-fire hosting success led to her own LIVE late night talk show, Kathy.Also an accomplished author, Kathy’s memoir, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Her much-anticipated second book, Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index, was also a New York Times Best Seller. On the stage, Kathy has performed standup for hundreds of thousands around the globe. Buoyed by her fiercely dedicated fans, Kathy's live performances are legendary and in a class of their own. The fiery redhead has sold out shows to rave reviews throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia at such iconic venues as The Sydney Opera House, The Mark Taper Forum, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. Kathy has also performed for active military servicemen and women in such war zones as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan. She has graced the covers of The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, and The Advocate, and has had in-depth profiles in New York Magazine and Forbes.In addition to performing, writing and producing, Kathy is a renowned speaker and has taken her empowering messages of equality through activism and humor all over the country. Kathy’s passionate advocacy for women, the LGBT community, and other disenfranchised groups have been displayed through numerous candid and intimate conversations with award-winning journalists and moderators from The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Hudson Union Society, 92Y, as well as tech giants Google and AOL. She has been honored in this area with multiple awards including The Human Rights Campaign's Ally for Equality, GLAAD's Vanguard Award, The Trevor Life Award from the Trevor Project, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's Leadership in Entertainment honor, the Harvard College Distinguished Service Partner Award, Veterans Tickets Foundation Distinguished Donor Award, the Lambda Legal Liberty Award, a two-time Ladies’ Home Journal “Funny Ladies We Love” Recipient, and a Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Lead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick and Jay talk about stupid mistakes, shoe money, James Burrows, Cheers, directing people, not getting the girl, and the moment you reveal your big secret and no one cares. Bio: Rick Beren grew up in the Sixties and Seventies in the very liberal Bay Area. Even then, he managed to push the boundaries of tolerance of his parents, teachers, and eventually, the law. Mostly minor indiscretions, and all (always) in the pursuit of fun, but it landed him in the Vacaville State prison for selling one quarter gram of cocaine. The quality was so poor, he should’ve been convicted of false advertising. Anyway, his girlfriend also was sent to State prison (unfortunately, not by his side) for women. She had sold the same undercover agent, some 200 amphetamine pills. They were in college at the time (1977) and spent about 5 months in jail. The story of Ricks book is told with humor, compassion and a what the fuck attitude of how could this little, entitled, Jew end up in prison with Charles Manson and his ilk? As I say, He was probably always headed in that direction. Speaking of direction. In less than five years after his release, he was the director's assistant on his favorite show, Cheers. Rick found his life calling and immersed himself in the bliss of being around these amazingly talented people. He worked his way up the ladder and became a director himself and on that very show!  He went on to direct many shows and worked in the industry for four decades. Along the way, he fell into an amazing relationship (with a girl who was not an ex-con) and they have two (so far not ex-con) daughters. Life turned out pretty fucking great. And the highlight of his life and career was being able to spend time with Jay ( the legend) Kogen in an intimate (edited) two hour conversation. Jay wants his time backing the form of a poker game where he can monetize his efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Douglas talks about trying his hand at theater and seeing how technology and society were changing so he became an expert in navigating the future instead. We talk about tech, social media, surviving the collapse of the old economy, how to fight the tech giants, and helping each other in smaller societies that use less crap will save us.  We also talk to Mamie, Douglas’s daughter about what it's like to have a dad who knows stuff. Bio:Named one of the “world’s ten most influential intellectuals” by MIT, Douglas Rushkoff is an author and documentarian who studies human autonomy in a digital age. His twenty books include the just-published Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, as well as the recent Team Human, based on his podcast, and the bestsellers Present Shock, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, Program or Be Programmed, Life Inc, and Media Virus. He also made the PBS Frontline documentaries Generation Like, The Persuaders, and Merchants of Cool. His book Coercion won the Marshall McLuhan Award, and the Media Ecology Association honored him with the first Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.  Rushkoff’s work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He coined such concepts as “viral media,” “screenagers,” and “social currency,” and has been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He serves as a  research fellow of the Institute for the Future, and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics. He is a columnist for Medium, and his novels and comics, Ecstasy Club, A.D.D, and Aleister & Adolf, are all being developed for the screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian David Koechner talks about growing up in a big family in a small Missouri town, and developing the need to be heard and seen by taking the attention, the importance of SNL and Monty Python. Deciding to be a performer. Making the move to Chicago, the influence of being Catholic, the fall of old show business, trying to carve out a career in the aftermath. Becoming a stand-up, how we don’t own our kids, improv vs drama, feuds, apologies, Adam McCay, Del Close, and the maturity to not spill a milkshake over yourself even if you will get a laugh. Bio:David Michael Koechner on August 24, 1962, in Tipton, Missouri, his parents ran a business manufacturing turkey coops. He has two brothers and three sisters. He studied political science before moving to Chicago to pursue improvisational comedy at ImprovOlympic and Second City.  Koechner was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–1996, performing in sketches like "Bill Brasky" and "The British Fops". His breakout film role was as Champ Kind in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), a character he returned to in the 2013 sequel. He also played Todd Packer in 15 episodes of The Office (2005–2013), a role for which Steve Carell recommended him. Koechner has appeared in numerous other films, including Talladega Nights, Thank You for Smoking, Extract, and Waiting..., and received praise for his dramatic role in Cheap Thrills (2014). His television work includes voice roles in American Dad! and recurring parts in shows like Another Period and The Goldbergs. He continues to perform stand-up comedy and tours with "The Office Trivia with 'Todd Packer'".  David performs stand-up around the country and is available for dinner if the food's good. Editing Notes: David does a LOT of shitting on priests and churches and show biz.  I think it gets boring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Rowe talks about not being the “dirty jobs” Mike Rowe, planning for the future, being funny in high school, becoming an electrical engineer and giving it up for comedy, performing in NY comedy clubs, Alan Zweibel moving him to LA, roasts, jokes, his book “It’s a Funny Thing”, Rodney Dangerfield giving him hope, comedy cliques, and why he’s moving to Connecticut.  Bio: Michael Rowe is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer who has worked on many highly regarded comedy and animated shows on television. While still a teenager, Michael began his comedy career as a stand-up comic at such notable New York City clubs as The Improv, The Comedy Cellar and Caroline's. From there, he landed a job writing jokes for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’s Weekend Update, as well as sketches for shows on MTV, A&E and Comedy Central. Hollywood called, bringing Michael out west to work with Martin Short on his syndicated sketch-comedy show. This soon led to opportunities as a sitcom writer/producer on shows starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Ted Danson, and with Eddie Murphy on his groundbreaking animated series, THE PJs. Michael’s affinity for the comedic heart and artistic freedom of animation led to a seven-season run as a writer and Co-Executive Producer of the highly acclaimed series, FUTURAMA. From there, Michael joined FAMILY GUY as a writer/producer and soon after, he became the showrunner for Comedy Central’s animated series, BRICKLEBERRY. Along the way Michael was awarded 6 Emmy nominations (with 1 win), 2 Annie Awards (with 2 wins), and a WGA Award for his FUTURAMA episode, Game of Tones. He was also nominated for a Canadian Emmy for his work as Executive Producer and Director on Netflix’s animated series, THE TRAILER PARK BOYS. In recent live-action endeavors, Michael was a Co-Executive Producer on the hit TV series, 2 BROKE GIRLS for CBS. Michael is currently in development with Supercell creating an adult animated series from their megahit game franchises CLASH OF CLANS and CLASH ROYALE. He is also in development on an animated series with the incredible David Cross, and a separate animated series with Bob Odenkirk. He is also a long-standing, frequent contributor to the ongoing Comedy Central Roasts, featuring such celebrities as James Franco, Donald Trump, Justin Bieber and Roseanne, just to name a few. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor/Director Helen Hunt & Actor singer/songwriter psych/mythology PHD phd Helen Slater discuss a deep friendship and love, growing up in art, the beginning of their friendship on a trip to russia, Winnie The Pooh,, growing beyond your first dream, parenting, parenting artists, Helen H. introducing Helen S. to her husband, improv, acting styles, baseball, French Fries, & clown school.Bio: Helen Hunt has enjoyed a distinguished career not only as an award-winning actor, but as an accomplished writer, director, and producer. As an actress, her extensive and diverse body of work includes roles in film, theater, and television.      Hunt enjoyed a residency at The Old Vic Theatre in EUREKA DAY, a story about parents on the Executive Committee of a progressive private school in Berkeley, California. While taking pride in their ability to accept everyone, a public health scare erupts, testing their tolerance and revealing their true colors. Written by Jonathan Spector and directed by Katy Rudd. It was the European premiere of a multi award-winning story. Hunt performed alongside Kirsten Foster, Mark McKinney, Ben Schnetzer and Susan Kelechi Watson. In television, Hunt can most recently be seen as Winnie Landell in HACKS, created by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. She can also be seen as Rainey in Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal’s BLINDSPOTTING, a show based on the film with the same title. In 2022 it was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best New Scripted Series. The second season was released in April 2023. Hunt returned to the stage this February in Susan V. Booth’s major revival of Pinter’s famed masterwork BETRAYAL at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. The Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award winner currently stars in the play alongside Tony nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Ian Barford, respectively playing Emma and Robert. In 2019, Hunt revived her role as Jamie Buchman for another season of the hit show MAD ABOUT YOU opposite Paul Reiser. The show returned as a limited series on Spectrum Originals with all episodes available on demand.    In 2012 Hunt’s performance in THE SESSIONS earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and notations in the same category by the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, Broadcast Film Critics’ Awards and the BAFTA Awards.  The film premiered in competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and took home the Audience Award as well as the jury prize for Best Ensemble.  Other film credits include: Netflix’s Comedy CANDY JAR, RIDE (which Hunt also co-wrote, produced, and directed), DECODING ANNIE PARKER, SOUL SURFER, EVERY DAY, BOBBY, THEN SHE FOUND ME (which Hunt again also co-wrote, produced, and directed), AS GOOD AS IT GETS, WHAT WOMEN WANT, CASTAWAY, A GOOD WOMAN, Woody Allen’s THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, Robert Altman’s DR. T AND THE WOMEN, PAY IT FORWARD, and TWISTER. Hunt can last be seen in HOW IT ENDS, Michael Cristopher’s THE NIGHT CLERK and Adam Randall’s thriller I SEE YOU. Early career film credits are: THE WATERDANCE, KISS OF DEATH, MR. SATURDAY NIGHT, PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED, NEXT OF KIN, GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, PROJECT X. and MILES FROM HOME.     Additional television credits include “MAD ABOUT YOU” and the critically acclaimed HBO Miniseries EMPIRE FALLS. For her role as Jamie Buchman in MAD ABOUT YOU, Hunt garnered four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards (three as lead actress and one as Producer for Best Comedy), and a Screen Actors Guild Award.  She was also named “Best Actress” for her role in the film AS GOOD AS IT GETS for which Hunt won a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Oscar.     Helen Slater is an American actress and singer-songwriter. In 1982 she was cast in the title role of the film Supergirl (1984) opposite Peter O'Toole and Faye Dunaway. Other credits include The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Anthony Williams talks about his remarkable ability to fit in when he wants to, how growing up poor in Georgia gave him optimism for everything else, how he got skinny, the connection between skinning rabbits and vegetarianism, how he’s uncomfortable at a party yet makes strangers comfortable at coffee shops, falling into acting through computer error, how nerds are his people, and how it’s still shocking he makes a living acting and being funny. Bio: Gary Anthony Williams' film credits include "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows," "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," "The Internship," "Undercover Brother," "Soul Plane," “Outlaw Johnny Black” and "The Factory." An accomplished voice actor, Williams is best known for voicing Uncle Ruckus on "The Boondocks." Additional voiceover credits include the newly released shows “Batman: Caped Crusader,” “Wondla” and “The Second Best Hospital In The Galaxy.” Other shows include "The Lion Guard," “Hailey’s On It!,” "Star Wars Resistance," Puppy Dog Pals," "Love, Death & Robots," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," "Bob's Burgers," "Rick and Morty," "Family Guy," "American Dad," "Rugrats,” and "Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur "On television, Williams just wrapped the reboot of “Malcolm In the Middle!” He currently recurs in “Night Court.” He also starred in "The Crew," "Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon," and as Santa in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Christmas…Again?!" His additional television credits include "I'm Sorry," "Whose Line is it Anyway?," "Boston Legal," "Blue Collar TV," "The Neighborhood," "The Soul Man," and "Weeds." He is also the voice of the award-winning music show "Unsung." Gary tours the country with “Whose Live Anyway” and is a proud member of the all-Black improv show, "The Black Version." Born in Fayetteville, Georgia, Williams currently resides in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices