All Episodes - How To Write Funny
Scott Dikkers, founder of TheOnion.com and The Onion's editor-in-chief for most of the last 25 years, interviews celebrities, writers, and other people in the comedy industry about their background, philosophy and process.
View Podcast Details49 Episodes
Episode 49 | Dan Povenmire
Writer, director, cartoonist, and voice artist Dan Povenmire talks about his adventures in Hollywood creating the enormously successful Phineas and Ferb for Disney.
Episode 48 | Alex Stevenson
Cartoonist and writer Alex Stevenson talks about developing her web comic “Cartoons Hate Her” on social media, pushing boundaries, and building a fanbase.
Episode 47 | JaMarr John Johnson
“Entrepremedian” JaMarr John Johnson talks with Scott about how comedians can exploit Web3 and Crypto to make more money, starting by helping Scott create his “Jim Key” to turn fans into owners.
Episode 46 | Sean Tejaratchi
LiartownUSA.com is the Internet’s funniest, most original, and most undiscovered treasure. Scott chats with its creator, Sean Tejaratchi, to find out where it came from and how it can be so funny.
Episode 45 | Justine Bateman
Actress, writer, and director Justine Bateman talks about fame, being on the top sitcom in the country, getting older in show business, and why it’s important to take comedy seriously.
Episode 44 | Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedian and actor known for insightful comedy specials and roles in hit TV shows and movies like The King of Queens, Ratatouille, and the new M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu.
Episode 43 | Mike Sacks
Mike Sacks is the bestselling author of Stinker Lets Loose, Passable in Pink, and the excellent comedy-writer interview books Here’s the Kicker and Poking a Dead Frog.
Episode 42 | Anne Libera
Founder of the Comedy Studies program at Columbia College and comedy professor Anne Libera talks comedy history, comedy theory, and why it all matters.
Episode 41 | Michael Gerber
Michael Gerber talks about his hard-won career in comedy writing for TV, writing parody novels, and finally editing and publishing The American Bystander magazine.
Episode 40 | Margaret Cho
Veteran stand-up comic, writer and actress Margaret Cho talks about getting started in the 80s comedy boom, her TV show, and her thoughts on writing and performing stand-up.
Episode 39 | Jen Kirkman
Stand-up comic, TV writer and actress Jen Kirkman talks about her comedy, social media, pitching TV shows, and how to weather the ups and downs of the business.
Episode 38 | Matt Braunger
Scott talks with veteran stand-up comedian and comic actor Matt Braunger about getting started, making it in stand-up, and making it in acting.
Episode 37 | Liana Spiro
Scott talks with Harvard Lampoon President about the nation's oldest college humor magazine's humor, pranks, and castle, and how to lead a band of misfit comedy writers.
Episode 36 | How to write satire
Scott walks through the specific steps for writing a satirical article, essay, stand-up bit, or sketch.
Episode 35 | Ryan Creamer
Scott asks Ryan Creamer how he became the hot new thing in comedy by doing hilariously wholesome videos on Pornhub.
Episode 34 | Merrill Markoe
Scott chats with multi-Emmy-winning comedy writer and performer Merrill Markoe about breaking into TV writing, her years working with David Letterman as he was coming up, and her audiobook (co-written with Megan Koester), "The Indignities of Being a Woman."
Episode 33 | How to Write a Joke
Host Scott Dikkers goes through the process of how to come up with a funny line and write a joke from scratch, illustrating the "How to Write Funny" system for joke creation. Get the cheatsheet at www.howtowritefunny.com/joke -- for more information checkout Scott's book, How to Write Funny
Episode 32 | Levni Yilmaz
Lev talks about how he found success doing the animated "Tales of Mere Existence" series on YouTube, which has racked up millions of views.
Episode 31| Three Fundamentals of Comedy Writing
Scott talks about three fundamentals of successful comedy writing and how to go after them: (1) writing 10 funny ideas every day, (2) overcoming writer's block, and (3) avoiding clichés.
Episode 30 | Tim Clue
Tim Clue joins Scott to discuss the craft of stand-up comedy, how to improve it, make money at it, and get better at it quickly.
Episode 29 | Caitlin Kunkel
Guest Caitlin Kunkel talks about her road to success writing humor for McSweeney's and The New Yorker, as well as landing her first book deal. She and Scott discuss the mindset and discipline of making a writing career.
Episode 28 | Christopher Titus
Scott talks with stand-up comedian Christopher Titus about his comic persona, performing and writing on stage, creating his Fox TV show "Titus," and his feature film, "Special Unit."
Episode 27 | Kurt Luchs
Kurt Luchs, founder and editor of The Big Jewel, talks with Scott about his unusual and varied comedy career. Kurt’s new book , “It’s Funny Until Someone Loses an Eye (Then It's Really Funny),” just hit bookstores.
Episode 26 | Steve Kaplan
Scott talks comedy nuts and bolts with Steve Kaplan, Hollywood's most sought-after comedy teacher.
Episode 25 | Lee Camp
Political comedian and activist Lee Camp sits down with Scott to talk comedy, activism, and creating his weekly political comedy TV show, "Redacted Tonight."
Episode 24 | Kevin Avery
Scott talks with Emmy-winning writer Kevin Avery. Kevin is a successful bay-area stand-up comic who got into TV writing with his friend and writing-partner W. Kamau Bell. He joined the original staff of John Oliver's show before its debut in 2014.
Episode 23 | Sarah Cooper
Scott talks with Sarah Cooper, founder of The Cooper Review, who parlayed a viral humor article into a 3-book deal. Her first book, 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, comes out this week.
Episode 22 | Seth Reiss
Late Night with Seth Meyers staffer and former Onion head writer Seth Reiss talks with Scott about his humor-writing process, mindset, and how he landed the best internships in comedy.
Episode 21 | Dave Eggers
Scott talks with Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney's, Might magazine, and 826 National, the non-profit with the cool storefronts that tutors kids and encourages them to write. His latest novel is "Heroes of the Frontier," which comes out today.
Episode 20 | Matt Abramson
Matt Abramson’s company Cap Gun produced a funny web series called Teachers, which is now a series on TV Land. Scott spoke to Matt when the show was just a pilot. They talk about how to build success with a web series, and how ties with advertisers can be a help or a hinderance.
Episode 19 | Steve Dildarian
TV and commercial copywriter Steve Dildarian enjoyed three seasons of his own funny and critically acclaimed animated series on HBO, The Life and Times of Tim.
Episode 18 | Jermaine Affonso
Scott talks with Jermaine Affonso, a former writer for The Onion who's now the Editor in Chief of Clickhole, which many have called the funniest site on the Internet.
Episode 17 | Jerry Rocha
Jerry Rocha, from Dallas, TX, has been performing stand-up for 20 years. He's appeared on Conan. Last Comic Standing, and his TV special, The Gentleman Jerry Rocha, presented by Gabriel Iglesias, premiered this month on Fuse.
Episode 16 | Beth Newell
Beth Newell founded, with Sarah Pappalardo, the women's news parody website Reductress.
Episode 15 | Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson is one of the most successful stand-up comics of the last 30 years. He created and starred in the animated TV series Life With Louie. He’s written several books, including Dear Dad: Letters from an Adult Child, and The F Word: How to Survive Your Family. For a time he was the host of TV's Family Feud.
Episode 14 | Daniel Greenberg
With the worst audio quality yet, Scott talks via wax cylinder and copper wire with literary agent Daniel Greenberg, who represents humor writers, comedians, and comedy celebrities. He also discovers new talent in the humor sphere and gets them book-publishing deals.
Episode 13 | Andy Borowitz
Scott and Andy Borowitz take a ride through his varied career, from being President of the Harvard Lampoon, creating the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, stand-up and lecturing, to having his homegrown humor email list become so popular it was subsumed by The New Yorker.
Episode 12 | Bob Einstein
Scott picks up the phone and talks with master comedy actor, writer and producer Bob Einstein, the man behind Super Dave Osborne.
Episode 11 | Todd Rosenberg
Todd Rosernberg created one of the first viral online cartoon series, Odd Todd.
Episode 10 | Anna Lefler
Scott talks with Anna Lefler, a humor author who got started as a Mommy blogger. Her first comic novel, Preschooled, comes out this fall. Her previous book was The Chicktionary: From A-Line to Z-Snap, The Words Every Woman Should Know. She's also written and performed for the Nickelodeon/NickMom TV show Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, and is a three-time faculty member of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Episode 9 | Rich Dahm
Scott chats with Rich Dahm, a two-time Emmy winner who's written for Da Ali G Show, Dennis Miller Live, The Onion, and was co-executive producer of The Colbert Report for 6 years. He currently writes for ABC-TV's The Middle.
Episode 8 | Julia Sweeney
Scott talks with Julia Sweeney, who became famous for her performance as "Pat" on SNL. She later became a humor author, speaker, and producer and star of the one-woman show Letting Go of God.
Episode 7 | Adam Resnick
Scott talks with Adam Resnick, co-creator of the Fox TV series Get a Life, staff writer for Late NIght with David Letterman, writer-director of Cabin Boy, and author of Will Not Attend.
Episode 6 | Andrew Daly
Andrew Daly patches in remotely to talk with Scott about his prolific career in improv, stand-up, writing, and acting. The star and executive producer of Comedy Central's Review, Andrew has appeared in a number of other movies and TV shows, including Semi-Pro, Eastbound & Down and Yogi Bear. He also pops up frequently as a number of different characters on Comedy Bang Bang.
Episode 5 | Weird Al Yankovic
Scott sits down with parody-music superstar Weird Al Yankovic, who is, believe it or not, the top-selling comedy recording artist of all time.
Episode 4 | Kelly Leonard
Scott talks with Kelly Leonard, who runs Chicago's Second City. He recently wrote (with Tom Yorton) Yes And, a book outlining the practical applications of The Second City's core comedy philosophy.
Episode 3 | Ellie Kemper
Scott talks with Ellie Kemper, star of Tina Fey's Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, who also played Erin on The Office and Becca in Bridesmaids.
Episode 2 | Ben Bailey
Scott chats with Ben Bailey, stand-up comedian and Emmy-winning host of Cash Cab.
Episode 1 | David Javerbaum
Scott talks with multiple-Emmy-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum about his work on The Daily Show, America: The Book, and his insanely popular twitter feed, @TheTweetOfGod, based on his book, The Last Testament: A Memoir, recently adapted into a Broadway play, An Act of God, starring Jim Parsons as God.