The delightful charm monster, Patrick Holbert, joins us to pick away at PAIN in stand-up comedy. We talk about how pain is the source of much of stand-up, both physical and emotional, and how usually the audience needs to know that the pain is

Episode 057 GAY SHIT – Jay Jurden: “Perform for the audience you have”

Feb 7th, 2020 2h

The "illustrious" Jay Jurden gayly talks about gay humor and also humor about gayness in this episode where we examine the relationship between stand-up comedy, homosexuality, and homophobia, tracing a path from Richard Pryor to the present.

Episode 056 MORALITY – Roy Wood Jr: “It’s fun to juggle dynamite”

Dec 10th, 2019 1h 24m

The Daily Show's Roy Wood Jr. examines MORALITY in the context of stand-up comedy and gives real advice to young comics. Some of the best parts of the interview are at the end where we talk about the road, how Roy worked the system to get ahead

Episode 055 CALLBACKS – LeClerc Andre: “Instant in-jokes”

Oct 21st, 2019 1h 47m

NBC's Bring The Funny & Fallon alum, LeClerc Andre, explains CALLBACKS in stand-up comedy via jokes by Patrice O'Neal, Moshe Kasher, and LeClerc himself.

Episode 054 CLEAN (2 of 2) – Steven Rogers: “Mastery: when you’re such a genius, you’re an idiot”

Sep 13th, 2019 58m 43s

In this second part of our CLEAN comedy interview of the pathologically nice Steven Rogers, we jump right into great material. We listen, laugh, and geek out over it through the lens of everything we explored about clean comedy in part one, so

Episode 053 CLEAN (1 of 2) – Steven Rogers: “It’s a safe bet”

Aug 23rd, 2019 1h 23m

It’s hard to say whether Steven Rogers is nicer than he is funny or vice-a-versa, but with Stephen Colbert and Brian Regan giving him their official thumbs up, the formula works. Steven will hate this description, but he’s so neighborly, let’s

Episode 052 PRESENCE – Bret Raybould: “Don’t give a fuck if this goes well”

Jun 29th, 2019

The way-too-likable, philosophically funny comic, Bret Raybould, explores the role of PRESENCE in stand-up from a makeshift recording studio inside Bret's private plane. We break this topic down into "being present" and "stage presence", touchi

Episode 051 COMEDIC STORYTELLING YES AGAIN – Jeff Simmermon: “Building a gobstopper from the inside out”

May 14th, 2019 1h 43m

The loquacious, award-winning raconteur and NYC stand-up comic, Jeff Simmermon, hopped on the mic for the show's second foray into COMEDIC STORYTELLING using the principles he has taught and written about. This episode features his own publishe

Episode 050 CONTRAST – Usama Siddiquee: “Contrast is the basis of all humor”

Apr 16th, 2019 1h 25m

Former NYC comedy wunderkind, now a full grown rocket-to-the-top funny manchild, Usama Siddiquee, returns to the show to explore the central pillar of laughter, CONTRAST, through killer bits by Nate Bargatze, Andrew Schulz, and Demetri Martin.

Episode 049 FAMILY – Jackie Kashian: “Be a whole person”

Mar 22nd, 2019 1h 28m

Hilarious comedy legend, Jackie Kashian, explains how to joke about FAMILY in stand-up via bits from her 4 albums, incl. #1 best seller, "I Am Not The Hero Of This Story"

Episode 048 THE SETUP – Geoffrey Asmus: “A master of trickery”

Feb 18th, 2019 1h 36m

Undeniably funny, whitely awkward Geoffrey Asmus joins us to explore THE SETUP in stand-up comedy. Like most things in life, most of the work goes into setting up. If the punchline is the slide, and the setup is the stairs to the top. What is a

Episode 047 JOKE THEORY PT. 2 – Harrison Greenbaum: “The secret algorithm of comedy”

Feb 5th, 2019 1h 10m

Harrison Greenbaum shows how he actually applies all his theories from part 1 of JOKE THEORY to his stand-up writing and performance. We go step-by-step through some of his best material, laughing and geeking out the whole way. It's fucking awe

Episode 046 JOKE THEORY PT. 1 – Harrison Greenbaum: “Is it true, is it new, is it you?”

Jan 22nd, 2019 1h 6m

The magically funny, super accomplished, and hyper-analytical Comedy Cellar comic, Harrison Greenbaum, delivers a masterclass on JOKE THEORY! He enthusiastically shares his favorite joke theories he's learned from others, and he generously outl

Episode 045 COURAGE – Brian Enck: “You have no option but to succeed”

Dec 24th, 2018 1h 56m

Nationally touring, Brooklyn based comic Brian Enck examines COURAGE in stand-up comedy. It takes courage to start and to keep going. It takes courages to speak your "truth" or to speak candidly about your flaws, mistakes, or personal weirdness

Episode 044 CONFIDENCE – Sally Ann Hall: “My patronus is a vulva”

Dec 10th, 2018 1h 27m

NYC comedian, actor, & writer Sally Ann Hall explores the role of CONFIDENCE in stand-up comedy & and life via bits by Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, and Mike Birbiglia. This one's a delicious ear treat!

Episode 043 ANECDOTES – Kate Willett: “Just let me be an idiot”

Nov 28th, 2018 1h 8m

Newly-minted Netflix "specialist" Kate Willett gets down and dirty with us on stand-up ANECDOTES. Anecdotes are distinct from storytelling, usually lacking the storytelling framework--beginning, middle, and end. They're "pointless." There's no

Episode 042 SELF-DEPRECATION – Jacob Williams: “That compliment really hurt my feelings”

Nov 12th, 2018 1h 52m

Jacob Williams (MTV's Wild 'N Out, Colbert, America's Got Talent, & a lot more) KILLED it in this episode! We absolutely could not stay on topic, and so what? This conversation was UNDENIABLY funny! Between all the goofing around, we hit every

Episode 041 PACING – Joe Zimmerman: “It has to be 3x funnier than it is them learning”

Oct 25th, 2018 1h 40m

Fresh from a set on the Late Late Show with James Corden and just two days after dropping his new Comedy Central Records album, “Innocence,” the highly credited and ridiculously funny Joe Zimmerman graced us with a wide-ranging discussion loose

Episode 040 PERSPECTIVE – Dan Perlman: “Don’t stop with the anecdote–keep going”

Oct 12th, 2018 1h 48m

Award-winning comedy writer and stand-up comic, Dan Perlman, shares his perspective on PERSPECTIVE in stand-up comedy by geeking out with us on great material from Roy Wood Jr., Joe Rogan, and John Mulaney.

Episode 39 THE ROOM – Norlex Belma: “I know you, now listen to these jokes”

Sep 28th, 2018 1h 45m

Carolines Breakout Artist Series headliner, Norlex Belma, breaks down THE ROOM in stand-up comedy. When comedians talk about the room, they're referring to a lot of performance parameters: the feel of the crowd, the kind of venue, the demograph

Episode 038 WRONG – Mike Recine: “Like a rollercoaster that gets to the top & catches fire”

Sep 13th, 2018 1h 34m

Conan alum Mike Recine is a national headliner & a hysterically twisted joke writer--the perfect guy to explore WRONG comedy. This hilariously earnest chat covers bits that are morally "wrong," factually incorrect, or illogical using material f

Bonus Episode 009 – Back After The Burn

Aug 16th, 2018 55s

Jeff is off to Burning Man. We'll be back with our regular bi-weekly production schedule in the fall.For more information about the coolest fucking thing I've ever participated in, see burningman.org.

Episode 037 COMMITMENT – Andrea Allan: “Ripping your chest open onstage”

Aug 2nd, 2018 1h 47m

Andrea Allan, an aggressive, crazy, "wild animal" of a comedian, joins us to chart COMMITMENT through stand-up comedy via bits by Doug Stanhope, Eddie Murphy, and Kurt Metzger. We have a blast in this very dirty episode exploring commitment to

Bonus

Bonus Episode 008 – Myq Kaplan “The joke stick is my tongue”

Jul 5th, 2018 56m 8s

Happy 4th! Here's a GREAT mini-episode featuring the prolific linguistic genius, Myq Kaplan. Myq hilariously shares how he approaches presenting a minority opinion; and he gives in-depth explanations on both his process and attitude for generat

Episode 036 WORD ECONOMY – Andy Sandford: “Hook, line, and thinker”

Jun 21st, 2018 1h 35m

Nationally touring stand-up comedian & Aqua Teen Hunger Force alum, Andy Sandford, revs his writer's Prius to taut WORD ECONOMY. Levity is brevity, but word economy means more than that. We laugh and pick apart some great bits by Jeff Caldwell,