Comedy History 101

Former Daily Show head writer Elliott Kalan (MST3K, The Flop House), Joke Farming) joins CH101 to discuss his new book, Joke Farming, and the nuts-and-bolts behind professional joke writing. We go inside the Daily Show writers’ room with Jon Stewart, why MST3K once had too many jokes, how comedians write jokes on deadline, why inspiration is overrated, and how audiences complete every joke. A behind-the-scenes look at joke writing, comedy craft, and how humor helps us make sense of the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We pulled together the sharpest moments from our 2025 interviews with comedy impresario guests - who shaped modern comedy: • Larry Charles: Writer and director of Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, & Borat • Kevin McDonald: Founding member of Kids in the Hall • Ryan Cunningham: Producer of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer • Alex Braverman: Director of Thank You Very Much on Andy Kaufman • Will Becton: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Team Coco, Clueless Gamer • Paul Myers: Author of John Candy: A Life in Comedy • Michael Seth Starr: Author of Rodney Dangerfield: Nothing Comes Easy • Seth Porges: Director of Class Action Park and the new Santacon documentary Plus Jean-François Brisson with the Nubian Show and a special Canadian Comedy History 101 recap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reprise Episode: Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer producer Ryan Cunningham and Gold Comedy founder Lynn Harris take us deep into the world of inclusive comedy and comedy as social change. From behind-the-scenes Broad City stories (yes, that pegging episode) to how diverse voices are reshaping the comedy landscape, we explore why women being “gross” on screen was a cultural breakthrough—and how laughter can be a tool for empowerment, visibility, and social impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CH101 Reprise: Larry Charles won an Emmy writing for Seinfeld, directed Borat, Brüno, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and has collaborated with Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Bob Dylan . Larry joins CH101 for some serious comedy inside baseball: How he helped shape the voice of Seinfeld with Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld The chaos behind Borat's infamous poop-bag dinner scene What it was really like making subversive comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen Get the inside scoop on one of comedy's most fearless minds and check out Larry's new book: Comedy Samurai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before SantaCon became the most hated event in NYC history, it began as a San Francisco subversive experiment of fun by the same anarchic collective that spawned Burning Man and inspired Fight Club’s Project Mayhem. We talk to filmmaker Seth Porges, who has a new documentary about SanCon on how a subversive performance-art happening turned into a worldwide holiday of drunken chaos that’s now belittled by the likes of John Oliver, Colin Jost, Jimmy Fallon and all of NYC. You might know Seth’s previous HBO Max documentary, Class Action Park, about America’s most dangerous amusement park. SantaCon premieres at DocNYC, Nov 13th Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CH101 Reprise: Kevin McDonald is best known as a founding member of the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe – Kids in the Hall –which appeared on CBS, HBO, and Comedy Central, and had a revival season aired on Amazon Prime Video in 2022. Kevin joins CH!01 with tales of KITH, Winnipeg, & comedy in general. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We go inside the PBS documentary series United States of Comedy with director Habib Azar. The five-part series spotlights diverse voices shaping stand-up comedy across America—capturing the next comedic generation redefining American comedy culture. Habib shares stories from filming United States of Comedy, as we dive into creative resilience and what unites comedians across America. WATCH: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/united-states-of-comedy/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As you heard, they yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air - because the Trump administration has declared a War on Comedy. Holy Overton window! In this reprise episode, we celebrate Jimmy Kimmel Live, and talk to Adam Spiegelman, who was a comedy producer for this iconic late-night talk show. Adam was at Jimmy Kimmel Live right from the start, and we do a deep dive into producing comedy and comedians for Kimmel, where he brought such comedians as Neil Hamburger, Eddie Pepitone, and Andy Dick to the airwaves. Adam gives the lowdown of what he looked for when booking standup comedians for the Kimmel show. Also, remember, boycott parent company Disney, for yanking Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The legendary Comedy Cellar - is the Yankee Stadium of NYC comedy clubs. Founded in 1982, the club has helped launch the careers of Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Amy Schumer, Ray Romano...(you get the idea). In this reprise episode, we talk to comedian Dave Juskow, who is a Comedy Cellar regular and host of the Comedy Cellar Tuesday podcast, on the history of this beloved and iconic club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Hollywood knew him as the star of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, and Splash, John Candy was the heart of SCTV and Toronto’s Second City. Paul Myers, author of John Candy: His Life in Comedy, shares stories of Candy’s comedic rise alongside Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and Joe Flaherty—and his iconic collaborations with John Hughes and Steve Martin. Paul also reveals how his brother, Mike Myers, met Candy as a teen—and how Candy encouraged him to start his comedy journey at Second City. Candy’s influence didn’t stop at comedy: he even partnered with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to buy the Toronto Argonauts football team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joel Thurm was the casting director for such iconic movies as Airplane, Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well being the head of NBC casting for a solid decade. He is also the author of the new book, Sex, Drugs, and Pilot Season. We do a deep dive into casting in Hollywood, turning down Tom Cruise and Madonna, and insider stories on Taxi, David Hasselhoff, and what role Bob Hope played in getting Seinfeld on the air. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We go inside Team Coco, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and Clueless Gamer with Will Becton. Will shares his comedic journey from UCB and working on the documentary aka Tommy Chong, to becoming an original member of Team Coco, where he worked the entire run of CONAN on TBS and was the engineer of the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. Will tells us what its like to be the Zelig of comedy — working alongside such legends as Conan, Andy Richter, Amy Pohler, and Will Ferrell - to operating Jett Road Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CH101 Reprise: We dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird world of comedian Andy Kaufman with director Alex Braverman, helmer of the new documentary Thank You Very Much. The doc explores Kaufman’s legendary career of comedy as performance art, wrestling women, and the high art of confusing audiences. We talk Foreign Man, performance-as-prank, and what it’s like digging through Kaufman’s surreal legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before there was Fallon, Kimmel, or Colbert — there was Johnny Carson, the undisputed King of Late Night. We talk with Howard Smith, author of the book, My Friend Johnny, who was Carson's longtime Malibu neighbor, friend, and tennis partner. Howard pulls back the curtain on Carson’s private world — from secret card games with Steve Martin, Don Rickles, Carl Reiner, and Martin Short, to the personal joke-writing advice Johnny gave Jay Leno. We also get tales of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Weintraub, and even a Carson monologue name-drop that sent Howard’s high school friends into a frenzy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Larry Charles won an Emmy writing for Seinfeld, directed Borat, Brüno, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and has collaborated with Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Bob Dylan . Larry joins CH101 for some serious comedy inside baseball: How he helped shape the voice of Seinfeld with Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld The chaos behind Borat's infamous poop-bag dinner scene What it was really like making subversive comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen Get the inside scoop on one of comedy's most fearless minds and check out Larry's new book: Comedy Samurai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CH101 Select: Jim Vallely was a writer/producer on the iconic comedy show: Arrested Development – which earned him an Emmy. Jim also worked on The Golden Girls, Two and a Half Men, The John Larroquette Show, and got his start on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - with his comedy duo: The Funny Boys. We do a masterclass deep-dive with Jim on comedy writing, producing, and what it was like having Larry David as a neighbor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The State was the MTV sketch show that launched the careers of Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Kevin Allison—and several more (the troupe had 11 members). From dorm-room sketches at NYU to comedy milestones like Reno 911, Stella, Viva Variety, and the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer, The State helped redefine alternative comedy for a generation. Director Matthew Perniciaro joins CH101 to talk about his new documentary Long Live The State and how this pioneering sketch group shaped the future of alt-comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mr. Bill is one of the most iconic characters in the history of Saturday Night Live. This lovable, unlucky bundle of Play-Doh first appeared in the very first season of SNL as a viewer-submitted Super 8 film—and quickly rose to cult status. At the peak of his fame, Mr. Bill was ranked the third most beloved character on SNL, right behind John Belushi and Gilda Radner. We talk to Walter Williams, the creator of Mr. Bill, who later became an SNL staff writer. Walter shares behind-the-scenes stories from the early days of SNL, what it was like working with Lorne Michaels, the time Andy Kaufman got his Christmas special bumped, and how Mr. Bill evolved from a $10 homemade short into a fan-favorite SNL sketch series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Nubian Show — created by comedian Kenny Robinson — changed Canadian comedy forever. The Toronto showcase was the very first comedy show in Canada to feature comedians of color. Kenny and his monthly showcase at Yuk Yuk’s are also the subject of the new documentary People of Comedy (now streaming on Crave). The Nubian Show helped launch comedians Russell Peters and Kevin Hart, and has welcomed the likes of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Jamie Foxx through its doors. For over 30 years, The Nubian Show has given voice to comics of color, becoming a launchpad for global stars, a stage for fearless material, and a blueprint for what inclusive comedy can look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer producer Ryan Cunningham and Gold Comedy founder Lynn Harris take us deep into the world of inclusive comedy and comedy as social change. From behind-the-scenes Broad City stories (yes, that pegging episode) to how diverse voices are reshaping the comedy landscape, we explore why women being “gross” on screen was a cultural breakthrough—and how laughter can be a tool for empowerment, visibility, and social impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices