Comedian Chris Fleming embraces the chaos in his new HBO comedy special, “Live at the Palace.” Long regarded as a comedian’s comedian, Fleming’s breakout performance has propelled him into the spotlight.

In this episode, Chris Fleming traces the origins of his manic, effervescent stage persona back to his childhood in rural Stow, Massachusetts, where he first began crafting jokes about deer and other oddities of small-town life. In a wide-ranging conversation, we also discuss his drive to provoke his audience, while still grounding his work in empathy. He describes the stark contrast in stylistic freedom between the men’s and women’s aisles of clothing stores, his opposition to perfectionism, and the importance of expressing yourself as authentically as possible.