Susan Silver is a trailblazer in the world of sitcom writing. She began her career on The Mary Tyler Moore Show—during an era when comedy writing was overwhelmingly dominated by men. Starting as a casting director on the iconic show Laugh-In, she went on to write for The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, The Partridge Family, and Square Pegs.

Like a showbiz Zelig, Susan’s path has crossed with icons such as Elvis, Jim Morrison, Lenny Bruce, and Clint Eastwood.

Susan is also the author of Hot Pants in Hollywood, and we deep dive into her comedy history.

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Joey Camen is a Comedy Store OG. He first started performing at the iconic club in Los Angeles in 1974, alongside such up-and-coming comedians as David Letterman, Sam Kinison, Jay Leno, Jim Carrey – and the legendary Richard Pryor.

Joey has appeared on WTF and is also a renowned voice actor who got his start as one of The Smurfs. We dive into his voice work, Comedy Store history, and his Nov 9th solo show at United Solo in NYC.

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Paul Bellini is noted as being the unofficial 6th Kids in the Hall, alongside Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.

Paul was one of the key writers for the Kids in the Hall's TV series and is also known onscreen as 'the guy in the towel.' Paul was there from the very start, at the legendary sketch group's early Toronto shows, and he gives us a deep dive into his history of Kids in the Hall, his collaboration with Scott Thompson, and the healing power of dark, twisted comedy.

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Stan Zimmerman was a writer for The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls, and the feature film, A Very Brady Sequel. He is also the author of the new book: The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore.

We do a deep-dive on TV comedy writing, pitching, and what it was like working on the Russian version of Roseanne.

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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.

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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.

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Moms Mabley bridged the gap between vaudeville and modern standup comedy. She was the first successful female standup comedian who had a career that spanned over 50 years.

Our guest Rhonda Hansome, who has appeared on SNL, The Arsenio Hall Show, and has performed with Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, recently portrayed Moms on stage, and we do a deep dive into the history of this iconic comedian

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CH101 Select: The Kids in the Hall are one of the most iconic sketch comedy groups in history. We do a deep dive into their origin story with Paul Myers - who knew KITH in their early days.

Paul is the author of The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the executive producer of the documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, as well as the brother to Mike Myers - and he gives insights into what it was like to see the group emerge onto the Toronto comedy scene.

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MAD Magazine poked fun at everything - and changed the comedy world. And we talk to Alan Bernstein, director of the documentary When We Went MAD. Modern satire, from The Simpsons to The Daily Show was influenced by MAD.

Alan's documentary celebrates the nutty geniuses behind MAD, and features interviews from such fans as Bryan Cranston, Gilbert Gottfried, Judd Apatow, and Quentin Tarantino.

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CH101 Select: The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest performance festival in the world. It takes place during August and has launched the comedy careers of Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Fleabag - and just about every major comedy figure in the UK. It's where comedians go to get their Beatles' 10,000 hours of Hamburg performing skills.

The Edinburgh Festival is both amazing and soul-crushing at times. And on this CH101 Short, Irish comedian Johnny Candon and I highlight the grueling grind of the festival - that makes you a better performer.

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