Comedian Josh Johnson spent the first few years of his comedy career writing monologue jokes for Jimmy Fallon at ‘The Tonight Show’ and then crafting longer bits for Trevor Noah at ‘The Daily Show.’ Now, after an extended pandemic-induced delay, he is getting his own voice out there in a big way. In addition to his new stand-up special ‘Hashtag,’ which is streaming now on Paramount+, Johnson also put out a mixtape album this year called ‘Elusive’ that combines both deeply funny comedy and deeply emotional music. On this episode, he opens up about how a fear of dying young pushed him to expand his creative ambitions and shares stories from his late-night writing gigs, including what it was like to watch Fallon playfully ruffle Donald Trump’s hair and how working with Trevor Noah has made him a better comedian. 

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Stream Josh Johnson’s ‘Elusive’ mixtape 

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.

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