Jeremy Kareken is a writer, researcher, and playwright, best known for his work on the Emmy Award Winning show Inside the Actors Studio.

For 14 years he’s helped interview 200+ guests including Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. You know the stack of blue cards James Lipton reads? Jeremy gets him all the facts for those cards.

Inside the Actors Studio is broadcast in 125 countries and different from most shows because they don’t do a pre-interview. Jeremy is the show’s chief and only researcher.

Jeremy along with his writing partner David Murrell are successful playwrights. He’s consulted with The Clinton Foundation and was the writer for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in his 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He also helped Tim Ferriss with his award-winning podcasts.

I met Jeremy years ago after taking his NYU writing class. I wanted to introduce him because he is a master at telling stories and asking “better” questions.

In this episode, we talk about how he raised his hand as a student watching the show and immediately got offered a job in Inside The Actors Studio. He shares his process for research and what it takes to make a good interview show. We also talk about comedy and what makes something funny (you’ve got to hear his Gilbert Gottfried impression)