Good One

When veteran stand-up Marc Maron recorded his latest hour special, End Times Fun, back in October 2019, he had no idea how topical it would be. Seven months later, End Times Fun has proven to be bizarrely, morosely timely, as it deals with themes of uncertainty, fear, and isolation, in the face of a looming apocalypse. 

In this episode, recorded in the shadow of the growing coronavirus pandemic, Jesse David Fox talks to the host of the seminal comedy podcast WTF about his opening, table-setting joke, which involves questioning how we know anything, and the utility of taking spices for medicinal purposes.

Watch End Times Fun on Netflix. Follow Marc on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter and Instagram.

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On this week’s episode, standup comedian wunderkind Taylor Tomlinson (Self-Helpless podcast) talks about becoming one of the youngest comics ever to have their own Netflix one-hour stand-up special. Her path to taping her hilarious Quarter-Life Crisis at the age of 25 is an extremely nontraditional one: she started as a teenage Christian comedian, after taking a stand-up class with her father. This meant to fully become the comedian she wanted to be, she had to distance herself from her church and her dad.

As a result of her religious upbringing, Taylor lost her virginity after she had already become an established comedian. The joke she discusses this episode mines the absolute absurdity of that for comedy, while slyly touching on more serious issues of consent. All building to a perfect classic movie reference!

Watch Quarter-Life Crisis on Netflix. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter and Instagram.

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On this week’s episode, we welcome back Moshe Kasher, a comedian who’s best known as an early podcast pioneer (R.I.P. the Champs, long live Houndtall and The Endless Honeymoon) and one-half of the standup power couple with wife Natasha Leggero, who he starred alongside in Netflix’s Honeymoon Stand Up Special.

This time he’s discussing the much maligned art of crowd work, where the comedian talks to audience members in search of laughs or a funny story. Moshe has become a modern master, able to turn the form that is often lazy and hacky into something ambitious and damn near spiritual. He compares crowd work to walking out on a tightrope and hoping that the rope goes all the way to the other side.

The joke we discuss is a sex story from a Washington, D.C. woman that twists and turns, forcing Moshe to ride it like a wave. It’s off his appropriately titled album Crowd Surfing Vol. 1, which he released last year. 

Listen to the album wherever you listen to music. Follow Moshe on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter.

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Our two-part series on “comedians named Michelle” continues this week with Michelle Wolf. Michelle has been known to comedy fans for years for writing and performing on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” But her headliner performance at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner made her a household name and changed the expectations of the audiences that went to see her stand-up. 

The joke discussed in this episode, which starts off with otter pictures on social media, opens her recent Netflix special, “Joke Show,” and is her attempt to reckon with her public perception, and to define her comedy by what she says, and not the reactions to it. NOTE: This episode contains a discussion about rape jokes.

Watch “Michelle Wolf: Joke Show” on Netflix. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram and check out her upcoming tour dates on her website. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter.

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Good One relaunches with comedian Michelle Buteau, who you may know as host of the Netflix reality show "The Circle," or her roles in "Always Be My Maybe" and the "First Wives Club" reboot on BET+. Michelle’s about to bring her conversational, big-hearted stand-up to a worldwide audience with her first Netflix one-hour special.

Host Jesse David Fox talks to Michelle about a joke featured in her 15-minute set from Netflix’s “The Comedy Lineup.” The joke was recorded in February 2018, three months after the reports of sexual misconduct came out about Harvey Weinstein, leading to the explosion of the #MeToo movement. Michelle’s joke is her processing all she was seeing and hearing and, in turn, boiling it down to one perfect phrase. Also included: mid-century modern furniture. 

Watch “The Comedy Lineup” on Netflix and see Michelle record her Netflix special on March 1st at New York’s Sony Hall. Tickets on sale here. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter.

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What goes into writing and telling a joke? Each week, Vulture senior editor Jesse David Fox breaks down a joke with the comedian or performer who told it. New episodes drop Tuesday mornings. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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This is the episode you've been asking for -- yes all of you! The tables are turned as Josh Gondelman interviews Good One host Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox), and poses all the big questions -- why a podcast about jokes? What's changed about comedy today? How are you relaunching the show? And what's up with the laughning round?

Josh Gondelman (@JoshGondleman) is a comedian, the author of the recent collection of essays, Nice Try, and a co-executive producer of the Showtime series Desus & Mero, New episodes of Good One drop weekly on Tuesdays starting February 25th. Subscribe to Good One on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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In anticipation of the series finale of The Good Place, stars D’Arcy Carden and Manny Jacinto talk about how the show's writers came up with the unconventional romance between their characters Janet and Jason, what they're going to miss most about the show, and how playing Jason inspired Manny to propose to his fiancé. This panel was recorded live at Vulture Festival in Los Angeles on November 9th, 2019, and was moderated by The Good Place: The Podcast host/demon Shawn Marc Evan Jackson.

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Jesse David Fox and Moshe Kasher deconstruct a joke about heaven from Moshe's 2013 "Live From Oakland" special -- it's a bit that's evolved over time, as he first tried a much shorter version of the joke on his 2009 album. They talk about religion, Moshe's 2017 Comedy Central show "Problematic", and how Moshe mastered the art of "highbrow-lowbrow."

BONUS: At the end of the episode, we've got a special preview of Moshe's new comedy album, Crowd Surfing, which comes out January 24, 2020. Live in Oakland is available on all streaming platforms.

Featuring: Moshe Kasher (@MosheKasher).

Host: Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox) is Senior Editor at Vulture.

Subscribe to Good One on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode originally aired on May 8th, 2017.

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Nikki Glaser asserted herself as a ruthless and talented roaster at Comedy Central's Roast of Rob Lowe in 2016, so it was no surprise that she was invited back for Bruce Willis in 2018. Nikki walks Jesse through the roast process from start to finish, explaining the massive undertaking that is writing effective insults.

Follow Nikki on Twitter and Instagram, and check out her website for her upcoming live shows.

This episode originally aired on October 29th, 2018.

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