Laughing Dead

In the final episode of our first season, Sami is joined by the creators of ABC's next podcast hit, Tokyo Hotel, Ben Russell and Xavier Michelides. Improv gigs in Chi-town, prackfalls, and being hunted on a private island by rich Sheikhs, this episode has it all!

Corporate gigs, hecklers, mining tours, audience indifference, silence, it takes a toll. How can comedians protect their sanity from the stresses of the comedy life? Sami speaks to Associate Professor and psychiatrist Dr Steve Ellen to find out.

Comedy can be honest. It can be searingly truthful, and intensely personal which is a powerful way of delivering laughter, but can also mean it hurts that much more when turned against the performer.

In the history of terrible ideas, comedians taking their dates to a gig has to be the worst one. And if you don't know why, let Luke McGregor and Becky Lucas share their tales of tragedy and woe. Warning: adult themes like drug use and dating are discussed.

Mining Tours are the gold standard of hell-gigs for comedians. They make corporate gigs look like a delight. Which is why, Xavier Susai and Mike G, have the emotional scars that they do. Both are veterans of the mining tours, and their stories are gloriously depressing! Language warning. It's pretty rude episode.

Legendary comedians in their own right Bev Killick and Alexei Sayle rejoice in their failings at comedy clubs. "But the lesson I learned from that night (at the Comedy Store) is that if you point a gun at an audience it makes them nervous" - Alexei Sayle

Why do comedians do what they do? And why do we find them so fascinating? This episode, instead of speaking to more comics, we change direction a little by delving into the psychology of comedians and their role in society.

Claire Hooper may be the face of baking on national television, but she’s still not above a gig going bad every now and then. Features a guest appearance by Xavier Michelides, who owns up to having thrown Claire under the proverbial bus.

Is it harder to win over an audience when you’re not local? Is dying on stage worse when you’re a foreigner? Two of Australia’s best immigrant comedians, Dilruk Jayasinha and Ivan Aristeguieta, regale us with their tales.

No two words summon more dread in a comedian than "corporate gig." Luckily, Ben Lomas has figured out the lifehack for surviving one. Janelle Koenig, meanwhile, still isn’t over that one time on a boat with a sliding door.