Obsessed: The Podcast

With a fiery new half-hour special as part of Netflix’s ‘The Standups’ series, Naomi Ekperigin is more ready than ever to achieve that next level of comedy success. And she does it all while remaining far more “thoughtful” about how her jokes affect the audience than many of her anti-woke peers. It’s been a long road, as she explains in this episode, from starting out as a writing assistant on ‘Broad City’ to her current role as a writer and guest star on the final season of ‘Search Party.’ We also talk about her risky decision to burn any potential bridge to ‘Saturday Night Live’ by calling out the show for its lack of Black female cast members and why she felt “less excited” about being on Netflix after the Dave Chappelle controversy exploded. 

Follow Naomi Ekperigin on Twitter @Blacktress and Instagram @blacktresscomedy

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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Before Nicole Byer became the Emmy-nominated face of Netflix’s family-friendly baking competition show ‘Nailed It!’ she was best known as one of the raunchiest comedians on the stand-up scene. It’s the type of juxtaposition that has drawn parallels to Bob Saget, another filthy comic who found fame on the super-saccharine sitcom ‘Full House.’ On this episode, Byer breaks down how she balances these two disparate sides of her comedy persona, sizes up her Emmy competition and reflects on the bizarrely “segregated” SNL audition in which she lost out to her best friend Sasheer Zamata. 

Follow Nicole Byer on Twitter @nicolebyer and Instagram @nicolebyer

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

This episode was originally published on August 24, 2021.

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.

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On this special annual crossover pod, ‘The Last Laugh’ host Matt Wilstein joins ‘The New Abnormal’ co-host Molly Jong-Fast and producer Jesse Cannon to look back at the year in political comedy, from the problem with Dave Chappelle to big changes at SNL to the pitch black humor of ‘Succession’ and a lot more.

Follow Molly Jong-Fast on Twitter @MollyJongFast 

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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As we get to the end of the year, host Matt Wilstein is joined by The Daily Beast’s Laura Bradley to share their lists of the funniest performances of 2021, including previous podcast guests (Busy Philipps! Nicole Byer!) and more of the biggest names in comedy who made us laugh the hardest this year.

See our full list of the 20 funniest performances of 2021 at The Daily Beast.

Follow Laura Bradley on Twitter @lpbradley 

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

‘Succession’ clip via @jga41agher

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As a Palestinian refugee who grew up in Houston, Mo Amer has one of the most unique stories in the stand-up comedy scene. With his latest Netflix special ‘Mohammed in Texas,’ the comedian is proving himself as one of the most talented as well. In this episode, Amer talks about how a summer spent performing in the Ohio cornfield of his friend and mentor Dave Chappelle prepared him to put out his best material yet. He also shares stories about making David Letterman a fan, finding himself seated next to Eric Trump in business class and why he doesn’t believe Chappelle is actually “canceled” after his own controversial Netflix hour. 

Follow Mo Amer on Twitter @realmoamer and Instagram @realmoamer

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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During the three years they overlapped in the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer didn’t have “some big sketch together.” But they always made each other laugh and ever since they left the show have kept looking for new ways to collaborate. Now, they have reunited in a big way to co-write and co-star in ‘A Clüsterfünke Christmas,’ their new parody of those guilty pleasure Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies for Comedy Central. In this episode, Dratch and Gasteyer break down how they pulled off their spot-on send-up and reminisce about the highs and lows of their time on SNL—from behind-the-scenes antics to wild after parties to the struggles they faced in the entertainment industry when they each decided to move on. 

Follow Rachel Dratch on Twitter @TheRealDratch and Instagram @raedratch

Follow Ana Gasteyer on Twitter @AnaGasteyer and Instagram @anagasteyer

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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Susie Essman made a name for herself cursing out Larry David as her alter-ego Susie Greene on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ But as she reveals in this episode, in the 21 years since the show premiered—and the 35 years since she met David in the New York comedy clubs—they have never once gotten into an actual fight. Essman opens up about David’s unique “genius” as a comedian, how ‘Curb’ gets away with being so politically incorrect, the unconscious inspiration for her character and the bizarro world in which she could have played Elaine on ‘Seinfeld.’

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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Ahead of this week’s season two premiere, the mysterious New York filmmaker behind HBO’s ‘How To With John Wilson’ breaks down how he made the most fascinating TV show of 2020. John Wilson reveals how ‘Nathan for You’ creator Nathan Fielder helped pitch the show to Hollywood executives, why he considers himself “completely different” from Sacha Baron Cohen, how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the season one finale and what fans can expect from season two. 

This episode was originally published on November 26, 2020.

Follow John Wilson on Twitter @howtojohnwilson and Instagram @peepingjohn

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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Natasha Rothwell has had a very big year, from facing off with Jennifer Coolidge in ‘The White Lotus’ to stealing scenes in the final season of ‘Insecure.’ And things are only looking up from here, with two new shows in development at HBO, a third in the works with Disney-ABC and a mysterious role in the upcoming ‘Wonka’ movie starring Timothée Chalamet. In this episode, Rothwell opens up about auditioning for ‘Saturday Night Live’ as part of that show’s “clunky” search for a Black female cast member and ending up as a writer instead, getting hired as a writer on ‘Insecure’ before landing her breakout role as Kelli and returning to her dramatic roots as Belinda in ‘The White Lotus,’ a role that became very different after she was cast.   

Follow Natasha Rothwell on Twitter @natasharothwell and Instagram @natasharothwell

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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When they first started performing stand-up in the early 1980s, Bobcat Goldthwait and Dana Gould could not have been more different. And as they reveal in their new documentary ‘Joy Ride,’ they “hated” each other’s comedy. But over the years, their styles converged and now they tour the country together, telling hilarious stories from their wild pasts and making each other laugh as hard as their audiences do. In this episode, Goldthwait and Gould open up about their contentious past and reveal how a harrowing car accident on tour nearly cut their lives and careers short. They also share the truth behind Goldthwait’s decades-long feud with Jerry Seinfeld, what Robin Williams was really like when the cameras weren’t rolling, Gould’s favorite jokes he wrote for ‘The Simpsons’ and a lot more. 

Stream ‘Joy Ride’ on Amazon Prime Video

Follow Bobcat Goldthwait on Instagram @bobcatgoldthwait

Follow Dana Gould on Twitter @danagould and Instagram @danagould

Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein

Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast

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