What's So Funny?

Fatima Dhowre is the first What's So Funny? guest who's been to Somalia, not once but dozens of times. We go into quite a bit of detail about that lawless land. We also talk about her having more in common with white guys than black because she lacks that urban quality the rest of her family possesses, her love of roasts, how she got over her obsession with video games, Bill Cosby as an early influence, and she reveals her hidden talent.

Marcus Ryan joins us in the Roving Studio for his fourth appearance on the show. The Aussie explains the crazy insects and reptiles of his home and native land, discusses his one-man Edmonton Fringe show called Love Me Tinder, complains about the unrelenting heat of Vancouver summers, regales us with a harrowing tale of hitchhiking in Ucluelet, makes the case for why Burning Man is awesome, and has second thoughts about merchandising.

Ron Josol performs all over the world. Or at least many places in the world. He joins in the Roving Studio, or Comedy Cab (aka my car), for a far-ranging conversation that covers performing in Haiti, the Philippines, and the US, as well as being adaptable enough to eat duck embryos, being there when Russell Peters hit it big, and the effect a family tragedy had on his life.

Matt Bilinski makes his What's So Funny? debut five years after first appearing on the program as Matt Billon. In fact, he lived his first 36 years as Matt Billon. So why the change? He explains. Along the way, he tells us how he took down a criminal, tells us how he spurned Hollywood in his younger years, and regales us with tales of life on the road with the king of Canadian comedy, Mike MacDonald.

Jesse Joyce wrote many of your favourite jokes from the Comedy Central Roasts. And he tells us some of them. He also talks about trying to sneak hand jobs in an Irish convent, gives his theory on the Canadian superiority/inferiority complex, and lists his favourite unsung comedy heroes, which include some Canadians (I had to point that out).

Kathleen McGee has been living in Vancouver for one year... and loving it! Now, if she could just get it to secede from Canada. McGee talks about her troubles getting back into the US, as well as being a rugby playing theatre nerd, lady jails, political correctness, and feminist bloggers. It's fun! It's emotional! And she's available for children's parties!

Steve Bays is the lead singer for Mounties, Hot Hot Heat, and Fur Trade but one of his first bands, Pilot Light, gets most mention in this episode. Steve is a regular guest on the show and we always seem to break new length records with him. This one is no exception as it clocks in at over two hours. But we think you can handle it. We discuss the do's and don't's of interviewing rock stars, drinking junky beer in Zurich, gruesome stage injuries, being Jew-ish, getting homesick in Tokyo, and the end of civilization. And more, of course.

Dan Quinn makes his quinquennial appearance on What's So Funny? (at least as far as our records are concerned). In this episode, Quinn reveals who's the moodiest participant in the Snowed In Comedy Tour, rails against amateurs running comedy rooms, talks about closing out an evening at Luna Lounge after Marc Maron, Janeane Garofalo, and Dave Chappelle, and tells us what it was like to perform on an all-Dutch show in Amsterdam. This episode brought to you by the word 'Abominable.'

Mark B. Hughes and Jason Kryska love to push buttons. They love and perform (and love to perform) comedy that tilts towards the dark side. But their backstories couldn't be more different. Kryska has lived a button-down life and married for 18 years; Hughes overcame a heroin and cocaine addiction that landed him ten years in the slammer. Hughes has performed comedy in the nude; Kryska doesn't even like seeing himself nude. This episode brought to you by the Seven Deadly Sins.

Chad Daniels is a regular visitor to Vancouver, but a first-time visitor to What's So Funny? The Minnesotan is a touring headliner, does the late-night talk shows yet still lives in tiny Fergus Falls, three hours outside of Minneapolis. What gives? He tells us why. We also discuss being a loveable asshole, counting down to popping his kid in the face, getting attacked on stage, unfair comparisons to Louis C.K., and how a sprained ankle changed the course of his career. The episode brought to you by Communication.