What's So Funny?

Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson, aka Peter'N'Chris, are our first guests of 2014. The sketch duo talk about auditioning for theatre school, creating sketches through Skype, preparing for the upcoming (now past) Vancouver Sketch Festival, and brainstorm a documentary called Peter'N'Chris and the Search for MacGuffin.

Harry Doupe returns for his fourth – or is it fifth? – appearance on What's So Funny? He's also returned home to his beloved British Columbia. In this episode, he tells stories about Paula Poundstone, Mike Bullard, Robbie Robertson, Burton Cummings, Stan Mikita, Norm Macdonald, and David Foster. He also discusses writing for awards shows and the Olympics, ageism, and takes a sports and music quiz.

Ed Hill has two masters degrees and a performance degree in piano, yet chooses to schlep himself all over the map performing standup. It's like he's on permanent vacation. But that's something that was instilled in him early. Listening to him describe his family, it's no wonder he got into comedy.

Marion Grodin has been through a lot: drugs, cancer, divorce. But she's also had lots of fun. The New York standup talks about it all, and about growing up the daughter of beloved actor Charles Grodin. To get the full story, though, you'll have to buy her book.

Alex Nussbaum wants to blow this popsicle stand of a country for the land of opportunity down south. The unilingual Toronto standup who has supplied silly voices for cartoons and written for children's television in Los Angeles talks about disappointing his mother and growing up a nerd in the truest sense of the word.

With Dave Martin, usually anything goes. But on this episode we find out what's so funny when the Toronto comic visits What's So Funny? to discuss his own radio show/podcast, Anything Goes. Get it? See what we did there? We also talk about the great job Mayor Rob Ford is doing, sniffing glue, and playing to the back of the room.

Ian Harris can impersonate the most obscure celebrities... and doesn't! At least not anymore. He's got more important things to talk about, like why people are so damn gullible. We talk rationally and skeptically about psychics, ghosts, UFO's, and religion. His sidekick mother was not on hand to give her side of the story, though.

Adam Ray is one lucky dog. Once a self-described fat kid feasting on Kit-Kat bars and burritos, now he's getting studly roles in major motion pictures motor boating the likes of Sandra Bullock. It's a far cry from his job giving tours at Universal Studios. We talk about all that and more in this episode.

Godfrey takes issue with comedy critics in this highly entertaining episode. Once that bit of nastiness is resolved, we bond over a fondness for old TV series and Rich Little. And Godfrey does his best Rich Little, impersonating more than a dozen celebs along the way. Bonus points for identifying the 10-second musical intro – no Shazzaming!

Alan Zweig is more than just a man in a mirror. The Toronto filmmaker talks to us face to face about his unsuccessful life making movies and how he stumbled upon his successful life making documentaries. His latest, When Jews Were Funny, just won Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. Turns out talking to old Jewish comedians wasn't as illuminating as he thought it would be.