What's So Funny?

Dave Merheje developed his comedy on the mean streets of Detroit. Throughout his forays down south, the Windsor native was given some tough love by the border guards and had a couple of run-ins with firearms. The payoff? Winning the Irwin Barker Homegrown Competition at Just For Laughs and being recognized by a stripper.

Darrin Rose is more than just a Jason Sudeikis lookalike. The likeable standup, actor, writer and host of the Match Game talks about playing the UK, boozing it up on TV, running his own software company, and trying to get secrets out of his tight-lipped family.

Mark Leiren-Young is a playwright, journalist, comedian and trained singer. We talk to the Leacock Award winner for Never Shoot a Stampede Queen about all those things, including crime in Williams Lake, BC, writing quickly,cheap shots in reviews, and his love of Doug Henning. His newest book is called Free Magic Secrets Revealed but he doesn't reveal any in this episode.

Shaun Majumder had never done a podcast prior to this momentous episode. Go figure. In it, he talks about comedy workshops, gives us a glimpse into the psyches of his fellow Newfoundlanders, makes the case for optimism, tells us why acting isn't as easy as it looks, and discusses getting fired from a TV show and the words of wisdom from a comedy legend that saw him through it.

Marcus Ryan has performed in 25 countries. In this episode, I try to get him to settle down. Pick a country and stick to it. But the Aussie standup's got a bad case of wanderlust. So instead we hear about his travels and I troll his tweets and offer him some sage career advice.

Matt Davis brings his southern charm to What's So Funny? The Alabama boy talks about the history of the south, dressing for success, starting stand-up at 17, playing the Middle East, reading, and the meaning of offence.

Karen O'Keefe finally got to play Vancouver so we scooped her up to commemorate the big weekend. The Toronto-based Yellowknife native teaches us as all about the Northwest Territories and discusses her dysfunctions, which may or may not include being an enhanced redhead. If you need a visual aid, think Christina Hendricks meets Geena Davis meets Laura Kightlinger.

Darren Frost and Kenny Robinson are together again for the first time. The first time on What's So Funny?, that is. They've each been solo guests before but now that they're touring the country as Rank and Vile, we thought we'd talk to them together this time. What do we learn this episode? We learn that Kenny loves cruising, but cruising doesn't love Kenny. We learn that Darren landed a role on TV's Mr. Dee by tweeting an insult to the star. For added fun, take a drink every time Kenny drops a musical reference. Enjoy the buzz.

Hari Kondabolu picked a good time to be a comedian. Thirty years ago there was no place for him in show business. And not only because he was just a newborn 30 years ago. In this episode, we deconstruct Hari and talk about progressive comedy, take apart controversial jokes (and tweets), and discuss the middle ground an ethnic comedian can take on stage.

Nelson Giles is a veteran Canadian standup comic who's been away from the scene for over a year. But he's back. And he's a new person. Largely because he dropped 60 pounds. He talks about the excitement of getting back on the stage, and what led him to take a break from it. And Jack Nicholson makes a cameo appearance!