Best Thing I’ve Heard Today
Elayne Boosler, one of my all-time favorite comedians and a real trailblazer — the first female standup to do contemporary, observational humor — explains the sexist obstacles she had to overcome to have a successful career.
Will Durst’s Top 10 Stories Of 2018
My friend, comedian Will Durst, looks back at the year that was... Sit the kids down. Let the dogs out. Prop the grandparents up. The nation’s patience has been richly rewarded, because the eagerly awaited list of the Top Ten Comedic News Stories of 2018 has been...
Picture Of The Day: Nina Conti
This is a clip of ventriloquist Nina Conti, who strapped a Vent-Mask to the face of an audience member she pulled onstage. The Vent-Mask was invented by Joel Hodgson, the guy behind "Mystery Science Theater 3000," who did it in his act in a Minneapolis comedy club in...
Robert Klein Time
On my recent trip to Vegas, I was thrilled to discover that Robert Klein was appearing at the Southpoint Casino's showroom. I've been a fan of Klein since my teen years, a topic I covered here in 2005 when he guested on my radio show. So, I bought a pair of tickets...
Best Thing I’ve Read Today
Two different takes on the leaked audio of Louis CK’s recent comedy club set, in which he joked about the Parkland shooting students and non-binary youth. Their pieces are not about his material, but about whether it’s right to judge the work-in-progress of a comedian trying out material on stage.
Comedy Club Dogs
I haven’t been to a comedy club in years. The standups I want to see (e.g. John Mulaney, Kathleen Madigan, Brian Regan, Paula Poundstone) have all graduated to playing bigger venues that don’t have a two-drink minimum. But on a recent road trip, I had an evening free...
Bill Maher’s Anniversary
There have been a few times when I've sworn I was done with Bill Maher because he did something incredibly anti-science on his show, like his dangerous anti-vaccination remarks or the interview with the "doctor" who claimed he had an AIDS cure made from the milk of...
Louis CK Does It Again
Swim at your own risk. We never know who is going to pop in. If an unannounced appearance is not your cup of tea, you are free to leave (unobtrusively please) no questions asked, your check on the house. That's a sign on the wall of The Comedy Cellar, the nightclub in...