Funny You Should Mention

Today on The Gist , its Funny You Should Mention with stand-up comedian Jeff Arcuri, whose crowd-work proficiency anchors his new Netflix special. Arcuri counters comedy purists by framing audience interaction as a structured illusion, detailing how his early years navigating gatekeeping open mics in Michigan and grinding out repetitive sets on Carnival cruise lines forced him to develop a deep to...

A new Funny You Should Mention with Canadian comedian Graham Kay. He discusses his moving new stand-up special, Pete and Me , which maps his life alongside his autistic brother. Kay shares the chaotic story of his 2011 deportation from America after a sarcastic graffiti arrest in Brooklyn, detailing how his brother's literal interpretation of a jailhouse phone call left him stranded in central boo...

Its Funny You Should Mention with comedian Janet McNamara discusses her YouTube special Not Smart Enough , opening up about her viral 2010 American Idol audition, navigating corporate accounting with dyslexia and ADD via advanced Excel automation, and her multiple clinical evaluations for autism. Also, a breakdown of why modern office social niceties fail neurodivergent workers, exploring the evol...

On today's show, Mike offers an unreserved endorsement of comedian Raanan Hershberg and his new special,  Morbidly Jewish . In this installment of  Funny You Should Mention , the two discuss the trap of "normalizing the absurdity" in political comedy, the agony of naming a stand-up special, and Raanan's experience debating conspiracy theories on  The Joe Rogan Experience . Plus, how Raanan managed...

Comedian Derrick Stroup joins the show to talk about his new Netflix special Nostalgic — what it's like to have an Alabama accent in New York City, why working clean sharpened his comedy more than any other decision he's made, and how the school bus was the internet before the internet existed. Also: moving to Nashville, opening for Nate Bargatzi, and why ranting deserves more respect as a comedic...

Today on The Gist, A jet-lagged yet very gracious comedian and writer Jena Friedman joins the show to discuss her new stand-up special,  Motherfucker . She talks with Mike about why writing abortion jokes is harder than ever in a post-Roe reality, the challenges of making dark topics funny on her true crime series  Indefensible , and the current landscape of risky political comedy. Jena also opens...

Comedian Geoffrey Asmus explains how Catholic school, priests chasing laughs, and a Randy Moss analogy shaped his sense of what technically counts as a joke. We talk about layered comedy that lets different audiences hear different things and how losing fans can be a sign the bit is working. Plus: Lutherans, LinkedIn shame, Wikipedia ambition, country capitals, and why spacing is the real superpow...

Comedian Liza Treyger explains why she prefers the 1:30 a.m. Comedy Cellar crowd—the drunk, the horny, the post-Broadway undead—and why bombing early is harder than thriving late. Her Netflix special Night Owl doubles as a thesis on power, hypocrisy, and why men who "hate Taylor Swift" seem uniquely unable to stop talking about her. Treyger argues that worst moments often  are  the résumé, that co...

Comedian Jay Jurden explains why nine years of theater training is his "superpower" on the stand-up stage—and why he treats every punchline like a line of dialogue rather than a personal diary entry. His new special,  Yes Ma'am , argues that physical specificity (from "rolling a wheelchair into affordable housing" to Marjorie Taylor Greene's hooves) is what separates a 300-level performer from a n...

Mohanad Elshieky  joins  Funny You Should Mention with stories that make Benghazi feel less like a political Rorschach test and more like the small town where he learned comedy by roasting his siblings and dodging unlicensed militias. He walks us through the dictatorship-era silence around politics, the sudden rise of ISIS-adjacent checkpoints, and the knife-wielding "helper" who hijacked his car...

Comedian Myq Kaplan joins the show for a deep dive into joke logic, philosophy, and the very slippery business of defining who counts as a comedian. Using his new special  Rini as a jumping-off point, he and Mike wander through Grecian maxims, the paradox of the heap, why some laughs are closer to enlightenment than punch lines, and how his relationship with Rini turned into a whole cosmology of l...

Dusty Slay drops by with "Wet Heat" fresh on Netflix to talk Opelika lore (a.k.a.  Snopalika ), becoming parade Grand Marshal, and how a onetime pesticide salesman turned country-music linguist builds jokes from tiny word quirks. We get into his love of language (Carlin vibes), song-lyric autopsies ("It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Brooks & Dunn's "Hard Workin' Man"), the origin of "We're having a g...

Kentucky-raised, New York-forged, and newly "A Jewish Star," Ariel Elias breaks down how outsider status becomes comic superpower. We talk growing up Jewish in the Bluegrass, explaining Kentucky to New Yorkers, the "Earl" name bit, airline misery (farewell, Southwest), and writing cleaner for synagogue gigs without losing edge. She unpacks her viral beer-can moment and how it led to Kimmel, why "h...

Season 3 of Funny You Should Mention begins with the "Filth Queen" herself Steph Tolev to explore why gross can be smart, how crowd work goes viral, Bill Burr's boost to her career, and the Canadian comedy grind. Big laughs, sharp ideas, adult themes. We also get into slapstick dummies, family lore, and why Boston brings the best chaos. Come for the filthy stories, stay for the surprisingly though...

The self-proclaimed "Trash Daddy" riffs on meat-in-a-can cuisine, possum PR, and how his accent disarms blue-state crowds, Plus: white supremacist losers, Fruit Loop vape rights, and how cheap heat works in comedy  and pro wrestling. Trae takes us through his upbringing, in Celina Tennessee, and discusses his travails with child support bureaucracy , plus he discusses his interpersonal interaction...

Rosebud Baker joins Funny You Should Mention with the rare gift of making life's toughest moments hilarious, and a point of view that's inseparable from the punchline. Her Netflix special Motherlode delivers pregnancy, parenting, and political edge in one biting package. We talk about her SNL writing process and how to satirize breastfeeding pressure without becoming a parenting brand. Plus: how r...

Comedian, freestyler, and archaeology grad Chris Turner joins the show to explain how a middle-class British kid  became one of the most dazzling improv lyricists in comedy. From his early days writing one-liners to mesmerizing crowds at the Comedy Cellar with rhymes about chlamydia, Hispaniola, and Jerry Springer, Turner charts a path that makes no sense—until you see it live. He talks about bomb...

Comedian, podcaster, and self-described cutie-in-her-own-way Robby Hoffman drops by to discuss her life, her comedy, and why she takes talking as seriously as any other art form. From growing up ultra-Orthodox and ultra-poor to becoming a sought-after stand-up with a Porsche no one wants, Hoffman explains how she's thrived in disaster and learned to mine discomfort for laughs. The two explore Amer...

Michelle Buteau stops by to talk about getting high in the reptile house and why she caught flak for doing spon-con souptroversy. We also get into her Dutch husband, the spirituality she doesn't buy into, and whether her socialism can coexist with her ambition to get paid. Plus, we ask: can a Buteau-pian society have luxe throw pillows? Produced by Corey Wara Email us at  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.c...

Comedian T.J. Miller joins this episode of  Funny You Should Mention . You might know him from  Silicon Valley ,  Deadpool , or that time he had a choice between brain surgery with a 10% fatality rate vs. almost surely dying by 35. It is the funniest conversation ever had with the phrase "10% fatality rate" hanging in the air. Also why T.J. insists that comedy should feel like jazz played on a fla...

Comedian Alex Edelman joins this episode of  Funny You Should Mention . Alex's hit one-man show  Just For Us  was a Broadway sensation and is now streaming on Max. In this conversation, we talk about the anatomy of a bad set, the five constituencies for a joke, and what it takes to turn a pile of bits into a fully realized piece of theater. Plus: how being "right" can be the biggest obstacle to be...

Comedian Roy Wood Jr., host of CNN's  Have I Got News for You  and former  Daily Show  correspondent, joins this episode of  Funny You Should Mention . We delve into topics like a near-DUI incident in South Dakota, why the police should occasionally let a criminal go free, and the responsibility comedians have to challenge harmful political ideas—and the politicians who promote them. We also explo...

Mike Yard is a standup comic who has appeared on  Inside Amy Schumer ,  Flatbush Misdemeanors , and was a contributor to  The Nightly Show with Larry WiImore . He is both an ex-felon and a union leader at the Museum of Modern Art. In this conversation, we discuss Yard's jokes about his pro-prison stance, leaving the Virgin Islands for the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn, and his suspicions about ca...

Django Gold is a stand-up comedian, a former writer for  The Late Show With Stephen Colbert , and a veteran of  The Onion . In his stand-up special " Bag of Tricks ," he explores not being cool, show-off toilet seats, and the privilege of owning multiple pairs of scissors. His comedy has been described as "cynical and bizarre" but also "surprising, insightful and properly deranged." We discuss the...

Our third installment of  Funny You Should Mention  welcomes Sam Jay, former SNL writer, Tom Brady Roaster, host of HBO's  Pause with Sam Jay , and stand-up comic behind such specials as Netflix's  3 In The Morning  and HBO's  Salute Me or Shoot Me .  Sam and Mike talk cops, racism, white vs black people money management, and a joke she'll discuss but won't be telling again. Produced by Corey Wara...