Hairy Butthole

This week, Youngmi touches on two topics suggested by listeners: comedy power dynamics and divorce. After a viral TikTok about the unspoken rule of comedy “Always Punch Up,” Youngmi discusses the nuances of power dynamics in comedy in relation to who she feels comfortable joking about. She also discusses how comedy helped her keep a level head in day-to-day life. In the second half of the episode,...

This week, Youngmi discusses in depth the huge shift that occurred when she was 33, when she went from living life the way others wanted her to living life on her own terms. She talks about the depression, resentment and uncontrollable anger that used to be part of her daily life as someone who believed she wasn’t good enough and how she just realized those feelings are no longer part of her life.

This week, Youngmi introduces a new format. They’re addressing a new format focused on identity politics surrounding Asian American, biracial, single mom, and ex-drug addict topics. Things the listeners seem to identify with! Donate to Hairy Butthole Patreon or comment on socials to hear your topics of choice being discussed!

This week, Youngmi discusses getting a book deal and the unexpected sad feelings that came with achieving her most unattainable feeling dream.

This week Youngmi Mayer talks to Chani Lisbon (standup comedian) about growing up Orthodox Jewish. Chani talks about the first time she wore pants and rode in a car on the Sabbath and how far she's come since then. She discusses her history of alcoholism and recovery and leaving and returning to her faith. As a queer person who found acceptance from her mother and her community, she touches on how...

This week, Youngmi discusses her relationship to work. After returning from vacation where she was riddled with guilt and shame about not doing enough, she reflects on the origins of that anxiety. She talks about being called lazy as a child, the belief that domestic labor isn’t valuable by society and the effects that late-stage capitalism has on all of us. She talks about how her own work is inv...

This week Youngmi discusses her recent time in Thailand through the perspective of an Asian woman who is obsessed with race and gender politics. She talks about things that the typical white guy travel host would not be able to see and talks about why it’s harmful that travel content has been seen through one POV for the most of humanity. She talks about the influence of Korean culture in Southeas...

This week, Youngmi talks to her son Mino Bowien (8-year-old, future YouTuber) about being separated for one month. This is the longest time Mino will be away from his mom since his birth eight years ago. He talks about being sad but also looking forward to spending a lot of time with his dad and his girlfriend and their new kitten, Screech. Also, Mino talks about how it’s embarrassing that Youngmi...

This week, Youngmi talks to Sameer Naseem (comedian, host of Halal Cartels podcast) about standup comedy. Sameer and Youngmi chat about their nontraditional processes as comedians and judging themselves for being different. Sameer also discusses the nuances of growing up with an immigrant father whose expression of love differed from the other dads in his community. Ultimately, both of them realiz...

This week, Youngmi talks to Tulika Bose (journalist, documentarian) about her extremely talented father who was a respected Bollywood cinematographer before moving to the states. Tulika talks about his struggle to find work in his field, despite his immense talent and the correlation between legacy white people who get all the top jobs in her industry. She shares the emotional discovery of his can...

This week Youngmi is joined by Maria DeCotis (comedian, Rolling Stone ), who discusses her experience with a psychologically abusive relationship. Maria discusses how after leaving the relationship, she struggled with the long process of healing. She talks about the difficulties of enduring lingering emotional wounds that most people think disappear immediately after abusive relationships end. She...

This week Youngmi talks to Kareem Rahma ( Keep the Meter Running , FIRST! with Kareem Rahma podcast) about the art of comedic hosting. Kareem’s new show has recently blown up and he discusses the art of hosting as a comedian, and why the art form isn’t considered as a role. He talks about the importance of centering the stories of people in society who are generally ignored. He also discusses the...

This week, Youngmi talks to Mudang Jenn (shaman, @shaman.mudang ) about her work as a Korean shaman. Jenn talks about why it’s important to her to continue these ancient Korean traditions for Koreans of the diaspora. She discusses how her immigrant parents hated these traditions as born-again Christians and Catholics. Jenn discusses the various types of abuse she endured as a child, including reli...

This week Youngmi talks to Kevin Hayes (artist, director, son of Lili Hayes) about LA, dive bars in the LES, open mics in the basement of a Holiday Inn, his mom and the death of his dad. Kevin talks about being placed in special ed as a teen for having dyslexia and how that tainted his view of himself versus the world. He also discusses his eccentric parents and their unusual marriage. Kevin talks...

This week Youngmi talks to Susie (TikTok star @soogia1) about the feeling of being “too much” as an Asian woman and how she was told all her life to quiet her voice, only to become a viral TikTok sensation known for her unique voice. She discusses her transition from making videos about politics to food while maintaining the core subject of racial identity politics. She talks about not being able...

This week Youngmi talks to Samuel Hyun (director of federal relations for the city Of Boston and Mayor Michelle Wu) about balancing a social media presence while having a “real” day job. Sam talks about the reasons he decided to start creating content and the difficulties of having a large Internet presence. He discusses his dad leaving his family when he was a teenager, the present state of toxic...

This week, Youngmi is joined by Milly Tamarez (comedian, host of The Betches Sup podcast). Milly discusses a sad story that happened in her early 20s when she lacked the confidence to stand up to bad behavior from men she was dating. She also touches on a phase in her life when she only dated Asian men because she was influenced by stereotypes about Asian men. Youngmi discusses how those unfair st...

This week, Youngmi speaks with Whitley Watson (comedian, host of Club Video ). They discuss their shared experiences as biracial people and the similarities and differences as biracial people who are half Asian and half Black. They also touch on the idea that race is a social construct and therefore not “real” yet respecting the fact that racial identity is deeply important to a lot of people in t...

This week Youngmi speaks with Geoff Rickly (lead singer of Thursday) about his heroin recovery. After struggling with addiction for years, Geoff decided to take a powerful psychedelic treatment known as Ibogaine. Because of the risk of death during the treatment process he had to travel to Mexico. He discusses what he learned about himself and his ultimate journey out of heroin addiction. He also...

This week, Youngmi chats with Sarah Hartshorne (comedian, writer, abortion activist, former ANTM contestant). Sarah discusses how so many things in life exist on both sides of the moral boundary. She touches on how in the fashion industry, a lot of the harm is perpetuated by former victims. She also discusses how abortion transcends people's individual ideas of "good" and "bad". She talks about he...

With Halloween right around the corner this week, Youngmi discusses how she sees ghosts! She shares the most vivid encounters she's had to date (and scares herself in the process). She talks about intellectually refusing to believe ghosts are real and the journey she had in trying to diagnose her visions as mental illness, before ultimately accepting that there are things out of her understanding....

(CW: SA) This week, Youngmi talks to Jeremy Holt (graphic novel writer) about their identity as a transracial adoptee and nonbinary person. Jeremy talks about how growing up in an all-white community, they couldn't recognize their reflection as their own. They also discuss the reason they set out to explore their Asian identity. Jeremy also shares a sad story about a reaction their friend had to h...

This week, Youngmi talks to James Tison (standup comedian) about the impact living in the closet for the first 15 years of their life had on them. Being taught to hide and lie about their personality has had a lasting impact on them, in ways that are visible to this day. They discuss learning how their parents' emotions were deemed more important than their own, leading them to believe that there...

(CW: Suicide) This week, Youngmi speaks to Ai Vy Luu (comedian, Comedy Central, Reductress). Ai Vy and Youngmi talk about sex. A lot. Then Ai Vy opens up about a very difficult period of her life and the factors that led to her attempted suicide. She discusses personal hardships but also touches on the large-scale traumas we are all facing as a society, causing us all to be “soft suicidal.”

This week Youngmi talks to Audrey Taylor (@audreytaylorvisuals) about a huge fight they had a year into the pandemic. Audrey and Youngmi are personal friends who went through a tumultuous time after being reunited. They discuss how the pandemic deteriorated their mental health, as well as the explosion of anti-Asian hate crimes, led them to behave in two distinct incompatible ways and “break up” f...