Doctor Vs Comedian

On today’s episode, Ali joins us on location in Newfoundland, and talks about filming the television show 'Hudson and Rex' (00:50).  Asif asks Ali about his thoughts on the new HBO show ‘Hacks’. They discuss the premise of the show (young writer coming up with jokes for an aging comedian), comedians getting jokes written for them, and aging comics. They also share their thoughts on how the main ch...

On this special episode, Ali and Asif are joined by physician, OB/GYN, pain medicine specialist, blogger, podcaster and writer Dr. Jen Gunter. Topics discussed include:   Asif and Dr. Gunter discussing attending Western University and Joe Kool’s Dr. Gunter’s past battles with Gweneth Paltrow and Goop  A tangent about coffee enemas and the British military Dr. Gunter’s new Ted Audio Collective podc...

In this Episode, the guys discuss whether comedy can affect change (2:36). Ali discusses the Satire Paradox (Malcolm Gladwell) and whether laughter and social protest are friends or foes, including examples such as All in the Family, and Sarah Palin and Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live . He then talks about how Trump affected late night talk shows and the NY Times magazine article by Dan Brooks...

In today’s episodes the guys discuss the Academy Award Winning movie “Another Round” (4:11). Ali starts out first by discussing his (tenuous) connection to star Mads Mikkelsen. He then discussed the development of the movie by director Thomas Vinterberg and the influence of his late daughter Ida on the film. They also talk about the influence of the Dogme ‘95 movement on the film and the announcem...

Ali and Asif discuss the recent hate-inspired murders of a family of Muslim-Canadians in London, Ontario, Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, after a brief interlude about McDonald’s Orange Drink, the guys discuss the legendary Canadian band, the Tragically Hip (2:50). They discuss the Hip’s new EP and their upcoming appearance at the 2021 Juno awards with Feist. They discuss the history of the band and their relationship to them, including Ali’s story of stage diving at a Hip concert in Montreal. They discuss the diagn...

The guys start out today’s show discussing unrelated pop culture that is linked in each of their minds (00:55). Then, the guys discuss the recent movie ‘Sound of Metal’, Ali’s personal connection to it and the impressive performance of Riz Ahmed (6:30). They also discuss how the movie comments on the concept of personal identity and how it relates to the Covid-19 pandemic. They guys then rave abou...

In today’s episode, the guys start the episode discussing Elon Musk and their surprising takes on his recent Saturday Night Live hosting gig (1:08) -- plus a brief discussion on Wayne Gretsky’s (in)famous hosting gig. Then, to commemorate the upcoming season finale of the 46th season of Saturday Night Live, Ali and Asif discuss their top 5 SNL performers (9:25). Listen to find out who they include...

For our last episode on Code Switching, Ali actually forgot to tell a story he had about a director insisting that the name “Asif” be pronounced a certain way. We’ve included it for you here as a bonus clip.  The opinions expressed are those of the hosts, and do not reflect those of any other organizations. This podcast and website represents the opinions of the hosts. The content here should not...

In this episode, the guys discuss the topic of code-switching (1:36). They review examples of code switching in the media including Barack Obama, Boots Riley’s “ Sorry to Bother You ” and Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele’s code switching sketch on “ Key & Peele ”. They also discuss the Harvard Business Review’s piece on code-switching in the workplace as well as the use of different accents as...

In today’s episode, after a bit of listener mail about Ali’s love of Shonda Rimes (1:00), the guys discuss the issue of actors faking accents on movies and TV shows (2:09). Ali discusses Rizwan Manji from Schitt’s Creek and Aziz Ansari. Ali even discusses how he originally auditioned for the role of Ray Bhutani on Schitt’s Creek and his own experience with using an accent in roles. We also discuss...

In this episode the guys reflect on the life of the late Chadwick Boseman. They first start by debriefing about this week’s Oscars telecast, Asif’s less than impressive predictions and the snub of Chadwick in the Best Actor category (00:50). Ali discusses Chadwick’s early life and his career from All My Children to 42 to Get on Up to Black Panther (10:33). Then they discuss his last two performanc...

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the upcoming 93rd annual Academy Awards. Ali quizzes Asif on who he thinks should win and will win in all the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best supporting Actress, best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. They talk about problems with “Mank”, the genius of Sacha Baron Cohen, and the...

In this episode, the guys discuss the new CBS sitcom, the United States of Al (1:03). They discuss the development of the show and how it is based on the charitable organization “No One Left Behind”. Ali  talks about the development of the show, the criticism it received even before an episode was released, and the defense of the show by producer Reza Aslan. After a digression about Kumail Nanjian...

In this special episode of Doctor Vs Comedian, the guys discuss their “origin stories''.  First, Ali discusses growing up in New Brunswick and Montreal, Quebec, going to McGill University, and then trying to figure out what to do with his life after that. He discusses his journey from working at a consumer-electronic chain store to doing his MBA to getting an IT degree. Finally Ali explains how hi...

In this episode, Ali discusses the rebirth of roasts as a form of comedy (3:15). He discusses the history of roast and their recent return, courtesy of the Comedy Central Roasts. We discuss who roasts have helped (Justin Bieber) and who they definitely did not (Ann Coulter).  Next, Asif discusses mask use during the Covid-19 pandemic (18:11). He goes over the history of mask use during epidemics,...

In today’s episode, Ali discusses the auditioning process for movies and television roles (0:57). He discusses how he went from stand-up comedy to acting and how he got an agent. He then discusses some memorable (and not so memorable) auditions. Next, Asif discusses the ketogenic diet (28:53). He talks about what makes up a ketogenic diet and its use in epilepsy. Asif then discusses its more contr...

In today’s episode, Ali discusses the issue of joke theft in Comedy (1:00). He discusses the definition of joke theft and why it can be a contentious issue amongst comedians. Ali then discusses famous accusations of joke theft including the cases of Conan O’Brien, Carlos Mencia & Joe Rogan, and Nick Thune. Then, Ali asks Asif about some famous medical movies and television shows and asks “did they...

It’s the first episode! After the guys briefly introduce themselves (0:44), Ali discusses performing comedy during the Covid19 pandemic (4:59). He talks about performing comedy via Zoom, social distancing in comedy clubs, as well as new ventures such as performing at a Just for Laughs show at a drive-in. Then, Asif discusses cannabis and CBD use in medicine (25:10). He talks about its use in medic...

Dr Asif Doja is a  pediatric neurologist and Ali Hassan is a stand up comedian and actor (CBC’s Laugh Out Loud, Designated Survivor, Goon) who are each fascinated by what the other one does. In each episode, Asif picks a topic for Ali from comedy and entertainment and questions Ali about it. Then Ali picks a topic from medicine and health and grills Asif on that subject. We talk about serious subj...