Drinking During Business Hours with Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler | Where comedy & fine wine meet!

Lesley Wolff on Hollywood Casting, Comedy & Acting Careers In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours, Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with casting director, producer, teacher, comedian, and actor Lesley Wolff for a fast, funny, insider-heavy conversation about casting, stand-up, commercials, creative survival, and how the entertainment business really works. The episode starts ov...

Mateen Stewart Gets Real on Comedy, Rejection & Bigger Doors In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours, Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome comedian, actor, and producer Mateen Stewart for a hilarious and wide-ranging conversation over BuzzBox cocktails. The episode kicks off with sports fandom, Detroit pride, Knicks talk, and the emotional damage of being a lifelong Lions fan before...

She Did Fallon While Raising Twin Boys?! | Jessica Keenan on Comedy, Motherhood & Chaos In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours, Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome comedian, writer, actress, mother, and now homeowner Jessica Keenan for a hilarious and refreshingly honest conversation about stand-up comedy, motherhood, ambition, marriage, wine, and trying to keep your identity intac...

We Launched Our YouTube Channel | Comedy, Champagne, New York Stories & Married Life In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours, Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler catch up on everything happening behind the scenes from the launch of their new YouTube channel to comedy shows, New York stories, burnout, voting, marriage, taxes, and of course, what they're drinking. Over a bottle of Andre Delor...

Bob Kushell on The Simpsons, Stand Up, and Starting Over in Hollywood What happens when a veteran TV comedy writer steps away from the writers' room and starts over in stand-up? In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours, hosts Sarah Halstead and Rich Chasler sit down with legendary television writer, producer, showrunner, and comedian Bob Kushell for a funny, candid, and deeply personal co...

Danny Farber on Vertical Filmmaking, Platform Strategy, and the Future of Storytelling Danny Farber joins Drinking During Business Hours for a smart, energetic conversation about what it really takes to build a creative career across directing, acting, producing, and modern platform-driven storytelling. Sarah and Rich dig into Danny's rise in vertical filmmaking, his approach to respecting the pla...

  From Teen Dad to Touring Comic: Willie Macc on Pain, Parenting & Punchlines What happens when comedian Willie Macc sits down with Sarah J Halstead and Rich Chassler over a killer bottle of wine? You get one of the funniest, rawest, and most unexpectedly heartfelt episodes of Drinking During Business Hours. In this episode, Willie opens up about becoming a father at 16, building a career as a com...

Laurie Douglas on Comedy, Social Media, and Why Art Should Make People Uncomfortable In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours , Sarah and Rich welcome Laurie Douglas for a funny, sharp, and honest conversation about comedy, acting, artistic risk, and what it really takes to build a career in entertainment. From the grind of getting stage time in Los Angeles to balancing stand-up with acti...

How Ben Gleib Reinvented Late Night on YouTube, Went Viral in Political Debate, and Helped Save Comedy During COVID Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome comedian, creator, and disruptor Ben Gleib for a fast, funny, and surprisingly thoughtful conversation about career pivots, political courage, crowd work, and building comedy for a new era. Ben opens up about overcoming a childhood sp...

Fizaa Dosani on Going Viral Without Selling Out | Comedy, Culture & Mental Health Stand-up comedy is changing fast and Fizaa Dosani is right in the middle of that evolution. In this episode of Drinking During Business Hours , hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with the comedian, actor, writer, and creator of Facial Recognition Comedy for a funny, honest, and unfiltered conversation...

From ChoCo Krispies Commercials in Colombia to Netflix Is A Joke Fest: The Brittany Ross Story Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with the wonderfully funny and refreshingly honest Brittany Ross, a Los Angeles-based comedian, actress, writer, and podcast host whose life story reads like a comedy special waiting to happen. They kick things off with some Passover prep banter before diving...

We Drink for a Living But Not Tonight (Mocktail Episode) No guest? No problem. Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler fly solo in one of the most wide-ranging and entertaining episodes yet, fueled not by wine, but by Malto Benny's Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Water.  They dive deep into the shifting alcohol landscape: why Gen Z is putting down the bottle, the ongoing debate over wine's health bene...

Meet Eric Guilmette: The Actor Rewriting the Rules of Hollywood One vertical At a Time Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with Los Angeles-based actor, producer, and poet Eric Guilmette one of the most prolific and buzzed-about names in the exploding world of vertical drama. A Massachusetts native who traded a math and economics degree and a likely Wall Street career for a one-way...

10 Tonight Shows, One HBO Special, and 40 Years of Telling the Truth: The Unstoppable Cathy Ladman Episode Summary Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with veteran comedian, actress, writer, and comedy coach Cathy Ladman for a rich and deeply personal conversation spanning four decades in stand-up. A native New Yorker now based in Los Angeles, Cathy has appeared on The Tonight Show...

How a Comedy Legacy Shapes Today's Industry: Zoe Friedman's Mission Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with Zoe Friedman, comedy industry veteran, co-founder of Comedy Gives Back, former Late Show with David Letterman talent booker, and daughter of legendary Improv founder Budd Friedman. Zoe didn't just grow up around comedy she grew up inside it, doing cartwheels on stage during A...

I Don't Want to Be Strong Today: Vanessa Graddick, The Social Worker Who Became a Comedian Hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with the brilliantly funny and deeply thoughtful Vanessa Graddick, comedian, producer, social worker, and now published author. Vanessa opens up about starting comedy on November 1, 2006, after her mother's cancer diagnosis, serving Allen Iverson at Applebee...

We've All Been One  - Doug Bass Gets Real Grab your favorite glass and pull up a chair  this week, comedians and husband-and-wife duo Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome a familiar face to the DDBH couch: LA-based comedian, actor, and podcast host Doug Bass . You may remember Doug from when Sarah and Rich were guests on his show  The Basshole Podcast — in what Doug himself called "the firs...

My Dad's in Jail, My Girlfriend Left Me, and I Became a Comedian: The Arturo Vaca Story In this fresh and funny conversation, hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome rising comedian and viral content creator Arturo Vaca for an honest, hilarious deep-dive into the unlikely road from the Valley to the comedy stage. Born and raised in Van Nuys, Arturo's path to stand-up wound through teenag...

Adam Ferrara on Comedians, Carburetors & Carnegie Hall: A Working-Class Hero's Guide to Showbiz In this heartfelt and hilarious conversation, veteran stand-up comedian and actor Adam Ferrara joins hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler for a deep dive into the entertainment industry, family influences, and the art of survival in show business. From performing at mobster-run comedy clubs in Broo...

  In this delightful and heartfelt conversation, hosts Sarah J. Halstead and Rich Chassler welcome Emmy-nominated actor, writer, and magician Michael Shayan for an engaging discussion about family, identity, theater, and the transformative power of storytelling. From his early days as a 12-year-old magician at the Magic Castle to his critically acclaimed one-man play about his Persian mother, Mich...

Join hosts Sarah J Halstead and Rich Chassler for a hilarious and honest conversation with legendary Canadian comedian Jeremy Hotz! In this episode, Jeremy opens up about living with generalized anxiety disorder while maintaining a successful comedy career, his viral TikTok explosion in Africa, why he travels with his emotional support chihuahua Shaq, and the real story behind his career-defining...

The Grind of Comedy with Dean Delray In this episode of "Drinking During Business Hours," hosts Sarah J Halstead and Rich Chassler sit down with veteran comedian and podcaster Dean Delray for an honest, inspiring conversation about the comedy hustle. Fresh from a memorable road trip complete with incredible food stops (including the legendary Rose's Cantina in El Paso), the hosts dive deep into De...

The Legacy of Lenny Bruce with Ronnie Marmo Join hosts Sarah Halstead and Rich Chassler in a captivating conversation with actor, writer, and Artistic Director Ronnie Marmo as they explore the enduring legacy of legendary comedian Lenny Bruce. This episode delves deep into the world of boundary-pushing comedy, the art of performance, and why Bruce's revolutionary work remains vital in today's cult...

Jamie Anderson explores the journey of transitioning from acting to directing, the importance of joy in creative work, and the power of networking in the film industry. They discuss the role of meditation in maintaining mindfulness and creativity, as well as the significance of creating provocative art that sparks conversation. Jamie shares insights into her upcoming projects and the creative proc...

In this episode of 'Drinking During Business Hours', hosts Sarah Halstead   and Rich Chassler welcome comedian and content creator Mitsy Sanderson. The conversation explores the journey of Mitzi from her early aspirations in dance and fashion to her rise as a viral sensation on social media. They discuss the impact of the pandemic on creative careers, the competitive nature of comedy, and the repr...