The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi

On today's episode of The Downside, our producer Paige Asachika interviews Gianmarco and Russell about their generally unsuccessful lives. Gianmarco discusses growing up in the Beverly Hills of Maryland, when his dad dated his kindergarten teacher and then his mom got her fired, and his thankfully brief skater boi phase. Russell shares growing up in Bainbridge, why he loves The Golden Girls, and w...

Casey Cohen (star of Bravo’s Princesses: Long Island and my spin instructor) joins to discuss being on a reality show with the woman who slept with your high school boyfriend, ignoring an old cast member who signed up for your spin class, whether or not our phones are listening, and the horror of apartments without dishwashers. You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Follow CASEY COHEN on i...

DJ Demers joins to discuss getting a phone call on his bluetooth hearing aids in the middle of sex, worrying covid will take away one of his four senses, trying to film a comedy special before his wife’s water breaks, splitting a comedian’s salary among a soon-to-be family of three, telling jokes with an ASL interpreter onstage, and how the hell a Canadian got on America’s Got Talent.  You can wat...

Comedian Abbi Crutchfield joins us to discuss being rejected from Nick Kroll and John Mulaney’s improv team, mystery dinner theatre, grocery shopping for your significant other, convincing toddlers to eat their vegetables and how we should maybe use those same tactics to get people vaccinated, teaching your kid to stop biting their teachers, and throwing a Zoom cousin party.  You can watch full vi...

Comedian Kyle Gordon shares how he was banned from a theater after one of his fans throw a glass at the bartender (and other downsides of being a TikTok celebrity). We also talk about having an orthodox dad and a hippie dippy mom, auditioning for commercials with UCB students, the swift death of improv comedy, the anxiety of performing for elementary students, going to a spa with the boys, and whe...

Samantha Ramsdell shares the downsides of applying for a Guinness World Record, using concealer to make your mouth look smaller after your peers compare you to Big Mouth Billy Bass, doing TikTok couple challenges with your non-performer boyfriend, being a child from your mom’s third (of four) marriages, your dad enlisting you as a wingwoman on your 16th birthday, not being able to sleep rawdog, an...

Comedian Daphnique Springs shares the dangers of deep ocean fishing, scales that can cut you to the "white meat, watching a man drown, being a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas and watering down (or liquoring up) drinks for unruly customers, this one guy at the blackjack table who sh!tted himself, dropping out of college ten credits short of a chemistry degree, having a psychic predict you won't be r...

We’re joined by comedian Sam Morrison to discuss being tricked into buying shrooms, having a masseuse clip your toenails unprompted, high school speech and debate, a comedy club hate crime, getting diagnosed with diabetes, and having a hospital lab call you to ask “Are you okay???”, and performing stand-up You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Join The Downside Patreon for early ad-free e...

For our annual moment of positivity, we take a look at the best moments from our inaugural year. Russell and I talk through clips of Caleb Hearon, Hannah Berner, Ashley Ray, Alex Brightman, Usama Siddiquee, Monroe Martin, Joanna Hausmann, Mike Recine, clips from patron-only episodes, and a preview from our upcoming episode with Samantha Ramsdell. Speaking of the Patreon! The videos for the two pat...

Fresh off his highly lauded Off-Broadway one man show getting delayed by Omicron, Alex Edelman joins us to discuss graduating from NYU as a virgin, Reselling Bowen Yang’s textbooks, Israel’s gun control policy, lying about having a twin on Conan, losing your virginity at 23 to a divorcée, growing up in Boston as part of “The Jack Daniel’s of Orthodox Judaism”, Spotify removing both our comedy albu...

DeAnne Smith shares the downsides of going to clown school right after a breakup, marrying a mime/engineer to get into Canada, teaching English in a Mexican war zone, and touring Australia after your mom dies. We also ask is it wrong to eat carrots and hummus during a zoom funeral? You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Join The Downside Patreon for early ad-free episodes the Friday before...

Jonothon Lyons AKA Buddy the Rat joins us to discuss the downsides of humorous urologists, interactive vs immersive shows, missing the end of Sleep No More, college science classes inspiring you to leave religion for drugs, joining Blue Man Group with no discernible drumming skills, whether theater degrees are worth it, the struggles of copyrighting art, and Buddy’s first appearance where he was u...

Stand-up comic Caitlin Peluffo joins us to discuss cursing Peloton teachers, squeaky clean boyfriends, opening for Brian Regan, slapping a dead pig for art, liking everything about soccer except for the running aspect, how the DC Sniper ended my 5th grade soccer season, preparing for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert like an athlete, and jizz raccoons. I wanted to call this episode Jizz Racoons w...

Grace Freud joins us to discuss the optimistic underbelly of Rick and Morty, converting to Judaism, having uncle-supervised visits with your alcoholic father who still somehow had three girlfriends, a Chaz Bono joke she wrote for ClickHole that didn’t go over so well on twitter, getting trolled by Harry Styles fans, and hairstylists instagrams that never seem to post the haircut they just gave you...

The NYPD almost made Gianmarco miss a spot at at the Comedy Cellar and after complaining about that for a bit, Mohanad Elshieky shares what the police (or lack thereof) are like in Libya, the frustration of having your cartoons interrupted by Gaddafi speeches, living under a government that openly admits listening to your phone calls, helping translate for English-speaking journalists and then bei...

Comedian Mike Recine ruthlessly rips into the c*m towel merch I sell after shows and tells me I’ll earn his artistic respect after I burn them all in a fire (dm me if you want to buy one). We also talk about the homemade tomato sauce he used to sell after shows, growing up in New Jersey, having an autistic little brother who’s not so little anymore, the time he helped me move and I killed the U-Ha...

Kate Willett joins us to talk about the downsides of unicorn hunters, using dating apps as a bi woman, ticket processing fees, Olive Garden, Christian summer camp, asking “What’s it like to be gay?” in early AOL chatrooms, agnostic prayers, stumping for the left and (usually) losing, whether it's necessary to come out as "kinky" to your parents, parents who live separately but stayed married, and...

Mark Normand shares the downsides of losing your virginity to a 55-year-old woman when you’re 16 while her husband entertains your friends on the balcony and not realizing that’s f*cked up until your therapist points it out in your 30’s. We talk about other stuff, too, but that should be enough for you to listen. You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Join The Downside Patreon for early ad...

Our guest, comedian Dana Donnelly, once tweeted that Sweetgreen was too expensive and got a $100 gift card from them but that may have had more to do with her 170,000 Twitter followers. She joins us to talk about my struggles to buy my girlfriend a gift in a Michigan sex store, going on a first date where he finds out mid-date that his best friend died, flying home from college without knowing for...

Russell watched all of Summer House (for the second time) to prepare for our episode with comedian Hannah Berner. We talk about fake laughter, fake orgasms, a corporate gig where I got booed for making a joke about ExxonMobil, how Dave Chappelle is “stuck in the comments”, thinking you’re the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of reality television, the awkwardness of reunion episodes, ego death, being one of th...

Doug Benson shares the secrets of the Houdini Hole and why it’s vastly superior to the Houdini Museum. We also discuss the scammer that’s targeting stand-up comedians, growing up in San Diego and taking school field trips to Mork & Mindy tapings, not getting bullied in high school because your older brother is on the football team but then he graduates, getting cast as Santa instead of Jesus, smok...

Ian Fidance joins us to talk about changing antidepressants during a global pandemic, the hidden romance of finishing on your partner, how to get hit by a car while riding a bike, trying to trick your therapist into thinking you’re on heroin, publicly listening to canceled musicians, being so old you get injured in your sleep, getting gifts to make up for losing your dad, and being bisexual. You c...

Recorded three minutes after Gianmarco found out his dad was getting open heart surgery, Josh Gondelman joins us to share the downsides of balding at 19, teaching preschool, starting comedy in Boston, speaking and/or singing at your grandparents’ funerals, only being able to cry at Ted Lasso, and people who say “your joke isn’t helping.” It wasn’t easy but we got some negativity out of him. You ca...

New York Times Comedy Critic Jason Zinoman shares the downsides of being called a bitch by Dave Chappelle on Broadway, giving someone a bad review then finding out they live in your apartment, only having three columns a month to cover comedy in the New York Times, reviewing Pete Davidson, Louis CK, and The Fringe Festival, tv shows about rich people that aren't really critiquing them, and I someh...

Comedian Ashton Womack discusses the downsides of growing up in Houston, church therapy, having a dad who’s also a stand-up comedian (his dad), having a dad who cheated (our dads), having a dad who keeps telling you to write a one-man show called “My Wife’s Boob Job” (my dad), eating vs drinking in the shower, the concept of nostalgia, the lack of NYC bug diversity, attending a school with metal d...