The Letterman Podcast

Episode 191 – Eddie Brill and the End of an EraThis week’s guest is a very good friend of the show and one of our original guests, Eddie Brill. Eddie — the former warm-up comic and comedy booker for Late Show with David Letterman — returns to The Letterman Podcast to discuss the end of an era: the closing of The Late Show on CBS.Eddie shares his thoughts on what it means for Stephen Colbert to be...

Episode 190 – Ritch DuncanThis week’s guest is Ritch Duncan — comedian, writer, former Weekend Update joke contributor, and one of the founders of Deathbed, the wonderfully twisted horror platform created by comedy writers. Ritch and Mike have a fantastic conversation about how Ritch found his way into stand-up, his time going to school in Indiana, and the enormous influence David Letterman had on...

Episode 189 of The Letterman PodcastThis week’s guest is Steve Singer, who worked in the audio department at Late Night with David Letterman from 1986 to 1993, right in the thick of the NBC years. As a trusted member of the Studio 6A team, Steve helped shape the sound of the show night after night, handling live audio and contributing to what viewers at home heard during one of the most beloved er...

Episode 188 – Vancouver, Part Two: The Show ItselfEpisode 188 of The Letterman Podcast picks up right where last week left off. In Part One, Mike, Len, and Rob recounted the unforgettable experience of meeting David Letterman — and even Paul Shaffer — before Dave took the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver for his sold-out conversation with Zach Galifianakis. This week, the focus sh...

Episode 187 of The Letterman Podcast is the first in a special series focusing on David Letterman’s recent appearance at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Dave sat down for an onstage conversation with Zach Galifianakis in front of a sold-out and extremely grateful crowd. But the story begins before the show. Mike and four fellow Letterman enthusiasts decided to hea...

Episode 186 of The Letterman Podcast features Erik Akerblom, a man whose fingerprints — quite literally — are on every Late Show that ever came out of the Ed Sullivan Theater for nearly three decades. Since the mid-90s, Erik has been a trusted pillar of the technical maintenance and post-production teams at the Ed Sullivan Theater. There are only a handful of humans on Earth who know the building’...

Episode 185 – Zoe Friedman: Comedy Royalty on The Letterman PodcastThis episode features genuine comedy royalty: Zoe Friedman. If her name sounds familiar, it should — her parents, Bud and Silver Friedman, didn’t just open comedy clubs… they invented the modern American comedy club as we know it. The Improv, the clubs, the alt rooms, the entire stand-up ecosystem? That’s the world Zoe grew up in....

Episode 184 – Darin Cox and the Chicago Late-Night ExhibitThis episode features our good friend Darin Cox, co-host of The Irritable Dad Syndrome podcast — and the very first guest to ever appear on The Letterman Podcast! Darin works with Antenna TV, one of the chief sponsors behind the brand-new exhibits at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. Alongside the stunning Johnny Carson: Th...

Episode 183 – Mark Malkoff (Part Two): “Love Johnny Carson”This week brings Part Two of our encompassing conversation with Mark Malkoff, host of The Carson Podcast and author of the brilliant new book Love Johnny Carson. Picking up right where Part One left off, Mark and Mike continue their deep dive into Johnny’s incredible career and legacy — and how it all connects to the world of David Letterm...

Episode 182 – Mark Malkoff: “Love, Johnny Carson”This week marks the triumphant return of Mark Malkoff, released just one day after his brand-new book, Love, Johnny Carson, officially hit store shelves — both digital and delightfully physical. In this special two-part conversation, Mark and Mike dive deep into the world of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, exploring the legacy, influence, a...

Episode 181 – The Return of J RyanThis week marks the return of our very first friend of the show — J Ryan. Before The Letterman Podcast even launched, J was part of the foundation, helping set the tone for what this show would eventually become. In this episode, Mike and J reconnect after both navigating some major challenges over the past year. Their conversation covers everything from personal...

Episode 180 – A Tribute to Arthur KellyEpisode 180 of The Letterman Podcast is a heartfelt tribute to our dear friend Arthur Kelly, who passed away around the Fourth of July. For 15 years, Arthur was the receptionist on the 12th floor of the Ed Sullivan Theater office building — Dave’s floor. His job was to be the gatekeeper: ensuring the right people and calls got through, while keeping the chaos...

Episode 179 of The Letterman Podcast features Andrea Engelsberg — a former Late Show with David Letterman intern who had a front-row seat to the magic during one of the show’s hottest eras. In what feels like a nostalgic sugar rush, Mike and Andrea (who snack on candy throughout the episode) dive into her journey as a dual U.S./Canadian citizen who landed the coveted internship during the “last hu...

In this special emergency crossover, Johnny Mac (Daily Comedy News) and Mike fire up the mics to tackle the growing storm surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from ABC. With conflicting headlines, regulatory noise, and media blowback in every direction, it felt like the right time to take a step back and look at what’s really going on here. Johnny brings a sharp, informed perspective o...

Episode 177 – Friends of the Show with a Surprise Visit from Mark Malkoff! In this fun-filled “Friends of the Show” edition of The Letterman Podcast, Mike is joined by returning favorites Darin Cox, Allison Lips, and Adam Unger—but this roundtable takes an exciting turn when a very special surprise guest drops in: the mighty Mark Malkoff! Mark—host of The Carson Podcast, celebrated stand-up, and a...

Episode 176 of The Letterman Podcast features a very special guest: Dan Cashman, host of The Nite Show with Dan Cashman — a regional late-night institution in Maine that has welcomed thousands of guests over its remarkable run… including, most recently, David Letterman himself. Mike and Dan dive deep into the origins of The Nite Show, reflecting on the early days, its evolution, and the incredible...

Episode 175 of The Letterman Podcast is our quintessential summer vacation episode — and we mean that literally and hilariously. While spending time at Irene Hoffman’s stunning generational property by the sea in Greece, three beloved friends of the show — Rupert Jee, Irene Hoffman, and Steve Young — decided that a Letterman Podcast must be done. And what a delightful episode it turned out to be!...

Episode 174 of The Letterman Podcast features the triumphant return of Johnny Mac, host of the Daily Comedy News podcast. In this special mashup episode, two late-night–loving forces collide as Johnny and Mike dive deep into the current state of the genre. With Stephen Colbert’s exit looming large and a whirlwind of speculation sweeping through the comedy world, there’s no shortage of hot topics t...

Episode 173 of The Letterman Podcast is a spontaneous mashup for the ages! Mike was about to appear on The Alex Bennett Program when his phone rang. On the other end? None other than former Late Show with David Letterman executive producer Robert “Morty” Morton. When Mike told him what he was about to do, Morty asked, “Can I join?” — and just like that, this one became too big for just one show. W...

Episode 172 of The Letterman Podcast features the return of writer, oral historian, and the official Andy Kaufman historian, Andrew Buss! Among Andrew’s many creative accomplishments is I Am McLovin, the definitive oral history of Superbad, but this episode focuses on another icon of boundary-pushing brilliance — Andy Kaufman. Andrew and Mike go deep into the newly released documentary Andy Kaufma...

Episode 171 of The Letterman Podcast features a very special guest: Jed Rosenzweig, the founder and driving force behind LateNighter.com — the definitive online resource for all things late night television. Jed and Mike have a wide-ranging and passionate conversation that touches on his early professional days working at Yahoo! during the infancy of the internet, his time with High-Def Digest, an...

Episode 170 of The Letterman Podcast features our very special guest, Jordan Zevon. A gifted singer-songwriter in his own right, Jordan is also the son of the late, great Warren Zevon — the genius, the icon, the soon-to-be Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Warren Zevon was a brilliantly bright thread woven into the fabric of David Letterman’s legacy, appearing on the show more than 30 times a...

Episode 169 of The Letterman Podcast features not one, not two, but three of our favorite humans: legendary Late Show comedy writer Steve Young, our amazing sponsor and friend Rupert Jee, and his equally wonderful girlfriend Irene Hoffman. Steve recently debuted his brand-new one-man show, EGONT, at the sold-out Caveat Theater in New York City, performing much of this material live for the very fi...

Episode 168: What’s Been Going On – Guest Hosted by Candace ChisholmThis episode of The Letterman Podcast is a little different, as Mike hands over the hosting duties to his wife, Candace Chisholm. With a few weeks passing since the last episode, Candace interviews Mike about what’s been going on behind the scenes. Mike opens up about his father’s recent hospitalization due to advancing dementia,...

This week’s guest is Fard Muhammad, a longtime member of alt.fan. LETTERMAN and a devoted fan of late-night television. Few people appreciate the culture of late-night as much as he does! Fard and Mike have an enthusiastic conversation covering a variety of topics, including Fard witnessing Conan O’Brien’s first-ever Tonight Show, his emerging YouTube channel, his favorite David Letterman moments,...