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Ep. #292: Nick Flanagan

Nick Flanagan is a very funny comedian, writer, and actor who hails from Toronto, Ontario but currently calls California home. Known for his endearingly dark stand-up and for fronting bands like Brutal Knights and Wrong Hole, Flanagan’s first comedy album, I’m Here All Weak, was released six years ago. This month Comedy Dynamics puts out his new record, Wiped Privilege and Flanagan plans to play some shows to spread the word. Flanagan and I recently caught up for a chat about living in Eagle Rock, California, leaving Canada for America for work, comedy and acting and performing in Brutal Knights and Wrong Hole, starring in films like Diamond Tongues, press releases and whimsy, mailing list activity stalking, DIY or die, Comedy Central and Comedy Dynamics, writing for kids’ shows like Odd Squad, the Kids in the Hall, Mark De Angelis, Tim McKeon, Adam Peltzman, Sinking Ship Productions, Ben Joseph and children’s writing, John Callahan’s Quads! and scriptwriting, writing off 2016, keeping busy, genuine math, children’s entertainment and its 24/7 work days, being a silly person and working on kids’ shows, discerning kids, fickleness, parent-engaging humour, crossing generations, six years since I’m Here All Weak, finding his voice, one-liners, impersonal joke machines like Demetri Martin and Anthony Jeselnik and Jerry Seinfeld, comedy as confessional, Aparna Nancherla and a grape and an apple walk into a podcast, Wiped Privilege and this year’s political environment, a Canadian living in the USA and reflecting societal problems in comedy, pseudo-activism, snark, tropes about comedians, contrarianism and info glut and Info Wars, an upswing, feeling the Flanagan, “Thank You for Supporting Live Comedy,” Mailchimp status update, and then it was time for some more California dreamin’.

Related links: theflans.com vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #169: Matt Braunger

Matt Braunger is a gifted stand-up comedian and performer who spent a good chunk of his life living in Portland, Oregon but now calls Los Angeles home. He was a cast member on MADtv during that show’s final season, he has starred in Comedy Central stand-up specials and acted on sitcoms, and he has appeared on almost every high-profile late night talk show in America. His new stand-up special is the hilarious Big Dumb Animal, which is out now via the imprint Comedy Dynamics, and here we discuss Atwater Village in Los Angeles, opening himself up in his stand-up lately, feeling sporty at forty, not the lonely guy, working with other people on stuff can be good, unsolicited punch-up, why the general public thinks comedy is easy, Class Clown by George Carlin, old Portland and Portlandia Portland, slightly Marxist good restaurants, doing The Late Show with David Letterman, taking breaks, keeping up with comedy platforms and cultural consumption, making stuff, spec scripts and writing packets, living in the U.S.A., apolitical humour, plans and schemes, stand-up vinyl, playing the Comedy Mix in Vancouver March 5-7, the bit “Killing It!” and that was our time.

Related links: mattbraunger.com vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #166: Tom McCaffrey

Tom McCaffrey is a renowned comedian, writer, director, and performer based in New York City. Over the last two decades, McCaffrey’s work has appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, Funny or Die and he’s written for the Onion and Huffington Post among others. He’s acted in and directed films as well and his latest venture is a documentary about his life and work called Adventures in Comedy, which features insights from Jim Gaffigan, Janeane Garafolo, Aisha Tyler, Michael Che and more. Adventures in Comedy will be available on most streaming sites beginning February 20 via Comedy Dynamics and here, Tom and I talk about snow mountains in Manhattan and Guelph, the climate of civil and authoritarian unrest in Bill de Blasio’s NYC, mock and doc, Larry David and the first Curb Your Enthusiasm special, weird small shows, big-talk entertainment managers, starting with Dave Chappelle, explaining the film’s concept to comedians who speak earnestly about comedy, everyone knows a Larry David, how stand-up and comedy has come into vogue, the live album Adventures in Comedy, the rap album Streets Aren’t Watching that Tom made as well, Nas, Eminem is too fast, people like us rapping in public, Morgan Freeman’s influence on Adventures in Comedy, inspiring stories, the Last Exit to Brooklyn podcast that Tom hosts, the star-studded TMC song “I’m a Headliner” and then the adventure is over.

Related links: tommccaffrey.tumblr.com vishkhanna.com

adventuresincomedy

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