The Last Laugh

Mindy Kaling broke through as a writer and star of ‘The Office’ and then ‘The Mindy Project’ before taking those roles to new heights in her latest film ‘Late Night’ opposite Emma Thompson. In this episode, we talk about the complicated politics of that movie and what it’s actually like to be the only minority woman in an all-male writers room. Plus, Kaling speaks out for the first time about her controversial Instagram post supporting Aziz Ansari, reveals why she had to turn down her “dream” job at SNL and previews her hit Netflix show ‘Never Have I Ever.’ This episode was originally published on June 18th, 2019.Follow Mindy Kaling on Twitter @mindykaling and Instagram @mindykalingFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 years before he created the hilarious, Stephen Colbert-produced ‘Tooning Out the News,’ R.J. Fried spent time in the trenches of actual cable news, working for MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. That experience, along with his years as a writer for ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ and Robert Smigel’s Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, helped prepare him to run what has somehow become the most consistently funny and hard-hitting political comedy show on TV. On this episode, Fried breaks down how he gets people like Alan Dershowitz, Matt Schlapp and real-life members of Congress to subject themselves to brutal interrogations from the show’s cartoon news anchors—and reveals which right-wing pundits he’s turned down.Follow R.J. Fried on Twitter @rjfriedFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a best-selling memoir, beloved podcast and insanely popular Instagram account, Busy Philipps was ready to quit acting for good when Tina Fey came along and offered her one of the four lead roles in this summer’s breakout comedy hit ‘Girls5eva.’ On this episode, Busy opens up about two decades in the entertainment industry that haven’t always been easy, from the intense pressure that came with her early days on ‘Freaks and Geeks’ and ‘Dawson’s Creek’ to her prematurely canceled late-night talk show ‘Busy Tonight’ on E! She also explains why her best friend Michelle Williams stays far away from social media, shares her reaction to Seth Rogen’s decision to stop working with James Franco and explains why she doubts any of Hollywood’s predators will ever “fuck with” her again. Follow Busy Philipps on Twitter @BusyPhilipps and Instagram @busyphilippsFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most successful stand-up comedians of all time, Jim Gaffigan became the first comic to premiere a special with Amazon Prime Video in 2019. Quality Time, Gaffigan’s seventh hour-long special, finds the comedian getting back to basics like his weight and an inordinate number of horse jokes after dealing with his wife and writing partner Jeannie’s harrowing medical scare. In the episode, Jim opens up about that experience and explains why he’d rather make jokes about brain tumors than President Trump. He also weighs in on David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres, Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K., Bill O’Reilly, the Pope and a lot more. This episode was originally published on August 20th, 2019.Follow Jim Gaffigan on Twitter @JimGaffigan and Instagram @jimgaffiganFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Gina Yashere’s new memoir is titled ‘Cack-Handed,’ which, she explains, means “left-handed or awkward and clumsy, which I am all of these things.” She’s also the first Brit to perform on ‘Def Comedy Jam,’ a one-time Senior British Correspondent for ‘The Daily Show’ and the co-creator with Chuck Lorre of the CBS sitcom ‘Bob Hearts Abishola,’ which uses her Nigerian heritage as comedic inspiration. She originally thought he was trying to exploit her and is really glad she gave him a second chance. We get into all of it on this week’s episode and Yashere reveals the unique challenges she has faced in the entertainment industry and shares her thoughts about “that pug-faced twat” Piers Morgan.Follow Gina Yashere on Twitter @ginayashere and Instagram @ginayashereFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Kim Booster likes to play the “hot idiot” on stage. But as you will quickly learn during this episode, he is actually full the insights about the unique challenges he has faced on his path to becoming one of the funniest young comedians working today. To kick off Pride Month, the stand-up comic and co-host of the ‘Flameout’ podcast on Spotify opens up about growing up with his adoptive Evangelical Christian family, how he gave up self-deprecation to embrace over-confidence and why there hasn’t been a gay male stand-up comedy superstar on the level of Ellen DeGeneres, Wanda Sykes or Tig Notaro. He also reveals some exciting news about the status of his big gay rom-com ‘Trip’ co-starring SNL’s Bowen Yang!Follow Joel Kim Booster on Twitter @ihatejoelkim and Instagram @ihatejoelkimFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Tig Notaro opens up about moving on from ‘One Mississippi’ and Louis C.K., the fundamental silliness of her online talk show ‘Under a Rock’ and why decided to host her new advice podcast ‘Don’t Ask Tig.’ She also tells a hilarious story about the time she guest-starred on ‘The Office,’ shares an update on her forthcoming Netflix film in which she plays the first lady opposite Jennifer Aniston’s president and reveals that she has taken on a whole new career during quarantine.  This episode was originally published on July 28th, 2020.Follow Tig Notaro on Twitter @TigNotaro and Instagram @therealfluffnotaroFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three decades after they appeared together on ‘In Living Color,’ David Alan Grier is now playing Jamie Foxx’s father on their new Netflix sitcom ‘Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!’—despite just an 11 year age difference between the two comedy legends. On this episode, Grier recalls his first impressions of Foxx when he joined that iconic sketch series in its third season and tells some outrageous stories about doing the Super Bowl halftime show, hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ twice before turning down a spot in the show’s cast and tackling the rape charges against his one-time mentor Bill Cosby on ‘The Carmichael Show.’ Follow David Alan Grier on Twitter @davidalangrier and Instagram @davidalangrierFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After creating ‘Parks and Recreation,’ ‘Brooklyn 99’ and ‘The Good Place,’ Mike Schur has decided to dive head first into the culture wars with his ‘Rutherford Falls.’ The new show, now streaming on Peacock, stars ‘The Office’s’ Ed Helms as a well-intentioned but problematic descendant of colonizers who finds himself in a battle over historical statues and everything they represent with the nearby Native American tribe. Schur returns to the podcast this week to get into all of the controversial issues raised in his new series, explain why Native American representation was so important on-screen and off and share some hilarious stories from his early days writing for SNL and ‘The Office.’Follow Mike Schur on Twitter @KenTremendousFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The stars of Netflix’s hit prank movie ‘Bad Trip’ join ‘The Last Laugh’ podcast this week! Wel hear from comedian—and Oscars savior—Lil Rel Howery about why he almost quit the film on day one and from writer, producer and star Eric Andre about his long history of outrageous comedy antics, the important advice he got from Sacha Baron Cohen, his wonderfully weird interview with Larry King and a lot more. Follow Eric Andre on Twitter @ericandre and Instagram @ericfuckingandreFollow Lil Rel Howery on Twitter @LilRel4 and Instagram @comedianlilrelFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.