

The Last Laugh
The Daily Beast
Welcome to ‘The Last Laugh’: Real conversations with really funny people. Every Wednesday, The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein interviews some of the biggest names in comedy—as well as the new voices crashing the party—about what it’s like to make people laugh during this current cultural and political moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 13, 2020 • 59min
Bumping Elbows with Jeff Ross (‘Thick Skin’ Crossover Episode)
‘The Last Laugh’ is still on hiatus, so this week we’re bringing you a very special crossover pod from our friend (and previous guest) Jeff Ross! On the latest episode of his podcast ‘Thick Skin,’ Jeff talked to Matt Wilstein about how “cancel culture” is affecting comedy and got into some “touchy subjects,” including the 2020 Democratic primary, getting retweeted by Donald Trump and of course, the coronavirus. No more “Bumping Mics,” now we’re bumping elbows.We will back with all-new episodes and some exciting guests very soon!Twitter: @realjeffreyross and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @therealjeffreyross and @lastlaughpodSubscribe to ‘Thick Skin with Jeff Ross.’Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 25, 2020 • 1h 1min
Pamela Adlon Reinvents Herself
Pamela Adlon has had to reinvent herself several times over the course of her unconventional career. From child star (‘Grease 2’) to Emmy-winning voice actor (‘King of the Hill’) to creator and showrunner of her own phenomenal autobiographical series ‘Better Things,’ which premieres its fourth season on FX Thursday, March 5th. On this episode, we talk about all of that and more, including her audition for ‘Friends,’ a darkly hilarious story about Redd Foxx and why she’s still “proud” of the work she did on “Louie.”Twitter: @pamelaadlon and @mattwilstein | Instagram: @pamelaaddlon and @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 18, 2020 • 1h 7min
Ben Schwartz Is a Comedy Machine
The one and only Ben Schwartz is here for our 50th episode! This month, Schwartz is starring in two wildly different movies: the box office smash ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ as the titular video game hero and ‘Standing Up, Falling Down’ as a struggling stand-up comic opposite his actual childhood hero Billy Crystal. On this milestone episode of ‘The Last Laugh,’ he talks about getting his start writing jokes for David Letterman and SNL and how he almost missed out on the chance to play Jean-Ralphio on ‘Parks and Recreation.’ He also previews two upcoming projects for Netflix—a version of his improvised live show with ‘Silicon Valley’ star Thomas Middleditch and ‘Space Force,’ the new comedy series from ‘The Office’ creator Greg Daniels co-starring Steve Carell and John Malkovich.Follow @rejectedjokes and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 11, 2020 • 45min
Russell Peters Defends Comedic Stereotypes
Russell Peters is a global comedy sensation who sells out arenas in London, New York and Mumbai, where he taped his most recent stand-up special ‘Deported,’ streaming now on Amazon. In this episode, Peters talks about how YouTube helped make him a comedy star, why mainstream fame has alluded him in America, his beef with Trevor Noah, his love for Roseanne Barr, why he does NOT have a problem with Apu from ‘The Simpsons’ and a lot more.Stream ‘Russell Peters: Deported’ on Amazon Prime Video.Follow @therealrussellp and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @russellpeters and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 4, 2020 • 58min
Tom Papa Is Doing Great!
Tom Papa might be best known for his longtime friendship with Jerry Seinfeld. But on this week’s episode he demonstrates that he has much more to offer. Tom talks about why he called his latest Netflix special ‘You’re Doing Great!’ and the various ups and downs of his career, from the crazy experience of hosting ‘The Marriage Ref’ to the way NBC may have used his sitcom ‘Come to Papa’ as an audition for Steve Carell to lead ‘The Office’ and a lot more.Follow @tompapa and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 28, 2020 • 57min
Maria Bamford Is Feeling Better
Maria Bamford has been performing stand-up comedy for 30 years and just keeps getting better. Her latest hour-long special ‘Weakness Is the Brand’ finds her at the top of her game, delivering operatic bits about her ongoing mental health struggles and relentless drive to be a good person in the world. On this episode, we talk about how she arrived at relative stability, the challenges that female comics still face in a male-dominated industry, how she felt when Netflix canceled her autobiographical show ‘Lady Dynamite’ after two seasons and a lot more—including an unvarnished take on Louis C.K.Stream ‘Weakness Is the Brand’ on Amazon.Follow @mariabamfoo and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 21, 2020 • 55min
Fortune Feimster Has Arrived
Stand-up comedian Fortune Feimster made her TV debut 10 years ago on ‘Last Comic Standing.’ This week, her first-ever hour-long special ‘Sweet & Salty’ lands on Netflix. In this episode, Feimster talks about finding the comedy in her unique life story as a “tomboy” growing up in a small North Carolina town who didn’t realize she was gay until arriving in Los Angeles after college. She also shares stories about auditioning for SNL and finding mainstream success on ‘Chelsea Lately,’ ‘The Mindy Project’ and as the “female Homer” on ‘The Simpsons.’Follow @fortunefunny and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 14, 2020 • 1h 15min
Michael Schur Says Goodbye to ‘The Good Place’
Ahead of the ‘The Good Place’ series finale, creator Michael Schur is here to answer all of our burning questions about the existential sitcom, which airs its series finale at the end of January. On this episode, taped inside his office on the Universal Studios lot, Schur reveals how the final season of ‘Parks and Recreation’ helped influence the end of ‘The Good Place’, looks back at his early days as a writer for SNL, teases a potential future for ‘The Office’ on NBC’s Peacock streaming service and a lot more.Follow @KenTremendous and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 7, 2020 • 60min
Andrea Savage Is a Great Podcast Guest
Andrea Savage knows she’s a great podcast guest. “Not to brag,” she says on this week’s show. The creator and star of truTV’s ‘I’m Sorry’ talks about finding the balance between cringe-worthiness and comedy, the challenges she faced as a woman in The Groundlings, what she learned working on ‘Step Brothers,’ ‘Veep’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and her hilarious new podcast ‘Andrea Savage: A Grown-Up Woman #buttholes.’Follow @andreasavage and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Go to ratethispodcast.com/laugh to leave us a rating and review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 31, 2019 • 59min
Sacha Baron Cohen (Live)
Comedy legend Sacha Baron Cohen goes deep on all of the crazy things that happened during the filming of his Showtime series ‘Who Is America?’—including truly incredible stories about his interactions with Sarah Palin, O.J. Simpson, Ben Carson and more. He also talks about interviewing Donald Trump as Ali G. and reveals some big secrets behind his classic film ‘Borat.’This episode was recorded in front live audience as part of the SAG Conversations series at the SAG-Aftra Foundation in Los Angeles on May 21, 2019.Follow @SachaBaronCohen and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.