The Last Laugh

Lake Bell made her feature directorial debut with 2013’s ‘In a World...’ and has been on a roll ever since. Now, she has co-created ABC’s ‘Bless This Mess,‘ a sitcom on which she and Dax Shepard play a neurotic New York couple who move to a farm in Nebraska. In this episode, Lake discusses how her decision to ditch so-called “push-up bra” roles and fully embrace comedy on shows like ‘Children’s Hospital’ and ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ completely transformed her career for the better.Follow @lakebell and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deon Cole started doing stand-up comedy on a $50 bet in his hometown of Chicago. 26 years later, his new special Cole Hearted is premiering on Netflix. Cole says he’s come too far to be “canceled” now: “I should be allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, but this culture nowadays, they’re like, man, if you mess up it’s off with your head.” In this episode, Cole breaks own his comedic journey, which has included stints writing for Conan O’Brien and starring on ABC’s Black-ish and Grown-ish. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Follow @deoncole and @mattwilstein.Tour dates at deoncole.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a short period two decades ago, Tom Green was one of the most famous comedians on the planet. He graced the cover of Rolling Stone, hosted Saturday Night Live and (briefly) married actress Drew Barrymore. These days, when he’s not touring the world as a stand-up comic, Green is mostly known for getting fired by Donald Trump on The Celebrity Apprentice and sharing a house with Anthony Scaramucci on Celebrity Big Brother. In this episode, the man who changed MTV with his infamous prank show opens up about his rise to fame and everything that’s happened since. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Tom @tomgreenlive and Matt at @mattwilstein.See Tom’s tour dates at tomgreen.com and order his new album on Amazon.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Aukerman is the host of Comedy Bang! Bang!, co-creator of Funny or Die’s Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and now the writer and director of Netflix’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie. In this episode, we talk about how he landed so many huge celebrity cameos for the new film, what it was like directing Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and—because it’s my favorite thing he’s ever done—making the Analyze Phish podcast with the late Harris Wittels. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Scott @ScottAukerman and Matt at @mattwilstein.Real our oral history of the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stand-up comedian Bill Burr just released his sixth hour-long special Paper Tiger on Netflix. In this episode, he speaks out against “outrage culture,” defends his controversial Michelle Obama jokes, shares his thoughts on Trump’s 2020 chances and insists he’s not as “angry” as everyone thinks. Plus, Bill teases some details about his role in the upcoming Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Bill @billburr and Matt at @mattwilstein.Tour dates at BillBurr.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 years ago, Kevin Nealon was anchoring “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live. Now he's walking the woods with his famous comedian friends on the YouTube series Hiking with Kevin. In this episode, we talk about how that show got started and look back at his SNL days, including how he got hired, when he knew it was time to leave and some fascinating stories about Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, Al Franken and more.Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Kevin @kevin_nealon and Matt at @mattwilstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Self-described comedy “villain” Anthony Jeselnik has made a career out of telling expertly crafted, extremely dark one-liners, from his breakthrough set at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in 2011 to his most recent hour-long stand-up special Fire in the Maternity Ward on Netflix. In this episode, he talks about his new Comedy Central interview show Good Talk, how he thinks his comic persona will continue to evolve as he ages, what “surprises” him about Louis C.K.’s attempt at a comeback and a lot more.Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.Follow Anthony @anthonyjeselnik and Matt at @mattwilstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill Nye (The Science Guy!) checks in this week to talk about his podcast (Science Rules!) and help preview next week’s Climate Crisis Town Hall event on CNN, which will feature the top 10 Democratic presidential primary candidates. Bill also looks back on his shout-fest “interview” with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and the catharsis of screaming obscenities about the warming planet on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Bill @BillNye and Matt at @mattwilstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero are here to talk about the first six months of their Showtime late-night series Desus & Mero. We get into their close relationship with fellow Bronx-native Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, what it's been like to interview 2020 Democratic presidential candidates like Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg, their unlikely Twitter feud with Taylor Swift fans and a lot more. Desus and Mero returns to Showtime on Thursday, September 12th. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Desus @desusnice, Mero @THEKIDMERO and Matt @mattwilstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation) stops by to talk about her new scripted podcast Ellie and The Wave and opens up about her disappointment over NBC canceling Abby’s, the first sitcom in which the lead character was a bisexual Latina woman. “So much for diversity!” she says. Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast. Follow Natalie @nataliemorales and Matt at @mattwilstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.