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Jesse David Fox
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Hello and welcome to Good One, a podcast about jokes. I'm your host, Jesse David Fox. How was your summer, Brad? As hell. Same. While we're still on hiatus with the podcast, we didn't want to miss our opportunity to continue with our annual tradition of showcasing Vulture's list of comedians you should and will know which is our list of up and coming comedians now in its 10th year. I'm so proud of the list's tradition, which has included so many of the comedians we now think of as like the comedians of our time. I'm sure the same will eventually be the case with these babies, as is always the case with these episodes. What follows will be a series of many good ones, essentially with each comedian on the list sharing a bit that they feel defines them. So first up, we have Sabrina Breyer, Sam Campbell, and Nico Carney. So here is the comedians you should and will know. You guys, it was so fun hanging out. Allie, isn't your sublet up soon? Yeah, it's up next week. I have nowhere to live for a few weeks. You have nowhere to live for a few weeks? Oh, my God. Well, Gabby just moved into a new apartment and she has all this space. Space, right. It's tiny. It's tiny. It is tiny. But Alice, like, she takes up no space. She's like a little mouse. You should totally just host her. It'll be so fun. You guys would be like, roomy. Free of charge. Free. She won't charge you. Right. It. That's perfect. That's a brilliant idea. I'm brilliant. You guys should Totally do that. You guys talk it out. You're going to stay with her for a few weeks. Going to be so fun. You guys should talk about it because it's going to be so fun. My car is here, but I can't wait to come visit your apartment with both of you there, you guys. Roomies, roomies. Hi, vulture. This is Sabrina, 5 6, based in New York City, and I'm going to talk about my good one. So I made this video on my birthday, which was amazing for me because it meant I could force people to take a TikTok of me without feeling as badly about it as I normally would. And this is actually my sister playing kind of the main girl in the sketch alongside me. And then we've got my other friend who's behind the camera. So I knew I wanted to do something that was going to utilize the two other people I had, because sometimes, a lot of the time, it's usually just me and whichever friend I can wrangle to take a video of me. So when I have more than one person, I really like to look back in my notes and find those nuggets of ideas that really are going to be made funnier by more people being in the scene. So I was already kind of on that wavelength of trying to figure out what I wanted to do in that moment because usually it's pretty on the fly. So I found that little nugget in my notes of, oh, right, like it's. This idea is funny. Of, like, my character is wreaking havoc, as she often does, and causing such an issue that maybe is actually really from the goodness in her heart, but of course is inevitably obnoxious at the same time and is truly, truly a case of someone not being able to read the room, which is an important aspect of my character, like, or the most typical version of my character that I often play. And I think in this case, to me, it's particularly funny, her inability to read the room because as she gets more and more positive and excited about this amazing idea she's had that, of course, in reality has no impact on her life whatsoever. She is also increasingly oblivious and unaware of the fact that she is causing so much distress for another person. And you can see that distress all over my sister's face as she's playing the character. So to me, that's what really butters up the joke, is that ensemble aspect of, you know, everyone around my character is aware of the typical shenanigans, yet here they are again, and they never get easier, which you Know, I think also traces back to my goals of storytelling and comedy. Storytelling on a larger scale, I think, you know, even this little scene is an example of. Okay, but then what happened next, right? Like, maybe the next time they're all together, you know, Gabby, the character of Gabby and the character of Ally got into a fight because of this whole scenario. And maybe I'm running away from the scenario again, just further digging everyone into this hole that I've created. So, anyways, I just think it's so funny that she ruins everyone's lives and thinks she's being cute while doing it and doing nothing wrong while doing it. And I just, you know, all I can hope is that everyone else got a giggle from it, too. Hopefully they did, because that's what they commented and said. Unless they were lying, which definitely could be. The Internet's a weird place, you guys. Anyways, that's my good one. Thank you so much. And we. Well, I mean, which. Which is witch. The animal that. Not an animal, but the people. And they are people. The witch witches. What are they? They're like people with super. They've got long. These pointy hats with such wide brims. The size of these brims. It's not like they're in the sun. These are nighttime chicks. Nah. Sorry. Why am I having. Everyone's having a go at witches. I'm sorry. They're good. They're good. I love witches and I respect witchcraft, and it is a craft. My name is Sam Campbell and I am proud to say that I live in England, but I'm originally from Australia. What is the story behind the joke slash sketch slash scene? This joke is all about witch's hat. The hat of the witch with the size of the brim, the incredible width, which I noticed. I think not many people have noticed that. Maybe heaps of people have noticed that and just, you know, didn't want to mention it, but I wanted to mention it. And it's. This is not a joke that I would usually do. No way. This is something I would bust out around Halloween or a freaky time. It's a special sort of joke. What do you find funny about it? The sound. I like the sound that I make at the end where I go, oh, I think I was pointing at someone or. I don't know. I liked that sound at the end. How does it reflect what you're trying hope to do with your comedy? Oh, well, I like. I just. Oh, I think it's a very. And you know. Yeah, the brim. The size of the brim. Yeah. I think it got a couple of laughs, I think. Yeah. Roll back the tape, listen to the clip. There's a few laughs. I mean, it's not getting, you know, monster laughs, but I think people are amused. People are having a good time in there. Maybe it was not the best choice. It's hard when they ask you to submit. They're like, send one through. Oh, God. Oh. What about the witchcraft where you go and it is a witchcraft and it is a craft. I think that was ad libbed, so maybe that's good because it's an ad lib. But I get a lot of weird looks at the gynecologist and I understand because, like, I know I look like a teen boy in a coming of age comedy who looks like he's only at the gynecologist because he hatched a plan to see naked ladies. Like, I look like me and my buddy are gonna get back to the exam room and he's gonna be like, what do we do now? And I'll be like, I don't know. I didn't think we'd get this far, like, crawling out the window when the nurse comes in. Hey, this is Nico Carney. I'm so excited to be featured on this podcast. Thank you to Jesse and all the Vulture team. I have been a huge fan of good ones since I before I started comedy, so this is pretty surreal. So thank you. Also, wait, I was supposed to say I'm in New York. I'm in New York City, so if you're in New York, come ch some of our material. Yeah, so this, this joke, this story is, you know, this bit that I shared is just a little bit of kind of a larger story that I do on stage. This is kind of just the opening of it, but it came out of a real experience of me having to go to the gynecologist and being so nervous about going and being a man in this very, you know, womanly space and just like freaking out about what that was experience was going to be like. And I remember being, you know, getting ready for the appointment and just thinking like, God, like, they're gonna think I'm just like some like, young dude. And then it just like, kind of came to me. I think I was maybe even like, telling my girlfriend about how nervous I was. And then I sort of even said some version of this joke for the first time. And it just made me laugh to think about that, like, kind of scene in my head of these two guys trying to sneak into the. Into a Gynecologist's office. And it felt very like, you know, early 2000s, like, buddy comedy kind of vibe. And yeah, I just, it just made me laugh. And you know, what I, what I love about it and what I think I am able to do and hope to do with a lot of my material is, you know, I talk a lot about my experience, especially in this, like, kind of first hour that I'm crafting. I talk a lot about my experience of coming out as trans and, you know, existing in the world as a trans man. And there's so much humor in it. There's so many situations like this where, you know, the audience is in on the reality of my life, you know, by the point that I'm explaining it to them and getting into these stories. And so they're in on that part of it, but the person in the story is not yet in on that. Right. Like the nurse at the gynecologist office or whoever. And so there's an inherent, you know, humor in that sort of, you know, disconnect. And I find it's really fun to, you know, talk to people, you know, through my material on stage and, you know, share what it really is like to be a trans person. And, you know, because I think right now there's so much kind of crap out there about like, you know, from all kinds of people who, you know, have sort of a one track view of what it's like, whether that's like, it's just traumatic or whether it's hateful. But I hope that they people can realize there's actually so much about it that's really funny and really interesting. And that by going about it in this way and sharing sort of. Because when I'm living my life, I'm just, I'm in these situations and I'm trying to make myself more comfortable by laughing at it. And that's a lot of, like, the way that I process what I experience. So it's been very fun to like, get to share that with people. And I think people really relate to it. And I've been very grateful that there's been a lot of, you know, trans dudes who have come up to me after shows and been like, oh my God, I love your material. Like, I love hearing about these types of things that I'm nervous about and that I have to experience in this way that's really funny and actually does, like, highlight the actual truth of the situation, which is just like, I'm awkward and I'm anxious and this is about to Be a nightmare to have to explain to the person that's checking me into the gynecologist why I'm here. So, yeah, I just. I hope that people find the humor and the joy in it and that people get to start to understand what I don't know. I think that that's a good, you know, humor and comedy is always a great way to bridge those gaps, and I hope that that's, you know, beyond just making people laugh. I hope that that's something people take away from what I'm doing. That was Sabrina Breyer, Sam Campbell, and Nico Carney. Up next, we have Aaron Chen and Francesca d'u. I got a Fitbit. Anyone here got a Fitbit? You got a Fitbit? Do you set yourself a challenge? Classic challenge, 10,000 steps. Too easy for me. Set myself a different challenge, a little bit harder. Only allowed 20 steps. It's more a mental than a physical challenge. I've got to set it up. The night before, I put my bed in the kitchen in my house, the kitchen is right next to the bathroom. It's five steps away or three long strides. I pick the strides because that allows me three round trips. That's 18 steps. Got two steps to muck around with at the end of the day. Hello, my name is Aaron Chen, and I am living in New York City, America. And this joke about the Fitbit, this happened because I was thinking about doing a lot of steps. I would check the Steps app on my iPhone, and a lot of people try to do crazy challenges. They try to do a lot of steps, but I actually think it would be difficult to do much less. And then I thought about how I would achieve that in 20 steps or less. And I lived by this for one year of my life to try and only do 20 steps. And it led to a lot of health problems. I find this joke funny because there is a math element, and math is one of the most humorous topics. You get to add up all the numbers, and I'm trying to make it go to 20. And I think it's funny because of the classic pullback reveal type of thing, because the audience expects me to say that I'm doing a lot of steps, like maybe 1 million or 2 million, even 5 million. They could expect me to say something crazy like that, but I actually say quite, quite a small number. And then the image of me putting my bed in the kitchen because it's close to the bathroom, people think that's very funny because maybe they've had to sleep in their kitchen before, and they can relate to it. And what does this reflect with what I'm trying to do with my comedy? Well, I am trying to always be silly, always do a one liner. This joke is an old joke, but it's perfect for me if I'm. I'm kind of struggling in a set. I can pull this out. This is only one minute long and I can get a quick laugh. There's that quick couple of gags in there. I think it's nice. I think it's a silly. A little bit alternative and a little bit club. He can do it all. Thanks for listening. I want a nanny who can be my friend I want a nanny who will hold my hand I want a nanny who can roll a skate Calms all my fears Never shows a plate I want a nanny who's a bit naive Plants in the garden but brings treats to eat I want a nanny who thinks just like me Lets us stay up and watch the telly I want a nice nanny I want a cool nanny I want a sweet nanny Clean pretty feet nanny I like it when they get a pedicure. Hi, my name is Francesca Duva and I am a comedian and I live in Brooklyn, New York. So this clip I chose, the story behind it is it's from a song called Nanny Franny that I wrote about basically being a nanny in New York. And specifically, there was one kid that I was watching and he got really obsessed with Mary Poppins. And there was a song in Mary Poppins where the kids kind of listed out, like, the perfect traits that their ideal nanny would have. And the kid I was watching would play the song over and over. And I felt like that was pretty rude of him to do. So. This song is kind of about, you know, a parody on, like, those kinds of kids. And then if. What if I were, like, the perfect nanny that they were always looking for? I find it funny, the voices I'm doing. I think that little kids with, like, British accents is, like, kind of funny. And I feel like the way I look and act kind of clashes with the voices I'm doing in a way that makes it funny. And, you know, I'm playing multiple characters, which is ridiculous. And yeah, I think it's funny. I think the song that I wrote is funny, like the melody. And I think that it reflects what I am going for because it's silly and it is kind of pinpointing something that I've seen in, like, movies growing up in a way that feels true, but also ridiculous because it's all coming from me. It's like me acting out these crazy fantasies or pretending that I was in these, like, pieces of media that I saw growing up. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. That was Aaron Chen, then Francesca d'uva. Up next, we have Brandi Denise and Rose Hernandez. I got a nice apartment, Got a nice car. What? What's going on? I'm glad you have a nice apartment. Was that you on the N? Like, okay, all right. Y'all want to be talked to? I don't know what happened on TikTok. They got y'all motherfuckers like, oh, I need to be a part of the show, but, okay, do you. Do you live in a box? Is that why you cheering for my apartment? What's going on? I'm like, hey, how y'all doing? Hey, hey, come to me. There's no cameras facing you. You not going viral tonight, baby. The last after. We ain't got much money. Y'all ready to get staring around this bit? It's crazy. The Internet has changed comedy. I wrote real jokes. You like, wait, listen to me say, hey, ask me how I'm doing. I was like, what the is wrong with y'all? Like, it's not me. Y'all real, y'all. I get it, though. It's a 10 o'clock. I don't get it. I'm not. I'm not slow. I don't get it. Yo, when I get drunk, I just want to be a hoe. Y'all want to be obnoxious. That's crazy. When I get drunk, I look for men with money. You like? I want to be embarrassing. Let's do. Y'all are wild. I'm finally even off the cuff, so you tested me, so can you shut the up? Hi, I am Brandy Denise, and I currently live in Los Angeles. So this particular clip that I chose is from a set that I had at the Live Factory in Chicago, which is one of my favorite clubs to perform at. It was a pax night in May, and I think it was the third show of the night that I had there. It was, like, 11:30 show, so it's usually rowdier, and the club patrons were definitely drinking. So I'm not really sure what was going on with this particular crowd, but throughout the whole night, they were kind of just heckling the audience, the comedians, and, you know, going back and forth with comics, and I kind of just saw how the room was, so I knew immediately that I was going to have to, you know, kind of gain control of the room because they have been Real rowdy. And so I went on into my set and they just, this was probably the third, like heckle or, you know, lash out. And eventually I just got annoyed and so I went to bed with the crowd and I just felt like, first of all, what was funny about it was obviously the quick comebacks. But I also feel like as a comedian sometimes you have to like command control of the room. And what I feel like it reflects that I'm trying to do with my comedy is first of all, I just want to tell jokes. I write the jokes, I want to tell the jokes. But I feel like this clip specifically goes to show that every comedian doesn't want to be a crowd work comedian. Good comedians can be a crowd work comedian. But also if you pay to see a show, just let the show happen. If no one's inviting you to be a part of the show, then don't invite yourself to be a part of the show. And I really like this clip because I feel like it got a chance to show people that a, I can be quick and come back with, you know, quick witted comebacks or whatever for a crowd. But more importantly, I'm funny. So just let me do my job. Thank you. Hello, I am Roz Hernandez and I currently live in Los Angeles, California. Okay, so the story to this joke is I was in Texas, Austin, doing a lunch with my friend, the comedian Vanessa Gonzalez, and I realize I'm name dropping. And the two of us were sitting outside and in Texas, you know, they have those misters because it's so hot out those fans with the water that sprays. And I said something about how I'm sitting by, I'm sitting by the thing I can think of what it was called. And she said, the mister. And I said, what'd you call me? Which is, yeah, it's not. It's something that is in my vocabulary, my Rolodex of things that I just say. Me and my friends, I think a lot of marginalized people find ourselves saying that, whether jokingly or serious. What'd you call me? So that's where that came from. And then I started thinking, oh, you know, I might be able to do that one on stage because I do a lot of stuff like that. It's like not really crowd work. I'm not good at crowd work like that. But I like to do these things like that, setting people up in the audience, because that's what I find funny is the audiences that I perform for these days are pretty much all queer, friendly, left leaning, liberal, progressive, all of that. And I like to have fun with the idea of walking on eggshells and the well meaning liberal person that is so afraid to offend somebody. And I think that's a lot of what my comedy is doing these days, is taking the piss out of our society these days and showing people that trans people can be powerful and we have funny lives and we can be funny, too. I think a lot of audiences, when they hear the topic of a person being transgender, they tense up. You know, we're trained to believe that that's a very serious thing and there's nothing funny about it. And I like to break that tension by doing things like this joke. And also, I should add that the person that says, mister, they are my ally. They are helping a trans person in need, trying to think of a term, and they go, oh, I'll help her. And then it turns out, nope, you're actually the butt of the joke. And you just stepped in a pile of shit. That was Brandy, Denise and Rose Hernandez. Up next, we have Skylar Higley, Chloe Hillard, and Leslie Lau. Like, psychedelics. I was doing this thing where I did acid and I got on the L train in Chicago. It was a mistake because one day I was tripping and this drunk dude came on the train and his whole entire ass was out. You guys. Yeah, like, the whole thing. And I'm like, I don't want to look at ass because I'm tripping, Right? You're supposed to look at lava lamps and sunsets. You're not supposed to look at a grown man's dirty ass. But I started thinking about it deeper because I was tripping. I'm like, technically, I'm not looking at ass. Technically. What I'm looking at is billions and billions of cells made up of billions and billions of atoms. And you know what? I'm not even looking at that. What I'm looking at is the light traveled 90,000 miles, bounced off that ass into my eye, into my brain, creating a picture of an ass. And I was so high that out loud to everybody on the train, I was like, that ass is amazing. Hello, Skyler Higley, living in Los Angeles, currently 510 Gemini. Anyway, the story behind this joke is, yeah, I was, you know, early 20s, had just moved to Chicago from Salt Lake City, Utah, and I was having a lot of new experiences that I had not had before. Public transit really being one of them. There's not like, a huge public transit system in Salt Lake, where I'm from. And I learned for the first time that, you know, when you're riding the subways and stuff, that a lot of random things happen on the subways. I think this is very well documented, and I was experiencing it firsthand. And, yeah, that also coincided with the time where at that time I was still coming out of being like a devout Mormon and having no experiences in the world. So I was trying to find meaning a lot. So I was doing a lot of psychedelics and, you know, breaking down my concepts of structures and being like, things aren't really the things that we think they are there. There's other stuff going on. And. Yeah, just. It was sort of two stories combined together. You know, I did see somebody with their ass just sort of completely out on the train one week, and then the week after that I was tripping really hard and just kind of combined those two experiences and, you know, therefore, joke. It's basically it. It's not much of a real story, but it is more born out of a time and perspective that I had or still have or whatever. And as far as what I find funny about it, you know, I find it funny that. Well, first, I think that just the highbrow, lowbrow of it all is. And I just find that structurally very satisfying for me. And, you know, just projecting this, you know, a quote unquote intellect of, oh, here it all is. Here it's breaking it all down. Here's how the world works on a physical level. And then undercutting that all with still talking about, but so still just a fucking dumb guy. I find that funny how it reflects what I'm trying to do, this joke reflects. What I'm trying to do in my comedy is that I. I feel like I see the world in a pretty absurd slash surreal kind of way, probably just mostly resulting from, you know, my upbringing. I'm black, I have white parents, I was raised Mormon, blah, blah, blah, narrative, narrative, narrative. And having that story is already silly enough, you know, that is itself kind of a joke. And so it's made me not only prone to existential crisis or existentialism, which is expressed in this joke, but also I just really have been attracted to absurd comedy and surreal comedy that I always want to make that perspective in that worldview really land for an audience much more broadly. And being able to take what is relatively esoteric and make it something that people actually do laugh at is one of my goals. But, yeah, I think that, I don't know, maybe some of that sounded really pretentious. And I'm aware of that. And I'll accept that if that is a criticism. But, you know, you did ask me, and that is my answer. So, yeah. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, vulture and listeners. Love you. Have a good day at work. And I get it. I understand why everybody wants women to be, you know, mothers and nurtures and shit, but that's not the life we live in no more. You know, that's why we think about, like, all these politicians attacking women's body autonomy. They want us barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Stupid. Let's say in the 40s and the 50s, it made sense, right? Cause a man could work at a factory, his wife stayed at home. When she got married, she got a cake dish. Cause that's what a woman got in the 1940s. A cake dish. A crystal cake dish that your grandmama trying to give to you right now. You're like, bitch, I do cocaine on that cake dish before I make a fucking cake. Goofy bitch think I'm banging a cake scratch. Please. Fuck you and your mama. I ain't making shit from scratch. You be like, I'm. I'm getting Uber eats every night. You think I'm making cake from scratch? I'm trying to keep a young actor's dream alive. Please. Hi, my name is Chloe Hilliard, and I currently live in Los Angeles, although I'm from Brooklyn, New York. Shout out to Brooklyn. Okay, so what is the story behind my joke? The joke about the cake dish, it really has a lot of layers for me, because I think when I first started doing the joke, it was more like an homage about, like, my grandmother and them, you know, wanting me to be married and follow in their footsteps. The traditional route of motherhood in America up until a certain point. And now where we are politically, I was able to, like, pull that joke back out and apply it to the current political climate of the attack on women and body autonomy and this stupid conversation about gender roles and trad wives and, you know, all of these things about gender expectations that we are dealing with on social media and the conversation around what a woman should be and how there's a certain group of a political, you know, sect that wants to have women go back to the dark ages. So it's really about, like, people want this expectation, but when they had this expectation, the world was a much different place. Right? A woman could be a housewife because her husband was able to make money, buy a house in the car, maybe a color TV if they was fancy, based on the income. But that's not the world that we live in here in America. In Everybody is suffering. People are broke. People who did all the right things can't afford that house. And now you want to tell a woman who has to work 3 jobs to pay off her student loan debt that she would be a more asset to society if she can bake a cake from scratch? Like, if you don't get the fuck out my face. But do I want to stay at home? No. But don't make me stay at home, because then it's a problem. So, yeah, fuck you in your cake dish. I think the truth is funny. The truth is that people want women barefooted, pregnant. And the truth is that that is insane. And we should be laughing at them in their face and at their policies for trying to set women back because they're so incompetent and unable to share the pie with everybody else because of their egos and their politics. Like, stop playing. We got other things to worry about. The earth is dying. It's hot as fuck. People can't pay their rent. Stop being annoying. Just stop being annoying. Y'all look crazy. I think what it reflects about what I want to do with my comedy is just, like, to point out the truth. Like, I think we are so distracted with so many things that we just really don't even know how to, like, cut through the bs. We have this whole fake news movement. Like, people want to contort things and, like, say that the sky is green. It's like, the sky is not green. I'm going to be the person that's always going to be like, the emperor is naked, y'all. He has no clothes on. Tell him to go inside and put some pants on. I don't have time for this. That's what my comedy is about. I'm 36 and I've never been married, so I've never met the one or whatever, you know? But I. Even though I've never met this guy, I think about him. I wonder about him, you know, like, what does he. Like, where does he live? What does he do? You know? I'm thinking he's got to be pretty special, right? But I don't think we should hype up our soulmates this much, because I've been waiting my entire life to meet this one man. And I'm not trying to sound mean, but I know he's not gonna be worth the wait, you know, I'm sure he's a nice guy. You know what I mean? But it's like, it's just gonna be some guy named Greg in a graphic tee. If someone pointed at Greg and said, leslie, you get to marry this man, but you have to wait 36 years. I wouldn't even get in line, understand? I'd wait half an hour tops for someone like Greg. Hello, this is Leslie Liao of Los Angeles, California. So the story behind this joke, it. It honestly, it came from a very dark place. I was super single at the time, and I'm on all the apps, and there was this one man that I matched with. And it's a typical exchange. We message a few times, and all of a sudden the messaging stops and he does not message me anymore. It halted suddenly. And I had a healthy habit of seeing a guy's profile on a dating app and just immediately envisioning our entire relationship. You know, like a very normal, healthy thing to do. Just like picturing our entire lives together just from his five photos and like, two little quirky jokes he made on his profile. So this guy I matched with in my mind, I thought, oh, like, he. He's silly, he's cool, he's quirky. You know, he looks like he's got, like a fun personality, like, pretty funny. And I just immediately assumed that we would have chemistry. And the apps are just like, it. It's like the wild west. Like, some people you meet, some people you never meet, some people you'll message for weeks and then nothing happens. And I think at this time, I was so sick of it all. And the halt of our messaging made me spiral. I was just suddenly, like, thinking, this is so embarrassing. I was thinking about him constantly once he stopped messaging me, like, I would fill in the narrative in my head of, oh, you know, maybe he's busy, or maybe he's just like, traveling somewhere cool and he'll message me when he gets back. Or like, you know, it's such a bummer because we would have had so much fun together. Should I message him one more time? No. Like, I was, I was spiraling. And whenever I, whenever I spiral like this alone, I make myself have this out of body experience and observe my own behavior. And I talk to myself. So I was like, leslie, why are you losing your mind over this one guy that you've never met? You. You never even went on a date. These messages didn't lead to one date. You haven't heard his voice. You haven't gone to a bar with him. You don't even know if he's what you're picturing in your mind. And I, like, observed his profile. And his name was actually Greg, which is what I used in the joke. He did in fact have at least one photo with a cool, whimsical, funky graphic tee. And I was talking to myself out of the spiral and thinking, like, leslie, he's not that great. You know, I was trying to comfort myself, like, what is he? A dude named Greg in a graphic tee? You're letting this graphic tee Greg make you sad and make you mad and frustrate you. So, like, in the process of me talking myself out of this very dark place, I found something hilarious. I was like, you are sad. Like, this is what being single is and trying to date is like. And being on the apps is like. So this joke came from, like, such a deep, dark place, and I was written so organically. I think I. I think I wrote it in my mind and said it on stage, and it really, like, fell out of my mouth on stage, and it came out so naturally. And I'm like, I. I love how it turned out. What I find funny about this joke is that I am roasting this hypothetical partner, this hypothetical love of my life, who at the time, I didn't think existed or didn't know existed or I've never met yet. Like, I am tearing. I don't. I. I don't know that his name is Greg, but I'm tearing him apart in this joke. Like, I just, I. I love that, like, whoever I would date in the future would probably stalk me online, probably find this joke, and it, like, this joke would hopefully weed out any guy that would have a bad sense of humor for me. And I love that I'm, like, publicly announcing that this guy ain't that special. What I loved about performing this joke at shows, I did this at so many different shows, and I would always have the punchline of, like, who was this guy? A guy named Greg in a graphic tee. Like, inevitably and statistically, there was always a well meaning, adorable guy at a show in a graphic tee who I would kind of see kind of, like shifting around and, you know, covering up his. His T shirt with his arms and, like, laughing in truth and pain, probably. And there was always, like, a guy named Greg who was sitting with his significant other, and I would see her, like, you know, kind of pinch him and crack up laughing. Like, I love that she, like, Greg's partner would be at these shows. I did the joke at, like, laughing at him and kind of agreeing with me, like, he wasn't really worth it. Like, it just. Yeah, it all made me so happy. It does reflect a lot of what I'm. What I'm trying to do. With my, my jokes and my writing. This joke is like a perfect example of how I try to write. I wanted to come from a very deep, dark, real place. Like, truly asking myself, what am I experiencing right now? At the time, I was very single. I was, I loved myself. I thought I was awesome. So I thought, where is my awesome man? I was on all the apps and I was just swiping every minute, like swiping through and through, shopping online, looking for someone who was awesome. And statistically, it never worked out with so many of these guys. I would never even meet them or I would date them and they only wanted something casual. Or I would go on dates with them and they just weren't what I pictured. You know, it's, it's such a grind. So it was a, it was a real dark place where I was writing from. And what I want to take out of this, this joke writing is like really live in my experience of being single and how, like, how it ruins me. And then pausing and reflecting on my own feelings of like, okay, so Leslie, you're single. What are you doing? You're wishing for this special Prince Charming, when in reality this Prince Charming is just a dude. Like, he's just a dude with like an okay job, with an okay apartment, probably with some okay friends. Like, who is this, you know, special person you're hyping up in your mind? So I try to pause and reflect on my own struggle and experience. And even though I'm embarrassed about it, like I really, for real, I'm embarrassed about how much I thought about this Greg guy from Bumble or whatever. Support for this show comes from Amazon Prime. However you plan to make the most of the holiday season, you can do it with Amazon Prime. Whether it's last minute ingredients and stocking stuffers or a themed puzzle to solve with the family, get fast free delivery on holiday essentials with prime. And with Prime Video, you can curl up on the couch or warm drinks in hand and have a holiday movie marathon. Throughout it all. You can tune into classic holiday playlists on Amazon Music. Whatever you're into this holiday season, from streaming to shopping, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into. The opportunity of AI brings a multitude of challenges associated with rapid growth and expansion. Solidyme makes sure your data storage can keep up with your AI ambitions. Energy usage challenges and physical space limits are only going to increase as AI scales outdated storage infrastructure based on spinning disks, also known as hard drives, which are decades old technology simply can't keep up. Solidigm offers power efficient solid state storage spanning from the highest capacities to the highest performance. It's storage optimized for the AI era, meaning you can finally scale your AI with fewer limitations. Growing AI ambitions require a different approach to storage. Solidigm Solid State storage can help you bring your AI ambitions to life. Learn more@storageforai.com that was Skylar Higley, Chloe Hillard, and Leslie Lau. Up next, we have Mandel, Gavin Matz, and Young Me Mayer. I'm trying to be a better parent, bro. I don't got kids. I just like saying that you gotta start now, bro. If I don't start now, it's gonna happen. I gotta prepare. I can't be no parent cause I know how trauma works, bro. You force your baby to finish their spaghetti one time and not 10 years later, they in somebody basement bathing in tomato sauce. They in there every time. I say, man, sometimes at night I just like feeling like a meatball, man. When they put that ragu on my body, I probably feel like myself, you know? You know, want your baby to eat? Not here. Whole pasta free. They hate when you come to Olive Garden, bro. My mom one day expressed to me how she wanted to be a grandparent. And I'm her only child, so it's kind of on me to make that happen. And I was kind of telling her that I probably won't have kids. And you know, she wasn't really feeling that. And then later on that day, I was asking her to go to Olive Garden, which is a restaurant she hates. And so for some reason when I sat down that day to make a joke about how or how or why I don't want to have kids, I just kind of went with like a Italian food angle because that was just on my mind at the time. I think what makes the joke funny is it's a Mr. Wreck Up Talk where up top where I say, oh, I'm trying to be a better parent. And then I reveal that I don't even have kids. And then I compare trauma to something that's a little bit more silly than the direction I believe the audience thinks I'm going. While like, you know how trauma works. Then I start bringing up spaghetti. And I think the third layer of what makes it funny is the word choices I'm using. Because ragu sounds funny, meatball sounds funny. The phrase pasta freak is also silly. And so I think that's what makes the joke. It's just a combination of very silly sentences. Yeah, I think this is Definitely representative of my comedy because it's just really silly. I'm just saying a bunch of, you know, I'm saying words that I think are funny. It's a little absurd, which is usually what I'm going for. And the premise is kind of just more of a platform for people to attach on to so I can take off into whatever odd sentence I want to say. So I think it's very representative of how I structure some of my favorite jokes. May not be my best ones, but my favorite ones, you could, like, see that we've been running out of space. Like, if you look at technology, like in the early 2000s, audio, everything was like surround sound. You gotta get a surround sound system. This Dolby Digital 500. Everybody's like, Whoa, 500? Was it always 500? They're like, we don't know it, but it's loud. Like, bring your boys over. Your boys are like, wow, this is loud. This is louder than your wife, you know? And it was the early 2000s, so we hated the wife, you know, I don't know why I was like, everything was surround sound. And now audio is just noise cancellation. They're like, you don't want to hear what's going on out there. It's messed up and the walls are thin and you don't really have space for four speakers and a subwoofer. The only space you can afford is in your inner canal. This is Gavin Matz. I'm at home in Brooklyn right now. Thank you for having me on this episode of Good Ones. I'm going to talk about a joke that's on my hour special Progression, which is free to watch on YouTube. It's about how we're running out of space. And you could see that if you just looked at technological advancements. The story behind this is I kind of write like a little backwards. Like, I have, like a joke that will probably be working for a while that I use in like 15 minute sets that works. And when I. I mean, this was the first time I did an hour. So I just kind of build it out from there. And I'm like, what are the bigger overlying points that I'm making? And how do I build those into chunks, as they call them? So it seems like I'm just talking about one thing the whole time. Because that is really what I'm going for is to seem like it's all like one thought. That's like the comedy I love the most. This audio technology bit was like, kind of squeezed in to back up my Bigger point, which, like, was, our generation has it the hardest because we're the first generation of roommates. I kind of, like, build out a bunch of pieces and just kind of ask questions like, why are there so many roommates? Where is it happening? Why is it happening? I live in New York, obviously, so, like, space is becoming less and less. And then I, like, noticed a lot of people wearing, like, the Air Max AirPod headphones. And I was like, oh, it's so funny. Like, I have those, but I don't have a sound system. I don't have a movie theater in my house anymore. I don't really have space for that. I kind of just have, like, space to be alone and that's it. But, yeah, that's kind of how that joke came to be. Nothing crazy, just kind of, like, thinking about ideas I already had and kind of searching for evidence to back up bigger points. What do I find funny about it? Always funny to say what you think is funny. I think how random it is is funny to be, like, audio technology. I mean, I kind of have, like, this aloofness that is always fun to play with when you're coming into, like, a sneaky, bleak thing where people are like, oh, but I thought it was going to be goofy. And, no, we actually are all completely alone, obviously. I mean, the funniest thing about it to me is inner canal. That's just good wording. That's a good way to close a joke with a little act out. And inner canal was always fun. I feel like you can see me get excited in my, like, inflection to, like, get to that line. And, yeah, I mean, like, the funniest words is always the funniest part. I think this is kind of, like, the perfect joke to me for what I'm trying to do. Point out things going on in a goofy way, shrugging them off. It's one of those bits where I feel like, as you're doing stand up, you have these bits where you're like, oh, this is what I'm gonna do. I had this bit on, like, a Comedy Central set in 2019 that was, like an anti vax joke before vaccines were, like, a big topic of discussion. And I feel like I got to it in a really smart way before everyone was doing vaxxed or waxed jokes. And I was like, oh, that's kind of like, what I want my comedy to be, which was more like, here's this edgy thing, but. And I think that kind of has changed into, like, this is going on. How you used to have these jokes where it's like, oh, that's what I'm gonna be. And I feel like this is kind of one of my first jokes I had of like, oh, this is what I am, and it's really nice. I. I love this joke. I hope everyone liked it that listened to it. Hey, why don't you go back to China and eat some spaghetti with your Nona and talk with your hands and ride a little Vespa? I'm not from China and I. I don't think those are stereotypes about China. I think they're for Italy. Where are you from then? South Korea. Well, then get in the back of this pickup truck and put a Confederate flag on and make some moonshine in the bathtub and make out with your cook. I think that's the American South. I'm from South Korea. Then why don't you go back to your own country and catch this totally tubular wave? Brad, snooks and reefer. And are you with your dad about getting a real job? Is that Southern California in the 80s? Wait, so none of those are Korean stereotypes? No, not. Not even close. Can you just tell me what they are? No, because you're racist. Right, right, right. Wait, wait, let me try again. Let me try again. I mean, I would like it if you didn't, but I feel like you're just gonna do. Why don't you go back to South Korea and drink some vodka, wear Adidas tracksuit and techno music. Is that the one? Hi, my name is Youngmi Mayor. I'm a standup comedian based in New York City. The clip that I decided to share Today is a TikTok sketch that I made in the classic TikTok style where I'm talking to myself, but I'm pretending to be two different people and it's called racist. Who doesn't know the right stereotypes? I chose this one because it's not the most viral clip that I've had. I think I've had some of them from when I first started doing TikTok that, you know, have like millions of views. This one has around almost 500,000 views. But the reason why I wanted to share this is because it kind of hits the sweet spot for me as a comedian where I, like, I'm saying a message that I really want to share, but it's also silly and funny and it's not so preachy because sometimes I feel like doing social media. I'll try to make a joke, but then it ends up just being me. Being like, I Hate this about this, blah, blah, blah, and it's not funny. Whereas, and I think this clip is actually kind of funny. And then the premise or like the thought that I had when making this video was the entire idea of how ridiculous racism sounds to people nowadays. Especially because unsurprisingly, racism has never really evolved. You know, like all the stereotypes are still the same stereotypes that we heard growing up in the 80s and 90s. And I'm sure that they're the same ones, you know, where, when people grew up like in the 1910s, like they're literally from the old world and they just don't evolve. And the premise of this sketch was that there's like a racist person that's trying to offend me, but they're using all these like old timey incorrect stereotypes for other countries and regions of the world. And then they're trying to like, ask me like, what the South Korean stereotypes are. And I guess the idea behind it is that, you know, like, when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, nobody really knew what Korea was to the point where if I mentioned I was from Korea, there were like, I remember times when people asked me if that was in China. And you know, now in the last, I would say 10, 15 years or so, Korea has exploded on the world stage and everybody knows pretty much everything about it. But like, the racist people are still kind of stuck in this like ancient era where they're just like, like, what do you do? Like, do you eat moon festival cakes or something? And you're just like, oh my God, how have you gotten this lost? You've literally child left behind. And so that was like the premise of the joke. What do I find funny about it? I think it's really funny. Like I said, when, when I do encounter a racist, like online now, their jokes are so passe that I like find it hard to really be offended. And I just, I think that idea of like, the fact that they're sticking to this really like ancient form of making fun of people that we all literally got over in grade school, I find that kind of humorous and I guess what it reflects on what I'm trying to do with my comedy is, you know, like one of my most. I think the most important things that I want to do with my comedy is to subvert stereotypes and sort of not just subvert them and make them untrue, but also like turn the lens toward the person that are saying these stereotypes and truly look at these people and just see how weird and kind of dumb they are. And I think making fun of the fact that somebody would do something or say something so not only passe but just like no longer true is hilarious. So I thought it was like, really funny. That's it. Bye. That was Mandel, Gavin Matz, and Young Me Mayer. Up next, we have three comedians from Dropout, the formerly college humor streaming service, Vic Michaelis, Brennan, Lee Meligan, and Rekha Shankar. Last week, I, 21 female, was mending my herringbone tweed high waters when mother, 53 female, tells me to wash my hands for supper. Just despite the fact I have just begun to stitch my welt seam. I depower my vintage singer hand crank, look into her shallow budget cut public pole eyes and say, ramona, I am working. I know it's hard to remember what passion looks like as it has not graced you with its presence since father left you for Dr. Keaton. Each night as you dress for bed, I know you stare in the mirror wondering what you could have done to have changed the outcome of your life. Look me in the eyes and believe me when I say nothing. There is no academic letter nor shade of lipstick that could have changed your life's feeble march towards its merciful conclusion. You are a poorly described footnote in an unnecessary plot of a book no one will ever read. I would say I feel pity for you, but ultimately, even pity stirs in me something greater than what I feel when I hear your clockwork sobs through the walls. For you, I feel nothing. I felt much better after our talk, but I'm starting to think mother took it the wrong way. Am I the asshole? I don't think so. I don't think so. So I really got into a deep dive of people reading stories from the Am I the asshole? Reddit on TikTok. I just thought it was really funny and there was this like large community of this woman specifically, very seriously reading it into a microphone and one of her friends would chime in every once in a while. And so I just thought it'd be funny to write my own. I highly encourage anyone and everyone to go in and look at those Am I the Essel posts on Reddit. They're so fascinating because they have such a specific point of view. They really are writing in, very convinced that they are correct in whatever they're writing in about and are just looking for a group of strangers on the Internet to validate them and agree with them. I mean, that in itself I think is so funny. The word choice, the level of description that they use. And I just thought it would be funny to take it to its next logical step. I'm the CEO of the company that makes Tide and its corollary product, Tide Pods, which is what I want to talk to you about today. You gotta stop eating the Tide Pods. Okay, look, I get it. You guys are young, you're hip, you don't want an old guy telling you what to do. But Tide Pods are soap, and that's not food. So please stop eating the Tide Pods and make sure to keep an eye out for Cascade Dish, the lollipop that cleans your dishes. That lollipop. Sorry, are we calling it a lollipop? I'd love to see one if I could just get it. If we can find one in. Our company has been innovating new products since it was founded, and we're proud to continue that tradition with our Vicks Vaporub Winter Blast gum flavored Bonbots. So Tide Pod CEO started as my very first sketch at CollegeHumor. The story behind it was, you know, this was a meme that was ongoing for a long time. Rumors of teens eating Tide Pod detergent. Our cast member, Zach Oyama had done a sketch about them the summer before. And I just was delighted by the idea of very serious people having to speak on really stupid things. I think there's something about the straight man perspective. My wife, Isabella Roland, who herself is a brilliant comedian, talked about how weird it was that my very first sketch. Rather than being the weird guy or the funny guy, I really wanted to be the straight man reacting to weird stuff that wasn't even happening on camera. I think for me, the funniest stuff is always going to be that straight man reaction. Seeing the confusion and anger and disbelief of outrageous shit going on is really where the laugh lives for me. And I think as long as I can keep showing characters like that that are very defeated by the unusual things going on in the world, I'm always going to be drawn to those kinds of sketches. Well, time to update that iOS, huh? Okay. Oh, I forgot to mention, my friend from the east coast is coming by for lunch today. Just a heads up, she's like, pretty intensely about the East Coast. Which friend? Maddie Yankee. Yikes. Those names don't sound natural together. Yeah, it's crazy. Bueny. Maddie. Hey. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You're wearing a sweater when it's only 60 degrees outside. Ever since you've moved to the west coast, you have gotten so soft. I don't think wearing a light sweater makes you soft. Soft little sweater muffin. I Remember back east Brennan used to let me stuff snow down his pants until he fainted. But now a breeze makes you cry. Well, I never let you do that. I always had a big problem with it. How was your flight in? Good. Fine. Fine. But Blennen. Oh my God, your apartment is so big. Why do you need all that space? Brennan? Yeah, the apartments here are larger. Do you even remember what it was like to live in a real city sized apartment? Back east, Brennan and I lived in a converted closet in an active mortuary. And we never once complained. We should have. But now on the west coast. London gets so upset when an apartment doesn't have floors. This is on the record. I have always liked floors. And natural sunlight. All of a sudden you need the sun, huh? What have I done? Back east it would get dark at 2pm 0 degrees. We had no heat, no air, couldn't breathe. Half our roommates died. But now they're pouring into on the west coast. He needs the sun. Please stop. Step right up. Step right up to one and softest. Tickets are $20. Proceeds go towards kids dying of being soft. Oh, that's so sad. Maddie, it's been a rather long day. Maybe we can just put this topic aside and have lunch. Okay, fine. All right. Brennan, what are you doing? I brought you this. Okay, this is just dollar pizza. You're welcome. You brought this on a plane with you? Yeah. Buenin, it's food. The squishy shapes you put in your body that make you less hungry. I know what food is. Do you? I just wanted kind of something healthier. So if we wanna do this, maybe this is a better option. Oh, all of a sudden you missed a vegetable, huh? Did somebody call my name? I remember back east Brennan and I would eat dollar pizza at 3am cause the city was flooded and everyone who could fix it were either too depressed or dead. But now Brennan is a little health nut who's spreading his softness everywhere is soft, contagious. That's enough, Maddie. I love the east coast famously. We did a whole sketch about it. That doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the things that are nice about the west coast. Like beautiful weather, soft, bigger apartments. Soft, Soft. And the fact that in my 30s I don't gotta be out on the sidewalk eating dollar pizza at 3 o'clock in the morning anymore. Sleep makes you soft. None of these things make me soft. They make me comfortable. Liking comfort and disliking discomfort is just reasonable. And I can still love where I come from and the friends that I Made there. Fine. Okay, you know what? Maybe I'll give the old dollar slice a go again, huh? It's a friendship. I can't believe you actually ate that. That's been my pause for like a week. What? You gotta eat everything that's off a tube. You really have gone soft. Oh, God, it's so soft. What, you can't take the hustle anymore? What does this have to do with the hustle? Bakis? I used to put food poison in one in food all the time, and he never knew what the is. Food poison? Are you sure no one needed me? You're my pal. She's your friend. I was just welcoming you. Okay. You're so. Maybe another time. So I moved from New York to la and a lot of people were telling me I went soft specifically. Strangely, if I was ever back in York and wore a sweater when it was 70 degrees or talked about sleeping more or doing anything better for my mental health. So I made this sketch about that when I was at collegehumor. And there's a moment in the sketch where I, as an east coast hard ass, make fun of my Los Angeles friend for suddenly eating healthy food. And I tell him he's gone soft with his diet. And I call him Mr. Vegetable. And then we get this full on broccoli puppet to pop in as if he were being summoned by his name. And this joke was so fun because it was a side gag that we built a whole broccoli puppet for. And I now still have that broccoli puppet in my house. Thank you so much to our art department wizard, Chloe Badner for that. And it's just this stupid little joke of him popping in and saying one line like, yes, did someone call me that? You know, we really went hard on and really accomplished. Well, I think this joke represented one of the first times I was at college humor that I really let my mind wander when writing. And I think it's funny because it builds out this world in our college humor sketch universe where there's a guy named Mr. Vegetable that's just there and he's desperate to be spoken to and people mention his name but never need anything from him so that he just goes back to waiting in a garbage can or whatever. And I think that's very funny. And I love that he comes back at the end of the sketch and is so cute and sad and innocent, because I just love playing with innocent idiots or well meaning morons. And Mr. Vegetable, I am sorry, but you do fall into that category. I think this joke reflects what I want to do with comedy, because I hope my comedy is smart things done in the dumbest way possible. I sometimes honestly want to show people that an Indian woman can be goofy and dumb. She can be your pinch hitter for some weird side character in an office that says, like, the salad in the break room tastes off. And then you find out because she was eating a plant off the table that she thought was a salad or whatever. I am smart, but I don't always want to write something that is outwardly smart or important or meaningful. And if I do, I want it to be couched in something whimsical and fun. I want to write jokes and do big stupid gags and make you laugh or imagine or let go or escape. And if you end up having empathy for a little weird freak you never knew existed, but now you need them to exist like Mr. Vegetable, then I think I've done my job. Does Vic McCallis, Brendan Lee Mulligan, and Rekashankar. Up next is Courtney Perroso, Chloe Radcliffe, and Veronica Slowakowski. I will talk to you about things you actually like to talk about. Hello, sir. What is your name? Jacob. Hello, me Jacob. What would you like to talk to me about? Please select from the following the big sports game, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, or cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency. Okay, me, Jacob, please tell me everything you know about cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is cryptocurrency. Wow, that is amazing. You are so smart. I never really thought about it like that. Hello, my name is Courtney Perroso and I live in Los Angeles. So this joke is from my one woman clown show, Vanessa 5000, where I play a sex robot whose name is Vanessa 5000. And this is from the intro where I'm telling the audience about my special features, one of which is that I, unlike a normal woman, won't make you talk about stupid shit, and I'll actually talk to you about things you like to talk about. So, you know, the joke here is just, I picked things that a lot of women would find boring, you know, like sports or Dungeons and Dragons or cryptocurrency. You know, it's kind of a trope. So whereas the woman would be like, what? The sex robot is like, wow, you're so smart. I agree. And it's, you know, totally flattering you. But the joke is actually functioning on another level, too, because, you know, I do the joke the same way, the same structure every night, but I'm talking to an audience member and giving them an opportunity to respond how they respond. And in that moment, I'm also vetting them because I talked to several audience members, but I pick one to become a co star in the show with me, and I really need them to be a good sport and a good participant and likable. So by kind of talking to them for a few moments in this joke, I'm feeling out if they're gonna be a good co star, if they're gonna be a good stepson. That's the part that they play in the show. I really like the part where I repeat the way they say their name back to me. That joke was kind of a happy accident. I wasn't doing it. But then one show, some guy said something was so long and stupid, like, he didn't know I was talking to him for a long time. So it was like, huh? Oh, me? Yeah, Maddie. I, like, had to copy him. And I was like, oh, I should do that every time. I think one of the things that I'm trying to do with my comedy is create, like, a playful sense of danger in the room so that everyone feels really involved, and it's kind of really alive and electric. Especially when there's one person who has a major part every night, it makes every show different. And I think that, you know, something that I try to do or try to bring to, you know, the way I'm performing is vulnerability. I think that's. That's kind of an important part of whatever clown is that even though, you know, I'm playing this sex robot, you still see this stupid, idiot woman who's trying really hard to pretend to be a sex robot underneath that, and it's vulnerable. And when I'm bringing the audience member on stage, they're in a very vulnerable position, but it makes the audience fall in love with them because they're accidentally revealing all these real, true qualities in themselves. And I try to pick somebody that has really good, nice, sweet qualities. And so, you know, somebody's trying to be funny. That always sucks. But if somebody's just really trying to do a good job and help me, it's way funnier. And they get to show themselves to the audience, and I think that is really special. And I try to really make sure that they know that even though I'm teasing them, that we're in this together and that I want them to look good. Yeah, my ex didn't like getting instructions in bed. That was the empathy that you just heard. I asked my ex to do one very specific thing in bed with his hand. And he said that following my instructions felt like going to a factory and pulling a lever. And what a great way to get your job replaced by a robot. Going to a factory, pulling a lever. That is the meanest thing I've ever heard. And I went to public school with this birthmark. It beats everything. But I was trying to empathize with him. I was trying to put myself in his shoes. I think that he felt emasculated. Right? I think that's what it was. He felt like I was saying that. That he couldn't make me come on his own. And I can sympathize with that, because he couldn't. So I get how he was feeling, you know? But here's the thing. Even if. Fine. Even if. Even if it felt like going to a factory and pulling a lever, does the lever make me come pull the lever. I'm gonna need you to put on your safety goggles and go in there and save American manufacturing. Hello, my name is Chloe Radcliffe, and I live in New York City. So this joke I refer to as ex instructions, and the story is, this is a thing that an ex of mine really did say in bed. And to be fair. To be fair to me, I was asking him to do a very simple thing, a very straightforward thing in bed. I was not asking him to do tricks, was not asking him to, you know, lift me up, spin me around. I was just asking him to do really straightforward thing with his hand. You know, the one thing with his hand. That's the thing. And he said that doing what I asked felt like going to a factory and pulling a lever. That is 100% a real quote. And at the time, it was just. We were in the middle of a fight about sex and. Or a difficult conversation, whatever. And at the time, it was. It totally didn't clock to me as funny. It was just, like, depressing and disorienting, and, you know, we just continued on with the fight. And I didn't really think about it as a premise at all for years. And every once in a while, it would come up in conversation with girlfriends as an example of, like, here's how that ex and I didn't match in terms of sex, but I still was never clocking it as a premise. And I don't think I don't feel good at clocking my own premises. I think I'm good at hearing them in other people. And I love saying to somebody, oh, you should say that on stage. And I think the reason I love saying it to somebody is because I'm desperate for somebody to say it to me based off of a thing that I say in conversation. And it just doesn't happen very often. And I don't feel good at registering my own, you know, the roots of my own work and like, the roots that I can then grow from in my own stories or in my own opinions and to the point that I actually have. The background of my phone says document everything, which is actually a quote from the Lucas brothers in a Vulture interview series with comedians of what advice would they give their younger selves? They gave a little list of advice, and one of the sentences was document everything. And for six years, that has been my phone background to remind me that, like, hey, Radcliffe, you dipshit, if you think of something that could be a joke, fucking write it down. Because A, you're not going to remember it, and B, I feel like those premises are precious. I think maybe if I. I think if I felt a little bit more like premise rich, I maybe wouldn't be so. So panicked about writing everything down. But anyway, so finally, like, after a few years, every once in a while, the feels like going to a factory and pulling a lever would come up in conversations with a girlfriend. And finally I said it, and it hit me in whatever moment it was, I was like, oh, that's funny. There is a joke to be had here. And so I started to build it out and I got to the, like, I got to the pull, please pull the lever pretty quickly. But then it just wasn't going anywhere. And it took until a Minneapolis comedian, Ben Katzner, very funny. He lived in New York for a long time and recently moved back to Minneapolis. But we came up together in Minnesota. And he was like, oh, why don't you just keep pressing the analogy? Like, keep pushing the image farther. And so that's how I got to. What a great way to get your job replaced by a robot. And. Or, sorry, that's how I got to. I guess. Sorry, I'll take that sentence again. And so that's how I got to please put on your safety goggles and go and save American manufacturing. And then I reverse engineered, then I worked backwards, and then I got to. What a great way to get your job replaced by a robot. I. To me, I think the funny here is in the fact that there is such a clear counter argument that, like, he is wrong. But I also very, very much understand how he got to where he got to. Like, I understand my ex's perspective in it. And this then ties neatly into the what is it? How does it reflect what I'm trying to do in my comedy? My favorite thing to do in comedy is to back somebody into a corner with logic. And what that requires is fully understanding their perspective. Like, I can't just be like, well, you're wrong if I don't understand where they're at. I. An early, early joke that I. That was the first time I felt myself doing this was a joke about how I wish that there was male birth control. And I would address the men in the room who were like, nah, women are the ones who get pregnant, so they should be the ones to take the birth control. And then I wrote a bunch of punchlines off of that and was like, oh, I'm addicted to this. And my. And then it's not a coincidence that both of these jokes are also about gender. And, you know, the simple version is saying, like, they're about dating and sex, but to me, it's that everything I do is coded through gender, and gender stuff makes me so mad. And so I love dealing with, you know, heavy, weighty topics in gender on stage in a way where I can really clearly think that somebody else is wrong but understand where they're coming from. And that is how I will frame my arguments of my joke. Thanks, all. Talk to you later. Goodbye. Click on whichever one you want and then add it to your cart. And then from there, you can check out, like, with that. But you don't have to just do one. One item. You can, like, he just touched my booby. Accident. Touch my womb. It was an accident. I swear. I did not mean to do it. He just touched my breast. And then. It was a total accident. He just grazed it with his hand. Again, it was an accident, I swear. Okay, great. Thanks so much. So the story is that Kyle, who is my comedy partner and roommate, we were. I don't know. I'm just, like, chatting. I was, like, looking over his shoulder while he was doing some work, and he, like, accidentally grazed my boob, which, you know, is a universal thing that happens in people's lives. And that kind of sparked like. Like this kind of, I don't know, lightning in the. In a bottle kind of moment, which is so dumb to say. Where I was, like, he was listening to the dire. Dire Docks song from Super Mario 64. And I just started, like, doing this kind of, like, improvised musical number about how he gently grazed my boob. And then we called our friend Michael in, and he. It was all just, like, super fast and kind of when an idea strikes you just kind of have to run with it. And it kind of blew up online. And it's like, one of my favorite things that we've ever made. What I find funny about it is just how. Because every, you know, everything has been done in a way. Every idea has been, like, thought. But I think execution is the thing that makes us unique. And I guess just like art in general and calling this art is a stretch, but I'll do it. And, yeah, I think you can see the joy and the fun that we were having. So that was, I think, the moment that I guess, like, the magic. You can see the magic kind of happening and running with it and not, like, thinking about it too much. And also using that song as an instrumental track, I think was kind of, like, unique and something that I think only, like, Kyle's twist of that is what makes it so special. And I'm trying to show people the joy that I have while doing something and making people laugh while also, I don't think about what I'm doing too much. I think, like, you see the influences come out of. Because I'm such, like, a comedy nerd and fan and just, like, pop culture fan in general, that I really just, like, try to be as open as possible and let the fun kind of happen. Also, I love people trying. I think that's really. And sometimes failing. Most of the time failing. I think that's where like, I find things most interesting, is someone really trying to do something and it just doesn't work out, but instead the camera keeps rolling and what happens there. I think that's really interesting to me. But, yeah. And thank you. Bye. That was Courtney Perroso, Chloe Radcliffe, and Veronica Slowakowski. Last but not least is Gianmarco Ceresi and Eagle Witt. I have progressive views, but that doesn't mean I'm a good person. Liberals make that mistakes sometimes. I have a more conservative friend, and, you know, he has views that really. He's one of those guys. And we all know those guys who's like, you see this article? No, no. A trans woman played volleyball, made a little girl explode. And I can't stand that shit. Because the kind of guys that complain about trans women playing women's sports are same kind of guys that hold guys like me in high school. You run like a girl, you throw like a girl. And now they're mad because some of us followed through. But I will say in his defense, he is a wonderful human being, better than I could ever imagine being. I'll tell you a Story once, me and my conservative friend, we were walking down the street in New York City. In front of us was walking a woman in very high heels. As far as I could tell, she was trans. Now, at some point, this woman, she tripped on her right heel. She fell into the street right as a bus was approaching. And my conservative friend ran into the street, scooped her up just in the nick of time, helped her on her feet, sent her about her way. And then he turned to me and was like, that's why men shouldn't wear heels. It was a lot of things all at once. And I want to be clear. I think this is a shitty thing to do, but if I had been alone, I would have been like, oh, no, she's dead. I am not going to share the story behind this joke. Like, I understand that's what this podcast is. But, like, if I was a magician and there was a podcast called behind the Trick, or, you know, abracadab how that doesn't mean I'm gonna tell you how it happened. That's my answer. It happened. Exactly. I reported it verbatim, Changed nothing. What I will say is the reason that I wanted to put forward this 100% accurate story. You know, I live in a East coast liberal bubble, and I know a lot of people, myself included, that externally hold a lot of what I believe are good, accepting views, but might not be kind, generous people on an individual level. And on the flip side, I know other people who are very frustratingly hold horrible views, horrible, horrible, terrible views that are antithetical to a utopian society, but their actions sometimes can show extreme generosity. And that's just fucking frustrating and something you gotta figure out in life. And I think the tension of that makes it, again, the story that happened 100%, as I reported, worth sharing on stage. I don't know if I find anything funny in it. I've told it so many times it kills me to hear it. But what's fun to tell the joke is watching an audience be unsure how to respond. My friend in the story does something good and then does something that they find objectionable. But, like, you know me in the premise of the joke doesn't know how to weigh it against the good. And then I'm the biggest piece of shit at the end. And so it's fun to watch the beats of that journey play on the audience. I truly believe that I'm not trying to do anything with my comedy aside from getting laughs in a way that, you know, the five or six people I look up to in this world still respect me. I would say that I like to think that I'm showing that you can be progressively minded and use appropriate vocabulary and be gracious towards others while being a totally narcissistic, selfish piece of shit. And I never want it. I never want my jokes to self aggrandize. I think the moment that your jokes make you the joke teller look good, then you are no longer a comedian. You are just a generator of self propaganda. I know how to solve school shootings. Very simple fix, just put metal detectors in the schools. I don't know if you guys know they already do this in the hood where niggas don't shoot up schools. Isn't that fucking weird to anybody? Isn't that strange how America rather be racist than rational? Isn't that nuts? Put it in the white schools where it belongs, you'll say lives. Yeah. You know, black people don't shoot up schools. That's an after school activity. It's rude to kill somebody while they're trying to learn what the fuck. What's up? It's eagle wit. I'm a standup comedian out of New York City. The story behind the joke's very simple. I was just working on a long bit on the gun problem in America and that piece became probably the centerpiece or one of the most important pieces of the bit where I had a chance to kind of point out how we could use the same tactics we use on minorities, my community and you know, like the hood to help curb school shootings with these white kids that are shooting up schools. But America rather be, and I quote myself from the joke, racist than rational. And I think they care less about saving lives and more about making black kids uncomfortable and more about being scared of black kids that haven't done anything. Then kids that to them look innocent because they share the same skin color but actually are a threat to their fellow students at times in classrooms. What I find funny about it is actually the punchline though, which is I'm not saying that hood kids are completely innocent. Hood kids obviously shoot up other kids sometimes, but that's an after school activity. That is not something that's done in the classroom and that is not something that's done to a lot of children at random. How does it reflect what I'm trying and hoping to do with my comedy? It's deep social commentary and it's my favorite style of comedy to do. I want to point out the hypocrisies that society is missing and that is right in front of our face, but for some reason we haven't wrapped our head around it. And a lot of the times that involves talking about race in this country and the way we handle things and the way we problem solve and the way racism always stands in the forefront and blocks us from actually getting real things done that could benefit everyone that exists in our country. That's it for another episode of Good One. Read the list of comedians you should and will know on Vulture. Good One was produced by myself and Jelani Carter. Robin Srikachin did our theme song, rate a review and rate the show on Apple Podcast 5 stars. Please email any comments, questions or laughing around suggestions to good1podcastmail.com or or tweet @usoodonepodcast I'm Jesse David Fox and you can follow me essiedavidfox. Buy my book, comedy book, whatever books are sold. Thanks for listening to Good One from New York Magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine@nymag.com pod we'll be back soon with new episodes. Have a good one. Welcome to Good One. Sure about talking them jokes. Hey hey hey hey. Good One. It's a good one. With Amex Gold you can experience the gold standard. You get access to exceptional dining +4 times Membership rewards points on eligible dining purchases. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Cap applies. Learn more@americanexpress.com with Amex. Support for this podcast comes from Stripe. Stripe is a payments and billing platform supporting millions of businesses around the world, including companies like Uber, BMW and Doordash. 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