Is the Future of Stand-up Comedy Atsuko Okatsuka?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Good One: A Podcast About Jokes
Episode: Is the Future of Stand-up Comedy Atsuko Okatsuka?
Release Date: June 26, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Good One: A Podcast About Jokes, host Jesse David Fox engages in an insightful and lively conversation with comedian Atsuko Okatsuka. The discussion delves into Atsuko's comedic journey, her unique integration of social media with stand-up post-pandemic, her family dynamics, and the evolution of her comedic style. The episode also explores her relationships, particularly with her husband Ryan, and how personal experiences shape her humor.

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Atsuko Okatsuka’s Comedic Journey

Atsuko Okatsuka begins by reflecting on her early experiences in comedy, particularly her time performing on Zoom comedy shows during the pandemic. She shares how these virtual performances were pivotal despite the initial negative feedback, stating, “I remember trying some of those jokes first on Zoom comedy shows. And like, that was really helpful. [...] It was super pivotal for me” (00:57).

Transition to Online Platforms

Jesse and Atsuko discuss how the pandemic accelerated her transition to online platforms, allowing her to refine her comedic voice. Atsuko emphasizes the importance of observing her own performances, even pointing out her "little ticks" during Zoom shows: “...the things I've laughed at are my own clips” (02:26). This self-awareness helped her adapt her material for live audiences.

Family Dynamics in Comedy

A significant portion of the conversation centers around Atsuko’s family and how it influences her humor. She recounts creating content with her husband Ryan and her grandmother, highlighting a heartfelt and humorous portrayal of their unconventional family structure. Atsuko explains, “Our relationship turned into a father-daughter one...[...] My grandma was also the dad. She was also who raised me” (43:32). This blending of familial roles provides a rich source of comedic material that resonates with diverse audiences.

Comedic Style and Physicality

Atsuko shares insights into her physical comedy style, attributing it to her multicultural upbringing and background in dance. She states, “Every country I've lived in [...] I always communicated more with physicality” (31:34). Her performances often incorporate exaggerated movements and gestures, making her act visually engaging and universally relatable.

Relationship with Ryan: A Creative Partnership

The dynamic between Atsuko and her husband Ryan is another focal point. Jesse notes, “you are really pioneering a sort of husband gal comedian” (45:48). Atsuko describes Ryan as her creative director and creative partner, highlighting their collaborative efforts in crafting her stand-up material and special performances. She shares, “We tour together and I run my jokes by him. He's very witty, he's very funny” (47:20).

Stand-Up Specials: The Intruder and Father

Atsuko discusses her two stand-up specials, The Intruder and Father. She elaborates on the thematic evolution between the two, noting how Father focuses more on her personal life and familial relationships. A notable joke from Father involves comparing marriage to childhood, where Atsuko humorously asserts, “married people are more childlike than single people” (24:40). This joke exemplifies her ability to find humor in everyday adult experiences by framing them through a childlike lens.

Impact of Social Media and Viral Moments

The conversation touches upon the significance of social media in Atsuko’s career, particularly the success of her “drop challenge” videos. She explains how these viral moments allowed her to reach a broader audience and eventually return to live performances with a more confident comedic voice: “When the drop challenge kind of happened and I garnered even more audience members, I was like, I think I can think about a tour” (19:31).

Authenticity and Protecting the Audience

Atsuko emphasizes the importance of authenticity in her performances while ensuring that her humor remains uplifting for her audience. She mentions, “When I do stand up, it's about protecting the audience. They bought tickets. They came out to see me. I'm not just gonna tell sad stories. I'm gonna make sure you laugh” (54:05). This philosophy underpins her approach to blending personal narratives with universal humor.

Advice for Aspiring Comedians

Towards the end of the episode, Atsuko shares practical advice for aspiring comedians. She highlights the value of simplicity and audience connection: “Just say, I did this. And then Mike Birbiglia was just like, don't forget about the people in the balcony to look at them while you're performing” (67:15). Her tips focus on maintaining genuine connections with the audience and staying true to one’s comedic voice.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Atsuko reflecting on her growth as a comedian and the balance between personal storytelling and comedic expression. She notes, “It's like life is beautiful [...] that's the essence of so much of me and Ryan” (56:50), encapsulating her commitment to creating humor that not only entertains but also resonates deeply with her audience.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Zoom Comedy Shows:
  “I remember trying some of those jokes first on Zoom comedy shows. And like, that was really helpful. [...] It was super pivotal for me” (00:57)

• Family Roles in Comedy:
  “Our relationship turned into a father-daughter one...[...] My grandma was also the dad. She was also who raised me” (43:32)

• Physical Comedy Influence:
  “Every country I've lived in [...] I always communicated more with physicality” (31:34)

• Spousal Collaboration:
  “We tour together and I run my jokes by him. He's very witty, he's very funny” (47:20)

• Marriage Joke in Father:
  “married people are more childlike than single people” (24:40)

• Protecting the Audience:
  “When I do stand up, it's about protecting the audience. They bought tickets. They came out to see me. I'm not just gonna tell sad stories. I'm gonna make sure you laugh” (54:05)

• Advice for Comedians:
  “Just say, I did this. And then Mike Birbiglia was just like, don't forget about the people in the balcony to look at them while you're performing” (67:15)

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Final Thoughts

Atsuko Okatsuka's episode on Good One: A Podcast About Jokes offers a comprehensive look into the life and craft of a comedian who seamlessly blends personal experiences with universal humor. Her ability to navigate complex family dynamics, leverage social media, and maintain authenticity makes her a standout figure in contemporary stand-up comedy. Listeners gain valuable insights into the evolving landscape of comedy and the importance of staying true to one's unique voice.

Transcript

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[Jesse David Fox]

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[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And then I remember trying some of those jokes first on zoom comedy shows. And like, that was really helpful. Yeah, yeah. People hated zoom comedy shows. I was like, oh, my gosh. It was like super pivotal for me.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is good one. I am your host Jesse David Fox, senior writer at Vulture and author of comedy book. My guest today is Atsuko Akatsuka. We talk about her newest special, Father, which is out on Hulu now, her previous special the Intruder, which came out on hbo, and how since the pandemic, she's integrated her social media with her standup, creating a new sort of way of being a comedian. We also get to the bottom of whether she does or does not resent how iconic her haircut has become. Here is Atsuko Okatsuka. I'm here with Atsuko Okatsuka.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I'm here with Jesse David Fox.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thank you for joining me.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Thank you for having me.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's my pleasure. First question, what is the funniest thing that happened to you this week?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Okay, so it's funniest thing that's happened.

[Jesse David Fox]

To me or you notice or you thought about.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because you know, this week has been like, oh, go to New York, do press. It's a lot of thinking about me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. So it's like so hard because I like to observe things. Right. And be in the city. I like to wander. I like to be a little lost. I haven't had to do that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I haven't gotten to do that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Because people are just like, okay, you now go here right now.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, yeah, you, you, you. How's your hair? Remember I was just asking about the hair. I brought a brush. It's sitting near me because it's like, me, me, me. It's so stupid. But because of that, like the things I've laughed at are my own clips.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And that's so stupid because I've had to approve. I had to be like, oh, like, you know, I just did Seth Meyer. Right. And you know, they're like, do you want to collab on this video? So I'm watching it, I'm going, oh, man, that was pretty. I. So, yeah, the last thing I laughed at or thought was funny was a rant I did on Seth Meyers.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a specific thing you do that you find funny in yourself?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And you do, like when you're watching.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yourself that you go, that's my favorite Atsuko right there. That type of thing.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I think all the time. It's good to feel proud of yourself.

[Jesse David Fox]

Are you your favorite comedian?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No, no. But this week, this week I have to be. It's a lot to be on. Yeah, you have to have a lot of, you know, you have to, you know, the whole like looking in the mirror, being like, you're strong, you are beautiful. You got this. It's a lot of that going on.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, yeah. We're so loose. We're so fun comedians. Oh, so confident. It's. It's scary.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It's nerve wracking.

[Jesse David Fox]

Can't imagine.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So, you know, it's a lot of like, I did good, you know.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, you are doing so good.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, this is going to be exactly like that again, but better, I hope.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, because, you know, podcasts are too, like, we get a longer time to hang out, so that's cool. Yeah, you know what I mean? Late night is like eight to ten minutes. Be interesting, bitch. Go.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, it's like immediately they're like, it's now the time. You can't be interesting before it starts. And it's not useful to be interesting after it ends. You have to be only interesting during that one time.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

During that time and there's an audience, you know, and you want to, you know, do good.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's, you know, the one time I did late night, I was like, was I too interesting during the pre call? Should I have saved some of my interesting four on air? And I'll leave it to the commenters to decide if I was interesting enough when I was on Seth Meyers?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, I mean, I'm sure you were Always gonna think that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because, you know, the pre call is like, you didn't have to show your face.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. And it could go on forever. I feel like my pre call is like, 45 minutes.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was like. So there's probably something in there.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah, totally.

[Jesse David Fox]

Or you have to come with, like, this is the bit we're gonna do this bit. I don't know. I didn't. Yeah, I don't know what bit you did, but I'm sure you did. Did you have, like, a pre. Little thing?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, yeah. Like. Oh, we'll talk about, like, you know, your cheerleading days and you having performed in Japan for your dad for the first time, that kind of thing. And then, you know, you were undocumented. So, you know, if you want to say something about la, I think they were looking at my Instagram. You know, with performers like me who put a lot of my life online, I think it was easier for them to know what I've been up to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. It's also like that clip did. Well, let's do a clip like this clip.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yes, totally. Totally. Exactly. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

To be fair, I also did that for this interview, so we'll see. Yeah, well, not. I've done other things. It's not only be like, here's a clip, let's talk about that clip. So this clip of this clip as well. What I want to start, this is the framing of the conversation we're going to have, hopefully. I was thinking that you are pioneering a new sort of comedian career, which is like, you are more online than most standup comedians, and you were earlier, but you definitely are more of a standup comedian than people who purport to be a comedian online. I think a lot of comedians are going to be in the space that you are now, but you kind of discovered it organically. So I want to talk about that journey.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I love that journey. I know it well.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. I know it was your entire life for the last five, six years, but I want to talk about the period before this transition online and before COVID and the comedy you were doing then. How would you describe it? Or was there a joke or a show or any time where you felt like you were not being authentic on stage before COVID or your career transitioned.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I think a lot of the time, like, oh, do I sound more like this? Am I? You know, when I first started, I was like, oh, maybe like, I liked being deadpan, and so I was like, very deadpan. And then it's like, oh, but where do you go from there? Because also, you know, my range is not just that I'm unhinged.

[Jesse David Fox]

Ah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Sometimes I just make a noise and. No, no words come out. But that's what I'm saying. Saying, you know, that. That was my thought.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right of the moment. I make up words. I'm very energetic. But also I'm, you know, I go deadpan, too, because that's also how I express. I have this lower voice. I'm an alto. I found out.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. How did you find that out?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

When I was screaming on this water park ride, I was like, oh, I don't hit high notes. Like. Cause. Yeah, that's how I found out. When my dad put me on a ride in Indonesia. But because it's Indonesia, it was just the ocean. I was like, oh, you said water park. This is Indian Ocean.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And so that's when I found out.

[Jesse David Fox]

That you don't have a high voice. So, like, I was listening to your earlier records, and it's like your act was, like, way more political.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

And, like, way more. Like, I remember there's a joke you had about hey there. The hey there, Delilah movie.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, my God.

[Jesse David Fox]

That I. It's actually like, a fine joke. But I go, that's not her at all. Like, that's a good joke. She thought of that is completely detached from her voice.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Some of the things I barely remember, too, but I kind of remember that being. Saying, maybe from my album.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That I shot. I recorded maybe in 2018 or 2019, and it came out 2020.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. So that was not the deadpan time.

[Jesse David Fox]

No, that was.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

The deadpan was, like, when I first started, and then I was like, oh. So I started touring with, like, more like very political comedians. They were in politics, in fact, before comedy, social. They were like, social justice people. And I'm 10 years younger than them. So when they. When we formed an all Asian, mostly female standup group spearheaded by one of them, Jenny Yang, I was like, oh, maybe I'm supposed to sound like that too, because it was like working for them, and it's how they thought.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, so, yeah, I was easily, like, you know, more trying to morph into whatever was near me. Trying to be a sponge. Yeah, that's true.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. The other thing I wanted to ask you about is what was your experience with what was once called quibi? What was your. You had a quibi show off the menu, but it never, I believe, never aired.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. Yeah. We shot the pilot.

[Jesse David Fox]

Tell me about your quibi, your arc, your quibi arc from. Maybe this is going to be my thing. My. My big break will be this Quibi thing to what?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Jesse. Jesse. Everyone's Quibi arc is very short. Short. It's like a month long.

[Jesse David Fox]

I want. Tell me about that month. Tell me about the first day, that month, what you're thinking, and then tell me about the last day.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, it's longer than that. Honestly, strangely, surprisingly. Oh, no. I just, like, pitched the show. It was like National Lampoon. People had reached out about, like, this show I was doing live. Let's Go, Otsuko. A Japanese game show. And so they were like, oh, this could be a show, you know, and then Quibi was a thing. But we went around and pitched it to other places too, like Comedy Central. But it was at the time, Quibi was like, you can be you. We will pay for it. Right. And ultimately, that wasn't a show. That was really me either.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, it's really trying a lot of things only to realize, yeah, it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Was like a good idea you had, but not necessarily an idea only you could have done.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. I was like, oh, I'm not an idea person, necessarily. I. You know, that's why. Well, we'll get to that. But that's why the pandemic and just be me. Turns out this whole time, people were, like, wanting just me, right?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

But I didn't know who. What that meant, what me was. I was scared. So I was like, oh, I'll do a game show. There'll be panelists, there'll be games, I'll host, and there'd be like eight minutes of jokes. But, you know, it's not stand up comedy the whole time.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I should have known where Quibi was gonna go. I did, kind of. But this is the best description of Quibi for me is during when I was pitching the show, in the meeting with Quibi execs, apparently. So we were done. We were finished. And they were like, okay, we love it. You know, we came out of the meeting and the producers I was with were like, atsuko, you kept calling it Quibbly. I was like, what? They were like, you kept saying quibbly. So I was in there being like, okay, so here at Quibbley, right? You have what? You have narratives, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So let's say we get on Quibbley. So apparently I was doing that. Which that says a lot about, like, your name and that.

[Jesse David Fox]

They had a few names, but they didn't correct you.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

They didn't correct me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Or they still gave You a show despite the fact that you actively called it the wrong name to their face.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. I don't know if I was accidentally gaslighting for them to be like, oh, we need to work with her.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Or they were like, it's a better name. Quibbley.

[Jesse David Fox]

I mean, it's a cuter name.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Neither makes sense.

[Jesse David Fox]

No.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So I think they were like, she's right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Quibi stood for quick Bite, So Quibbly would be Quick Blight.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Come on, that's cute, too.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, it is cute, whatever it means.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You know, Covid comes and you start posting, and specifically the videos you do with Ryan, your husband, and your grandmother really start doing. Well, do you remember the. The first time you decided to do videos with your family specifically?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, I've been doing them before a pandemic. I mean, there's like, dance videos of us from, like, I don't know, 2017, 2018, too.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Do you even remember when you did those videos? When. When you first thought, oh, this is like a thing. What were you responding to? Where did you get the idea? What was your instinct?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I mean, I was a dance fitness instructor, so I was always, like, thinking of Choreo anyway at the time, and so. And I see my mom and grandma and my husband all the time. So, you know, I guess ever since I was a kid, I was always, like, doing something to see if I could make my mom feel better or whatnot. My mom loves songs. She loves to sing. She loves music. My grandma can go through life without listening to anything at all. She just sits and she works in silence. She lives in silence most of the time. That's how we grew up to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No culture. And so. No culture, no vulture.

[Jesse David Fox]

And we didn't exist then.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No.

[Jesse David Fox]

If we were around then maybe your grandmother be like, I've changed my mind.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

She'd be on jfl New Faces.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You mean we as in you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Well, yeah. Me. Yeah. Vulture. Me were around when your grandmother was.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

She would be. Yeah. Variety. Top 10 comics to watch, which she could be still. She still has 17,000 followers on X, so. It's so wild. She just said, like, hello, everyone. I love you. That was it. And boom, 17,000 followers. I was like, grandma, do you know how many comedians have been for years just crafting, using every brain cell they have to just one joke. Maybe it'll take off. You know what I mean? Maybe then I'll hit those followers. She just had to be her.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

This whole time.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think that's the thing that Comedians need to learn.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is allow themselves to express actual affection towards their audience.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yes. But sometimes you don't know. You go, I don't have an audience. So who am I?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I don't know what draws people to me. I don't know who I am.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because I could be anyone.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Sometimes it takes longer. Especially I didn't have older siblings to teach me. Hey, this is Brandy, the singer or whatever. I had to discover it through, like, classmates. And I had a hard time making friends, too, so you know what I mean? Oh, so we're, like, so far ahead. You're trying to start at. No, this is all 2017.

[Jesse David Fox]

We want you to be.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You're trying to be at 2017.

[Jesse David Fox]

So you were.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because we were just naturally going to hang out and dance anyway. And I was like, well, here's a camera. Let's do it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So then during the pandemic, when a lot of people were more online, TikToks really starts blowing up during that. And then these videos start doing well. Do you remember in that era, anyone in particular you remember filming that? Just, like, the day where you. Regardless of how it did, but the day filming it stands out. Being like, that was a really fun one to do or really memorable or really special.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. We were in the kitchen of my grandma's house. Me and Ryan, my husband, were running, like, a summer camp pretty much for mom and grandma. That's what people were doing if they were in a pod with, like, elders. I don't know. I honestly don't know that many people that were in pods with the elders. Because the whole slogan was, right, don't kill your grandma. Don't kill. Yeah. But I was like, well, grandma's gonna die if we're not there.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

We need to be with grandma and mom, you know, and so we were like, the pod for each other. And then. So we were already, like, having them paint. We would have paint classes together. Ryan would lead that because he's a painter. And then, you know, little dance sessions with me was the dance instructor. And then we would then go unhinged. And, you know, there was a video to Shakira's hips Don't Lie. So we danced to that in the kitchen. My grandma, like, had, like, little oranges. And Ryan also helps direct it. He was like, oh, what if she's playing? Like, oh, no, it was potatoes, potato drums. And so she's drumming. Because in that song, there's, like, the drums. I love musicality a lot. I love paying attention to little details, like that being what we focus on or showcase. So there's these drums in that song, and my grandma was on the beat for that with potatoes on top of this plastic thing that you wash clothes in, but it's upside down, so she can make it drums. And then I'm on a chair dancing barefoot. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you remember when the audience. The. Your. The audience that was watching these videos started asking about your mother? Like, I feel like I remember the first time you addressed it. You started by being like, I know people are asking, like, where's your mother? Why do you live with your grandmother? Or something like that. Do you remember when they started asking? Because, like, in your previous albums, you'll talk about your mother growing up, but you will not reveal that. You don't talk about how she had schizophrenia. You just will talk about. She'll say this. She doesn't like it when I do this, you know. Do you remember when they were asking and how you felt about them asking and how you wanted to talk about it, if you debated if you wanted to address that? And when they asked, then how you decided to. How you first address it, which is you literally just talk to the camera and explain the situation?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, it's just in the comments, you know, because they go, or they call my grandma my mom. They'll be like, her mom is like, on it. Her mom's got moves. And I'd be like, oh, that's actually my grandma.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, so then where's your mom? You know, that kind of thing.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah. And then how did you decide that you wanted to explain what was happening?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, I really had to think about it. It's something I've always wanted to talk about, but I didn't know how to be funny about that because, again, I didn't know what my audience was. I didn't even know if the audience would want to hear about that. But then these comments giving me permission, right, we want to know where your mom is. And then I answered, and they're like, oh, wow. Like. And then people started sharing their stories. My mom's like that, or, you know, my. My brother has schizophrenia or whatnot. And so that encouraged me to, you know, really figure out what the jokes about my mom having schizophrenia is about.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. You know, it's not only like, oh, it made me comfortable to know there's people that want to know, but also, like, even just the practice of talking about it all allows you to feel like, oh, I can talk about it this way.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, totally. And then I remember trying some of those Jokes first on zoom comedy shows. And like, that was really helpful. Yeah, yeah. People hated zoom comedy shows. I was like, oh, my gosh. It was like super pivotal for me.

[Jesse David Fox]

What about them?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, also, it's the only time you're performing while you're seeing your face the whole time.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So you're noticing little ticks you do little eye movements, you know, that you do when you're doing a punchline or. Yeah. So it's just. I don't. It was really unique. It was helpful for me. I still use those techniques on stage till this day.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. And then the other thing was the drop challenge becomes a sort of another phenomena phenomenon beyond the sort of success you're already having. Can you describe coming up with it? But then also, how did you feel about its success? Like that the videos were doing like, oh, it's a comedian. They're doing sort of funny videos. They're stand up. It just acts that becomes sort of detached from your comedic existence in some ways or can be like. I think some comedians be like, that's not doing stand up at all. But I think maybe it was different for you. Can you talk about first coming up with it and then sort of how you felt about its virality?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, that was just me having fun again with the family. Cause I've had that song stuck in my head again. It's the musicality thing. Give me some. Right, that beat drop. And I was like, what if it would be so funny if your body dropped at the same time too?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. And because it was pandemic. It was still like pandemic. That was like 2022. But we kind of were coming out of it. But because of that, I didn't really have tape of my stand besides things that were, I mean, Zoom Zoom show recordings.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

But, you know, I don't. Do I want that to be the standup clips that I post online.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, I posted one because something funny had happened and it was like a accidental. It was like a crowd work moment while I was doing standup on Zoom. You know, someone in the audience went, and Asian hate. You know. Sure, right. And I was like, oh, yeah, Yes, I make sure to do that. You know, I said, oh, so you know what's a good way to end Asian height is when. When a bitch has only got seven minutes to do her set, you. You kind of just let her. But yes, I will stop hating Asians. And so, you know, they were trying to be in solidarity with me, but it was just a funny moment. Yeah. So because of that, I never. I didn't have that much tape of me doing standup. You know, I got to really start honing my voice, writing jokes at home and performing it on zoom and. And then by the time. And you know, I'm still a dancer, those things are still me. And so when the drop challenge kind of happened and I garnered even more audience members, I was like, I think I can think about a tour. I can start touring. I have all. I've been doing standup for so long and yeah, I'm getting my voice finally.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, it is really interesting because it did feel like. And this is what I was talking about before, which is because you were forced to sort of divide up the time where you're like, oh, I'll be essentially an influencer for a year. Then you already had 10 years where you're already doing standups. You were like very ready. And it did feel like there is something exciting to. When a person, a standup is being first introduced to an audience, they are so ready to be introduced. And it did feel that way. How did it feel like when you started doing stand up again to. To an audience that now wanted. Who knew who you were, which is so different than the standup you were doing two years prior, where the people who truly were just like a name on a line, you know?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

How did it feel? How did it feel like your voice was coming to its own when you're doing that?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It was really cool. It was like real time also because, you know, okay, these are the jokes I wrote. And then seeing. Seeing it work and then that would also encourage me. I'm an extrovert in that, like the energy in front of me will help me come up with tags on the spot or write even more, you know. Okay. You really like that stuff. Okay, I have more, you know, I have more on that. I don't know, food or whatever or, you know, the grandma of it or, you know, and trying different things and being like, okay, I'm still going back to the doubting my standup is enough. The first time I toured out of the Pandemic or, you know, once the vaccines were available and stuff, I still had like this. My grandma would call in and she would show up on a video.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because I thought, oh, is it my grandma you also really love? Do you want to see her more than me? You know, it's still that self doubt.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah. Because you didn't know. Because you didn't know if they actually wanted you, the artist or just like bought tickets to be like, I saw her online. I have no idea what this show is going to be.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, totally. Yeah. So I was like, do I dance? You know what I mean? A lot or, you know, but it was. It was mostly stand up. Just, like three times during it, my grandma interrupts by calling me on Skype, and her face pops up. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I want to talk about the joke that's in your new special father, which is about how being married is more childish than dating. I want to just talk about that joke and that arc of it, but can you summarize it for anyone not familiar, the basic premise of the joke?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, it's just that, you know, because me and my husband are super, like, so not organized. We're bad at being adults. Paperwork. No idea. That's why we had to get married two times, because we actually didn't file the paperwork, our marriage paperwork. The first time, we didn't know for seven years. Constantly surprising ourselves what, you've been doing the laundry. I haven't been. You know, I was like, oh, we're so childlike, because we do. You know, what do couples do? They talk in baby voice with each other and even calling each other baby or babe. Baby is a literal infant from how I learned English. You know what I mean? But if we do that sweet, sweet, sweetie, honey bun. You know what I mean? And then it's like, oh, you know. Yeah, we become codependent. That's kind of childlike, too, like, to need someone else. And so, yeah, the idea is that, like, married people are more childlike than single people, because single people have to look out for themselves and, like, be their own reminder to leave the house on time, do their own laundry. You don't got anyone else. You know what I mean? Like, being like, I got you, babe.

[Jesse David Fox]

So then what did your process to develop a thing. Like, you have this observation, then develop a thing into material.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. I mean, I talk things out loud at home, you know, and something like I was telling Ryan, like, God, we're. We're so. We're such babies, right? We're so childlike. And then so I started, like, playing around with it at home, and then, you know, just doing the whole, like, if this, then what? Right? Like, if it's childlike. Okay, let's come up with examples. What are some things couples say to each other, Married couples. That's my best friend. That are also childlike. You know, there's some parts of it that I cut out because I wanted to do then from the children's perspective. Well, you know, I talk about how in the morning, my husband wakes me up by rubbing my belly.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And he goes, marinating. Marinating. Which I don't even think that's how marinating works, but it's how we marinate meat. And so. Right. Kind of let the meat set in the marination.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

But for him, you got to rub it in.

[Jesse David Fox]

Rub it in.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yes. So he's right, which is also very childlike of us. And so then I started trying to link, like, you know, I think that's why kids would like the idea of polyamory, because that's even more best friends that I could rub bellies with. You know what I mean?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Oh, so you. You're saying the joke originally. It's like you did the married person's perspective, which sounded childlike. You did. You did dating as if it was adult. Then you're sort of like, doing a child understanding of marriage and then using a child's, like, perspective onset and other things.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. Where a kid would be like, well, then why just stop at marriage? You know, because, like. Yeah. And it's still the idea that, like, being adults, we have such childlike ways of doing things that are supposedly more adult and progressive, like polyamory. But it's actually very childlike to be in. I want everyone. You know what I mean? More people to share things with.

[Jesse David Fox]

But then why'd you cut that part out?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because I was afraid I was, like, promoting that to kids. You know what I mean? Promoting polyamory.

[Jesse David Fox]

I'm not sure I do. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure a kid. How it would work where you're promoting one way or the other to a kid be like, oh, that. I'm trying to think of how, you.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Know, how people always already think we're like pedophiles because we're like, whatever, not Republican. I just was like, I don't want people to think. Think. I'm sitting there thinking to myself, children having multiple sexual partners. You know what I mean?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I guess it's sort of like a space of, like, you don't want to have to deal with how the audience is putting it together. And you don't want a second of them being like, what? Like, if they mishear something, then next thing you know, they're.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I think that's why I kind of stopped it at, like. I kind of hint at it. Like, when we were kids, you know, it was like, right. Like, you have a crush on everybody. Write a Valentine's card for everyone. Okay. Yes, yes. I equally love everyone. You know what I mean? Hold hands. Everyone. You know, kind of polyamorous, you know, and so I kind of stopped it there. But I don't say that. Kids would think it's awesome.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, I can see the difference.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So this joke. So you do it in Court in 2021. I believe you filmed it for the Intruder and cut it. I believe you said that it was in the Intruder and it was cut.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then it's now in the Father. Do you remember why you cut it? And how has your relationship to this joke changed?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I cut it because it didn't go with what I was any. With the flow of that last special. I was, like, trying to force it in because I was like, well, it has got to be in a special somewhere because it's the essence of so much of me and Ryan, you know? And so, yeah, I did it on late night, but I was like, it's kind of important to show what, like, me and Ryan's relationship is like a little bit. And also I have this very, like, cheerleader esque quality to me. I am a cheerleader in that. Like, I still do that for people. You know, I love making people feel seen instead of, like, you know, criticizing things I'm not. Right. Like, I talk about things I love, not things that annoy me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Which is another way to do comedy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. It's just important to show that perspective. It shows that very much. Cause I. I'm defending single people.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, it's easy to make fun of single people. Oh, what? You know, you're like, out there, dating sucks, you know, I don't know. I kind of find it boring.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I. I always want to defend the people that, you know, are easy to make fun of. I think.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. There's a way in which you engage with a lot of the things you talk about, even the heavier things you're talking about, which is sort of like, you arrive in a place and you're like, what is this thing? How did I get here? What is this happening? Which is. There's an innocence to it that I think partly it helps when you're talking about literally things that happen when you're a kid. But, like, that is a specific perspective where it's like, marriage is a good example of it. Because if we think of being married as. That means you're growing up and you're maturing and it's like, oh, no, this is. This is the example of how this is one of the most childish things that I've done as an adult.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right, right. Yeah. Because I talk about, like, not knowing how to do laundry and stuff in this latest special. And father, it just fit more there. And I'm asking how do you make friends as an adult? Which is also a childlike thing. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

There are a few changes between James Corden and the Special over those four years. I don't know how conscious they are, but they all are. In the defending single people section, you know, in Corden, you say you have to be interesting, you have to seem emotionally stable, Especially when you're on like a first date. There's a lot at stake. Do you want to be alone forever? No. Sorry for reading it like it's a court transcript.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No, no. Yeah. And then I love that.

[Jesse David Fox]

And the special, like, I'm being accused. Yeah, yeah. And then in the special, you have to. You have the same thing, which is you have to be in places on time, otherwise you have no one else to blame. It's like you imagine you're just. There you go. Oh, God, yes. It's just me. Party of one. That's new joke. Then you have a thing where you call back to the tandem bike and then you. Again, you have the same thing about you need to be emotionally stable. But then you say, stakes are high. You never know if your soulmate's anywhere. You have to always be on. So those are changes. Do you have any sense of why those changes were made?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I think I didn't love that. Like, do you want to be alone forever? No. I was like, well, that's actually making you feel bad.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So, yeah, I was trying to be like, oh, you have to be on. Yeah, make it more. Yeah. Make it. Try to take away, you know, even more any shame of being alone. Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

The other thing I was curious about is you're a very physical comedian even when you're not doing act outs. Like, there's a physicality to sort of all your jokes, Even if you're just like standing. How do you think about it? How do you approach that as a person whose background is also dance?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, it's just how I communicate.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Every country I've lived in or have been moved to or I'm part of. I, you know, I didn't even speak. I speak Mandarin too, because I'm Taiwanese, but I didn't learn Mandarin until I was moved to America. So I had to learn because I moved in with my Taiwanese relatives. I had to go to a Chinese church where they spoke Mandarin and So I was learning English and Mandarin at the same time. Even in Japan, I was, you know, being half Taiwanese, they were very xenophobic. You know, I didn't always know the language of the place I was at, so I always communicated more with physicality. And I don't know if you've been to Japan or seen Japanese performers. We're just very, like, physically, that's how we communicate. But also because of that, some of the comedians early on that I was watching were physical performers, like Charlie Chaplin and Lucille Ball, because I didn't need language to understand them. So, yeah, that's how I communicate in real life. So I'm gonna end up doing that in stand up, too.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you choreograph when you do it, or is it literally just instinctual?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No, sometimes I end, like, hitting the same sort of stuff, because that's what translates.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I'm like, well, if that works, I'm not gonna make it more confusing. Cause some of the physical stuff I do, I'm like, I'm so surprised people understand what I'm doing there, or people just accept that that's a thing I'm gonna do. Like, at one point in Father, I kind of do like a slow. What it's supposed to be like a slow dip or death drop is another thing. Is another term for it. And drag queens do it after I say, I am father. Right. But maybe not everyone knows what that is, but they just allow for it to happen.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

At one point, I say, when you, you know, you. You have daytime friends and nighttime friends, they can't meet because then they'll know you're a liar. Right. And I, you know, go into some of the examples they might be shocked about. Like, oh, you drink. I thought you were vegan. Not only during the day. You know, at night, I crave blood. Right. And then I do this. Do you even know what that is?

[Jesse David Fox]

It's you being a vampire going into this.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. Oh, thank you. See, so for the most part, if you' I'm very. Like a cartoon.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Even keeping this haircut. I say I look. I'm Dora the Explorer. But I mean, I am. You know, that's what we are as performers, comedians especially. We keep a similar look for a reason. You know, we are. Yeah. Minnie Mouse. Mickey Mouse.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I was gonna ask about the look. Cause you do do a joke in the special about your haircut. And you joke about wanting to grow your hair out, but you can't because it's your brand, which is this haircut for people Watching. If you're listening. It's the famous bowl cut. The famous bowl cut that is truly. If someone drew your hair, they'd be like, oh, that's how go.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Formerly Demetri Martin, Fair. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

But it's funny because in your albums, you'll joke. You have jokes before you have a bowl cut, but you still will reference your hair as if it's iconic. When it was just bangs.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You'll be like, I have bangs. Something, something, something. And it's like, well, you knew there's gonna be something about you and hair you just haven't landed on yet. Can you talk about coming up with this haircut and how you feel about it now that it is the brand?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. Well, so, like, in. When we were shooting the pilot for Quibi, I. I landed on this haircut. It's, you know, I think subconsciously. Well, it's a. It's a haircut I had when I was a kid, a toddler, like 4. A lot of Asian kids have this haircut. Yeah. It's very chic to me. I love fashion. I love, like, a precision cut.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

But also, you know, it's an homage to, like, my Asian roots and, you know, the things that people go, ugh, I hated that haircut. I had that one too. But it's about me owning it. You know, all the things that might have made you feel like a freak before, you know, I feel like that's a lot of my MO Is just own the things that, you know, like, defend the things that people are gonna make fun of. That's easy to make fun of. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. How do you feel about it now that, you know, people show up and they have. They'll put. They'll either have a bowl cup because of you, or they'll have, like, a. I feel like I've seen pictures where people have, like, poster y things they put over their head. Obviously, you're still leaning into. Your next tour is bowl themed. I can't remember the specific name for it, but, like, it's still happening. You have it currently, right now, as we speak. But also, before we spoke, you did feel somewhat burdened by the upkeep of it. How do you feel about it in so much as you had an intention behind starting it? And how do you feel about it as defining you in. In so many ways?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, there's a movement now, right. Where people are showing up in wigs of my bowl cut and stuff like that. And it's easy to draw. I mean, I joked on Kimmel like, does Goofy take that lime green hat off? No, because then he'd just be any other dog. Yeah, he might as well. Is he Beethoven? Is he Clifford? I mean, Clifford is red, but that's his brand, and that's his brand.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

If Clifford was not red, he's just a big dog, right?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. So it's as much as he's Clifford the Big Red Dog. If he was not red, he would just be Clifford the Big Dog.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

The Big Dog. Okay. Big Dog is already a clothing brand. Do you know it?

[Jesse David Fox]

It's a great point. Yes.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It's a different. It's like a Saint Bernard, I think. Right. And I don't know what kind of dog Clifford is, but.

[Jesse David Fox]

Red.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Red. Yeah. He's Red dog.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You can't take away that color.

[Jesse David Fox]

No.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, and so I don't know. That's just how it becomes. Tig Notaro's had the same haircut for forever.

[Jesse David Fox]

So you don't. That's a joke, ultimately. The joke you do in the special is ultimately a joke. You don't want to get rid of it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No. It's still defending the idea of, like, we have to be interesting. It's hard to be interesting. Like, so it's okay to be basic and be into things like the Live, Laugh, Love sign, because this care cut I have to upkeep every three weeks. It's a burden. You know, this is me being interesting.

[Jesse David Fox]

I want to ask you about a word that anytime I bring it up to certain comedians, I do hate it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Okay.

[Jesse David Fox]

Which is. But I'm curious. What do you think about it? Which is quirky?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh. Huh.

[Jesse David Fox]

How do you feel about it if people call you quirky? Do you go, oh, no. Or do you go, you know what? Okay.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No, I'm so not. Like, I. Again, like, I don't. I don't hate the things that are easy to hate. If something is quirky, I mean, it's in the dictionary. I don't know, we can use it if it's overused because, I don't know, irony or whatever. I don't know when people. I think it's quirky the most.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think they've scaled back now that, like, Zooey Deschanel is not, like, on TV all the time.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yes. New girl time, right? New girl times. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

But that was. I feel, if anything, we have, like, quirky nostalgia about to come back.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

If it's genuine quirky, I think it's because it was like, you know, they were putting glasses on hot people and Being like, that's a nerd. You know what I mean? It's because it wasn't genuine. I think it just comes back to you being genuine if you're genuinely quirky. That's the word for it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think probably around the Zooey additional time. It also was like, I'm sure coded and felt dismissive to some people who are like, I'm a grown up. Right. Where it's like, I'm grown up. I'm not quirky. I'm like a business person.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Sure, sure. Yes. I'm normal. I'm fit in. I'm fit in.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I'm society.

[Jesse David Fox]

A few jokes from your last two specials that I feel are thematically connected, and I want to lay them all out and underline the clear theme of them, but I'm going to introduce the joke and if you just summarize them real quick.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

The first joke is the joke from the Intruder about when your partner becomes your family. What is the basic premise of that?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

My husband, when he gets groceries, he always brings back what we call a surprise treat. I know. And it's always something new and something that's not on the grocery list. And it's what I look forward to every single week. I know, I know. And it's very sweet and very cute. Yeah. But that is also how our relationship turned into a father, daughter one. My husband sometimes goes and gets me what we call a sweet treat. It's very nice and I look forward to it. It's something I look forward to every single week. But it's also how we started to. Our relationship became a father, daughter one. Right. Yeah. Because. Right. Like I said earlier. Right. It's like, now you're dating your mom or dad. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So then that leads into the joke about synchronized dances with Ryan and his feeling about it, which is. What's the general gist of that?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. It was that I love doing things together. I mean, I was a cheerleader in high school, and that's very synchronized. I'm also from Japan where a lot of people. We're all synchronized, you know, a lot of times. Right. Wearing uniforms, stuff like that. And. And I've always wanted a sibling. I've always wanted a sister. And that's what Ryan said when I was, like, trying to make him do choreographed dances with me. And we would film it sometimes I would. One time I put a wig of my hair on him, too and made him do the dance with me. And then he was like, I don't like doing these because you Always want to make us look like we're sisters. I thought it was so funny. I was like, you're right. You're not my sister, you're my dad.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So continuing with this theme, I think you'll start realizing there's a joke in the new special that you realize Ryan does everything. Where is the general gist of that joke?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. I realized that Ryan had been doing the laundry for the past seven years, and he was shocked. I was shocked. We both realized at the same time. And then, you know how a lot of my fellow female comedians. Right. Like, or when my girlfriends talk about their husbands and they're like, he's so messy. Like Natasha Leggero, the way she talks about Moshe. I'm like, I'm Moshe.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I'm the husband. Right. And so that's the realization, too. Like, you know, like, we don't. Girls, we don't have to be the ones that are on top of things and know everything and be stable. Right. Like, we're not a monolith, you know? And my fans call me mother, but mothers have it together. So I'm more father. Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Ryan, his mother.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Ryan is mother. That's the arrival. Yeah. Conclusion.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then the drop. And then also in the special, you joke about how your father and you have the same bodies, which leads you to point out that you call him your sister.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That's right. As well. I'm just always trying to get a sister.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I think I always still wanted a sister.

[Jesse David Fox]

And the last, in the saying in the Intruder, you talk about going to see Magic Mike with your grandmother, who you refer to as your father's sister. Then you describe taking your mother and your grandmother to Vegas, and you say, because Mommy knows what's best for her kids.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That's right. Oh, yeah, we're. This is the. Have you seen Parasite, the movie? That's our family.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. But the funny thing is there's six jokes, essentially, where you, like, reshuffle the family dynamics. Three per special, which is. I found it's a funny theme. Where do you think that comes from?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It's how family is in that. Like, when. I don't know. I've heard. Because I don't have siblings, but, you know, siblings raising their other siblings if they're the oldest and the parents have to work or something. Right. Or if they're latchkey kids, then, you know, you become not just a sister, but also the mom to your. Or the dad to your siblings. Things like that. Things are always moving around because we don't Have a conventional family. I don't have a. A lot of us don't. Right. And so it's the idea that it is interchangeable. I didn't have a dad in my life for a long time. My grandma was also the dad. She was also who raised me. She was also my mom. So it's like, yeah, it's easy for me to give everyone different titles because that's what we are to each other.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a story that captures that familial dynamic of where either what it's like now or what it was in terms of like how non conventionally aligned it is or has become, where your husband is kind of like his father, but he's also your sister, but also he's like your grandmother's father, but your grandmother's also like your sister. Your grandmother's also like your mom's mother. You know what I mean?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, totally. I mean, there was one point my mom started hitting on Ryan and so I was like, oh, no, is that my sister wife? Because my mom, you know, hasn't been touched romantically by a man since my dad. Yeah, right. And she's like at home a lot. She's sick. And so towards the end of Not Covid. It's not the end of COVID but, you know, like after vaccines were available and things were starting to open back up, you know, Covid messed up a lot of people. Of course it's gonna mess up my mom, who has schizophrenia and hasn't been laid in 30 something years.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

She started looking at Ryan, my husband, differently. And it was. It made dinners awkward. She would make weird comments. She was sexually harassing him. Me and grandma. Me and my grandma thought it was funny. Ah, ha ha. You know, and we were stoked because my mom was in a better mood because of it. Or else she would throw temper tantrums. Ryan wasn't stoked about it, you know, and so that's. That's when I was like, oh, yeah. See, another dynamic shifted.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because she's supposed to be his mom in law, but trying to like, you know, trying to hook up with him. And I'm stoked about it. So what does that make me? Also like a. Like a stoked sister or best friend? Who am I? Yeah, you know what I mean? Because I was like, ryan, just show her I don't know how to use the sex toy or something. And he's like, no. He's like, no, not everything has to be like funny for you guys. What if it's. How about me and so, yeah, it was the situation.

[Jesse David Fox]

I want to talk a little bit about your husband, Ryan. You know, for the last decade or so in comedy, we had a lot of wife guy comedians. Comedians who didn't just do jokes that are like, my wife, she sucks or whatever. And you are really pioneering a sort of husband gal comedian.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I know, Ryan said that. Ryan told me that. He said you're like the. My husband. Yeah, you're the. My wife. Yeah, yeah. My husband. My husband did this.

[Jesse David Fox]

How does that feel?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I love my husband. I think it's great. I think again, I talk about the things I love. So. Yeah, right. It's easy to trash on husband. But like, I also can't lie. People have asked him, how does it feel her talking about you so much? He's like, she makes me look like an angel. I do. I'm the bad one. I'm the villain in these stories. I'm the one like, oops.

[Jesse David Fox]

You do make him seem like the most supportive and competent person.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

He's so hot. I don't know how. I'm sure people are like, oh, I want. I wish I. People have told me in. In comments too, I wish I had a Ryan. I wish I had a Ryan. That's a comment that I see a lot actually in the. I wish I had a Ryan. And then one time I caught Ryan commenting under going, me too. Yeah, it makes sense. Someone who will help him out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think everyone would like another person who was essentially like. In so much as he's a mother. They. I think everyone would like another person around who just like, would do certain things. Yeah. Can you outline centrally Ryan's role? His involvement in your career is unlike a lot of husbands in so much. He's very involved in sort of of the creative of it. I mean, he directed this special. Can you describe what he. How he's involved?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I mean, we tour together and I. I run my jokes by him. He's very witty, he's very funny. He's an artist too. You know, he was a performer. He was an actor before. He was also a filmmaker. So we both have like a similar background. Because I also studied film. We don't have like a title for what it is. Yeah, right. But we just work together.

[Jesse David Fox]

He's like, essentially this now exists so much more in music, which is creative director. Now every pop star has like another person.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Creative director. That's what it's called. Like, I don't know jobs. I know five jobs.

[Jesse David Fox]

Wow.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, yeah. Laufey, she's great.

[Jesse David Fox]

Her twin, her identical twin is her creative director.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And, like, that's confusing. That could get confusing.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So it'd be like, imagine if Ryan actually was your identical twin and doing similar roles.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Which it does seem like actually your dream.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. This is a dream. I'm living my dream right now.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I have my sister, who's a sister, father, husband, creative director, slash creative director and creative director. You know what I mean?

[Jesse David Fox]

I was thinking about when you talked about your life on stage, you're also talking about his life on stage. And you got a lot of feedback, positive feedback, when you started talking about your mom's schizophrenia. And you got more comfortable talking about it on stage, but in doing so, you also talk about his mom's schizophrenia. What were the conversations like around that? Because, you know, he has less control over that situation. And obviously he's supportive of your career, but it is his story in a way that involves you, but is a little bit different. I was curious how you guys talked about that.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, we talk about what can be touched on or shouldn't be. You know, So I. I run it by him. I was like, is it okay if I mention that? He's like, yes, yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And then if something's like, let's keep that to us. He'll tell us. He'll tell me. He'll tell us. We're Siamese twins.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a time you told a joke on stage and he was there and you're like, I bet I probably shouldn't have told that joke.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. And then he's very vocal.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

He's not like me. I'm passive. So, you know, I won't confront things. Yeah, he'll tell. Yeah, he told me right away.

[Jesse David Fox]

Can you think of the joke?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I. I don't remember the joke, but it was, like, about him having diarrhea. You know, after the show, someone was like, hey, that's the diarrhea guy. And he was like, that's gonna stick. And then so he immediately was like, can we not do that one? And I was like, yeah. Yeah. I was like, I don't. It's not even a good joke to the point I don't even remember it now.

[Jesse David Fox]

What does father mean in the special? The special is named Father. And that runs through thematically through it. What does it mean to you now? What are you trying to communicate?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. So father, you know, I mean, I talk about reconnecting with my dad and then also having something in common with him. That's really stupid. And. And Then I deconstruct the dad joke in the end. But also, you know, the idea that, like, you know, the role gender, role reversal thing that, like, you know, I'm not mother. Mother is always like, put on this. The idea is that, like, she has it together. She's got everyone, and she's the one that's nurturing, you know? And then the father. Father gets to thrive in life, but he don't have to do as much. Yeah, that's me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

You know, father will be like, I haven't been doing the laundry. Or, you know, start explaining something, even if they don't know the exact facts. Like, if it's true, that's me.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's also a different comedic. Like, it's a comedic archetype, right? The father comedian who's, like, talking on stage about all the times he's doing stupid stuff. And, like, it is in contrast. I mean, this is. Is part of what the joke is, but it's partly also, like, mother, as it's used, means, oh, you're iconic or whatever, right? And, like. But you're like, no, I'm father. I'm actually like a everyday person who, like, does not know what they're doing. I'm not like on a mountain being like.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, I'm iconic. I'm iconic, but I don't know where my keys are. But I'm going to tell you, I do. Like, for example, this is mother father behavior. The other day. So I get my hair trimmed every three weeks, and my hair stylist and friend comes over to do it, and then there's hair all over the floor. Ryan will immediately start, like, vacuuming it up and sweeping it up. And the other day I started doing lunges because I was about to go into an interview and I wanted to look hot. That's father behavior. What he was doing was mother behavior.

[Jesse David Fox]

In the special, you joke about being on this American Life and specifically being approached to be on this American Life. And more specifically, where you essentially say you don't want to have a story to tell. You don't want Hourglass calling you Hourglass.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right? Right. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And it's interesting. Cause that episode is. It's almost like a compliment to this special where it's like, many of the things you talk about. The special happen on that episode of this American Life where you talk to your father about how he felt about when your mother. When your grandmother kidnapped you. And then you talked about your grandmother and asked her if that's what it was. But that episode is A very serious episode of radio.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

How was that experience for you being.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

On this American Life? Yeah, yeah. I mean, it really like freed me in many ways. Yeah. And my dad too, in turn. My father and I never had the conversation of whether or not I was taken without his knowledge. And my, you know, I knew I didn't have the knowledge of, oh, we're going to stay in America. But I wondered if he knew. I wondered if he had full custody of me. These things that like Ira kind of allowed for me to find out. He provided an interpreter for me, you know what I mean? Both ways, Mandarin and Japanese. So I was able to go to Japan and interview my dad and really talk to him for the first time in a way that I never could. Same with my grandma too, to be honest. So, yeah, it was, you know, I joke that it's not good to be an inspiration, but it's, you know, it's also how I arrived at being a comedian, all these things.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Well, that's why I asked, partly because, like, you are a comedian, you could have had your life and wrote a memoir about it. That is not a comedian's memoir of it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I don't know if I would have become even a writer.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Well, I'm just saying so much as that you don't go on stage and be like, I'm not doing a one person show. Even though the Intruder had a form, it wasn't a one person show about.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Immigration or whatever. And. And the tone of it, the tone of your work, you know, is not like the tone of this American Life piece or, you know, you do a good amount of interviews and people want you to be very serious about the things that happen to you. But like your act is not serious in its presentation. I'm not to say you're not serious in your craft, which I believe you are.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And so I'm very silly. Yeah, yeah, you're a silly person. And I say that as a highest compliment. So that's why I'm curious as a silly person who has that or who feels their voice's silliness, that they found that to be in a position where you have a part, your story is not silly or is not silly on its face. And people do want the non silly version. However, you kind of would rather tell the silly version. And I'm curious. Or your art is telling the silly version. I'm curious how you live in the space where your job involves sort of both.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, it's who I am. I have this duality I just did Fresh Air. Also npr. NPR always brings that out of me, right? Where it's. You know. And I talked about how, for me, performing is about, like, protecting the audience. When I do stand up, it's about protecting the audience. They bought tickets. They came out to see me. I'm not just gonna tell sad stories. I'm gonna make sure you laugh. Right? I want you to forget your life's problems. This is why I do this, because you allowed for me to do that, too. When I'm telling jokes, when I've taken these things that, you know, sometimes I just tell dumb stuff. But then when I'm telling you the things that happened to me that weren't so happy, right. When I present it to you, no, I'm gonna make sure you're laughing during it, because, again, my job is to help you escape or feel seen, you know, and. And laugh, truly laugh. But because of that, there is, like an. There is an aura of sadness to me, you know, because I'm always like, you know, I'm a people pleaser. I think about other people's experience. Sure. I forget that, like, I haven't done the laundry, but I'm charming as fuck for the rest of the day. You know what I mean? Like, I make sure Ryan has, like, the best time, and. You know what I mean? And he does by the end of the day, because that's. That's my. I don't know. That's my mo. That's just how I operate. I don't want people to ever feel alone or left out. And a lot of it comes from seeing my mom suffer all my life. And she still does. You know, she can't do all the things I get to do. She can't come out to New York and have press week. She can't tour with me and see the world. She's just stuck at home watching the Travel Channel, and she tells me she wants to go out, but that's her going, you were in Belgium. I watched a piece on Belgium the other day, and I knew you were there. You know, it's like. So there's a real sadness to me that always thinks about her and people like that. And so, yeah, it's like I can tap into both, because that's where the comedy comes from.

[Jesse David Fox]

There, it's. It's funny you say that because the top comment on the James Corden clip.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, God, what is it?

[Jesse David Fox]

I love how she sounds like she's on the verge of tears every time.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. Yeah, totally. Yeah. I'm A woman on the verge.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

But many things.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's interesting to have that weight. It does make it sort of. It's a. It's a rich performance. Right. Like you are. We talk about finding your voice or being yourself on stage, and being yourself means. Means fearing sort of your comedic voice and being silly, but having it. So it feels like the weight of your life story is there. Even in jokes, when you're not telling that. Right. That marriage joke, the joke you do on set, you do uncorted, is the joke about how marriage is childlike. And the thing about tongue kissing a dog, and then a person sees that, goes like, it looks like she's on the verge of tears, I think is a really beautiful thing.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, right, right, right. Yeah. It's always me arguing for how life is beautiful.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. Or like, I never wanted to be here, you know, anyway, but I am, so let's fucking do this. You know, it's like, that's behind, I think, all my jokes. And to say something like that means, oh, well, she's unwell. To have to shout that. I never want to be here anyway. That's an unwell person.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That's a sad person, but, you know, it's an anthem. None of us wanted to be here.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I think that's. I think that is partly the joy of your shows is not. It is the sort of existential version of, like, we are here, so let's have fun with whatever here is.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, totally. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You mentioned you toured Asia. This was when we last spoke. We talked a little bit about, like, how that was a big deal for you. I was curious what that experience was like, how did it change you as a comedian? How did it change you as a person to have that experience?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, it was cool to see that. Like, I. I didn't change my show, you know, I didn't. It was like, you know, just me being me was accepted also universally. So I was like, okay, good. Like, it would be a bummer, right, to be like, oh, wait, I have to super change for Asia or Australia or New Zealand. I got to still be me. So I was like, okay, good. I. It makes sense. They came out to see me because they like me for me, and great. So now, you know, it's just about, like, digging deeper. Right. You know, there were some jokes that I shortened. For example, like, the cheerleading stuff, because internationally, they don't have cheerleaders. Right. It's an American and maybe Canadian thing, but not even Canada really has cheerleaders.

[Jesse David Fox]

You'd think it would spread just because of the amount of. Of American content about cheerleaders that you think people would be like, what's that American phenomenon? We should have cheerleaders. Wouldn't that be funny? And then next thing you know, there's cheerleaders in Australia or something, but no cheerleaders in Australia.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It's an unhinged thing that's very, very specific to us. We need that. We need girls to a whole ass job where it's them being like, ah, you got this. You got this. Because we don't have healthcare and, you know, police brutality probably. You know what I mean? I also ranked the countries from most shyest to liveliest. Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Okay.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And it is usually like, the more like, rights you have as a human, the shyer you are as an audience.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's fascinating. So what was the shyest?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Shyest was Belgium. And then out of 27 countries, Indonesia was the liveliest. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You need this? Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, my God. Yeah. They're like that. Yeah. Most people in Indonesia make like $4,000 annually. That's their income. They were like, you came here to see us. You know what I mean? Yeah. And so it was. It was cool. But, yeah, that's what I. That's what I learned.

[Jesse David Fox]

There's a joke you tell in this special that predates this hour. I believe it predates Intruders. I think you did it on your albums, which is. I'm Taiwanese and Japanese. That's why I love Korean. This is a joke I had for a while. It's on an early album. But you told this joke at the Unforgettable Gala, which is an event that recognizes AAPI leaders and entertainers. And that joke now has like a hundred million views across social media channels.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. I'm the product of a Taiwanese mother and a Japanese father. Yeah. Yeah. And that is why I look Korean.

[Jesse David Fox]

What did that joke mean when you first wrote it? And like, how does it live now that it is like a phenomenon?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I just was like, oh, it's gone forever. I'm not doing that ever again. But then when I was asked to present at an Asian awards show, there was a moment where I was like, oh, that old joke could be unexpected and funny because, you know, I always want to be entertaining and funny, even when I'm just presenting an award to someone. Yeah. I ended up doing that. I was like, it's been so long, I don't even know if it's documented anywhere. I didn't know it was on an album. Yeah, I don't remember that. Yeah. And I did it. And then, you know, also because I, you know, people also recognize me more now. So I think when I put something out now, it reaches even more people. So I think it's worth revisiting things that you might have taped but for a smaller audience back then, you know, but because it was seen by that many people this time, like a hundred million or whatever, I had to acknowledge it in this special when I go, I'm half Taiwanese and half Japanese because so much of the audience that wasn't always there in the hour. But my hour changed a lot in the two years that I toured. It wasn't there for a long time, but then people started throwing saying that punchline at me. So I was like, okay, so I have to acknowledge it. That's why I do it. Kind of like a throwaway line because everyone's thinking it when I go, I'm half Taiwanese and half Japanese, you know, and I just want to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Because you were just gonna say that information.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. So that you know why I'm speaking Mandarin and Japanese, right? Yeah, it's just context. But then everyone would be like, that's why you look Korean. And I was like, okay, if you're thinking it, I gotta at least get ahead. So you don't do that anymore. You know what I mean? Yeah.

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[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, gosh, no, no, it's okay. Yeah. Street joke. No.

[Jesse David Fox]

Okay, skipped.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I did that so much as a kid to adults that I was trying to connect to when I was learning English. I'm very embarrassed.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you know any of them? Like, not even favorite one.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It's literally just like, knock, knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange. You guys. You. You're seeing me or something like that? Because. Yeah, those were the jokes I knew.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Is there a joke you wish you can steal? Like a joke of another comedian city you wish you could have in your act, but you wouldn't be stealing it? Like, it's allowed.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

No one's gonna be like, let's go. Stole this joke. It'd just be like, you get to have this joke. You get to tell it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, there's so many.

[Jesse David Fox]

What's the first thing that came to mind?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Because I was like, wow, I never thought of it. Jokes can be this simple. Like Gary Goldman talking about, like, the CD player being like. It's, you know, seeing that these days. At that time, it was like past the CD player moment. Like the portable. Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

A Walkman walk.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. And having to work out with that on a treadmill and him seeing someone do that and he's like, I wonder if they're okay. And then that. It looked like a pizza. Like, these days, it's so big. You're like, oh, my God. That's how big it used to be. We have MP3 players now. I thought he was holding a pizza, you know, and then. Yeah, it just goes. He goes, on and on about the portable CD player that was so great. And then.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, what is the best advice that you took or you've taken?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I guess people don't really stop and give me advice. I don't know why. Maybe they think I have it figured out. Or they're like, there's no hope. Maybe it's probably the second one.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well. Or the other is, like, what is advice you would give to an aspiring comedian? Or.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, well, I'll say this. There's two things. So, like, my friends, for some reason, like, my comedy friends are, like, a generation above me or two generations above me, or they're, like, in their 20s, which is 10 years younger than me. I don't know why. I guess because it makes sense. Because I'm very childlike. Because I didn't really have a childhood, and then I was raised by someone 50 years older than me. So I think that's why I've always had an old soul. But also, you know, I yearn for childlikeness.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That's why. So people in my 30s, I'm like, who are you? I don't connect. And so. Yeah. So, like, Tig once told me, you don't have to say recently before you go into a joke. Recently, I did this. Just say, I did this. And then Mike Birbiglia was just like, don't forget about the people in the balcony to look at them while you're performing. And it was like, the first time I was performing in a theater with a balcony, so I was like, oh, right. It's not just to the people in front of me. So. So very simple, but great advice.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's, like, beautiful, practical advice.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Can you tell me. I don't think you've talked about third ability, but you shot a lost Netflix show that was like, the Voice but for comedy.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, yeah, right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Can you explain the entire arc of that show? Like, what happened to it?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, yeah. So.

[Jesse David Fox]

Or what was it?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, so Pandemic is what happened.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. No, I know that's what happened to it. But, like, what was actually the show?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Right. So it was like there were, I think, like, 60 comedians to star. And then, you know, we would perform in front of an audience, and three judges is Tig Notaro, Dion Cole, and Neil Brennan. And then you. They would choose you to be on their team if they liked you. Like the Voice.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. And they could choose. Oh, gosh. I don't know how many comedians. I think we. We. It got whittled down to 30 people. No, 12.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So I was, like, one of four that Tig chose.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then each episode. Did you. What is it like, you would perform and then they. She would give you tips.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I'm like, sweetie, we got to episode two.

[Jesse David Fox]

And.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. So then they would sit and be like, okay, what are you thinking for your next set? You know, let's run some jokes. And then they would like, give advice and tips. Yeah, and then we were supposed to do that set for a live audience again and then whittle it down to even. Yeah, but it wasn't, like, gonna be, like, last comic Standing, where there were, like, different challenges. So I was curious. Like, it's just that. It's just performing, then advice. Performing, then advice. A lot of, like, talking head interviews in between. But, like, send us out and run an errand or something. Right. That would be more exciting.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like, go and observe X and then.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Write something about X. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have a short story of an interaction with a legendary comedian, living or dead, you're willing to share?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I mean, they're all legendary, right? The people I named. I mean, Margaret Cho, you just have to tell us.

[Jesse David Fox]

Just pick one and you tell a story about them.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, Chelsea Handler is a friend, too, now, and I love the way she parties. She's silly energy. She's silly energy. Yeah. My first, like, private jet experience was with her, but I was so nervous to be on a jet plane. I don't know how regular airplanes work. Private jets are actually scarier because you feel everything. I was like, am I supposed to feel the wind? Everything? I felt like I felt the clouds. And so I was like, I don't know how to. So I was, like, trying to even put the seatbelt in and. And her being like, it's just a regular seatbelt. But I love her directness. You know, we get along well because she'll just be like, are you wearing a tag? Do you still have your tag on your shirt? Again, I'm like, yeah, we know each other very well. Yes, you're right. I do.

[Jesse David Fox]

Who is your comedian? Mount Rushmore.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Like, I'm making. I'm the carver.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, exactly like, you're the carver.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. It's like Margaret Cho, Chris Rock. This will start fights.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, that's the goal.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Well, it's gonna be. So I'm gonna choose, like, that generation.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

So, like, my friends in their 40s or something won't be like, why not me? I'm like, I chose people in their 50s.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Or something like that works.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think that makes sense.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Okay. Chelsea. Because I grew up watching her in that garage I grew up in. So one more face. Yeah. Why there gotta be four?

[Jesse David Fox]

You can do one face twice if you'd like.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. Mine is three. And we'll stop there.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's your mountain.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Whatever you want, right? Put your own face on it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, I can work with limitations.

[Jesse David Fox]

Tig's face. You can put Tig's face on, or you feel like.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Tig. Yeah. Tig. Tig. Yeah. Forcing you to. Not to make it about age, but, yes, it's that same generation.

[Jesse David Fox]

What's a joke that didn't work? That you'll go to your grave being like, that was funny. Everyone was wrong. This is the. This is so funny.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, yeah. No, I would. There's nothing. People are right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

And there's always a way you can make it funny. I just haven't arrived at it yet. That's all.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there any joke that you feel right now is in the space between the audience that's currently. Right. But I want to keep at it.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No, it's something where I haven't written it yet because I'm like, it's gonna be so hard to write because it requires so much explaining. I haven't wrote it yet. Like, I'm scared to write it, but I know exactly why. Well, it's just the idea that me and my husband like to, like, kind of, like, fill in the holes, like, create narratives for people that we see. And so there was this man at the TSA who had, like. Who was stopped for having a lighter. It was international. And then it turned out he had, like. He was like, okay, I have another one. And then he just kept having many lighters. So then we created this whole narrative about him where we were. Like, we decided he had 60 lighters. Yeah, I wrote it down. Is it okay?

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

We decided he had 40 lighters on him, Imagining a scenario. And he started just, like, giving them up voluntarily. And then he's like, okay, I actually have 150 lighters. I sell them back home in the States. And, like, the TSA's like, oh, what are my profit margins? Oh, like 2 to $300. It's not my main income. My wife's a doctor. She does most of the sporting. But this is my passion. Why 150? Because that's the limit, sir. Why? You didn't know that? I don't know.

[Jesse David Fox]

So, anyway, it keeps on going.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I don't know. Cause I look insane doing it.

[Jesse David Fox]

What's the Best time you ever bombed.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, this was like when I was way too green. Did America's Got Talent. Like, first year into comedy, they found my YouTube video of the first ever set I did, and I went straight to, like, performing in front of, like, Sharon Osborne, Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel. It was crazy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Yeah. So I didn't know. I was like, I don't know how it works. I didn't really, like, have friends that could run by, like, what would be my 90 seconds on there? You know what I mean? Yeah. What does 90 seconds look like? What would be the best? You know what I mean? Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And they all did not choose you.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

I think two people didn't. It was Sharon Osbourne and how we. Stern. Yeah. I went over the time, too.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Did it air?

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

No. Cause it was like that. Not interesting.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I'm now scared that this being out there, people, a producer would be like, we gotta find that.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, they can. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah. Because I think it wasn't bad. It just was like, I went over the time, and I think, think at that time, they also didn't really want to touch race. I think there was some race stuff I did. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I'm sure it's great.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

It was. But it was like 2,000 Texans being like, yeah. No. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thank you so much.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

Oh, my God. Thank you for having me. Yay.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yay.

[Atsuko Akatsuka]

That was Jessica.

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