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Brian Green
This episode is sponsored by five Hour Energy Caffeine. Just got a flavor upgrade with what they call tasty caffeine. 17 bold flavors that actually taste good.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You know that midday moment when your.
Brian Green
Brain just stalls out, but you still have a full list of things to do. Well, that's when I reach for a five hour energy shot. Each tiny two ounce shot has about as much caffeine as a 12 ounce premium cup of coffee. But with zero sugar and zero crash, it's big flavor packed into the smallest, easiest bottle. Perfect for tossing in your bag, in your car, really anywhere. And since it's still fall, they've brought back the ultimate seasonal favorite, pumpkin spice. Ah yes, pumpkin spice. A little cinnamon, a little swagger. Sweet, rich and totally cozy without being heavy. Fuel your day with tasty caffeine. Available in store and online at 5hour energy.com or get it delivered by Amazon. Give yourself a caffeine flavor upgrade with 5 hour energy shots. Get yours in store and online fivehourenergy.com or on Amazon today. This episode is sponsored by Jack Archer. Do you hate shopping for pants? You're not alone. Jack Archer's Jetsetter tech pants are basically the answer to every guy's closet struggles with their customizable fit, wrinkle free fabric sourced from Japan and all day comfort, these pants can take you from work to the weekend without missing a beat. Seriously, these might be the only pants you'll ever need. Style them with the Jetsetter tip legacy button down shirt or the buttery legacy polo sweater and you've got timeless staples to meet your everyday wardrobe needs. Jack Archer is just better. For a limited time, get 15% off using the code getjack@jackarcher.com Again, that's promo code getjackarcher.com for 15% off your entire order. And thanks to Jack Archer for being a sponsor of the commercial break.
Commercial Break Announcer
On this episode of the Commercial Break.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
America is first and foremost in the land of conspiracy theories and divisive thinking around conspiracy theories. But now it's bled into other parts of the the world like the uk. Is that true?
Paul Chowdhury
Oh yeah. I mean it's, it's. There's no truth anymore. It's your truth. You don't have to go to medical school for six to eight years, whatever it is, and specialize in your specialist area to learn your craft. If you do a Google search, you can debunk those.
Von Miller
The next episode of the Commercial break starts now.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh yeah.
Brian Green
Cats and kittens, welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. And I'm here by myself on a Thanksgiving week. But it's a TCB infomercial Tuesday and the trains keep running and they must run on time. So you're getting a fresh episode of DCB's infomercial with Paul Chowdhury. Paul Chowdhury is here, ladies and gents. And now, Chrissy wasn't here when I recorded this episode. If you remember, a couple of weeks back, she took some time off, then I fell ill. You know, it's just the round the clock nature of having 12 to 15 children. Someone is always experiencing some kind of sickness. So. And on this particular day, Chrissy had just come back from vacation, but I was not feeling well. I did not want to disappoint Paul and cancel last minute. So he and I did it together, me in quarantine, him all across, all the way across the pond. Because Paul is an international superstar comedian sensation from the uk. He has sold out small, little, tiny little venues like Wimbley Arena. He has headlined all over the world. He's extraordinarily popular over in the uk. He's been touring the United States for a very long time and he's got a new tour that he'll be starting at the beginning of the year. Tickets are available. Paulchowdhury.com I, of course, will do you a favor and put links in the show notes so as to make things easy for you. You can check out his specials on Amazon Prime. There's some stuff on Comedy Central. You can find lots of content on YouTube as most comedians have now, you know, disseminated a lot of their shit onto YouTube because guess what, it's 2025.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
And that is what you do.
Brian Green
And speaking of YouTube, you can go and check this episode out, YouTube.com the commercial break. And if you want to catch us recording live streaming, then you can do that next week, Tuesday through Thursday, right around noonish. Follow us at the commercial break on Instagram and then you get notified we decide to go live, get involved in the action, please. We've been doing that for the last couple of weeks. We've been kind of keeping it hush, hush. But now we're letting everybody know, all three of you, we're letting all three of you know that you can stream us recording our podcast live and chat.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It up with us.
Brian Green
So there you go. But that's not why we're here today. B. Chowdhury, again, very popular comic all throughout the world and he's coming to the US to do another stint, another round of shows. So if he comes anywhere close to you and it looks like he might be you, whoever's listening looks like he might be close to you, go get tickets. Paulchowdre.com links in the show Notes let's do this. Let's take a short break and when we get back through the magic of tele podcasting, I will have Paul right here in studio with me.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
We'll be back.
Rachel (voice of God on TCB)
Hey, it's Rachel, your new voice of God here on tcb. And just like you, I'm wondering just how much longer this podcast can continue. Let's all rejoice that another episode has made it to your ears. And I'll rejoice that my check is in the mail. Speaking of mail, get your free TCB sticker in the mail by going to tcbpodcast.com and visiting the Contact Us page. You can also find the entire commercial break library audio and video just in case you want to look at chrissy@tcbpodcast.com Want your voice to be on an episode of the show? Leave us a message at 2124333 TCB. That's 212-433-3822. Tell us how much you love us and we'll be sure to let the world know on a future episode. Or you could make fun of us. That'd be fine too. We might not air that, but maybe. Oh, and if you're shy, that's okay. Just send a text, we'll respond. Now I'm gonna go check the mailbox for payment while you check out our sponsors and then we'll return to this episode of the.
Brian Green
This episode is sponsored by our longtime sponsor, Squarespace. I am working on a new project Information tbd. It's very secretive. It's very hush hush around here because you know, podcast secrets are a thing. Anywho, there is only one all in one website tool that's designed to help my new project stand out and be successful. And that one tool is Squarespace. Squarespace can help me through every step of the process. The launch, the scaling, the branding, and the growth. No matter what part of the journey I am on. Squarespace is an all in one website platform, so it'll cater to my needs.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Every step of the way.
Brian Green
There are so many benefits services and tools built into Squarespace, I would need a 10 minute commercial to name them all. Cutting edge design, search engine optimization tools, domain management, analytics, email campaigns, the ability to host videos, and most importantly, the ability to get paid. So if you've been thinking about building or upgrading your website. Now's the time to head to squarespace.com commercial for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, make sure to use the offer code commercial to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. That's squarespace.com commercial. Then be sure to use the code commercial when you're ready to launch. Squarespace has been with the commercial break for a long time, and we have been with Squarespace for even longer. This is a company we trust, it's a product we use. And there's one overarching reason why it makes my life easier. Go build yourself a beautiful website squarespace.com commercial and thank you to Squarespace for being a sponsor of the commercial break.
Von Miller
This is Free Range with Von Miller, the podcast where I step outside the lines and I take you with me. Each week we're talking everything from the biggest stories around the league to the biggest stories off the field. This isn't your average sports podcast. This is game meets culture, locker room meets living room. And no topic is off limits. So if you're into good conversations that ruffle a few feathers, join me every Wednesday and follow Free Range with Vaughn Miller everywhere you get your podcast.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
This episode is sponsored in part by Rula. You know, there was a time when I really needed therapy, but I could not find a therapist who took my insurance. I can remember feeling so stuck, like I had to choose between getting help and staying on budget.
Brian Green
That's why I think what Rula's doing.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Is so very important. Important Rula makes therapy accessible and affordable by partnering with over 100 insurance plans. The average copay is around $15 per session, and depending on your benefits, it could even be less. They also take the time to find.
Brian Green
The right therapist for you.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Someone who understands your goals, your preferences and your background. There's no waiting weeks or months for an appointment. You can start as soon as tomorrow, and Rula stays with you along the way, checking in, supporting your progress and helping you feel seen and cared for. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered by Insurance. Visit rula.com commercial to get started and after you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. Please support the commercial break and let them know we sent you. That's r u l a.com commercial. You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. And Paul is here with me now. Paul, thank you very much. Grateful for your time today. I read in my show Prep and getting ready for the show. Did you sell out Wembley or you played Wembley?
Paul Chowdhury
I sold. I sold out Wembley on a couple of tours ago, actually.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Holy shit.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
In my old mind, the Wembley is like the Mount Everest of like, you know, like crowds. Because I was watching, you remember the old Paradise City video from Guns N Roses when they were playing Wimbley, and I always thought that was like the Mount Everest of crowds. Like, holy shit. You play Wimbley, it's like, you know, you're out there. But then I watched the video on Bonnie Blue, fucking 157 men. And I thought, 1057, 1,057. That might be the Mount Everest of crowd work right there.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, in all fairness to Guns N Roses, they played Wembley stadium, which is 80,000. I played the arena. Oh. So there's. There's two different. So the arena or the stadium. So if I wish I could say I was in a stadium comic, but more of an arena comic. And I don't know if Comedy works to 8,000.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I don't know if it does either. There's a. That's a great question. So there's a comics here, Nate Bargazzi and some other, you know, Tom Segura and others who go and they sell out place. I'm in Atlanta, they'll go and sell out 27,000, 30,000 seat rooms. And there's. When I've talked to other comics, they say. Who have played bigger places, they say it's different. It doesn't. It doesn't work the same when you have, you know, 15, 20,000 people in front of you than it does when you have 200 people in front of you. And a couple of them have admitted I kind of like the room where there's 200, because I'm able to see. I'm able to push the energy one way or the other with emotion or a look or a stare.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, this. This tour, I did the O2 arena, right? So. And a couple of months before that, Paul McCartney was doing show.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Unbelievable.
Paul Chowdhury
So I was in the same room as. And then I did Birmingham Arena. So on this tour, I. I did some different arena dates to. To Wembley just because I'd done Wembley. So I wanted to see if I could do the O2. So just for context, that's where Madonna did her shows recently, and I saw Madonna there. And then I had to say the week I was doing was Usher was. Was there. So we had the same dressing room. He wasn't. That he was there the night before. And then I asked me So I. I shared. So actually, Usher had to take down his set so I could do my show and then put his set back up. So he probably wouldn't do that.
Brian Green
I'm doing what for who?
Paul Chowdhury
But.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
But in the uk, you're huge. I mean, does it. But for you, is which. Which experience is better or is it just different? You just have to work the crowds differently.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, you know, with the arena comedy, you have screens.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
So. So. So if you do talk to the front row, then you have a cameraman that pans to them, then the audience can see and they erupt into laughter. But it's a different type of performance because you have to wait a couple of seconds for your voice to reach the back of the stadium.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
Or the arena.
Brian Green
So.
Paul Chowdhury
So it takes a couple of seconds. So the timing is slightly different, as it would be so immediate with, you know, 200 people.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Very interesting that you have to think about the minutiae of that. As you're walking into the room, they're like, hey, Paul, remind yourself to give a beat. Like, give a beat so the laughter can reach the back of the room and then I can move on to the next beat.
Paul Chowdhury
Right, well, going back to. To Wembley, because when I was a student, I used to help de rig the stages. So. So after the show, you have a team of people that would take down all the scaffolding and the stage. And so you start after the concert finishes at around 11 o' clock and you finish at about 7 o' clock in the morning. And when I was about 20 or 21, I was working at Wembley, taking down the stage from Mariah Carey. Whoa. So. And then I had to carry her bags to the car and I kind of said, just kind of glimpsed at Mariah Carey. She was like, who's this guy? He's de rigging the stage. And I thought one day, you know, I went from, I'll sell this room out. And then I went from de rigging Mariah Carey's stage to then performing on the same stage as Mariah Carey.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That's insane. I have to imagine that for all the different reasons, when you're a kid, essentially, and you're de rigging these, by the way, some of my favorite Instagram accounts, this might just be an indication of how old I am. Are the guys who do the rigging and the de rigging of these big stadiums watching them as they shift around these huge stages and go up into the rafters. And I've always been interested by that kind of backstage life. It's dangerous, it's hard work, but it looks like, you know, a bit of fun too. But how, I mean, do you still, to this day, do you still get that feeling when you go into one of these rooms and you've sold it out and just 20, 25 years ago, you were the person taking down this lighting or whatever it was, do you still get that? Holy shit, Paul, you did it.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, when you see the guys doing it, you realize the cost involved. So when you. Arena.
Rachel (voice of God on TCB)
Com.
Paul Chowdhury
Arena comedy has high expense. So you could do like say a 2000 seat, a venue in Apollo or something, for example, 3000. You could do three nights there as opposed to doing one night at a stadium or an arena. But generally comics do it as a statement. Yeah, it's like an industry statement that you can do it. So. But you pay for it. Yeah, you are, you are paying for the privilege of playing and it's not an easy gig. So with the first at the O2, it was an arena and I did, I did the sec. I had some acts that go in on the first half and they warm up the crowd as, as comics do. But generally when I do a tour show in the uk, I do the whole show. So I do around half an hour in the first section and then we have an intermission, which you don't generally have in America. And then in the second half I do over an hour. But at the Birmingham Arena, I thought, can I do the whole show on my own to over 10,000 people? So I did the first section and the second section and I couldn't really speak much the next day because the projection in an arena.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That's an interesting statement that you just made and one that I don't think I've heard before, but makes a lot of sense if you follow the industry and you understand especially what a lot of musicians have been talking about for years and that is that these big stadiums, even the medium sized rooms, the expense involved in putting on a show and getting there and getting the rigors and all the stuff right, everything from, you know, craft services to, you know, having, making sure there's some food in the dressing room to all this other stuff, and the immense amount of money that the ticketing agencies and the arenas themselves and the production companies take away from every single seat sold in the building makes it almost, if you break even, you've won the day. Like you've won. If you almost. If you break even. Do you think that, oh, he's selling out the O2 arena, he just made $6 million. That's likely not true, right. It's likely that you broke even, but you did it because you could do it. It's almost like it's a little. It's a flex, it's a statement and hopefully an attention grabber for the next big thing that you're going to do.
Paul Chowdhury
I wish I could make $6 million a show. That would be awesome, you know? Yes. That's Beyonce kind of level. I think she charges $1 million a corporate.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
She charges $1 million a corporate gig.
Paul Chowdhury
I think it's a million a corporate, if not more.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Do you do corporate gigs? Are you open to the idea?
Paul Chowdhury
I've done a lot, yeah, I do. I do corporate shows. I do birthdays, I do anything. I'm available for years. Wedding. I've done weddings. I've done bar mitts. I almost got attacked a few of them. I remember I did one just after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. And I did some routines in a wedding kind of function tent in somebody's house and one of the guest almost attacked me just after. Yeah. So I've had these, these types of ins. Corporates are quite dangerous shows to do.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You know, I understand it though, because when someone's waggling a check in front of you and all you have to do is just go up there, knock out 30, 40 an hour, whatever, whatever, whatever you're contracted to do and you know, you're not taking. I mean, you would like to think you're not. It's not like you're doing something outside of the norm of what you would do. You're just doing your act in front of a smaller crowd that's paid you to do it. It's almost in some sense you. That's. That's like just icing on the cake. You're walking, you're not getting it out. But why did you get attacked?
Paul Chowdhury
Well, I remember I did a show for a family and then I got flown out to Dubai and I did a wedding and it was only to these Muslim men on a rooftop in this multimillion pound property in the Beverly Hills part of Dubai. So I go out and I did the Dubai Opera House on my last tour, but I go out to these weird and wacky kind of like, you know, weddings or wherever. And they went down, you know, it went down all right. They seem to enjoy it. Yeah. And then I got called to do another wedding in the UK for somebody that was related to that family and that. So whenever I do a corporate show or if I did Your birthday, I'd ask you for some information about your friends or your family. And. And then I do some jokes about them. Right, so you don't do your conventional set because it never works. So it's got to be about them.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
And then one guy, so the guy getting married said, call my cousin gay, which obviously I've got not an with, but I called the guy gay. And the whole audience erupted into laughter. Everyone was laughing, except the guy called gay. And he wasn't laughing and neither were his wife and kids. And. And then I may. I may have taken it a bit too far with that. And then he. He rushed the stage and grabs the mic off me and said, if he. If you can you swear on this.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Podcast, go for it. Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
He used a few expletives at me and said, if you continue to say this, I'm going to punch you in the head.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
No.
Paul Chowdhury
And. And pushed the mic down. And at that point, he. He had to be kind of pulled off me. And. And then his dad. And then his dad got involved and said, you know. You know, this isn't appropriate material for a family, Muslim family audience. So it goes completely. And I swear it was good enough for Wembley Arena.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
And he said, well, you've got to get yourself out of this position now and make them laugh again. So then I had to then dig my way back out of that hole. Wow.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Wow.
Paul Chowdhury
So, yeah. So you think Chris Rock had a hard time?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, listen, I saw Chris a couple weeks, months, whatever, his first gig, after he went after the. The big slap, Right. And, you know, he was obviously shaken by the whole thing. That was a very, very public disturbance in the force, let's put it that way. I still don't know what that shit was about, but it's. It feels like to me that in comedy, small stages, big stages all around the world, and any live performance, it is getting more dangerous a sense. I think people have. They're quicker to snap, they're quicker to get aggressive. They don't respect the boundaries, they don't understand. You know, comedy is not every. You can't please everybody all the time. And every line isn't going to hit with everybody the same way. But it feels to me, and I just think this is anecdotal, but probably is true. People are quick to get crazy, they're quick to snap. And, you know, we've seen it. People bum rush the stage, they throw shit at musicians, they attack comics on stage. You know, have you experienced any of this outside this one instance? Have you Ever?
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, I've been doing comedy for 26 years now. Right. So I've been attacked, I've been people waiting for me outside about death threats. I've had the police come to my house three times to take statements because I've had online threats. I've, you know, are you guys experience out there? The difference in the UK is they don't carry guns. Right. So.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Right.
Paul Chowdhury
So the, the threat is slightly less in the UK than is in America. I know it's slightly more dangerous. But the comedy has changed because 26, 25 years ago, when I broke into the club, say, 24 years ago, people understood that jokes on stage were jokes. And now people are taking this very seriously. So when, when I say, if I was said to say this at Parliament or at the White House, then it doesn't, it's not a joke. But when I'm saying on a comedy stage, a show that's been billed as a comedy show, and you're buying tickets for a comedy show, they should be taken as a joke no matter what the subject. But we don't live in that time anymore.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
No. People are so entrenched in their own divisive thought, and I can't exclude myself sometimes from that too. I don't think I would bum rush a stage. But it's like everything is so damn personal, you know, and it's really not. I always thought of comedy as a little bit of a noble profession in the sense that it allows people to open up. Right. When you're laughing, you're opening up even to ideas that otherwise you wouldn't, you know, if you're talking to your friend or watching a news story, whatever, you wouldn't think. And then it allow. It's like a Trojan horse. It allows for additional perspectives to come in your brain or for you to laugh at something that otherwise you don't find funny on a normal day. And then you go, yeah, maybe, maybe that's not so serious, or maybe I could think about things this different way, but not everybody is there, you know, there's people out there that are not well, they're just not well. And they, you know, they.
Paul Chowdhury
I think the Internet has created this kind of discourse where people take you very serious. Like when I put a clip, I'm very careful now as to what clips to upload on the Internet because people are scrolling and as soon as they see something that they. People are only offended by material when it affects them. So I could do 10 jokes about something which is so offensive But I do one joke about, say, a sweatshirt that you're wearing with. With letters on it, for example, like. And that could affect you. What. Or you wear glasses, and I do a joke about glasses you're offended by because you wear glasses. You can. People are only affected by jokes when it's about them, really, or it affects them in some way. But, yeah, I think as long as it's funny, if it. I don't have to like the subject matter. You know, I worked with Patrice o' Neal when he was around in America and the UK Now, I didn't agree with him on his viewpoints. Was it funny? That's the point. Was it funny?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, and it was exactly you. You've been. You've been doing this for a long time, right? You said you were. You were around with Patrice and Bill Burr. Have you worked with Bill also?
Paul Chowdhury
Bill Burr first came to the UK around 2007. He did the Leicester Square Theater in London, which I performed at way back then, and a lot of Americans. Leslie Jones was just there a few months ago from Saturday Night Live. Oh, I saw this. So. So Bill wanted a. I. I used to do a golf club in Ruislip. This is just on the outskirts of London, where out. So in the UK clubs, you. You used to get to do 20 minutes, right. But this club would book me to do, say, 40 to 50 minutes.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Okay.
Paul Chowdhury
So I'd do about 50 minutes of stage time, and so you get to do an extended comedy set, and then you'd have an opener. And then Bill came to. He was in London and the promoter reached out to him, said, you want to warm up for your show? Do you want to. You fancy coming down to my gig? So he said, yeah, I'll come down and warm up. So he was my opening act. Bill Burke came to London and opened for me at the golf. At this golf club.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That's crazy.
Paul Chowdhury
And then I met him and his wife, and he invited me to the show the next day at the Leicester Square Theatre, which he did two nights, and there was only half full on each night. And Bill wasn't really. And then he went on to do Breaking Bad and the likes of that and his specials. And this was pre Netflix, of course. Right. So. And then Bill went on to be the. You know, and I'm not sure what he went on to become, but I haven't heard of him since.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, he's a. He's a very famous podcaster and political commentary.
Paul Chowdhury
He's done, if you're listening, Bill, you know, I gave you. Your first break in the uk? It would help.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. What's up? Can you come and open for Paul when he's in America in the next couple of weeks? He would appreciate.
Paul Chowdhury
He won't even open the door for me.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, well, you know Bill. Bill seems like one of those accessible guys, but, you know, you never know someone until you meet. Actually, I had a chance to interview Bill Burr. One of our first interviews was on this thing called Clubhouse. Did you do Clubhouse in the. In during the pandemic? Like the audio app where people would go in and start rooms and.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I heard about this. Everybody. All the comics run that.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. Twitter spaces. So when this podcast was early, we had a friend who the two of us interviewed. Bill Burr could not have been nicer. Spend an hour and a half with us. And so I don't have anything but nice things to say about Bill because all I know about him is being nice. But when you come to the United States and you do. You obviously you can't use some of the same material around the world. You've got to tailor it. And you're an international comic. You're doing this all over the world.
Brian Green
Right.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Do you. Does it take you a couple of shows when you get to the United States to kind of warm up into the material? See what. See where the crowd is going. Understand, I would imagine when you move a location like that, you know, what do they say? All real estate is local. All comedy might be local, too.
Paul Chowdhury
I did last year, I did the City Winery in New York and Boston, Chicago, and I did Canada as well.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
And it's just the reference points, really. So when I do this tour, I've got to. Then. So this is a different tour. Last year, the show was called Family Friendly. This one in America is called AI Artificial Indian. So, you know, because people don't. Sometimes they can't put the. The English because I got like a London accent.
Brian Green
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
But I'm an Indian guy. So my family immigrated. My dad came to England in 1964 and I was born in the 70s, of course, so. So. But they don't normally. See, they don't put the two and two together. But as you know, Indians were everywhere now. But I was. I'm British, basically. I'm a British act. So it's. It's really the. The Americanisms which you change. You know, a supermarket, I might change whatever. Like in the uk, say Sainsbury's to Walmart, so these little, little things. So I just. I did. I was just in America. I was doing the. The Comedy Cellar for a couple of weeks. So, you know, I just thought I'd dip my toe in and. And I always wanted to try to play the seller for years. And I just thought, you know, I haven't done the clubs in years. And I just reached out to them and they gave me a couple of weeks of shows out there, so I just kind of warmed up a bit.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, of course they did. I mean, you know, you're a huge touring act. The comedy seller, by the way, for those of you that don't know, is a storied comedy club. Not one that might get as much attention as, you know, the Comedy Store or Caroline's or whatever. But the comedy seller is extraordinarily well known as a place to go and cut your teeth. Right. Go out there and cut your teeth and work on your act and put a few jokes together. Are there. So Paul and I were talking right before we came on, and Paul kindly said that he had listened to the latest episode of the show, which, as he was listening to it, is actually me rebroadcast or republishing the Psychic after the break, the new show that I am doing. Thank you very much for the kind words. You come from a family that believes in this kind of mystic magic.
Paul Chowdhury
No, I mean, weirdly, you say that because. But the. There's a woman that's gone viral on Instagram. Okay, Sit, Sylvia.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Sylvia Brown.
Paul Chowdhury
Brown.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yes.
Paul Chowdhury
Because she was on the Montel Williams show in the 1990s. You spoke about it. You said the worst one.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
The worst of the worst. Yes.
Paul Chowdhury
And it was great as a. I. I urge everyone to listen to this episode.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Thank you.
Paul Chowdhury
It's a great, great episode. And you really do a deep dive into these psychics. And people want to believe there's something out there, but they. And I didn't know that because there was a fact. You told me that you tried to speak to Montel about. About the show, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't give any interviews on it. But the fact that he gave her a platform and. Honey, the land is what now? People are quoting on Instagram.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
They call it. They're calling what.
Paul Chowdhury
They're calling her Honey, Honey the Land. So there was. There was a. There was an episode where some woman says, you know, I lost my husband. Do you know where he is now? And. And Sylvia says, I. I'm sensing water. Water. He's deep in water. And. And then the woman says, he died in 9 11. Yeah, no, but I'm getting water.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
She's being sprayed with water.
Paul Chowdhury
I remember this. Yes, he drowned.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Drowned in the water.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, he drowned in 9, 11.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, she was most definitely. And listen, you know, I'm not here to make a judgment call on whether or not any of this is true or not. Obviously there's no. I don't see any scientific proof out there, but people can believe what they want to believe. But this woman was so terrible in the sense that she would. Montel would bring on these grieving parents or grieving wife or husband or whatever. It was gone missing, not found. Years gone or even. It might even be fresh a couple of months. And investigators had run up against, you know, nothing. They couldn't find anything. A cold case, essentially. And she would start just telling people falsehoods, bullshitting them. And then after the show, which you don't know what I don't get to there, but after the show, and this is now been found out through many conversations and interviews with people who had, in. Had kind of interactions with Sylvia on the Montel show, is that Sylvia would approach them afterwards and ask them to pay her to give them additional money, thousands and thousands of dollars. If you give me $20,000, I can spend some time on this and get further. And some. Some people did and most people did not. But she was. You remember the Natalee Holloway case? The girl who went missing in Aruba? Yaron Van Der Sloot ended up that fucking douchebag from wherever he was from the Dutch colonies or whatever. He actually. She actually claimed that Natalie was alive and that she was being held by whatever, you know, sex, kidnapping ring. The girl was dead, but she strung that mother along just like she strung many mothers along. And that's where I get. That's where I take issue with psychics. If you're calling a psychic hotline because you're having trouble with your love life and you want to see, you know, if somebody has any indication if you're going to fall in love. Cool. If. If you're out there prognosticating about whether or not an investigation is going in a certain direction is correct, or someone's dead or alive or kidnapped, that's where I just go. I get nuts in my own head. I'm like, how could these people do this to these grieving folks? Luckily, I don't come from a family that believes any of this stuff. Like, my parents were pretty pragmatic, but I know there's a lot of families are like really into this kind of.
Paul Chowdhury
So you've heard of James Randy, who's no longer with us, right?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yes, I have, yes.
Paul Chowdhury
So James Randy exposed these people. There's a great documentary on prime which is called An Honest Liar. So he exposes Yuri Geller, a lot of these skeptics, you know, a lot of these psychics. And, and yeah, he, he, he went down, you know, quite badly for exposing them. So people, because people want to believe, they do kind of people, people want to believe a lie because it, it's something they get from believing there's some, something after this existence that we're in now and we have some connection to people on here anymore.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You know what I think it is, Paul? I think it's the mind abhors a vacuum, right? The mind abhors a vacuum. And when we don't have information and when we can't get that information. It's just why I think conspiracy theories run wild on the Internet these days is because in the absence of information, in a world that's flooding you with information, we get crazed when there's not an answer to something that makes sense or it's not immediate. And just like that, the psychics offer something to people who are obviously having mental trauma, emotional trauma, and that is they've just lost someone or they've lost someone at some point.
Paul Chowdhury
Conspiracy theory was an experiment, wasn't it? In the 60s or 70s, they tried to see if we, they could make people believe things that didn't exist and how, how far it traveled. So it was an experiment and now it's, it's the norm.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It was like a game of telephone at first. Was like the CIA would and didn't it, didn't the CIA like put out ufo, like certain kind of UFO conspiracies that then were like driven by other conspiracy. Like the CIA did some damage by, by playing these games and now people are, are, have gone crazy. Does this affect the. I'm getting the sense that it's. That America is first and foremost in the land of conspiracy theories and divisive thinking around conspiracy theories. But now it's bled into other parts of the the world, like the uk. Is that true?
Paul Chowdhury
Oh yeah. I mean it's, it's. There's no truth anymore. It's your truth. It's. You don't have to go to medical school for six to eight years, whatever it is, and specialize in your specialist area to, to learn your craft. If you do a Google search, you can debunk those. It's true, whatever they've, you know, because we're all being lied to and we live in an age where everyone's lying to us and also conspiracy theories makes. It's almost like believing a skeptic, isn't it? You want to believe things that make you feel better about yourself.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It's true. And I think there's some part deep down also is that people want to believe they have some inside track, some inside knowledge. It makes them feel like they have some control over situations that may not be in their own control. Like, I really know what's going on. I really understand what's going on. All right, back to comedy. Tell me, all right, back to comedy. Before we make this whole episode about conspiracy theories. I could talk about all day long, by the way, but tell me, what did you find funny as a kid? Like, what were some of the first things? Did you always want to be a comic? Is this a play? Like you. Were you the funny guy in the family? Were you the funny guy at school?
Paul Chowdhury
I was a serious guy. I think people would. Would say I was more of the serious guy, you know, but then I would say things that people would find funny in a serious manner. And that's where I thought, oh, you know, I grew up to. Weirdly, I grew up to horror. I grew up to horror films I'd watch as a kid. And also comedy was, I'd say in the 1970s or 80s, quite primitive in the UK in comparison to America. So you had. You had the alternative comedians, but we had mainstream comics in the UK who would do like we had. I don't know if you know about British comedy was very different to the Americans.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
And then I am very up to speed on British comedy, by the way. It's my favorite kind of comedy, so.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, really?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yes. I love the shows. I love the. I love all of it. I'm a big fan, so.
Paul Chowdhury
So back then, you know, I grew up. You know, I'd say the biggest export we had at that time was Benny Hill in America.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yep.
Paul Chowdhury
Now, looking back on, Benny Hill is actually quite. It wasn't really respected form of comedy. It was quite sexist and misogynistic. You know, you couldn't get away with that kind of stuff anymore. Michael Jackson's favorite comedian, apparently. Right. He went to see him deathbed.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It's insane. Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
So I grew up to, you know, mor wise like all these guys. And then I dove into Prior when I was. I'd say in the 80s, I was listening to Prior Kinison, obviously, Eddie Murphy back. Back then and the Delirious era.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
So. So. But we get cassettes back then, so I listened to it, my Walkman, Carlin. So I, I was, I was introduced. Well, you kind of discovered them. Yeah, because in, in those days you'd have to go and buy a cassette tape which is. People would don't even have the players anymore. And then it moved on to CD and then, and now obviously, you know, things are going to just disappear now. But back, back then comedy was very different. So I had to go and go to Tower Records and buy these things into, into central London. You wouldn't even get it in your local area.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You had to go downtown.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, you have to go downtown. It would take you one hour to get there to go and buy a tape to listen to it.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Wow.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, this is our life adventure.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
You know, so I grew up to, to that. To who was, who would say the biggest comic in the 80s. In America. We didn't really get an SNL, was never broadcast in, in the UK. I think they tried it once or twice. They did a few. It's actually coming to the UK now but they're doing a UK version of it. So American comedy and British comedy is quite different. That's why you don't get many British stand ups doing the American scene as much. But now it's changing, it's different.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
And in the 80s you know that you're right, you just named all the heavy hitters and you know, Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Kenison and Carlin of course was. He's just a different kind of comic. Right. He's almost a poet, a commentarian.
Paul Chowdhury
Hicks was huge here. Hicks was really big. Think so when Bill Hicks. Because he did the Edinburgh Festival which made him big in the uk.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
And yeah, Carlin, Carlin was more of an observational comic at first and then when he became political that's when he kind of blew up. But still he, he wouldn't be known to the, the every man in England right now.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Hicks was huge here, but not as big as I think he rightfully deserved. Right. He. I don't think he would be named with. I think some people would, but I don't think he would be named with Carlin and Murphy and Kennison because those guys, they were just putting, and they were just putting out these incredible hours. Hour and a half.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
So did you like, did, did, did this connect with you when you were listening to these tapes over. I'm sure like on repeat. Like I was, it was, yeah, it was.
Paul Chowdhury
Seinfeld was playing. So I, I grew up. So let's say the Larry Sanders show, right?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
So, yeah, great show.
Paul Chowdhury
And one of the best, of course. And then Seinfeld I discovered. Actually first discovered on Rodney Dangerfield's. He did a compilation show where Kinison was headlining. And I don't know if diet was Dice on that. I don't think Dice was on that.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I don't think Dice and Dangerfield cross paths on it. I think you're talking about an HBO special or Showtime special that Dangerfield did.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, it was Phil. So he had the Dangerfields club.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
So he.
Paul Chowdhury
So he. Yeah, that was when. So. But Kindison wasn't really known in the UK either. Sam Kinison wasn't known here.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Wow.
Paul Chowdhury
And it was a very American style of comedy. So over here it was more set up punchline, whereas he was like rants and screaming and. And obviously he. He went on to become a stadium comic. Right. So one of the first after someone like. Of Dice. So Dice. But then if you look back at, you know, Dice has now made a comeback. He's done a movie with Eddie Murphy. But back then, you know, I remember the days when he got canceled from mtv. So that was the first incarnation. But now you look back on. On that kind of comedy stuff, like the prior stuff hasn't dated too badly. But I don't know if the Dice stuff has aged that well.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
No, I agree with you. I don't think a hickory dickory doc is. Is on the top of anybody'.
Brian Green
You know, it's like.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I agree. Dice was one of the first stadium comics. Murphy and Dice, right?
Paul Chowdhury
They.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
And Ken and Kenison, they. They would. And. And Carlin would do big rooms. I don't know if he did stadiums, but he would do big rooms for sure.
Paul Chowdhury
But, well, Dice opened for Guns N Roses, and I actually saw Axl Rose this close to me because he did it. Yeah, he did a Q A in. In Soho with a D. Had Jimmy Chang, who owns a restaurant called China Tang, okay. At the Dorchester in Park Lane in London. And he used to have like a video podcast. And I was front row and Axl Rose came in in a walking stick and there was only like 50 people there with me. And he came in really late and he just did a Q A with. He'd since died, actually, Jimmy Chang. But Axl Rose was literally. I said hello to Axl Rose there. And I was thinking, you know, this is literally why has he come to do this? But he just used to come and. And then I saw Slash because he was here recently because I went to a party for. And the lead singer of acdc Did a. Did a thing with Slash on stage for a. An industry party on tv.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Holy shit. You know, Jimmy Changs had a restaurant chain called Tangs, right? So, yeah, it's called Tangs. So we did a whole episode about this because apparently back in the 80s and early 90s, meet me at Tangs was a thing that people would do. They had like a location out in la, a couple locations out in California, and people went crazy for Tangs. We actually got some merch made and it said, meet me at Tanks.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah. So. So I, I was, I used to. I went to his. His. He. So I used to do it in the afternoon in Chinatown in London.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Okay.
Paul Chowdhury
And that's where X. So he'd get the biggest A listers at this. So he had some connections for some reason, and then he just used to release them online on a video. I think it's probably still available on YouTube.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Wow.
Paul Chowdhury
He's no longer with us. He since had a heart attack, didn't he?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, he passed away. Yeah, we. We read that also.
Paul Chowdhury
Very young, Very young guy. He was, he wasn't. It was. Must have been late 50s.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That's. You know, when you get to a certain age, are you feeling the way that I'm feeling when you get to a certain age and then you like, read in the obituaries, like, guys like Tangs would be, you know, the. They. They die at 55, 57 years old, you know, died in his sleep or died of a massive heart attack. And you go, holy. That's not like old guys dying. That's like, I could be that guy in a couple of years. It makes me, you know, when you.
Paul Chowdhury
Get, yeah, when you get to this age, I think you're probably a bit younger than me. A little. Yeah, a little bit younger than me. So. And then you start to think, you know, when you, when you can see your retirement, like, now you have a pension in America.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
We don't have a pen. No, we don't. We don't have pensions in America. I mean, there are companies, some companies that offer them, but we don't have like a governmental pension. We have Social Security, which won't be around when I retire. So, you know, we've wrecked that. We've driven that into the ground.
Paul Chowdhury
So, you know, like. But when do you retire? Is like. One of my favorite comics was Jackie Mason.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, right.
Brian Green
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
So I saw his last few tours in the UK and I was at his last ever show and he was in his late 70s by that point. And as, as was. As with George Carlin, right.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
He did it.
Paul Chowdhury
They did it until the dead. But when do you stop doing this? Because when I do these big, big shows and I'm on the road for like months at a time, I'm thinking, man, this is grueling at this age now, now. But I. I couldn't feel it when I was young. Half. I'm doing this over half my life now.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
You know, touring America is different as touring in the uk. In the uk, I could go up and down the country twice within one week and you won't feel it. But in America, the UK is almost the same, if not a tiny bit bigger than New York State. So we're a tiny little island in comparison to you guys.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It is crazy because of the United States. My wife is Venezuelan. Right. So. And like, Venezuelan, like, when I met her, she lived in Venezuela. So, you know, she's been here for about 10 years. But she. She had been coming to America, she had family here for a long time. But she always says that. The thing that has surprised me most about being a citizen of the United States is how incredibly large the United States is and how many different looks and feels there are in the United States. You can be in a desert and then you can fly four hours and you can be in subtropical weather down in Florida, you know, and you're still in the same country. And when you're touring around, I'm sure, you know, planes, trains and automobiles kind of thing, it must be another inside of a hotel room catching another plane, catching another train. And I can imagine that at my age, it's part of the reason why I don't tour is because I just. First of all, I have small children. But second of all, I don't know that my body or my mind would hold up well to that kind of pressure.
Brian Green
I think it takes a certain.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You've been doing it for a long time, so, you know, this is like rinse and repeat for you. But you've built up a certain tolerance for the. I don't know that I have that tolerance for the bullshit.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, you could. You couldn't start at this age. You've got to start young. And like, I was watching a documentary on one of my favorite horror films last night called the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
Which I went to revisit because it's like 50 plus years old now. Right?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
Now that. That was filmed in. In the depths of Texas in the night in 1973.
Bombas Ad Voice
Right.
Paul Chowdhury
So they. The reason that movie existed was because people don't Know how people live in the deep, deep parts of America which you don't even see? You know, in. In London, in the uk, you. You people can't really hide away too much, but in America, you can hide into little crannies and you don't even know where they are. In the woods somewhere.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
No, it's so big that there are. I mean, it's so vast that there are places. You know, there's like. Like, I have a friend whose parents are cattle ranchers, and they own like, 120,000 acres of land in the West. In the west part of the United States. 120,000 acres. I own less than half an acre where I live, and I complain about doing the lawn right. But imagine how lost you could get on just that one family's property. And there are hundreds, if not thousands of people that own that kind of property here in the United States. And it really is a vast country. Do you enjoy any parts of the. Like, are there any crowds specific to the regions in the United States that feel more comfortable for you? Like, some people say the south is more friendly. Right. Some people say that I. New York and Chicago are my kind of places. Some people love LA.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, you know, doing London, New York, LA. Chicago, that's kind of doing a city. Right. So. But when you go into other areas, that's when you're gonna discover yourself. When you go into. When you go to some township in South Africa, when you go to some small town in New Zealand or Australia, and that's when you think, am I really funny? Or is it just the cosmopolitan cities which get to see everything? Anyway, Yeah, I want to perform to the family in the Texas Jamesville massacre. That's when you realize, did you know.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That that story is. Do you know the Ed Gein story? Have you watched that on Netflix yet?
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah. So the Ed Gein story. Interesting that that whole thing was the actor put on that weird voice for Ed Gein.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yes.
Paul Chowdhury
Which. Which, if you listen to the tapes, there's some tapes available of Ed Gein's actual voice. I think it would have been scarier if he played it as Ed Gein's normal voice, because he had a normal deep kind of voice. It just sounded like a normal dude. He didn't go, hey, I'm Ed ke. I want to take you out.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
He sounded like Michael J. I didn't do it. I didn't touch those boys music.
Paul Chowdhury
Kermit the Frog, Michael Jackson voice. He kind of. You made you almost feel sorry for the guy, but you're not, you know, that, that voice. I'm not sure why the actor put that voice on. He said it would make him look more sinister, but it made me kind of. It made you feel as if the guy had special needs.
Brian Green
I agree.
Paul Chowdhury
Which you obviously did.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Obviously he did.
Brian Green
He had a problem, but I agree with you.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I. I think he was trying to play it so that, that the. The audience. My opinion, he made a choice, a conscious decision, the director probably with him, to give some empathy toward this character that we were going to see through these entire seven episodes. But, you know, I. It just when the first time that I heard his voice too, I go, did Ed Gein really talk like that? I also did the research and then also figured out doesn't sound at all like Ed Gein. It sounds like he's making some weird voice for affectation purposes.
Paul Chowdhury
Most of the show was made up.
Brian Green
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
You know.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. That girl wasn't involved.
Paul Chowdhury
Most of it was made up. I've seen. I'm big into the. And you guys do make the best serial killers. I have to give you that. America, when it comes to serial killers, you're the best. We can't. Although we did have Dr. Harold Shipman. I'm not sure if you knew about him.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
No.
Paul Chowdhury
He was a doctor in the UK who would just kill old patients by giving them lethal injections. So we don't know how many he killed. He could be the biggest serial killer of all time. He was based in the north of England, so He's. His name, Dr. Harold Shipman. So hopefully they'll make a Netflix. He might get his own Netflix series. This is the thing. The more people you kill, the more chance you have of a Netflix series.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Well, Ed only confirmedly killed two people. So, you know, and he got his whole thing. But he did dig up a bunch of people. But I mean, he's like kind of the beginning of this whole. You know, listen, we do make serial killers. It's a very uniquely American thing that people go out and murder on. On mass. Right.
Paul Chowdhury
But you know what kills serial killers, right?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
What's that?
Paul Chowdhury
What killed them off? What? You don't get as many anymore.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Tell me.
Paul Chowdhury
Cctv. Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It's true.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
That when you think about it, that's a. That's a good point.
Paul Chowdhury
It's CCTV and, and. And camera phones.
Commercial Break Announcer
Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Because everyone's recording everything 24 hours a day.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah. You can't. He would never got away with most. You didn't even know if he killed his own brother. Most of the thing isn't fat checked. So are there any survivors from that? That time it was 19. You know, it was in the Second World War, so there's no way of fact checking any of this stuff but say so. So that I actually went back and watched the Menendez brothers one where now people want them out of prison.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Right. Yeah. It's a fantastic show. By the way, that was really well done. The Menendez brothers, Was that your favorite of the monsters?
Brian Green
I.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, I think the Menendez brothers is. Was probably my favorite. I did like the one also about the guy who killed Versace. Or was it Versace?
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah, Gianni Versace.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Gianni Versace. I did like that one too.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, I don't think that was a monster season, but it was a great show. Yeah, it was a great show.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Your favorite one. Yeah, that.
Paul Chowdhury
I, I think the. Yeah. And then there was the first season was. What was his name? The gay serial killer.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
The gay serial killer. Oh, Jeffrey Dahmer.
Paul Chowdhury
Jeffrey Dahmer.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, that was really good too. Oh, that was super fantastic also. And, and a lot of the facts. I went back and watched that and married it up to some facts. Not everything's true because it's all serialized. Right. They take a lot of artistic liberty in all of these series. But you. I think Jeffrey Dahmer is, it's pretty aligned with the story. And I was alive during that Jeffrey Dahmer time.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, me too. Yeah. Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Dahmer was one twisted.
Paul Chowdhury
I mean, I did, I did some jokes about that in the last special. I'm not. So I did some jokes about Jeffrey D. Because his first victim was a white guy.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
And then there's the rest of his. Because he lived in a black neighborhood. So the rest of his victims were all from ethnic minority groups, which goes to prove that white people are very bland. You know, if you want flavor, you go ethnic. So that almost got me canceled.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. People want the Menendez brothers out of jail because they think that, you know, that they essentially their parents were paying the penance for these bad deeds.
Paul Chowdhury
But, well, arguably, I think they were molested.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I do too.
Paul Chowdhury
I, I believe that side of it. Now what I couldn't understand was going, they didn't just kill their parents, they blew them into. Literally. They were in their. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Preda.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
You know, they went off with sawn off shotguns and blew them to smithereens. You know, that was, you know, that takes something. Have you ever done that before?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Not recently. Not recently. It's been six, seven years since I'VE taken a sawed off shotgun to anybody.
Paul Chowdhury
And, you know, it'll take another six, seven years to get the courage to do that.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, listen, these guys had some super anger in them and they were ready to go. I mean, they were ready to go, but I think also they were driven by the fact that not only only were they molested and that probably had. You know, your psyche is fucked. If you're getting molested at that age by your parents, your psyche is fucked. Then the fact that the father was such a weird, strict bastard, right? And the mother was kind of out of it and pilled up and all this other stuff. But then there's a lot to gain from those two being murdered, right? There's a lot to gain financially. It means freedom from the tyranny, freedom from the abuse, but it also means financial freedom for the rest of their lives.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, the. The therapist told, you know, it was because their therapist, they got caught. And people say therapy is good for you.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah.
Paul Chowdhury
But it didn't help them.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Didn't help them one bit. They did not. They got a raw deal on that therapist. And it turns out, yeah, he wasn't even like a therapist. He had gotten like a weekend.
Julian (Snacks Lab Founder)
Like a weekend.
Paul Chowdhury
It was the therapist girlfriend, though, wasn't it? Because he told the guy. Girlfriend who was having an affair. So he was a shit therapist. And then the therapist screwed him over.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It was such a twisted series of events.
Paul Chowdhury
I mean, honestly, why is the therapist not in prison?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, you know, he wasn't a therapist.
Brian Green
That's why he's not in prison.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
He was like, seriously. He got like a weekend degree from DeVry and he was just helping people out on the side. He was.
Paul Chowdhury
If Ed Gein got therapy, he would have gone. Caught you.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, that's right. Ed Keen needs the therapy. But, you know, he lived so far away from a therapist, he couldn't go to a therapist. Yeah. So tell me, what is. When does the tour start here in the United States?
Paul Chowdhury
So. Good question. That's a great question.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
By the way, all the links are in the show notes, as they always are. Listener. So, you know, you. We. Paul's got a lot of stuff on his mind. He's got a. But he's got.
Paul Chowdhury
I've got a. I start in on the 6th of January in LA, and then I'm in Seattle, Denver, San Fran, Chicago, Washington, New York, Toronto, Philly, Dallas, Atlanta. It. It goes on.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, great, you're coming to Atlanta. Where are you gonna. Where are you in Atlanta? Are you playing like a. A Club or a. A bigger hall, Georgia G. Oh, oh, in Georgia. Oh, in Georgia, Yeah, yeah, that's Atlanta, Georgia. I'm saying, do you know which club you're playing or which?
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, yeah, it's one of the theaters there.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, I'm so excited. I will come see you, Atlanta. Paul. I'm gonna come see you. I would like to.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I've really enjoyed this conversation. We can shoot the shit about.
Brian Green
Oh, you're.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, yeah, you're playing the Buckhead Theater, buddy. Look at you.
Paul Chowdhury
Buckhead. That's it. The Buckhead.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Look at you. Look at you.
Paul Chowdhury
Is named after a very famous double act you had called Beavis and Bucket back in the MTV days.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Good old Buckhead, Georgia. That is the Buckhead is the Dubai of Atlanta. Just to let you know. That is where all the rich people are. And so that's a good place.
Paul Chowdhury
Dubai is the Dubai of Atlanta.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
It's the Dubai of Atlanta.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, really? Well, I'm not Muslim, but I. I'll try.
Brian Green
Have you.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
You did play Dubai, right? You went and played there?
Paul Chowdhury
I did the Dubai Opera House. Yeah. That's the last date I did in Dubai. I did. I actually did an arena in Dubai just after lockdown. So I socially did. It's still. I was only a couple of thousand people because they. It was. It was like a 15,000 seat room, but they had to socially distance people, so it was sold out at two and a half thousand.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Wow. I've always wanted to visit Dubai. That's like one of those places that's kind of on the list because it seems like a, I don't know, a Disney World for money and adult, you know what I'm saying? Like, it seems like it just born out of nothing. And they just made this amazingly shiny, pretty thing. And I'm a fan of big projects and engineering and all that. I feel like Dubai is one of those places.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, the country's about my age, but most of it's sinking because it's just a man made, you know. You're not supposed to be living there really, are you? No, it's inhabitable.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. It turns out that just dumping a bunch of sand in the middle of the ocean and making islands with big buildings on them wasn't all that well thought out.
Paul Chowdhury
Well, well, then they. They do the cloud. They make the clouds as well. They can make it rain out there now.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah, that's what I heard. That they're seeding the clouds and they make it rain.
Paul Chowdhury
That's cloud seeding.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. There's got to be some repercussion to that at some point.
Brian Green
Point.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Do you know what I'm saying?
Paul Chowdhury
Well, they had the floods, didn't they?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's right.
Paul Chowdhury
So they couldn't then control the floods, and then it went out of control.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Whoops. Well, they'll. They have enough money. They'll figure it out. Paul is on tour. Paul, where can we see your most recent special? Also?
Paul Chowdhury
So, my most recent special, I think. I'm not allowed to say this, but I think somebody illegally uploaded onto YouTube.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, okay. So you can illegally not give Paul money by watching it on YouTube.
Paul Chowdhury
So. So before I get it taken down because it was illegally uploaded, you know, I hope you don't see it.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Yeah. Okay, so listeners, don't go watch Paul's Latest special on YouTube illegally uploaded by someone not yet named.
Paul Chowdhury
Yeah. Otherwise in the UK it's on Sky TV or now tv, which doesn't work in America.
Brian Green
I tried.
Paul Chowdhury
So. So, but. So I'm gonna find the. The bastard who illegally uploaded it on YouTube before you guys watch.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Well, you look straight in the mirror and you go find that guy.
Brian Green
All right?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Also, additionally, he's on tour here starting in January. Paul, you are welcome back anytime, my friend. We would love to have you. And I, I will try and get to the Buckhead Theater because it's right down the street. I would like to come watch you do some jokes.
Paul Chowdhury
An honor and a privilege. And, you know, I've been doing this all my life, which has led up to the biggest. I've gone from play. I thought, I don't need arenas anymore. I don't need to be playing the same rooms as Beyonce Knowles, Taylor Swift and the likes. I need to go into the Buckhead.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Buckhead theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Be there or be square. He's now made it on the biggest comedy podcast in all of north Atlanta. And so he's on his way up. We can talk.
Paul Chowdhury
Oh, an honor and a privilege.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Thanks, Paul. I really appreciate it.
Rachel (voice of God on TCB)
Rachel here. While Brian takes his old man bladder to the little boy boys room. Let's talk turkey. TCB needs your help. If you love the show, do us all a favor and share. Sharing is caring. And we know you care, don't you? Well, don't you? Oh, that was some childhood trauma rearing its ugly head. Do you want to be on the show? Leave us a voicemail at 212-433-3822 and you could be the next TCB disembodied voice. Ooh, what'd you do today? I was a disembodied voice. You know, that sounds more dangerous than it actually is. Find us on Insta at the commercial break on the web@tcbpodcast.com and all the episodes on video are available the same day@YouTube.com TheCommercialBreak. I'm gonna go help Brian get back up the stairs while you listen to the sponsors. And then we'll all meet back here and get back to this episode of the commercial break. I'll take a raise now, bitches. Bye.
Julian (Snacks Lab Founder)
Thanks to TikTok ads, I was able to open up a business with my childhood friend and even hire employees. My name is Julian, and I am one of the founders of the snacks Lab. We are an exotic snack company. We import snacks from all over the world. We had over $100,000 in sales from our TikTok ads in the first month. So our orders went from five a day to over 250 orders a day. You definitely have to use TikTok ads.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
TikTok for business is helping owners like you reach new customers every, every day. Head over to get started.TikTok.com TikTokads.
Brian Green
Your.
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Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Oh, gosh.
Brian Green
All right. That's gonna be the last interview that.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
I do for a while without Chrissy.
Brian Green
She's my security. But Blanket, she's my binky. She's my baba. I love her very much, and I want her to come home. And she will. But not this week. I mean, not this episode. She'll be back next week on the next TCB infomercial. And don't you worry, throughout the holiday, we are smashing new episodes left and right. And you know where you would have heard those episodes first on our YouTube channel, YouTube.com the commercial break. Now streaming all of our episodes as we record them, except for the celebrity TCB infomercial episodes. Those you'll have to wait until Tuesday, but if you want to catch early previews of us and you want to get involved and you want to be a part of the action, then you got to follow us. YouTube.com the commercial break. Hit the notifications. Make sure you get notified when we go live or follow us on Instagram at the commercial break. So many exciting things happening around here. Listen, I have been wrong. I have been wrong. Maya Copa's apologies. Coup d' etat to you, all of the people who have been texting us. I really apologize.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
We had a little problem with the.
Brian Green
Phone, and then I got the phone fixed, and now it's the holiday and blah, blah, blah. I'm gonna respond to everybody this holiday weekend. You could hear from me on Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving. Isn't that exactly what you want? Give thanks for the mediocre comedy podcast that puts out way too many episodes for way too little money.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Hey, that's.
Brian Green
That's our problem, not yours. Okay, I'll accept that on face value. All right. 212-4333. TCB 212-433-3822. Questions? Comments, concerns, Contents? Ideas?
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Ideas. We're gonna respond.
Brian Green
Gonna get to it. You know, I'm like, I'm one of those people. I, I just, I, I. Everything else distracts me. I'm like a cat with a shiny toy, little squirrel with a nut. I run around the yard. I don't know which way I'm going. And then eventually I make my way up the tree with the nut. Okay, I'll get to it this weekend. Yeah, I already said YouTube.com and all that jazz. I already said at the commercial break on Instagram and all that jazz. And I'll remind you to go to the website tcb podcast.com get your free.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Sticker, all the audio, all the video. Okay?
Brian Green
On behalf of Chrissy and I, I'll tell you that I love you. Best to you. I hope you have a great holiday week. Until next time, I will say, I do say, and I must say goodbye.
Paul Chowdhury
Hey, Ryan Reynolds here, wishing you a very happy, happy half off holiday. Because right now, Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Give it a try@mintmobile.com.
Paul Chowdhury
Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only.
Paul Chowdhury
Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network.
Brian Green
Busy tax.
Commercial Break Announcer
Don'T miss Sebastian Maniscalco's new stand up special It Ain't Right now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. Filmed live at the sold out United center arena in his hometown of Chicago, Sebastian's newest special features his larger than life presence. One of a kind physical comedy and hilarious everyday observations that will keep you laughing non stop. Don't miss him take the stage. In his most epic and legendary performance yet, Sebastian goes all in on family chaos, aging, non existent manners and life's most relatable and frustratingly funny moments. Grab the popcorn and get ready to laugh. He's got a lot to get off his chest. Watch Sebastian Maniscalco It Ain't Right now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers terms apply.
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Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Tv I have it.
Brian Green
And Doug here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
Paul Chowdhury
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
Brian Green
Cut the camera. They see us.
Co-host (possibly Chrissy's co-host)
Only pay for what you need @libertymutual.com.
Paul Chowdhury
Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.
Date: November 25, 2025
Host: Bryan Green
Guest: Paul Chowdhury
This TCB Infomercial episode features acclaimed UK comedian Paul Chowdhury, renowned for selling out massive venues such as Wembley Arena and O2 Arena, embarking on international tours, and appearing in specials on Amazon Prime and Comedy Central. Recorded while Bryan was under the weather and Chrissy was returning from vacation, the conversation explores the differences in comedic culture between the UK and the US, the realities of performing in arenas, the evolving landscape of stand-up amid audience sensitivities, and deep dives into pop culture touchstones from celebrity psychics to serial killer documentaries. The episode sparkles with irreverent banter, industry insights, and Paul’s unique, deadpan comedic style.
[10:13–16:26]
Selling Out Wembley and Performing at O2 Arena:
Paul recounts going from "de-rigging" Mariah Carey's stage as a student to later selling out those same venues as a comic.
"I went from de rigging Mariah Carey's stage to then performing on the same stage... I thought one day, you know, I'll sell this room out." — Paul Chowdhury [13:38]
The Business (and Ego) of Big Shows:
Paul breaks down how playing arenas is less about profit ("If you break even, you’ve won. If you did, you did it as a statement") and more about making an industry statement.
"Comics do it as a statement... You are paying for the privilege of playing, and it's not an easy gig." — Paul Chowdhury [15:19]
The Odd Dichotomy of Big Versus Small Rooms:
Arena comedy involves adjusting timing for laughter to travel ("You have to wait a couple seconds for your voice to reach the back").
Smaller venues let comics connect personally and play with energy more directly.
[17:44–20:50]
Paul’s Tales from the Corporate Circuit:
After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, Paul describes being assaulted at a wedding gig for making a joke as requested by the groom—proving that “corporate shows are quite dangerous.”
"He rushed the stage and grabs the mic off me and said... If you continue to say this, I'm going to punch you in the head." — Paul Chowdhury [20:13]
Increased Aggression at Shows:
Both Paul and Bryan lament that audiences seem more volatile, with people "quicker to get crazy; they're quick to snap."
[22:04–24:49]
The Shift in How Audiences React:
Paul notes a cultural shift: "People understood that jokes on stage were jokes. And now people are taking this very seriously."
Viral Clips and Personal Offense:
"People are only offended by material when it affects them... I could do 10 jokes about something that is so offensive, but I do one joke about, say, a sweatshirt that you're wearing, and that could affect you." — Paul Chowdhury [23:55]
Working with Comedy Legends:
Name-drops of Patrice O'Neal and Bill Burr ("Bill Burr came to London and opened for me at the golf. At this golf club.") with stories about touring with them or sharing bills.
Hilariously, Paul quips:
"I'm not sure what [Bill Burr] went on to become, but I haven't heard of him since." [26:25]
[27:54–29:09]
Translating References:
Paul shares that as a British-Indian comedian, he switches references in the US ("change Sainsbury’s to Walmart") and Americanizes terms so local audiences connect.
"Real estate is local. All comedy might be local, too." — Bryan Green [27:37]
Recent Tour Details:
Upcoming US tour, titled "AI Artificial Indian", and recent spots at NYC’s Comedy Cellar (a "storied club" for working out new material).
[29:58–35:17]
Discussion on Sylvia Browne & TV Psychics:
Both lambast the late TV psychic for exploiting grieving families. Bryan describes the harm done on “The Montel Williams Show” ("she would start just telling people falsehoods, bullshitting them").
Skeptics & James Randi's Legacy:
Paul recommends the documentary “An Honest Liar” on the debunking of psychics, calling attention to the public’s willingness to believe for comfort.
"People want to believe a lie because it... gives something from believing there's something after this existence." — Paul Chowdhury [33:47]
[35:05–36:31]
[37:10–46:07]
British Comedy’s Roots and Evolution:
Paul grew up absorbing “primitive” 70s/80s UK comedy and later sought out American comics—Prior, Kinison, Murphy, Carlin—via cassette tapes, traveling to central London for the hot releases.
Contrast in Styles:
UK comedy was more "set up punchline," while US comics like Kinison were raw, ranting, and loud. Paul and Bryan dissect how certain legendary acts have (or have not) aged well.
"Back then, comedy was very different. You had to go and buy a cassette tape... That was our life adventure." — Paul Chowdhury [39:21]
"I don't think [Andrew Dice Clay's] hickory dickory dock is on the top of anybody's..." — Co-host [42:33]
Endurance and Aging in Comedy:
Discussing Jackie Mason and George Carlin, Paul muses:
“But when do you stop doing this? Because when I do these big, big shows and I'm on the road for months at a time... now I feel it at this age.” [45:49]
[46:07–61:43]
"The UK is almost the same, if not a tiny bit bigger than New York State. So we're a tiny little island in comparison to you guys." — Paul Chowdhury [46:07]
[48:19–54:42]
[57:21–61:43]
US Tour Begins Jan 6 in Los Angeles:
Other stops: Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, New York, Toronto, Philly, Dallas, Atlanta (Buckhead Theater).
Where to Watch Paul's Special:
Illegally uploaded to YouTube (“I think somebody illegally uploaded onto YouTube...so before I get it taken down...”).
Officially available in the UK on Sky TV/Now TV.
"You can illegally not give Paul money by watching it on YouTube..." — Co-host [60:38]
Parting Words:
“I’ve been doing this all my life...I’ve gone from playing arenas to the biggest comedy podcast in all of North Atlanta. I’ve made it.” — Paul Chowdhury [61:26]
On the expense and statement of arena gigs:
"If you break even, you’ve won the day...It’s a flex, it’s a statement, and hopefully an attention grabber for the next big thing." — Co-host [16:26]
On audience sensitivity:
"As long as it's funny… Was it funny? That's the point." — Paul Chowdhury [24:49]
On the loss of context in online clips:
"I’m very careful now as to what clips to upload...People are only offended by material when it affects them." — Paul Chowdhury [23:55]
On comedy as catharsis:
“When you’re laughing, you’re opening up even to ideas that otherwise you wouldn’t...it’s like a Trojan horse.” — Co-host [23:03]
On serial killer documentaries:
“You guys do make the best serial killers. I have to give you that. We can’t…” — Paul Chowdhury [51:24]
On the ubiquity of conspiracy thinking:
“There’s no truth anymore. It’s your truth...If you do a Google search, you can debunk those.” — Paul Chowdhury [35:56]
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 10:13 | Paul's Wembley/O2 experience & arena comedy dynamics | | 17:44 | Dangers of doing corporate gigs & being rushed | | 22:04 | Comedy and audience sensitivities, threats | | 24:49 | Working with Patrice O’Neal, Bill Burr anecdote | | 27:37 | Adapting sets for US audiences & Comedy Cellar | | 29:58 | Sylvia Browne, TV psychics, & James Randi | | 35:05 | Rise of conspiracy theories and "your truth" | | 37:10 | Paul's early life—comedy influences | | 46:07 | Touring US vs UK—lifestyle and career reflections | | 48:19 | Serial killers, documentaries, and pop culture | | 57:21 | Paul’s US tour details & where to watch his special | | 61:26 | Parting thoughts and thanks |
[End of Summary]