Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil

Episode: Aparna Nancherla and Eliza Skinner
Release Date: November 27, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Wrong Turns is a hilarious, cathartic celebration (“where dignity goes to die”) of embarrassing stories and social disasters, hosted by Jameela Jamil. Joined by comedians Aparna Nancherla and Eliza Skinner, the trio share their most cringe-worthy professional and personal moments—eschewing any lessons or redemption in favor of pure, delightful commiseration. Stand-up mishaps, disastrous dates, and the awkwardness of the comedy world are all on the menu.

Key Discussion Points & Segment Highlights

1. Introductions & Friendship History

[01:04 – 03:13]

• Jameela introduces Aparna (comedian, Emmy-nominated writer, and soon-to-air special, "Hopeful Potato") and Eliza (comedian, director, known for "Adam Ruins Everything," "Earth to Ned", and director of Aparna’s special).
• The pair reminisce about their long friendship:
  • Eliza: “When was Totally Biased?”
  • Aparna: “2012.”
  • Jameela, joking about Hollywood years: “In Hollywood, that’s a woman who can’t work anymore!”
  • Jointly: “Two of us together almost have value.” (03:15)

2. “The Happiest Tour on Earth” Gone Wrong

[03:21 – 05:19]

• Aparna and Eliza share touring memories, specifically a “hiatus” trip to Disney World after learning their left-wing late-night show “Totally Biased” was cancelled.
• Anecdote: getting stuck on “Ellen’s Energy Adventure” (sponsored by Halliburton), where the exhibit downplays renewable energy and malfunctions while animatronic Ellen fights dinosaurs.
  • Eliza: “And the whole way through... the coda on each source of energy would be, but that’s not as good as fossil fuels...” (04:26–04:57)

3. Micro-Humiliations: Stand-Up, Bad Audiences, and Parental Feedback

[05:33 – 16:29]

Aparna’s Fundraiser Disaster

• Did an ill-fated stand-up set at a fundraiser for survivors of sex trafficking, performing right after emotional testimonials.
  • Aparna: “They had me go up after a bunch of testimonials from former sex trafficked women.” (06:58)
  • After bombing: “The person next to me just leans over and goes, ‘You did it.’” (08:30)

Feedback Loopholes

• The hosts dissect how to respond to a friend’s bad set without lying:
  • Aparna: “I always turn on the audience. I’m like, ‘They’re so stupid. They didn’t deserve it.’” (08:48)
  • Eliza: “I think they were really listening to you...” (09:37)
  • British responses: “Seem like you really enjoyed that!” (10:01)
  • Eliza relays: “My dad’s reaction was, ‘You can still edit it, right?’” (10:43)

Eliza’s Corporate Comedy Meltdown

• Booked to host a toothpaste company’s event after a mass employee layoff and a death at the resort. Rapidly loses the crowd; even freestyle rapping can’t save her.
  • Eliza: “My little trick is freestyle rapping... Did that. They were delighted. Still had more time to fill...” (12:46)
  • Supportive fans from dinner: “Oof, it was that bad, girl.” (13:24)

Childhood Stage Terror

• Eliza, playing the hog in a kids’ theater show, forgets her lyrics and freezes under pressure in front of all her peers.
  • Eliza: “For me, it was about five hours of me standing there on stage...” (14:41)

4. Major “Wrong Turn” Stories: Dating, Touch Aversion, and Social Shame

[16:29 – 37:12]

Aparna’s Nightmare Date

[16:41 – 29:04]

• Aparna, newly single, agrees to a date with a man from Facebook (profile pic: nice body, Santa emoji over the face). He’s handsome, but immediately declares, “I’m really honest. I just like to tell it how it is.”
  • Jameela, aghast: “I fucking hate those kinds of people as well.” (20:27–20:39)
• He claims he could “probably be a comedian”— then confesses he only came on the date because “you’re an Indian comedian. I just wanted to support another Indian artist... I didn’t actually think you were that funny.”
  • Aparna, frozen: “I think my face froze. Like, I’m clearly the freeze in the fight/flight/or freeze.” (23:49–23:56)
  • He then tries to rectify it by forcing her mouth into a smile:
    • “He reaches across the table and he forces my mouth into a smile.” (24:31)
    • Jameela: “Like the 1950s in asylums.”
• Postscript: He messages afterwards saying, “Hey, that was fun. I guess I’ll see you around.”
• Panel commiserates about the struggle to react in the moment to appalling experiences.

Touch Boundaries and Reluctant Huggers

[26:24 – 28:26]

• Jameela shares her compulsion to bite anyone who surprises her by touching her face, a defense response rooted in a friend’s drunken lick at a house party.
• Aparna: “I think now I just exude an air of ‘don’t touch me.’ Even friends ask, ‘Do you like hugs?’ and I think maybe... some friends have hugged me and they’ve been like, ‘Oh my God, it’s like hugging a corpse.’” (27:11–27:30)

Eliza’s Social Debacle: The Party That Wasn’t

[30:53 – 34:50]

• Eliza, delighted to be invited out by New York standup comics after a successful improv set, invites them to a “party” hosted by her friend—only to realize, after dragging them through the city, that the party was actually the night before.
• Humiliation compounded by the fact that the comedians show her pity, not camaraderie.
  • Eliza: “They didn’t make fun of me... If they had started bagging on me, then I would have been like, we’re on the gang...”
  • Jameela (relating): “Making the decision for anything is my biggest fear if it involves multiple people.” (33:27–33:58)
• Jameela adds the story of Sal Vulcano and friends attending a costume party on the wrong night, showing up in full regalia to a bemused woman in pajamas.

5. Listener “Misery Loves Company”

[37:41 – 39:21]

• Gideon’s story: On a family vacation, he accidentally caresses a stranger’s leg on a flight, thinking it’s his girlfriend—who quietly watches it all unfold.
  • “Finally the guy just said, ‘I just wanted to see how far this could go.’” (38:49)
• The trio marvel at the perfect awkwardness:
  • Eliza: “They’re married now. It’s a throuple.”
  • Jameela: “So pervy and wonderful.” (39:09)

Notable Quotes

• Eliza Skinner (on failed stand-up):
  “I think they were really listening to you. They weren’t laughing a lot, but it was because they were listening to you.” (09:37)
• Aparna Nancherla (on awkward fundraising gig):
  “I was like, I guess I cut the dating material... I just talked about how living in New York was weird, but obviously—everyone was by choice, by choice, by choice...” (07:33)
• Jameela Jamil (on authenticity as a warning sign):
  “People who are so proud of their authenticity, which is really just like... a long-term ‘no offense’.” (20:27)
• Eliza Skinner (on corporate crowds):
  “They were delighted. Still had more time to fill. Tried to do it a second time—they weren’t impressed anymore. And I was like, really? Come on, we got a week of this, people.” (13:09)
• Eliza Skinner (reflecting on being left out):
  “It was really dark and... the shade between the comedy world and me was pulled down. They were like, nope, you are not invited again.” (34:50–35:01)

Where to Find the Guests

• Aparna Nancherla:
  • Special “Hopeful Potato” debuts December 15 on Dropout
  • Instagram: @parnapkin
• Eliza Skinner:
  • Director of “Hopeful Potato”
  • Instagram: @eskins
  • Etsy/Instagram: Handmade pottery and monster ceramics

Tone & Takeaways

The episode is irreverent, self-deprecating, and honest, packed with banter, the kind of mutual vulnerability that’s both relatable and cathartic. There are no morals, little comfort, but a lot of permission to just let the humiliation breathe—and to laugh at the resilience and absurdity of everyday disasters.

Key Segments by Timestamp Overview

| Time | Segment | Summary | |-------------|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 01:04-03:13 | Introductions, friendship, Hollywood | Aparna & Eliza’s comedic origins and dynamic | | 03:21-05:19 | Disney tour disaster | Epcot gone wrong, Halliburton’s cursed ride | | 05:33-16:29 | Micro-humiliations (standup/corporate/childhood) | Most mortifying bombs on and off stage | | 16:41-29:04 | Aparna’s wrong turn (terrible date) | Embarrassments in dating life | | 30:53-34:50 | Eliza’s wrong turn (party on wrong night) | Comedy world awkwardness; fear of hosting | | 37:41-39:21 | Listener disaster story | Airplane caress catastrophe | | 39:29-40:44 | Plugs and pottery | Where to find Aparna and Eliza online |

In Jameela’s words:
"Wrong Turns: where dignity goes to die."
Humiliation never felt so real—or so welcome.