Jo Koy is one of the biggest headlining comedians in the world and it might not have turned out that way if he hadn't become a vigorous self-promoter. Jo tells Marc how moving around a lot as part of a military family and dealing with his brother's severe mental illness  made him realize that if he was going to do something big, he had to do it himself. Jo and Marc also talk about holding down other jobs while doing comedy, the hazards of burning through material, and why people mistakenly think being a stand-up is easy. This episode is sponsored by The Jim Jefferies Show Podcast, ZipRecruiter, and Starbucks Doubleshot.

AD-FREE ARCHIVES. Marc Maron welcomes comedians, actors, directors, writers, authors, musicians and folks from all walks of life to his home for amazingly revealing conversations. Marc's probing, comprehensive interview style allows guests to express themselves in ways listeners have never heard.

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast Podcast (Premium 2)

Marc Maron welcomes comedians, actors, directors, writers, authors, musicians and folks from all walks of life to his home for amazingly revealing conversations. Marc's probing, comprehensive interview style allows guests to express themselves in ways listeners have never heard.

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

Jo Koy

When Jen Statsky and her collaborators were creating the show Hacks, they knew they needed to nail the portrayal of life in standup comedy because comics will quickly know if they got it wrong. Marc talks with Jen about how they did, indeed, nail it. They also talk about her work at The Onion and on shows like Parks and Rec, The Good Place, Broad City and Lady Dynamite. Plus, Jen and Marc talk about stuffing your feelings, getting better at acknowledging them, and understanding why growing up in Boston might lead you to ignoring them.

When Jen Statsky and her collaborators were creating the show Hacks, they knew they needed to nail the portrayal of life in standup comedy because comics will quickly know if they got it wrong. Marc talks with Jen about how they did, indeed, nail it. They also talk about her work at The Onion and on shows like Parks and Rec, The Good Place, Broad City and Lady Dynamite. Plus, Jen and Marc talk about stuffing your feelings, getting better at acknowledging them, and understanding why growing up in Boston might lead you to ignoring them.

Jen Statsky talks with Marc about co-creating the show Hacks, growing up in Boston, learning how not to stuff her feelings, and writing for a murderer’s row of beloved TV shows.

Jen Statsky

Marc has a very direct question for his old friend Greg Proops: “Did we lose?” In the fight for the heart and soul of comedy, there is real uncertainty about the current trajectory. What legacy did the alternative comedy movement leave, if any? Did the Obama years create a false sense of security for popular comedians that made them drop the ball? Will a there be a counterforce to the dominant strain of reactionary backlash comedy? Marc and Greg interrogate these questions and their own roles in the past three decades of comedy. 

Marc has a very direct question for his old friend Greg Proops: &ldquo;Did we lose?&rdquo; In the fight for the heart and soul of comedy, there is real uncertainty about the current trajectory. What legacy did the alternative comedy movement leave, if any? Did the Obama years create a false sense of security for popular comedians that made them drop the ball? Will a there be a counterforce to the dominant strain of reactionary backlash comedy? Marc and Greg interrogate these questions and their own roles in the past three decades of comedy.&nbsp;

Greg Proops and Marc get worked up about the future of comedy, tracing the trajectory of the alternative comedy scene to the current rise of reactionary backlash comedy.

Greg Proops

For a while, Lara Beitz could only get on stage to do comedy if she was hammered. She’d drink to feel less nervous but then there wasn’t a time when she didn’t feel nervous, so she was just always drinking. Lara and Marc talk about their shared experiences with addiction and recovery as they were developing their voices as comedians. Lara also looks back on an upbringing that was clouded by the specter of alcoholism and how she had to come to terms with it later in life. 

For a while, Lara Beitz could only get on stage to do comedy if she was hammered. She&rsquo;d drink to feel less nervous but then there wasn&rsquo;t a time when she didn&rsquo;t feel nervous, so she was just always drinking. Lara and Marc talk about their shared experiences with addiction and recovery as they were developing their voices as comedians. Lara also looks back on an upbringing that was clouded by the specter of alcoholism and how she had to come to terms with it later in life.&nbsp;

Comic Lara Beitz talks to Marc about an upbringing clouded by alcoholism, her own addictions, reasons for self-medicating, and the hard road of recovery.

Jo Koy

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

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