On Comedy Writing

Anthony DeVito (The Break with Michelle Wolf) joins Alan to talk about starting stand-up late, doing road gigs, and writing for the White House Correspondents' Dinner.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan talks with Michael Goldenberg (The Pack Theater) about doing stage tech in Los Angeles.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taryn Englehart (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Reductress) joins Alan to talk about growing up in a religious house, the fall-out from one of her Reductress articles, and producing a segment for Hillary Clinton.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin Tyler (The Opposition, Jetpacks Go!) joins Alan to talk about studying street theater for a year, selling a pilot with Jon Gabrus, and directing commericals.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arthur Meyer (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Pangea 3000) joins Alan to talk about comedy superheroes not existing, watching SNL, and the way he was hired for Late Night.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

River Clegg (The Opposition, The Onion) joins Alan to talk about working on his college’s humor magazine, making his own version of The Onion as a kid, and working with a writing partner. Check the @OnComedyWriting Twitter to read Alan's sketch used in the pitch segment!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth Reiss (Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Onion) joins Alan to talk about the successes and failures of his sketch group, being the head writer of The Onion, and getting on staff at Comedy Bang! Bang! through a Twitter DM.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan talks with Michael Goldenberg (The Pack Theater) about sketch classes in Los Angeles.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sal Gentile (Late Night with Seth Meyers, UCB) joins Alan to talk about working on MSNBC for Chris Hayes, covering presidential elections from journalistic and comedic perspectives, and writing the A Closer Look segment.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Drezen (Saturday Night Live, Reductress) joins Alan to talk about her “tense" relationship with writing, doing open mics, and writing a packet for SNL.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evan Waite (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The President Show) joins Alan to talk about teaching English in China, writing comedy about Trump, and working with Tina Fey.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Richardson (Saturday Night Live, Miracle Workers) joins Alan to talk about starting out in Chicago, getting his first writing job from a short film, and his first year writing on Saturday Night Live.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Sherman (The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight) joins Alan to talk about archiving sketches at Second City, working on packets, and how writing for The Colbert Report was like a math problem.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beth Newell (Reductress) joins Alan to talk about political cartoons, her time as the Managing Director of Sketch at The Magnet, and the early days of Reductress.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea Davison (The Opposition, @midnight) joins Alan to talk about doing stand-up for the first time because of a college class, getting an agent because of her Lena Dunham impression, and being a cast member on the rebooted MadTV.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Reynolds (The President Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) joins Alan to talk about Celebrity Deathmatch, writing children’s animation, and his webcomic, A Fistful of Babies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Folta (The New Yorker, Paul Ryan Magazine) joins Alan to talk writing online humor, parody magazines, and the state of political satire.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Chamberlain (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Above Average) joins Alan to talk about how bad commercial auditions led him to writing, doing sketch open mics at UCB, and the state of digital comedy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Kibblesmith (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ClickHole) joins Alan to talk about how he sold his first book, writing comic books, and the early days of Colbert’s Late Show.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Gregor (How I Met Your Mother, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) joins Alan to talk about starting the NYU sketch comedy group, getting stuck in the development process, and writing and directing his first movie.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices