Why Are You Laughing? - Karl Pilkington

Worlds collide as the history-of-comedy podcast "Why Are You Laughing?" examines the career of Karl Pilkington.

This is one where I can say "I lived it." I was listening to the XFM broadcasts basically on a loop from around 2003 to around 2013. I was there when they reunited for the BBC, did the podcast, made the HBO show, and so on. I mention this by way of reminiscing, rather than some form of bragging. I recommended Ricky, Steve and Karl to so many people and only one person really got it. But that was a big hit.

There's a project underway that's unearthing "new" XFM material and remastering the archives. I've lost track of it though. For whatever reason, the clip I shared of the new material has been deleted. But if you're looking to track down that project, you can start here.

Why Are You Laughing - Harvey Pekar vs. Letterman

I posted the full Harvey Pekar/David Letterman collection a while back, but I know from firsthand experience that that's not for everyone. If you want just the highlights as well as humorous commentary, Blind Mike takes you through Harvey Pekar's appearances on Letterman.

And in case anyone's wondering, I'm fully on Letterman's side in this. The "you're a guest in my house" paradigm is 100% correct. But while I don't fully agree with the thrust of "American Splendor," it is quite a good film.

Why Are You Laughing? - Late Night Wars

 For those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Letterman, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The Late Shift."

But if you don't want to commit hours and hours of reading time, the "Why Are You Laughing?" podcast is perhaps the second best source of information.

The book was turned into a made-for-tv movie also (same name), for those of you who would prefer that. But that's a distant 3rd place, as the movie is less informative and a bit cheesy.

And for those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Conan, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night."

But, as above, if books aren't for you, the following podcast has you covered. There has been no made-for-tv movie about this topic, to my knowledge, but can you imagine?

If you'd like to read my book review of "The War for Late Night" see here.

As a self-proclaimed expert, I have my disagreements and differences with the podcast, just as I do with the TV movie. But they're mainly minor quibbles and who cares anyway? I enjoy their fresh perspective shedding light on my own.

A Joe Matarese Roast Retrospective

 

You're probably aware of Joe Materese from the time he tried to do a TV show and got roasted - I posted it on this blog last year. Here's a podcast re-visiting the event and adding in some context and analysis.

A Small History of Norm MacDonald on Conan

 

"Why Are You Laughing" re-visits and discusses Norm's appearances on Conan O'Brien's talk shows over the years.

The Story of Windy City Heat

A History of Comedy Podcast tells the story of "Windy City Heat" a real documentary about the making of a fake movie where the star didn't know that it was all an elaborate prank.

The full movie is on youtube: