News and Happenings

I’m super excited to share with you my appearance on Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast. You know Mike Birbiglia. He’s an award-winning comedian, actor, filmmaker, author. He’s also the host of the podcast Working It Out, where he invites on creatives like Bill Hader, Stephen Colbert, Quinta Brunson, Ira Glass, Drew Barrymore, and they discuss their creative process and work out material. It’s like a fly on the wall creative writing session. I was on Working It Out last month and I’m going to share that episode with you.

“Well, I think we made our point” are words that our guest’s mother spoke after throwing ice cubes at a rat-infested cypress tree. It’s Mae Martin! Mae is a standup comedian, writer and star/creator of the show Feel Good. We discussed their new Netflix standup special called SAP, which has a mind-blowing bit about how humans communicate. I can’t wait for you to listen to our conversation about dressing how you want, British dads, and trying not to hurt people’s feelings when you make a TV show based on your life.

I giggled so hard during this episode that I nearly lost it, but it’s no surprise considering our guest, Natalie Morales, is an incredibly delightful person. You may know her from performances as Lucy on “Parks and Recreation,” in the dark comedy-drama “Dead to Me,” and her recent appearance on Mel Brooks’ “History of the World”. We discussed her greatest sources of inspiration and the moment she realized performing would be her calling. On top of that, Natalie shares the most incredible high school story involving Britney Spears, 100 kids in an auditorium and a single projectile button.

Sam Bee is one of the most beloved Daily Show correspondents of all time and has personally been nominated for 18 freaking Emmy Awards. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s the host of an amazing new podcast called Choice Words, right here on Lemonada Media. Sam and I talked about touring for her standup show, “Your Favorite Woman”. It was amazing to hear how she deals with her inner critic and feedback from the outside world. Also, she recommended I watch her favorite TV show, Call the Midwife, which sounds amazing, but our producer did recommend I watch it after I’ve already given birth.

Nimesh Patel is a standup comedian, former SNL writer, producer and on top of all of that, he has a freaking finance degree from NYU. Nimesh tells me the story behind his hilarious new special called “Lucky Lefty”, where he muses on his testicular cancer diagnosis and cure. It was awesome to chat about resilience on stage, true destiny and the time he had the best standup set of his life in front of Chris Rock.

Every week my son August and I would watch our favorite ever dancer Amanda Kloots perform on Dancing with the Stars. She was truly amazing, and that’s just one of the reasons I’m so excited she’s joining us today. We talk about her son Elvis, writing through grief, and the joys of working with family. I’m pretty sure I convinced her to star in her own screenplay and cried at least 7 times throughout our conversation, I’m not worried about it!

Jameela Jamil has basically lived multiple lifetimes in one. She’s been a DJ, a radio show host, and a model. She also founded I Weigh and hosts the I Weigh with Jameela Jamil podcast. And if that wasn’t enough, she starred in amazing TV shows like “The Good Place” and “She-Hulk Attorney at Law.” Jameela shares with me the wild journey that got her to “The Good Place,” her first-ever acting role (!!) It was so incredible to meet someone whose life has also been changed forever by a Mike Schur TV show. Plus, Jameela shares why her new podcast Bad Dates is covering her “misery carbon footprint” by making people laugh.

Zach Zimmerman has a custom-made sweater to match their new book “Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)?” Yes, it’s a heck of a title, and just like the book, we unpack a lot together. Zach tells me about the best advice they got from their “burrito boss” and why their comedy is both “delightful and devastating.” I also do a teeny bit of trauma dumping. Just a teeny bit. We’re all working through something out here.

I taught myself guitar by learning Jason Mraz’s songs, so it feels really full circle to be talking with him this week. We chat about going from solo work to collaborating with the band Raining Jane, listening back to his old songs, and why he chooses positivity when performing live. He also tells me about creating his new album “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride” and developing a passion for dance in his 40s.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has done so many incredible things in her career and for me personally. Her character Elaine on Seinfeld has been my icon for style and hair since childhood. She tells me about her career from SNL to Veep,...