Episode 1431 - Tituss Burgess

Before discovering comedy, A. Whitney Brown dropped out of the eighth grade, bounced around reform schools, had a criminal record, and spent time in jail. Now, after a career that saw him do standup on Carson, write for SNL during its late-‘80s renaissance, and help launch The Daily Show, Whitney says he’s happy to be out of show business. Marc caught up with Whitney at his home in Austin, Texas to talk about his life, his leisure and Mark Twain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Mai 20241h 34min

Joe Mande’s past appearances on WTF involve him being a sort of merry comic prankster, like back in the heyday of Twitter when he was trolling politicians and corporate brands on a daily basis. But in today’s polarized social environment, Joe and Marc talk about how tricky it is to be a modern day troublemaker. They also discuss their shared love of Michael Clayton, courtside basketball, and Joe’s hand in the making of the show Hacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Mai 20241h 6min

Chris Pine is in the position to offer Marc some advice. As the first-time director of the new movie Poolman, Chris gives Marc practical tips as Marc entertains the possibility of directing a film. But Chris also provides Marc with some insight into why people like them still feel a need to keep going despite their clear measurements of success. They also talk about Star Trek, Hell or High Water, Chris’s dad Robert Pine, Denzel Washington and the eclipse that was happening during this conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Mai 20241h 31min

Before Tiffany Haddish rocketed to stardom with Girls Trip, she saw Marc at the back entrance of The Comedy Store and told him that she was going to be on his podcast one day. Today is that day. Tiffany and Marc talk about who she was in those days before worldwide fame, how she came up in the foster care system, how she found her voice at comedy camp, and how she wound up navigating the new world of being a major celebrity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Mai 20241h 32min

While watching Neal Brennan’s new Netflix special, Crazy Good, Marc learned new things about Neal despite knowing each other for 30 years. They sit down to figure out how things have changed for them, whether they are truly feeling better in their lives, and why they are still pursuing some version of success they can’t quite pinpoint. Neal also shares some insight he received directly from Bono that might answer some of their questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Apr 20241h 19min

Nearly 30 years ago in the alt-comedy scene of New York City, Marc crossed paths with an evangelical country singer named Tammy Faye Starlite. She’s the alter ego of lifelong New Yorker Tammy Lang, who stormed the city’s cabarets and clubs with her own form of performance art and musicality. Tammy and Marc reminisce about the days at places like Luna Lounge, the creation of the Tammy Faye Starlight character, and why she started performing as real singers, like Marianne Faithfull and Nico. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Apr 20241h 27min

Paula Pell is often celebrated as one of the funniest people alive by some of the other funniest people alive. The world is finally getting to see what they mean thanks to Paula’s standout role on Girls5eva, but for years she was comedy’s best kept secret, writing legendary SNL sketches, doing punch-up and script doctoring for major movies, and contributing to hit sitcoms and award shows. Paula tells Marc why it took her a long time to feel comfortable being in the spotlight as a performer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Apr 20241h 28min

When Marc asked Jimmy Carr to be a guest on WTF years ago, Jimmy admits he wasn’t ready for it. He was already an established comedian at the time, but he felt like Public Jimmy was one thing and Private Jimmy was another. Now years later, Jimmy believes that age and experience have allowed him to get out of his comedy comfort zone and explore more personal truths, as he does in this talk with Marc and in his new Netflix special, Natural Born Killer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Apr 20241h 22min