How To Write Funny

By Scott Dikkers

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Subscribers: 34
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 49

Description

Scott Dikkers, founder of TheOnion.com and The Onion's editor-in-chief for most of the last 25 years, interviews celebrities, writers, and other people in the comedy industry about their background, philosophy and process.

Episode Date
Episode 49 | Dan Povenmire
01:02:34

Writer, director, cartoonist, and voice artist Dan Povenmire talks about his adventures in Hollywood creating the enormously successful Phineas and Ferb for Disney.

Apr 11, 2023
Episode 48 | Alex Stevenson
01:02:42

Cartoonist and writer Alex Stevenson talks about developing her web comic “Cartoons Hate Her” on social media, pushing boundaries, and building a fanbase.

Mar 13, 2023
Episode 47 | JaMarr John Johnson
01:19:15

“Entrepremedian” JaMarr John Johnson talks with Scott about how comedians can exploit Web3 and Crypto to make more money, starting by helping Scott create his “Jim Key” to turn fans into owners.

May 07, 2022
Episode 46 | Sean Tejaratchi
57:42
LiartownUSA.com is the Internet’s funniest, most original, and most undiscovered treasure. Scott chats with its creator, Sean Tejaratchi, to find out where it came from and how it can be so funny.
Sep 19, 2021
Episode 45 | Justine Bateman
01:08:18

Actress, writer, and director Justine Bateman talks about fame, being on the top sitcom in the country, getting older in show business, and why it’s important to take comedy seriously.

May 20, 2021
Episode 44 | Patton Oswalt
56:24

Patton Oswalt is an Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedian and actor known for insightful comedy specials and roles in hit TV shows and movies like The King of Queens, Ratatouille, and the new M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu.

Mar 03, 2021
Episode 43 | Mike Sacks
57:51

Mike Sacks is the bestselling author of Stinker Lets Loose, Passable in Pink, and the excellent comedy-writer interview books Here’s the Kicker and Poking a Dead Frog.

Sep 17, 2020
Episode 42 | Anne Libera
01:03:13

Founder of the Comedy Studies program at Columbia College and comedy professor Anne Libera talks comedy history, comedy theory, and why it all matters.

Jul 24, 2020
Episode 41 | Michael Gerber
01:29:44

Michael Gerber talks about his hard-won career in comedy writing for TV, writing parody novels, and finally editing and publishing The American Bystander magazine.

May 22, 2020
Episode 40 | Margaret Cho
47:17

Veteran stand-up comic, writer and actress Margaret Cho talks about getting started in the 80s comedy boom, her TV show, and her thoughts on writing and performing stand-up.

Apr 30, 2020
Episode 39 | Jen Kirkman
01:04:00

Stand-up comic, TV writer and actress Jen Kirkman talks about her comedy, social media, pitching TV shows, and how to weather the ups and downs of the business.

Mar 25, 2020
Episode 38 | Matt Braunger
54:08

Scott talks with veteran stand-up comedian and comic actor Matt Braunger about getting started, making it in stand-up, and making it in acting.

Feb 04, 2020
Episode 37 | Liana Spiro
50:58

Scott talks with Harvard Lampoon President about the nation's oldest college humor magazine's humor, pranks, and castle, and how to lead a band of misfit comedy writers.

Dec 06, 2019
Episode 36 | How to write satire
51:03

Scott walks through the specific steps for writing a satirical article, essay, stand-up bit, or sketch.

Aug 01, 2019
Episode 35 | Ryan Creamer
48:00

Scott asks Ryan Creamer how he became the hot new thing in comedy by doing hilariously wholesome videos on Pornhub.

Jul 09, 2019
Episode 34 | Merrill Markoe
01:26:48

Scott chats with multi-Emmy-winning comedy writer and performer Merrill Markoe about breaking into TV writing, her years working with David Letterman as he was coming up, and her audiobook (co-written with Megan Koester), "The Indignities of Being a Woman."

May 15, 2019
Episode 33 | How to Write a Joke
44:22

Host Scott Dikkers goes through the process of how to come up with a funny line and write a joke from scratch, illustrating the "How to Write Funny" system for joke creation. Get the cheatsheet at www.howtowritefunny.com/joke -- for more information checkout Scott's book, How to Write Funny

Apr 20, 2019
Episode 32 | Levni Yilmaz
59:34

Lev talks about how he found success doing the animated "Tales of Mere Existence" series on YouTube, which has racked up millions of views.

Mar 29, 2019
Episode 31| Three Fundamentals of Comedy Writing
34:20

Scott talks about three fundamentals of successful comedy writing and how to go after them: (1) writing 10 funny ideas every day, (2) overcoming writer's block, and (3) avoiding clichés.

Mar 16, 2019
Episode 30 | Tim Clue
55:00

Tim Clue joins Scott to discuss the craft of stand-up comedy, how to improve it, make money at it, and get better at it quickly.

Feb 27, 2019
Episode 29 | Caitlin Kunkel
46:52

Guest Caitlin Kunkel talks about her road to success writing humor for McSweeney's and The New Yorker, as well as landing her first book deal. She and Scott discuss the mindset and discipline of making a writing career.

Dec 31, 2018
Episode 28 | Christopher Titus
48:08

Scott talks with stand-up comedian Christopher Titus about his comic persona, performing and writing on stage, creating his Fox TV show "Titus," and his feature film, "Special Unit."

Nov 19, 2018
Episode 27 | Kurt Luchs
56:16

Kurt Luchs, founder and editor of The Big Jewel, talks with Scott about his unusual and varied comedy career. Kurt’s new book , “It’s Funny Until Someone Loses an Eye (Then It's Really Funny),” just hit bookstores.

Nov 07, 2017
Episode 26 | Steve Kaplan
01:04:10

Scott talks comedy nuts and bolts with Steve Kaplan, Hollywood's most sought-after comedy teacher.

Apr 24, 2017
Episode 25 | Lee Camp
51:17

Political comedian and activist Lee Camp sits down with Scott to talk comedy, activism, and creating his weekly political comedy TV show, "Redacted Tonight."

Dec 15, 2016
Episode 24 | Kevin Avery
56:24

Scott talks with Emmy-winning writer Kevin Avery. Kevin is a successful bay-area stand-up comic who got into TV writing with his friend and writing-partner W. Kamau Bell. He joined the original staff of John Oliver's show before its debut in 2014.

Nov 10, 2016
Episode 23 | Sarah Cooper
45:19

Scott talks with Sarah Cooper, founder of The Cooper Review, who parlayed a viral humor article into a 3-book deal. Her first book, 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, comes out this week.

Oct 05, 2016
Episode 22 | Seth Reiss
59:22

Late Night with Seth Meyers staffer and former Onion head writer Seth Reiss talks with Scott about his humor-writing process, mindset, and how he landed the best internships in comedy.

Sep 01, 2016
Episode 21 | Dave Eggers
01:12:34

Scott talks with Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney's, Might magazine, and 826 National, the non-profit with the cool storefronts that tutors kids and encourages them to write. His latest novel is "Heroes of the Frontier," which comes out today.

Jul 26, 2016
Episode 20 | Matt Abramson
54:51

Matt Abramson’s company Cap Gun produced a funny web series called Teachers, which is now a series on TV Land. Scott spoke to Matt when the show was just a pilot. They talk about how to build success with a web series, and how ties with advertisers can be a help or a hinderance.

Jun 27, 2016
Episode 19 | Steve Dildarian
50:31

TV and commercial copywriter Steve Dildarian enjoyed three seasons of his own funny and critically acclaimed animated series on HBO, The Life and Times of Tim.

Apr 11, 2016
Episode 18 | Jermaine Affonso
52:36

Scott talks with Jermaine Affonso, a former writer for The Onion who's now the Editor in Chief of Clickhole, which many have called the funniest site on the Internet.

Feb 18, 2016
Episode 17 | Jerry Rocha
56:05

Jerry Rocha, from Dallas, TX, has been performing stand-up for 20 years. He's appeared on Conan. Last Comic Standing, and his TV special, The Gentleman Jerry Rocha, presented by Gabriel Iglesias, premiered this month on Fuse.

Oct 31, 2015
Episode 16 | Beth Newell
45:02

Beth Newell founded, with Sarah Pappalardo, the women's news parody website Reductress.

Oct 10, 2015
Episode 15 | Louie Anderson
52:04

Louie Anderson is one of the most successful stand-up comics of the last 30 years. He created and starred in the animated TV series Life With Louie. He’s written several books, including Dear Dad: Letters from an Adult Child, and The F Word: How to Survive Your Family. For a time he was the host of TV's Family Feud.

Sep 23, 2015
Episode 14 | Daniel Greenberg
47:04

With the worst audio quality yet, Scott talks via wax cylinder and copper wire with literary agent Daniel Greenberg, who represents humor writers, comedians, and comedy celebrities. He also discovers new talent in the humor sphere and gets them book-publishing deals.

Sep 10, 2015
Episode 13 | Andy Borowitz
01:22:31

Scott and Andy Borowitz take a ride through his varied career, from being President of the Harvard Lampoon, creating the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, stand-up and lecturing, to having his homegrown humor email list become so popular it was subsumed by The New Yorker.

Aug 31, 2015
Episode 12 | Bob Einstein
45:46

Scott picks up the phone and talks with master comedy actor, writer and producer Bob Einstein, the man behind Super Dave Osborne.

Aug 24, 2015
Episode 11 | Todd Rosenberg
54:23

Todd Rosernberg created one of the first viral online cartoon series, Odd Todd.

Aug 17, 2015
Episode 10 | Anna Lefler
01:00:43

Scott talks with Anna Lefler, a humor author who got started as a Mommy blogger. Her first comic novel, Preschooled, comes out this fall. Her previous book was The Chicktionary: From A-Line to Z-Snap, The Words Every Woman Should Know. She's also written and performed for the Nickelodeon/NickMom TV show Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, and is a three-time faculty member of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

Aug 10, 2015
Episode 9 | Rich Dahm
50:50

Scott chats with Rich Dahm, a two-time Emmy winner who's written for Da Ali G Show, Dennis Miller Live, The Onion, and was co-executive producer of The Colbert Report for 6 years. He currently writes for ABC-TV's The Middle.

Aug 03, 2015
Episode 8 | Julia Sweeney
53:50

Scott talks with Julia Sweeney, who became famous for her performance as "Pat" on SNL. She later became a humor author, speaker, and producer and star of the one-woman show Letting Go of God.

Jul 27, 2015
Episode 7 | Adam Resnick
01:06:56

Scott talks with Adam Resnick, co-creator of the Fox TV series Get a Life, staff writer for Late NIght with David Letterman, writer-director of Cabin Boy, and author of Will Not Attend.

Jul 20, 2015
Episode 6 | Andrew Daly
56:11

Andrew Daly patches in remotely to talk with Scott about his prolific career in improv, stand-up, writing, and acting. The star and executive producer of Comedy Central's Review, Andrew has appeared in a number of other movies and TV shows, including Semi-Pro, Eastbound & Down and Yogi Bear. He also pops up frequently as a number of different characters on Comedy Bang Bang.

Jul 13, 2015
Episode 5 | Weird Al Yankovic
40:15

Scott sits down with parody-music superstar Weird Al Yankovic, who is, believe it or not, the top-selling comedy recording artist of all time.

Jul 06, 2015
Episode 4 | Kelly Leonard
01:05:06

Scott talks with Kelly Leonard, who runs Chicago's Second City. He recently wrote (with Tom Yorton) Yes And, a book outlining the practical applications of The Second City's core comedy philosophy.

Jun 29, 2015
Episode 3 | Ellie Kemper
01:08:56

Scott talks with Ellie Kemper, star of Tina Fey's Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, who also played Erin on The Office and Becca in Bridesmaids.

Jun 22, 2015
Episode 2 | Ben Bailey
01:06:20

Scott chats with Ben Bailey, stand-up comedian and Emmy-winning host of Cash Cab

Jun 15, 2015
Episode 1 | David Javerbaum
53:24

Scott talks with multiple-Emmy-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum about his work on The Daily Show, America: The Book, and his insanely popular twitter feed, @TheTweetOfGod, based on his book, The Last Testament: A Memoir, recently adapted into a Broadway play, An Act of God, starring Jim Parsons as God.

Jun 06, 2015