Obsessed: The Podcast

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka can’t seem to stop blowing up on the internet. Sometimes, it’s by accident, like when she joked through an earthquake on stage, and other times more deliberately, like the Beyoncé-inspired #dropchallenge she started on TikTok with her grandmother earlier this year. Now, those fleeting moments of online attention have culminated in her explosive new HBO stand-up special ‘The Intruder.’ In this episode, Okatsuka opens up about her often difficult journey from Taiwan to Japan to Los Angeles all before the age of 10, how she has managed to turn those challenges into her own unique brand of joy-filled comedy and how her grandma really feels about her own viral fame. Follow Atsuko Okatsuka on Twitter @AtsukoComedy and Instagram @atsukocomedyFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Papa has to be considered one of the least controversial comedians working today. And yet, as he explains in his return to the podcast for this bonus episode, even he has been subjected to “cancel culture” for a past joke that was considered culturally insensitive. The veteran stand-up comic, whose latest hour-long special ‘What a Day!’ premieres on Netflix next Tuesday, December 13th, reveals the gig he lost out on and why more famous comedians may be able to evade similar fates. He also breaks down how his wife, teenage daughters and elderly parents feel about being the target of his jokes and teases a new bit about meeting your heroes that just might end up in his next hour. Follow Tom Papa on Twitter @tompapa and Instagram @tompapaFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sebastian Maniscalco is consistently one of the highest-grossing stand-up comedians in the country. And now, with a new Netflix special ‘Is It Me?’ and upcoming autobiographical movie ‘About My Father’ co-starring Robert De Niro, he’s about to finally become a household name. In this episode, Maniscalco opens up about doubling down on nostalgia and (mostly) avoiding controversy in his new special. He also talks about how the comedy world has changed for better and worse since he got his start in the late ‘90s, shares stories from the sets of ‘Green Book’ and ‘The Irishman’ and explains how he decided to embrace the most embarrassing moment of his career on Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show.’Follow Sebasian Maniscalco on Twitter @SebastianComedy and Instagram @sebastiancomedyFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Rogers can’t quite believe the year he’s had. From his first regular TV role on Showtime’s ‘I Love That for You’ to his scene-stealing work in the Hulu movie ‘Fire Island,’ the Long Island-born comedian has seemingly been everywhere in 2022. And it all culminates this December with his big holiday special ‘Have You Heard of Christmas?’ In this episode, Rogers talks about how unofficial “Queen of Christmas” Mariah Carey inspired him to become a Christmas prince and why the tears streaming down his face at the end of the performance are very real. He also shares his unfiltered thoughts about the way ‘Fire Island’ and Billy Eichner’s ‘Bros’ were pitted against each other as the year’s two gay rom-coms and opens up about what it has been like for him to watch his best friend and Las Culturistas co-host Bowen Yang become an SNL star.Follow Matt Rogers on Instagram @mattrogersthoFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Patton Oswalt’s role as a desperate father who ends up impersonating a beautiful woman on social media to catfish his troubled son in the new film ‘I Love My Dad’ just might make him the perfect person to weigh in on Elon Musk’s crackdown on Twitter parody. In his return to the podcast, Oswalt talks about finding the humanity in his “monstrous” character and why he will never pay $8 a month for a blue checkmark. The elder statesman of comedy also breaks down the bit from his most recent Netflix special ‘We All Scream’ about realizing he won’t be “woke” forever and shares what he learned from the backlash he received for simply posting a photo of himself with friend Dave Chappelle. Follow Patton Oswalt on Twitter @pattonoswalt and Instagram @pattonoswaltFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neal Brennan has always felt like an “outlier” in the comedy world. He’s a successful stand-up who’s still best known for co-creating ‘Chappelle’s Show’ and as he jokes in his latest special ‘Blocks’ on Netflix, he’s often the least famous comedian in a room that contains some of the biggest comedy stars on the planet. In this episode, taped before Dave Chappelle’s most recent SNL monologue, Brennan talks about trying to get to the bottom of what’s “wrong” with him on stage, why he still thinks the “old Kanye” is still in there somewhere and what he’s learned helping others comics achieve some of the greatest work. He also goes deep on the origins of his creative partnership with Chappelle and shares his thoughts on the controversies that have consumed his friend in recent years. Get tickets for Neal Brennan’s upcoming stand-up tour at nealbrennan.comFollow Neal Brennan on Twitter @nealbrennan and Instagram @nealbrennanFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Natasha Leggero doesn’t think she’ll ever make a Netflix special about her daughter. So instead, she wrote a laugh-out-loud hilarious book about what it has been like to become her mother. In this bonus episode, Leggero returns to the podcast to talk about the cathartic process of writing her new book, ‘The World Deserves My Children.’ She also breaks down how much her parenting style differs from husband and fellow stand-up comic Moshe Kasher and opens up about how motherhood has affected everything from her career to the way she sees the world.Buy ‘The World Deserves My Children’ on AmazonFollow Natasha Leggero on Twitter @natashaleggero and Instagram @natashaleggeroFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was never Chris Redd’s dream to be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ And yet the rapper-turned-comedian seemed to just be hitting his stride on that show when it was abruptly announced less than two weeks before the 48th season premiere that he was leaving the cast. In this episode, the comedian unpacks the mysterious circumstances surrounding his departure and talks about grabbing the spotlight for himself in his new HBO Max stand-up special ‘Why Am I Like This?’ Redd also shares the gory details from the attack outside of the Comedy Cellar in New York that recently landed him in the hospital and weighs in on the controversy surrounding Kanye West, who he memorably portrayed on SNL and was apparently not a fan of his impression. Follow Chris Redd on Twitter @Reddsaidit and Instagram @chrisreddisFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this preview of our upcoming episode with Chris Redd, dropping next Tuesday, the comedian and recent SNL alum opens up about the brutal attack outside of the Comedy Cellar in New York that left him bloodied and landed him in the hospital last week.  Subscribe to The Last Laugh now to hear our full conversation when it’s released next Tuesday, November 8th.  Follow Chris Redd on Twitter @Reddsaidit and Instagram @chrisreddisFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpodHighlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nick Kroll is an actor, stand-up comedian and co-creator of one of the funniest shows on television, ‘Big Mouth.’ Season six of the Emmy-nominated animated series just dropped on Netflix and Kroll joins us to talk all about how it continues to push the envelope and how its themes led to his first real hour of stand-up, ‘Little Big Boy,’ also streaming on Netflix. He also explains why so-called “woke culture” has never stopped him from getting away with “crazy shit” on screen, shares the story of auditioning for SNL alongside John Mulaney, teases the ‘Big Mouth’ spinoff show ‘Human Resources’ and a lot more.This episode was originally published on October 22, 2019 Follow Nick Kroll on Twitter @nickkroll and Instagram @nickkrollFollow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilsteinFollow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices