The Laugh Button Podcast

It's festival season so Mark and Matt debate what comedians can fill what rooms and who'd they'd like to see on the road. Reader feedback prompts the conversation about the departure of Jessica Williams and her impact on The Daily Show. Writer Scot Armstrong has a new movie out Search Party starring TJ Miller and Thomas Middleditch. Armstrong joins us to discuss what it was like coming up in Improv world as he learned from the late, great, Del Close. He's written on some of the best modern comedy films like Old School, Road Trip, The Hangover 2, and School For Scoundrels and how he met director Todd Phillips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're live for the first time ever from the first ever Skankfest at the Creek And The Cave from Long Island City, NY. Joining us for the podcast are comedians Ari Shaffir, Liza Treyger, and Monroe Martin. The podcast starts with Matt apologizing to Ari and then we get into some crowd participation with a game of Overrated/Underrated. It's fun for the entire family. Special thanks to Christine Evans, Rebecca Trent, and Luis J. Gomez for making it happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Mark break down the streaming audio listening habits of today's comedy fan. The answers might surprise you. Also, festival talk, High Plains Comedy Festival talk to be exact. And then legendary comedian Paul Rodriguez invites Mark to his place to hang out in his back yard and talk about his career in comedy and he shares more than one great story about meeting Lucille Ball, Howie Mandel, the day John Lennon was shot, and Gary Shandling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of The Laugh Button podcast, Matt and Mark break down what it is about the revival of ideas in Hollywood. Are they necessary or is there just too much nostalgia happening. They also play a round of Overrated/Underrated before kicking off an interview with Riki Lindhome. Lindhome is one half of the folk/comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. She's also one of the creators/stars of the Comedy Central show, "Another Period" which you can catch the season 2 premiere of this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's new about the show? That might be the new theme song, compliments of our pal Billy Yost from The Kickback. Mark and Matt dive into some fan feedback which was in abundance this week. They also play a killer game of Overrated/Underrated. Our guest interview this week is Nick Brazao, one of the talent producers for Just For Laughs, one of the best comedy festivals in North America. Don't forget to follow us on the socials @thelaughbutton. Rate, review us, and tell your friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alright, so it's not actually the talking mutant Warthog (Bebop) and Rhino (Rocksteady) from the new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie, but the two actors that play them. Gary Anthony Williams and WWE’s Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly are the two men who bring our favorite TMNT henchmen to life on the big screen. Matt and Mark get totally nostalgic for their childhoods as they talk about growing up as TMNT fans, the toys, and Matt's enduring search for the perfect 90s pair of pants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Mark address the Ghostbusters backlash. Is it overzealous fanboys, sexism, a vocal minority, or should all of us mouthbreathers just relax and laugh at what will potentially be just a fun movie. Also, actress Andreee Vermeulen from the TBS comedy "Angie Tribeca" sits down with us to talk about what we can expect from season 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is back! Thanks for filling in Billy Yost. It's upfront season so Mark dropped in to see what's new. Then the comedy music duo known as Reformed Whores join us on the podcast to talk about how they met, recording funny songs in legendary studios and touring with Dwezel Zappa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Gary Gulman sits down with Mark and Matt to talk about his new stand-up comedy special, "It's About Time" which was just released on Netflix. In the news, Matt saw Captain America and Mark actually ran into Captain America. For advertising opportunities email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Mark and Matt discuss losing legends and share some stories about the funny side of Prince. We then welcome comedian Tiffany Haddish who is currently having a moment as one of the breakout characters from "The Carmichael Show." That moment is about to last a bit longer with a role in the new Key & Peele movie, "Keanu." It's a jam packed episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Damien Lemon joins Matt and Mark on the podcast this week. Lemon is the host of a new comedy game show, "Comedy Knockout" premiering on truTV. Since Lemon is now a game show host, we all take a deep dive into the history of game shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Mark discuss Mark's recent trip to the West Coast for the MTV Movie Awards (or the MTVMAs as Matt put it). We then welcome comedian Nick Turner onto the podcast to hang out and talk about pop culture, comedy and favorite television. It's a total nerd out over pop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, your intrepid hosts really get deep into discussing Mike Tyson's Punchout. Why? Your guess is as good as ours but we know it's important. Then comedian Alfred Robles joins us to discuss the second season of "Fluffy Breaks Even," which premieres on FUSE this week. Robles is opener for Gabriel Iglesias and a total road dog with Fluffy as the they work to figure out how to have a blast on the road yet yet not do too much damage to themselves in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we remember Garry Shandling and the legacy he left for comedy. We also attend a special screening for a scene from the new season of Silicon Valley. Our guest this week is comedian Jim Florentine, who stops by the Riotcast studios to talk about his upcoming one man show, "I'm Your Savior." A show about the ups and downs of the relationships he's had over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is so much happening this week in the comedy world. Including a comedian with cancer catching a break by one of comedy's giants, Joe Pera talks us all to sleep, and Fuse eyes its future. The guest on the podcast this week, comedian Cameron Esposito has new stand-up special, "Marriage Material" set to premiere this week on Seeso. We catch up with her when she was at with her show to talk about the special, her days starting out in Chicago, her need to make a move to jump ahead in comedy, and how her recent wedding nuptials were the perfect point to document this time in culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Mark stay up late for a podcast live from Austin to talk about the SXSW festival, then comedian Bob Perlow joins us to talk about his career as a warm up comedian which he just put down into his memoir. Perlow has plenty of stories from nearly 40 years of doing his thing. For advertising opportunities email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week comedian Roy Wood Jr. catches up with Mark and Matt in his new home of NYC. Roy now lives in NYC because he's one of the newest (and current breakout) star of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. We talk about sports, show's role in pop culture, the current state of politics which Roy knows a few things about from working on a show like The Daily Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we announce The Laugh Button Live! at SXSW 2016. It's going to be a rager! Get on down there, we also talk controversy when it comes to comedians and free speech. Also, Mark attends the press junket for Tina Fey's new film, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" and we speak with the movie's writer Robert Carlock and its directors, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. The movie hits theaters on March 4th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Dov Davidoff's had a long and storied comedy career. FUSE TV just aired his new stand-up special, "Lower Your Expectations." So in honor of the special, we welcome him onto the podcast to talk shop. Prepare to have your expectations exceeded. . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt returns to realize how much he was missed... turns out it wasn't a lot. Then, comedian T.J. Miller takes time out of his busy "Deadpool" promo schedule to hang with us and talk about his life, which is pretty good at the moment with Deadpool smashing Box Office records and Silicon Valley returning in just a few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark has Bram from Metal Insider guest host for Matt, who is out sick. Which is unfortunate because Justin Theroux and Nicholas Stoller the writers of Zoolander 2 guest on the podcast to talk about the return of Derek Zoolander and Hansel in the long anticipated sequel to the cult classic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark and Matt sit down with the cast of the new TruTV show, "Those Who Can't" a sitcom from the hilarious minds of The Grawlix, a comedy trio consisting of Andrew Orvedahl, Adam Cayton-Holland, and Ben Roy. Andrew, Adam, and their co-star Maria Thayer discuss the new and give us some behind-the-scenes details about the show. Fun times had by all! "Those Who Can't" premieres on TruTV on February 11th at 10:30pm ET. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark and Matt, two Gen Xers reminisce about the 90s. Possibly one of the weirdest yet awesomest decades to grow up in. Whatever! We recap the Patrice O'Neal benefit show in NYC, talk about joke stealing then, comedian Ian Edwards joins us in the Riotcast studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the comedy news its all about the trailer this week. It's also all about contests and touring. The Goddamn Comedy Jam is a comedy/music show that's taking the nation by storm. In fact, it was just announced that it was going to Bonnaroo this year. Mark and Matt sat down with its creator and mastermind, comedian Josh Adam Meyers to discuss the show's origins and how it became to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the news Mark and Matt discuss revivals of comedy shows as Matt tries his best to find out what happened to ALF. Then David Cross joins Mark and Matt this week to discuss the return/new season of his show, "Todd Margaret" to IFC. Cross has a long comedy history and has starred in a handful of cult comedy shows like "Mr. Show with Bob & David" and "Arrested Development." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark and Matt welcome the one and only Wayne Federman to the podcast this week. Federman recently released his new comedy album, "The Chronicles of Federman," which is his first comedy album in the course of 30 years. We break down what someone could do in that length of time which leads into a discussion about time gaps for comedy careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the final podcast of 2015 and we're ending with #50. We continue our look back at 2015 with the second part of our comedy roundtable discussing the biggest stories of the year with our comedy journalism friends Katla McGlynn (Splitsider, Vanity Fair), Jesse David Fox (Vulture) and Sean L. McCarthy (The Comic’s Comic). From Cosby to The Fat Jew, on part part 2 we discuss the biggest controversies of the year, the coming of age for podcasts, SNL 40, and we make some predictions for 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year is coming to an end, so we decided to take a look back at the biggest comedy stories of 2015. Mark and Matt invited their comedy journalism friends, Katla McGlynn (Splitsider, Vanity Fair), Jesse David Fox (Vulture) and Sean L. McCarthy (The Comic’s Comic) to have a roundtable discussion of the biggest comedy news stories in 2015. We covered so much comedy that it had to be broken up into two parts. In part #1 we discuss our favorite specials of the year, biggest hits, and biggest misses. Best stant-up moments, and what's the deal with festivals. Part #2 will come to you next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast Mark and Matt welcome the one and only Gilbert Gottfried, to talk about his career in comedy, and its a lengthy one. In the comedy news Mark and Matt discuss Howard Stern's new deal and the top albums of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Mark is grumpy. It also features comedian Jermaine Fowler, who is here to talk about his first stand-up comedy special, "Give 'Em Hell Kid" which is about to premiere on Showtime. The crew discuss comedy influences, TV, and movies. It's a can't miss episode... oh and Mark is grumpy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedy legend Greg Proops joins us on The Laugh Button podcast to talk about his new comedy album, "In The Ballpark" which was just released. In the news we talk about radio feuds and old comedians getting old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In celebration of Thanksgiving you get The Laugh Button podcast a day early this week. You also get the return of our Editor-in-Chief Matt Kleinschmidt, who is back with Mark for the news of the week as we ambitiously try to figure out the city of Hartford and Neftlix. The guest this week is comedian and host of That Metal Show, Don Jamieson who just released his new comedy album, "Terrorizing Telemarketers vol. 6" with his TMS co-host Jim Florentine. It's an action packed show for your long holiday weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week comedian Sean Donnelly joins us to talk about his new album "Manual Labor Face," his origins as a New York Comedian and how he'd do it differently, and some Saved By The Bell trivia, all before letting us know what it was like to ride the bench of the basketball team his dad coached. Intern Will and Metal Insider's Bram Teitelman join Mark for the news as Matt is picking out a bow-tie for his wedding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hasan Minhaj, is a comedian and correspondent on The Daily Show. He's currently performing his one man show, "Homecoming King" in New York City. Hasan drops by the podcast to talk about performing this show. He also shares what its like participating on the political comedy process on The Daily Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark returns to The Laugh Button podcast this week after Matt was pretty sure he died somewhere in Europe. With Mark comes all the comedy news of the week, and there's a lot. So much in fact that Mark and Matt dive right into it in order to cover it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week for the news Matt welcomes Bram Teitelman, Editor-in-Chief of our sister site, Metal Insider. Bram and Intern Will sit in on the news because Mark is not present... he might be on a mountain somewhere. We then interview Scott Gairdner and Tommy Blacha, the creative team behind the awesome Comedy Central animated series, "Moonbeam City," to talk about the show's creation and how it all came together. It's a jam packed episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we drop by The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and have a conversation with the show’s writers and panelists, Mike Yard, Holly Walker, and Ricky Velez. We talk comedy, politics, religion, and race. Also in the news Chris Rock is hosting the Oscars and Mark and Matt get to the bottom of the accusations that Amy Schumer stole jokes from Patrice O'Neal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We celebrate 90 years of Lenny Bruce, discuss the recent events at The Comedy Store, and the return of Tracy Morgan. Then Kelly Carlin, daughter of the one and only George Carlin visits us to talk about her new book, "A Carlin Home Companion" about growing up with a legendary father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week its all about the comedy at NY Comic Con and there is a lot. Including a panel from the cast of TruTV's "Impractical Jokers" Mark and Matt welcome one of those cast members, Sal Vulcano onto the podcast to talk about how the Jokers came to be and what they have in store for Comic Con and the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedy news explodes all over the place as we attended the sneak peeks to "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" and "Benders." If that wasn't enough Derek Waters, the creator and star of "Drunk History" joins us on the podcast to talk about the show and what its like to tell history while, ya know, drunk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big news this week and the Muppets are back! Also big news is we have comedian Andrew Schulz on the podcast to talk about his new IFC TV show Benders (premiering 10/1) and MTV's Guy Code. Schulz talks about his new show and about life as a comedian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Seth Herzog joins us to talk about his long running comedy show Sweet, the alternative comedy scene in the city, his career in comedy, and warming up for Fallon. In the news, all hell broke loose for Steve Rannazzisi, and what could this mean for him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's back to school week and Mark and Matt talk about important things like the movie that shares that name. Colbert returns to TV, Lucille Ball sees a revival, and Matt knows who would portray him in a biopic. Comedian Dave Hill joins us to discuss his career in comedy and his many, many, projects including his new album, writing the theme song for "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," and the proper way to hip check joggers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark and Matt discuss their recent trip to see a test show of Late Show with Stephen Colbert before it premieres. Then, keeping with the late night theme, comedian Josh Gondelman joins us for an interview. Josh is a writer on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver who oversaw the show's deployment into being a web powerhouse. Shout out to our listeners who helped Matt find something he'd been looking for for a long time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Mark and Matt tackle the comedy news like Bill Burr's comments on Caitlyn Jenner, Forbes highest paid actors on TV list. We then welcome comedian Nick Vatterott onto the show to discuss the Brooklyn Comedy Festival and his experience on reality TV like "America's Got Talent." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the news we discuss Fat Jew's joke thievery, Chappelle's tour, and Documentary Now! Mark and Matt then welcome lead singer of The Kickback, Billy Yost onto the podcast. Billy is a big fan of comedy and has some killer Doug Stanhope stories and goes round for round with some pop culture trivia, as well as doppleganger discussion. The Kickback's debut album, "Sorry All Over The Place" is in stores September 18th, and listeners should check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're at the Just For Laughs festival and while waiting to speak with Alonzo Bodden, Todd Glass decides to crash our interviews. In the comedy news, Mark and Matt talk about the I Am Chris Farley documentary, old episodes of The Tonight Show, and remembering Robin Williams on the one year anniversary of his death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another dispatch from Warped Tour where the Canadian rock band PUP speak with us. They're big comedy fans and totally great people. Mark and Matt run down the news of the day including Amy Schumer on gun control, Monty Python, and the legacy of Jon Stewart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're sharing stories from the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. The biggest comedy festival in the world. Good times were had, from roasts judged, one man shows, and a bit of Goddamn comedy jamming. While there, we caught up with comedian Steve Byrne who was in town along with countless other comedians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Mark talk about comedy movies in the box office. Emmy awards, what new specials are happening. Our guest, Jamie Kaler joins from our recent trip to the West Coast. We discuss his career in comedy, from an extra on Friends to starring in a TV series. It's been a fun trip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices