
197 episodes

The Last Laugh The Daily Beast
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- Comedy
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4.5 • 520 Ratings
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Welcome to ‘The Last Laugh’: Real conversations with really funny people. Every Tuesday, The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein interviews some of the biggest names in comedy—as well as the new voices crashing the party—about what it’s like to make people laugh during this current cultural and political moment.
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Sarah Cooper Returns!
Sarah Cooper became famous using only her face to lip-sync Donald Trump. Now, in her new audiobook, all she has to work with is her voice. In her return to the podcast, Cooper reflects on the “craziest” few years of her life, from having “no idea” what she was doing on her own Netflix special to guest-hosting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ before ever performing stand-up on TV to landing a role in her comedy hero Jerry Seinfeld’s upcoming Pop-Tart movie ‘Unfrosted.’ Cooper also reveals the right-wing politician she recently tried lip-syncing and why she will “never” imitate Donald Trump again.
Follow Sarah Cooper on Twitter @sarahcpr and Instagram @sarahcpr
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Listen to Let’s Catch Up Soon: How I Won Friends and Influenced People Against My Will
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Joel Kim Booster on Stand-Up, ‘Fire Island’ and More
Joel Kim Booster likes to play the “hot idiot” on stage. But as you will quickly learn by listening to this episode, he is actually quite insightful when it comes to the unique challenges he has faced on his path to becoming one of the funniest young comedians working today. In this conversation, the writer and star of Hulu’s ‘Fire Island’—previously titled ‘Trip’—opens up about growing up with his adoptive Evangelical Christian family, how he gave up self-deprecation to embrace over-confidence and why there hasn’t been a gay male stand-up comedy superstar on the level of Ellen DeGeneres, Wanda Sykes or Tig Notaro.
This episode was originally published on June 1st, 2021.
Follow Joel Kim Booster on Twitter @ihatejoelkim and Instagram @ihatejoelkim
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.
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Kate Berlant and John Early: ‘Would It Kill You to Laugh?’
If we lived in a just world, Kate Berlant and John Early would be the most famous and successful comedy team on the planet. So that’s the reality they manifested for themselves in their new Peacock special ‘Would It Kill You to Laugh?’ In this episode, the pair reveal how they got Meredith Vieira to host their emotional reunion after an imagined falling out and look back on their years as “chief collaborators” from the early videos that took off on YouTube to their breakthrough performances in Netflix’s ‘The Characters.’ Later, Early shares how “surprising” it was to dive deep into Elliott over five seasons of ‘Search Party,’ Berlant explains why she had to reel in her comedic instincts on the set of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and so much more.
Follow Kate Berlant on Twitter @kateberlant and Instagram @kateberlant
Follow John Early on Twitter @bejohnce and Instagram @bejohnce
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others a The Daily Beast
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Will Forte: MacGruber Lives!
Will Forte is the king of second chances, whether it was getting another shot at ‘Saturday Night Live’ after turning down Lorne Michaels or reviving his now iconic character MacGruber on Peacock after the 2010 movie bombed at the box office. In this episode, Forte breaks down how he overcame his SNL fears to deliver some of the show’s weirdest and funniest sketches and shares behind-the-scenes details of MacGruber’s full journey from one-off sketch to Super Bowl commercial to cult classic. He also opens up about his regrets around replacing Will Ferrell as George W. Bush on SNL and shares stories from filming his hilarious cameo on fellow SNL alum Tim Robinson’s ‘I Think You Should Leave’ and that time he ended up on a private jet with comedy hero Steve Martin.
Follow Will Forte on Twitter @orvilleiv and Instagram @orviv
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast
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Chris Parnell: SNL’s Unbreakable ‘Ice Man’
Chris Parnell is the only cast member to ever be fired twice from ‘Saturday Night Live.’ And as he explains in this episode, it was only after Lorne Michaels admitted his mistake and brought him back into the fold that he really started to take off on the show. During our conversation, Parnell also opens up about why he may have never decided to leave SNL on his own and breaks down highlights from his prolific career since, including iconic roles as Dr. Spaceman on ‘30 Rock’ the “poop mouth” guy in ‘Anchorman’ and Rebel Wilson’s dad in the new Netflix movie ‘Senior Year,’ as well as his brilliant animation voiceover work as Cyril Figgis on ‘Archer’ and Jerry Smith on ‘Rick and Morty.’
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast
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Kristen Schaal on ‘Bob’s Burgers,’ ‘Daily Show’ and More
From her breakthrough performance as Mel the stalker on ‘Flight of the Conchords,’ to her long-running gig as the voice of fourth-grader Louise Belcher on ‘Bob’s Burgers,’ which just premiered its first big screen movie in theaters this past weekend, Kristen Schaal never fails to bring a unique energy to the screen. And it all begins with her unmistakable voice. In this episode, Schaal looks back on her winding road from alt-comedy darling to mainstream children’s TV star, including detours writing for ‘South Park,’ serving as the “Senior Women’s Issues Correspondent” on ‘The Daily Show’ and getting a well-deserved Emmy nomination for—what else?—her voice-over work on ‘Bojack Horseman.’
This episode was originally published on August 3rd, 2021.
Follow Kristen Schaal on Twitter @kristenschaaled and Instagram @k.schaal
Follow Matt Wilstein on Twitter @mattwilstein
Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod
Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Customer Reviews
Terrific listens—highly recommend!
Once a week, I make a six hour drive to visit an elderly relative. The visits are emotionally tough. Listening to The Last Laugh on the way home is a great pick-me-up. Matt is an excellent interviewer, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to hear in-depth portraits, and have some laughs, too. Thank you Matt!
Great listen!
Love the guests and interview style of Matt- please have any of the Workaholics guys!! Adam, Ders, Kyle and Blake always have something to promote!!
Great!
I love this podcast. I feel like I’m listening to a conversation that’s awesome, like eavesdropping. The funniest of 2021 show is great! Is that because I agree with all of your picks except the Sex Lives of College Girls (berightbackgonnagowatch). Thanks. We need, I need the funny.