Explore every episode of the podcast Funny In Failure
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| #312: Phil Rosenthal - Writing Your Own Ticket | 10 Nov 2025 | 01:05:40 | |
Phil Rosenthal is the award-winning creator, executive producer, and host of "Somebody Feed Phil," as well as a two-time New York Times Best Selling Author and soon-to-be restaurant owner. "Somebody Feed Phil" – one of Netflix's most popular food and travel shows – has garnered a cult-like following and released its eighth season on June 18th in 190 countries. The Emmy-nominated series is Netflix's longest unscripted series and combines Rosenthal's love of food and travel with his unique brand of humor and has become must-see TV for foodies, restaurateurs, travelers, and armchair enthusiasts all over the world. Rosenthal has been nominated for a 2024 Critics' Choice Real TV Award, after winning Critics Choice Real TV Awards in 2022 and 2021 for "Best Travel/Adventure Show" and "Male Star of the Year" on behalf of the series. He also garnered a 2022 James Beard Award nomination for "Visual Media—Long Form." Currently, Rosenthal has embarked on his highly anticipated third US live tour – An Evening With Phil Rosenthal "Of Somebody Feed Phil" – in over 25 North American cities August-October 2025. On tour, Rosenthal shares insights into his 40-year entertainment career, while incorporating his love of food, storytelling, and humor to audiences. He also invites special guests to be moderators on stage, ranging from local celebrities to famous chefs. The North American tour comes after his second European tour, which was received with resounding praise from fans across Europe. Up next, Rosenthal will also make a significant mark in the culinary world with the 2025 opening of his diner, Max & Helen's, in Los Angeles. Named after his parents, who were beloved series regulars in "Somebody Feed Phil," the dishes will not only be elevated by great ingredients but the brilliance of Executive Chef Nancy Silverton. Following a resounding call from fans, Rosenthal created a companion book to the series, "Somebody Feed Phil The Book" which was released in the US on October 20th, 2022, via Simon Element (an imprint of Simon & Schuster). It immediately landed on the New York Times Best Seller list, which then led to a UK release in January 2023 and a multi-country tour selling out venues across the globe. To expand on this, Rosenthal is set to release a second cookbook in the series, "Phil's Favorites," available for pre-order now and releasing on November 4th, 2025 in the US and November 6th in the UK. It is more than just a cookbook; it's a celebration of food, family, and friendship incorporating recipes from his family and friends including Judy Gold and Anna Romano. In 2024, he released his first children's book, "JUST TRY IT: A Phil and Lil Book," co-written with his daughter, Lily on March 5, 2024. The hilarious children's picture book about a food-loving dad encouraging his picky eater daughter to just try something new. This once again put Rosenthal on the New York Times Best Seller list, leading to his second national book and live tour, both of which packed bookstores and theatres from coast to coast, including a sold-out crowd at The Beacon in New York City. Up next, they will launch its companion book, "JUST TRY IT: SOMEPLACE NEW!," about an encouraging dad easing his daughter's worries about staying at Grandma's for the first time. Rosenthal has further expanded his love of humor, food, and human connection through a podcast called "Naked Lunch." Launched in May 2022, his podcast is live on Stitcher, SiriusXM's mobile app, and wherever podcasts are available. Co-hosted with his friend and longtime Rolling Stone journalist David Wild, each episode of this weekly talk-show podcast features a special, world-renowned guest to discuss what's going on in their lives – "an informal meeting of wits, minds and hearts" – while eating lunch from some of Phil's favorite local LA eateries. In 1995, Rosenthal created the hit CBS comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond" which premiered the following year. He served as the showrunner and executive producer for all nine years of the show's very successful run, which ended in 2005. During its original run, the show was nominated for over 70 Emmy Awards, and won 15 awards, including two for "Best Comedy Series" in 2003 and 2005. Rosenthal won the 2002 Writers Guild Award for "Excellence in Television Writing" for his "Italy" script. After the series wrapped, Rosenthal penned a book on the art of comedy and the making of a sitcom classic. YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE FUNNY: HOW LIFE BECOMES A SITCOM was published in 2007 via Penguin Publishing Group. His early writing credits include the comedy series "DOWN THE SHORE" and "Coach." Rosenthal also co-wrote "America: A Tribute to Heroes," the 9/11 telethon which aired on all four networks in September 2001, for which he won a Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing." Rosenthal then went on to write, direct, and star in his first feature film for Sony Pictures. EXPORTING RAYMOND, the true story about the attempt to turn "Everybody Loves Raymond" into a Russian sitcom, was met with critical acclaim upon its release in October 2010. In 2015, Rosenthal embarked on a new journey by creating his first travel food series "I'll Have What Phil's Having." This PBS documentary series, which is the precursor to "Somebody Feed Phil," received two Taste Awards and won the 2016 James Beard Award for "Best Television Program, on Location." In October 2020, Rosenthal launched Somebody Feed the People, an initiative of the Rosenthal Family Foundation that supports organizations making an impact and building community through food. This inclusive and non-partisan initiative partners with organizations across the U.S. that address food access and insecurity, support chefs and restaurant workers, create employment pathways, and strengthen the health of our food systems. This foundation is ongoing yearly. Rosenthal continued his philanthropic efforts in 2022, serving alongside Katie Couric and Jeff MacGregor as an executive producer of the documentary FOR LOVE AND LIFE: NO ORDINARY CAMPAIGN. The film follows Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya, a couple battling ALS and leading a revolutionary movement to help victims of the disease around the world. "For Love and Life" went on to win awards at the SXSW Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Virginia Film Festival.
Check Phil out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil.rosenthal/ Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #311: Justin Spitzer - Incremental Progress | 03 Nov 2025 | 01:30:55 | |
Justin Spitzer is a co-creator and executive producer of "St. Denis Medical." Prior to that, he created and ran NBC comedies "Superstore" (2015- 2021) and "American Auto" (2021-2023). His other writing/producing credits include seven seasons of "The Office", as well as "Scrubs", "Committed", "Courting Alex", and "Mulaney". We chat about Superstore and leaving, creating shows, rejection and moving forward, collaborating and the writer's room, working on The Office, Bill Lawrence, when shows end, pivoting from acting plus plenty more!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinspitzer Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #302: Albert Bramante - Reframing Rejection | 25 Aug 2025 | 01:17:50 | |
Albert Bramante is the CEO of Bramante Artists, where he's guided talent across Broadway, film, and television. He's also a psychology professor and certified hypnotist, blending mental performance tools with creative strategy. Lately, he's been teaching creators how to harness AI tools like ChatGPT to boost productivity and content creation. His book, "Rise Above the Script," focuses on breaking through fear and building success. With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of psychology, entertainment, and education, Albert has helped countless performers and creators overcome the mental blocks that hold them back. He's worked with actors, educators, and students to push through fear, imposter syndrome, and self-sabotage while building sustainable, purpose-driven careers. We chat about mindset shifts, hypnosis, collaboration, his new book, mastermind groups, combining being a talent agent with psychology, imposter syndrome, Brian Weiss, people pleasing, accountability, being let go and moving forward, spirituality plus plenty more!
Check Albert out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralbramante/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/albert.bramante/ Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #212: Liza Treyger - Being You | 10 Jul 2023 | 01:20:44 | |
Liza Treyger is an actress, comedian, and podcast extraordinaire. Named one of Variety's "Top Ten Comics to Watch," Rolling Stone's "Ten Comics to Watch," Comedy Central's "Comics to Watch" (can you tell, Liza is one to watch) and a comic who 'shines where sex and politics intersect' by The New York Times. Liza can be seen in Netflix's brand-new comedy series "Survival of the Thickest" based on Michelle Buteau's best-selling book. "Survival of the Thickest" which will debut on Thursday July 13, 2023. In film, Liza can next be seen appearing in "Goodrich" alongside Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis, Andie MacDowell, and Kevin Pollak. Additional recent film and television credits for Liza include appearing in Judd Apatow's "The King of Staten Island", Jordan Peele's horror-mystery "Nope", the Emmy-nominated mini-series "Horace and Pete" alongside Alan Alda, Jessica Lange, Eddie Falco and Steve Buscemi, with appearances on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," "Lights Out with David Spade," "Pause with Sam Jay," "@Midnight", "Adam Devine's House Party," "Chelsea Lately," with dozens of panelist and game show appearances. In stand up, 2015 was a breakout year for Liza hosting her own half hour comedy special for Comedy Central. The special was also released as an album entitled Glittercheese through Comedy Central Records. Liza went on to appear on "The Degenerates" for Netflix, a collection of half-hour specials (alongside Ms. Pat, Jim Norton, and Nikki Glaser to name a few). She is currently a regular at the Comedy Cellar in New York, and The Comedy Store in LA, and has performed internationally to audiences in Melbourne, Sydney, Athens, Antwerp, Oslo, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Amsterdam, and throughout Canada. Liza also hosts the successful podcast That's Messed Up: An SUV podcast which averages over half a million monthly downloads. As comedians and amateur detectives, each week Liza and her co-host, Kara Klenk, break down episodes of "Law & Order: SVU" while doing a deep dive into the true crimes they're based on, and interview on screen talent ranging from big stars to joggers who find the body. https://www.exactlyrightmedia.com/thats-messed-up We chat about roasting p0rnstars for br@zzers, her frenemy podcast, ending friendships (for long term happiness), integrity, stand up, being her best, dedication to the audience, her longevity mindset, safety & creeps.
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| #211: Emily Swallow - Space to Flow | 03 Jul 2023 | 01:20:53 | |
Emily Swallow is an actor who currently can be seen as "The Armorer" in THE MANDALORIAN and THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT. She played fan favorite "Amara" in SUPERNATURAL. She has also voiced Dracula's ill-fated wife Lisa Tepes in CASTLEVANIA and was a series regular on THE MENTALIST and on David E. Kelley's TNT series, MONDAY MORNINGS. She also recurred on SEAL TEAM and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and did voice and mocap work for "Emily" in THE LAST OF US: PART II. She has performed in plays and musicals from Broadway to Los Angeles. Emily also is in the running for a cool comp for WAZE (Mandorections) where if she wins, she can be the voice of Waze through her Mandalorian character, the armorer. Check out the link in the episode notes to help her win! Here is the link to vote for "Mandorections." Folks need to make sure that, once they get to the page, they fill out the form and cast their vote. https://t.co/Sim6OABuVV We chat about doing comic cons and strange requests, flow, The Mandalorian, people pleasing, control, mediation, almost having a career in foreign services, The Mentalist and creativity. | |||
| #210: Loren Lott - Judging a Fish | 26 Jun 2023 | 01:17:53 | |
Loren Lott can do it all, she's an actress, singer, dancer, and digital creator. She's been seen on Broadway, tv and film. Her following on social media platforms is unparalleled, where she boasts a huge engagement in the millions across her social media platforms and a resume of heavy-hitting Hollywood roles on both the stage and screen, Loren has crafted a career that has unmistakably defined her status as a rising voice of a new generation of Hollywood. This spring 2023, Loren can currently be seen starring opposite Chlöe Bailey, Tristen Mack Wilds, Quavo, and Anjelika Washington in the Universal Pictures feature film "Praise This," available to stream now on Peacock. Her voice captured national attention when she enchanted audiences with her live performances on season 14 of ABC's longstanding competition series, "American Idol," and ascended into the top 16 finalists. Combining her passion for both singing and acting, Loren joined the theatre scene. For the next few years, Loren performed on stage with touring and Broadway productions such as Gladys Night in "Motown the Musical," Ti Moune in "Once on This Island," and Cece Winans in "Born for This." Upon her move back to the west coast in Los Angeles, she was quickly snapped up to join the cast of the Emmy award-winning daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless" as Ana Hamilton from 2018-2019. Following her time on the soap opera, Loren began to add back-to-back television and film bookings to her growing list of credits, including the role of the popular cabaret singer Lucy Conrad in "The Porter,". In addition, she starred as Cydney Wesley in "A Wesley Christmas," The sequel "A Wesley Christmas Wedding" is due to be released shortly. Other notable film and television credits include Ava DuVernay's "Cherish the Day", "Favorite Son", "The Products of the American Ghetto" and Kirk Franklin's "The Night Before Christmas". As quickly as Loren's Hollywood career began to blossom, so did her remarkable rise to social media stardom. From detailing her life in vulnerable, personal reflections to cracking witty jokes and quips, and even showcasing her impressive vocal range and acting talents throughout her short-form content, Loren's digital presence grew drastically as she garnered well over one million followers in just a year. Multiple videos on her TikTok, which she started in late 2022, have reached virality with millions of views per post as she shares stunning performances and meaningful conversations regarding love, faith, friends, and peeling back the curtain on the realities of working in Hollywood. We chat about gratitude, rejection, being dropped from her agency, dyslexia, being in an understudy, performing on Broadway, being on American Idol, social media and self-esteem.
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| #209: Andrea Anders - Standpoint of Joy | 19 Jun 2023 | 01:22:02 | |
Andrea Anders is an actor who is probably best known for recurring in Apple's hit comedy series TED LASSO where she appears as Jason Sudeikis's wife. Also, she can be seen in Netflix's revival series THAT 90'S SHOW and Freeform's drama series CRUEL SUMMER. Andrea will next appear as a Series Regular in HOW TO BE A BOOKIE for HBO MAX opposite Sebastian Maniscalco. On the film front, Andrea currently appears in SPIRITED opposite Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds on Apple TV+. She also worked on the critically acclaimed THE GOOD FIGHT opposite Christine Baranski. Her previous memorable work includes the hit series MODERN FAMILY, ABOUT A BOY, MR SUNSHINE, JOEY, YOUNG SHELDON, MR. MOM & BETTER OFF TED. We chat about doing standup comedy, ease and flow, pivoting, birthday roasts, resilience, vision boards, stealing ideas, ego and good partners.
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| #208: Chukwudi Iwuji - What's Yours is Yours | 12 Jun 2023 | 01:07:29 | |
Chukwudi Iwuji is an award winning actor as well as a writer. An extraordinary actor both on screen and on stage, Chukwudi continues to captivate audiences with his versatility and establish himself as one to watch. He recently made his debut in the Marvel universe in James Gunn's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3, the final instalment in the blockbuster franchise. Starring as the main villain 'High Evolutionary', Chukwudi has received rave reviews for his performance as an all-time Marvel Villain. In 2022, he made his debut in the DC Universe starring as 'Clemson Mern' in the DC Comics and HBOMax series PEACEMAKER, also from the mind of James Gunn. Additional television credits include the BBC drama THE SPLIT, Michael Morrissey's THE GIRL WHO GOT AWAY, as well as the Emmy nominated Amazon limited series THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD for director Barry Jenkins. Other television appearances include WHEN THEY SEE US, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, QUANTICO, THE BLINDSPOT, MADAM SECRETARY, and DOCTOR WHO. His additional film credits include the Netflix feature SHINE YOUR EYES, the thriller DANIEL ISN'T REAL opposite Sasha Lane and Patrick, Netflix's BARRY, Chad Stahelski's JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 opposite Keanu Reeves, A WOMAN A PART, NOW: IN THE WINGS OF A WORLD STAGE, the multi-award winning EXAM, and FALL TO RISE. As an accomplished theater veteran, Chukwudi starred in OTHELLO for The Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park as well as in ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, KING LEAR, and HAMLET. His performance in THE LOW ROAD, directed by Michael Greif, earned him an Obie Award, as well as 2018 Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominations. An Associate Artist of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company for his numerous Shakespearean performances, he has also received two Olivier awards for his titular role as HENRY VI in the RSC's 2009 productions of parts I, II, and III. Other stage credits include the titular role in the Public Theatre's HAMLET directed by Patricia McGregor; Ivo van Hove's OBSESSION opposite Jude Law, and HEDDA GABLER opposite Ruth Wilson, both for The National Theatre; The Public Theatre's productions of KING LEAR and ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA; Theatre for a New Audience's TAMBURLAINE directed by Michael Boyd; and the Old Vic's RICHARD III directed by Sam Mendes. He is also a founding member of Chudor House Productions, his family's production and management company. We chat about the cycle of highs and lows, having his own stamp, the benefits of meditation, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, working hard at our emotions, fear, pay offs, signs and guardian angels.
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| #207: Monica Raymund - Your Point of View | 05 Jun 2023 | 01:25:23 | |
Monica Raymund is an actor, director and producer. She is the series lead on the STARZ crime-drama series, HIGHTOWN. Monica recently completed production on Showtime and Paramount Global's THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL. Many know Monica from her starring role as 'Gabriela Dawson' spanning 6 seasons on NBC's hit series CHICAGO FIRE. She also received an Imagen Award for "Best Actress, Television" and was subsequently nominated an additional three times. Her additional television credits include, Michelle and Robert King's THE GOOD WIFE and a series regular role on Fox's LIE TO ME opposite Tim Roth and Mekhi Phifer for 3 seasons. She was seen in Universal's romantic comedy, BROS directed by Nick Stoller, starred in Nicholas Jarecki's thriller ARBITRAGE opposite Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, HAPPY BABY opposite Bill Heck, and in Mahesh Pailoor's BRAHMIN BULLS. Behind the camera, Monica was part of the inaugural class of NBC's "Female Forward" initiative aimed at increasing female representation in the director's chair. Her television directing credits include Starz's POWER: BOOK II: GHOST, NATIONAL TREASURE for Disney +, NBC's THE ENDGAME, the Series finale of USA's THE SINNER, LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, as well as episodes of CBS's FBI, NBC'S LAW & ORDER: SVU and LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME and HIGHTOWN. Monica directed the short film TANYA for the Hidden Tears Project, a non-profit media company developing content to bring awareness to s*x trafficking. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she received the John Houseman Award for her commitment and dedication. We chat about flow, growth and regrowth, leaving Chicago Fire, the power of 'no', expectations, rejection, your point of view, performing, directing, control and moving forward. | |||
| #206: Carla Gallo - Thriving as you are | 29 May 2023 | 01:23:08 | |
Carla Gallo is an actor whose first major film role was in David Russell's feature SPANKING THE MONKEY. This breakout performance gained Carla an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and the film won the Audience Award in Sundance. This caught the attention of filmmaker Judd Apatow who cast her as the female lead in the cult favorite UNDECLARED. Carla went on to work consistently with Apatow in such features as, THE 4O YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, SUPER BAD, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, FUNNY PEOPLE and GET HIM TO THE GREEK. Carla played dynamic roles in the iconic series, CARNIVALE, CALIFORNICATION and MAD MEN. Her other television credits include BURNING LOVE, 2 BROKE GIRLS, WORKAHOLICS, SNEAKY PETE, and recurring roles on BONES and MAYANS M.C. In both Universal's NEIGHBORS and NEIGHBORS 2, Carla gives scene stealing performances as Seth Rogen's and Rose Byrne's loveably unglued friend. Carla has completed work on two Netflix features, A FUTILE & STUPID GESTURE directed by David Wain, LITTLE EVIL directed by Eli Craig. Her other feature credits include, I LOVE YOU MAN, WE BOUGHT A ZOO, MOTHER AND CHILD, HAPPIEST SEASON and FOUR GOOD DAYS. Most recently, Carla will re-team with Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a lead in the Apple TV+ comedy series PLATONIC which is now out! We chat about Career dry spells, sucking Steve Carell's toe, course correction, winning mentality, fear, feedback and Bones. | |||
| #205: Mark Samual Bonanno - What Do You Have To Lose? | 24 Apr 2023 | 01:39:26 | |
Mark Samual Bonanno is a writer and performer best known for his general silliness within comedy troupe Aunty Donna, one of Australia's biggest comedic acts who have garnered a huge international audience both live, online and most recently with their smash hit Netflix special, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun. He also co-wrote/created the six part sitcom Why Are You Like This, for ABC (Australia) and Netflix in 2021. Mark's work has won and been nominated for numerous awards, including the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy in 2017, Best of The Fest at Sydney Comedy Festival in 2018, and across the last few years, Best Supporting Actor, Best Ensemble and Best Comedy Web Series at the Melbourne International Web Festival. Mark's work directing Demi Lardner's 2017 and 2018 stage shows also saw award attention, winning both the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Director's Choice Award and Pinder Prize in their respective years, on top of directing "Woah, Alyssa" in 2021 which was nominated for The Golden Gibbo Award (best independent production). Mark's new show Aunty Donna's Coffee Café is now out on ABC iview! We chat about collaboration and working in a team, art and fulfillment, Aunty Donna, KFC, taking a break, performing live with food poisoning, failed pilots plus more! The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
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| #204: Jason Gray-Stanford - Getting Back Up | 17 Apr 2023 | 01:27:16 | |
Jason Gray Stanford is an actor who is best known for playing the role of the lovable Lt. Randall Disher on the long running Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award winning television series MONK. His numerous film credits include the Academy Award winning A BEAUTIFUL MIND, with Russell Crowe, for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Best Ensemble Cast," The Academy Award Nominated FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS directed by Clint Eastwood, LONELY HEARTS with John Travolta, James Gandolfini and Jared Leto, MYSTERY ALASKA also with Russell Crowe, The award winning indie CAROLINE AND JACKIE, Disney's EARTH TO ECHO, THE MIRACLE SEASON alongside Helen Hunt and William Hurt, and the Sundance selection, SUMMER OF '84. On television Jason's long list of credits range from starring in Steven Spielberg's Emmy winning mini-series TAKEN, and the TNT series MONDAY MORNINGS for David E. Kelly, to roles on such shows as the hit Amazon series THE BOYS, JUSTIFIED, GREY'S ANATOMY, BONES, THE X FILES, FBI: MOST WANTED both NCIS and STARGATE franchises, and the hit Canadian series REPUBLIC OF DOYLE. Jason also has a considerable voiceover background including roles voicing Donatello in the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES series "The Next Mutation," Sherlock Holmes in SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE 22ND CENTURY, Joe Higashi in the FATAL FURY trilogy, among many others. He is also recognized as the original voice of Raditz in the wildly popular DRAGONBALL Z. Upcoming Jason will be reprising his role as Lt. Randy Disher in the long awaited MONK movie for NBC/Universal and Peacock. He will also be seen in the Disney+ series PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS premiering in 2024 and the Paramount + action thriller THE PAINTER. Along with these projects Jason is gearing up for the second season of his popular podcast, THE RANDY DISHER PODCAST on iHeart Radio, Amazon, and Spotify. Jason continues to be a fierce animal advocate. He also works alongside the American Heart Association as well as lending his voice to the importance of organ donation and transplant awareness. We chat about his heart transplant and moving forward, Monk, positivity mindset, making decisions, resilience, rejection and more!
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| #203: Molly Hagan - Ability to Dream | 10 Apr 2023 | 01:21:13 | |
Molly Hagan is an award winning actor who is currently a Series Regular on the CW's WALKER. She plays the matriarch of the Walker clan which includes mother to Jared Padalecki and wife to Mitch Pileggi. Molly has amassed an extensive resume over the past 35 years. Her favorite movie appearances are: SULLY, ELECTION, RINGMASTER, & SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL. TV regular gig favorites include: UNFABULOUS, HERMAN'S HEAD & THE NUTT HOUSE. Molly has also had recurring roles on JANE THE VIRGIN, iZOMBIE, Netflix's NO GOOD NICK, and Apple TV's TRUTH BE TOLD with Octavia Spencer. The Interactive movie THE GARAGE SALE marked Molly's debut as a writer/producer which now can be seen in its linear non-interactive form on Amazon Prime. You may also recognize her from her roles in Friends, Seinfeld, Better Call Saul, Narcos: Mexico, True Detective, The Orville, Legion, Masters of Sex, The Mentalist, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, Becker, Code of Silence, ALF and Charmed, just to name a few. We chat about mindset shifts, choosing happiness, The Thinking Body-The Feeling Mind (TBFM), almost declaring bankruptcy, her dream role, being kicked out of high school drama, Herman's Head and getting into producing and writing.
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| #301: Anthony Brandon Wong - Reframing our Mindset | 18 Aug 2025 | 01:25:27 | |
Anthony Brandon Wong is an award winning actor, who has worked for 40 years in movies, TV and theatre all over the world, a singer-songwriter and one of Australia's most sought- after acting teachers and coaches. His numerous film and TV credits include: the role of Ghost in "The Matrix Reloaded", "The Matrix Revolutions" and the "Enter the Matrix" video game, opposite Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith and Hugo Weaving, Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire" opposite Channing Tatum and Antonio Banderas, "Guns, Girls and Gambling" opposite Gary Oldman and Christian Slater, "Hemingway and Gellhorn" opposite Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen, "Queen of Oz" opposite Catherine Tate, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", "Glee", "NCIS", "Hawaii Five-0", "Flight of the Phoenix", "Harrow", "Upright" and "The Twelve" Season 2 as series regular Winston Hang. Anthony played the role of Danny Law in "The Family Law" and he and his fellow cast won 3 consecutive Equity Ensemble Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. On stage, Anthony has played lead and major roles for Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, The Malthouse and State Theatre Company of South Australia and he won The Victorian Green Room Award for Best Actor in "Sex Diary of an Infidel". Anthony played the role of the outrageous maid/butler Jacob in the stage musical "La Cage Aux Folles". As an acting teacher, Anthony has taught at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Actors Centre Australia, Screenwise and the Q Theatre in Sydney, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Melbourne's 16th Street Studios, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), as well as in Los Angeles at TVI Studios, in Brisbane at the Australian Acting Academy, on the Gold Coast at The Warehouse Workshop Screen Acting Studio and in Byron Bay at the Actors Room. Anthony's thousands of acting students over his 30 year teaching and coaching career include Magda Szubanski, Delta Goodrem, Angus McLaren (Packed to the Rafters), Aaron Glenane (Snowpiercer), Shareena Clanton (Wentworth), Natalie Mendoza (Moulin Rouge) and Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games). Anthony is the most senior Certified Teacher of the Ivana Chubbuck Technique in Australia. Ivana Chubbuck is the world renowned coach of Oscar winners Halle Berry, Charlize Theron and Jared Leto, and Oscar nominated actors Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, Djimon Hounsou, Kate Hudson, America Ferrera, Elisabeth Shue, Terrence Howard and Sylvester Stallone. Ivana personally trained Anthony over a period of 14 years in Los Angeles and in Australia. Anthony has also worked extensively with master teacher Larry Moss, who is the coach of Leonardo di Caprio, Hilary Swank, Tobey Maguire, Helen Hunt and Austin Butler. In addition, Anthony has studied with Eric Morris (Jack Nicholson's coach), Elisabeth Kemp (Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman and Lady Gaga's coach), Margie Haber (coach of Vince Vaughan and Tea Leoni), Rowena Balos (voice trainer to Judy Davis), the Steppenwolf Company and in the Meisner and Strasberg Techniques. As a singer-songwriter, Anthony released a dance pop single "Emancipate", which can be played on all music platforms. The music video can be seen on YouTube and Vevo. We chat about the Matrix, not working for periods, handling rejection, his amazing acting classes, food, mindset, his win spreadsheet, being who you are, learning new things, gratitude plus plenty more!
Check Anthony out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthony_brandon_wong/ Food Blog: https://www.instagram.com/universe_of_taste/ Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #202: Christine Lakin - Pivot and Go | 03 Apr 2023 | 01:19:15 | |
Christine Lakin is a Director, Actor, Producer and a Choregrapher. Christine is probably best known for her role as "Al" in the 90's sit-com Step By Step. More recently, she was one of three Hollywood Darlings on the Pop Network alongside Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House) and Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven). These three women produced the highly improvised comedy loosely based on their real lives and friendship. Christine has also appeared in dozens of films and TV shows such as Modern Family, The Rookie, Station 19, American Housewife, Mothers Day, CSI, The League, Melissa and Joey, Valentines Day, Veronica Mars and You Again. She's voiced multiple roles on FOX's Family Guy, Cartoon Network's Clarence and is known as Jane from The Walking Dead game, Seasons 1 and 2. She is the voice behind PeeBee in EA's Mass Effect: Andromeda. She also narrates numerous audio book - in fact over 150, including the best selling Bosch/Ballard detective series by Michael Connelly, in which she voiced Renee Ballard. Christine has also performed in several acclaimed theater productions, notably as Clarice Starling in the cult-hit Silence, The Musical LADCC award and dozens with LA favorite, The Troubadour Theater Company. She has regularly hosted for CMT, VH1 and E! including the recent Burbank International Film Festival. Christine is also a nominated choreographer, whose work has appeared in many national commercials and on HBO's Westworld, True Blood, Schooled and ABC's The Goldbergs. She has worked on films such as You Again, and Parental Guidance alongside such talent as Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis, Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner and Bette Midler. She is the creator of the hit storytelling show, Worst Ever, which ran to sold-out crowds around Los Angeles and New York before being developed and sold as a series with Thank You Brain Productions. It was turned into successful podcast found on Apple and iTunes. Additionally, she has sold scripted content to MTV, Hulu, and has developed with Whoopi, Inc., Campanario and Warner Horizon. Most recently Christine has been behind the camera, directing episodic television for Apple, Disney+ and ABC including The Goldbergs and High School Musical, The Musical, The Series. We chat about mentors, pivoting, saying "yes", collaboration and success, choreography and getting into directing, second guessing ourselves, imposter syndrome and play and fun. | |||
| #201: Sarah Maree Cameron - Cheerleader for Life | 20 Mar 2023 | 01:37:49 | |
Sarah Maree Cameron is a comedian, award winning radio presenter, MC, actor and Ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation and Endometriosis Australia. Sarah Maree can be heard on Triple M Melbourne hosting 12-3pm weekdays and popping up for special appearances across the Triple M network on music specials to co-hosting the LIVE Brownlow red carpet coverage. She can also be seen performing stand-up comedy around the club circuit and she has made her movie debut in an international feature "At Last". Sarah Maree's passion for radio has seen her work all across the country (and Canada) and has even won Australian Commercial Radio Award (ACRA) for Best Networked Program. In 2013 Sarah Maree returned to Nova 100's line up as the afternoon announcer and went on to do Saturday Breakfast as well. During her time with Nova Entertainment she also hosted the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Radio Show, Summer Breakfast, Summer Drive and Late nights with the latter two being networked across Australia with NE. After almost 4 years with Nova Entertainment, Sarah Maree then moved to Fox FM Melbourne in April 2017 before finishing up in January 2018 to move to K rock to host breakfast. You will also find her engaged in multiple community groups and events as Sarah Maree is the Ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation and Endometriosis Australia. With a love of sports, Sarah Maree has presented live to crowds of more than 100,000 people as the Live Television Host for the A League's Central Coast Mariners and AFL's Greater Western Sydney's home games and WNBL's Melbourne Boomers. In July 2013 she hosted for Twenty20 Cricket's Melbourne Renegades for a season and also joined her beloved Richmond football club in the same role where she is still their game day host. Sarah Maree has also achieved success as a voice over artist as well as with numerous local theatrical companies and improv comedy troops as a trained singer, dancer, actor and comedian. You can catch Sarah Maree at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with the debut of her show "One Womb Please!", so check her out! So as you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as her love of radio, dyslexia, 'If you can you must philosophy', when shows end, moving overseas to start her radio career, gratitude, resilience, rising above health challenges, play and fun, mindfulness and meditation plus a lot more!
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| #200: Patrick Fabian - Are you in or out? | 13 Mar 2023 | 01:27:53 | |
Patrick Fabian is an award-winning actor who you may recognise from his iconic role as Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul. He's guest starred on almost everything: Friends, NCIS, Will and Grace, Hot in Cleveland, Star Trek:Voyager, Lucifer, Code Black, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm, Scorpion, The Newsroom, Longmire, Castle, Scandal", CSI/CSI:Miami/CSI:NY, The Mentalist, Desperate Housewives, Xena the Warrior Princess, Criminal Minds, Bones, Ugly Betty, Reba, Pushing Daises, According to Jim, Drop Dead Diva, Private Practice, Burn Notice, Princess. Recurring roles include "Big Love, Veronica Mars, Joan of Arcadia, Providence, 24, Time of your Life, General Hospital, Working Class, Dharma and Greg, Valentine and The Education of Max Bickford. Patrick is fondly remembered as 'Professor Lasky' from Saved By The Bell:The College Years. Patrick was also the male lead in "The Last Exorcism" which was a small, 1.3 million dollar horror film that went on to gross over $70 Million worldwide. Fans loved his portrayal of the flawed Rev Cotton Marcus and he was awarded Best Actor at the prestigious Stiges Catalonian International Film Festival in 2010. Other films include Jimmy, Must Love Dogs, Tales of Everyday Magic, Bad Ass, Atlas Shrugged Part 2, Pig, My Greatest Teacher, The Good Mother, Underdogs, Bad Asses and My Eleventh. On the Disney and ABC Family Channels, Patrick has been a go-to Bad Guy, playing the Evil 'Thantos' in Disney Channels' Twitches and Twitches, Too and the only man hunting reindeer in the Christmas movies Snow and Snow 2: Brain Freeze and Cloud 9. On stage, Patrick has worked with some of the best playwrights and directors around: having toured America with John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation directed by Jerry Zaks, Eric Bogosian's Humpty Dumpty directed by Jo Bonney at The McCarter Center in Princeton and Nicky Silver's The Food Chain directed by Robert Falls at the Westside Theatre in NYC. He also voices Harvey Dent in Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham which is coming out soon. We chat about why he loves Cameo, the highs and lows of a 30+ year career, disappointments, no's and rejections, his gratitude mindset, expectations, Better Call Saul and enjoyment plus more!
Website: https://www.patrickfabian.com/
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| #199: Hayley Orrantia - Differing Paths | 06 Mar 2023 | 01:32:17 | |
Hayley Orrantia is an actor, singer and songwriter. From starring in hit television series to releasing chart-topping singles, Hayley has quickly made a name for herself as one of the most exciting multi-hyphenate talents in the entertainment industry today. Hayley can currently be seen reprising her celebrated role as Erica Goldberg in the decade-long hit ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs". Parallel to her acting endeavors, Hayley has been releasing music as an independent singer. Over the course of her music career, Hayley has released a series of songs including an EP titled "The Way Out", featuring her breakout single "If I Don't". Hayley's love of music started at a young age and is what started her career. In film, Hayley most recently starred in Amazon/Lionsgate's holiday comedy "Christmas is Cancelled". Also in the holiday spirit, Hayley released her Christmas single "The Same Way" in conjunction with the film on December 10, 2022. Additional credits for Hayley include: recurring in "Schooled," a popular ABC spinoff of "The Goldbergs," the independent feature film "Cooper and the Castle Hills Gang," and "God's Not Dead 2," where her original song "Silence You" was also featured. Hayley's single entitled "Open Your Mouth," a vibrant pop anthem was followed by the release of "Gasoline," which showed off a new side to her song writing. Her music has been featured on some of the largest country music playlists and radio stations in America, including Spotify's 'Wild Country' and 'Nearly Nashville' playlists and Radio Disney Country. In 2018 Hayley conducted her first successful tour, the Strong, Sweet and Southern Tour, hitting 22 cities across the US. In the same year, she also performed on three main stages at the renowned CMA Fest in Nashville, TN. Additionally, on the heels of winning second-place on The Masked Singer, she starred in Kinky Boots as Nicola, the wife of Charlie, portrayed by Jake Shears during The Hollywood Bowls' showcasing in July 2022. We chat about flipping houses… for fun, the secret, being lucky, leachers, Tyler Henry, confidence, fear, lessons from being on the X factor, comparing and success, the challenges of being an independent musician, almost winning the masked singer plus more!
Website: https://www.hayleyorrantia.com/
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| #198: Claire Hooper - You Never Know Who's Watching | 27 Feb 2023 | 01:36:04 | |
Claire Hooper is a stand-up comedian, writer, author, presenter and actor. Her 2006 show, 'Oh', earned her both critical acclaim and a nomination for the Melbourne Comedy Festival's Best Newcomer award. Claire is a born narrator who has an incredibly sharp mind and wit. She has gone on to regularly perform at festivals and comedy rooms all over Australia. For four years Claire shared a set with Paul McDermott and Mikey Robbins on the iconic comedy show Good News Week as a team captain. Over the last decade, Claire has audiences spellbound with her solo shows performed across the country. Claire hosted The Great Australian Bake Off for Foxtel's LifeStyle Channel for 5 seasons. This theme carried through to Claire's brilliant solo shows "Biscuits" in 2020 and "Tea" in 2022. A regular on screen, Claire can often be seen co-hosting Channel Ten's The Project as well as appearances on ABC's Question Everything, Spicks & Specks, SBS' Celebrity Letters & Numbers, Rove Live and Channel Ten's Would I Lie To You? In what is possibly Claire's proudest achievement to date, her debut children's book Princess Benjamina Has A Very Cheeky Bum was released in 2021. Claire has loved sharing the joy of this book with kids all around the country. Claire also has a bunch of shows out in Australia and in particular if you're in the Melbourne for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, go check Claire out, she's hilarious!
Comedy show dates: https://comedy.com.au/tour/claire-hooper-sweet-charity/ | |||
| #197: Cal Wilson - Life Goes On | 20 Feb 2023 | 01:38:17 | |
Cal Wilson is a stand-up comedian, writer, actor, author and TV and radio host. She moved from New Zealand to Australian shores in 2003 and has gone on to become one of Australia's most popular comedians. She is a favourite on television shows such as ABC's Spicks and Specks and Good News Week, as well as Thank God You're Here, Hughesy, We Have A Problem, Have You Been Paying Attention? Skithouse, Rove Live, The Glasshouse and the 2022 premiere series of Would I Lie To You? Australia, all on Network Ten. Amongst taking our screens and stages by storm, Cal landed a dream job of hers – an ensemble cast member in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia alongside some of the country's brightest improvisers. In 2018, she was invited by Netflix to the Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal to record a Netflix Original Comedy Special which was released globally in early 2019. That same year Cal become a very serious children's author, penning two books called "George and the Great Bum Stampede," and "George and the Great Brain Swappery." A gifted storyteller & writer, Cal was invited to join the writing team for the 2022 BAFTA Awards ceremony, as well as having previously written on the series Mean Mums and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. She is the Melbourne live show host of the worldwide smash-hit storytelling podcast The Moth and in July this year she once again joined comedy phenomenon podcast The Guilty Feminist on tour around her native country, New Zealand. Despite an aversion to the great outdoors, Cal bravely joined the cast of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022 which saw her take on all the usual hair-raising challenges and biblical amount of bugs the series has to offer. Unprecedented times called for unprecedented adventures and at the very least some good material. Taking a swift move away from creepy crawlies and into all things cake – Cal has just been announced as a brand new host of The Great Australian Bake Off which will air on Foxtel in 2023. Cal also has some shows out, in particular if you're in Melbourne check her out at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival! We chat about Cal's daily reddit routine, her obsession with cats, improv and stand up comedy, collaboration and connection, her unique philosophy and mindset, supporting others, perseverance and resilience. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
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| #196: Tahir Bilgic - Mindset Matters | 13 Feb 2023 | 01:49:19 | |
Tahir Bilgic is an award winning internationally acclaimed stand-up comedian, a Logie winning actor as well as a writer, director and producer. He is known for his hugely popular live performances, as well as an impressive collection of credits spanning multiple highly successful television shows. Tahir is, quite simply, one Australia's greatest and most recognised comedians. Over the course of his career, Tahir has written, directed and starred in over a dozen major stage shows. Lord of the Kebabs, an ensemble piece of sketches and stand-up, enjoyed over 100 performances, and was seen collectively by 20,000 people all across the nation. Other live stage shows include Hollywood Kebabs, Live and Circumcised and Straight Outta Compo, with more on the way! Tahir has also appeared many times on television, as a performer, actor and guest, on shows such as Rove Live, The Footy Show, All Saints, Housos, Swift and Shift Couriers, Thank God You're Here, the Librarians, Bogan Hunters and Foxtel's thecomedychannel. When the hit SBS comedy Pizza entered its fourth series, Tahir joined its cast as the womanising drug-dealer Habib, and instantly cemented himself as one of the show's best loved characters. Habib was so popular, in fact, that he soon demanded his own live stage production – leading to the sell-out smash, Habib on Parole. The character "Habib", is one of the most hilarious and popular characters ever seen on Australian television. Tahir then went on to co-write and star in several feature length movies with the Pizza team, such as Fat Pizza, Housos Vs Authority, and Fat Pizza Vs Housos. The Fat Pizza movie, which enjoyed one of the all-time most successful opening weekends ever for an Australian movie release. Tahir was also co-creator of the acclaimed Channel 9 sitcom Here Come The Habibs and was a contestant on the 2019 season of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. And according to his biography, Tahir is currently in talks to host his own television show, and has recently signed on to star and produce his own movie, with production to commence shortly. We chat about his world record, his love of comedy, his previous life as a teacher, going with the flow, finding out who you are, why he's so happy, his growth and forward moving mindset, being the world's best worst magician, timing and luck.
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| #195: Fernando Carsa - What makes you different makes you special | 06 Feb 2023 | 01:12:55 | |
Fernando Carsa is an award nominated Latino actor on the rise. From appearing on stage in internationally renowned theater productions to playing heartfelt characters on-screen, Fernando is quickly establishing himself as one-to-watch in the entertainment industry. This year Fernando can be seen reprising his breakout role in season 2 of Apple TV+'s hit bilingual comedy series, "Acapulco". "Acapulco" also picked up a handful of award nominations at the 2022 Imagen Awards, including an individual nomination for Fernando in the Best Supporting Actor - Comedy category, and the series landing recognition in the Best Primetime Program - Comedy category. In film Fernando can next be seen appearing in the upcoming Paramount+ feature film "At Midnight" alongside Monica Barbaro and Diego Boneta which is coming out very soon. The romantic comedy tells the story of two people who have made the "safe" choice not to fall in love. "At Midnight" is one of Paramount+'s banner Latin American originals, produced by ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS). We chat about role models and teachers, blessings, hustle and working hard, haters and doubters, beliefs and manifestation, his new show Acapulco & gratitude plus a lot more!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fernandocarsa | |||
| #194: Roz Hammond - Perseverance | 30 Jan 2023 | 01:22:41 | |
Roz Hammond is a highly accomplished theatre, film and television actor as well as a writer and director with some of the most credits in the Australian industry, who's been in the industry for 30+ years. Her numerous television appearances include sixty episodes of ABC drama The Heights, ten series of Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, Five Bedrooms and Jack Irish. Other long running roles include three series of The Librarians, three series of The Micallef Programme, three series of Skithouse and Thank God You're Here, together with guest roles in everything from Blue Heelers, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Let Down, Please Like Me, It's a Date, Offspring, Mr and Mrs Murder, Outland, Slide, The King, Curtin and Newstopia. She has performed leading roles for the Melbourne Theatre Company, Black Swan Theatre Company and Playbox Theatre. Her film roles include Cheryl in Australian classic Muriel's Wedding, The Dish and How to Please A Woman. Her own solo shows have toured internationally and she has been nominated for Best Show at Perth Fringe Festival, the Golden Gibbo at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Best Female Performance at the Dublin Fringe Festival. As a writer, her credits include Home and Away, It's a Date, Little Lunch, Skithouse, Eric, SmallTales and True as well as her solo theatre shows. We chat about happiness and joy, grief and death, mental health, yoga and meditation, gratitude, the benefits of tapping, panic attacks on stage, being a journey woman actor, and how the universe works for us plus plenty more! | |||
| #193: Addison Timlin - "This will change your life" | 23 Jan 2023 | 01:13:02 | |
Addison Timlin is an actor who you might recognise from her regular role in START UP for Crackle TV. Prior to that, she was the lead in the independent film SLEEPING IN PLASTIC. She also starred as the lead in the independent films LOVE THY KEEPERS, WHEN I'M A MOTH, and SUBMISSION, opposite Stanley Tucci. Addison can also be seen in the lead role in Zach Clark's LITTLE SISTER, FALLEN, opposite Jeremy Irvine, and MGM's thriller THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN for Ryan Murphy, Jason Blum, and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Addison has had flashy supporting roles in Lakeshore's STAND UP GUYS, opposite Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken, the independent feature, LUMPY, opposite Justin Long, LOVE & AIR SEX, and Stephen Sommers' ODD THOMAS, opposite Anton Yelchin. You may have also seen her in Californication, Derailed, Zero Hour and American Horror Stories. | |||
| #300: Mike Scully - Janitor to Simpson's Showrunner | 11 Aug 2025 | 01:37:56 | |
Episode 300! thank's so much. Emmy, Peabody, and Writers' Guild of America Award winning writer/producer Mike Scully has written many forms of comedy: animation, single-cam, multi-cam, hidden-cam, award shows, and live performance. After seven years of writing for shows you've never heard of, he joined The Simpsons writing staff as a producer in 1993. He was promoted to showrunner in 1997 for Seasons 9 thru 12 (considered the four most consecutive seasons of the show) and co-wrote and co-produced The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007. He was a consulting producer on the show until 2021 and recently wrote a new episode. Mike also served as writer/producer on the Emmy-winning Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as Parks & Recreation, starring Amy Poehler. (He also appeared on the show several times as a disgruntled citizen asking stupid questions at town meetings.) He was a writer/producer on the critically acclaimed NBC series "The Carmichael Show" starring comedian Jerrod Carmichael. He co-created (with wife Julie Thacker-Scully & Amy Poehler) the animated Fox/Hulu show Duncanville starring Poehler, Ty Burrell, and Rashida Jones, which ran three seasons. He also co-created some quickly cancelled shows such as "The Pitts", "Complete Savages", and an animated version of Napoleon Dynamite." He and Julie wrote the pilot for the ABC/Hulu show Shifting Gears. He is a Consulting Producer on the upcoming second season of the Netflix series, A Man On The Inside starring Ted Danson. He has written jokes for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler when they hosted the Golden Globes and for their current live Restless Leg tour. In 1998, he organized writing staffs of all the Fox animated shows to win Writers Guild of America union coverage for the writers, who had previously been underpaid and without healthcare and pension contributions, unlike their live action counterparts. He has five daughters who provide him a never-ending financial reason to keep working. We chat about the Simpsons and being a show runner, leadership style and empowerment, moving to LA, his many 'odd' jobs, cancelled shows and rejection, false promises, Everybody loves Raymond, creating shows, art vs the business, doing comedy after Robin Williams, point of view, working on Parks and Recreation, moving forward plus much more! Check Mike out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_skullzz Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #192: Diane Farr - Part of the Tribe | 16 Jan 2023 | 01:01:11 | |
Diane Farr is an Award-winning actor, as well as an author, writer, producer and soon to be director. She currently stars in the hit show, Fire Country as Sharon Leone. You may also recognise her from her roles as FBI agent Megan Reeves in Numb3rs, Jill Robinson in Californication, the firefighter Laura Miles in Rescue me, Maya in Splitting up Together as well as Charmed, The Good Doctor, Chance, Black-ish, Private Practice, Like Family, The Job, Roswell, The Drew Carey Show, Grey's Anatomy and The Mentalist to name a few. Diane was also co-host for 200 episodes of the advice program Loveline on MTV alongside Adam Carolla & Dr Drew, she is also the author of 2 books, Kissing Outside the Lines and The Girl Code: The Secret Language of Single Women. We chat about working at a maximum-security prison, directing, good vs bad, meeting people where they are at, her spiritual journey, intuition, grief, collaboration, belief systems and ambition. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Diane out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getdianefarr/ | |||
| #191: Ester Tania - Being Yourself | 09 Jan 2023 | 01:20:57 | |
Ester Tania is an Award winning actor, content creator and model. She is hailed as the internet's "self-care sister'', with her 2.2 Million followers on TikTok. Although many of her original videos are based in beauty tips and tricks, Ester is also renowned by for her sisterly life advice, health and fitness routines and wellness recommendations, travel and acting vlogs, anonymous "story time" renditions, and above all, her encouragement of finding self-love and confidence. Ester is also a professionally trained, award-winning actress, and can next be seen starring in "Mashed," an independent TV mini-series which recently made its debut at the Dances With Films Festival in June 2022. "Mashed" is a tender, raunchy, and queer exploration of female pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction that follows a woman struggling as she tries to connect with her sexuality. She can also be seen starring in the horror film, "From the Shadows," which recently made its debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Additional film and TV credits for Ester include Netflix's dramedy series, "Master of None," Marvel's "Luke Cage," Showtime's "City on a Hill," Sony Pictures' critically acclaimed romantic-comedy feature "The Comedian," opposite Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Edie Falco and Danny DeVito, and Disney+'s upcoming romantic sport-drama, "Chang Can Dunk," (release date TBA) as well as the upcoming dramedy-fantasy film "The Great Wall of Warren," opposite Malcolm Goodwin. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as being scammed, sexual assault, acting, social media, happiness, the importance of family, story time, hustle and being the OG storyteller. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Ester out on: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@estertaniaj | |||
| #190: Desmin Borges - Staying the Course | 02 Jan 2023 | 01:34:40 | |
Desmin Borges is an actor who takes on challenging roles and brings dynamic characters to life. He is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar in five seasons of FX's un-romantic comedy 'You're the Worst.' The twisted series took a modern look at love and happiness through four people who haven't been successful at either. Desmin can currently be seen in a series regular role in HBO's 'The Time Traveler's Wife', as well as in a season-long recurring arc on the Fox comedy 'Welcome To Flatch.' Other recent credits include Amazon's series 'Utopia' opposite John Cusack, the Netflix dramedy series 'Living with Yourself' as Paul Rudd's nemesis, and the film 'Private Life' opposite Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn. Upcoming work includes a major role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the film 'Shotgun Wedding'. He first gained recognition for his breakout performance in "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity", performed at Chicago's Victory Gardens, New York's Second Stage, and the Geffen Playhouse in LA. He has also received the Joseph Jefferson Award and Theatre World Award, and nominations for the Lucille Lortel and Drama League awards. We chat about why New York is better than LA, food, haters, losing his father at 15 and moving forward, pain, health and happiness and being a "voice to the voiceless". The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Desmin out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desminborges/ | |||
| #189: Dan Fogler - Miracles | 14 Nov 2022 | 01:41:49 | |
Dan Fogler is an actor, comedian, director, writer, podcaster, producer and comic book creator. In television, Fogler most recently starred in THE OFFER for alongside Miles Teller and Matthew Goode. He plays the role of "Francis Ford Coppola" in the exciting tale of the making of The Godfather. Fogler starred opposite Ryan Phillippe and Juliette Lewis in the ABC drama SECRETS AND LIES, and was a series lead in the ABC comedy sitcom MAN UP! Fogler continues to appear as a recurring guest star on ABC's hit series THE GOLDBERGS. He was also featured as a guest star on NBC's critically-acclaimed series HANNIBAL. Fogler can also be seen on AMC's hit series THE WALKING DEAD. He has appeared in films including Balls of Fury, Good Luck Chuck, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and has done voice acting for Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who!, and Mars Needs Moms. Other television credits include recurring roles on The Goldbergs, Hannibal, The Good Wife and voice work for American Dad!. Fogler also has had starring roles in Man Up! and Secrets & Lies. We go extremely deep in this chat and talk about comic books, alchemy, his barmitzvah, transcendental meditation, the universe, manifestation, meeting his heroes and making it awkward.
Check Dan out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foglersfictions/ Podcast: DAN FOGLER'S 4d Xperience! | |||
| #188: Teo Rapp Olsson - Thriving with Dyslexia | 07 Nov 2022 | 01:34:52 | |
Teo Rapp Olsson is an actor who you might recognise from his Iconic role as Sebastian Milton, the son of Pamela (The Commonwealth's Governor) in the final season of the Walking Dead. Some of his other credits include, Bull, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Crashing, Blue Bloods, The Deuce, King of Knives, and Bury me When I'm Dead to name a few. Check Teo out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teetee_rapp/ | |||
| #187: Brian Huskey - Beginner's Mind | 31 Oct 2022 | 01:44:19 | |
Brian Huskey is an actor, comedian and writer who has over 175 acting credits to date, he has earned "That Guy" actor status. Among Huskey's movie appearances, he has been paired with the likes of Seth Rogen in "This is the End", "Neighbors", Neighbors 2" and "The Disaster Artist" and with Will Farrell in "Stepbrothers", "Land of the Lost" and "Semi Pro". Huskey has also written two feature films for Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central's "Kroll Show", and earned an Emmy Nominations for his work on Comedy Central's 2010 "Night of Too Many Stars" and Adult Swim's "Childrens Hospital". We chat about his previous life as a photographer and being in a band, the benefits of improv, divorce, mindfulness, the highs and lows of show biz, the stories we tell ourselves, Al-Anon, empathy, collaboration, and the flow state. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Brian out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrianhuskey/ | |||
| #186: Tahmoh Penikett - Conscious Breath | 24 Oct 2022 | 01:35:57 | |
Tahmoh Penikett is an actor who's been in the industry for over 20 years. He is currenting playing the cult leader in the wildly popular Netflix miniseries Devil in Ohio. Tahmoh is a wonderful human with an extensive resume including the critically acclaimed Battlestar Galactica and a legion of television and film leads and guest stars including, Dollhouse, Man of Steel, 2 Hearts, Supernatural, Altered Carbon, Rehab, Trick'R Treat, Continuum, Cold Squad, Strange Empire, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Deep Six, Bomb Girls, The Sinners, Taken, Riftworld Chronicles, Castle and Smallville to name a few. We cover a lot and chat about his unique upbringing, indigenous background and connection to Yukon, forward moving mindset, Battlestar & Dollhouse, the bullshit, compassion, cults, collaboration, being a pro, meditation and community. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Tahmoh out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peniketttahmoh/ | |||
| #185: Hayley Sproull - What's the worst that can happen? | 17 Oct 2022 | 01:39:03 | |
Hayley Sproull is an actor, comedian, TV & Radio Host, writer, director and is New Zealand's Jack of all Entertainment trades. Hayley burst on to the scene in 2012, after graduating from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Acting in 2011. Her passion for theatre and comedy lead her to create a number of successful comedy works, and earned her an array of praise and accolades, including Best Newcomer at the NZ International Comedy Festival back in 2012, the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 2013 and Best Actress and Best Composer at The Wellington Theatre Awards 2016. She was also nominated for an NZ Film Award in 2014 for her role in the short film School Night. She has been a writer on many series including Jono and Ben, 7 Days and Funny Girls, with a weekly segment Hayley Bailey featuring on the Jono and Ben show. She still regularly creates comedy content, and fits in acting roles when she can, most recently you will have seen her in the sitcom Golden Boy which premiered in 2019 and ran for two seasons. Also, she has hosted many events including the 2018 Comedy Fest Gala, the Queenstown Winter Festival, Big Wednesday at The Classic, and the Basement Theatre Christmas Show. When she isn't writing, performing or composing, you'll still find her on the marching field with her team Royal Command. We chat about her passion for marching, culture and belonging, PCOS, creating pathways for success, starting radio, hosting a bake show, being a goth, my favourite word… pivoting, entertainment and juggling multiple professions. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Hayley out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayleysproull/ | |||
| #184: Gary Goldstein - One Finger at a Time | 10 Oct 2022 | 01:46:11 | |
Gary Goldstein writes for TV, film and the stage—and is now also a novelist. He has written more than 15 produced telefilms including the comedies "The Wish List," "Hitched for the Holidays," "This Magic Moment" and "My Boyfriends' Dogs," and the first two movies in the "Flower Shop Mystery" series starring Brooke Shields. Gary's latest TV movie, "Lights! Camera! Christmas!" will premiere on Hallmark Channel in late 2022. His feature film "Politics of Love," a romantic comedy set during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, was released in theatres in 2011. He also wrote the feature romantic comedy, "If You Only Knew," starring Johnathon Schaech and Alison Eastwood. Gary's feature adaptation of the novel "Mr. 365" premiered on the streaming service Passionflix in 2018 and is available on Amazon Prime. Gary has also sold or optioned a number of original screenplays, has a string of episodic TV credits and has sold half-hour comedy pilots to both NBC and Warner Bros. He was represented on the Los Angeles stage most recently with the World Premiere of his acclaimed three-sisters dramedy "April, May & June," produced as part of its subscription season by Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills. The play won five Broadway World award nominations including Best Local Production. Other L.A. stage credits include the comedies "Just Men," "Parental Discretion" and "Three Grooms and a Bride," which all enjoyed long, well-reviewed runs. Gary's family drama "Curtain Call" premiered at Carmel, CA's Pacific Repertory Theatre, after winning the PacRep's national Hyperion Playwriting Competition. In addition, his family dramedy "To My Children's Father," was selected by Monterey, CA's Paper Wing Theatre Company to premiere in their 2018 "5th Annual Play Reading Series." Gary's latest play, "Dinner at the Harbor Reef," a drama "based on fact, rumor and Hollywood," debuted in a staged reading in 2019 at Beverly Hills' Theatre 40. Gary has also been a regular contributing film reviewer and arts feature writer for the Los Angeles Times since 2007. He is also a talented author where his first novel, the romantic comedy The Last Birthday Party, was published in August 2021 - It won a 2022 IBPA Benjamin Franklin award for Excellence in Fiction. His second novel, the family drama The Mother I Never Had, is now out. We chat about sharing ideas, collaboration, letting go, the art of writing across mediums, the ego, procrastination, being the holiday season/Christmas writer guru, when shows don't get made, celebrating the wins, being a film critic, happiness and his new book, plus more!
The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Gary out on: Website + Book: https://www.garygoldsteinla.com/ Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SUxO0Y Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3L0WWzW Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/3yXhDs4 Booktopia (Australia): https://bit.ly/3CJfguL
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| #183: Seth Morris - Make a Mess | 03 Oct 2022 | 01:40:49 | |
Seth Morris is an actor, writer, producer & director. You may know Seth from his roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Happy Endings or his numerous appearances on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast. He currently voices "Greg" and other characters on Big Mouth. In this wide-ranging chat, we talk about his busted teeth, playing Bob Ducca, the stories we tell ourselves, acting and auditions, anger, flow state, improv and comedy, rejection, moving forward & improvising with Sascha Baron Cohen. Check Seth out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sethismorris/ | |||
| #299: Matt Tilley - Ghost Laughs | 04 Aug 2025 | 01:30:15 | |
Matt Tilley is a former comedian and radio presenter and now the CEO of FightMND. He was one of Australia's most respected radio personalities, with more than 20 years on air on major stations like FOX FM and Triple M. Many remember from his famous Gotcha Calls which were a national hit across Australia. Matt's Melbourne breakfast shows have consistently reached number one for over 14 of his 20 years in breakfast radio. The Matt and Jo Show on Fox FM was a long running breakfast show that was known for holding the highest ratings over many years between 2003 and 2013. In 2014 Matt moved to Triple M to take on National Drive time for the Triple M network alongside Joe Hildebrand in a ground-breaking news and entertainment show The One Percenters. Matt has also brought his comedy appeal to screen through his television appearances. He has been featured in Comedy Inc, Fast Forward and The Late Report. He has also co-hosted Channel 9's show "Surprise, Surprise Gotcha!" and Channel 10's "Thank God You're Here". Matt's voice has also featured as Zeke on the award-winning kids cartoon and movie feature Dogstar. His many character voices and impersonations have also featured on various platforms – from Neighbours to beer ads to inflight entertainment. Matt's engaging manner, versatility and quick wit have also made him a much sought-after MC and host. Matt transitioned to non for profit. He previously served as Chief Communications Officer at Foodbank Victoria and was the Founder and CEO of the Aussie Dollar Drop which supported homeless Australians. Matt has also held several Board positions across the NFP sector. Check out his great work at FightMND (links below). We chat about being at the top of the game, life changing moments in urinals, chopping wood (surprisingly funny), riding, public scrutiny, charity work and FightMND, his famous gotcha calls, his drive plus plenty more.
Check Matt out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegetative.state/ Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #182: Carlos Navarro - Mop the Floor | 26 Sep 2022 | 01:20:15 | |
Carlos Navarro is an actor, radio host, motivational speaker and podcaster. You may know him as one of the 'bad guy' Tracksuit Mafia "Bros" in Marvel's "Hawkeye" (Disney+) or for his recurring role on "The Walking Dead" as Alvaro. He's been on Bloodline, Red Dead Redemption II, Madden NFL 20, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Outsider among others. Carlos is also co-host of "Monsters in the Morning," the #1-rated talk show in Orlando, Florida on iHeartRadio. But Carlos wasn't always on top of his game. His story connects with anyone who has ever been human and made big mistakes, especially in their youth. He has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows throughout his life and career. He's been penniless, jobless, self-destructive and has partied hard. But Carlos turned it around by self-motivating, doing the work on himself to be a better human, and digging deeper spiritually. Carlos's motto is "To the top!", and it's paid off with acting gigs for Disney+, Netflix, HBO, and AMC, and a 20+year radio career. His most gratifying project yet is happening on a new stage — as a personal development mentor, coach, and founder of "The Passion Project," a masterclass on how to pursue and realize ones dreams and goals. In this wide ranging conversation we chat about rolling with the punches, second chances, listening and receiving, anger & alcoholism, bankruptcy, confidence, affirmations, working on Walking Dead & Hawkeye, victim mentality and taking ownership. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
Website: http://iamcarlosnavarro.com/
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| #181: Felicia Madison - Finding your Marvelous | 19 Sep 2022 | 01:16:03 | |
The self-proclaimed, real-life Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Felicia Madison, has been bringing audiences to tears of laughter at some of New York City's most infamous clubs. The stay-at-home mother of three did not originally plan on a career in comedy. In fact, it wasn't until after having her children and recognizing her love for the craft that she left her life as an Upper East Side stay-at-home mom (See, I told you she's the real-life Mrs. Maisel!) to join the ranks of all the comedians who came before her. Since starting her career, she has quickly become a prominent name in the New York City comedy scene, not only as a comic, but as the Director of New Talent and Talent Booker at the West Side Comedy where she curates and produces new talent shows. Through her growing platform she aims to inspire others to achieve their dreams. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as being the original marvelous Mrs. Maisel, her one woman show, perfectionism, from mum to stand up, being a comedy booker, drive, age and success. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
Website: https://www.feliciamadison.com/ | |||
| #180: Christina Flach - The Universe has Your Back | 12 Sep 2022 | 01:28:55 | |
Christina Flach is the CEO of Pretty Girl Makeup and a Celebrity Makeup and Hair Artist. Her work is inspired by her love of beauty, fashion, music, and art, and she channels these passions into her goal of making her clients look and feel beautiful on the inside and out. Some of her previous clients include actress Hillary Swank, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 27th White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, Senator Ted Cruz, Forbes magazine, and The New York Times, amongst other notable names and brands. Christina was married to professional tennis player Ken Flach up to his death after a brief bout of sepsis in 2018. Since then, Christina has been dedicated to raising public awareness of the danger of sepsis, and has partnered with Sepsis Alliance to produce awareness campaigns highlighting Ken's story. Christina has spoken about the topic on notable news sources such as Fox News, KTVU, NBC Bay Area, Tennis Channel, ABC Bay Area, and CBS. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as beauty standards & make up, death, grief camp, moving forward, being a CEO, gratitude, miracles, feeling good and looking good, holistic health & happiness. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
Website: http://www.christinaflach.com/ | |||
| #179: Greg Proops - Sliding Doors | 05 Sep 2022 | 01:23:06 | |
Greg Proops is an internationally renowned comedian, as well as an actor, host, stand-up, podcaster and author best known for starring on the hit improv-comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? He also has a popular award-winning podcast, "The Smartest Man in the World. He also has a new stand-up comedy album which you can check out in below: As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as his magical pen, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Moving beyond anger, the highs and lows of show business, quitting drinking, his latest improv album, playing Bob the Builder, success and happiness. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
New Album: In The City He is on the road again in September with Whose Live Anyway? Whose live.com All socials and general information - check out his website: https://www.gregproops.com/blog/
https://www.gregproops.com/blog/smartest-man-in-the-world-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proopdog/ | |||
| #178: Jiaoying Summers - You Define Who You Are | 29 Aug 2022 | 01:16:14 | |
Jiaoying Summers is a comedian, actor, producer and CEO. From a dumpster baby in China to TikTok comedy queen in Hollywood, Jiaoying Summers is one of the most dynamic and vivacious women in comedy. She is also one of the most popular comedians on TikTok with more than 1.2 million followers. She performs regularly at Laugh Factory, Comedy Store and Hollywood Improv. Her 30-minute comedy special is streaming on Peacock TV and Prime Video. She is the owner of The Hollywood Comedy club in Los Angeles and focuses on producing shows that promote representation in comedy. She is also an award winning actor and philanthropist empowering women and children and helping causes that touch Asian American communities. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as being banned from TikTok, mentors, people that inspire us, comedy clubs, growing up in China and their one child policy, beauty standards, accents and working in comedy as a mother. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
All Socials including comedy special: https://beacons.ai/jiaoyingsummers/ | |||
| #177: Brittany Schmitt - Gratitude | 22 Aug 2022 | 01:19:53 | |
Brittany Schmitt is a comedian, writer and podcaster. She currently has a new comedy special from Ho to Housewife where (her words) she quite literally went From Ho to Housewife. She crafted a comedy special that tackles her experience of sex, drugs and basketball, plus a lot more. It's very funny. Here's a little snippet from her life story which blew me away. Brittany fu*ked up and got a DUI. Super depressed, mortified, broke and with her back up against a wall, a friend suggested that she try stand-up because it was 'cheaper than therapy' and she could laugh at herself. The first time she stepped on stage, she knew that's what she was born to do. The road hasn't been easy, nor has it been exactly linear. So, she made up her mind to get sober, get her sh*t together and get serious about comedy. Most recently, Brittany appeared on Comedy Central's Stand-Up Featuring her debut comedy special, of course, titled From Ho to Housewife which premiered on 800 Pound Gorilla's YouTube channel. Links are in the episode notes below if you'd like to listen to it. So, as you can imagine, we dive deep and cover a lot, such as meeting Usher, going to jail, drugs, alcohol and getting sober, her new comedy special, her holistic forward moving mindset, gratitude, intuition and happiness. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
Comedy Special From Ho To Housewife: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvegw-33f9o | |||
| #176: Lennon Parham - Trust & Go | 15 Aug 2022 | 01:30:37 | |
Lennon Parham is an actor, comedian, writer & producer. She can be seen opposite Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson in the HBOMax comedy MINX, about the fictional creation of the first erotic magazine for women in 1970s LA. Prior to that, she was a series regular in the ABC sitcom BLESS THIS MESS. Previously, she co-created and starred in her own show, PLAYING HOUSE and has recurred as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' hilarious Senior Advisor, "Karen Collins" whose specialized field was "common sense" on HBO's VEEP. She can also be seen rocking shoulder pads as Liz Flemming, the feminist math teacher at William Penn Academy on SCHOOLED, the 90's spin-off of THE GOLDBERGS also on ABC. Additionally, Lennon has made a number of memorable appearances on television including HBO's CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, DOCUMENTARY NOW, GHOSTED, REVIEW WITH FOREST MCNEIL, LADY DYNAMITE, MAD MEN and PARKS AND RECREATION. If you listen closely, you can hear her dulcet tones giving voice to characters on animated shows like BOB'S BURGERS, LITTLE BIG AWESOME, ANIMALS and ADVENTURE TIME, as well as the cult-fave podcast WOMP IT UP! On the feature side, she also had flashy supporting roles in THE HOUSE, HORRIBLE BOSSES 2, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC and OTHER PEOPLE. Most recently, Lennon directed two episodes on the second season of BLESS THIS MESS. She has also directed an episode of PLAYING HOUSE. She is a proud alumnus of the improv and sketch theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade, and performs there whenever she can. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot - such as red carpet nightmares, being an improv guru, being a teacher, fear, not getting into SNL, creating a one woman show, coaching, and shows that get cancelled all in a playful and funny manner! So sit back, relax and enjoy today's empowering chat.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lennonparham/ ------------------------------------------- | |||
| #175: Paul Shirley - The Process | 08 Aug 2022 | 01:30:46 | |
Paul Shirley is a former professional basketball player who played for 17 teams in a 9 year career, including stints in the NBA with teams such as the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls as well as a writer, speaker and author of 4 books. His work has appeared in places such as Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, and Playboy. After Paul's basketball career, he began writing books. It was in this time that he made the connection that defines what we do: it doesn't matter whether it's basketball or writing or entrepreneurship; accomplishing big goals happens because we build a process. His first book, Can I Keep My Jersey?, is a great read with unique tone and humour and regardless of whether you like basketball I really recommend it and you can see why in the chat. His second book, Stories I Tell On Dates, came out in 2017. The Chicago Tribune said it "resonates with anyone who favours introspection and emotional honesty." That book also became a podcast that is better than most podcasts according to Paul. His third book (and first novel) is Ball Boy. And here's a small description of Paul's fourth book the Process is the Product: These are the lesson Paul Shirley has learned: it doesn't matter if it's professional sports, writing, public speaking, engineering, or acting—there will never be enough money, fame, or success to justify all the work if you can't enjoy the work itself. You have to fall in love with the process. In The Process Is The Product, Paul shares the stories of failure and rebirth that have taught him this lesson with one goal in mind: helping you fall in love with your process so you can find meaning, finish projects, and accomplish the goals you set for yourself. He also runs The Process - a professional hub to help artists, entrepreneurs, and the like. Their motto is: We help people do focused work so they can accomplish big goals. When you hear the word athlete or ex NBA player you think of the person in a certain way, i.e. the bright lights, the fame and unlimited cash flow- however Paul explains that this applies to only a fraction of the world and how it's really challenging both mentally and physically to maintain a career in this field. For example, we dive into excessive travels, lack of certainty, confidence, physical and mental health, development, creative flow, creativity and entrepreneurship, identity, building process, and how this has all led him to writing. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulthenshirley Website: https://www.paul-shirley.com/home ------------------------------------------- | |||
| #174: Luke Darcy - Meeting People Where They Are At | 01 Aug 2022 | 01:40:36 | |
Luke Darcy is a former Australian Rules Footballer who played with the Western Bulldogs, is a Radio Host, media commentator on both TV and Radio as well as the host of House of Wellness. His regular hosting of The House of Wellness, helps people live, look, and feel well. He also hosts the incredible podcast, Empowering leaders with Luke Darcy and is the director of innovation and partnerships at Aleda which we discuss in the podcast. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lukedarcy14/ | |||
| #173: David H Steinberg - Delusionally Optimistic | 25 Jul 2022 | 01:38:31 | |
DAVID H. STEINBERG (writer, producer, director) entered Yale at age sixteen and earned his law degree from Duke before abandoning his legal career to attend USC's Peter Stark Producing program. Steinberg's first spec sale Slackers became a cult classic movie and he has had ten films produced, including three in the American Pie franchise, the DreamWorks animated feature Puss in Boots, and Disney's Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games. We chat about breaking into the business, killing your screen writing babies, being fired, working with his wife, becoming a show runner, giving back, being delusionally optimistic, collaboration, disappointments and expectations.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidHSteinberg | |||
| #298: Brennan Brown - Flow State | 28 Jul 2025 | 01:44:13 | |
Brennan Brown is a stage and screen actor known for portraying complex and multifaceted characters. After graduating from Yale School of Drama, he landed roles on Broadway in revivals of Shaw's Major Barbara, and Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound and The Fifteen Minute Hamlet, and in leading theatres throughout America. On screen Brennan has worked with such visionary directors including Tim Hooper on HBO's "John Adams", John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on both of their films, I Love You Phillip Morris, and Focus, State of Play (dir. Kevin Macdonald), Detachment (dir. Tony Kaye), Midway (dir. Roland Emmerich), The Wolf Hour, and Not Okay. He has appeared in dozens of primetime shows most notably as antique dealer Robert Childan on the acclaimed Amazon series "The Man in the High Castle", Edward Biben on "Mozart in the Jungle", Agent Donnelly on "Person of Interest", and for the past ten seasons as Dr. Sam Abrams on "Chicago Med". He also appears in the upcoming Netflix series "The Beast In Me". Other appearances on long running shows including "Madam Secretary","Elementary","The Blacklist","Damages","Bull", "Ugly Betty","The Good Wife", "Breaking Bad" and others. We chat about being an introvert, flow state, his medallion on circle cinemas walk of fame, moving around a lot as child, sobriety, auditioning, the Man in the High Castle, Chicago Med, perfectionism and wanting to get it 'right', unlearning, meditation + plenty more! Check Brennan out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrennanbrown Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook
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| #172: Adrian Martinez - The Duende | 18 Jul 2022 | 01:30:30 | |
Adrian Martinez is an award-winning actor, writer, producer and director with over 120 film and TV credits. We chat about not having a license, the duende, empowering yourself, making a movie, living a non-haunted life, the difference between Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David and hustle and work ethic.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tasteofadrian/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tasteofadrian | |||
| #171: Mary Holland - The Path Forward | 11 Jul 2022 | 01:34:05 | |
Mary Holland is an actor, writer and comedian, as well as an Andy Kaufman Award nominee. Mary is also the co-writer and co-star of the Hulu film HAPPIEST SEASON which broke streaming records for Hulu. Last year, Mary starred opposite Rory Scovel in ROBBIE and appeared in the second season of Amazon's hit series HOMECOMING and the Apple series PHYSICAL opposite Rose Byrne. She is also a writer on the latest season of the hit animated series BIG MOUTH. After being named a New Face at the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, Mary was named one of Time Out Magazine's Ten Comedians to Watch in 2016 and among Vulture's 50 Comedians You Should Know. Her other credits include MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, AND THEN THERE WAS EVE and UNICORN STORE. Mary is also a member of the comedy troupe WILD HORSES. As you can imagine we dive deep and cover a lot such as, talking about escape rooms, being an improv guru, trust and collaboration, not getting your first option, resilience, taking 8 years to book her first gig, fear, flow state & becoming a leading lady.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryhollandaise/ | |||
| #170: Marianna Burelli - Dream HUGE | 04 Jul 2022 | 01:16:58 | |
Marianna Burelli is an actor and environmentalist. She has recently made her U.S. debut this year in Disney Channel's highly anticipated original series "Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion." The comedy series follows Violet, an everyday Mexican American teen who is chosen by a magical luchador mask which transforms her into Ultra Violet, a superhero fighting crime. Marianna shines on the show as Nina, Violet's mother (whom is kept in the dark about her daughter's superhero powers) and principal of her middle school, masterfully juggles both responsibilities. Marianna may be best known in Latin America for her dramatic portrayal of "Natalia Velasco" for three seasons in the hit series "Paramedicos,". Her Additional television credits include Netflix's "Ingobernable" and "La Jenni Que Yo Conocí,". On the film front Marianna starred as Marcela in the 2018 comedy "Loca Por El Trabajo." Her portrayal earned her the prestigious Best Up and Coming Actress award from Canacine. She also appeared in the 2017 feature "How to Break Up with Your Douchebag" which became Mexico's highest grossing comedy upon release. Other lead roles include Monica in "El Que Busca Encuentra" (2017) and Laura in "Cindy La Regia" (2020). When Marianna isn't on set filming, she uses her voice and talent to fight for environmental justice. She is the co-creator of AMAI, a 100% natural, sustainable and plastic-free cosmetics line available in Mexico and the U.S. We chat about being an EMT, being an established star in Mexico and then moving to LA, her sustainable business, Hollywood mind games, identity and belonging, teachers and mentors, living in Swaziland (Eswatini) at 15/16 and learning to relax again.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannaburelli/ | |||