3 Things: Duplass Brothers, Natasha Rothwell, and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

This week's episode of You're the Expert is one of my favorites we've ever done. We interviewed Dr. Lauren Nolfo-Clements about her research on invasive species (specifically giant swamp rodents) and it made me laugh so much. Ken Reid, Josh Sharp, and Caitlin Durante were on fire as panelists and we actually learned a lot about the animal known as a nutria. Link

Once the shows are announced, my schedule with all upcoming dates will be online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
Jay and Mark Duplass act, write, produce, direct, fund, create and just about every other verb you can think of related to movies and television. Their book Like Brothers is a cool look inside their creative process. I felt inspired by how they've been so prolific and successful by making mostly ilow-budget projects that they don't need to get anyone's permission to do.

Their book is more than a look inside the industry, it's also about the benefits and pitfalls of collaborating so closely with another person, a story about masculinity and brotherhood, and a really fun conversation between two total film nerds. Some of my favorite chapters in the book were where Jay and Mark sit in airports looking at strangers and imagine full movie plots that would make sense for them. Here's an except: Like Brothers by the Duplass Brothers (h/t to both Mollie and Dave)


FUNNY:
Natasha Rothwell is another prolific artist. You've probably seen her as Kelli on Insecure, and you're about to see a lot more of her in a new HBO show she's developing and in the next Wonder Woman film. I'm a big fan of Natasha. She is funny and kind and thoughtful. She's also not afraid to go really big with her comedy, which can lead to some bizarre and hilarious characters. Here's a bit from her Netflix special that is nuts and makes me laugh so much. Bring Your Child to Work Day (and here's an interview with Natasha)


INTERESTING:
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a critically acclaimed musician and composer. He loves to eat at a particular high end restaurant in New York. But he absolutely despises the music they play. On the one hand, this is very much a rich person problem that I'm not sure I should care about. On the other, it's a premise that's led to a pretty fascinating look into the psychology of background music and the way it affects our daily experience without our conscious acceptance. Annoyed by Restaurant Playlists, a Master Musician Made His Own (For deeper digging, also watch this video about James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem's quest to change the sounds of the NYC subways)


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Have a great Saturday,
Chris

3 Things: Evan Kaufman, Bootsie Plunkett, and Steve Macone

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

I'm taking a few weeks off from live shows this summer to focus on writing and developing some new projects that I've had in the back of my head for a while now. I'll be back on stage in mid-August though and announcing a run of tour dates for the Fall.

In the meantime, catch up on the newest episode of You're the Expert, all about glaciers, icicles, and frozen water on other planets. Dr. Christine McCarthy is an "ice squeezer" at Columbia University. She tells comedians Gary Richardson, Nadia Pinder, and Ashley Brooke Roberts exactly what that means. Link

Once they're announced, my full schedule with all upcoming dates will be online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
Evan Kaufman is the one of the most naturally talented people I've ever gotten to work with. We hosted a weekly standup show together for a year and every Wednesday he would make me laugh so hard I cried. Now, he's a new father and he's documenting the journey from pregnancy onward in a laugh out loud funny (and also very touching) series called Dude-to-Dad. Watch it and let yourself be charmed by Evan. He's so dang charming! Dude to Dad 


FUNNY:
Speaking of parents, Jake Plunkett is a writer for The Late Show and pitched a segment where his mom, a totally uninformed voter, interviews other uninformed voters about the midterm elections. It's a funny idea all by itself, but "Bootsie" Plunkett elevates it to brilliance. She is a true star and incredible on camera. Watch as she covers politics in a way that no one else can. The Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent


INTERESTING:
I can't say too much about this quite yet, but I spent the last week in the badlands of Montana at a dinosaur dig for a new project I'm working on. It was incredible to see hundred million year old bones being uncovered, straight out of a scene in Jurassic Park. The trip was sparked, in large part, by my friend Steve Macone, who wrote this incredible essay. Digging for Dinosaurs in My Twenties: On the cusp of adulthood in an era of in-betweens, a search for fossils and meaning 


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If someone forwarded you this email and you want to sign up, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great day!
Chris

3 Things: 3rd Grade Audio, Andy Samberg, and Alessandra Cerreti

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
This week's episode of You're the Expert is all about glaciers, icicles, and frozen water on other planets. Dr. Christine McCarthy is an "ice squeezer" at Columbia University. She tells comedians Gary Richardson, Nadia Pinder, and Ashley Brooke Roberts exactly what that means. Link

NEW YORK:
TOMORROW! Sunday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at Caveat. We're doing a summer live taping of You're the Expert with an all-star lineup of panelists Josh Gondelman (Last WeekTonight), Dylan Marron (TED), and Ashley Brooke Roberts (NatGeo). Link

My full schedule with all upcoming dates is online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
David Green's class of third graders in Winnetka, Illinois all lead double lives. By day, they are regular elementary school students. At night, they're reporters for NPR. Green's experiments in giving 9-year-olds the tools and training to create their own recordings and interviews has led to some hilarious and impressive work. Listen to this interview with Mr. Green and also hear stories about getting old, questions for MLK, and what to do if you get a magnet stuck up your nose. 3rd Grade Audio (h/t Alex Kapelman's resources for podcasting)


FUNNY:
Andy Samberg is not afraid to be shamelessly goofy. He makes big, dumb, silly, jokes and I love them. He is so funny. Andy and his wife, Joanna Newsom, recently had a baby and he came on Conan to show off the first photo of their child, which he turns into a bit that I enjoyed a lot. But since we're already talking about Andy Samberg, let's talk about some of his other masterpieces, like the greatest celebrity roast performance of all time or thevideo that the Oscars wouldn't give him money to make. 


INTERESTING:
Alessandra Cerreti is an Italian prosecutor who is breaking up the Mafia across her native country. In a bureaucracy reluctant to challenge deep-seated corruption and criminal ties, Cerreti has refused to back down. She uses the misogyny of organized crime against the bosses, convincing women to testify and providing them with protection. The Women Who Took on the Mafia


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If someone forwarded you this email and you want to sign up, you cansubscribe here.

Have a good weekend,
Chris