Showing results by author "Eugene Mirman" in All Categories

Dana Gould (Stan Against Evil, The Simpsons) is a comedian of note, sometimes credited as the progenitor of alternative comedy, but anyone who has heard his act or his podcast, knows that he's big into horror and sci-fi movies.

[Contains explicit content] Baron Vaughn (Mystery Science Theater 3000, Grace and Frankie) is a man willing change the way he sees the world. Now, he can say he’s changed into a man who has gone on Eugene Mirman's show, Hold On, to tell a story and answer Eugene's questions about it. He dropped by the studio to spill his guts (among other things) about a revelation he had in the jungle while on "ayahuasca." Trippy!

[Contains explicit content] For most of his career, if you asked comedian, author, and director Mike Birbiglia (Don't Think Twice,Sleepwalk With Me) about his worst gig ever, he would say it was the time he attempted stand-up at a charity golf event. Eugene Mirman brings Mike into the studio to tell the story of that challenging gig, while making sure to pause the narrative to ask some probing questions and crack some jokes.

[Contains explicit content] Neil deGrasse Tyson is the most famous astrophysicist to ever tell a story to Eugene Mirman on a show called Hold On. He's also probably the most famous astrophysicist ever to tell a story to any Eugene for any reason, but it's the story he told THIS Eugene that you'll want to hear. In it, a pre-fame Neil weighs a potential graduate school job. If you were given as many guesses as there are stars in the universe, you probably couldn't guess what that job was!

[Contains explicit content] For most teenagers, prom is a big deal with a lot of build-up. Asking someone to the big dance comes with enough hurdles as it is, so Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show) was convinced that his strict Indian father and his family's cultural quirks would ruin any shot he might have at finding someone to slow dance with on prom night. On this episode of Hold On, host Eugene Mirman takes Hasan back to high school to find out if he managed to score his dream date for the big night.

[Contains explicit content] “Queen of Mean” Lisa Lampanelli has an innate ability to put people in their place with her barbed wit, but behind that sharp comedic talent there’s a lot of heart. You can hear some of that heart – and some of those barbs – in Lisa’s story about a wonderful, memorable man she dated and the health concern that drove her away. Where do comedians go when they want to answer questions about stories they’ve told? They come right here, to Hold On.

[Contains explicit content] Josh Gondelman, standup comedian and writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, sits down with Eugene Mirman to go behind the scenes of a story about a post-show dalliance gone awry. In this tale from Bad Date Great Story, Josh’s unplanned hookup leads to a quest to prevent an unplanned pregnancy and things get a little weird along the way.

[Contains explicit content] Reggie Watts (The Late Late Show) is a comedic genius and musical mastermind, but he’s not a rude dude. Stopping a person telling a story is a rude dude thing to do...unless they're a guest on an episode of Hold On and you happen to be a master story-disrupter, like Eugene Mirman. In this excellent episode of his storytelling series, Eugene cuts into Reggie's thrilling tale of mushrooms and bathrooms to politely prod for more detail.

[Contains explicit content] Normally, when Eugene Mirman wants to pause a story to dig for some background information, he tends to do it in a recording studio. On rare occasions, he ventures outside, goes up to Canada, and does his detail-digging live onstage as part of the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. This is one of those rare occasions and the details he's digging for are provided by hilarious stand-up comic Cameron Esposito.

[Contains explicit content] In 2016, intrepid comedian Eugene Mirman had the audacity to put Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival on hold so he could bring comedians onstage to tell funny stories and answer funny questions. One such comedian was the prolific stand-up comic, writer, and ironic re-tweeter, Joe Mande (Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Kroll Show), whose story of gaming Twitter gets scrutinized on this live episode of Hold On with Eugene Mirman.

[Contains explicit content] H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob's Burgers) has the most recognizable voice in comedy, but it's his parents who have a talent for recognizing exceptional dining experiences. Eugene Mirman recognized the opportunity to have Jon onstage at NYC Podfest to relay a funny account of his parents' restaurant recommendation and answer questions about the family's memorable dining experience.

[Contains explicit content] Jonathan Katz is a comedian's comedian who has earned the right to reminisce about life on the road — but none shall be spared the inquisitive storytelling musings of Eugene Mirman! Not even the esteemed comic and former cartoon psychiatrist can tell his story at the Boston Comedy Festival without invoking the devastatingly keen observations and lacerating questions called forth in every hilarious episode of Hold On with Eugene Mirman.

Jim Gaffigan is a very successful comedian and that means he gets to perform in interesting places for interesting people. On this extra special episode of Hold On, host Eugene Mirman brings Jim into the studio to tell a live story on the spot. The story in question? The time Jim did stand-up comedy as an opening act for Pope Francis in Philadelphia, at an event attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

[Contains explicit content] If you tell a performer like Mary Lynn Rajskub to "hold that thought" while they're telling a funny story, you might get kicked out of the show you're attending. Not so if you're Eugene Mirman holding up Mary Lynn's hilarious live story. He didn't get kicked out of the Just for Laughs Montreal recording of Hold On with Eugene Mirman — in fact, he was allowed to ask as many questions as he wanted about Mary Lynn's unintentional brush with the oldest profession.

[Contains explicit content] Jean Grae is a rapper, actress, and comedian who is probably the only living person that can boast that she's guested on tracks with Immortal Technique, Talib Kweli, Wale, and Lil B, and has shared the stage with John Hodgman. Her eclectic career has taken her to many strange places, which means she has some stellar stories like the one about a crazy ride home that she shares in this live episode of Hold On at NYC PodFest.

[Contains explicit content] Mara Wilson's book has a question for a title: Where Am I Now? Eugene Mirman has some questions for Mara, particularly in regards to her story about doing community theater in Texas. So, he invited her to the Boston Comedy Festival to share her story of drama on and offstage, and to answer his questions about said drama for a special live recording of Hold On with Eugene Mirman: the only comedic storytelling audio show with all of the questions from Eugene Mirman you love!

Curious host Eugene shared his questions about Mike's coming-of-age tale to find out how the former poet came to be a comic.

[Contains explicit content] Julie Klausner (Difficult People, author of I Don't Care About Your Band) is a sharp-tongued comedian whose ability to dress down celebrities is well documented. When caught off guard by a rude stranger when she was visiting Italy, Julie responded in a less articulate but no less effective manner. Eugene Mirman brought her into the studio to share the ordeal and have a few laughs about it.

[Contains explicit content] Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show, People of Earth, and Seeso's Night Train with Wyatt Cenac) found an interesting application of the scientific method while volunteering at a science museum: a drunk-driving simulator. Eugene Mirman had Wyatt call a cab to the Hold On studios to talk all the theories and hypotheses his unique experiments in virtual recklessness yielded. Drink a few digital beers and hit the road with Wyatt and Eugene in this very educational episode of Hold On.

[Contains explicit content] San Francisco in the late '80s was a real swinging place - sometimes literally, as was the case during the Loma Prieta earthquake. Seasoned improviser, actor, and comedian Greg Proops (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) remembers being in the city as it was thrown into chaos in this harrowing episode of Hold On with Eugene Mirman.