Jimmy Fallon lets Jay Leno off the hook for 10 minutes

🎙️ Listen to this episode:

â–¶ Spreaker  | 
🍎 Apple Podcasts  | 
🎵 Spotify


Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hey there, I’m Jenny Meck with your Daily Comedy News. Friend of the show, Jason Zinnemon, he writes for The New York Times. He was really writing about Mark Meron, but I was really interested in the Jason Zinneman part of the article. Jason wrote.

When I got the job as the comedy columnist for The New York Times, I prepared by talking to people in the industry, reading as many books as I could, attending myriad shows, and listening to every episode of Maren’s podcast. Spending time with him was by far the most useful. Now, I’ll jump in there, I personally have taken a different route, going all the way back to when I first started running comedy for serious satellite radio twenty years ago. Now, wow, I pretty quickly decided to take an eye level approach, so to talk more. In modern parlance, say more Jim Gaffigan and less I don’t know, so will say one of the new faces or somebody who’s lesser known.

And that approach informed how I programmed the comedy channels back in the day with more of a hits format. Back in the day, it was Dane Cook and Jeff Dunham were super popular, and then along the way you bring the audience along by sprinkling in newer faces. And that’s how I try and handle this show. If you listen every day, you’ll hear how it’s structured. And I always try to lead with names.

What we’re in the middle of now ostensibly is a Mark Maron story. He’s a name, and then I do the esoteric stuff like the fringe in the second half. But back to Maren and Zinneman, Zinewin writes, it’s not just that Maren’s podcast is a superb oral history of the art form, or that his conversations can be insightful. I specially savor the discussions with less famous peers who share a history. The most important thing I learned from Maren’s podcast is the art of interviewing.

Maren has two unusual tactics for a celebrity interviewer, going on the attack and becoming widely introspective, often in the same conversation. He attacks by introducing a bone to pick to create conflict and seeing how his guest response. When I went on show in twenty seventeen, this is in him and he did this by taking issue with a column I wrote on Lenny Bruce. Not only did it force me to think aloud become more present, it also gave the conversation a shape, injecting dissension that may or may not be resolved. It’s why Maren often ends his podcast with the phrase that is the title of a new documentary about him.

Are we good? I am starting to stress. This is John speaking that Maren’s podcast is ending. I have started filling my phone with back episodes. I worry that they’ll disappear or go behind some sort of paywalls.

I’ve just been scrolling some away. Jason writes. Maren is one of the few comics whose podcasting has made him a better stand up. I put the spin on the word better there, precisely because he’s integrated this double focus looking at the outside world through himself into his specials. Unlike most podcasters, Maren refused to pivot to video.

It’s why when he announced his retirement, my first thought went to a book by another highly respected cerebral comedian, Fred Allen Titan of the Golden Age of Radio. Fred described how the move to television robed the essential part of the imaginative work of the listen he predicted it would ruin comedy. Unlike his rival Jack Benny Alan never made the transition and faded from memory. Jason points out, of course, the shift from radio to TV did not ruin comedy, but it doesn’t mean that something precious wasn’t lost, or that the new world is always better. Do you have any idea how innovative, talent rich, and brilliant radio comedy was in the thirties and forties?

Probably not. I agree with him there now, I personally do not only that I program the comedy channels at times, I think I had two stints as the program director of Radio Classics on Serious Slash Serious XM, so I’m probably a little more educated than most in that subject. Continuing to pick away at Bill Burr’s appearance on the Good One podcast. That was a very very interesting interview, but was getting a little feisty. Good One said, you appeared at the Conan O’Brien Mark Twain Price ceremony.

Yes, I did. What was that experience like? Terrifying? Not given much there, Bill, You gotta have more than one word answers, dude. So Vulture followed it up in what way set of shadaway from doing those things because I think I find a lot of the chop busting I do staying in a protective place.

So if I actually have to go out and say something nice about somebody, I get uncomfortable or emotional or something. But I knew it was something I was going to continue to be asked to do, and I jumped at the opportunity when they asked me, because I need to get better at it, said, I’ll tell you, though, howd I know John Mulaney was gonna open up and kill that hard? I would have turned down the gig. He’s unbelievable in general, but how good is he at these things? I remember U sitting next to Sarah Silverman.

She had to go on too. I’m like, what the f? They don’t need us. I didn’t need to be here. I started freaking out.

Then Will Ferrell went on. It was like the twenty seven Yankee is a comedy and I’m that guy you don’t remember from the team. It’s one of my favorite things I ever did because I was so afraid to do it and it went well. Bill, do you think you’ll ever receive the Mark Twain perrize. I’m not one of those guys, which guys A list?

Guy, I don’t want any stuff. I really don’t you know what I really want when I walk down the street. When people from different walks of life go ay man, I appreciate what you’re doing. Oh, I liked your special I like saying in the crowd, like when I go to sporting event, I want to get good seats, But the closer you get to it, the choir gets and less funny gets. I was always like mezzanine level.

I don’t want to be up there with binoculars and young people paraphrasing. But I like the mid we’re the alcohol intake, the view, everything looks mid whatever, the second coloro seats, that’s what I like. Chrissy from Q ninety seven point nine Radio told a great story about TJ Miller. Apparently TJ agreed to fly to Maine and accept Chrissy’s beer pong challenge. Chrissy had tagged at TJ on social media to challenge him to beer pong.

DJ went up and did it, told Chrissy, this is the coolest radio interview I’ve ever done. Thanks for being fun, and then said all right, let’s go get another drink on a lobster roll I’m in Maine. We have to go eat lob rolls immediately. Chrissy says, there I am with TJ as manager in our lobster rolls before noon, when we continued the adventure of visiting every dive bar on the wharf, Portown Public House, three dollars, Duey’s Commercial Street Pub and so many more. DJ said main as chill.

It’s a very viby state. Reminds me of Colorado, and Colorado’s my favorite state. Like beat you so hard in pong dude, Grassie said, I’m never drinking again. Thanks for a great time. TJ.

Nish Kumar spoke to Yahoo Canada about social media and comedy. Kumar is pro saying it has helped the comedy festival industry, saying I think the Internet is sort of supercharging these things rather than taking away from them. A British comedian of my standing twenty years ago wouldn’t have been able to casually come to Canada and America and sell out tour shows that didn’t exist. It’s only because of the Internet and podcasting and task masters specifically. I think there’s a lot of negatives it has for our industry and the art form more broadly, but from a perspective of getting people to come to shows and live comedy and festivals, I think it’s actually really helped.

He does say having the ability to see what every single person thinks of you can at points be paralyzing, and I’ve definitely gone in waves with it. I don’t want to praise him ever, but the one thing I will say is Elon Musk buying Twitter has been really great for me because it means I’ve stopped using it. It’s like a reverse Raiders of the Lost arc where he opened this box and Nazis went everywhere, and I think that made a lot of us examine our relationship with it. Is this all part of a long game for Elon Musk’s attempt to improve all our mental health? No, definitely isn’t.

Billboard ask Sebastian Manaskalka how much longer he will tour the current tour, the eight Ain’t Right tour. Sebastian said, the arena a phase of the tour is over. What’s left is a lot of casinos between now and the end of the year, and then we’ll put this to bed. It’s been a great run. I think we did eighty six shows over the course of eight months.

It was the best time ever had on a tour. I brought two of my good friends, Pat McGahn and Pete Corielli their headliners. In their own regard, I have my best friend John PETRELLI used my security come with us, and we’ve really enjoyed every city in the past, I do the show, sleep and go to the next venue. This time I enjoyed going out to different restaurants. Golfer, what have you?

Jimmy Fallon giving Jay Lenos some cover. It looks like Jimmy Fallon is now the worst person in the world because he did not grill his guest Greg Guttfeld on Thursday nights at Tonight Show. They didn’t get into politics. I don’t think they got into the Gutfeld of it all. Greg came by and told a story about meeting Jimmy Fallon fifteen years ago in a quote illegal speakeasy in Hell’s Kitchen.

He explains, we were wasted inside. It looked like a place where Special Ops forces waterboard terrorists. Gutfeld said. Fallon and his buddy were wrestling before Jimmy ripped a cigarette out of his hand.

And then he felt bad and bought him a new pack.

Then they all went to another bar. Jimmy Fallon didn’t seem to remember this and said it definitely happened. Gottfeld talked about how he got his current show, which he got because he used to host Redeye. As for Redeye, said everybody was drunk, even the cameraman at airs at two am, but they felt it was too edgy for two am, so they moved it to three am. As for Colbert, George Cheeks is the new boss over at Skydan, CBS, Paramount, whatever you guys are calling it, I don’t care.

Cheeks explained, the challenge in Late Night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline. We’re huge fans of Colbert, we love the show. Unfortunately the economics made a challenge for us to keep going. Now, listen to this and I kind of got into this yesterday with Mike Chisholm as we talked about Late Night for over an hour. Mister Cheeks said, as soon as Taylor Tomlinson nicks the idea of continuing a host after midnight, it became clear the network couldn’t stay in that day part.

So this is I floated this theory before, and it looks like I’m right. Did Taylor Tomlinson accidentally get Colbert canceled? I think so. I’m not saying it’s Taylor’s fault. I’m not blaming Taylor, but I think that’s what happened.

Cheeks also commented about the timing, saying we were at a period from a production standpoint where every year, seasonally, this is when we negotiate new deals for writers and producers. In addition, this is going to be the third season of Colbert’s three year deals, so in order to do these deals, we were gonna have to change the terms from what they traditionally are September to August to September to May. It was incumbent upon me to make it clear to Steven and his reps that’s where we are. Gossip Connor whispers in the street, Gossip Conn, probably MAPI, gossip Conn away the Rumors meet with Johnny Mac. It’s always a tree.

Gossip Connor whispersiness Tree, Gossip Conn probably Gossip Cone where the rooms meet with Johnny Macs. All in the trees? Isn’t that damn catchy? AI generated that? Isn’t that pretty cool.

Oh yeah, I forgot about this part. You’ll be singing it later. May have to trim that a little bit. It’s Sunday, It’s fun. On gossip Corner, people are wondering did Tiffany Adish have a baby?

Here’s why she went on Insta shared a photo she was with her longtime friend Jason Lee and they held a baby, and the caption was cat’s out of the bag. Hearts emoji. HM. Tiffany has not commented further. No one knows.

Okay, Well, congrats if you were up in Jamestown, New York at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. James Austin Johnson is coming by today for Inside Saturday Night Live. He replaces Mikey Day, who was originally scheduled to appear. Mikey has a personal matter. Bo and Yang will be honored at the fifth Annual Academy Museum Fundraising Gala.

Also being honored Bruce Springsteen and some other has been elop the Cruz. She gets the Icon Award, Bruce gets the Legacy Award. Bowen gets the Vantage Award, which honors artists who challenge dominant narratives in cinema. Yeah, I mean love bo and Yang. But is that what he’s known for challenging dominant narratives in cinema or is he known for like Las culturistas Okay.

Deadlines spoke to some of jfl’s new faces and ask them what it meant to make new faces. Chloe Radcliffe said, this has been the most genuinely, plainly excited that I’ve been for a thing in a really long time. It’s funny because people talk all the time in the entertainment industry about how hard it is to let yourself celebrate, and it’s hard to know when to celebrate, and so many people put off celebrating because they don’t want to jink something, or because it’s just one step but a bigger process. People say, now, you have to let yourself really soak in the winds, even if they’re little, and it’s just hard to internalize that. That has always been advice that I used to give to my staff and now I give to my children.

When you have a good day, when you have the victory, when you have the thing to celebrate, take a minute and enjoy it. Not every day in this journey of life is awesome. When you get a good one, enjoy it. Colly said, for so many years it felt like a defeat not to get it. Now this is the first year I’ve ever had a role in a major studio movie.

This is the first year I’ve ever had a TV deal. Is this the first year that I’ve been a WGA nominated writer. It’s sort of the perfect year to have gotten it. That’s great. The Guardian took a look at the fringe.

Molly McGuinness is treating audiences to a buffet the sketch troop Simple Town and Jessica Barton as Mary Floppin’s Molly McGinnis’s show is called Slob and Molly says there should be a buffet at every comedy gig, and she is doing that Simple Town. They’re out of the US. They make short films where everyday conundrums like what is the meaning of a droit, what happens if you’re late for a funeral, escalate to extremes, or to send into meta narratives about the absurdity of online content. That sounds fun. They’re at the Pleasants Courtyard through the twenty fourth.

If you want the buff I forgot to tell you. That’s at Monkey Barrel through the twenty fourth. Australian Jessica Barton’s show is Dirty Work. She got her first taste of comedy at a French clown school and began messing around using song and movement, physical comedy and clowning. Her character Floppins, who is you know, not quite Mary Poppins is intent on cleaning up the stage.

That’s fun. That’s at Underbelly colgating case you’re in Edinburgh. Until the twenty fourth, The Guardian was excited about Ayoada bem Goboe. Ayad’s show is called Swings and Roundabouts. Her short presence and sideways perspectives make her stand out on any lineup, says The Guardian, despite only doing this for three years.

She says, I’m looking at everything as if I’m on safari. Spicy punchlines on racism and colonialism, but audiences should expect something bittersweet, okay. Sharon wan Johe in the House her fringe debut. Her show is about self help culture and the zeitgeisty coping mechanisms that are shoved down our throats. As I’m presenting myself as this nineties talk show host in the mold of Tricia and Oprah Pleasants Courtyard through the twenty fourth rodro O’Sullivan’s Feckin’ fe kk e n Americans will just roll past that word.

The Irish are grabbing their ears. Roder O’Sullivan from Ireland explores his relationship with his farmer father via techn oh I see what you did there and the rest of Young Roger’s favorite PlayStation games. I like it at the Apex until the twenty third voicemag dot UK caught up with Dylan Adler, who’s at the Fringe one of the new faces too. Dylan says, my energy has been described before as theater kid who just escaped Alcatraz, and honestly, that sums it up pretty well. My show is an hour of high energy musical comedy, joke storytelling and a single backflip.

I talk about having an identical gay twin brother, my Japanese grandpa who signed up to be a Kamakazi pilot, mental health issues, and getting bullied by kids who were shorter than me. The show is musical theater kid chaos. I caught him up at Montreal. He was the closer on the second show that I saw, and he did some material about his twin brother. That was quite funny.

Dylan Aler is at the Pleasants Beside until August twenty fourth, but not on the twelfth. If you’re planning on going on the twelfth, not gonna be there why, I don’t know. And that, my Friends, is your comedy news for today. If you’d like the program without commercial interruption, and if you’re on Apple Podcasts, click that banner. It says uninterrupted listening and it’ll take you to this magical land where you give me five bucks in the commercials go way, but you also get twenty is something other shows on the network, and Today’s Sundays Sunday’s the big drop Day.

You’ve got Alligator Alcatraz. That’s my current fave paranormal aliens. Have you caught this guy James? He’s crazy. He thinks the aliens are real.

He also sounds like he would kick your hat. I’m not messing with that, dude. So you get all those five bucks. It’s like buying a coffee, except I don’t get a coffee, but I can still take the five bucks and get a coffee, you know what I’m saying. But you don’t have to sit through the commercials.

Nice right, Yes see you tomorrow,