Employee of the Month

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KEVIN AVERY, writer for HBO's Last Week Tonight, talks about balancing it all. Feb 15, 2015

Show notes

Kevin Avery just received his first WGA (Writer's Guild) Award for writing on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Avery, who previously served as head writer for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and a writer on VH1's Best Week Ever, is also a comedian and actor. In our interview, he reveals what it's really like to "balance" it all. He's also the only LA based writer who can't stop getting hired in New York, at least, on behalf of all New York based writers, I hope he is. We recorded our interview live in Brooklyn.

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KRISTER JOHNSON talks about writing for The Onion and Wet Hot American Summer. Feb 05, 2015

Show notes

Krister Johnson is a comedy writer who made a note for himself (awful pun intended) as part of the Christian rock duo God's Pottery. After a stint on Last Comic Standing and a book deal, Krister decided to return to his dream of writing comedy. Since then he's gone onto writer for The Onion and, most recently, the television series, Wet Hot American Summer. In our interview, we spoke about what it really takes to be a TV writer.

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MEL OTTENBERG, fashion stylist for Rihanna, explains how fashion shapes culture. Feb 02, 2015

Show notes

MEL OTTENBERG is a fashion stylist. He frequently works with photographer Terry Richardson and is currently Rihanna's fashion stylist. Mel's work has appeared in and on the covers of Harper’s Bazaar, V, Details, I-D, Purple, Dazed & Confused, The New York Times Style Magazine, and GQ Style. Mel explained what it's like to work in the fashion industry at a live taping of Employee of the Month at Joe's Pub.

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ADAM GOLDBERG & JEFF GARLIN, creator of and star of ABC's The Goldbergs, take me behind the scenes. Jan 23, 2015

Show notes

There are few writers, regardless of the medium, who are as prolific as Adam Goldberg. His favorite topic is his family. While he says his actual childhood was far darker than what comes across in his comedy show THE GOLDBERGS on ABC, his affection for his suburban Jewish childhood in the 1980’s is palpable.

Adam sold Disney, which owns ABC, on the concept by showing clips from home videos he'd filmed as a kid in Jenkins, Pennsylvania. As a viewer, you get to see clips in each episode, and some fans may try to thread together fact from fiction. Goldberg even uses the actual names of folks, sports teams, and schools from his hometow, which is right outside Philadelphia. (He sent out a note to folks on Facebook to see if it was kosher to use their names, and everyone, on their own accord, said yes.)

When I spoke with affable, self effacing, writer, it’s easy to see why the people he grew up with, but may not have seen for decades, trusted him.

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JUSTIN SAYRE on writing for 2 Broke Girls and putting Sodomites on the map. Jan 16, 2015

Show notes

When Michael Patrick King saw a video of Justin Sayre, King, who produced of Sex in the City, 2 Broke Girls, and The Comeback, knew he'd found a like minded misfit. I imagine that's what happened. Granted, I can't imagine anyone not feeling that way when witnessing Sayre size up the state of political, social, and culture affairs, namely for the LGBT. A whip-smart, unconventional, and absurdly talented writer/performer, Sayre bridges old school cabaret with a refreshing candor in his monologues, sketches, songs, and parodies.

We spoke backstage in the green room of Joe's Pub, before he hosted his monthly show, The Meeting of the International Order of Sodomites. We talked about blind ambition, Joan Rivers, and how he went from a downtown theater darling to writing for one of the most commercially successful, mainstream comedy television shows. His depth, dexterity, and wit is palpable.

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KATIE INNAMORATO, rogue taxidermist, as if there were any other kind. Jan 08, 2015

Show notes

Ever wondered what a taxidermist does exactly? I interviewed Katie Innamorato, a Taxidermist-in-Residence at The Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, New York, to find out. Innamorato's passion for animals inspires her art, granted a messy form that requires dissecting rats and roadkill. The meat of her work (terrible pun intended)is tackling the questions of how humans relate to animals. Katie also works with flora and fauna, often integrating them with her anthropomorphic art. An animal lover, Katie says she prefers to use roadkill, scrap skins from other taxidermists, previously frozen feeders, problem animals, and donated skins. She also teaches classes which regularly sell out.

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FRANK BRUNI, New York Times columnist on SAT's, Bush vs. Obama, & Ikea's Meatballs. Dec 31, 2014

Show notes

While becoming a staff reporter for The New York Times is a highly coveted post, Frank Bruni's career at the paper, is especially enviable. Bruni joined The New York Times in 1990 after working at a range of magazines and newspapers, including Newsweek, The Detroit Free Press, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer, and New York Post.

Once at The New York Times, he quickly gained a reputation for meeting, if not beating, deadlines and witty, accessible prose. His speedy turn around enabled him to survive covering both campaigns and The White House. He followed the fast pace of Washington with a relatively more relaxed stint in Rome covering the Vatican. Then Bruni took a complete departure from wonky news to become The New York Times restaurant critic, eating 7 - 9 dinners out a week. Today, Bruni pens a column twice a week as an op-ed columnist. In his spare time, he frequently appears on TV news shows or is writing books. His latest book will be out in 2015 from Grand Central Publishing.

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TAYLOR SCHILLING & PIPER KERMAN, aka the Two Pied Pipers of Orange is the New Black Dec 24, 2014

Show notes

Taylor Schilling is up for her second Emmy Award nod for her portrayal of Piper Chapman on Netflix’s most popular series Orange is the New Black. Based on Piper Kerman’s memoir about her experience in prision, it’s the first television show to shine the light on a women’s prison population. Show creator Jenji Kohan cast a genuinely diverse ensemble of formidable actors. The majority happen to be female, black, Latina, LGBT, trans, and only a handful were already well established. But Orange is the New Black is one of rare shows made in Hollywood where the actors aren’t simply seletected for the color of their skin or number of Twitter followers, but for the content of their character acting.

It was a treat to have Piper Kerman, an alumni of Employee of the Month, join us to discuss what it’s like to have someone personify you and the line between fact and fiction. When not consulting on the show, Kerman is highly active in prison reform and has testified before Congress.

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JOSHUA WOLF SHENK, Author of Powers of Two, explains what collaborating is and isn't. Dec 12, 2014

Show notes

How and why do we believe in the lone wolf who created everything when in fact most of us work with at least one partner? Others wish they could find that perfect partner-in-crime. Josh Wolf Shenk explains why these dyads are so potent in his book, POWERS OF TWO: Seeking the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs.

Shenk looks at his own partnerships in our interview. Like Shenk is credited with writing this book, as any, Shenk explains in our interview that the book, like any book, was actually a collaboration, namely with his Editor Eamon Dolan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

He also examines well known collaborators John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Theo and Vincent Van Gogh to reveal how competition is healthy, but how "credit" can be confusing, and how many Beatles does it take to change a lightbulb?

A veteran writer, Shenk has contributed to Harper’s, Time, The Atlantic, Slate, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.

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STEPHIN MERRITT, of the Magnetic Fields, on film school, touring, and Scrabble. Dec 04, 2014

Show notes

Stephin Merritt, singer, songwriter, and musical polymath, is best known for his band The Magnetic Fields. Today, he performs with The Magnetic Fields, as well as Future Bible Heroes, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies. He also has written for the theater and film, and most recently collaborated with New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chaste on a book of haikus about two letter Scrabble words. Pretty sure he'd crush anyone in Scrabble, but Words with Friends seems rigged, so you may still have a chance.

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