The Hilarious World of Depression

Latest Episodes:

Aimee Mann Discovers That Having Feelings About Terrible Things Is Perfectly Fine Oct 23, 2017

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Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann has a reputation for making music that is raw, emotional, and sometimes not all that cheerful. In real life, she’s perfectly cheerful – thank you very much – and has traveled a long road of depression, anxiety, a difficult childhood, and writer’s block. Through it all, she’s taken a calm, considered, and creative approach to problem-solving that has served her well. Oh, and one time as a teenager she wrote a terrible song about hobos.

John Green Falls Victim to Some Bad Fiction While Writing His New Book Oct 16, 2017

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Author John Green had one of the best-selling books of the last 10 years with The Fault In Our Stars. The problem is, when you write an acclaimed smash hit, everyone wants you to somehow do it again. In attempting to write that follow-up, Green went off the meds he’d been taking for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, hoping it would bring him to a more vivid and imaginative place. Instead, the crash made him unable to write at all. Hear how Green later used those dark days to craft the protagonist in a new novel, plus growing up with OCD, being a public figure in the privacy of his own home, and what it’s like to read book reviews by people who haven’t read the book.

Neal Brennan Gives Ketamine and Magnetic Impulses a Try Oct 09, 2017

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If you've enjoyed any comedy in the last 20 years, there's a good chance Neal Brennan helped make it. He's a veteran comic, writer, director, and co-creator, with Dave Chappelle, of the acclaimed Chappelle's Show. Over the past 20-plus years, he's also tried everything he could think of to tame his depression. Hear Neal's epic journey to feeling pretty good.

Margaret Cho Works Out A Lot And Makes People Upset In New Jersey Oct 02, 2017

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She’s one of the most influential and innovative comedians of the last few decades, but before all that, Margaret Cho was a Korean-American girl growing up in the 1970s in San Francisco. We hear about the sometimes very darkly humorous ways her family and culture dealt with depression and suicide, and how she harnessed her own depression to begin her comedy. Along the way, the keys to Margaret’s often-shocking comedic style emerge and lead to making people upset in New Jersey.

Wil Wheaton Is Really Hoping It’s All Worth It Sep 25, 2017

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Wil Wheaton was a child star in Stand By Me, a regular on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a teenager, and has been trying to figure out his role in show business for a long time since then. He was dealing with the pressures of fame and the fickle tastes of Hollywood, all while dealing with a chemical imbalance in his brain that made him prone to anxiety and depression. Wil’s better now thanks to medication, but despite his long IMDb page and regular work on The Big Bang Theory, his hit YouTube show, and a thriving and varied career, he sees himself primarily as a failed actor.

Episode #PREVIEW: Season 2 starts Sept. 25! Sep 18, 2017

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Season 2 of The Hilarious World of Depression starts on September 25, 2017. Get a jump on it by hearing from some of the comics, actors, authors, and musicians you'll get to know this season.

Episode #PLACEBO: Imagine Depression as a Person and Describe Them Aug 28, 2017

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What if clinical depression was not just a thing in someone’s brain but an actual other person entirely? What would they look like? Act like? Who would they be? And how would you interact with such a person? It’s a mental exercise that many find helpful in isolating the disease from the self to better manage it. We asked our listeners to describe their depression. Most chose humans, one chose a very confused monster.

Episode #PLACEBO: How to Get Help Aug 15, 2017

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If you are having problems with your mental health, please get help. You’ve heard that before on this show and probably plenty of other places as well. But how do you actually do that? How do you go about finding professional help to get things on a better track? It’s a process that can be complicated and overwhelming, which means loads of people don’t get the help they need. On this episode, we talk with Dr. Ken Duckworth, Medical Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about the simplest, best path to getting the help you need. Spoiler: it takes some work, but you can do it.

Episode #PLACEBO: Hitting the Nail on the Head Jul 31, 2017

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Depression can be really hard to define, making it difficult for anyone who doesn’t have it to be understand it. And that can make the people who do have it feel that much more alone. We asked our listeners what movie, TV show, artwork, or other piece of culture gets depression right. The answers range from John Cusack yelling out a window to Norwegian expressionist painting, to a cuss-filled bit of sour optimism in the Wild West.

Episode #PLACEBO: John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats on where all that coping music comes from Jul 17, 2017

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When we asked listeners about their favorite songs to listen to while battling depression, The Mountain Goats’ music kept coming up. We caught up with the band’s founder, singer, and songwriter, John Darnielle, to learn about what goes into his process. We also find out about the music he listens to and the other ways he copes with the depression that has dogged him for many years. Special bonus: a brand new John Darnielle poem.