Writers' Bloc Podcast

Whoever came up with the phrase "nice guys finish last" never met Phil Rosenthal. The creator and Executive Producer of the 70-time Emmy Nominated "Everybody Loves Raymond" invites me into his home to discuss sitcoms, books, movies, and insane interviews with huge superstars. Phil has an amazing talent for clearly explaining otherwise complicated ideas. He is honest, straightforward, informative, entertaining, and an invaluable resource for writers of every level. If you're somehow not a fan of Phil Rosenthal's already, rest assured you will be within the next hour. And as soon as you're done here, buy his book, "You're Lucky You're Funny", and watch his documentary, "Exporting Raymond". You'll be glad you did.

Sarah Silverman (seen here with monkey) is a popular American actress/comedian perhaps best know for being awesome. She created and starred in "The Sarah Silverman Program," was wildly hilarious in her concert movie "Jesus Is Magic" (Netflix the shit out of that thing!) and most importantly is a fine person and an excellent friend. Soon Sarah will be hitting the road to prepare for an upcoming HBO comedy special, which is great news for the entire world. Sarah has also recently launched the online comedy channel JASH, a partnership with comedians Tim & Eric, Reggie Watts, and Michael Cera. This episode is chock full of Sarah's amazing insights regarding the inner workings of the industry as well as an impromptu phone call from my wife and kids. Dig it, y'all!

Part 2 of "The Writers' Bloc 'The Simpsons' Mini-Marathon"! Mike Scully is a longtime writer and producer for 'The Simpsons' who also wrote for 'Everybody Loves Raymond', 'Parks and Rec', the list goes on. This is a seasoned professional with willing to share his experience with BlocHeads around the world. Mike is also helping develop 'Dads' a new Seth MacFarlane-produced live-action sitcom for Fox coming this Fall. Stick around til the end for a big Writers' Bloc announcement. You'll be glad you did.

Mike Reiss has written for "The Simpsons" since DAY 1 -- 22 years ago! -- and Writers' Bloc is thrilled to have him. Mike and J.R. talk about the show's humble beginnings - from an un-air-conditioned trailer parked on the Fox lot to the longest running primetime show in television history. Mike's endless string of stories and anecdotes about the show make this one of the most entertaining episodes yet. And when you're finished listening, don't forget to buy Mike's 18th & newest kids' book, "Tales of Moronica." It's just 99-cents on Kindle. How do you beat that?

The Oscars are coming up and what better way to pre-celebrate than to listen to two people who've been there tell you what it's like to write for the Academy Awards? Rory Albanese is the Executive Producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart having worked his way up from his start as an intern for The Late Show with David Letterman. He's also a great comedian and a perfectly suitable friend. We both wrote for the Oscars in 2008 and this... is our story.

No guest this time around, just little old me talking about my experience doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) for the website Reddit. I really had an amazing time but believe it or not feedback on the internet was mixed. What!? Seems I didn't adequately "A" some of the "Q's", but all that is about to change. Plus you'll find out what comedy legend I dressed up as for Halloween when I was 8. And be sure to stay tuned to the very end for some exciting WBP announcements about upcoming guests. Oh, it's on...

Ed Helms is... well, he's Ed Helms. Among other things he's an actor best known for almost everything that he does. Yes, The Hangover was a particularly big hit and yes, The Hangover 3 is coming soon to a theater near you, but Ed's talents go far beyond simply starring in record-breaking blockbuster comedy hits. He is also an accomplished musician, an above average singer, and an excellent writer who's experience on the screen has helped refine his writing in provoking ways he is kind enough to share with us. Dig it...

Brendan Hay is a self-proclaimed geek who's been lucky enough to write for The Simpsons, Robot Chicken (Emmy nominated!), and The Mighty B! Before that, he was a headline producer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and a contributing writer to America: The Book. Currently, he is the head writer on Star Wars Detours, a new animated comedy from Lucasfilm Animation. He also wrote an original graphic novel titled Rascal Raccoon's Raging Revenge for Oni Press which was recently optioned as a movie.

It's episode 4! We made it past the originally planned trilogy! And it's a good one, with Jo Miller, writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Jo and I get into every day operations at TDS as well as what it was like to work on Earth: The Book while we were doing the show at the same time. (Spoiler Alert: it was a lot of work.) Jo also talks about how her education in Medieval History actually comes in handy in her career as a comedy writer. Who knew!? Hope you enjoy this one, BlocHeads. Thanks for tuning in.

Jon Bines is a better comedy writer than he is a self-portrait photographer. He's also a brilliant, hilarious guy who writes for Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Writers' Bloc Podcast has him! Jon began his getting-paid-for-writing career at Comedy Central's "Turn Ben Stein On" which he happily left behind to work with Kimmel at "The Man Show" which, according to Jon, was not nearly as misogynistic as you may have thought it was. After a 2-year stint at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he left to help Jimmy create his then new talk show. The rest is history. And a lot of that history is included in this wildly informative and funny episode.

Rachel Axler is a former Daily Show writer whose longing to write more dialogue and story motivated her to become a staff writer at NBC’s Parks and Rec and eventually move on to write for Bored To Death, New Girl, and The Goodwin Games. She shares the similarities and differences of working at these shows and we work together to write the funniest tweet ever written about the Petraeus scandal, though that’s admittedly subjective. Rachel also has a graduate degree in playwriting… so take that!

Elliott Kalan is an Emmy-winning writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and co-host of the podcast The Flop House. He's also written for various magazines and Marvel Comics. But more importantly, he helped me kick things off with this "Very Special Bonus Test Episode". It doesn't include us writing a joke together but it does include us almost constantly going off topic in hilarious fashion. And, as usual, loads of advice and "learny" moments.

Co-creator and former head writer of The Daily Show and Air America Radio co-founder, Lizz Winstead, is one of the top political satirists in America. She also has dogs that like to bark and eat their own poop – a fact confirmed DURING this podcast. Lizz and I eat pistachios (loudly) and discuss what she was looking for when she was hiring The Daily Show’s original writing staff. Lizz’s experience and insight into the creative process is invaluable to aspiring and established comedy writers alike and I can’t think of a better way to kick off The Writers’ Bloc Podcast.