Showing titles in Storytelling

When applied appropriately, a little shame can be hot. But all too often when shame enters a sexy situation, it's not the fun kind.

[Contains explicit content] Host Eugene Mirman sits down with comedian and writer Sara Benincasa (Agorafabulous!: Dispatches From My Bedroom) to discuss all of the details behind the story she told at a RISK! show in New York. Her featured story deals with one of the funniest conversations anyone could have at a funeral. Learn more about the unusual Benincasa family trade and discover which glam rocker's family actually owns a funeral home.

[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.

Mike Daisey is a fierce storyteller, one minute hilarious, the next minute sweet, with a fine-tuned ear for digression. He circles in on his uneasy subject matter, closer and closer, until he exposes the raw heart. The New York Times calls him "the master storyteller" and he has been compared to Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray, and David Sedaris.

[Contains explicit content] A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence is unexpected in a way that causes the listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. Emo Philips is a master of the paraprosdokian and a comedic genius, immediately recognizable for his pageboy haircut and wandering falsetto. Eugene Mirman is the host of Hold On with Eugene Mirman and a master of turning a live storytelling event on its head with his delightful questions and interjections.

This very special Un-Cabaret collection includes four deeply funny stories about Jews and Jewishness: "The Day I Got Caught Playing with Myself in Hebrew School", "Hitler's Willing Executioner, Me?", "The Ish Factor", and "Bar Mitzvah Boy".

[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] Every romance begins differently, but for the ones that last, there's always a moment when you decide to commit — we call it your commit-moment. In this episode, two storytellers share the tale of their own commit-moments, and prove that real love can come from the strangest of places. This episode features "Wet Feet" by Emma Weisfeld for The Narrators, "How Nick's Mind Works" by Lesley Jones for Bawdy Storytelling, and an anonymous secret from BedPost Confessions.

[Contains explicit content] A live audience at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal was privileged with a very special live version of Eugene Mirman's comedic storytelling (and story explaining) show, Hold On, but we're not going to let them hoard that wonderful experience. Here's a live story told by the hilarious Aparna Nancherla about dating woes in the era of social media, plus all the probing questions and asides from your inquisitive host Eugene.

Noted storyteller, author and performer Milbre Burch combines personal stories with folk and fairy tales from around the world in this Grammy-nominated recording (2007). These unforgettable and moving folktales from Russia, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, China, Thailand and beyond remind us that the world is often saved by unlikely heroes (like the hummingbird on its back, ready to do its part to hold up a falling sky), and that healing and hope can come from unlikely sources.

[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!

Recorded at a show celebrating the sesquicentennial of the town of Brooklin, Maine, this 1999 audio features Tim exploring his roots in growing up in Maine (including Brooklin, where Tim’s mom was born in 1923). This album includes the amazing-but-true story of Tim’s 1956 Chevy - "The American Flag Car" - which sparked a media storm when Tim was attending art school in 1970.

Mike Daisey is a fierce storyteller, one minute hilarious, the next minute sweet, with a fine-tuned ear for digression. He circles in on his uneasy subject matter, closer and closer, until he exposes the raw heart. The New York Times calls him "the master storyteller" and he has been compared to Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray, and David Sedaris.

[Contains explicit content] The adolescent quest to obtain alcohol is a tale as old as time. Now, you can hear Chris Gethard (Broad City, The Chris Gethard Show, Don't Think Twice) tell a hilarious story of getting drunk in a New Jersey basement from his younger days. Even better, you can hear Eugene Mirman's quest to get all the details surrounding Chris' tale of underage mischief in this awesome episode of Hold On!

[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] 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.

[Contains explicit content] Storytelling can bring together people from many different cultures and, at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, it brought together Eugene Mirman and Gad Elmaleh for a special live recording of Hold On. Montreal was a fitting place to hear the tale of Gad's transition from the French tradition of live comedy to a more casual North American stand-up style. It's also fitting that Eugene was on hand to casually interject with thoughtful and funny questions.

[Contains explicit content] Comedian Kurt Braunohler (IFC's Bunk, Audible's Wedlock) once found enlightenment in the oddest of places: an Apple store bathroom. There, the seeds of inspiration were planted in his mind and he decided to take an unconventional break from his (then) long-term relationship. Eugene Mirman sat Kurt down to hear how that unusual plant went and to ask a few burning questions.

[Contains explicit content] Moving back in with your parents is rarely a sign that your life is going in the right direction. On this episode of Hold On, host Eugene Mirman sits down with comedian Matt Braunger to hear a funny, but cautionary tale about a pivotal time in Matt's life. Hear why he was forced to live with his folks and what it meant for his relationship with them and his stand-up comedy career.