Showing results by author "Eugene Mirman" in All Categories

Welcome to San Francisco Sketchfest 2018! Here's your front row seat, your backstage pass, and your all-access badge to one of the biggest comedy festivals in the country!

Jim Gaffigan is a very successful comedian and that means he gets to perform in interesting places for interesting people. On this extra special episode of Hold On, host Eugene Mirman brings Jim into the studio to tell a live story on the spot. The story in question? The time Jim did stand-up comedy as an opening act for Pope Francis in Philadelphia, at an event attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

[Contains explicit content] Moving from Pakistan to America meant bridging two very different cultures. Those differences were brought into stark contrast for comedian Kumail Nanjiani on the day he married his American wife in a Muslim ceremony for his Pakistani family. Kumail's wedding was notable for a number of reasons and on this episode of Hold On, Eugene Mirman digs into the backstory.

[Contains explicit content] Neil deGrasse Tyson is the most famous astrophysicist to ever tell a story to Eugene Mirman on a show called Hold On. He's also probably the most famous astrophysicist ever to tell a story to any Eugene for any reason, but it's the story he told THIS Eugene that you'll want to hear. In it, a pre-fame Neil weighs a potential graduate school job. If you were given as many guesses as there are stars in the universe, you probably couldn't guess what that job was!

[Contains explicit content] An appreciation for quality tunes is not something anyone is born with; babies have poor taste in music. No, the love of great bands like Led Zeppelin is developed and discovered as one grows into adulthood. Comedian John Mulaney (Oh, Hello on Broadway, Saturday Night Live, The Comeback Kid on Netflix) tells a story about finding music and learning hard truths, as he takes Eugene Mirman back to a pivotal summer of his youth.

[Contains explicit content] For most teenagers, prom is a big deal with a lot of build-up. Asking someone to the big dance comes with enough hurdles as it is, so Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show) was convinced that his strict Indian father and his family's cultural quirks would ruin any shot he might have at finding someone to slow dance with on prom night. On this episode of Hold On, host Eugene Mirman takes Hasan back to high school to find out if he managed to score his dream date for the big night.

[Contains explicit content] For most of his career, if you asked comedian, author, and director Mike Birbiglia (Don't Think Twice,Sleepwalk With Me) about his worst gig ever, he would say it was the time he attempted stand-up at a charity golf event. Eugene Mirman brings Mike into the studio to tell the story of that challenging gig, while making sure to pause the narrative to ask some probing questions and crack some jokes.

[Contains explicit content] Jonathan Katz is a comedian's comedian who has earned the right to reminisce about life on the road — but none shall be spared the inquisitive storytelling musings of Eugene Mirman! Not even the esteemed comic and former cartoon psychiatrist can tell his story at the Boston Comedy Festival without invoking the devastatingly keen observations and lacerating questions called forth in every hilarious episode of Hold On with Eugene Mirman.

[Contains explicit content] “Queen of Mean” Lisa Lampanelli has an innate ability to put people in their place with her barbed wit, but behind that sharp comedic talent there’s a lot of heart. You can hear some of that heart – and some of those barbs – in Lisa’s story about a wonderful, memorable man she dated and the health concern that drove her away. Where do comedians go when they want to answer questions about stories they’ve told? They come right here, to Hold On.

[Contains explicit content] H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob's Burgers) has the most recognizable voice in comedy, but it's his parents who have a talent for recognizing exceptional dining experiences. Eugene Mirman recognized the opportunity to have Jon onstage at NYC Podfest to relay a funny account of his parents' restaurant recommendation and answer questions about the family's memorable dining experience.

SF Sketchfest is an annual comedy festival where titans of humor descend upon the quaint township of San Francisco to mercilessly pummel audiences with all forms of live comedic performance. As far live storytelling goes, the King Kong of questions and comments is indisputably Eugene Mirman, and he brought three monsters of comedy onstage to split sides and take names in a special live Hold On at SF Sketchfest 2018.

[Contains explicit content] Cartoon siblings reunite on this episode of Hold On as Kristen Schaal (Bob's Burgers, The Last Man on Earth) joins Eugene Mirman in the studio to tell a story of a Sideways-themed winery tour. It's all vintages and pairing recommendations until things take a hard turn. Hear her story and the questions it raises for our curious host, who refuses to put a cork in it and leave a story unexamined.

Mo Willems is a household name to any parents who have had to endure innumerable readings and re-readings of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, or any of his other colorful kids books.

[Contains explicit content] Maria Bamford was named Breakout Comedy Star of the Year at the 2016 Just For Laughs comedy festival because she’s an amazing comedian. Hold On with Eugene Mirman is an amazing audio show where comedians join Eugene in the studio and on stage to break down funny stories they've told. In this special live episode from the festival in Montreal, Eugene broke out of the studio to bring Maria Bamford up on stage to tell a true story and answer some questions about it.

[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] 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!

[Contains explicit content] H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob's Burgers) has the most recognizable voice in comedy, but it's his parents who have a talent for recognizing exceptional dining experiences. Eugene Mirman recognized the opportunity to have Jon onstage at NYC Podfest to relay a funny account of his parents' restaurant recommendation and answer questions about the family's memorable dining experience.

[Contains explicit content] Busy Philipps has been stealing scenes from when she was attending high school on Freaks and Geeks to when she was also attending high school on Dawson's Creek to when she was the ex-wife of a high school vice principal on Vice Principals. Nevertheless, there are certain times in life when you don't want to steal the scene, and one such time would be the wedding of your boyfriend's ex-fiancé.

[Contains explicit content] If there’s one thing “Weird Al” Yankovic loves, it’s jamming out on his accordion. If there's one thing Eugene Mirman enjoys more than pausing comedians' pre-recorded stories for his hit show Hold On, it's pausing comedians' stories they haven't ever recorded before on his hit show Hold On! On this episode, "Weird Al” opens up about going under the knife on live TV for the surgery that redefined his iconic look and Eugene gets inquisitive about the whole eye-opening ordeal.

[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 (or his iconic role in UHF).