The honor was all mine when two terrific podcasts -- Comedy History 101, and Conversations on Dance -- each invited me to join them on an episode about treasures I've saved and why I saved them. Both of these podcasts deserve a place on your favorites list -- they have hundreds of episodes for you to check out. Here are some details about the episodes I joined...
Comedy History 101
Comedian/author/storyteller Harmon Leon gave me my big break as a performer in the long-running NYC storytelling show Tale. (Info here about the next Tale show.)
In his podcast Comedy History 101, Harmon has presented interviews with former Mad Magazine editor Joe Raiola, Mr. Bill Show creator Walter Williams, Obama's joke writer David Litt, and many others.
Harmon interviewed me for these two episodes:
The Harvard Lampoon episode: (Listen here): It would be a huge mistake to see me as a Harvard Lampoon expert. But Harmon still wanted to hear about the fun I had on the editorial staff for a year -- including the trials of trying to get on the staff, my dance with Brooke Shields at a Lampoon castle party, and my happy encounters with Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. and other Lampoon alums who went on to fame and fortune. Okay, so I dropped a few names. But that's what Harmon wanted. So who was I to deny him?
The People Magazine episode (Listen here): Some of my experiences as a reporter for People Magazine were just plain funny because of my own ineptitude (including my run-in with Bill Murray, which is memorialized in the Tootsie episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out). Other assignments got me to witness comedians in action (like the Friars Club roast for Cary Grant). So Harmon asked me about it, and I shared some tales.
Conversations on Dance
Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden have recorded 370 interviews with leaders of modern dance. A key factor in their success: They are extremely generous to their guests, as I now know first-hand.
The Martha Graham Episode (Listen here): When I gabbed with Michael and Rebecca about why Sally Libby and I started I Couldn't Throw It Out, I was sure they'd cut that segment. But they kept it in. So, for the first time, I get to spell out how we created our podcast: the challenges, the fun, etc. Of course, we also spoke about Martha Graham and played my full interview with her, stopping to add commentary and ask questions. It was the perfect follow-up to our own episode about Martha Graham on I Couldn't Throw It Out.
Coming this fall...
I'll be talking with Jordan Cooper and Dave Fox on their podcast all about They Might Be Giants, Don't Let's Start. The topic: Our take on the band's first demo tape, which I reviewed in People Magazine in 1985.
Infinite thanks to all these podcaster for their encouragement and support -- and to all of you for listening!
