Anthony Moore is a standup comedian based in New Jersey.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Moving From Philly To New York

(02:41) Discovering Comedy Through A College Talent Show

(05:34) Accounting Dreams And Challenge 24 Obsession

(09:16) Falling In Love With Stand-Up

(12:27) First Bomb At A Variety Show

(16:14) Philly’s Unique Comedy Scene

(20:11) Becoming More Universal In New York

(23:03) Saving Money While Working In Schools

(26:19) Losing Philly’s Funniest To Shane Gillis

(29:38) Grinding At Terrible Times Square Clubs

(32:51) Kevin Hart’s Early Support

(36:28) LeBron, Kevin Hart, And The Comedy Cellar

(40:12) Learning To Earn Comedy Cellar Spots

(43:07) Writing Jokes Late At Night

(45:14) Comedy’s Responsibility And Fearlessness

(48:02) Chappelle, Louis C.K., And Raw Honesty

(50:09) Advice For Young Comedians Today

(51:46) Defining Success Beyond Fame

Caitlin Cook is a musician and performer based in New York City.

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(00:00) First impressions of New York

(03:04) Missing New York’s noise

(05:10) Stage fright begins

(08:37) Comedy as exposure therapy

(12:02) Circling around performance

(14:04) Art history and storytelling

(17:18) Bathroom graffiti as art

(20:40) Returning to New York

(23:05) Music, comedy, and Fringe

(26:37) Financial realities of performing

(31:12) Freelance survival jobs

(34:58) Off-Broadway breakthrough

(38:25) Creating the bathroom graffiti musical

(42:02) Hacking Instagram scientifically

(45:10) Algorithms, art, and identity

(48:03) Building a team and letting go

(50:05) Current projects and Edinburgh

(52:23) Success, safety, and creative freedom

Sally Ann Hall is a comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Alaska Roots And Friends Dream

(02:56) Family Homesteads And Idaho Move

(06:01) Dating Comics Sparks Stand-Up

(09:12) First Open Mic Terror

(13:02) Friends, Crushes, And Mic Addiction

(16:08) Bartending, TV Jobs, Comedy Choice

(19:26) Festivals, Competitions, Early Confidence

(23:02) Bombing Tolerance And Stage Fright

(26:11) Airbnb Hustle Funding Comedy Years

(30:08) Growth, Longer Sets, Validation

(33:06) Onstage Mistakes And Embarrassing Moments

(36:14) Cruise Ships, Bombing, Getting Fired

(40:48) Travel Burnout, Husband, Dog, Home

(43:08) New York Comedy Training Ground

(46:02) Favorite Clubs And Elite Crushers

(49:21) Fame, Money, And Industry Reality

(53:02) Success Means Living Off Comedy

(56:04) What She Wants To Say Next

Gillian Glasco is an actress and a writer based in New York City.

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(00:00) Arkansas Roots And Finding Acting

(03:07) Fences, Story, And Hope

(06:16) Becoming A Storytelling Vessel

(08:39) Ithaca Training And London

(12:38) Feeling Marginalized In School

(15:11) Advocating For Work By Artists Of Color

(17:04) Rose In Fences As North Star

(18:22) Showcase, Agent, And Doubt

(21:05) Classical Theater Of Harlem Breakthrough

(24:02) Belonging, Fandom, And Side Hustles

(27:18) Restaurant Work And Survival

(29:03) Painful Auditions And Rejection

(33:10) Releasing Control After Auditions

(36:04) Never Seriously Considering Quitting

(39:22) Community, Lulls, And Living Fully

(43:04) Writing, Family Rifts, And Healing

(47:51) Jennings Versus Brown Begins

(51:36) Arkansas Family History And Opportunity

(54:42) Developing The Finished Draft

(56:41) Favorite Playwrights And Family Stories

(59:21) Movies, Algorithms, And Attention Spans

(62:04) Success, Balance, And The Next Problem

Matt Ruby is a comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Leaving Chicago for New York

(01:52) Keeping a tech job afloat

(03:10) Why comedy first appealed

(05:18) Comedy class and early confidence

(07:24) Eating shit and learning fast

(09:46) Letting go of rock star fantasies

(12:38) Cheap East Village comedy changed everything

(15:21) Truth-telling, hypocrisy, and point of view

(18:07) Politics, gender, religion, and great jokes

(20:14) Psychedelics and spiritual awakening

(23:41) From atheism to metaphor and myth

(28:06) Judaism, ancestors, and Torah study

(32:11) Joseph Campbell and universal myths

(35:01) Comedy as wisdom without pretension

(37:46) New York comedy scene and getting better

(42:18) Day jobs, Substack, and surviving financially

(45:36) Favorite comedians and favorite venues

(48:27) Technology, gender wars, and defining success

Jen Toth is an illustrator and model based in Brooklyn, NY.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Scouted at Ohio State, then straight to Europe

(01:47) Sheltered Ohio upbringing to unimaginable New York life

(03:36) Chaos of model housing and competing castings

(05:41) Italy as friendship, travel, and self-discovery

(07:52) Landing in New York with agency support

(09:18) Choosing steady income over chasing fame

(11:34) Long-term clients and building a durable career

(13:26) Saving early and treating modeling as temporary

(15:07) Working between New York and Asian markets

(17:02) Best-paying jobs, global usage, and campaign money

(18:41) FIT, startup internship, and return to modeling

(20:56) Modeling myths, Project Runway, and job realities

(23:11) Fashion week calendar, market, and the Met Gala

(25:46) Why New York became home for good

(28:04) COVID pivot to illustration and first brand collabs

(31:47) Studio practice, commissions, habits, and success now

Sean Patton is a stand-up comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Growing up in New Orleans and starting stand-up

(03:18) Why comedians should skip stand-up classes

(06:47) His first open mic at Amberjack’s

(11:02) Stage fright, mic technique, and bad comedy books

(14:36) Discovering comedy through Sarah Silverman and Mr. Show

(18:41) Perspective over punchlines and embracing human flaws

(23:07) Deciding to leave New Orleans after Mardi Gras

(26:41) Katrina, moving to LA, and early comedy lessons

(31:02) Why New York pulled him away from LA

(34:28) Arriving in Bushwick with $1,088

(38:11) New York’s brutal first months and rougher scene

(41:06) The Fort Greene day that changed everything

(45:03) Why artists shouldn’t try pleasing every audience

(48:34) Let the work define you, not labels

(52:07) Fame culture, social media, and hollow ambition

(55:18) Advice for comedians: believe in yourself

(58:21) Why staying in comedy is the real achievement

(61:06) Dave Attell, artistic integrity, and closing thoughts

Shawn Bullen is an artist, muralist, and curator, based in Manhattan.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Wild first road trip to New York

(03:12) 2016 birthday trip becomes a permanent move

(06:18) Why New York always felt inevitable

(09:41) Childhood art influences and becoming “the art kid”

(13:02) Drawing, photography, and early graffiti obsession

(16:47) High school art success and museum recognition

(20:14) Graffiti community, adrenaline, and rooftop risks

(24:03) Teaching literacy and discovering mural leadership

(28:11) Confidence, dedication, and sibling artistic rivalry

(31:36) Arrest, graffiti cleanup, and first paid truck mural

(35:28) Dropping out, IDC Art House, and Canada art school

(39:22) Learning oil painting and refining artistic vision

(43:31) Leaving Halifax with dreams of global murals

(47:18) DIY East Coast adventure to Art Basel

(51:44) Miami highs, Occupy lows, and chasing momentum

(57:18) Advice on money, work, and making art anyway

(60:41) New York struggles, studio solitude, and creative purpose

(63:21) Defining artistic success and keeping the flame alive