Nore Davis is a standup comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Growing up in Yonkers

(02:09) Being the funny kid

(03:04) Art before comedy

(04:52) Discovering stand-up at Pratt

(05:59) Secretly taking a comedy class

(08:06) Finding the thrill of stand-up

(11:06) Making comedy financially sustainable

(13:58) Building connections and community

(15:32) Albums, SiriusXM, and independence

(16:46) Finding material in real life

(18:30) Living with sickle cell anemia

(23:23) Becoming a working New York comedian

(27:04) Getting discovered at Just for Laughs

(28:58) The first Conan appearance

(34:25) Acting, writing, and career milestones

(36:42) Money, ambition, and destination anxiety

(40:41) Building an hour of stand-up

(44:45) What separates great comedians

(47:21) Why New York beats Los Angeles

(50:07) The importance of constant stage reps

(52:11) Learning to move past bombing

(53:17) Defining success as happiness

Nancy Borowick is a photographer, author, teacher and speaker based in New York City and St John in the USVI.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Finding photography in New York

(02:18) Teaching photography in Ghana

(05:29) Discovering photography’s power to create change

(07:41) Learning both parents had cancer

(11:02) Using photography to process illness

(13:35) Planning a wedding amid terminal illness

(14:52) Sharing her family story publicly

(17:12) Losing both parents one year apart

(20:41) Grief transforms her photography career

(22:17) Leaving New York for Guam

(24:28) Turning her family story into a book

(26:31) Deciding whether to have children

(30:29) Motherhood, birth trauma, and postpartum depression

(31:40) Processing birth trauma through photography

(34:33) Discovering the hidden reality of stillbirth

(37:23) Knowing your normal during pregnancy

(40:35) Pregnancy, advocacy, and trusting your intuition

(45:18) Finding joy, family, and a quieter life

Luke Strathman is a writer, economist, comedian and poet based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Moving to New York before COVID

(01:58) Growing up on a donkey farm

(03:26) Discovering comedy by accident

(05:58) Lessons from poverty research

(10:25) Finding creativity at grad school

(11:17) Choosing joy over the expected path

(13:23) Pursuing comedy in New York

(15:27) Uncertainty around a creative career

(16:51) Keeping a foot in policy research

(17:38) Building a varied comedy career

(18:58) Creating PowerPoint comedy shows

(23:02) Booking comedians through outreach and community

(24:16) Finding the humor in economics

(26:24) The Beanie Baby business years

(27:51) New York’s alternative comedy venues

(31:57) Favorite New York comedians

(34:15) Balancing comedy with a day job

(36:31) Redefining success around happiness and creativity

Gastore Almonte is a storyteller and comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) A first-generation New Yorker’s story

(01:07) Why his parents left the Dominican Republic

(04:43) Growing up around funny, creative people

(05:51) Family, struggle, and growing up in East New York

(08:21) From Frito-Lay sales to stand-up comedy

(09:52) Roy Wood Jr.’s life-changing encouragement

(11:38) His wife encourages a leap into comedy

(13:45) Knowing when to go all-in

(15:20) Learning from an early career opportunity

(16:49) Pursuing comedy while raising a family

(18:29) Making art financially sustainable

(19:58) Artistic risk without economic risk

(23:31) Why comedy made him happier

(24:56) Marriage, disagreements, and finding humor

(26:05) Fatherhood as his creative center

(28:46) Discovering New York’s storytelling scene

(29:55) The best storytelling venues in New York

(32:37) Learning storytelling from his family

(35:50) What makes a great storyteller

(36:22) Losing his father and confronting mortality

(38:03) Emptying the creative tank

(41:48) Why stories are so powerful

(47:14) The storytellers who inspire him

(51:02) How his storytelling craft has improved

(53:39) Redefining success around quality time

Cale Hawkins is a songwriter and music producer based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) From western New York to New York City

(01:10) Discovering music, country, and the Beatles

(03:55) Taking music seriously as a kid

(05:05) Finding mentors at the Infinity Program

(07:15) Talent, improvisation, and learning from better musicians

(10:18) Why the Beatles remain the gold standard

(14:30) High school and choosing music professionally

(19:17) Knowing music was the only path

(20:29) Professionalism, listening, work ethic, and rejection

(24:35) The music industry’s unwritten rules

(26:40) Berklee, Derek Sivers, and moving faster

(31:25) Leaving Boston and starting over in New York

(35:08) Touring dreams and surviving through poker

(36:16) The Quincy Jones audition that changed everything

(38:40) Learning from the legendary Quincy Jones

(42:54) Marriage, touring, and putting down roots

(47:02) Making a long-distance marriage work

(48:09) Knowing when touring was no longer worthwhile

(50:32) Falling in love with producing music

(54:09) Making creativity financially sustainable

(59:26) Simplicity, songwriting, and unexpected passive income

(63:38) Redefining success as freedom and fulfillment

Bonnie McFarlane is a standup comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) From Canadian poverty to creative ambition

(04:45) Choosing a cow and building a business

(07:19) Family, hard work, and money

(10:30) Discovering writing, acting, and advertising

(13:07) Finding safety in the comedy world

(17:18) Winning a contest and reaching New York

(22:01) Bombing at Caroline’s

(24:11) Surviving New York without a day job

(25:54) Falling in love with stand-up

(29:52) New York’s legendary comedy scene

(32:19) Letterman and career breakthroughs

(35:47) Meeting Anthony Bourdain through a roast

(40:00) Writing jokes for Anthony Bourdain

(42:09) Remembering Bourdain’s character and authenticity

(44:45) Why fame suddenly started mattering

(48:32) The psychological block around social media

(51:46) Why fame makes stand-up easier

(53:22) Stand-up as a spiritual journey

(55:49) How young comedians work differently

(56:56) Challenging beliefs through comedy

(60:52) Redefining success, fame, and artistic freedom

(64:14) Finding new paths to an audience

Claire Wellin is a singer-songwriter and musician based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Moving to New York for Broadway

(04:50) Growing up in a musical family

(06:43) Childhood in Bismarck, North Dakota

(10:01) Violin training and musical burnout

(13:00) Discovering songwriting and Andrew Bird

(18:35) How Once changed her life

(22:55) Surviving as a working musician

(27:52) Finding time to make her own music

(29:54) The unstable state of music

(31:13) Why she never considered quitting

(34:01) Songwriting, family history, and grief

(39:12) Family stories of perseverance and forgiveness

(47:17) Redefining success as an artist

(49:49) Why music has become pay-to-play

(51:56) The rise of covert music marketing

(55:26) Music industry in a new era

(56:16) Artists making great music today

(59:19) Upcoming release show

Anthony DeVito is a comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) From North Jersey to New York comedy

(03:18) Architecture by accidental family promise

(06:37) The old-people rental building presentation

(09:42) Discovering architecture’s beauty and limitations

(12:31) Failing forward at an Italian architecture firm

(15:08) Learning his father was a made man

(18:54) Inventing a mythical father figure

(22:06) Discovering the truth about his father’s death

(25:48) Reconciling crime, family history, and empathy

(29:36) Carlin, Chris Rock, and comedy’s honesty

(32:15) Early stunts, sketches, and stage fright

(35:42) Surviving New York while building a career

(39:12) Early success and changing ambitions

(42:18) Finding deeper truths through stand-up

(45:03) Creative routines, friendship, and staying playful

(48:11) Masculinity, the manosphere, and lost young men

(52:23) Comedians who combine truth and empathy

(54:31) Success means freedom, friendship, and love