Tank Top Talks w/ Matt Braunger

Gerald Meerschaert III (or GM3, as he’s known) is a husband, dad, gym owner, and a comedy nerd. He also holds the record for the most finishes in his weight class in the UFC (12) (!!). Unquestionably a bad ass, Gerald is also genuinely a hilarious guy. He doesn’t have any pretense or attitude about what he does, he just loves it and is good at it. We had a blast recording this one and I can’t wait for you to listen to it. GM3 rocks. 

My old friend-in-comedy-and-life Ricky Carmona is many things, not the least of which a good time. We first met doing stand-up in Chicago, just scraping by but loving it. To say we go way back doesn’t really scratch the surface. Ricky’s energy is contagious, and he BROUGHT IT to this recording. If you want an hour of a man on fire (via Cafecito y vida!), listen now. 

Skyler Higley’s comedy writing resume (The Onion, Conan, The Oscars, Comedy Central, more) is amazing for such a young dude. Every time I was a panelist on After Midnight, I asked to work with him, but I didn’t know much about him. Turns out he was raised by white Mormons (!!), or as he joking puts it “The enemy” lol. This was an extremely funny and fun one to do. Strap on your fave tank (it’s getting warmer soon, I swear!) and have a listen.

Film and television director Maureen Bharoocha has directed three major motion pictures (the newest of which has ME in it!) and dozens of TV show episodes, but she started out working at Sprinkles Cupcakes. Her journey is the best example of “If you can’t find a road, build one” I’ve come across, and her motto “Make cool shit” is something every artist should have a tattoo of (Maybe on their arm, so it’ll show in a tank top?). She’s such a boss, and I love her. Listen in now. 

Valley Heat is the funniest scripted podcast of all time and Christian Duguay is the creator and star. Granted, I’m biased, because I play the perpetually self-injured Codi, but a lot of other people (Patton Oswalt and Ed Helms among them) agree with me. Christian doesn’t own a tank top (In fact, he thinks they’re dumb), but he agreed to come on and make me laugh anyway. What a gem. Listen in for an hour of hilarity (and maybe check out Valley Heat too, no presh).

You might know Ron Funches from stand-up comedy or any of his many acting roles (Loot, Trolls, Undateable, etc), but I know Ron from my hometown of Portland. We go back a lot of years, but we haven’t spoken much in the past couple. In fact, we had a blow-up recently that caused us to argue, talk, and repair our relationship. Listen to hear the story and see where Ron and I take it. This is, as we used to say in the 80s, a very special episode. Listen now.

Kat Bird forgot her tank top! Probably because she hits so many open mics on a nightly basis. Kat struck me as someone who’s been doing comedy for ten years, but turns out it’s only three. Maybe because she’s a former chef who’s worked in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world (!!). Wild how she jumped from one high stress job to another! I love Kat, and this episode. Listen to get into a fascinating life, and life change.

Ali Macofsky is a murderous stand-up with a bone-dry wit and a real distaste for her boyfriend. I’m kidding, kind of. She also has serious opinions on the things that count, like fame, being cool in high school (or not), and what constitutes the best kind of fast food. She also told me that I shouldn’t eat healthy while I’m on the road, which was a revelation. I love you, Ali! Listen now

Kevin Avery (Comedy Central’s The New Negroes, Thugs: The Musical) is a great writer, both on and off the stage, and an old friend of mine. He co-created a series with me called “White Flight” exactly ten years ago, and it blows my mind that I’ve known him even longer than that. He was also in a boy band called 4-Now, and there were more than 4 guys in the band. Amazing! Listen now.