The Class Clown Podcast With Chino Liao

Future lawyer and current stand up comedian Vin Buenaagua joins Chino this week to talk about his life as a law student, an employee for the House of Representatives, and a stand up comedian. He talks about why he decided to be a lawyer, comedian and speechwriter for the Congress, how these worlds intersect and how each of his jobs affects his point of view as a comedian and vice versa. He also talks about his brief background as an activist.

One of Comedy Manila's rising stars, Steven Sagad, joins Chino this week to share his unique story. Steven tells Chino about growing up and living with Marfan Syndrome, how its shaped his everyday life and comedic point of view. Steven also tells us about his comedy goals as he makes his comeback to the scene.

This week, Chino learns about dark humor from the only person he is qualified to listen to: Gold Dagal. Gold talks about how he got his start in comedy, what drew him to dark jokes, and the balance he strikes between offensive and funny. He also talks about producing other shows like roast battles and Kill Teddy, how to deal with haters, and where he draws the line in terms of material (spoiler alert: he has one.)

Comedy Manila feature and TikTok sensation Ron Dulatre joins Chino to talk about the wonderful world of social media, comedy, and everything in between.

Comedy Manila headliner and host of the KoolPals and The Overlap James Caraan joins Chino in the season closer. James talks about finding the balance between passion and earning, the importance of building communities, and why podcasting has had such a big effect on the local stand-up comedy scene. He also talks to Chino about dealing with haters, handling negativity, and receiving free food.

Comedian, mother, and weaving-proponent Jeannie Laccay joins Chino on the podcast to talk about her latest career as a weaver. She talks about how she discovered traditional Isinay weaving, what brought about her curiosity, and how she works with traditional weavers from her home province of Nueva Vizcaya. She also talks about the challenges of bringing weaving to the forefront, the misconceptions people have, coming up with designs, and trying to save traditional weaving.

Chino revisits one his favorite cities to perform in and takes a look at the history of stand up comedy in Ho Chi Minh/Saigon Vietnam with two of its most active producers/performers, JK Hobson and Ankita Ghosh. They talk about how they got started in comedy, how they found themselves in Saigon, how comedy found its way to the city and the early days of comedy. They also talk about how English stand up is received by locals and how it differs from the Vietnamese style.

Comic book writer and comedian Josel Nicolas talks to Chino about how he fell back into wrestling, who introduced him to it, and why it reminds him of his late father. He also talks about dealing with loss, talking about tragedy in comedy, and how comedy allows him to deal with these things.TRIGGER WARNING: This episode deals with mental health and loss of parents.