Cathartic Laughs

Special guest and brother, Trevor Cooper talks with Em about being siblings,  the silliness of Monty Python and why watching the Bush-era Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a bad idea right after abdominal surgery for Crohn's Disease.💛 Heads up: We talk about chronic illness, surgery and not being able to eat food for the better part of a year. Trevor is an artist and a curious person who reads about science and the shit that is going on in the world. He is arguably one of Cassidy, BC's top drag models and enjoys learning about olfaction, the underappreciated science of the sense of smell, with his partner. He is a compassionate human with a lot of wisdom. Trev designed the Cathartic Laughs logo and we greatly appreciate him contributing his design skills! This interview was originally recorded a few months back.💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our every-other-weekly newsletter.Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode.✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ How does talking about hard stuff change when it is with family? More jokey, less so?✏️ Are there challenging parts of your life where your memory is less clear or timelines are muddled? Take a moment to acknowledge the part of you that is trying to protect you from hard memories and thank the part for trying to keep you safe.✏️ Use the writing prompt word 'hospital' and listen to Lynda Barry guide you through the writing exercise  via this Youtube video. Try it out! You will be surprised at what you can write.💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 Our Sound Engineer is Michelle J. Walker. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro!💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.💖 If you are curious about whose territory you live on, were born or or are going to visit, Native-land.ca is a great resource to start exploring.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your second cousin to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in places where you can show us love! 🤖Thank you for taking time out of your human day to vouch for us to robots and algorithms. Support the show

Special guest Jackie Hoffart talks with Em about being very honest on stage, skull measuring gone very wrong, and the simple joy of a hemorrhoid joke. 💛 Heads up: Jackie mentions childhood sexual abuse and the impact of having a loved one who has survived it at minute 16:40 the mention of this topic is over by minute 24:15. They talk about it in general terms but check in with yourself and notice if this is something you want to hear mentioned at this time.Jackie is a writer, comedian, filmmaker and show producer. Renaissance human! They produce Havana Moon Comedy with their wife Robyn Pekar. It's a delightful stand-up show that is a cornerstone of the queer and BIPOC stand-up community in Vancouver. Go check it out on Friday's at Havana on Commercial Drive. Follow @moonbasedcomedy on Instagram for show updates. Jackie is also producing a series of short documentary/stand-up specials for Telus Optik TV called YVR Funny!Jackie's website can be found here. Their Instagram and Twitter is @ostensiblyclearThis interview was originally recorded in November 2021.💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our weekly-ish newsletter.Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode.✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ When talking in conversation or in jokes about loved ones or people close to you, do you disguise who you are talking about? When do you do this?✏️Jackie is working on jokes about white supremacy. Are there jokes about big 'isms' racism, ableism, sexism and more... that you want to make but are unsure how to approach?✏️ Notice what things you regularly do when you feel nervous on stage or in conversation. Where do you notice those feelings in your body?✏️ What parts of your act (be it on stage or the way you present yourself socially) are persona-driven, and what parts are more raw or closer to your core self?✏️ Listen to Lynda Barry guide you through the writing exercise mentioned in the episode via this Youtube video. Try it out! You will be surprised at what you can write.💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 Our Sound Engineer is Michelle J. Walker. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro!💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.💖 If you are curious about whose territory you live on, were born or or are going to visit, Native-land.ca is a great resource to start exploring.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your second cousin to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in places where you can show us love! 🤖Thank you for taking time out of your human day to vouch for us to robots and algorithms. Support the show

Need a nudge to write down your observations more regularly? Grab a pen and paper and try out Lynda Barry's 7 Minute Diary with Em. They will read aloud the prompts and you can capture some images and moments from your day (even if you think your day was boring).Cathartic Laughs episodes will alternate with an interview and a solosode each week. The solosodes might include free-form stories, writing activities we do together, or anything else that will help the writing process get moving. 💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our every other weekly-ish newsletter.In our last episode, Michelle J. Walker talked about using jokes to get a feel for people when she meets them. She jokes about family, food and class to get a sense of their interests and if they would be judgmental about her way of doing life. These writing prompts and questions are inspired from our conversation. 🐌✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ Notice when you tell jokes socially to get a feel for people. What are the things that you joke about and what reactions are you looking for?✏️ If you perform stand-up, do you do this on stage? Is there a joke that you tell that pushes boundaries so that you can see how the crowd reacts? Does this change how you approach your set?✏️ What would happen if you did The 7 Min Diary each day for a week? Try it and let us know! ❎ Writer's block? Listen to more Lynda Barry guide you through a 20ish minute writing exercise via this Youtube video. Try it out! You will be surprised at what you can write. (To repeat the exercise, pick a different noun each time.)✉️ Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode.💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 Our Sound Engineer on interview episodes is Michelle J. Walker. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro!💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com. Piano music by Lobo Loco with the song entitled Take my Hand - Piano on the album Sky Watch from the Free Music Archive with this non-commercial creative commons license.💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your landlord's mother-in-law to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.Support the show

Special guest Michelle J. Walker chats with host Em Cooper about making fun of the people we love the most, using jokes to test people's vibe and the art of a great email exchange. Michelle is a talented audio engineer and the tech muscle behind this podcast. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.This interview was originally recorded in November 2021.💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our weekly-ish newsletter. Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode. ✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ When talking in conversation or in jokes about loved ones or people close to you, how do you portray them? What are or would their reactions be? Does that matter?✏️What are stereotypes of people from bigger cities or of small towns that you hold? What is the status of your hometown (higher or lower?) What is the status of your current neighbourhood or town/city/country? How does that status work in relation to where you are performing comedy?✏️Are there things that you joke about yourself, your family or where you come from that are putting yourself down (lowering your status) or raising your status?✏️When you joke about loved ones or where you are from, how does it make you feel? Where do you notice those feelings in your body?💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro! 💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.💖 If you are curious about whose territory you live on, were born or or are going to visit, Native-land.ca is a great resource to start exploring.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your second cousin to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in places where you can show us love! 🤖Thank you for taking time out of your human day to vouch for us to robots and algorithms. Support the show

Writing process is different for everyone. Em takes a walk and shares the start of some new jokes about solo frisbee, burning man runners and doggy groomer puns.  Cathartic Laughs episodes will alternate with an interview and a solosode each week. The solosodes might include free-form stories, writing activities we do together, or anything else that will help the writing process get moving. The idea behind having practice or activity-based episodes comes from the Irresistible podcast, which hosted many wonderful conversations that centred BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S activists and their amazing work to heal and make change in the world (like with adrienne maree brown). In our last episode, Sean Devlin talked about the power of pausing in comedy. In honour of his love of silence on stage, here is a link to an incredibly detailed and old-school blog post on pauses in speech.  🐌 💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our weekly-ish newsletter.✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ When do ideas come to you? In the shower? On a walk?✏️ How do you capture those ideas? Notebook? Audio recorder? Typed on phone or computer? Do the jokes live in your head?✏️ Do you have (or need) a review process to get the jokes from where you initially store them to where you can work on them? 🐌🐌 For example, Em has made a goal to go through their notebook ideally every day and write out the to dos in Notion, a task manager and the jokes on one page or in a document.✏️Out of the pauses listed in the blog post, which one do you use the most? The least? 🐌🐌 For example, Em finds they use pauses for emphasis consistently, but sometimes steps on the laughter on a punchline by starting to speak too soon.❎ Writer's block? Listen to Lynda Barry guide you through the writing exercise via this Youtube video. Try it out! You will be surprised at what you can write. (To repeat the exercise, pick a different noun each time.)✉️ Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode.💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 Our Sound Engineer on interview episodes is Michelle J. Walker. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro!💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.💖 If you are curious about whose territory you live on, were born or or are going to visit, Native-land.ca is a great resource to start exploring.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your second cousin to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Support the show

Seán Devlin 叶 世民 talks about his process turning a racist outburst that he witnessed into a joke and the importance of pausing when telling jokes. Check out Seán’s album Airport, Animals from Arts & Crafts Records, available on bandcamp.And his website with his upcoming projects can be found here.In our talk, Seán mentioned the 2006 Iconoclasts episode featuring Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou where they talk about the bridge between comedy and poetry.This interview was originally recorded in November 2021.💡For more comedy, jokes and connection stay in touch with Cathartic Laughs by signing up for our weekly-ish newsletter.Do you have a joke you tell that helps you find your way forward through challenging stuff? Email Em at hello[at]catharticlaughs.com and share it. I might read it out on a future episode.✏️ Writing prompts and questions to ponder ✏️✏️ Recall a time when you witnessed a non-traumatic rude, aggressive or racist behaviour. What did you do? What did you wish you did? What did you think or feel? Is there room for a joke in the gap between what you wanted to do and actually did?(Note. Please think of a scenario that was not traumatic so that you can recall it without causing your system stress. If you notice that your body is tightening up recalling the memory, notice where you feel the tension. You can choose to sit with this feeling and decide if you should move on to another question. Listen to your system.)✏️In conversation or on stage, how do you use pauses and silence to convey your stories and jokes? Do you rush through silence or see how long you can hold it?✏️ In conversation or on stage, how do you use swearing to make a point? Not at all? All the time? Strategically for emphasis?💖 Acknowledgements 💖💖 This podcast is made possible by a grant from Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia.💖 Thanks to our audio engineer, Michelle J. Walker. You can find her at ladysoundstudios.com. Hire her for your next audio project, she will spiff it right up.💖 The Cathartic Laughs logo is designed by Trevor Cooper. Thanks bro!💖 Our theme music is by Hakan Eriksson at Pond5.com💖 Cathartic Laughs is recorded and produced in what is commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.💖 If you are curious about whose territory you live on, were born or or are going to visit, Native-land.ca is a great resource to start exploring.🦜🦜Share the love, tell a friendIf you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and all your lovers. Tell your second cousin to subscribe and give us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in places where you can show us love! 🤖Thank you for taking time out of your human day to vouch for us to robots and algorithms. Support the show