Episodes

Johnny Mac delivers Daily Comedy News covering Trevor Noah’s World Cup commentary about FIFA corruption and U.S. government interference, noting Noah’s live streams draw about 250,000 views. He recaps Dave Chappelle’s July 4 CNN appearance with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, where Chappelle answers a question about being proud to be American by praising his “countrymen.” The main story is the 25th anniversary of The Office (UK): a BBC special reunites Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman, while R...

Johnny Mac delivers Daily Comedy News, leading with Kathy Griffin claiming she is banned from Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show and criticizing Fallon for booking Conor McGregor, citing a civil jury finding of rape and a rejected appeal. The episode covers Digital Spy’s critique that Ricky Gervais’ new material feels repetitive, notes a BBC Office UK 25th-anniversary documentary filmed without Gervais, and highlights his separate YouTube documentary and a limited-edition David Brent Dutch Barn vodka r...

Johnny Mac delivers a bonus rant about reports that Taylor Swift married Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden with Adam Sandler officiating, citing coverage from The New York Times and other outlets. He mocks the celebrity spectacle, noting details like Austin Swift as man of honor, Jason Kelce as best man, and Sandler’s purported marriage advice via Andy Reid to “keep kissing,” plus comments attributed to the AMC Theatres CEO, Joseph Kahn, and a critical Slate piece questioning Sandler as the ...

Johnny Mac delivers Daily Comedy News featuring Dave Chappelle joking to PBS about automation, AI, and people not reading books anymore, then noting he was kidding. Michelle Wolf recounts leaving Bear Stearns-era finance for improv, open mics, and eventually writing for Seth Meyers, Hannibal Buress, and Chris Rock, discussing how “off the table” topics require extraordinary joke craft. Patton Oswalt and David Cross describe developing material on stage and the pressure of constant social-media “...

Johnny Mac reviews his midyear picks for the best comedy specials of 2026, ranking Chris Fleming’s HBO debut “Live at the Palace” as his clear #1, followed by Ryan Hamilton’s bus-accident-themed special, Trevor Noah’s Netflix “Joy in the Trenches,” Katt Williams’ Netflix “The Last Report,” and Pete Holmes’ YouTube “Silly, Silly Fun Boy,” while also highlighting Derek Streep’s “Nostalgic,” Ramy Youssef’s HBO “In Love,” and Jackie Kashian’s YouTube “Altercation.” He then names a “good” tier includ...

On July 4, Johnny Mac discusses why George Carlin’s late-career material feels freshly relevant and calls him “America’s great prophet,” revising his own past view that Carlin had grown merely angry. He warns that many quotes attributed to Carlin online are fake, citing the misattributed “paradox of our time” (by pastor Bob Moorehead) and noting Carlin wanted only verified sources used. Mac centers on Carlin’s 2005 HBO special Life Is Worth Losing (“Dumb Americans”), emphasizing Carlin’s structu...

Johnny Mac delivers holiday-weekend comedy news, opening with “Late Bot” heat jokes and noting late-night shows are off. He previews Dave Chappelle’s phone-free Summer Camp show in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a local screening of the documentary “Dave Chappelle: Live in Real Life.” He discusses Robby Hoffman’s New York Times Magazine profile and her comments on “rich weird” versus “poor weird.” Patton Oswalt shares his teen music tastes, what it feels like when a set is going well, and names Dana ...

Johnny Mac delivers daily comedy news with heat-themed jokes, then reports that Ricky Gervais will skip the BBC’s 25th anniversary Office documentary (with Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman) to release his own affectionate YouTube documentary July 9, while the BBC special airs July 8 on BBC Two/iPlayer. Weird Al Yankovic says he turned down a lucrative commercial after learning it promoted AI. Dave Chappelle visited the Islamic Center of San Diego after a May 18 mass shooting that killed three,...

Johnny Mac recaps Bill Maher receiving the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize, featuring Maher’s remarks about mocking both political sides, “lunatic left/right,” censorship debates around Huckleberry Finn, and praising his audience for valuing truth over pandering; the event included clips from Politically Incorrect, stand-up, and podcasts, appearances by Louis C.K. (crediting Maher for supporting him), Whitney Cummings, Woody Harrelson, Jay Leno, and Matt Friend’s Trump impression, and will str...

Johnny Mac covers Mark Normand admitting on Maury Povich’s podcast that he fabricated a story about Netflix censoring a Muslim bit, prompting criticism from humorism.xyz and Mac’s uncertainty about whether Netflix had partly influenced the situation. He notes Nate Bargatze returning to social media to promote Texas dates after backlash over UFC photos with figures including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Johnson, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, with The Daily Beast claiming critical comments are being ...

Johnny Mac recaps Daily Comedy News, including Jimmy Fallon’s jokes about President Trump headlining an America’s 250th rally after musical acts dropped out, tied to a 16-day Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, on her podcast, warns of disputed facts, propaganda, and an “attack” on trust that makes comedy and artists essential and potentially endangered, while Mac argues figures like Stephen Colbert aren’t being censored. Mac then highlights Larry David discussin...

Johnny Mac reports that the John F. Kennedy Center will present the 27th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Bill Maher at a gala featuring comedians including Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, and Jay Leno, plus John Mellencamp and Stephen A. Smith, with the program later airing on Netflix. He reads the official praise of Maher’s political-comedy influence and Mediaite’s ranking, then reviews past Mark Twain Prize recipients from Richard Pryor through Conan O’Brien, noting Bill Cosby’s 2018 resc...

Nine years after a New York Times report and his own direct admission ended his career almost overnight, Louis C.K. is back on Netflix on June 30 with a new special called Ridiculous. Johnny Mac lays out the full, sourced timeline — the allegations, the statement, the uncomfortable Comedy Cellar return — but also the parts of the story that get skipped: the 2011 five-dollar Beacon Theater experiment that invented his independent model years before he needed it, his own on-camera tribute creditin...

Johnny Mac covers Jimmy Fallon posting more political jokes about Trump, suggesting Fallon is taking advantage of Colbert being off the air and Jimmy Kimmel’s summer break (guest hosts start July 6 with Tiffany Haddish). He reacts to Megyn Kelly criticizing Kimmel’s two-month vacation and discusses her reported real estate and private flying. Leslie Jones says she confronted SNL writers about being typecast as angry, loved the show but not the mental toll. Robbie Hoffman recounts storming out of...

Johnny Mac covers comedy news including W. Kamau Bell’s Substack criticism of Nate Bargatze for being photographed “partying with fascists,” plus Bell’s comments about avoiding places where “fascists coagulate” and his sharing a 2014 photo with Joe Rogan. Rogan recounts telling Donald Trump backstage at a UFC event he hoped they wouldn’t die in a terrorist attack, to which Trump replied, “We gotta go somehow.” Carlos Mencia’s lawyers file an emergency motion seeking release from bail in his felo...

Johnny Mac reports that Moshe Kasher revealed on Instagram he was diagnosed with HPV-positive tonsil cancer, underwent a procedure in Los Angeles, expects a high cure rate around 95%, is awaiting news on whether he needs radiation, and urged followers to get checked and vaccinate kids; he and Natasha Leggero recorded an Endless Honeymoon podcast episode right before surgery. Sebastian Maniscalco told The Wall Street Journal he blew out both calves during performances and discussed his current ro...

Johnny Mac delivers comedy news, starting with Dave Chappelle speaking at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, calling it “medicine” amid dark political times and joking that people miss scandals as small as Obama’s tan suit, noting multiple ex-presidents smiling together. He covers a US State Department–funded public-diplomacy series of untitled “Pratt shorts” pairing Chris Pratt with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to teach constitutional values through short live-action/animation epis...

Johnny Mac recaps comedy and late-night news, spotlighting Jay Leno’s Deadline interview. Leno says podcasts are the new talk shows and calls Joe Rogan the new Johnny Carson, arguing late night lost swagger due to excessive commercials, fragmented segments, and the end of appointment viewing as audiences move to YouTube and streaming; he also recounts being dropped by an agent, negotiating for himself, and getting a call from Jeff Zucker saying he made a mistake during the Tonight Show/Conan era...

Johnny Mac covers Netflix’s announcement of season two of Kevin Hart’s comedy competition series Funny AF with Kevin Hart, noting Hart returns as host, the show and Hart have Emmy nominations, and the new season won’t arrive until 2027. Chris Tucker revealed during a Las Vegas set that he has been celibate for more than three years while focusing on finding lasting love and marriage. Marc Maron discusses his special Panicked as his best work, describing its arc, editing process to 73 minutes, an...

Kill Tony fills arenas. Tony Hinchcliffe hosts. Open micers do one minute. How did this become the most important comedy show in America? Johnny Mac explains. Kill Tony fills arenas. A show where strangers do one minute of standup in front of thousands of people somehow became one of the most watched comedy properties in the country. Johnny Mac looks at how Tony Hinchcliffe built it, what Joe Rogan's Austin move actually did and didn't do for the show, why the arena format works when it shouldn...

Johnny Mac covers backlash over Nate Bargatze attending a UFC event after photos surfaced with RFK Jr., Cheryl Hines, Bettina Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mike Johnson, and Joe Rogan, while noting Bargatze’s Esquire comments about avoiding voting opinions and sharing Rogan’s take that the fight isn’t partisan. He pivots to Will Ferrell joking about his burdens as an LA World Cup ambassador, late-night World Cup jokes, and Nielsen ratings showing Jimmy Fallon boosted by Knicks-related episodes ...

Johnny Mac reports that Watertown, NY police arrested a man after he allegedly pointed a BB gun at a scooter rider who told dispatch the suspect looked like Shane Gillis, though Gillis was not involved. John Mulaney became the first comedian to sell out Wrigley Field (July 11) and joked to Deadline about watching Mark Grace. Nikki Glaser joins Netflix Animation’s Cinderella reimagining Steps as villain Priscilla alongside Ali Wong and Bette Midler. Mike Myers told Trevor Noah “Yes” about Austin ...

Johnny Mac covers Netflix’s trailer for Louis C.K.’s new stand-up special “Ridiculous,” out June 30, his first Netflix special in nine years, noting his post-2017 self-released work and 2022 Grammy win; Mac reacts to the trailer clip about placing C.K.’s father in a home and cites The A.V. Club saying the special appears to avoid controversy. He then discusses Nate Bargatze drawing backlash after being photographed at a UFC event with Robert F. Kennedy and Cheryl Hines, with a source saying Nate...

Johnny Mac recaps comedy news including Jimmy Kimmel’s Instagram birthday post for the U.S. president’s 80th, using a card resembling an alleged Trump note to Jeffrey Epstein, and a UFC event held on the White House lawn streamed on Paramount Plus, with Joe Rogan mocked for a short tie and celebrities like Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis attending; Gillis is heard criticizing a UFC fighter’s comment about Michelle Obama. On the other “side,” Jay Leno’s Garage features former President Joe Biden d...