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Kari Assad (Twt: @kariassad; IG: @assadkarirocks) came back to help me wrap up the year and talk about some of our favorite moments from the year standup returned from quarantine. We talk a LOT about Pen15's final season just cause I like it a lot. We talk about new live booked shows we liked, specials/albums that stood out, and finish it all up with new year's resolutions for our experience of standup in 2022.  Happy New Year!  1. Always punch up 2. Keep swinging  

I racked my brain thinking of a Christmas-related standup special or album to talk about and the closest thing I could come up with is David Sedaris's reading of "Santaland Diaries," a humorous essay about his time working as a mall Santa's elf (link below). I talked to my friend Michael back in WI about it and a little about fun standup things just on the horizon.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5XLjG_S6eE  1. Always punch up 2. Keep swinging 

I talked to my friend Victoria (@nureonjongi) who is an encyclopedia of current British standup. We talked about Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Korean standup comedy and its potential, and a bit about Ahir Shah's "Dots" (HBO Max).  Here is a list Victoria provided of comedians she saw at the 2018 Fringe Festival, many of whom are now putting out specials and the like:  Kiri Pritchard-McLean — twitter: @kiripritchardmc | Instagram: @kiri_pritchard_mclean | podcast + twitter: All Killa No Filla @killnofillpod Suzi Ruffell — twitter: @suziruffell | Instagram: @suziruffellcomedy Sindhu Vee — twitter: @sindhuvfunny | Instagram: @sindhuvee Mawaan Rizwan — twitter: @MawaanR | Instagram: @mawaanr Nish Kumar — twitter: @MrNishKumar | Instagram: @mrnishkumar Graham Dickson — twitter: @GDogged | Instagram: @grahamdickson Abigoliah Shamaun — twitter: @abigoliah | Instagram: @abigoliah Steen Raskopoulos — twitter: @steenrasko | Instagram: @steenrasko Athena Kugblenu — twitter: @athenakugblenu | Instagram: @athenakugblenu Nina Conti — twitter: @athenakugblenu | Instagram: @theninaconti Special Mention: Sofie Hagen — twitter: @SofieHagen | Instagram: @sofiehagendk Ahir Shah — twitter: @AhirShah

A couple weeks ago I ran into Katie Novotny (IG: @kathnovotny) at a comedy show and we chatted about being from the midwest and why we like LA. We talked about comedy and then I invited her on the show and here we are! She's great! We talked about standup vs. sketch and improv, Chicago and NY vs. LA, all kinds of comedy nerd stuff. It was fun!  Check out her set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mydFbq4LeGw&t=2s 

Jen Saunderson (@jensaunderson) returned to give updates on her crazy year and also what getting back out there and doing shows has been like. It was great to catch up! You can hear Jen on the wonderfully funny and informative horror movie podcast, Everything is Scary! Love you all, stay safe.  1. Always punch up  2. Keep swinging 

I talked to Monique Moreau (Twt: @bigbadbutt, IG: @moniqueandjiminy) about standup, taking a break and coming back to it, neuro diversity, getting out of rural hometowns and how standup is and isn't like being a concert pianist.  Monique has a show coming up at the small room at Largo that we should watch out for and also a show coming up at the Glendale Room on Dec 9th at 8pm.  1. Always punch up  2. Keep swinging 

I had my good friend Ed back on the pod to talk about more representations of standup with a 1998 episode of the Simpsons, "The Last Temptation of Krust." Krusty the Clown performs discovers that his offensive material is out of date and becomes a Carlin-esque rant comic but ultimately sells out. It's a nice time capsule of 1998 with some connections to be made about the current kerfuffle with cancel culture. 

Happy Halloween! Pow and I watched an episode of Ghost Adventures about the Comedy Store and talked about our own ghost near-sightings. 

I talked to Joe Raines (@joemfraines) about his old outdoor show, Yellahammered, I asked him the questions I ask every comic, and we both watched Eddie Izzard's "Dress to Kill" (1999). Joe had some new insights to updating the club vs. alt distinction and good stories from doing the road some years back. Thanks to everyone who listens and look out for a very special Don't Sit in the Front Halloween episode next week! 

I convinced Kari Assad (IG: @assadkarirocks, Twt: @kariassad) to watch this little-known movie about standup, This Is My Life (1992). The movie is directed by Nora Ephron and stars Julie Kavner as standup comic Dottie Ingels. It's a weird little time capsule of 90s notions of what a standup career is like for working moms.  We didn't hate it! Kari also talks about her standup show, This is Different. I love this show because it has amazing lineups, outdoor setup and cheap tickets. The last one of the year is Nov. 7 with Dana Gould, Sheng Wang, Teresa Lee, and Monique Moreau!  Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-is-different-a-comedy-show-tickets-189903806397

Pow moved back to LA so they came over and helped me work through listeners' questions. We take two steps forward and three steps back in figuring out the alt vs. club distinction, make some predictions for comics that will be big in the coming year, and dig a bit more into my origins of liking standup. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! Follow @dontsitinthefront on Instagram to submit questions and reach out to me.  1. Always punch up 2. Keep swinging 

I talked about Mike Birbiglia's semi-autobiographical movie Sleepwalk With Me (2012) with return guests, Dan Frey and Casey Gates Frey!  Dan Frey is a novelist and screenwriter. You can check out his book, The Future is Yours anywhere books are sold. You can find dan @wordsbyDanFrey https://bookshop.org/books/the-future-is-yours/9780593158210  Casey Gates Frey is a screenwriter and director of the short film, "Crystal." You can find her @caseygates on Twitter and @theladybrain on Instagram. https://vimeo.com/389112184