Dina Hashem discusses her new comedy special "Dark Little Whispers" on Amazon Prime, produced by Sam Morrow. She details her journey learning to play drums through a Japanese arcade game, which inspired the special's intro music. Hashem shares her experiences with social anxiety, how comedy has helped her overcome it, and her admiration for fellow comedians like Norm Macdonald and Nathan Fielder. She also touches on the challenges of creating new material, the therapeutic aspects of comedy, and her mixed feelings about using drugs like weed and mushrooms. Hashem reflects on her past day jobs and how they contributed to her social anxiety.
00:00 - Intro
00:20 - New Special & Music
01:20 - Japanese Drum Game
04:50 - Comedians & Musicians
06:23 - Visual Aesthetic of Special
07:03 - Sam Morril & Well Written Jokes
10:50 - Comedy Role Models & Influences
13:00 - Prank Call Bits
14:15 - Content, Writing Jokes & Crowd Work
18:25 - Roast Battles
21:02 - Insecurities, Being Real & Desensitization
26:13 - Weed & Mushrooms
30:15 - Day Jobs
32:45 - Outro
Dina Hashem website:
Chuck Shute link tree:
Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
THEME SONG (00:05):
Rock and rolling through the cool guitars.
Chucks. Got the questionsdigging so sharp, feeling bad,
layers head in the heart. I
Chuck Shute (00:20):
mean, I want to talk about your new special. I
guess it's not that new, becauseit's 2023, but for people who
haven't seen it, dark littlewhispers on amazon prime. So if
you got prime, it's free. Greatspecial.
Dina Hashem (00:32):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for watching it. Yes,yeah, it was. It was produced by
Sam Morrow. I heard you talkingabout that, and then I heard you
saying something about themusic, that you were excited
about the music. What was thatsong? Because it sounded like
death metal to me. Yeah, thatwas, I was playing the drums on
that and singing, and that wasyour singing too, yeah. So if
(00:52):
you watch the credits,there's video of me playing the
drums and singing in the vocalbooth, like the, sort of like
the making of that song. Um, so,yeah, that's screaming, that
guttural, awful screaming.
That's me. And I just thought itwas a fun contrast with how
like, Meek my stage presence is,you know, yeah, well, explain to
(01:15):
my audience how you learned toplay the drums. Because I
thought it was reallyinteresting. You played this,
like video arcade, like, kind oflike a guitar hero kind of game.
But I asked my, like, drummerfriends about this, and they
never heard of that game. Ithink if I, if I did my
research, right, I tracked itdown. It's called, it's like a
Japanese game called Get getAdora. Is that right?
Absolutely, yeah, um, thismachine really changed my life.
(01:37):
I was in LA for like, fourmonths, and I was kind of
depressed. And, you know, I'mfrom New Jersey, and so, like,
the mall is my safe space. So Iwould go to the Burbank mall
just to hang out. And they hadthis arcade called the round one
arcade, and I'd never been to,it's a franchise, and I'd never
been to one before. And, youknow, I grew up playing DDR, so
I was, like, in the rhythm gamesection, and they had this other
(01:59):
game that was, it had a fullYamaha electronic drum kit, and
it was like, Guitar Hero, yeah,where the notes come down and
you have to hit it. And I don'teven know why I tried playing
it. It might have been that Isaw someone playing it. I look
cool, so I sat down and playedit, and immediately got
addicted, because my brain,since I played DDR growing up,
I'm just wired to, like, thatexact style of game where it's
(02:22):
like, the thing comes and youhave to hit it. I My brain's
just wired to love that type ofthing. And then on for people to
dance. Dance Revolution. It'sthe dancing one where you step
on the thing. Yeah, everyoneknows DDR, it's really cool. I
don't know. Maybe they don'tknow the acronym. I don't
definitely know it's, I mean, Ithink it is actually, like,
cooler now, because all thenerdy things have become cool.
Of when I was young, it was notcool, um, but, um, so yeah, I
(02:45):
started playing it, and, like, Iprobably ended up spending like,
$1,000 on this fucking machine.
I played it for so long, andthere was someone who was really
good at it. And I was like, Areyou a real drummer? And he was
like, Yeah. And I was like, soif I keep playing, this will
actually teach me how to playthe drums. And he was like, oh,
yeah, that's the best drumteacher you'll ever have. And
that's kind of what happened. Ibecame obsessed with the game.
And then I was like, I wonder ifit really does translate to
(03:06):
playing the real drums. When Icame back to New York, I would
just, like, rent rehearsalspaces and just practice the
drums. And I was like, yeah. Imean, all the like, like, muscle
independence, it teaches you allof that. Like, obviously I'm not
an amazing drummer, and like, mytechnique, I'm sure needs a lot
of work, but like, I now canplay songs that I like playing.
And so when it came time to dothe special, I was like, it'd be
(03:28):
really fun to make the intromusic for it, because obviously
you can't get a really cool songbecause of copyright and stuff.
So I was like, Okay, I asked myfriend Chris Palermo, who's an
amazing guitarist, and he's theone playing on the track to kind
of help me come up withsomething, and then we went to a
studio and recorded it. Andyeah, damn it, I must have
turned it off too soon. I didn'tsee that part of the credits,
(03:49):
right? Like, I'll just re watchthat, yeah. Well, the really
crazy thing is that you know,who did watch the credits is the
band Yola tango, which is one ofmy favorite bands ever. And
I mean Long story short, they dothis yearly Hanukkah show in New
York, and I ended up playing inBowery ballroom with them a song
(04:10):
during the Encore, just becausethey happened to see I was
playing drums in the credits,and was like, Do you want to
play with us? Like it was justfucking cool. But anyway, just
such a random confluence ofthings, all because I was sad in
LA and I went to this recordthat's
Chuck Shute (04:21):
so crazy. It kind of reminds me of, what's the
girl from Portlandia? Isn't shein a band, and she's a drummer
too. I
Dina Hashem (04:29):
forget her name, Carrie, but yeah, she was in the
band that I also forget theirname. And yeah, yes,
Chuck Shute (04:41):
yeah. So similar, yeah. So that's just
interesting. That's funny that,like, because I heard you
saying, like, that was, like,one of the most exciting parts
about the special was, like,
Dina Hashem (04:50):
making the music. I mean that they say, like, all
comedians want to be musicians,and all musicians want to be
comedians. And like, it's, Ifind it 100% true. Like, if I
could trade my comedy creditsinto a drumming. Career, I think
I totally would like it really.
I grew up playing guitar, but Iwas never like that. I felt like
it was not very natural to me.
But then playing the drums islike, Oh, I wish I had done this
(05:10):
forever, like it's so cathartic.
And like, yeah, I just feellike, when I'm on stage doing
stand up, it's like what Ireally just want to do is, like,
just make a lot of noise, butit's, it's just the opposite of
what I do. So, like the drums, Idon't know, yeah, I find it
Chuck Shute (05:25):
really, really fun.
I have to try that game now,because Guitar Hero, I feel like
it's not, you're kind of pushingbuttons on a fake thing, but the
drum thing that sounds, I mean,it actually translates to
playing weird. That's waybetter.
Dina Hashem (05:37):
Well, you can, like, learn playing guitar from
that. This one you it's a it's areal drum kit. So,
Chuck Shute (05:41):
so you went from that to a real because it's
electronic drum kit. You preferan still electronic drum kit? Or
do you use, like the classicdrum set,
Dina Hashem (05:50):
a real drum set is so much more pleasing that you
just get that sound. Okay? Yeah,I did put an E kit in my mom's
house in Florida as sort of anincentive to visit more often,
so I do have that there, butwhen I'm here, I mean, my
boyfriend is also a drummer, sohe has his own space with a drum
kit, so I get to just go play inthere. Now, the real drum kit
Chuck Shute (06:11):
is he he's a drummer, like, as a hobby, or is
that, like, his professionalthing? No, he's a real drummer.
He's
Dina Hashem (06:16):
a, I mean, he's played in a lot of rock bands,
but he's mostly a jazz drummer,and he's an excellent jazz
drummer. Okay,
Chuck Shute (06:23):
nice. So then, besides the music for the
special, did you design, likethe visual esthetic? Because
it's kind of like a unique it'slike a dark, kind of moody,
elegant thing. Did you design itthat way?
Dina Hashem (06:33):
Like the like stage esthetic, like, yeah, or is
Chuck Shute (06:36):
that just how that stage is? Or
Dina Hashem (06:38):
no, no. That was me. I mean, I wanted to sort of
look like a Hookah bar. And Ijust, I thought it'd be cool to
have people sitting on the floorwith the pillows, and like I
had, I had great help from adesigner who usually works on
films. His name is in thecredits, it's slipping my mind,
but he's in the credits, and heand he, like, made all those
design decisions, but I wantedit to, like, look that, that
(06:58):
way. Yeah. So
Chuck Shute (07:00):
what is like when Sam, you said, Sam Morrill
helped produce it. What, whatdoes he do? And is it just like,
front some of the money or helpset up with the get you the
location, or what was his role?
Dina Hashem (07:10):
Um, no, it's just more like, I mean, I would, you
know, I was running the set andlike, you would, like, give me
advice on, like, you know, whichjokes to use, and like order and
things like that. He was mostlyjust sort of more like, you
know, like the helping voice onmy shoulder, which he has been
my whole career. I mean, he'sbeen so helpful to me. So I know
him. Yeah, him
Chuck Shute (07:31):
and Mark Norman, are they you did their podcast,
and I know I noticed mark isalways like, liking a lot of
your stuff on Instagram. Arethey just big fans of your
comedy?
Dina Hashem (07:40):
I mean, Sam, I met years ago, just had a show, and,
like, he just liked my comedy,and I started opening for him on
the road. And like, he's just,yeah, he's just, like, a fan of
my jokes. And like, Markobviously loved well written
jokes. They both are just jokenerds. So when they, like, see
someone who writes well writtenjokes, they want to support
them, which is really important,because most of the stuff you
get in comedies from othercomics. So like, they really are
(08:02):
doing good work. Of like, whenthey notice people who write
good jokes, they go out of theirway to try to help them. Yeah,
Chuck Shute (08:08):
that is that. No, that's true. Do you feel like
that sometimes, like, yourcomedies might be too smart for
some people, because sometimes Ithink of that, like, as I watch
a lot of comedy, so kind oflike, I'm kind of picky with my
comedy. Like, I like people whoare more smarter, whereas, like,
I feel like some comedy thatare, it's a lot of comedians are
really popular. It's almostlike, dumb down. It's for people
that they'll go to a comedyshow, like, twice a year, and
then they think it's thefunniest thing ever.
Dina Hashem (08:30):
You know, I have a lot of opinions on this subject,
but all of them like an asshole,and I'm
Unknown (08:35):
doing it for you. I'm trying to tell you that, yeah,
like, yeah,
Dina Hashem (08:38):
what you said?
Like, what? I mean, you said it.
I mean, I don't know. I don'tlike to think that way, because,
like, it sounds so elitist. Andlike, I ultimately, it's like,
sometimes I'm like, Man, it'd becool to just like, like, have
like, do do comedy more, andlike, cool, artsy, like, music
venues, you know, like, thoseare, like, some cool, smart
people. They get it, and thenyou do those shows, and it's
(09:00):
like, those people don't laughthe way that people in a comedy
club who just there to have afucking good time laugh. So it's
like, sometimes you wish likethat audiences were smarter. But
then it's like, the people whoreally want to have fun and are
like, good audience members arelike, you know, at just like,
random clubs who you wouldn'tthink of them as, like, you
know, intellectuals or whatever.
But like, I don't know. I don'tthink, I mean, I think I've been
(09:20):
lucky in that. I mean, I dothink, you know, I put a lot of
effort into writing well craftedjokes. And like, you would think
that, you know, you really needsmart people understand it, but
they my jokes do well in lots ofdifferent rooms. So, like, yeah,
yeah.
Chuck Shute (09:36):
I don't know if it's maybe, maybe smart is not
necessarily the right term, butit's like, for people like me,
who I'm such a big comedy fan,and I watch so much comedy,
like, sometimes you kind of knowwhere the joke is going before
it hits. And you're like, Okay,this is like, setup, setup, but
like people like you. And then Ithink that's why it speaks
highly at Sam Morrill and MarkNorman, who Mark, Mark Norman
only follows like, 400 people.
They follow you and they likeyou because you're. Jokes are a
(09:59):
little more unpredictable. It'sa little bit like, it's like,
you're like a comedian'scomedian,
Dina Hashem (10:05):
yeah, yeah.
Unfortunately, you know it'd benice to be a medicine Square
Garden comedian, but I gotdelusional about what I do. I
know it's going to be for aniche group of people, and my
task is to find those peopleslowly. But yeah, no. I mean,
yeah. I mean people who reallylike well written jokes and are
(10:27):
a nerd for that do gravitate tome. And so that's great all I've
ever wanted, really, not all,but like, the most important
thing to me in comedy is gettingthe respect of people who I
think are really good writersand like, I really like and so
when I get that positivefeedback, it's like, okay, I'm
not crazy for doing this. So,yeah, when guys like that
support me, it's meanseverything.
Chuck Shute (10:49):
Yeah, who else do you look up to in terms of
comedy, besides Sam and Mark?
Dina Hashem (10:54):
I mean, I've always thought Gary Goldman is one of
the best writers, and he'sanother guy who's helped me, and
I've opened for him, same withTodd Berry, like, I've also
worked with him a bunch. I mean,I mean, I really like Lisa
Traeger. I think she's amazing.
Tim Dillon is one of myfavorites. I'm always I feel
like I like, have that energyinside me, and I just am too
(11:17):
afraid to, like, put it out. Sowhen I see someone who's just so
unabashed, I'm like, I wish, Iwish I had that. Yeah, I think
those are, I mean, norMcDonald's, my all time
Chuck Shute (11:29):
favorite. I was gonna say I saw that you
followed him, and I'm such afan. So did you ever have an
encounter with him or anything?
Dina Hashem (11:36):
Unfortunately, he's like, the one, like, one of the
few people. I was like, Ireally, really want to meet him,
and I just never got to. I thinkhe is just the all time best,
like, not even just with standup, but just all of his
appearances on panel show. Justlike, you can't find a not
hilarious clip of him. It'smagical, special person that
(11:57):
will not exist again. I thinkit's so and it's
Chuck Shute (11:59):
so weird because I'll watch my brother and I will
send each other clips of norm,McDonald, and they're the same
clips because obviously he's notmaking any new material, but we
just keep sending the same ones,and they're still, they make us
laugh out loud, even thoughwe've seen them 100 times. It's
weird.
Dina Hashem (12:12):
He just is like a vehicle for humor. It's like
he's not it just like channelsthrough him in such a natural,
unforced way. It's like, it'slike, he's the essence of a
comedian. It's just he did neverhave to try. It seems like he
just always was that, like,yeah,
Chuck Shute (12:27):
right, yeah, no, he's great. Another one I saw
that you follow that, uh, thatI'm a fan of that that's maybe
lesser known as Nathan fielder.
Are you a fit? You're a fan ofhim, right? Yeah,
Dina Hashem (12:37):
I would call him lesser known at this point. He's
got huge shows on it. Well, Iguess he's one of the of those,
like, in the smart realm, Iguess. But, um, yeah, watch
Chuck Shute (12:46):
him when he was on Nathan for you. And that was,
like, it was this niche, like,2am Comedy Central show. And
man, my girl, my girlfriend,was, I've never heard her laugh
as hard when we watched thatshow. Like, it's just so bizarre
that she'll just crack I knowwhat it is about him, but she
laughed so hard. Yeah,
Dina Hashem (13:02):
yeah. So, like, I also went through like, a little
prank phase, like, I would makeprank calls. I heard those, and
I feel like, like there's somealignment with, like, his pranky
sensibility. We even tried to,me and my friend were trying to
pitch a prank show, and hereached out to his company
because, like, oh, we think he'dlove this and live in this
space, but it was just he wasreally busy. I'm sure he would
have loved to do it. He wasreally busy. But, yeah, I think
(13:24):
his I really love hissensibility. It's really unique.
Yeah,
Chuck Shute (13:28):
I love those prank calls. The one that made me
laugh the hardest was the antiVax one, where you had the child
that was the anti Vax. Oh,
Dina Hashem (13:36):
yeah, yeah. There was a lot. I mean, COVID was a
great time for our print calls.
We were really inspired. We hadthe Joel Osteen one. Yeah, I
would like to do them again. Ijust, I don't know, it's hard to
come up with those premiseswhere it's like, you don't want
to, like, be making fun of theperson on the call. I don't find
that as funny. Like I we're thecrazy people. How
Chuck Shute (13:59):
does that work with the law? I always wondered that,
like, do you have to call them?
Because this depends on thestate, right? So if you're New
Jersey, you have to call themafterwards and get permission.
Or
Dina Hashem (14:07):
we had a list of states where you're allowed to
just call, I forget which onesare which, but yeah, we were
aware of that. Yeah, that
Chuck Shute (14:15):
was a fun it's interesting. You don't, you
don't have as many YouTube videoyou only have like, 36 videos on
your YouTube channel. I was justlooking
Dina Hashem (14:23):
at that today, and I'm like, it just, I just
started posting on shorts morenow, I used to only post jokes
on Instagram, but now I'm usingshirts, and, like, the algorithm
is slowly picking it up. And,yeah, I guess because, like, I
don't have a podcast, I'm like,so I don't have like, daily
content to be putting out. But,I mean, I put prank calls on
there. I think all of them thatwe did are on YouTube. But,
(14:44):
like, yeah, I just, I guess, Idon't know, what do people put
individual jokes on YouTube? Do
Chuck Shute (14:50):
they Yeah, oh yeah, all the time, yeah. They'll put
their just, like the Instagram,the shorts,
Dina Hashem (14:54):
they'll do, like, just a full clip. Do they do
that? Um, they'll do longerclips,
Chuck Shute (14:58):
yeah, for sure, if it's longer. In a minute, then
it's a real, you know, a realYouTube video. But yeah, people
do that all that, yeah, becauseyou have your special, so you
can chop that up into tons ofclips, right? Well,
Dina Hashem (15:09):
I did. I was putting clips on social, but I
actually get the rights back tothat special this November, so I
can just throw the whole thingon YouTube. So I'll be doing
that for sure. Are
Chuck Shute (15:18):
you going to be doing another special? Because
it's another thing, like, you doa special is it every, like, two
years or three or what? I mean,
Dina Hashem (15:25):
I guess that's what you're supposed to do now. But
like, I don't know. I don't comeup with jokes that quickly.
Like, what? Like, I feel likeyou're supposed to take years to
think of like a full hour ofsolid jokes. And it's like, you
can't exist that way anymore,because you just have to keep
pumping out content. And justlike, I don't know, my rate of
thinking of jokes has declinedso much from when I was, like,
(15:47):
starting or the middle of mycareer, I guess so. Like, I'm
just much more precious aboutwhat I think is funny now. So I
don't know. I mean, I understandthat's why people do crowd work
now, because it's, like, funnythings that you can just quickly
pump out. And like, maybe I haveto do more of that. I could do
that in the special, I don'tknow, but I certainly don't have
a new hour already. Like, yeah,
Chuck Shute (16:05):
do you like doing crowd work? Because to me, that
that seems like the hardestthing. But when I talk to
comedians, they said, No, that'sthe easiest thing.
Dina Hashem (16:13):
Well, it's easy to do, like, fine. Like, it's easy
to do fine crowd work, becausecrowds, the standard for what
they will laugh at with crowdwork is so much lower than what
they'll laugh at for a joke justbecause of the like energy that
it brings and the spontaneity,like they're much more forgiving
with laughing at crowd work. Soit's easier in that sense, but I
think to do it like reallyimpressively in a way that's
(16:36):
really funny, I don't thinkthat's easy, but I mean, yeah,
so it's that I think it's easierthan writing a really well
crafted joke, but it alsodepends, like, on your
disposition. Like, if you'renaturally, like, good at improv,
or like, you're just, like, highenergy, I think it's comes
easier to people, but if you'resomeone like me, like, I like
doing crowd work, but like, Idon't think I'm like, virtuosic
(16:57):
at it or anything. Yeah, becauseit's
Chuck Shute (16:59):
always so hard to me, that's the most amazing
thing about comedians is whenthey can, they're so quick, you
know, they have the cup. I'mlike, the George Costanza. Like,
I'm thinking of the comeback onthe on the ride home. And I'm
like, I should have said this.
Like, I can't think of it in themoment like that. I'm always
jealous of people like that,
Dina Hashem (17:14):
yeah. Like, I'm not the best in the moment either.
That's why I'm not really goodat podcasts. And usually don't
do this. You're doing great. Areyou serious? Well, we're just
having, you know, there'spodcasts where you need to be
like, on like, Mark and Sam arelike that. They're just like,
joke, joke. And I'm just like,it's like watching ping pong.
I'm like, I can't it's anxious.
And it's like, I love I'm awriter, not a talker. So what
was I saying? Oh yeah, the inthe moment, thinking of, yeah, I
(17:39):
feel like with crowd work, Idon't know something about being
on stage. I don't get anxious.
So, like, it's easier for me tolike be quick there than it is
to like be quick on, like apodcast or something like that.
But I think people who, likehave improv experience, or just
more naturally outgoing, have aneasier time. Yeah.
Chuck Shute (17:57):
So you have you ever taken like, those improv
classes or whatever? Does thathelp? Or is it worth it?
Dina Hashem (18:02):
When I, like, first moved to New York, I took UCB
101, and I dropped out after thethird class, which is when you
can't get your money back. Butyeah, it was, again, just the
thing of, like, I don't have theenergy for this. It requires so
much energy. And I'm like, I'm Iget tired after like 10 minutes
of doing that, and it just feltstupid. I just felt stupid.
Chuck Shute (18:24):
Well, what about Okay, what about the roast
battles? Because that's anotherthing. My brother and I will
send each other roast battleclips, stuff all the time, and
you like, you absolutelydestroy, like they said. The
host said, when one of the roastthings that I watched that you
had two of the most lopsidedroast battle victories that he'd
ever seen. I wonder
Dina Hashem (18:42):
what the second one they're talking about is,
everyone talks about the Daveone, where I do the Motorcycle
Show. Um, what was the question?
I'm sorry, just
Chuck Shute (18:51):
like, how do you do those? Like, how do you prepare
for those? I always wondered,how do you, like, do they give
you a list of things to talkabout, or do you do your own
research? And is there anythingthat they say, like, Hey, don't
bring this up. This is offlimits. Yeah,
Dina Hashem (19:04):
all of that. I mean, usually you'll sit down
with them and just exchange,like, here's probably what's
going to be good fodder, or, youknow, do your own, like,
watching the podcast appearancesor whatever. So it's a mix of
both. And, yeah, I think it's,you know, usually polite to be
like, is there anything youdon't want me to talk about if I
find out my own and sometimescomics have something, most of
the time they don't, um, andthen, yeah, I mean, it's all
(19:25):
good fun. Everyone knows whatthey're signing up for.
Chuck Shute (19:29):
That's yeah, that I don't know. Does it scare you to
get roasted, though? Becausethat's the part for me. I'm
like, I don't know if I couldtake it. I feel like I'd
probably start crying orsomething. Um,
Dina Hashem (19:39):
well, no one's ever really touched on a nerve that
actually might bother me.
Usually they go for like, Islamor my dad left, or I'm fat or
whatever, and like, it's neverlike my real insecurities that
anyone touched on. I mean, Iguess maybe the fat stuff maybe
bothered me a little bit, butit. Doesn't really apply
anymore, I would hope so. Yeah,yeah. No one ever like said
(20:04):
anything that made me feel thatbad or bad, really. So yeah, and
I guess just the fact that Iusually won all of them anyway,
just like, Okay, you called mecat, well, whatever, I just
touched you. So
Chuck Shute (20:20):
yeah, you're fucking awesome with that. Are
you gonna do more of that? Or isthat because you've only done
Dina Hashem (20:26):
a few, right? Um, I did a few back in the day. I did
them when it was more like a newand like hot thing to do. So
like, the last one I did, I wasat skank fest, and they asked me
to do it. And normally I say no,but I was just like, oh, it's JP
McDade. Is my friend. That'swhat was doing. So like, I guess
that would be fun to do thisagain. It's more just, like a
fun joke writing exercise. So Ijust said, Yeah, and I did it,
(20:47):
and it was fun, but, um, it justtakes so much time to do, and
they're jokes you can never useagain, and you're not usually
getting paid much. So just like,I have other things to do,
Chuck Shute (20:56):
yeah, gotcha. So they don't you said, some of the
insecurities, like, they don'teven get so some of the stuff
like, you don't talk about, andI thought comedians talk about
it all like, so there's somethings you're like, I'm not even
going to talk about this
Dina Hashem (21:09):
on stage. Um, no. I mean, there's nothing like I've
never said before that I'minsecure about that. I mean, I
guess if people were to, like,touch on, like, I mean, like, I
do a joke in my special abouthow everyone always says I'm
quiet and like, I guess thatwould be like, not even really,
real insecurity anymore. But Ithink back then, when I was
roasting if people would, like,say that, that would probably
(21:30):
maybe bother me, because that'salways just been a nerve with
me. Um, but yeah, um, at thispoint, like, yeah, I don't think
there's anything anyone couldsay that would that would, that
would really bother me. Because,yeah, I mean, especially with
the special I put a lot of like,yeah, dark things out there from
my real life. So yeah,
Chuck Shute (21:49):
that was just like, that's what I learned. Like,
doing this podcast and justresearch. I don't know if you're
familiar with David Goggins, butI'm like, I've been really into
him lately. And he just talksabout how, basically, we're all
really fucked up, and, like,some people just hide it better.
And so I find, I find I findthat stuff really interesting,
because some people, yeah, it'slike, yeah, they try to put this
thing out in the world, liketheir life is so put together,
and it's like, it's allbullshit,
Dina Hashem (22:10):
yeah. It's like being a comedian. It's like, the
opposite of being like aninfluencer, where, like, you try
to make your life, like, lookvery perfect on a screen with
the comedy. You're like, like,how fucked up I am. And I think
that's why people like it,because it's like, Oh, I'm not
weird. They're letting me knowI'm not weird. And, like, I
guess there are some jokesthough, like, like, I don't
(22:33):
know. I lost my tune between,
Chuck Shute (22:34):
well, you had that one joke about like, you said
something about, like, if yousee, if you see a female with a
mic in her hand, she's Shebasically like, she has dad
issues, or she's fucked up orsomething. But I was like, but I
feel like that's probably like Isaid, I think we're all fucked
up to a degree. So
Dina Hashem (22:50):
yeah, and I add an addendum to that joke that it
applies to men too, but yeah,yeah, no, everyone. I mean,
yeah. And that's why comedyworks. It's like, if, if not
everyone was fucked up, then youwould tell a joke on stage, and
audience would just be like, Ohmy God. But like, people laugh
because, like, yeah, it justobviously more people are self
(23:11):
conscious about it than others.
I got in trouble with a familymember because I told a joke
that included information aboutthem that didn't even occur to
me. Would be something thatmight be self conscious about,
just because I'm so used toputting everything else out
there, didn't even strike me toask them, like, is it okay if I
say this? Because I would not.
I've even thought it'd besomething to be insecure about
and like, but like, that's thedifference between, like, a
(23:32):
comedian and a regular person. Iguess it's like, we're more
likely to just put everythingout there, and someone else
might have hang ups aboutthemselves that they haven't
come to terms with yet. Youknow,
Chuck Shute (23:42):
yeah, that's one thing that I always struggle. I
always feel like, I'm I worrythat I'm gonna say the wrong
thing or piss people off, butit's never, I'm never trying to,
I'm not, like, trying to roastpeople, or trying to, like, one
up them or but I sometimes I'lljust say something and I'm like,
oh, and then you'll find outlater, like, oh, that really
bothered the person. Like, Oh,it did. I was like, what? Like,
I'm so confused.
Dina Hashem (24:00):
People are fragile little beings. And like, I get
it, I don't want to, like,downplay, you know, people's
insecurities, because life isreally hard, and people, like,
maybe have not had the sameexperiences getting hardened
that I have. I mean, when you Imean comedy really involves just
grinding your ego down tonothing because you do so many
years of bombing you just, like,feel terrible for so long, until
(24:22):
you basically desensitizeyourself sometimes too far,
because then it's like, youdon't take any criticism
seriously because you've becomeso hardened. And like, you
should be able to take somecriticism or think, like, oh,
maybe I did fuck up somehow. Butlike, you become so hard and
that, like, yeah, you forget.
Like, other people haven'tbombed in front of crowds of
people for years in such a waythat they have become inured to,
like, feeling bad. So like,yeah, that's
Chuck Shute (24:47):
Wow. That's really interesting to hear. So it
almost like helps you, though italmost helps you become more
mentally tough. Basically,
Dina Hashem (24:54):
I mean, it really changed my life. It's cheesy to
say, but, like, I used to be so.
Like, I mean, I still considermyself, like, anxious, but like,
I used to be so sociallyanxious, and like, I would not
raise my hand in class. The ideathat I'm a performer now is so
insane, because I would be soafraid of talking just in
regular conversations amongstpeople, I would like, have,
like, get, like, panic attacksjust from having to converse
(25:16):
with a group of strangers. Andso that process of, like, doing
comedy, I mean, it's so cheesyto say, and I hate when people
say it's therapy, but like, itreally was therapeutic for
somebody like me, who had somuch insecurity and trouble
communicating with people. Like,it really just taught me how to
talk to strangers and, like,trust that I could say what I
wanted to say honestly and nothave people be like, Whoa.
(25:40):
That's weird. Oh,
Chuck Shute (25:41):
that's, yeah, that's interesting. So, like,
but so typically you try to kindof avoid people. Like, if you go
to the grocery store, do you goto the cashier? Do you go to the
self checkout?
Dina Hashem (25:51):
Um, I'll do either, depending on, I don't know. I
guess, I don't I generally,like, a cashier, I guess,
Chuck Shute (25:57):
yeah, okay, so you're not like, I mean, you're
you're comfortable enough aroundpeople. You're not, like,
scared,
Dina Hashem (26:02):
like, I'm like, a totally different person now. I
mean, I'm not like, a socialbutterfly, I would say, but
like, compared to what I was,like, I have no issue talking to
people compared to what I was.
Yeah, do you think, um,
Chuck Shute (26:12):
like, weed helps you too, because I heard you in
your special you talk aboutthat, how you it helps you sleep
and stuff turn off yourconsciousness.
Dina Hashem (26:19):
I actually stopped using it, um, but I used to
just, I mean, more recently, Iwould only take a little bit
just to fall asleep. But no, wemade me really paranoid. I could
not smoke amongst people thatwould, like, make me feel like
how I was before, like, I wouldjust, like, get very weird
around talking to people whenI'm really high. So no, that was
(26:39):
bad for me,
Chuck Shute (26:41):
okay, yeah, that's the same with me, yeah? It's
like, well, I felt like,sometimes I could have a good
experience, but more often thannot, yeah, I'd start going down,
like, more into my head, and Iwas like, I don't like this, I
don't like this
Dina Hashem (26:52):
feeling, yeah, yeah. Sometimes the other day, I
was like, maybe I'll just try,like, a one milligram. THC, got
me. Maybe I'll just hit my toeback in but I'm like, why would
I do that? Why would I mess withhow my mental state is right
now, which is kind of fine, butI did think of some good jokes
on it, maybe like twice though,out of all the times I've done
it, so, yeah, I don't know,
Chuck Shute (27:11):
did you ever do mushrooms? Sure
Dina Hashem (27:16):
you did absolutely, yeah,
Chuck Shute (27:18):
did that. What was that like? Because I've never
done it, but oddly enough, mydad has done it and raves about
it and says how great it is, butI'm too scared to do it.
Dina Hashem (27:28):
What are you scared of? Let's examine that. Yeah,
Chuck Shute (27:31):
yeah. Just because, like, when I take when I do
weed, I just start having allthese weird, crazy thoughts and
basically just of going crazy,like, of just going insane,
Dina Hashem (27:40):
okay, yeah, you'll have those thoughts. You'll have
thoughts for like, the first twohours of the trip, and then once
you, like, resolve that it'sfun. But I did acid and had,
like, I think still, like, thescariest experience of my life,
possibly, is having a bad acidtrip where I actually thought
I'd become schizophrenic, like,I almost called my brother to be
(28:02):
like, I'm so sorry. I'mschizophrenic. Now I made myself
schizophrenic with acid. I'mreally sorry. My friend had to
take my phone away. But I guessyou would call it ego death. But
like, there was a period where Ijust did not know who I was,
like, my friend pointed to mycar, and I was like, I don't
know what that like, just thelike, I did not know who I was.
Like, I would close my eyes, andI just felt, I really felt like
(28:22):
I was a particle in the void ofspace. It was so terrifying
because I wasn't prepared forit, like I even remember him,
like making jokes, and like, Ididn't even understand the
concept of a joke, like, andafter that, after I, like, came
out of that, I was so gratefulto not be in that, like, void of
nothingness that it wasnormally. I'm like, fuck
(28:45):
capitalism, fuck consumerism.
You know, there's more to life.
But after that moment, I waslike, give me all the artifice,
give me all the consumerism,give me all of just anything but
that horrible nothingness that Ijust experienced. It's like it
was, like, kind of a weirdopposite of what you're supposed
to take away from a trip whereyou're supposed to be more in
touch with, like, nature orwhatever else. Like, nothingness
(29:06):
was so horrible that I just wanteverything that life is, even
though it's, like, cheap orwhatever. Like, what was he
saying? I don't
Chuck Shute (29:16):
know, but that was fascinating. That was awesome. I
love that I was like, you, Ifeel like I just went through
the trip, through you. Like, IYou did it for me, right?
Dina Hashem (29:24):
So like, you're scared of that you're saying,
but like, I do think it'stherapeutic, because even though
it's scary, like it will bringout whatever it is you're afraid
of inside yourself. And like,that sucks. But like, if you can
come out of it and like, addressthose things, like, it really is
good for you. I think I justfeel like I'm I now I'm scared
to do it again, just because Idid it so much already, and I'm
(29:45):
like, I don't know, maybe Ishould just be stable, because I
feel stable. Another issue withdoing it is that if you have a
job, going back to your jobafter doing something like that,
is really hard, because you'rejust like, I just. Saw like, the
universe and like, now I haveto, like, type on a keyboard.
It's like, it doesn't really youfeel like, less ambitious after
(30:09):
it for like, a little while,because you, like, just have
this grander perspective onthings and like, but ultimately,
you do have to go to work. Soit's like, not good for that.
It's also sort of like, a littlebit lonely, because you feel
like you've come away with allthese insights. But if you talk
to people who don't know thatfeeling or don't know what
you're talking about, you almostfeel more alienated from people
because you've now had thisexperience that they can't
(30:31):
understand and have not had.
Chuck Shute (30:33):
Wow, that's so fascinating. Yeah, tell me about
your jobs, because I know yousaid something like you got
fired from jobs for being tooquiet, and I know I heard you
say something about you workedat like a it was, like a real
estate software thing orsomething. I was like, God, that
sounds so much different thancomedy.
Dina Hashem (30:49):
Yeah. Actually, that was the most fun, like day
job that I had, weirdly, justbecause I, like the people who
are there, and it was just easy.
But before that, I mean, that'swhen I was already starting to
chill out because of theeffective stand up, but, yeah,
before that. I mean, again, justbecause of the social anxiety,
like, I could not talk inmeetings. I mean, I'm still
really bad at that. I'm stillreally bad at talking meetings,
(31:09):
but I was way worse at it justbecause something about being in
a group speaking, somethingabout speaking in a group, was
just trigger something in mybrain that, like, I would just
be, like, I don't know when tospeak. Is it my turn to speak?
Am I even valid? Something like,I'm just so bad at that, which
is also why I'm not good andagain, in group podcast, like
(31:30):
the one on one, like this, it'slike, easy. I can handle that.
Like, when it's the pingponging, I just keep up. So I
would definitely get firedspecifically for that reason,
of, like, not speaking up inmeetings. Yeah, yeah.
Chuck Shute (31:42):
I feel like that way, I'm fine one on one with
people, or even small if it'slike four people, like two
couples or something. But I feellike, when you go to, like, a
family gathering, I'm alwayslike, Wait, who? Who do I talk
to? What do I do? Like, it'sjust, it's too it's anxiety
provoking, it's
Dina Hashem (31:56):
a lot. I'm glad you say that. Yeah, some people, it
just does not even occur tothem. And right? But like, Well,
some
Chuck Shute (32:01):
people thrive in that. They're, like, the life of
the party, and they're, you'regoing here, and they're going
there, and I'm just like, how dothey do that? I don't know how
they're so confident. I
Dina Hashem (32:08):
wonder if it's just the way you grew up. If you grew
up in those situations a lot,it's like, nothing for you,
like, if you had a big family orsomething, but I had a very tiny
family, and I also nevercommunicated with them, so like,
I just didn't have the practiceof, like, doing that, I guess,
Chuck Shute (32:22):
right? Or, yeah, like, like, I mean, I guess I
had a medium sight. We had sixpeople in my family, but I feel
like I was always the quiet one,like I was not the, you know,
the so maybe that's why I justgo in those situations and I
clam up, yeah,
Dina Hashem (32:34):
I don't know. I don't know what makes someone
better at that than others. Idon't, I don't know what really
causes that kind of anxiety, butvery specific group anxiety is
weird, right from the
THEME SONG (32:46):
rockets to the wise men.
Rock and rolling through the cool guitars.
Chucks. Got the questionsdigging so sharp, feeling bad,
layers head in the heart. I
Chuck Shute (00:20):
mean, I want to talk about your new special. I
guess it's not that new, becauseit's 2023, but for people who
haven't seen it, dark littlewhispers on amazon prime. So if
you got prime, it's free. Greatspecial.
Dina Hashem (00:32):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for watching it. Yes,yeah, it was. It was produced by
Sam Morrow. I heard you talkingabout that, and then I heard you
saying something about themusic, that you were excited
about the music. What was thatsong? Because it sounded like
death metal to me. Yeah, thatwas, I was playing the drums on
that and singing, and that wasyour singing too, yeah. So if
(00:52):
you watch the credits,there's video of me playing the
drums and singing in the vocalbooth, like the, sort of like
the making of that song. Um, so,yeah, that's screaming, that
guttural, awful screaming.
That's me. And I just thought itwas a fun contrast with how
like, Meek my stage presence is,you know, yeah, well, explain to
(01:15):
my audience how you learned toplay the drums. Because I
thought it was reallyinteresting. You played this,
like video arcade, like, kind oflike a guitar hero kind of game.
But I asked my, like, drummerfriends about this, and they
never heard of that game. Ithink if I, if I did my
research, right, I tracked itdown. It's called, it's like a
Japanese game called Get getAdora. Is that right?
Absolutely, yeah, um, thismachine really changed my life.
(01:37):
I was in LA for like, fourmonths, and I was kind of
depressed. And, you know, I'mfrom New Jersey, and so, like,
the mall is my safe space. So Iwould go to the Burbank mall
just to hang out. And they hadthis arcade called the round one
arcade, and I'd never been to,it's a franchise, and I'd never
been to one before. And, youknow, I grew up playing DDR, so
I was, like, in the rhythm gamesection, and they had this other
(01:59):
game that was, it had a fullYamaha electronic drum kit, and
it was like, Guitar Hero, yeah,where the notes come down and
you have to hit it. And I don'teven know why I tried playing
it. It might have been that Isaw someone playing it. I look
cool, so I sat down and playedit, and immediately got
addicted, because my brain,since I played DDR growing up,
I'm just wired to, like, thatexact style of game where it's
(02:22):
like, the thing comes and youhave to hit it. I My brain's
just wired to love that type ofthing. And then on for people to
dance. Dance Revolution. It'sthe dancing one where you step
on the thing. Yeah, everyoneknows DDR, it's really cool. I
don't know. Maybe they don'tknow the acronym. I don't
definitely know it's, I mean, Ithink it is actually, like,
cooler now, because all thenerdy things have become cool.
Of when I was young, it was notcool, um, but, um, so yeah, I
(02:45):
started playing it, and, like, Iprobably ended up spending like,
$1,000 on this fucking machine.
I played it for so long, andthere was someone who was really
good at it. And I was like, Areyou a real drummer? And he was
like, Yeah. And I was like, soif I keep playing, this will
actually teach me how to playthe drums. And he was like, oh,
yeah, that's the best drumteacher you'll ever have. And
that's kind of what happened. Ibecame obsessed with the game.
And then I was like, I wonder ifit really does translate to
(03:06):
playing the real drums. When Icame back to New York, I would
just, like, rent rehearsalspaces and just practice the
drums. And I was like, yeah. Imean, all the like, like, muscle
independence, it teaches you allof that. Like, obviously I'm not
an amazing drummer, and like, mytechnique, I'm sure needs a lot
of work, but like, I now canplay songs that I like playing.
And so when it came time to dothe special, I was like, it'd be
(03:28):
really fun to make the intromusic for it, because obviously
you can't get a really cool songbecause of copyright and stuff.
So I was like, Okay, I asked myfriend Chris Palermo, who's an
amazing guitarist, and he's theone playing on the track to kind
of help me come up withsomething, and then we went to a
studio and recorded it. Andyeah, damn it, I must have
turned it off too soon. I didn'tsee that part of the credits,
(03:49):
right? Like, I'll just re watchthat, yeah. Well, the really
crazy thing is that you know,who did watch the credits is the
band Yola tango, which is one ofmy favorite bands ever. And
I mean Long story short, they dothis yearly Hanukkah show in New
York, and I ended up playing inBowery ballroom with them a song
(04:10):
during the Encore, just becausethey happened to see I was
playing drums in the credits,and was like, Do you want to
play with us? Like it was justfucking cool. But anyway, just
such a random confluence ofthings, all because I was sad in
LA and I went to this recordthat's
Chuck Shute (04:21):
so crazy. It kind of reminds me of, what's the
girl from Portlandia? Isn't shein a band, and she's a drummer
too. I
Dina Hashem (04:29):
forget her name, Carrie, but yeah, she was in the
band that I also forget theirname. And yeah, yes,
Chuck Shute (04:41):
yeah. So similar, yeah. So that's just
interesting. That's funny that,like, because I heard you
saying, like, that was, like,one of the most exciting parts
about the special was, like,
Dina Hashem (04:50):
making the music. I mean that they say, like, all
comedians want to be musicians,and all musicians want to be
comedians. And like, it's, Ifind it 100% true. Like, if I
could trade my comedy creditsinto a drumming. Career, I think
I totally would like it really.
I grew up playing guitar, but Iwas never like that. I felt like
it was not very natural to me.
But then playing the drums islike, Oh, I wish I had done this
(05:10):
forever, like it's so cathartic.
And like, yeah, I just feellike, when I'm on stage doing
stand up, it's like what Ireally just want to do is, like,
just make a lot of noise, butit's, it's just the opposite of
what I do. So, like the drums, Idon't know, yeah, I find it
Chuck Shute (05:25):
really, really fun.
I have to try that game now,because Guitar Hero, I feel like
it's not, you're kind of pushingbuttons on a fake thing, but the
drum thing that sounds, I mean,it actually translates to
playing weird. That's waybetter.
Dina Hashem (05:37):
Well, you can, like, learn playing guitar from
that. This one you it's a it's areal drum kit. So,
Chuck Shute (05:41):
so you went from that to a real because it's
electronic drum kit. You preferan still electronic drum kit? Or
do you use, like the classicdrum set,
Dina Hashem (05:50):
a real drum set is so much more pleasing that you
just get that sound. Okay? Yeah,I did put an E kit in my mom's
house in Florida as sort of anincentive to visit more often,
so I do have that there, butwhen I'm here, I mean, my
boyfriend is also a drummer, sohe has his own space with a drum
kit, so I get to just go play inthere. Now, the real drum kit
Chuck Shute (06:11):
is he he's a drummer, like, as a hobby, or is
that, like, his professionalthing? No, he's a real drummer.
He's
Dina Hashem (06:16):
a, I mean, he's played in a lot of rock bands,
but he's mostly a jazz drummer,and he's an excellent jazz
drummer. Okay,
Chuck Shute (06:23):
nice. So then, besides the music for the
special, did you design, likethe visual esthetic? Because
it's kind of like a unique it'slike a dark, kind of moody,
elegant thing. Did you design itthat way?
Dina Hashem (06:33):
Like the like stage esthetic, like, yeah, or is
Chuck Shute (06:36):
that just how that stage is? Or
Dina Hashem (06:38):
no, no. That was me. I mean, I wanted to sort of
look like a Hookah bar. And Ijust, I thought it'd be cool to
have people sitting on the floorwith the pillows, and like I
had, I had great help from adesigner who usually works on
films. His name is in thecredits, it's slipping my mind,
but he's in the credits, and heand he, like, made all those
design decisions, but I wantedit to, like, look that, that
(06:58):
way. Yeah. So
Chuck Shute (07:00):
what is like when Sam, you said, Sam Morrill
helped produce it. What, whatdoes he do? And is it just like,
front some of the money or helpset up with the get you the
location, or what was his role?
Dina Hashem (07:10):
Um, no, it's just more like, I mean, I would, you
know, I was running the set andlike, you would, like, give me
advice on, like, you know, whichjokes to use, and like order and
things like that. He was mostlyjust sort of more like, you
know, like the helping voice onmy shoulder, which he has been
my whole career. I mean, he'sbeen so helpful to me. So I know
him. Yeah, him
Chuck Shute (07:31):
and Mark Norman, are they you did their podcast,
and I know I noticed mark isalways like, liking a lot of
your stuff on Instagram. Arethey just big fans of your
comedy?
Dina Hashem (07:40):
I mean, Sam, I met years ago, just had a show, and,
like, he just liked my comedy,and I started opening for him on
the road. And like, he's just,yeah, he's just, like, a fan of
my jokes. And like, Markobviously loved well written
jokes. They both are just jokenerds. So when they, like, see
someone who writes well writtenjokes, they want to support
them, which is really important,because most of the stuff you
get in comedies from othercomics. So like, they really are
(08:02):
doing good work. Of like, whenthey notice people who write
good jokes, they go out of theirway to try to help them. Yeah,
Chuck Shute (08:08):
that is that. No, that's true. Do you feel like
that sometimes, like, yourcomedies might be too smart for
some people, because sometimes Ithink of that, like, as I watch
a lot of comedy, so kind oflike, I'm kind of picky with my
comedy. Like, I like people whoare more smarter, whereas, like,
I feel like some comedy thatare, it's a lot of comedians are
really popular. It's almostlike, dumb down. It's for people
that they'll go to a comedyshow, like, twice a year, and
then they think it's thefunniest thing ever.
Dina Hashem (08:30):
You know, I have a lot of opinions on this subject,
but all of them like an asshole,and I'm
Unknown (08:35):
doing it for you. I'm trying to tell you that, yeah,
like, yeah,
Dina Hashem (08:38):
what you said?
Like, what? I mean, you said it.
I mean, I don't know. I don'tlike to think that way, because,
like, it sounds so elitist. Andlike, I ultimately, it's like,
sometimes I'm like, Man, it'd becool to just like, like, have
like, do do comedy more, andlike, cool, artsy, like, music
venues, you know, like, thoseare, like, some cool, smart
people. They get it, and thenyou do those shows, and it's
(09:00):
like, those people don't laughthe way that people in a comedy
club who just there to have afucking good time laugh. So it's
like, sometimes you wish likethat audiences were smarter. But
then it's like, the people whoreally want to have fun and are
like, good audience members arelike, you know, at just like,
random clubs who you wouldn'tthink of them as, like, you
know, intellectuals or whatever.
But like, I don't know. I don'tthink, I mean, I think I've been
(09:20):
lucky in that. I mean, I dothink, you know, I put a lot of
effort into writing well craftedjokes. And like, you would think
that, you know, you really needsmart people understand it, but
they my jokes do well in lots ofdifferent rooms. So, like, yeah,
yeah.
Chuck Shute (09:36):
I don't know if it's maybe, maybe smart is not
necessarily the right term, butit's like, for people like me,
who I'm such a big comedy fan,and I watch so much comedy,
like, sometimes you kind of knowwhere the joke is going before
it hits. And you're like, Okay,this is like, setup, setup, but
like people like you. And then Ithink that's why it speaks
highly at Sam Morrill and MarkNorman, who Mark, Mark Norman
only follows like, 400 people.
They follow you and they likeyou because you're. Jokes are a
(09:59):
little more unpredictable. It'sa little bit like, it's like,
you're like a comedian'scomedian,
Dina Hashem (10:05):
yeah, yeah.
Unfortunately, you know it'd benice to be a medicine Square
Garden comedian, but I gotdelusional about what I do. I
know it's going to be for aniche group of people, and my
task is to find those peopleslowly. But yeah, no. I mean,
yeah. I mean people who reallylike well written jokes and are
(10:27):
a nerd for that do gravitate tome. And so that's great all I've
ever wanted, really, not all,but like, the most important
thing to me in comedy is gettingthe respect of people who I
think are really good writersand like, I really like and so
when I get that positivefeedback, it's like, okay, I'm
not crazy for doing this. So,yeah, when guys like that
support me, it's meanseverything.
Chuck Shute (10:49):
Yeah, who else do you look up to in terms of
comedy, besides Sam and Mark?
Dina Hashem (10:54):
I mean, I've always thought Gary Goldman is one of
the best writers, and he'sanother guy who's helped me, and
I've opened for him, same withTodd Berry, like, I've also
worked with him a bunch. I mean,I mean, I really like Lisa
Traeger. I think she's amazing.
Tim Dillon is one of myfavorites. I'm always I feel
like I like, have that energyinside me, and I just am too
(11:17):
afraid to, like, put it out. Sowhen I see someone who's just so
unabashed, I'm like, I wish, Iwish I had that. Yeah, I think
those are, I mean, norMcDonald's, my all time
Chuck Shute (11:29):
favorite. I was gonna say I saw that you
followed him, and I'm such afan. So did you ever have an
encounter with him or anything?
Dina Hashem (11:36):
Unfortunately, he's like, the one, like, one of the
few people. I was like, Ireally, really want to meet him,
and I just never got to. I thinkhe is just the all time best,
like, not even just with standup, but just all of his
appearances on panel show. Justlike, you can't find a not
hilarious clip of him. It'smagical, special person that
(11:57):
will not exist again. I thinkit's so and it's
Chuck Shute (11:59):
so weird because I'll watch my brother and I will
send each other clips of norm,McDonald, and they're the same
clips because obviously he's notmaking any new material, but we
just keep sending the same ones,and they're still, they make us
laugh out loud, even thoughwe've seen them 100 times. It's
weird.
Dina Hashem (12:12):
He just is like a vehicle for humor. It's like
he's not it just like channelsthrough him in such a natural,
unforced way. It's like, it'slike, he's the essence of a
comedian. It's just he did neverhave to try. It seems like he
just always was that, like,yeah,
Chuck Shute (12:27):
right, yeah, no, he's great. Another one I saw
that you follow that, uh, thatI'm a fan of that that's maybe
lesser known as Nathan fielder.
Are you a fit? You're a fan ofhim, right? Yeah,
Dina Hashem (12:37):
I would call him lesser known at this point. He's
got huge shows on it. Well, Iguess he's one of the of those,
like, in the smart realm, Iguess. But, um, yeah, watch
Chuck Shute (12:46):
him when he was on Nathan for you. And that was,
like, it was this niche, like,2am Comedy Central show. And
man, my girl, my girlfriend,was, I've never heard her laugh
as hard when we watched thatshow. Like, it's just so bizarre
that she'll just crack I knowwhat it is about him, but she
laughed so hard. Yeah,
Dina Hashem (13:02):
yeah. So, like, I also went through like, a little
prank phase, like, I would makeprank calls. I heard those, and
I feel like, like there's somealignment with, like, his pranky
sensibility. We even tried to,me and my friend were trying to
pitch a prank show, and hereached out to his company
because, like, oh, we think he'dlove this and live in this
space, but it was just he wasreally busy. I'm sure he would
have loved to do it. He wasreally busy. But, yeah, I think
(13:24):
his I really love hissensibility. It's really unique.
Yeah,
Chuck Shute (13:28):
I love those prank calls. The one that made me
laugh the hardest was the antiVax one, where you had the child
that was the anti Vax. Oh,
Dina Hashem (13:36):
yeah, yeah. There was a lot. I mean, COVID was a
great time for our print calls.
We were really inspired. We hadthe Joel Osteen one. Yeah, I
would like to do them again. Ijust, I don't know, it's hard to
come up with those premiseswhere it's like, you don't want
to, like, be making fun of theperson on the call. I don't find
that as funny. Like I we're thecrazy people. How
Chuck Shute (13:59):
does that work with the law? I always wondered that,
like, do you have to call them?
Because this depends on thestate, right? So if you're New
Jersey, you have to call themafterwards and get permission.
Or
Dina Hashem (14:07):
we had a list of states where you're allowed to
just call, I forget which onesare which, but yeah, we were
aware of that. Yeah, that
Chuck Shute (14:15):
was a fun it's interesting. You don't, you
don't have as many YouTube videoyou only have like, 36 videos on
your YouTube channel. I was justlooking
Dina Hashem (14:23):
at that today, and I'm like, it just, I just
started posting on shorts morenow, I used to only post jokes
on Instagram, but now I'm usingshirts, and, like, the algorithm
is slowly picking it up. And,yeah, I guess because, like, I
don't have a podcast, I'm like,so I don't have like, daily
content to be putting out. But,I mean, I put prank calls on
there. I think all of them thatwe did are on YouTube. But,
(14:44):
like, yeah, I just, I guess, Idon't know, what do people put
individual jokes on YouTube? Do
Chuck Shute (14:50):
they Yeah, oh yeah, all the time, yeah. They'll put
their just, like the Instagram,the shorts,
Dina Hashem (14:54):
they'll do, like, just a full clip. Do they do
that? Um, they'll do longerclips,
Chuck Shute (14:58):
yeah, for sure, if it's longer. In a minute, then
it's a real, you know, a realYouTube video. But yeah, people
do that all that, yeah, becauseyou have your special, so you
can chop that up into tons ofclips, right? Well,
Dina Hashem (15:09):
I did. I was putting clips on social, but I
actually get the rights back tothat special this November, so I
can just throw the whole thingon YouTube. So I'll be doing
that for sure. Are
Chuck Shute (15:18):
you going to be doing another special? Because
it's another thing, like, you doa special is it every, like, two
years or three or what? I mean,
Dina Hashem (15:25):
I guess that's what you're supposed to do now. But
like, I don't know. I don't comeup with jokes that quickly.
Like, what? Like, I feel likeyou're supposed to take years to
think of like a full hour ofsolid jokes. And it's like, you
can't exist that way anymore,because you just have to keep
pumping out content. And justlike, I don't know, my rate of
thinking of jokes has declinedso much from when I was, like,
(15:47):
starting or the middle of mycareer, I guess so. Like, I'm
just much more precious aboutwhat I think is funny now. So I
don't know. I mean, I understandthat's why people do crowd work
now, because it's, like, funnythings that you can just quickly
pump out. And like, maybe I haveto do more of that. I could do
that in the special, I don'tknow, but I certainly don't have
a new hour already. Like, yeah,
Chuck Shute (16:05):
do you like doing crowd work? Because to me, that
that seems like the hardestthing. But when I talk to
comedians, they said, No, that'sthe easiest thing.
Dina Hashem (16:13):
Well, it's easy to do, like, fine. Like, it's easy
to do fine crowd work, becausecrowds, the standard for what
they will laugh at with crowdwork is so much lower than what
they'll laugh at for a joke justbecause of the like energy that
it brings and the spontaneity,like they're much more forgiving
with laughing at crowd work. Soit's easier in that sense, but I
think to do it like reallyimpressively in a way that's
(16:36):
really funny, I don't thinkthat's easy, but I mean, yeah,
so it's that I think it's easierthan writing a really well
crafted joke, but it alsodepends, like, on your
disposition. Like, if you'renaturally, like, good at improv,
or like, you're just, like, highenergy, I think it's comes
easier to people, but if you'resomeone like me, like, I like
doing crowd work, but like, Idon't think I'm like, virtuosic
(16:57):
at it or anything. Yeah, becauseit's
Chuck Shute (16:59):
always so hard to me, that's the most amazing
thing about comedians is whenthey can, they're so quick, you
know, they have the cup. I'mlike, the George Costanza. Like,
I'm thinking of the comeback onthe on the ride home. And I'm
like, I should have said this.
Like, I can't think of it in themoment like that. I'm always
jealous of people like that,
Dina Hashem (17:14):
yeah. Like, I'm not the best in the moment either.
That's why I'm not really goodat podcasts. And usually don't
do this. You're doing great. Areyou serious? Well, we're just
having, you know, there'spodcasts where you need to be
like, on like, Mark and Sam arelike that. They're just like,
joke, joke. And I'm just like,it's like watching ping pong.
I'm like, I can't it's anxious.
And it's like, I love I'm awriter, not a talker. So what
was I saying? Oh yeah, the inthe moment, thinking of, yeah, I
(17:39):
feel like with crowd work, Idon't know something about being
on stage. I don't get anxious.
So, like, it's easier for me tolike be quick there than it is
to like be quick on, like apodcast or something like that.
But I think people who, likehave improv experience, or just
more naturally outgoing, have aneasier time. Yeah.
Chuck Shute (17:57):
So you have you ever taken like, those improv
classes or whatever? Does thathelp? Or is it worth it?
Dina Hashem (18:02):
When I, like, first moved to New York, I took UCB
101, and I dropped out after thethird class, which is when you
can't get your money back. Butyeah, it was, again, just the
thing of, like, I don't have theenergy for this. It requires so
much energy. And I'm like, I'm Iget tired after like 10 minutes
of doing that, and it just feltstupid. I just felt stupid.
Chuck Shute (18:24):
Well, what about Okay, what about the roast
battles? Because that's anotherthing. My brother and I will
send each other roast battleclips, stuff all the time, and
you like, you absolutelydestroy, like they said. The
host said, when one of the roastthings that I watched that you
had two of the most lopsidedroast battle victories that he'd
ever seen. I wonder
Dina Hashem (18:42):
what the second one they're talking about is,
everyone talks about the Daveone, where I do the Motorcycle
Show. Um, what was the question?
I'm sorry, just
Chuck Shute (18:51):
like, how do you do those? Like, how do you prepare
for those? I always wondered,how do you, like, do they give
you a list of things to talkabout, or do you do your own
research? And is there anythingthat they say, like, Hey, don't
bring this up. This is offlimits. Yeah,
Dina Hashem (19:04):
all of that. I mean, usually you'll sit down
with them and just exchange,like, here's probably what's
going to be good fodder, or, youknow, do your own, like,
watching the podcast appearancesor whatever. So it's a mix of
both. And, yeah, I think it's,you know, usually polite to be
like, is there anything youdon't want me to talk about if I
find out my own and sometimescomics have something, most of
the time they don't, um, andthen, yeah, I mean, it's all
(19:25):
good fun. Everyone knows whatthey're signing up for.
Chuck Shute (19:29):
That's yeah, that I don't know. Does it scare you to
get roasted, though? Becausethat's the part for me. I'm
like, I don't know if I couldtake it. I feel like I'd
probably start crying orsomething. Um,
Dina Hashem (19:39):
well, no one's ever really touched on a nerve that
actually might bother me.
Usually they go for like, Islamor my dad left, or I'm fat or
whatever, and like, it's neverlike my real insecurities that
anyone touched on. I mean, Iguess maybe the fat stuff maybe
bothered me a little bit, butit. Doesn't really apply
anymore, I would hope so. Yeah,yeah. No one ever like said
(20:04):
anything that made me feel thatbad or bad, really. So yeah, and
I guess just the fact that Iusually won all of them anyway,
just like, Okay, you called mecat, well, whatever, I just
touched you. So
Chuck Shute (20:20):
yeah, you're fucking awesome with that. Are
you gonna do more of that? Or isthat because you've only done
Dina Hashem (20:26):
a few, right? Um, I did a few back in the day. I did
them when it was more like a newand like hot thing to do. So
like, the last one I did, I wasat skank fest, and they asked me
to do it. And normally I say no,but I was just like, oh, it's JP
McDade. Is my friend. That'swhat was doing. So like, I guess
that would be fun to do thisagain. It's more just, like a
fun joke writing exercise. So Ijust said, Yeah, and I did it,
(20:47):
and it was fun, but, um, it justtakes so much time to do, and
they're jokes you can never useagain, and you're not usually
getting paid much. So just like,I have other things to do,
Chuck Shute (20:56):
yeah, gotcha. So they don't you said, some of the
insecurities, like, they don'teven get so some of the stuff
like, you don't talk about, andI thought comedians talk about
it all like, so there's somethings you're like, I'm not even
going to talk about this
Dina Hashem (21:09):
on stage. Um, no. I mean, there's nothing like I've
never said before that I'minsecure about that. I mean, I
guess if people were to, like,touch on, like, I mean, like, I
do a joke in my special abouthow everyone always says I'm
quiet and like, I guess thatwould be like, not even really,
real insecurity anymore. But Ithink back then, when I was
roasting if people would, like,say that, that would probably
(21:30):
maybe bother me, because that'salways just been a nerve with
me. Um, but yeah, um, at thispoint, like, yeah, I don't think
there's anything anyone couldsay that would that would, that
would really bother me. Because,yeah, I mean, especially with
the special I put a lot of like,yeah, dark things out there from
my real life. So yeah,
Chuck Shute (21:49):
that was just like, that's what I learned. Like,
doing this podcast and justresearch. I don't know if you're
familiar with David Goggins, butI'm like, I've been really into
him lately. And he just talksabout how, basically, we're all
really fucked up, and, like,some people just hide it better.
And so I find, I find I findthat stuff really interesting,
because some people, yeah, it'slike, yeah, they try to put this
thing out in the world, liketheir life is so put together,
and it's like, it's allbullshit,
Dina Hashem (22:10):
yeah. It's like being a comedian. It's like, the
opposite of being like aninfluencer, where, like, you try
to make your life, like, lookvery perfect on a screen with
the comedy. You're like, like,how fucked up I am. And I think
that's why people like it,because it's like, Oh, I'm not
weird. They're letting me knowI'm not weird. And, like, I
guess there are some jokesthough, like, like, I don't
(22:33):
know. I lost my tune between,
Chuck Shute (22:34):
well, you had that one joke about like, you said
something about, like, if yousee, if you see a female with a
mic in her hand, she's Shebasically like, she has dad
issues, or she's fucked up orsomething. But I was like, but I
feel like that's probably like Isaid, I think we're all fucked
up to a degree. So
Dina Hashem (22:50):
yeah, and I add an addendum to that joke that it
applies to men too, but yeah,yeah, no, everyone. I mean,
yeah. And that's why comedyworks. It's like, if, if not
everyone was fucked up, then youwould tell a joke on stage, and
audience would just be like, Ohmy God. But like, people laugh
because, like, yeah, it justobviously more people are self
(23:11):
conscious about it than others.
I got in trouble with a familymember because I told a joke
that included information aboutthem that didn't even occur to
me. Would be something thatmight be self conscious about,
just because I'm so used toputting everything else out
there, didn't even strike me toask them, like, is it okay if I
say this? Because I would not.
I've even thought it'd besomething to be insecure about
and like, but like, that's thedifference between, like, a
(23:32):
comedian and a regular person. Iguess it's like, we're more
likely to just put everythingout there, and someone else
might have hang ups aboutthemselves that they haven't
come to terms with yet. Youknow,
Chuck Shute (23:42):
yeah, that's one thing that I always struggle. I
always feel like, I'm I worrythat I'm gonna say the wrong
thing or piss people off, butit's never, I'm never trying to,
I'm not, like, trying to roastpeople, or trying to, like, one
up them or but I sometimes I'lljust say something and I'm like,
oh, and then you'll find outlater, like, oh, that really
bothered the person. Like, Oh,it did. I was like, what? Like,
I'm so confused.
Dina Hashem (24:00):
People are fragile little beings. And like, I get
it, I don't want to, like,downplay, you know, people's
insecurities, because life isreally hard, and people, like,
maybe have not had the sameexperiences getting hardened
that I have. I mean, when you Imean comedy really involves just
grinding your ego down tonothing because you do so many
years of bombing you just, like,feel terrible for so long, until
(24:22):
you basically desensitizeyourself sometimes too far,
because then it's like, youdon't take any criticism
seriously because you've becomeso hardened. And like, you
should be able to take somecriticism or think, like, oh,
maybe I did fuck up somehow. Butlike, you become so hard and
that, like, yeah, you forget.
Like, other people haven'tbombed in front of crowds of
people for years in such a waythat they have become inured to,
like, feeling bad. So like,yeah, that's
Chuck Shute (24:47):
Wow. That's really interesting to hear. So it
almost like helps you, though italmost helps you become more
mentally tough. Basically,
Dina Hashem (24:54):
I mean, it really changed my life. It's cheesy to
say, but, like, I used to be so.
Like, I mean, I still considermyself, like, anxious, but like,
I used to be so sociallyanxious, and like, I would not
raise my hand in class. The ideathat I'm a performer now is so
insane, because I would be soafraid of talking just in
regular conversations amongstpeople, I would like, have,
like, get, like, panic attacksjust from having to converse
(25:16):
with a group of strangers. Andso that process of, like, doing
comedy, I mean, it's so cheesyto say, and I hate when people
say it's therapy, but like, itreally was therapeutic for
somebody like me, who had somuch insecurity and trouble
communicating with people. Like,it really just taught me how to
talk to strangers and, like,trust that I could say what I
wanted to say honestly and nothave people be like, Whoa.
(25:40):
That's weird. Oh,
Chuck Shute (25:41):
that's, yeah, that's interesting. So, like,
but so typically you try to kindof avoid people. Like, if you go
to the grocery store, do you goto the cashier? Do you go to the
self checkout?
Dina Hashem (25:51):
Um, I'll do either, depending on, I don't know. I
guess, I don't I generally,like, a cashier, I guess,
Chuck Shute (25:57):
yeah, okay, so you're not like, I mean, you're
you're comfortable enough aroundpeople. You're not, like,
scared,
Dina Hashem (26:02):
like, I'm like, a totally different person now. I
mean, I'm not like, a socialbutterfly, I would say, but
like, compared to what I was,like, I have no issue talking to
people compared to what I was.
Yeah, do you think, um,
Chuck Shute (26:12):
like, weed helps you too, because I heard you in
your special you talk aboutthat, how you it helps you sleep
and stuff turn off yourconsciousness.
Dina Hashem (26:19):
I actually stopped using it, um, but I used to
just, I mean, more recently, Iwould only take a little bit
just to fall asleep. But no, wemade me really paranoid. I could
not smoke amongst people thatwould, like, make me feel like
how I was before, like, I wouldjust, like, get very weird
around talking to people whenI'm really high. So no, that was
(26:39):
bad for me,
Chuck Shute (26:41):
okay, yeah, that's the same with me, yeah? It's
like, well, I felt like,sometimes I could have a good
experience, but more often thannot, yeah, I'd start going down,
like, more into my head, and Iwas like, I don't like this, I
don't like this
Dina Hashem (26:52):
feeling, yeah, yeah. Sometimes the other day, I
was like, maybe I'll just try,like, a one milligram. THC, got
me. Maybe I'll just hit my toeback in but I'm like, why would
I do that? Why would I mess withhow my mental state is right
now, which is kind of fine, butI did think of some good jokes
on it, maybe like twice though,out of all the times I've done
it, so, yeah, I don't know,
Chuck Shute (27:11):
did you ever do mushrooms? Sure
Dina Hashem (27:16):
you did absolutely, yeah,
Chuck Shute (27:18):
did that. What was that like? Because I've never
done it, but oddly enough, mydad has done it and raves about
it and says how great it is, butI'm too scared to do it.
Dina Hashem (27:28):
What are you scared of? Let's examine that. Yeah,
Chuck Shute (27:31):
yeah. Just because, like, when I take when I do
weed, I just start having allthese weird, crazy thoughts and
basically just of going crazy,like, of just going insane,
Dina Hashem (27:40):
okay, yeah, you'll have those thoughts. You'll have
thoughts for like, the first twohours of the trip, and then once
you, like, resolve that it'sfun. But I did acid and had,
like, I think still, like, thescariest experience of my life,
possibly, is having a bad acidtrip where I actually thought
I'd become schizophrenic, like,I almost called my brother to be
(28:02):
like, I'm so sorry. I'mschizophrenic. Now I made myself
schizophrenic with acid. I'mreally sorry. My friend had to
take my phone away. But I guessyou would call it ego death. But
like, there was a period where Ijust did not know who I was,
like, my friend pointed to mycar, and I was like, I don't
know what that like, just thelike, I did not know who I was.
Like, I would close my eyes, andI just felt, I really felt like
(28:22):
I was a particle in the void ofspace. It was so terrifying
because I wasn't prepared forit, like I even remember him,
like making jokes, and like, Ididn't even understand the
concept of a joke, like, andafter that, after I, like, came
out of that, I was so gratefulto not be in that, like, void of
nothingness that it wasnormally. I'm like, fuck
(28:45):
capitalism, fuck consumerism.
You know, there's more to life.
But after that moment, I waslike, give me all the artifice,
give me all the consumerism,give me all of just anything but
that horrible nothingness that Ijust experienced. It's like it
was, like, kind of a weirdopposite of what you're supposed
to take away from a trip whereyou're supposed to be more in
touch with, like, nature orwhatever else. Like, nothingness
(29:06):
was so horrible that I just wanteverything that life is, even
though it's, like, cheap orwhatever. Like, what was he
saying? I don't
Chuck Shute (29:16):
know, but that was fascinating. That was awesome. I
love that I was like, you, Ifeel like I just went through
the trip, through you. Like, IYou did it for me, right?
Dina Hashem (29:24):
So like, you're scared of that you're saying,
but like, I do think it'stherapeutic, because even though
it's scary, like it will bringout whatever it is you're afraid
of inside yourself. And like,that sucks. But like, if you can
come out of it and like, addressthose things, like, it really is
good for you. I think I justfeel like I'm I now I'm scared
to do it again, just because Idid it so much already, and I'm
(29:45):
like, I don't know, maybe Ishould just be stable, because I
feel stable. Another issue withdoing it is that if you have a
job, going back to your jobafter doing something like that,
is really hard, because you'rejust like, I just. Saw like, the
universe and like, now I haveto, like, type on a keyboard.
It's like, it doesn't really youfeel like, less ambitious after
(30:09):
it for like, a little while,because you, like, just have
this grander perspective onthings and like, but ultimately,
you do have to go to work. Soit's like, not good for that.
It's also sort of like, a littlebit lonely, because you feel
like you've come away with allthese insights. But if you talk
to people who don't know thatfeeling or don't know what
you're talking about, you almostfeel more alienated from people
because you've now had thisexperience that they can't
(30:31):
understand and have not had.
Chuck Shute (30:33):
Wow, that's so fascinating. Yeah, tell me about
your jobs, because I know yousaid something like you got
fired from jobs for being tooquiet, and I know I heard you
say something about you workedat like a it was, like a real
estate software thing orsomething. I was like, God, that
sounds so much different thancomedy.
Dina Hashem (30:49):
Yeah. Actually, that was the most fun, like day
job that I had, weirdly, justbecause I, like the people who
are there, and it was just easy.
But before that, I mean, that'swhen I was already starting to
chill out because of theeffective stand up, but, yeah,
before that. I mean, again, justbecause of the social anxiety,
like, I could not talk inmeetings. I mean, I'm still
really bad at that. I'm stillreally bad at talking meetings,
(31:09):
but I was way worse at it justbecause something about being in
a group speaking, somethingabout speaking in a group, was
just trigger something in mybrain that, like, I would just
be, like, I don't know when tospeak. Is it my turn to speak?
Am I even valid? Something like,I'm just so bad at that, which
is also why I'm not good andagain, in group podcast, like
(31:30):
the one on one, like this, it'slike, easy. I can handle that.
Like, when it's the pingponging, I just keep up. So I
would definitely get firedspecifically for that reason,
of, like, not speaking up inmeetings. Yeah, yeah.
Chuck Shute (31:42):
I feel like that way, I'm fine one on one with
people, or even small if it'slike four people, like two
couples or something. But I feellike, when you go to, like, a
family gathering, I'm alwayslike, Wait, who? Who do I talk
to? What do I do? Like, it'sjust, it's too it's anxiety
provoking, it's
Dina Hashem (31:56):
a lot. I'm glad you say that. Yeah, some people, it
just does not even occur tothem. And right? But like, Well,
some
Chuck Shute (32:01):
people thrive in that. They're, like, the life of
the party, and they're, you'regoing here, and they're going
there, and I'm just like, how dothey do that? I don't know how
they're so confident. I
Dina Hashem (32:08):
wonder if it's just the way you grew up. If you grew
up in those situations a lot,it's like, nothing for you,
like, if you had a big family orsomething, but I had a very tiny
family, and I also nevercommunicated with them, so like,
I just didn't have the practiceof, like, doing that, I guess,
Chuck Shute (32:22):
right? Or, yeah, like, like, I mean, I guess I
had a medium sight. We had sixpeople in my family, but I feel
like I was always the quiet one,like I was not the, you know,
the so maybe that's why I justgo in those situations and I
clam up, yeah,
Dina Hashem (32:34):
I don't know. I don't know what makes someone
better at that than others. Idon't, I don't know what really
causes that kind of anxiety, butvery specific group anxiety is
weird, right from the
THEME SONG (32:46):
rockets to the wise men.
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