This Might Help with Matt Braunger

This episode I got not one, but two guests who need no introduction. You know Patton from his legendary stand-up-that-led-to-other-insanely-cool-stuff career, and Meredith from her rise from child star to voice and screen actress and writer. What a get! Though Patton and I go way back, I’d only met Meredith once, so this was two of my favorite kinds of shows (in one!): 1) Catching up with an old friend, and 2) Learning about a pers...

Scott Wampler is a writer/podcaster/superfan-made-good who I first became aware of on Twitter, the best place to make friends in the world. A funny, self-effacing, yet scathing critic of cinema and fan of low art, the two of us hit it off immediately when I came on his podcast. That podcast? The mega-popular “The Kingcast,” based entirely around the works of Stephen King. On each episode, the guest chooses one of Mr. King’s works t...

Lately, you might have heard of something called the Drop Challenge. People taking a sexy look towards the camera, then dropping to a “hot squat” (my term) slowly towards the ground. Heck, the cast of SNL did it recently. Well, it was created by today’s guest Atsuko Okatsuka, a gifted, engaging comedian and friend of mine. Atsuko is somebody who comes across as eternally happy and optimistic, but she’s had her share of trauma and s...

Jonah is an old friend from when I first moved to Los Angeles. I’ll never forget driving us both to a brutally shitty show WAY far away from where either of us lived. We both had good sets, mostly because the situation was so insane. For example: The stage was a small wooden box with carpeting stapled to it (!). After sharing such a stage, we had no choice to become lifelong friends. Since then he’s gone on to co-host and produce “...

Brian Simpson is a comic I love/hate to follow at my home club, The Comedy Store. He’s deadpan, hilarious, writes great jokes, and is fearless in what he says. I’m MAYBE two or three of those things, so going up after him makes me work (always a good thing for your growth, sometimes not the most fun at the time). We didn’t know each other, but I knew I had to get him on the show. The timing was perfect, as he’s recently gotten a lo...

If the bars of Eastern Los Angeles could talk, the tales they would tell of me and the two Kyles (Buchanan and Kinane). Kinane, as you might know, and I moved to LA from Chicago together. Back in the early 2000s, we bounced around drinking our way through LA with writer Kyle Buchanan. It was a fun, fun time. Kyle B and I haven’t talked much since, but he’s become quite the success, becoming the head columnist for The Projectionist ...

Beth Lapides gave a stage to pretty much any comic you’ve ever liked from the alt-comedy scene in Los Angeles. Patton Oswalt, Dana Gould, Janeane Garafalo, the list goes on and on. Her show Un-Cabaret was, and is, legendary for letting unique artists explore their perspectives in front of a rapt audience. I’ve even done it! It’s spectacular. Beth is also a performer herself, as well as a writer and teacher. She’s even got a new aud...

Ricky Velez is one of the funniest comedians out there, and he’s only, like, 32? He’s written on a ton of shows, is currently on a tour headlining all the best hard-for-a-comic-to-break-into comedy clubs, and most recently opened for Hasan Minaj at Radio City Music Hall (!!). He’s also married with a three-year-old boy who, he tells me, is hilarious. On top of that, though he smokes weed, he’s quit drinking. Ricky is a NYC fixture....

We got another solo episode, Mightys. As the longtime listeners (Mightys, You) know, these pop up here and there because, well, they’re fun. Typically, I like to have a partner on to whack the ping-pong ball with, but occasionally I like to do it myself. I’m about to get back on the road soon, which means I’ll be doing exactly that, but onstage. Doing eps like this one helps keep me on my feet, so thanks for your indulgence. Howeve...

Lisa Tozzi is the Digital Editor for Rolling Stone magazine, former of Buzzfeed, and before that The New York Times. As I learned on the show, even she can’t believe it. Her first big story was the election of 2000. Remember that sh*tshow? She’s covered huge story after huge story since. A friend of a friend, I was delighted when she agreed to come on the show and offer advice. We got along great and have a similar outlook on life....

I call Billy a wild man because he’s got that crazy southerner look in his eye onstage, but he’s actually a down-to-earth normal guy who says crazy stuff onstage. I’m not sure when we met, but when we did we clicked right away. One reason I have so many comedian friends on the show (other than I know so many) is that they’ve lived a lot of lives. BWD has been on a road a long time, but had the sense to get his life in order, and is...

Jason Shapiro is a comedy writer/performer who struck gold with a parody account of a fake day care in the hipster-affluent neighborhood of Los Feliz (Editor’s note: I live there lol). Google “Los Feliz Day Care” right now and find his twitter and Instagram account for it. Glorious, very funny, and dead on. As he told me in this episode, the idea came when he was a writer’s assistant. He learned that one of the writers, whose child...

River Butcher is one of the funniest comics out there today and an old friend. He’s also someone who, when I first met him, had a different name and a different pronoun. Hence the title of his new special “A Different Kind of Dude.” We’ve done shows, festivals, and even TV together, and he’s always been a fun and insightful person. THAT STOPS NOW! I’m kidding. We got into everything from why LBGTQ people only get expected to talk a...

Laura Leigh Abby is a mom, wife, writer, TV personality and many other things. In fact, when we connected online I noticed a bunch of spin bikes behind her. She was recording from her fitness studio, of course! You might know her from her stint on the show “Newlyweds” on Bravo TV, or from her writing, but you’re about to know her from her new podcast, Seventeen. In it, Laura will have a VO actor read from HER ACTUALY HIGH SCHOOL DI...

Well, this is a first my Mightys. Typically I gotta scramble to get calls per episode. Partly because it’s hard to get people fans aware that they’re on an advice podcast and they can CALL THEM DIRECT, party because NO ONE MAKES PHONE CALLS ANYMORE. Which, you know, I get. When I get a phone call from a friend my immediate thought is, oh shit, who died? Lol! Anyway, THIS episode we got SO MANY CALLS that we did TWO EPISODES! Thankf...

You asked for it, you got it, Mightys. My brother, Uncle BBQ himself, joins me on This Might Help with Matt Braunger. Kyle and I started out together in Chicago, driving around in his massive Grand Marquis through the snow to bomb in front of crowd after crowd. When it came time to move to LA, we did it together. And you know the rest. When I say you’re in for a treat, I mean you’re in for your very own wedding cake on this one. On...

Here it is, folks. The last episode of This Might Help of the year. I had to do it alone, just for you. All calls, write-ins, etc, answered entirely by me, your host and favorite dum-dum. This was surprisingly fun as all hell. Have a great holiday season, thanks for listening and/or calling, and feel free to listen to this on your earbuds alone in a closet to escape your family.  

Call Matt and ask a question 323-763-0228

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I didn’t know Ali before we recorded this episode, but now we’re tight as a drum. Not really, but boy did we bond over things, especially anxiety! Ali is probably best known for writing and producing The Morning Show on Apple +, but she’s about to be known as an actor, starring in the new film The End of Us. All of this gave her amazing perspective on the calls. She’s great! Listen in, enjoy, and subscribe. Thanks, Mightys

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First off, it’s pronounced Bow (as in “Bow down”)-wee, not like David Bowie. I gotta say that right off the bat because no one pronounces my name right either. Also, we’re both real actors, me and him. Lol! Actually, John is much more the real deal than I am, but hey, he might object. The cool thing about my biz is that everybody (who’s not a dick) is like, “I can’t do what you do!” to the thing they’re not. Actors are like “I coul...