Improv is so much more than hilarious. It’s a comedy writing tool, a key to unlocking our truest selves and a valuable collection of life lessons. Whose Line’s Colin Mochrie is here to enlighten and entertain!

He starred in the British and American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway for over 30 years while also making hundreds of TV, film and stage appearances. Colin is an author, an actor, a touring performer and an activist.

His stage shows include Asking For Trouble with fellow Whose Liner Brad Sherwood, and Hyprov… a unique blend of hypnosis and improv with noted hypnotist, Asad Mecci.

Joining us on the panel to learn from Colin is Chicago’s 13-year-old Lane Tech Improv Team Member Rowan Keel. His first question? “What do you do when you get a bad audience suggestion?” Colin is not stumped.

We did, however, him a curve when we requested too much intel about his appearance in the first American Girl Doll movie, Kitt Kittredge in a rousing round of IMDB Roulette.

But Colin was able to provide details about his time spent on the sets of: The Paul Anka Show, Goosebumps, The Drew Carey Show, The Tonight Show, Ted Lasso and his newest film, Magnetosphere!

Plus, Colin shares improv wisdom as it applies to real life, his intriguing connection to Animutation and the powerful lessons he is learning from his trans daughter, Kinley.

In recommendations--

Weezy: Building The Band on Netflix

Fritz: Apple TV+ Documentary Series: The Long Way Home

Path Points of Interest:

The Long Way Home - Apple +

Building The Band

Colin Mochrie on Wikipedia

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood - Asking For Trouble

Hyprov: Comedy Under Hypnosis

Colin Mochrie on Facebook

Colin Mochrie on Instagram

Not Quite The Classics by Colin Mochrie

Magnetosphere

Magnetosphere Trailer

Can disinformation really take down a democracy from the inside? This week’s guest, Barbara McQuade, thinks so — and she’s here to show us exactly how it’s happening and what we can do about it.

Barbara is a former U.S. Attorney, a law professor, an MSNBC legal analyst and the author of Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, now out in paperback.

We begin with breaking news that could directly affect our political landscape. A big chunk of the MAGA faithful are suddenly side-eyeing Trump over his failure to drop the long-promised Epstein file (does the public have a right to see it? Barbara has thoughts). She breaks down how our American system relies on the good faith of three branches — and what happens when any one of them stops playing by the rules.

Barbara explains the Squid Strategy: imagine a squid firing ink at a predator to obfuscate and slip away: that’s Trump making wild statements to change the subject when the heat is on. We talk about the liar’s dividend, that neat trick where so much fake news is swirling that important facts get waved away.

She pulls back the curtain on how Trump built the coalition that resulted in the Big Harmful Bill. It consists of: a working-class MAGA base, the evangelical right, and billionaires. Trump does the bidding of big business while kissing up to Christian Extremists and feeding his base conspiracy theories that keep them eating their rage right out of his hand.

Barbara does find hope in history: other countries have seen strongmen rise and fall when the promises ran dry and the citizens remained vigilant. She gives us her best advice for cracking Trump’s hold on friends and family (it involves empathetic listening, not doomscrolling).

We also get into Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — mend it, don’t end it — and why unregulated social media is the Wild West. We talk spon-con, paywalls, knowledge gaps, and how your news feed might be failing you.

A cautionary tale, a civics lesson, and a pep talk all rolled into one, strap in, there’s still time to fight the ink cloud!

In recommendations--

Weezy: The series Outrageous on Britbox

Fritz: Apple TV+ Documentary, Bono: Stories of Surrender

Path Points of Interest:

Barbara McQuade

Attack From Within by Barbara McQuade

Sisters-In-Law Podcast
with Barbara McQuade, Jill Wine Banks, Joyce Vance and Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Barbara McQuade on Wikipedia

Barbara McQuade on Instagram

Barbara McQuade on X

Outrageous on Britbox

Bono: Stories of Surrender on Apple TV+

Carol Leifer entered comedy when a woman stand-up was considered a novelty or a niche, but even then she knew "things would eventually change." And change has come, due in no small part to Carol's own stelar show biz contributions.

Carol joins us this week to talk about her formative years, her early standup, giving voice to iconic characters like Elaine Benes and Deborah Vance, and her new book, How to Write a Funny Speech!

Carol's relationship with her father, an optometrist with an ear for comedy and a quick wit that delighted both patients and family, laid the foundation for her career trajectory. Her supportive parents encouraged her to pursue stand-up when the opportunity struck, and very soon, she was right at home at The Improv and on The Tonight Show.

Even within the male-dominated comedy space, Carol found herself buoyed by peers and colleagues, in the clubs and on the sets of seminal sitcoms such as Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Carol’s Seinfeld contributions tapped into women’s lived experiences and brought us the skinny mirror, the marble rye and the nail salon, but she reveals which of Elaine's iconic storylines was not her brainchild - 'sponge-worthy' was actually coined by male writer, Peter Mehlman!

Enjoy an exciting spin on your favorite podcast showbiz trivia game as we invite Carol to play IMDB Roulette: Writer's Edition, where she dives into the intricacies of writing for: Seinfeld, Curb, Hacks, SNL and Ellen, plus traveling the globe with Henry Winkler, George Foreman, Terry Bradshaw and William Shatner! (She now calls him Bill.)

Carol also shares her SNL writing regrets. (If she could only have gotten in better with Lorne.) We talk about her latest runaway hit book How To Write a Funny Speech and close the show with Fritz's favorite new Carol Leifer joke!

In recommendations --

Weezy: The HBO original, My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay

Fritz: Netflix documentary, Trainwreck: The Cult Of American Apparel

Carol Leifer

How To Write A Funny Speech: for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place by Carol Leifer and Rick Mitchell

Carol Leifer on Wiki

Carol Leifer on Instagram

Carol Leifer on Facebook

Carol Leifer Amazon Author Page

My Mom Jayne from Mariska Hargitay

Trainwreck: The Cult Of American Apparel

Media Path Podcast

Media Path on Buy Me a Coffee