Life Will Be the Death of Me with Chelsea Handler - I’m a Martha with Paul W. Downs

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

Hacks Co-creator Paul W. Downs joins Chelsea today to talk about discovering moments of kismet, what it’s like working in a creative throuple, and whether he’s a Martha Stewart or a Snooki.  Then: A nervous flyer seeks help after escaping Hurricane Katrina. A fiance wonders if her wealthy soon-to-be-husband is holding out on her.  And a child behavioral therapist struggles when her partner cuts her off from making decisions for their child.   * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at [e-mail] * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees.  This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all.  Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they finally eat the veggies? Will the pesto survive the first bite? Will the lunchbox come home empty, half full, or come home at all?

And will you finish episode eight before you're done slicing the cucumbers? Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Crave, Netflix, and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability.

Bell. Connection is everything. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. each week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and pop culture with your favorite writers book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions yeah i'm obsessed i'm obsessed listen to pro society on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts hi katherine hi chelsea i'm in new york city and i'm sweaty i'm a sweaty betty i went to the wrong studio this morning. Not your fault. I've been all over town, up and down town. It's only two o'clock in the afternoon and I've already changed my underwear twice. Great. Getting a little humid

down there. It's a little moist over here in New York. Yeah. So I'm only here for three more days. I'm on my transition to Mallorca. First I come to New York, then I go farther east and then I go farther east. That's what we did when we went to Mallorca with you. We like stopped in New York and saw some Broadway shows with a friend and then we, you know, peaced out to Spain for a week, i know i'm not seeing any broadway shows this week but i've been invited to a couple but i'm just trying to uh pop into my favorite restaurants since i'll be out of town and seeing all my friends that i haven't seen i like to make my presence known when i am in town because i'm i'm gone so much i'll be out of town for eight weeks now and doug is going to sleep away camp

for a month where he's going to learn how to come when i call him and not be on everything hopefully Yeah, he's, yeah, my baby, my baby. I love my baby. Well, I know you'll miss him, but we are very excited to see you move off to Mallorca and have some fun for a while. Yeah, you can tune into my Instagram to watch me with my nieces and nephews

while I'm corrupting them. Perfection. I'm reading a book right now called Hamnet. I've heard that's good. It's on my little to read list. Yeah, I'm halfway through. It's nice. I like things that are set like centuries ago.

So I don't really have to, you know? I'm reading something right now that's set a couple centuries ago and like it's a little bit of like an unlikable main character. I like that. Kind of a witch and a bitch. Yeah, I like that though.

I know it's not often you have an unlikable main character, but I sometimes prefer that. Yeah, it's called Fine Shade with a Y. Chelsea, we have a very fun guest today who... Oh my God, I'm excited. He's so ridiculous. He's so funny.

And tonight is the season finale of his show. Season finale of Hacks, everybody. He created Hacks, which is a great show with Gene Smart and Hannah Einbinder on Max. And our friend and guest today is the person responsible for it. Well, he and his wife are responsible for it. And Bestie. And Bestie.

Yeah. Oh, that's right. Him, his wife, and their best friend. They're a throuple. Please welcome Paul W. Downs. Oh, my God. You're so ridiculous. Paul W., have you ever been on a Zoom before?

I have. Aren't you a showrunner? I am, but we don't usually have echo issues. Just to fill our listeners in, Paul W. went from his closet or some sort of bunker. I was in a bunker, yeah. And it was all wood, so there was an echo. And then we told him maybe if he could get into bed or something. He didn't want to do that.

We offered you to get in a bed, and instead you went around the corner into some... Is this a birthing room that you're in now? This is a bedroom. This is a bedroom. There is a bed. But here's the thing. It's a laptop. So I'd have to like hold the laptop.

I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no. We just want you to be as comfortable as possible because you're stressing me out. Oh, no. Don't get stressed. Paul, congratulations on season three of the very funny, very successful hacks on HBO Max. Well, we call it Max now, right? Yeah, I suppose so. We do.

Legally, we must. Yeah. Yes, we must. How has this experience been? Because, OK, to fill our listeners in, Paul writes with his wife, Lucia. Yep, Lucia. And you guys came up with this, right? We did.

We came up with it with our very best friend, Jen Statsky, who's our third showrunner. Okay, right. I have a very good friend from high school named Jen Statsky. No way. Yeah. And did you go to high school in New Jersey? I did, Livingston High School. So tell Jen.

I'm from New Jersey. My parents are from Randolph and Dover. Yeah. First of all, I should say. I should have started with huge fan. But also, I've always thought you could be in my family. you just i just i just get the vibe you'd fit right in yeah i'm very i'm a very jersey girl at heart that's really where the the edges come yeah so are you right i'm a jersey girl too yeah

would you compare yourself to snooki at all no i'm not a snooki i'm more martha stewart i gotta say right you know pick a jersey girl that i i i feel is my yeah i do too because she's got the right amount of bitch well she's got an extra amount of bitch which i respect i do too i yeah I got heavy on the bitch and light on the duck face. She's light on the pleasantries. Yeah. She doesn't care. She doesn't have time.

Every time I see her, she's like, who are you with, Chelsea? Who brought, who's your plus one? That's all she cares about. And I'm like, yeah, I like, I like that she cuts to the chase. Like, I don't want to say how it's so hot today either to anyone, you know? I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's embarrassing.

Okay. So tell us, because I know that you said, you said you were quoted as saying that women are funnier than men. Well, yeah, I'll stand by that. I do. That's a good thing for men to start saying, you know, just start practicing that. I agree. And is that why you wanted to do a show centered around a female comedian? Yes. We were talking about how my first the first live stand up show, like real stand up show I ever saw was Paula Poundstone in Morristown, New Jersey. And there were just like so many stand

ups that we were talking about that never got the same do that a ton of their male counterparts did. And we were just like, it's interesting, especially, you know, because I met my wife and Jen in New York at the UCB. And we were like, you know, part of that alt comedy scene, which also- Are you, I'm sorry, are you guys a throuple?

We're not a throuple. Sexually? We do not, the three of us don't have sex. Okay, just checking. I'm just clarifying, but that's good to know that. So is Jen,

does she have a partner slash lover? She does. She has a husband actually. Okay, because that's very relevant to this conversation. She does have a husband. He would probably be fine if we, you know, became sexual,

but we're not. Okay, well- The truth is we're not. don't count your chickens before they hatch you never know what's down the pike that's exactly right i don't think i used that expression the right way but i like the way i used it i did too i did too so not a throuple uh but yeah we we just were like in this alt comedy scene also where there was a little bit of like what's cool comedy what's not cool comedy you know and we were interested in exploring what it was like for like a younger comedian who maybe

thought someone like deborah vance was a hack not a cool comedy person what it would be like for her to understand like all of the all of the indignities that person suffered to like pave the way for other young comedians like her so when we thought of it we we wrote an email to each other that was just like the log line of the show and we could not stop thinking about it anytime we hung out we talked about it i mean it is such a great idea for a show to look at something that way i would have thought in the opposite direction like to prove this tough tough bad guy was like really did have a heart but that's also part of the story too with gene's character right yeah person yeah it's like a like a love affair between hannah and gene smart it is a love affair and we

actually talk about it that way we we talk about the thaw all the time uh-huh yeah yeah so you did you never did stand up when you were at ucb i did do stand up i did i did mostly sketch and improv but i did do stand-up and actually it was because i did stand up and i found it a lonely and b like what i was doing was like a lot of like care i would often be like hey i have some tech and people at clubs would be like what and now i feel like there's a lot of tech in stand-up like you go to a show and it's like powerpoints and tons of stuff but i don't know it just it didn't feel like the right place i don't know what you're fucking talking about i have never seen a powerpoint presentation at a stand-up show i mean i understand the differentiation between

alternative and stand up because Hannah's alternative, I would describe Hannah's comedy as alternative, which I just did in an article at the Wall Street Journal or something like that for her. Because she is alternative. Like she has tech. Yes, she does have tech. That's right. She does. That's a great. Yes. She's a perfect example of it. Paul W., do you think Hannah's character is written after you is like loosely based on you? No, she's the closest to Jen. and the reason i mean there is parts of myself and lucia and jen in the character and also parts of us in deborah as well again i'm a martha stewart and i feel like the biggest similarity is that jen early when when twitter was like just popping off she became very successful on twitter

i don't know can he be successful she a lot of people followed her and she got hired essentially i mean she had a great packet i'm sure but she was hired to write for jimmy fallon and i think part of her discovery was because she was so well liked her comedy her jokes were so good on twitter so that part of like the origin story of the character is borrowed from jen's life but there's a little bit of all of us in it yeah i mean it's nice to have a team of three when you're doing anything creative because that gives you two heads to bounce ideas off of so you can really like check the box of you know because sometimes when you're working with yourself you always have to bounce it off of someone else before you can put it live or write it down because i do actually

that's not true i don't but i but i do sometimes i do if i'm like on the fence about something i you know bounce it off a couple people to get the reaction and all i usually need is one confirmation i'm like i was right that's funny you know yeah yeah you say it out loud to see if there's a reaction and if there's not you walk away you know with your head between your legs right or like me because i have i've continued to do stand-up to a certain degree not enough to be maybe considered one, but I will keep doing a bit that doesn't work. If I feel like it works for you truly years, I just keep doing it. I'm like, I think that's funny. If I do something twice and two times, it doesn't work. I don't do it again. That's probably the way to do it. No, I don't

think there are any rules to anything. There really aren't the goal. I think for every creative and you tell me if you disagree in any way is to be confident in their, what they're creating, to have confidence in your creative ability. And when you're confident in what you're creating, like that you can smell that and when you're not you can smell it so if you're on stage doing something that doesn't work and you're confident about it it will still work right yeah i think that's true i don't lose an audience because i think it's funny it does tickle me and i do think that's something that please don't use that expression on this podcast that it tickles you no all right no not today it's like okay that's a personal request oh good to know you don't like

to be tickled no i don't i don't like that i don't like the word tickle i find it very molesty Oh, 100%. Like, come and get a tickle. It's like, no, thank you. I'm not coming to get a tickle. Or tickle your fancy is another expression that I could do without, but I use it all the time in spite of it because it's so stupid. This might tickle your fancy, but yeah.

It's evocative. Right. It's very evocative. But no, I think you're right. You have to be confident and you have to enjoy it yourself. That's one of the things that having three of us, it is good because we're so confident because if we can make one of the other three laugh, my favorite audience are the two of them.

And so we're constantly trying to make each other laugh, but it's also great because we have a tiebreaker. So that's also, there's a really good part of the three in creative collaboration because of that too. So you guys won a bunch of Emmys. You went on your honeymoon, is this correct? And then you flew back straight to the Emmys? Yeah, well, we weirdly,

because of when the Emmys were happening, we did our honeymoon before our wedding. So we got married. I mean, the true story is this. I don't know if I could get it up to do that. Like do it in reverse. Or maybe I would do the honeymoon and then leave before the marriage. It was great to do in reverse because I'm like, no. Well, we actually found out like 11 days before our honeymoon that Lucia was two months pregnant, which we did not plan. And the baby was yours?

And the baby was mine, as far as I know. Okay. Well, obviously that's something to look into. So we went on our honeymoon, we got married, and then we came back and like four days later, were the Emmys. So it was a really crazy month. And then you won Emmys. How many Emmys did you win that night? I only won one. Lucia won two that night. Jean won one. I mean, there were a few Emmys for the show, but I personally took home one. Let's talk about Jean Smart. Tell me about your experience with, because Jean Smart lost her husband at the beginning of this series. I remember Hannah was telling me that. And then she had this huge resurgence at the same time, which I find those things kind of coincide in people's lives all the time, right?

there could be a big loss and then there could be like a major shift in a different area so tell us about choosing gene smart for the role like how did you decide well we we wrote the part without anybody in mind and we had written the script and we made a list of people that we thought would be good for it and she was honestly at the top of the list because we wanted someone who could do like their heartfelt moments in the show more dramatic parts but also we needed her to be a believable stand-up and deliver a joke and there's not a ton of women that are that age that we thought would be perfect for it and so we sent it to her and she met with us and said you know I always wanted to be a stand-up when I was 12 I everyone was mermaid or a princess and I dressed

as Phyllis Diller and none of the other kids got it but she's like I've always wanted to do that so it's weirdly kismet and then a lot of weird kismet stuff kept happening like what else tell us I like weird kismet shit you know when Jean's husband passed we sent her flowers and they were her wedding flowers and she's like it's so weird how would you have known that anemones were my wedding flower and we had centered and we just like a weird coincidence but there kept being these things that she's like when we would write the script she'd be like do you know i was obsessed with christmas i mean be like no we don't really know you that well we're just starting the season you know we but there was a lot of things that were written into the show that she was like this

is as if you live in my house or you know there's just a bunch of stuff that felt weird you know felt weirdly like it was it was a destined thing she was meant for it but yeah your character is so fucking funny. You and Megan. Oh my God. Megan is so ridiculous. I mean, does she ever say anything serious? I'm like, every time I see her, I'm like, are you in character or are you, I'm like, is this your real person? She's always on. She's always on. But I, I have gotten some serious moments from her and actually you'll see it in the season. She plays some serious moments in the show. Ooh, I don't know if I'm ready for that. I got to tell you what she's making. She was making me cry in the scene. It's season three. It's the finale of

season three she was so good I was moved and during it it was crazy she's great yeah that's okay that's enough about that now how do you know when you are writing something and you're starring in it I always am curious about directing and starring in your own stuff how do you know when it's actually serving the purpose like serving the script versus just serving your own role and any expansion of it yes yeah yeah yeah I think because being a writer on the show like writing the show i think i care so much more about the story than my part in the show that oftentimes i'm like we can lose we can lose that scene of jimmy i i honestly often i'm like the one who's like just cut that and luckily i have these other people who are like no keep it

in that was a funny scene we got to keep it in but when i'm when i'm directing i mostly direct episodes that jimmy isn't really in because i find that hard too i'm like i don't know how you do a whole movie where you're the lead of the movie and directing the movie i'm like what do you watch playback every five minutes and it seems or you're in a scene you're like can we just what i need you to do you know you're directing your same partner but you're writing directing and starring in this that's a lot i didn't realize you were also directing yeah i direct only a handful of the episodes lucia all right we get it we get it you're a director you don't have to get defensive and a showrunner i'm saying i don't direct that many i don't i don't even i dabble i dabble i

devil but we have fun and how does that work let me tell i want to know about like being with your spouse working together living together how how does that vibe work you have a kid now so we do and obviously you have to have help because if you're both working we do we do whenever i think of a couple working together i envision dr phil with his wife in the audience and think what don't you have anything to do you know like why is she sitting there listening to her fucking husband like that's an hour she could get away from him and she's choosing to go and listen to him rant and rave but but I think I guess I'm going to answer my own question here but then I want you to elaborate Paul W because working together with a spouse in a creative space must

be very stimulating right like more stimulating like being able to carry your work home with you when it is creative isn't as onerous as it is to carry your work home with you if you're a cpa or something exactly we we are in a way we're always working but we're never working because even when we're together and we're at a restaurant and we see a waitress who's like doing something fun we're like this is this is a scene you know what i mean we're constantly collecting material but also we're never really bored because we always have something and the thing is because we also work on comedy together it's about trying to make the other person laugh so again it's not like being a cpa or even doing something dramatic i'm like yeah we're not bringing

home some true crime murder story you know and thinking about the directing of that we're we're thinking about a better joke or directing the ashley madison documentary is that what you were thinking of saying exactly that yeah we're not doing that we're such a beautiful documentary and what about like because it's very heartwarming the show and so i'm always wondering like the line because i like i would always err on the side of hard comedy and this is this is i wouldn't say hard comedy, right? I wouldn't say that. I would say that it's comedy, but there's a lot of heart, I guess, from Gene. Sometimes it can be hard comedy. How do you toe the line? Like, what's the most important for you and your storytelling vision? And what's most important

for the show? Funny first. I mean, it is in our minds a comedy. And so we're always making sure that it's funny first, but whether that just be the scene or the dialogue. And we do have this kind of cheat code because gene plays a stand-up so we get to like write not only stand-up jokes for her but also like you know she's a person that makes jokes constantly she's constantly joking she's constantly ribbing ava and ava's throwing it back like we get to write jokes which i think when you see a a comedy where people you know whatever work in a hospital and then they're slinging jokes you're like well it feels written because who right there's many people that are not professional comedians who are really funny i'm not saying that you've never met a

funny phlebotomist? You know, I haven't. I don't think I've met a phlebotomist. It only took me two tries to get phlebotomist out of my mouth. That was good. And that's a funny word. I'm assuming that you've had therapy in your life, right? You've been to therapy. I have indeed. You have. I have, yeah. It's impossible to live in LA and be in this industry and not go to therapy. It's like the gateway drug to therapy is being in Hollywood. You have to go to therapy at some point if you've lived there. Okay. Well, we're going to take a break and then we're going to come back and we're going to answer some callers questions. Okay. Okay. We'll be right back. The Jonas Brothers are running it back.

We live the Burning Up Tour and celebrate the biggest Jonas Brother hits that have defined a generation. One incredible celebration. One unforgettable night. See the Jonas Brothers live at RBC Amphitheater, September 28th. Get tickets now at Ticketmaster.ca. Jonas Brothers, the Burn It Up Tour, all over again. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, Shut up. Don't say anything. every week i'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable i knew if he woke up without a doubt he was going to hurt me i started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed and i just started screaming they are abducted stalked controlled and nearly silenced but these aren't stories about what's taken from them they're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments,

nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. This week, we'd love to get questions from anyone with parenting questions or step-parenting

questions. We'd also like to hear from any trans or non-binary folks who would like advice from Chelsea, whether that be about friendships, dating, work issues, or anything else, write into DearChelseaPodcast at gmail.com. And we're back with Paul W. Downs. Hello again. And he has no relation to the other zillions of Paul Downs out there, right? Because I'm assuming that W had to be put in there. Yeah. Well, I do have, I mean, I have a relationship to my dad, but if I didn't have the W, he might collect a residual, which is not good. You know, it's got to go to me.

Are you in any way related to George W. Bush? No, it's not the W. Oh, okay. The W is a key word for me, but yeah, no. Oh, I was just asking. Just, you know, I ask every guest. Yes. Our first question comes from Elle.

She says, Dear Chelsea, I'm writing to ask you about how to approach a prenup. My fiance is a self-made millionaire and has two kids. I've always known that there will be a prenup eventually, but I feel like the expectations are always changing. None of this is very romantic, and I hate going through this process. I don't want the money he made before we were together, but having said that, I want to stand up for myself. I want more money. I have no kids, I'm almost a decade younger, and I've had a successful career.

But it feels like since we're starting a partnership, I should have a somewhat equal share in what happens going forward. How do you recommend handling money matters like this in a couple? L. Oh, God. Prenups are, yeah, I don't know the legalities around a prenup because I'm smart enough to never have been married. Paul W., what about you? You're married. I am married.

I don't have a prenup. Okay. Well, you need to get one, even though you guys share the same job. We got to do. I know that's the thing. I'm like, that's going to be tricky. No, there's no, you can get a post-nup actually. That is a thing.

People do do that. Or they re they, they renegotiate their prenup once they're down the road, like five or 10 years, like who's counting. Obviously they are because they're like, all right, now it's time for this to, you know, mature. But I would say, first of all, you need an attorney that is going to have your best interest in mind. you can't rely on your fiance's attorney to have your best interest. That is not a thing. They

don't have your best interest. They have his best interest. So you have to just find a lawyer and find a female lawyer, I would say, to help negotiate your terms. And you're absolutely right. If you're going to move in and be a partnership, then there should be more of a partnership. But yeah, you're in no way entitled to anything that he made before that or any of the money that is set aside for his children. I think that's right. I think it's like, OK, we just make terms that you guys are a partnership from that point forward. I think that's right. I was once engaged very quietly to someone and as soon as I heard about the prenup, I was like, we're not doing this. It was from my business managers. Once I heard about what it would entail, I was like, never mind. I'm not even going to have the problem to ever have to deal with. I will say our business manager did recommend a prenup and we did not do it.

Yeah. There are those people. You must have thought you were really in love at that time, Paul W. Well, we had been together for like 15 years. that's a long time 15 years so now you've been together 20 years no 18 years no like 17 17 okay my math is sometimes a little bit off mine is off too i don't i'm like this is kind of an approximation you know yeah it was great anyway well lengths of time durations of time is always an approximation people are like when did your mother die i'm like i don't know it could have been a year ago it could have been 10 years ago i have no sense of like time right right right i have very bad memory too oh you have a really bad memory a lot of guys have bad memories it's

impressive when you meet a guy with good memory I sometimes have a good one sometimes a bad one it depends how much pot I spoke that day but yeah yeah I think that's really good advice for Elle like get your own attorney because it's not a romantic thing and it needs to just like not be romantic and you shouldn't even discuss it with your husband exactly just don't even discuss it let that lawyers deal with it people are there to do those jobs so you don't have to do them do not get involved it will it is it will get much more unromantic if you do exactly I agree yeah keep the Don't talk about money's always an ugly conversation. It's an uncomfortable conversation. If you need it, it's a desperate conversation. If you have it, you know, it's just always like

it's sticky. Yeah. Yeah. So there you go, Elle. Our first caller today is Bree. She is 37 and she's a therapist. Dear Chelsea, I'm a lesbian in my mid thirties who's worked for the last 10 years as both a child behavioral therapist and a family therapist. It can be a very difficult and very rewarding job, and I love it. At home, I have a wife who I've been with since our early 20s. We have a beautiful four-year-old daughter and are on the verge of trying for another child. We have a wonderful marriage. She's my best friend, my ride or die, and 90% of the time, things are great. Parenting is where it gets tricky. She's the one who carried our daughter and has always been a mama bear by nature. While I'm also a mom, I often take the quote

dad roles when parenting. Our daughter has a special bond with my wife, which is great, but sometimes it leaves me feeling a little left out. And as much as I love my job, it feels like it's working against me sometimes at home. While my wife and I often parent cohesively, we'll occasionally disagree with some parenting decisions. Unfortunately, whenever I disagree with her opinion, she automatically says that I'm being too clinical. I try not to use professional language for this reason, and I do think I do a pretty good job. Needless to say, anytime we have a parenting disagreement, her opinion always wins, and she disqualifies mine due to my profession.

My wife struggles with a lot of insecurity, and I can see some of the same traits developing in our daughter. I've tried to explain that there are things we can do as parents to build our daughter's self-confidence, but my words fall on deaf ears and she does get defensive. I've suggested seeing a family therapist ourselves, but she revealed to me that she doesn't believe in therapy, which is a whole other dilemma.

Is it better for me to back down and go along with her instincts as a mom, sometimes against my better judgment and training am i really letting my career blur my natural parenting brie oh hi brie hi hi this is our special guest today paul w downs hi hi hi that's so it's not funny but it's very funny that you're that's like being a ghostbuster and having your spouse not believe in ghosts that's fucked up yeah it's been challenging people cannot not be open to therapy. That's just so stupid to say. You need a parenting counselor, somebody who can talk to both of you because it's not cool that she's disagreeing with you. You guys are supposed to be on the same team. Yeah. And I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that when our daughter

was first born, I'm not great with newborns. That did not come naturally to me. I was awkward. I fumbled around a lot. And I think she sort of panicked and pulled back. And my expertise is really from five and above and so i think she was like you know what we're done i'm gonna make the decisions and you can be over here okay well that's that you can't be relegated to like a second in command a i wouldn't worry about that people bond with children at different ages like don't worry about not bonding at to the same level when she was an infant is your daughter yeah a daughter yeah so don't worry about that you're gonna have your own bonding with her at whatever age it's gonna happen that always shakes itself out but your wife seems to be the bigger

issue, which is you have to get her to understand that she doesn't get to decide. She's not the only parent in this unit. This family unit has two parents and she's dominating. Yeah. And she's never dominated in anything before. I've always been that kind of person too. So I'm like, oh, I'm good with whatever. I make all the decisions for a lot of things, which can be frustrating because I love a back and forth. And so now she's like, you know what? I've never done anything and made any decisions. Now I'm going to stand up for myself and make all these decisions. And, you know, it's hard to argue with that. But I'd like to be a role in my daughter's life. And you have every right to be a role in your daughter's life. So like,

that's the most important thing. It's not about who's right or who's wrong. It's about both being open to listening to each other's opinions. You do family therapy, right? Yeah, I'm a family therapist and a child behavioral therapist. Yeah. Okay, so what would you say? I'm like, you know, I'm like, this is so hard because you're, in it, but this is fascinating. This is hard. I mean, the immediate thought that would come to mind for me is there's clearly some trust issues on her end in terms, she did have a very traumatic childhood. There is a lot of trust background issues there. She doesn't believe in therapy because she doesn't trust the process. She doesn't trust that someone, a stranger could

help her with what she experienced. And she doesn't trust other people to help make big decisions like myself for our daughter. And at first, before we had a child, it was easier because it was just the two of us. And now there's a whole human life here that is impacting our ability to trust each other, basically. So that would be my first thought is there's some trust building to have to occur here, but I don't know how to do it. Well, especially with what you just said earlier, which is that you made all the decisions until this and you're a child psychologist or a behavioralist. And so she's looking at you like, oh, no, no, no, this is another thing you're going to dominate. And now she's stepping in and going, no, I'm going to take this role.

So with that information, with everything you said, that sounds pretty kind of textbook. So you should be able to handle this without us. And how old is she? Your daughter, not your wife. She's four and a half now. Four and a half. Okay. You're about to get to your expertise. yes and you know I'd love another child but I don't want to go through all this over again okay well you have to get into therapy together she can't that that attitude isn't going to be good for your marriage or your relationship or your family dynamic so you've got to really work

on that and work on that do you see someone uh yes I do we'll talk to your person about that I mean I know you're trying to talk to us about it but you should also talk to your person and see what they say like what is an organic way for you to bring her in where she doesn't feel threatened and she doesn't feel it's about her and you can organically bring the conversation in around whatever the pretense of her coming to therapy which is you want to make sure that you're staying connected maybe you don't feel so connected to her yeah that's true you know and i don't think you go in saying like staking your claim of what you think you're missing i think you go in like i want us to be more unified as parents and i want to be closer to you and acknowledge the

closeness she has with your daughter without sounding like it's a threat you know what I mean like it's so great the way that you've stepped in it makes my life it's it's so nice to know she's in such safe hands you know that obviously it's her mother but still like people need to hear those things you know and that's usually where the insecurity lies it's like this deep-rooted fear that you're not doing a good enough job at whatever it is you're doing right I think you've hit the nail on the head there with her I think that you're absolutely right she would respond much better to a positive approach there instead of in the past we would just combat I would say why am I not allowed you know in on this and she would get defensive so I think that's absolutely

right yeah yeah with people who get defensive it's just like you have to like pour love over them over and over and over again until they just melt and give up yeah it's almost like you want to say can you come to my session because I want you to help me with this thing yes exactly I'm feeling sad about this thing and maybe you can shed some light on the situation with my therapist. Like, you know, if you make it more about what you need and not what they need to change, that might be helpful. And I think that's right. It's just about like being like, you're so great at all these things. Sometimes I don't feel what, you know, I do feel like sometimes people do the counterbalance. They do the yin to the yang. And it's like, it might be the case that

she's like, no, you're great. You're a great parent. You also studied this. You went to school for it. And you know, I do believe in it. Absolutely. But you can still feel inadequate within a relationship. And that's a good descriptor to use for the way you feel to her because that makes it, you know, it's not aggressive. Yeah. And I think there was also that second layer for me of I was I'm not a blood parent. And so I was already feeling insignificant that I didn't have the same role in my daughter's life with that whole second parent, but not blood parent situation. So that really haunted me for a while as well. I'm working on that. When you, you know, you said that you're thinking about another child, are you, is she

going to carry again and use her own eggs and everything? Yep. Yep. So same situation, full blood sibling. But you're having honest feelings about that. Reservations, right? You said? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So you got to like get this, it's going to be fine. You just have to get her to a place where you have to really come from a place where you're sharing it with her rather than prescribing it to her. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just navigating both her and being a same-sex couple with same-sex parenting, which we don't have a lot of examples to pull from. So we're sort of making it up on the fly. Just follow Brandy Carlisle on Instagram. She and her wife seem to make it work, even though Brandy Carlisle is on. Can you join a band and go on tour?

That seems to be a great click. Yeah, let's get out of the house. can you start doing stand-up that's your answer no talent there either most people don't know okay well good luck with everything and keep us posted let us know if that works out and you get her to come to therapy awesome maybe i'll get her to come here and get therapy from you yeah tell her to call dear bring her on yeah that's fun we are we are looking for couples i'm not fucking joking i know i like talking to couples so if you could get her to do it we'll set it up all right thank you guys so much. Thanks, Bri. Bye, Bri. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they

finally eat the veggies? Will the pesto survive the first bite? Will the lunchbox come home empty, half full, or come home at all? And will you finish episode eight before you're done slicing the cucumbers? Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Crave, Netflix, and Disney Plus from $94 a month, price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell. Connection is everything. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, Shut up. Don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them.

They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments,

nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See you between the pages. Paul, do you defer to your wife about your child, about your parenting? Like, or does she defer to you? Who's in charge? I feel like she is. I think it depends. It depends on the moment.

I feel like we both have our thoughts. I mean, sometimes it differs, but it's, it's so, it's so minor. It's usually around like, should we keep him up in the car before nap time? You know what I mean? It's stuff like that. But I get what Brie was saying about, because I feel like dads feel this way too, even if they are blood related, it's like, well, they didn't carry the child. They also didn't, if they, if the child was breastfed, they didn't breastfeed.

And there's like a bond that happens there. And in the beginning, dad, the dad is kind of like the butler, not, you know, he's just like making sure everybody has the things, but not really doing as much. So I do get that. I get what Brie's talking about. Yeah, I would definitely like I even hearing it, like there's one birth parent and then there's one. So you're assuming a male role almost because you're like the dad or a traditional male role. But I would feel that like if I was in a lesbian relationship and my wife carried the baby, I'd be like, all right, what am I, odd man out? It's like how you feel after a threesome, you know, when you're the extra. Just like that. It's like how Paul W. feels every day in his workplace. Paul W. always feels the post threesome.

I can tell. Oh, by the way, Paul, I just agreed to do a residency in Vegas at the Cosmopolitan once a month. I know. Congrats. I love that. I was inspired by the show. No, get out of here.

Get out of here. But I read that you guys spend so much time in Vegas, so you actually have to live there part-time when you're shooting, right? We actually, I hate to say it, we shoot mostly in LA. We're only there for like three days a season. Oh, okay. Okay. That makes sense.

We do love the Vegas portion of our shoot. We love going there. And, you know, it's so it's it is the show. So I love Vegas. I think it's I love the way her house is in Vegas with that long drive. I love when a driveway isn't is too long to be called a driveway. And it's just a drive. It's a drive.

That's what I say whenever I go to Ted Sarandos' house. It's like it's a drive, you know, like it's a whole. It loops around the property and you're like, oh, am I at Never Neverland? I want to go. Everybody I know is going. I got to go. Yeah, I got to go to Ted. they're the best hosts okay so yeah i love the way her comes into her house i'm like oh god that's

the only way you could get anyone to move to vegas is to give them some sprawling indoor amusement park for a house you know basically like you have all the fixings you need here you don't ever have to leave because it's fucking hot there you're not are you gonna live there no no no no you're going to now i literally go i fly i i perform once a month so it's like oh oh great it's not like a weekly thing. Right, right. I tried to calculate in my head how many hours in a row I could stay in Vegas while also remaining stable. You know what I mean? I do. I can't be trusted in areas like that or Monte Carlo. Oh, wow. Oh, Monte Carlo would be really fun. I would see you there. I've been dying to throw Monte Carlo into something. I love that. What do we have? What's

Well, now that we've hit Monte Carlo, our next caller is Kelly. Kelly is 29 and says, Dear Chelsea, I write to you because I need you to help me get the hell over a fear. My partner is a world traveler. It's one of her favorite things. She would love nothing more than to go somewhere extra cool with me. I also love to travel and take vacations, but usually ones I can drive to. You see, I'm afraid of planes. She and I have been together for four years now. She's been patient and supportive, but it has been four years, and I owe it to her and me to shake it off. I refuse to fly for about 20 years now. I think my avoidance is rooted in past experience of turbulence, fear of no exit or control,

a fatal plane crash occurring in a city my partner was visiting at the time, intrusive thoughts, and overall anxiety. My therapist is on board to help me through the plane fear, even via virtual reality. My doctor has given me Ativan to use on my first ever adult flight, whenever that may be. In conclusion, I'm getting good building blocks toward my first flight, but the thought still horrifies me. I need Chelsea Handler to tell me to get the hell over it, maybe. Tell me, what's so good about flying? Your advice will help my partner like me even more, Kelly. And Kelly, I do need you to tell us what you told me on our call together about, like, the last time you flew and when that was.

Yes. Hello, everyone. Hi. Welcome. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. So my last flight was in 2005. I was very young and Hurricane Katrina was basically hitting as we were leaving. The hurricane was hitting and hitting turbulence in the air. Just all of that combined really freaked me out. Yeah, but you're fine. You're fine now. Nothing happened.

So look, the worst thing happened and you're fine. I mean, the worst thing didn't happen, But it came close to happening or what you think was going to cause that. First of all, I don't know if this will help you, but it helped me a long time ago. I don't have a fear of flying, but I remember someone telling me that when you're experiencing turbulence, it's almost like the opposite of crashing. Like it is the most normal expected thing to happen and that planes don't get into trouble during turbulence. That's not what causes planes to go. You know, I mean, maybe with weather changing the way it is because of climate change, that it could be it could escalate to that. but that's not where where crashes come from turbulence so you should know that and write

that down in front of you so you can read that over and over again you know what i mean for when you fly i'm fucking serious what but just you are fine you are fine you are safe you are fine i am safe blah blah blah over and over and over again to yourself to calm yourself down while you're on the plane and out of van didn't help you i haven't tried it yet oh it's gonna be great you're gonna you're going to love it. The other thing is I would recommend you go to a hypnotist to try to get over this because Kerry Gaynor's in LA, but that would require a flight. So I don't know. I, I went to him for smoking cigarettes. I have tons of people. Do you know who he is? I've heard of him. Yeah. Like he's this famous hypnotist who is, I had a friend who went for

candy for like a sugar addiction. I went, I had a friend who went for biting her toenails. Okay. Apparently, the two biggest phobias are spiders and flying. Those are the, or no, sorry, fear of public speaking and flying. Spiders are scary too. We feel for the spider fear of people. But can you look up a hypnotist? You have to try it. You do it three times and you will, like, it works for a lot of people.

So don't rule that out. And you know, my uncle flies planes and I'm like, this is crazy. This is scary. But you know what he said to me? And it actually is in my head all the time. Planes want to stay in the air. The way that they're designed, they don't, it's hard to get them down. Actually, the landing is, not to scare you, one of the most treacherous parts.

Okay, well, that wasn't necessary to say, Paul W., what are you doing right now? So she gets on the plane, she's so, okay, and then she remembers what you said about the fucking landing. That's the last five minutes. Yeah, but then it's all, then you've ruined the whole flight. You've ruined my next flight, too. it's not it's not it's not dangerous to land it's fine it's all safe it's safer than driving in a car you know that you've heard the stats it is safer than driving in a car have you been in have you been in a golf cart yeah so golf carts don't really have a suspension that lets them i

mean they're really bouncy but they don't tip over they don't roll you know what i mean that's exactly what turbulence is it's like it's like bounces it's not going to make the plane fall out of the air it's like being in a golf cart and i do i know that sounds crazy but i do think because turbulence i don't love it either i don't know who loves turbulence but i do think about the golf cart analogy whenever there's turbulence and also that the plane wants to be in the air it's i don't think that line of thinking is helpful at all does that make you feel better yes i i wrote all those down right it's also like an overstimulation thing and not liking to be around people and have no escape so i'm wondering why should they put for like

a first class flight that might yeah yeah that will help a lot out of van in first class will really help also i think turbulence is less apparent in the front i think yeah okay i took out of van for flying because i was like a period where i was pretty nervous flyer and it like you still think like oh i might die but like it makes you not care that you might die it just takes that away i will also say tiktok there are a lot of people on there who are like let me walk you through the different sounds you're going to hear as you're taking off or as you're landing and here's why they're not scary i recently stumbled across this and it made my next flight like so much easier hop to download tiktok yes well let's not get ahead of

ourselves if you don't have tiktok yet don't ruin it probably stay away from it and just look up what she's talking about yeah don't download they're on youtube too um but does any of that help you definitely definitely i'm just really grateful you can do it thank you do it it's gonna be so worth it you're gonna love it yeah i just want to pick a place i really want to go to and that it'll feel really worth it and hearing your words of encouragement is super helpful yeah get after it because once you get that first flight down then you can travel wherever you want girl and that's the that's the key to the rest of your life like looking and seeing different new places i mean how exciting is that to know that you can go and travel around the

world and you're not going to be scared yeah if courtney can get travis barker to fly again you can fly again I think Courtney could get Travis Barker to do a lot of things that he hasn't done in a long time he seems pretty devoted to her I think that's okay well good luck with everything take care thank you so much take care bye I don't like these requests when people say I want Chelsea to tell me to get my shit together I want Chelsea to tell me to go for a flight because it's like that's all I have to say then like they're not letting me decide what to say then I'm just like go do it I think we gave her a lot of stuff though I think it was good well we did cover a lot of stuff thank god paul was here people just don't have like chelsea

handler confidence so they're like give that to me you know it's not confidence it's that i don't care you know what i mean long enough to make a choice i'm just like let's go keep moving also if you haven't checked out my opening dates in vegas check them out they're on my website chelsea handler.com we announced four dates in vegas plus my all my other cities that i'm coming to get your tickets at chelsea handler.com before this tour finally fucking wraps up we're gonna take a quick break paul put your coffee down what you're on camera thought it was a break we're gonna take a break and paul w and i are gonna have we're gonna be back behind every night spent making the kids lunches there's a lot of suspense will they finally eat

the veggies will the pesto survive the first bite will the lunchbox come home empty half full or come home at all and will you finish episode eight before you're done slicing the cucumbers Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Crave, Netflix, and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell. Connection is everything. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters,

pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. From bestselling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table it's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters and that is a trojan horse whether you're looking for literary deep dives smart pop culture conversations or a community of readers who love to think a little too much you're in the right

place listen to pro society on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. We're back. All right. Our last email comes from Kim. She says, Dear Chelsea, I recently went through my first adult breakup. My wife and I were together for 12 years, married for seven, and it has been the most difficult thing I've ever had to grow through. I live a double life split between corporate America and being a comedian. I've been in a love-hate relationship with stand-up since 2006 and right before the pandemic I co-wrote a web series that we finally put in the festival circuit. I'm considering getting back on stage and of course all my stand-up friends are like, you have so much material. Let's just say that the

way my marriage ended is very complicated and involves a hypnotist, a magician, a clown, and possibly a cult. Can we get that hypnotist number for the other caller? Let's hope so. I don't know if I have a Lifetime original movie on my hands or comedy gold, but it's something. That's the background, and here's the dilemma. My ex asked me to keep some information about our breakup on the DL because it could affect her career. Although I can easily tell jokes and not say her name directly, things do tend to end up on the internet, and people that know us will very quickly put two and two together. I'm also not sure what protections I have if I decided to write a script or something that's, quote, based on true events. I'm torn between feeling the need

to protect someone that honestly really hurt me and wanting to dive back into my comedy world and tell my story. Kim. I don't know what the legalities around that are because I know about writing a book how you have to change things for people so that no one can recognize who you're talking about. But you can still talk about the people,

things, the experiences you've had. You just have to shroud who that other person is. And I don't know if just being in front of people who know that you dated her is enough of a connection. Like, that's still your experience. You're not calling her out. You've had other girlfriends, I'm sure well maybe it's been a long time it sounded like so maybe not but I think you can

talk about her without don't say her name don't do that if somebody asks for privacy everyone has a right to privacy even though I don't respect that you know but I think you should definitely pursue stand-up and see what you've got in this material because nothing is funny like tragedy really nothing you give anything two weeks and it is cooked perfectly to bring it out and start sharing it. So I am a firm believer in the darker the moment, the funnier, the potential for funny is greater. 100%. I think that the saddest stuff can be the funniest. And also, if you have material that, I mean, it sounds pretty rich. That material sounds good. It feels like you have to do it, especially if the person hurt you. I get it. We don't want to expose the person. That person

has a right to privacy. But I don't know, unless you have an hour of material about this woman who then you know you tape a special and it becomes huge i don't think it's gonna impact her career you know people you guys have in common might be like oh they had a clown yeah exactly by the time you would would get a comedy special you're gonna have had had more girlfriends so there's no direct relationship i understand you've been with someone for 12 years so when you say your ex everyone knows who knows you knows who you're talking about but not everybody knows who you're talking about so it is kind of a murky area but comics do it all the time my whole first set was about my ex-boyfriend finding him cheating on me with not one but two women I added the second one

for storytelling purposes there was really only one woman but like I talked about him for like that was my first set was just how walking in on my boyfriend cheating on me so you can I mean people that's what everyone is doing Taylor Swift just wrote a song about Kim Kardashian and called it Thank You Amy and it's about Kim we all know it's about Kim Kardashian so you know I would Just say, keep it. You've never said her name out loud. Don't say it so you don't get yourself in trouble. But definitely pursue stand-up.

And if you're feeling it and it's vibing, then continue. Conversely, if the opposite is true as well, don't continue. Okay, well, we're going to wrap up with you. You're such a cutie pie, Paul W. Downs. I had such a fun time with you today. It is an honor and a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Okay, well, I wish you well.

Say hi to my friends, Hannah and Jen Statsky. Tell her I say hello, too, from childhood. I will indeed. Yeah. And then I'm going to tell Jean to come on. Oh, yeah. Tell Jean I want her on too. Yes, absolutely. You have to write a part for me to come on so I can either have a love scene with, no, I can't have a love scene. I can't even have a love scene with a man. I once had to do a movie and they, this is how bad you guys, I was. I once had to do a movie with this actor and they wanted me to open mouth kiss him. And I took one look at this guy and I was like, I can't do that. You know, like I can't kiss this

man I just won't and I so I went to the director and I was like I know this scene is about us like making out but obviously like let's fake that because I'm not interested in this and he's like what it's in the script like you have to act and I was like no no no it's not happening like I'm not making out with that kid he was like 10 years younger than me it felt disgusting and it was there was a situation and I was like no no and then finally I was like I don't know what to tell you to the director. I don't know what to tell you. It's not going to happen. So finally, he's like, OK, well, what can happen? I was like, we could touch arms and then we're going to turn our back to the camera. No, you don't want to hire me for anything. I'm terrible. Well, OK, I'll keep

that in mind. Keep that in mind. Keep my behavior in mind. I would love to. Thank you so much, Paul W. We love you. Thank you for having me. I love you guys. Everyone tune in to season three of Hacks if you haven't seen it already. It's streaming on Max. Okay, so upcoming shows that I have, you guys. These are the places I'm coming in May. Prior Lake, Minnesota. Verona, New York. Auckland, New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand.

Melbourne, Australia. Brisbane, Australia. Sydney, Australia. We've added second shows to places that have sold out the first. And then I'm going to be in Hawaii on Maui, Kahului, and Honolulu. I will be there in July. Also in July, I'm coming to Niagara Falls on July 27th.

I'm coming to Hollywood, Florida for my only show in Florida on July 28th. I'll be in Auburn, Washington on August 1st, and then Santa Rosa, California for my second show, August 2nd. And then I'm coming to Atlantic City. Matteo Lane and I are co-headlining a really fun show in Atlantic City this summer, August 10th. August 17th is the Santa Barbara Bowl. You do not want to miss that. And then I will be all over Maine, Charlotte, North Carolina Charleston, South Carolina I'm coming to Texas

I'm coming to St. Louis and Kansas City I'm coming to Brooklyn, New York at the King's Theater on November 8th and I have tickets on sale throughout the end of the year in December so if you're in a city

like Philadelphia or Bethlehem or San Diego or New Orleans or Omaha check ChelseaHandler.com for tickets okay if you'd like advice from Chelsea

shoot us an email at dearchelseapodcast at gmail.com and be sure to include your phone number. Dear Chelsea is edited and engineered by Brad Dickert, executive producer, Catherine Law. And be sure to check out our merch at chelseahandler.com. I survived nine months in captivity and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

I'm Elizabeth Smart and these are the Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week, we're connecting the dots between books, the Internet, and pop culture with your favorite writers, book talk creators, and plenty of overthought opinions. Yeah, I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed.

Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human