A show about clinical depression...with laughs? Well, yeah. Depression is an incredibly common and isolating disease experienced by millions, yet often stigmatized by society. The Hilarious World of Depression is a series of frank, moving, and, yes, funny conversations with top comedians who have dealt with this disease, hosted by veteran humorist and public radio host John Moe. Join guests such as Maria Bamford, Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Richter, and Jen Kirkman to learn how they’ve dealt with depression and managed to laugh along the way. If you have not met the disease personally, it’s almost certain that...
Latest episodes
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52 min
Introducing Depresh Mode with John Moe: Joel Kim Booster Is In A Pit
It's tempting to try to look for a reason why Joel Kim Booster, ordinarily a very funny and engaging person, feels dead inside, trapped in a persistent depressive state. His father…
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45 min
Movies That Get Depression Right
It’s easy for movies to get depression wrong, portraying a clinical disorder as equivalent to just being bummed out and, in the case of romantic comedies, curable with a magical ki…
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45 min
Steven Page Camouflages Songs About Depression
As co-founder and co-frontman for the band Barenaked Ladies, Steven Page belted out a lot of up-tempo pop hits. But if you look at the lyrics to songs like "One Week" or "Pinch Me,…
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41 min
Mike Birbiglia Faces His Darkest Fears and Puts Them On Stage
Monologist and comedian Mike Birbiglia has always had a mile-long dark streak. Even if he’s never been diagnosed with clinical depression, he’s recognized his own lack of capacity…
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43 min
Free Chapters of The Hilarious World of Depression: The Book: The Audiobook
To celebrate the release of our book we are excited to offer you a sneak preview of the audio version, read by author and THWoD host John Moe. Hear how he started to unlock his own…
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47 min
Emmy Blotnick Once Ate a Whole Head of Cabbage. Alone. In Silence.
Standup comedian and writer Emmy Blotnick is a rising star in the comedy world. But along the path to success, she’s had to navigate a depression that manifested in some pretty une…
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47 min
Lulu Miller Treats Her Depression With Fish Research, Finds Fish Don’t Exist
Public radio and podcast audiences have been listening to Lulu Miller’s storytelling for years on Radiolab and on Invisibilia, a show she co-founded. Her work is generally about ot…
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43 min
Dave Holmes Puts the ADHD in Dave Holmes
Some people don’t have short job titles. Dave Holmes is, among other things, a writer, MTV VJ (despite losing the contest that landed him the job), TV host, actor, and even a forme…
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33 min
Call A Friend, Find Out How They’re Doing
During this long stretch of just staying home, we decided to reach out to some friends of THWoD, hear their voices, and find out how they're holding up. Writer Ana Marie Cox is dra…
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50 min
Lori Gottlieb Has Seen All Possible Sides of Therapy
Having experienced therapy as a patient, a student, and an actual therapist, Lori Gottlieb has a lot of insight into what therapy is, what it isn't, and how to get the most out of…
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45 min
Jameela Jamil Has an Ambitious Goal: To Feel Things
She was one of the stars of NBC’s The Good Place, a tv and radio host in England, and she’s created a popular movement aimed at celebrating body positivity, all within the past few…
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16 min
A Message From Inside John's Closet. I Mean Office.
Hi, it’s John, and I’m sending you this recording from my makeshift office about what’s going on for us THWoD-balls during COVID-19, and ideas about how to get through it as best w…
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31 min
Theo Fleury: Trauma, stardom, and a downward spiral on the latest Tremendous Upside
Theo Fleury hit the ice at age five. He was a hockey phenom at 14, a Stanley Cup champion at 20 and an Olympic gold medalist at 33. He was also keeping a terrible secret. As a teen…
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32 min
THWoD Special: Tremendous Upside with Chamique Holdsclaw and Metta World Peace
A special episode of our new sister program from the makers of THWoD. Tremendous Upside is a bit like THWoD, but instead of John Moe talking to artists, host and basketball icon Ch…
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7 min
Introducing Tremendous Upside
We are delighted to announce a brand new show coming your way from the THWoD team. Tremendous Upside is a series of interviews with athletes who have been at the top of their game…
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49 min
Depression's Eleven Big Lies EXPOSED!
It's helpful to know that depression lies to you, that it presents the world in a way that is false just to mess you up. It's even more helpful to know exactly what whoppers it tri…
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47 min
Darryl "DMC" McDaniels Finds Therapy More Helpful Than Olde English 800
Run-DMC was about as successful as recording artists could be. Packed concerts, multi-platinum selling albums, MTV, fame, fortune, the whole thing. But Darryl McDaniels, the DMC of…
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50 min
Mark Duplass Has Two Speeds: Go and Crash
Filmmaker and actor Mark Duplass has been prolific over the course of his career. Along with his brother and creative partner, Jay Duplass, he's made films such as "The Puffy Chair…
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45 min
Angelina Spicer Wants to Say Things Out Loud About Postpartum Depression
There's a lot of information being thrown at parents when a baby is on the way: how to make a birth plan, what kind of car seat to get, what shots the baby will need, and on and on…
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49 min
Miz Cracker Looks in the Mirror
Max Heller’s life was falling apart. He was drinking heavily, using every kind of pill he could get his hands on, and isolating from society. He was swimming in New York’s East Riv…