Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger

I was most pleased to speak this afternoon with W. Kamau Bell, a Peabody Award and 4-time Emmy-winning comedian, filmmaker, and television host who is also a Celebrity Jeopardy champion!He is best known as the creator and host of CNN’s United Shades of America on which he spent seven seasons traveling the country exploring communities, subcultures, and perspectives that often go overlooked. The show demonstrated his unique skill of helping people conduct difficult conversations without losing their sense of humor.Not that he’s afraid to mix things up. Kamau’s 2022 HBO docu-series, We Need to Talk About Cosby dove deep into numerous allegations of sexual assault against legendary comedian and television icon, Bill Cosby, a comedian whose work Kamau deeply admired.Kamau has a new podcast called Who’s With Me? on which he has already talked to Ted Danson, Delroy Lindo, Daveed Diggs, and Kristen Kish.He spoke to me from his home in Oakland, CA where he lives with his wife and their three daughters. In this occasionally-serious, but most enjoyable conversation, we discuss:* The difference between craft and character* His love of podcasting* Comedy nerd-ship* The best part about Father’s Day* And—most importantly— Dave BarryLeave comments below. And follow / subscribe to this podcast. Also subscribe to Kamau’s ‘Who’s With Me?’ Substack here and to Paul’s ‘Reasonably Happy’ Substack here. Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe

On this third episode of 5 Questions, I speak with Andy Borowitz, whose massively popular newsletter The Borowitz Report tops out around 200 words per post. So this intro is going to be brief!Even if you belong to Andy’s army of loyal readers, you might not know that he is also the co-creator of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and wrote on classic 80’s TV shows, The Facts of Life and Square Pegs, which helped to launch Sarah Jessica Parker’s career.In this fast-paced conversation, Andy and I discuss:* His career in and out of Hollywood* How to write succinctly* His grammatical pet peeve(s)* Whether AI will ever be able to write comedy* The best advice he got from Susie Essman (aka, the secret to a happy life)Subscribe to The Borowitz Report here.Subscribe to Paul Ollinger's Reasonably Happy here. See Paul tell jokes near you:• June 19 and 20 - The Comedy Catch, Chattanooga• June 25 - ❤️Happy Couples Show❤️ West Side Comedy Club, NYC • July 21 - The Venice West, Los Angeles• July 23 - Cobbs Comedy Club, San Francisco• Aug 1 - Sticks and Stones Comedy Club, Southampton, NY• Aug 8 - Atlanta Country Club (private show)• Aug 13-16 - McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, Sarasota, FLThat is all - have a wonderful day! Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe

My guest is Robyn Curnow, a native South African who spent over two decades at CNN, where she hosted CNN’s Newsroom, and anchored The International Desk with Robyn Curnow. Prior to that, she served as the network’s Africa correspondent out of Johannesburg and covered Europe out of CNN’s London Bureau.If you don’t recognize her name, I bet you’ll recognize her distinctive voice because you likely saw her interviews with some of the most prominent people of our lifetimes, including Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.Robyn has covered news stories as diverse and dynamic as Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, the rise of Boko Haram, the 2010 World Cup, and the murder of Jammal Khashoggi. This work earned her and her colleagues multiple Emmy nominations, the Royal Television Society Award, and the duPont-Columbia Award.On her new podcast, Searching for America—which I love—Robyn explores our society and culture through the eyes of a new-comer. Like a modern-day de Tocqueville, she offers a sincerely interested outsider’s perspective on the quirks of American life, including the Halloween Industrial complex, the obsession with high school graduation and college acceptance, turducken, and—most importantly—our collective love of Dolly Parton.She lives in Atlanta where she and I serve on a school board together. Rate and Review Reasonably Happy: https://ratethispodcast.com/paulopodRead Paul’s Substack essays here: https://words.paulollinger.com/Listen to Searching for America here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j83wBMdUQnOcQTfK2pg9I Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe

Welcome back to this holiday conversation with ‘Essentialism' author Greg McKeown (see his very impressive resume below). As you set your goals and intentions for 2026, Greg’s insights will be a great way to think through WHAT REALLY MATTERS to you. To demonstrate how challenging this seemingly obvious exercise can be, I asked Greg how to help me focus my sincere but varied slate of professional ambitions. It gets a little uncomfortable, but that’s the point! And if you get one thing out of this episode, I hope it’s the 7 words Greg shares that will help you be a better spouse, parent, friend and co-worker. Thank you to my friend, the painter and 1985 high school soccer phenom, Brendan O’Connell for bringing Greg’s work to my attention.Please rate and review ⁠Reasonably Happy⁠ (Seriously, DO IT!) Subscribe to Paul’s ⁠Substack newsletter⁠ Start your Essentialism journey ⁠here⁠ Okay, here’s Greg’s BIO: Greg McKeown has written two New York Times bestsellers: “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” which Goodreads users voted “The #1 Leadership and Success Book to Read in a Lifetime,” and “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most.” Together, they have been published in 37 languages. Greg is a highly sought-after public speakers globally and has spoken to over 500 companies while traveling to more than 40 countries. His clients include Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Nike. (Perhaps you’ve heard of these companies. Hmm?) Greg hosts the cleverly named "The Greg McKeown Podcast,” which is ranked in the Top 5 of all self-improvement podcasts, and has hosted luminaries like Arthur Brooks, Matthew McConaughey, and Maria Shriver. His work has been covered in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review…among others. Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe