How to Chase Your Dreams, Part 1 The t-shirt read “Dare to Suck.” I was sitting in my first day of Intro to Sit-com Acting at Lesly Kahn and Co., a well-known acting school in Los Angeles where my instructor had just handed me a pre-shrunk welcome gift. Considering…

The Diminishing Analgesic Effects of Wealth — When I was 12 years old, my dad took me to the dentist to get my first cavity filled. “By the way,” he said as we walked into the office, “don’t get the novocaine — it’s $20.” My father was a very good man — the most decent, humble person…

The Patriarchy is Totally Slacking off — “Does that mean women are receiving lower pay for equal work? That is possibly the case in certain places, but by and large, it’s not that, it’s something else.” -Claudia Goldin, Harvard economist A disturbing thing happened last week at my local meeting of the National Patriarchy Society. As you…

Or maybe you don’t, but that’s not the point — In the climactic scene of the 1992 western, Unforgiven, William Munny (played by Clint Eastwood) holds a rifle to the chest of a supine and wounded Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), the corrupt sheriff who had tortured and killed Munny’s friend and partner. Little Bill looks up from the floor…

Rich People Aren’t Ready for the Apocalypse — The most disturbing moment of the pandemic for me was the day I realized those doomsday survivalist folks might not be so crazy after all. Sometime in early May 2020, barely getting by in a world with air conditioning, wi-fi, and Uber Eats, it dawned on me: I probably wouldn’t…

If I look closely in the mirror, I can see a faint scar from a pimple that plagued my nose for most of October 1983. One morning, early in my freshman year, my reflection greeted me with a bulging, red honker sticking off the end of my beak, blinking at…

What we can learn from Bono, Brian Cox, and Jonah Hill — For four years, I’ve been exploring the connection between money and happiness on my podcast, I come at the topic mostly through conversations with highly accomplished people and authors who study fulfillment. Sometimes I wonder if the mission is worthwhile or whether I’ve reverse-engineered an idea that fits my experience…

One of many secrets rich people won’t tell you — “The success comes, and you’re on your own. There’s no manual. One day, they give you a check…that you can’t even relate to the zeros on the end, and you can get in a lot of trouble with that much money.” -Tom Petty, Runnin’ Down a Dream (documentary) I went…

After 40 years of presenting the most famous and promising comedians on the planet, the legendary club, Carolines on Broadway is closing on Jan 1. In a world with “too many <comedians> and not enough mics,” the loss of an iconic stage is always a blow to the comedy community…