By Josh Gondelman — 28 Jul 2025

#142. Pep Talk Speed Round

Hi everyone,

I'm writing from home in Brooklyn where I have not been much this month. Last week, Maris and I went up to the Catskills for a few days for the final event of her proper book tour (It was great! We saw so many friends, including a few surprises!) and my show at the Borscht Belt Comedy Festival. It was an honor to be a part of the festival and by extension a tiny footnote in the region's rich comedy history. My headlining show in a little black box theater was really, super fun and surprisingly packed. And earlier in the day I'd gotten to present comedy legend Robert Klein with a lifetime achievement award. Well, I started to present the award, and then Robert Klein stood up and began riffing on something I had said. Then an audience member shouted out a trivia question about the Bronx and THEN I finished presenting the award. The whole endeavor (probably four minutes in total) took on the kind of exciting chaos energy that made it all the more memorable (for me at least). Robert Klein, who I'd met about an hour and a half earlier, seemed to appreciate my prepared remarks which felt very gratifying.

A Borscht Belt Museum baseball cap hanging off of Robert Klein's lifetime achievement award with the engraved base visible. — It's also an honor to GIVE an award, it turns out. 😄

I was weirdly wrung out for most of the week, so I napped a bunch and started my friend Amy Silverberg's novel which just came out and is terrific so far. I overpaid for several mocktails to aid in convalescence (mostly by not getting me drunk). Maris and I finally watched Sinners which, it turns out, is a very good movie! Have you guys heard about this? Sinners? I went into it knowing very little, and I assumed that Michael B. Jordan was and Italian tennis champion and his clone. WRONG! He plays two totally different guys!

We also powered through most of the recent series of Taskmaster. Yes, many people are recognizing Jason Mantzoukas's performance as American excellence, but more people should acknowledge that it is more specifically Massachusetts excellence, in my opinion. My ride to and from Ellenville, NY for the aforementioned festival was about 2.5 hours long, which made it the perfect length to listen to the entire first episode of the recently commenced Blank Check podcast miniseries on the films of the Coen Brothers. And, thanks to the presence of friend-of-the-newsletter Steve Sladkowski, Maris listened to her first episode of Doughboys on our ride home yesterday. Overall it was a great few days of consuming media while sitting still or traveling at 50ish miles per hour in strong air conditioning, and I'm less achy now than I was on Tuesday. Oh! Then Alison Leiby and I thew a comedy show/birthday party in Brooklyn for our friend Robert Dean's 40th, and it was a great time! Victory all over the place.

Maggie the Pug transfixed by Jason Mantzoukas's performance on Taskmaster. — Two Massachusetts icons (we got Maggie from a foster in Worcester).

I wasn't on any podcasts this week (wild, right?) but I did write a new piece for McSweeney's that I'd love for you to check out. I've been kind of obsessed with weirdo longevity guys lately, and this thing is sort of complementary to the character I did on Comedy Bang Bang a couple of weeks ago (Mark Fripp, a scientist obsessed with making the human lifespan as short as possible). And I popped up in the new edition of Burger Diva, one of my favorite newsletters, after eating a burger with my friend Christina, the titular Burger Diva.

Oh also yesterday marks the 1-month anniversary of the release of my standup special Positive Reinforcement! If you've been meaning to check it out but haven't gotten around to it yet, why not give it a whirl? I really, really appreciate the people who have watched it and said nice things and spread the word. It's been so lovely hearing about people watching with their parents and/or kids too!

In other good news, my friend Chris Duffy, a wonderful writer and comedian and person, announced that his new book is available for preorder. It's about the many ways laughter can improve your life. I can't wait to read it! Everything Chris works on is a joy!

THIS WEEKEND: I'm in Toronto at Comedy Bar (Danforth location) for three shows on Friday and Saturday! Come out, Toronto people! It's been a little while since I've been in town and I promise not to make too much fun of your local hip hop megacelebrity. Unless you're into it. Then I will for sure.

And one more reminder: Becoming a paid subscriber helps keep That's Marvelous going. There are no benefits other than this newsletter continuing to exist, so I SUPER appreciate everyone who pitches in to make that possible! Thank you!

PEP TALK SPEED ROUND

The news has been so bleak lately. It has been really upsetting seeing the way the U.S. has continued to support Isreal as their government starves the population of Gaza by denying aid. Maybe donate a few bucks to help get people fed if you can?

Because there's not a ton in the news that feels like a good time to dig into, I'm going to spend today's newsletter doing my occasional thing of firing off a bunch of quick pep talks to several different readers. I've done some very light editing to the requests, but I haven't changed the thrust of any of them. Let's go!

My toddler had me read Monster at the End of This Book on a nightly basis for like 3 weeks, and I developed a pretty great (imo) Grover impersonation. He loved it for a time, but something changed recently where he’ll get really upset if I do the voice. It was like a light switch: one day he was laughing hysterically and the next day I pulled out the voice and it was like I told him Bluey died. I know toddlers can be unpredictable and I’ve got to switch it up often, but I am a little bummed to lose what I thought was a surefire hit. Just trying my best to keep the lil guy entertained.

I completely get this feeling of heartbreak! The death of a bit is a true tragedy of whimsy. Especially when you had dialed in on a functional bedtime routine. But even as you mourn the loss of your Grover impression (which probably would have driven you to the brink of madness within a month, if we're being honest) you can celebrate the excitement of future bits to come. You will have so many years of new goofy little routines and inside jokes to share with your toddler as he grows up. Many of them will eventually be dashed on the cliffs of boredom in the long run, but that doesn't mean they weren't wonderful while they lasted. It just means that it's time for something new. So...speaking of Bluey, how's your Australian accent?

I've got a rock show next weekend. Would love some stage advice.

Readers know I'm usually just here to give enthusiasm rather than guidance to people who write in but FINE I will give a little advice. TWIST MY ARM. I have a kernel of tried and true (or at least true enough) wisdom for live performers, which I will reproduce here because I know public speaking and public speaking adjacent activities are a common anxiety. And it's been a while since I've shared these thoughts in the newsletter. But honestly this counsel is mostly a piece of encouragement to hold in your head. Ready? Here it is:

Everyone wants you to do a good job, and no one will be mad if you mess up a little. This is what I tell people giving wedding toasts (although I also tell those people that no one has ever been mad that a toast is too short or too sincere) or trying standup comedy for the first time or giving a presentation at work.

In almost every circumstance where you find yourself speaking publicly, no one is actively rooting for you to do a bad job. Why would they be? It's uncomfortable to watch somebody bombing onstage, and nobody benefits from it. Unless you are in a battle of the bands, no one in the crowd is hoping that you eat shit. Everyone wants to have a good time and they want you to be part of it. Also, if you biff a note or two, nobody gives a shit (assuming that your band is not led by the late James Brown). This is a rock show not an open heart surgery. People make mistakes, and everyone still gets out alive.

The only other advice I have for this situation is directly stolen from my friend Myq Kaplan who said it to me when I started standup 1,000 years ago. That advice is: "Have fun." In some ways it's self explanatory and in other ways it's easy to forget. That's why you're doing this, right? For fun? Unless you are in a successful band that you hate and have created a gilded prison where people throw money at you for performing, which makes you feel miserable, you don't have to do it if it's not a nice time. So have a nice time! That's all!

I'm 35 weeks pregnant and also have a 2-year-old toddler, and I'm so tired.

I cannot even imagine the levels of exhaustion you are feeling right now. At least in a few weeks life will stay exhausting, but it will be full of new love and joy in your life. And then eighteen years after that, things will calm down a bit.

Between AI, dictatorial interference, and greed, the world of Higher Ed is completely falling apart. Tell me it will get better.

I think it's got to get better for the simple reason that nobody wants this bullshit. I'm not an accelerationist by any stretch; I don't think we should be rapidly destroying systems we have in place in hopes that something better springs up afterwards, regardless of the damage done in the meantime. THAT SAID, I don't think that the current setup of higher education serves anyone (other than whoever cashes the tuition checks). It's bad for administrators at the whims of an oppressive and meddlesome political regime. It's bad for teachers who are underpaid and overworked. It's bad for students who shell out tens of thousands of dollars a year to then have ChatGPT write them papers that they will never even read. If they're going to do that, they may as well save themselves four years by taking out 200k in loans, lighting it on fire, and having Midjourney mock them up a diploma from "Stramford" or "Horvord." Nobody, including me, has looked at my college diploma since I opened it up to make sure I had the right one.

I feel the same about higher education as I feel about the way plummeting standards and AI slop have infiltrated media and entertainment: Eventually, people will want something good. Why would anyone even go to college when it obliterates their finances for decades and doesn't teach them anything? Why would anyone use Google search or visit a website when it's full of dubiously accurate information with no human sourcing? (Over the weekend, I Googled the age of a celebrity I'd just seen a photo of, and the AI summary–which I usually try to avoid looking at–misstated what year it currently is.)

Text of AI Overview: Action Bronson, whose real name is Ariyan Arslani, is 41 years old as of today, December 2nd, 2024. He was born on December 2, 1983. — Yes, I count Action Bronson as a celebrity.

Every day it feels like the people with all the money have forgotten more and more that they're supposed to earn that money by offering worthwhile goods and services for it. Instead, they decide more and more all the time to offer worse and worse service because there are fewer and fewer alternatives. But eventually if you have a gas station and you take people's money and piss in their gas tanks, people will stop patronizing your establishment. Either they'll seek out alternative fuel sources or start riding bikes.

Higher education, like a lot of institutions, are facing constant assaults from late stage capitalism and fascism, and either they will rise to the occasion, or someone else will.

I'm an activist on a project that serves queer people, and we got delayed this year and my energy is really . . . low tbh. could you help me dig and find a second wind?

The work you do means a lot to people, and even if you can't help everyone, doing what you can for those within your reach is an enormous gift. The operating phrase here being "what you can" because it doesn't help to kick yourself in the ass for not doing things that are beyond your capacity. Also, even when you feel overwhelmed, you are not alone. So many people are on your side even when they're not within eyeshot, you know?

Life is hard this week. Make me smile or laugh if you can.

Okay I will do my best! How about this: Mandal was on The Tonight Show recently and his set is really delightful. I think you'll get a kick out of it!

Can you give a pep talk to literally all of us who feel like our country is abandoning us for some stupid ideal of “American exceptionalism?”

America has always had a less-than-ideal ratio of candy to razor blade, and it only takes one razor blade to ruin Halloween. (I know this is mostly an urban legend, but an urban legend can still function as a useful metaphor.)

America does not have to be exceptional to be (at least partially) full of people who are working hard to make things better. Michael Jordan played for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards were not exceptional, but that did not diminish the greatness of Michael Jordan. We should all strive to be Michael Jordan on the Wizards, doing what we can, even when our abilities aren't at their peak, from within a deeply flawed institution. And even if we are not Michael Jordan, maybe we can be teammate and future NBA champion Richard Hamilton (less individually great, but an important contributor in a group context).

PICK-ME-UP SONG OF THE WEEK: Guster - "Amsterdam"

Okay here's a confession: Until literally this minute I thought the lyrics to this song were about throwing away a Shaq CD, not a Shaggs CD (as is actually the case). This paints a VERY different portrait of the person who skipped town and left Guster with (just guessing from the time period) a big ass folio of compact discs to deal with.

Guster is a band that meant a lot to me as a person who grew up and then attended a liberal arts college all within Massachusetts. I know that they also appeal to other people all over the place, but I think you appreciate them extra if you ever went to college with someone who refused to wear shoes around campus on principle (?) as the leaves on the nearby trees changed colors. I mostly listen to Guster's music on road trips these days, which feels like going to the ice cream place that has a flavor you only ever get on a specific recurring vacation or work trip or family visit. Maris and I threw on Keep It Together in the car on the way up do Hudson, and it was every more enjoyable than I remembered. I'm really psyched to meet the band in person at their festival in Maine next weekend where I will be performing a few minutes of jokes and then just hanging out and enjoying myself!

My mom (an alum) will be so excited that I'm meeting Tufts legends, even though they are not Tracy Chapman.