Laurie Kilmartin can make anything funny; from her superb album 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad, a bulletproof club-fresh comedy special which doesn't tarry with emotion, to live-tweeting the recent tragic loss of her mother to Covid-19. We learn how she found humour by turns lacerating and deeply moving, even in that awful situation. We also talk about her work as a monologue writer for Conan O'Brien, and the rhythm of pitching jokes personally and then collaborating in the last hour before showtime; how to wield disdain effectively; and why she doesn't believe comics like to make people happy.

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