Comedian and journalist Harmon Leon dives deep into the wild, weird, and hilarious history of comedy. Each episode explores the backstories of legendary comedians, iconic sketches, cult classics, stand-up milestones, and forgotten gems from the comedy world. From SNL to viral videos, we unpack the moments that shaped what makes us laugh. Whether you're a hardcore comedy nerd or just comedy-curious, this is your crash course in the funny business. Subscribe now and discover how comedy got to where it is today—one punchline at a time.
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comedyhistory101.com
From Happy Tree Friends, Sonic & Gumby to Autism & Creativity w/ Ken Pontac
What do Happy Tree Friends, Sonic the Hedgehog, Gumby, and Mr. Bumpy of Bumps in the Night have in common? Ken Pontac has been a creative force behind all these wonderfully bizarre projects
Ken joins CH101 to talk about how dropping acid before an Eraserhead screening led to working on Gumby, why tragedy equals comedy on Happy Tree Friends and the overall ethos behind his creative process.
Ken also has a new documentary, Colors of the Spectrum: Beauty in Neurodiversity, centerED on autistic artists at Autistry Studios, exploring the relationship between autism & creativity.
Check out Ken’s documentary series: https://www.youtube.com/@colorsofthespectrum
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14 Sept 2026
Comedians Who Filmed Their Stand-Up Specials While Pregnant w/ Ophira Eisenberg
Ophira Eisenberg is known for hosting NPR’s Ask Me Another, The Moth mainstage, and her new stand-up special, I Used to Be Nicer. She also has the distinction of filming her previous special when she was 8 ½ months pregnant.
Ophira joins Comedy History 101 to dive into the history of comedians who filmed their stand-up specials while pregnant.
From Joan Rivers pushing pregnancy taboos on The Ed Sullivan Show to Ali Wong’s Baby Cobra, Jena Friedman’s Ladykiller, Kira Soltanovich’s You Did This to Me, and Ophira’s own pregnancy special, Inside Joke.
At one time, a comedian couldn’t say the word ‘pregnant’ on TV. Now being pregnant on stage can make for the centerpiece of a stand-up special.
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7 Sept 2026
OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil — Inside O.J. Simpson’s Juiced Prank Show
O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil is the new HBO Max doc series that revisits Juiced, O.J. Simpson’s trainwreck hidden-camera prank show. It was meant as a comeback project for the double “alleged” murderer.
And, I, Harmon Leon was hired off Craigslist to be O.J. Simpson’s “funny little sidekick.”
In this CH101 reprise episode, I go behind the scenes of Juiced and what it was really like pulling pranks with O.J. Simpson on the worst idea ever conceived for a reality TV show - now featured in O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil.
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Who has been a guest on Comedy History 101
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Jim Vallely
Matthew Perniciaro
Walter Williams
Ryan Cunningham
Lynn Harris
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
5,038
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
3.4 / 5
17 ratings
Spotify
3.6 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 81 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
82
Social presence
91
YouTube
68
Engagement
85
Contact Comedy History 101
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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