Alanis Morissette (Live)

Episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler · November 3, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

At a live Chicago taping, Amy Poehler talks with Alanis Morissette about Jagged Little Pill, anger, fame, wholeness, meditation, comedy and her Christmas album.

Summary

This live episode of Good Hang was recorded at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, the city where Amy Poehler began her comedy career. Before the main guest appeared, Poehler interviewed Kelly Kroyer, a Chicago native and daughter of two police officers, who described how Alanis Morissette's music helped her through high school as an only child and supplied a question for the guest.

Morissette discussed aging and menopause, which she described as stripping away tolerance shaped by hormones and patriarchy, as well as her childhood on the Canadian sketch show You Can't Do That on Television, her love of Three's Company and friendship with John Ritter, and starting a record label at age 10 or 11. Reflecting on Jagged Little Pill, she said she volunteered to ride a wave of feminism already underway, described fame as a screen for projection, and explained why she insisted on You Oughta Know as the first single, arguing that anger signals a transgressed boundary.

The conversation turned to psychology: Morissette distinguished wholeness from the wellness movement, called meditation overrated and potentially dangerous for people in the midst of trauma, and described talking with the internal parts of her mind. Poehler and she compared Enneagram types and agreed comedy is a primary form of connection. Morissette also remembered drummer Taylor Hawkins and discussed her holiday album featuring Steve Martin and Martin Short, along with collaborations with Brandi Carlile and Olivia Rodrigo.

Answering Kroyer's question, Morissette said she now understands her song Not the Doctor differently after long committed relationships. A lightning round covered Canadian reticence, Tim Hortons, running marathons for an eating disorder charity, touring with Joan Jett, twin telepathy with her brother Wade, and her famous hair, which she called a security blanket.

Chapters

0:05
Opening and theme song
Amy Poehler welcomes the Chicago audience and musician Amy Miles performs the Good Hang theme.
5:18
Back in Chicago
Poehler reflects on starting her comedy career and working in restaurants in Chicago and announces Alanis Morissette as the guest.
11:02
Fan guest Kelly Kroyer
Chicago native Kelly Kroyer discusses her police-officer parents, hotel career and how Morissette's music guided her through high school.
21:18
Alanis arrives: aging and menopause
Morissette praises getting older and describes menopause as dismantling hormonal and patriarchal scaffolding.
25:15
Comedy roots and early music
Morissette recalls You Can't Do That on Television, meeting John Ritter, recording her first songs and starting a label as a child.
32:51
Jagged Little Pill and fame
Morissette describes her songs as snapshots, riding the wave of feminism and treating press projections as a psychological exercise.
37:57
Anger and You Oughta Know
Morissette explains insisting on You Oughta Know as the first single and defends anger and the fawn response.
41:15
Comedy, Taylor Hawkins and performing
The two agree comedy is a top form of connection, and Morissette remembers Taylor Hawkins and describes balancing humility and confidence on stage.
47:16
Wholeness, Enneagram and meditation
Morissette contrasts wholeness with wellness, calls meditation overrated for some trauma survivors, and both discuss their internal parts.
54:03
Christmas album and collaborators
Morissette discusses her holiday album, Brandi Carlile, Olivia Rodrigo, Steve Martin, Martin Short and a deflating meeting with Annie Lennox.
1:00:42
Kelly's question and lightning round
Morissette says she sees Not the Doctor differently now, then answers rapid questions on Canada, marathons, Joan Jett and twin telepathy.
1:07:11
Hair and closing
Poehler and Morissette discuss her hair as a security blanket and close on friendship and collaboration.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Linked moment · 17:45Skip to 17:45 using a listen link in the info box.
Kelly Kroyer
Kroyer says that as a lonely only child, Morissette's music made her feel accompanied for the first time.
“I felt like somebody was holding my hand for the first time when, after I heard her music”
Listen from 17:45 · Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
Morissette recommends getting older and describes menopause as a positive transformation.
“I highly recommend getting older. Yeah. Yeah. Well, menopause is just magic”
Listen from 23:35 · Menopause
Alanis Morissette
Morissette argues that as hormones drop in menopause, the hormonal 'scaffolding' of tolerance falls away.
“Then you get closer to menopause and progesterone. All the hormones are at zero”
Listen from 24:44 · Menopause
Alanis Morissette
Morissette suggests people often misdiagnose themselves with ADHD when they simply have a very active mind.
“people often misdiagnose themselves. They'll say I have ADHD and they may well, but often it's just a lot of activity”
Listen from 31:55
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says the 1990s wave of feminism was happening regardless of her and she simply volunteered to ride it.
“I think the wave of feminism was happening with or without any of us, really. And I just volunteered to get on the top of the wave”
Listen from 35:16 · Feminism
Alanis Morissette
Morissette describes fame as a screen onto which people project themselves.
“Fame is a giant screen upon which people project all their beautiful stuff to define themselves in accordance”
Listen from 36:29 · Fame
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says she treated press coverage as a psychological exercise, viewing anything that triggered her as a shadow to examine.
“If it triggered me, it meant it was some shadow that I needed to look at”
Listen from 37:00 · Fame
Alanis Morissette
Morissette recounts that others thought You Oughta Know too harsh as a lead single but she believed anger was the right note to start on.
“they thought it was a little harsh to receive anger from a woman. And I thought, well, that's actually the note to start on”
Listen from 38:05 · You Oughta Know
Alanis Morissette
Morissette argues that anger, distinct from destructive acting out, signals that a boundary has been transgressed.
“And that anger is an indication that there's been a transgression”
Listen from 39:29 · Anger
Alanis Morissette
Morissette objects to the bad reputation of the fawn response, noting it is the only relational survival strategy.
“it's of the five survival strategies, it's the only one that's relational”
Listen from 41:10 · Fawn response
Alanis Morissette
Morissette ranks comedy above music among human intelligences.
“Comedy. I know people say music sometimes, but I think comedy is number one”
Listen from 43:07
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says the wellness movement was well intended but excludes the shadow and challenging parts of people.
“I think the wellness movement was well intended. Uh, but that leaves out all the other parts”
Listen from 47:22 · Wholeness and the wellness movement
Amy Poehler
Poehler argues women face an expectation and self-imposed pressure to constantly improve, which she would like to stop.
“I feel like there is a tendency or an expectation or a self put upon pressure”
Listen from 48:52 · Wholeness and the wellness movement
Alanis Morissette
Morissette describes wholeness as returning to oneself rather than fixing or improving.
“Wholeness is coming home. Totally different direction. There's nothing to add. You don't need to be fixed”
Listen from 49:14 · Wholeness and the wellness movement
Alanis Morissette
Morissette argues meditation can be dangerous for people in the midst of trauma because it leaves them alone with harsh protective inner voices.
“meditating is actually quite dangerous because you're left alone with all these protective voices who are attempting to protect you”
Listen from 50:29 · Meditation
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says she never cared about Christmas until her son was born on Christmas morning.
“I never cared about Christmas, and then my son was born Christmas morning, and now I really care”
Listen from 54:30 · Alanis Morissette Christmas album
Alanis Morissette
Morissette redefines shyness as a pause to assess safety.
“Shy is just pausing to check if the person is safe”
Listen from 1:00:32
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says long committed relationships changed her view of Not the Doctor, as she now believes partners should participate in each other's healing.
“Having been in very long, committed relationships now, I know that ideally, in my mind, we are actively participating in each other's healing”
Listen from 1:01:25 · Not the Doctor
Alanis Morissette
Morissette recounts that after moving to Los Angeles from Canada she barely spoke for months, waiting to be asked questions.
“I moved to America, moved to LA and I didn't speak for six months. I was waiting for someone to ask a question”
Listen from 1:02:45
Alanis Morissette
Morissette says she ran marathons for the National Eating Disorder Association to frame the body as an instrument rather than an ornament.
“I did it as a way of saying this is an instrument. This is not just an ornament”
Listen from 1:03:58

People

In the conversation

Amy PoehlerAmerican actress, comedian and podcast host, formerly of Saturday Night Live
Alanis MorissetteCanadian-American singer-songwriter known for the 1995 album Jagged Little Pill
Kelly KroyerChicago native, hospitality and marketing professional turned stay-at-home mom, and Alanis Morissette fan

Discussed

John RitterAmerican actor, star of Three's Company
Taylor HawkinsAmerican drummer, formerly in Morissette's touring band and later Foo Fighters
Glen BallardAmerican producer and co-writer of Jagged Little Pill
Brandi CarlileAmerican singer-songwriter and member of The Highwomen
Olivia RodrigoAmerican singer-songwriter who performed 'Ironic' on stage with Morissette
Steve MartinAmerican comedian, Randolph's Only Murders in the Building co-star
Martin ShortCanadian comedian and actor set to duet on Morissette's holiday album
Annie LennoxScottish singer whom Morissette admired
Joan JettAmerican rock musician who toured with Morissette
Peter LevinePsychotherapist who developed Somatic Experiencing
Wade MorissetteAlanis Morissette's twin brother
Judy GarlandStar of The Wizard of Oz

Topics

Alanis Morissette: Anger, Attachment, & Postpartum
Call Her Daddy · Sep 9, 2026 · 1 h 5 min
Alanis Morissette tells Alex Cooper about her 1990s breakthrough, industry misogyny, attachment wounds, postpartum depression and the freedom of menopause.

From the publisher

Alanis Morissette is a shaky poodle on the inside and a black stallion on the outside. Amy hangs with the iconic singer-songwriter for a live taping of Good Hang and talks about fangirling over John Ritter, why meditation is overrated, and having good hair privilege. Host: Amy Poehler Guests: Kelly Kroyer and Alanis Morissette Executive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-Berman For Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel Lovell For The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Belle Roman, and Aleya Zenieris; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige Garbarini Original Music: Amy Miles Live Show Production By: Elizabeth Fierman, Helen Eichner, Tessa Herrick, Aleya Zenieris, Nick Kosut, Curtis Matzke, Jonathan Lopez, Nick Hasson, and Justine Bursoni Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at https://paypal.com/payin4 This episode is brought to you by Subaru. Love goes the extra mile in the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid and Subaru Forester Hybrid. Visit https://subaru.com/hybrid to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 4, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Music Interviews·Mental Health·Comedy Interviews