Kate Berlant
Episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler · October 20, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Amy Poehler talks with comedian Kate Berlant about her HBO special Parmesan, phone addiction, funny women, sexuality, ghosts, Los Angeles, and wedding speeches, with input from John Early.
Summary
Amy Poehler opened the episode with a call to comedian John Early, who described meeting Kate Berlant in their mid-twenties, the near-inseparable friendship that followed, and his view that their shared love of passive aggression stems from his Southern Protestant upbringing and her childhood among avant-garde artists in Los Angeles. Early supplied a set of inside-joke questions for Poehler to ask Berlant.
With Berlant in the studio, the conversation centered on her HBO special Parmesan. Berlant described attending Internet Technology Addiction Anonymous meetings and taking breaks from social media, arguing that phones erode people's intimacy with themselves. She recounted a teenage boy telling her that guys don't like funny girls because they remind them of other guys, and Poehler added that men dislike the embarrassment inherent in being funny. Berlant discussed falling in love with a woman later in life, describing herself as both a failed straight woman and a failed gay woman, and reflected on gender performance, including a fake shoulder injury she sustained on a plane.
Berlant also discussed medical anxiety and an unnecessary angiogram, being labeled a nepo baby as the daughter of a sculptor and a prop designer, an early job faking calls for Dallas morning radio, her collaboration with Early, and a chimney sweep who left soot throughout her home. She described her podcast Poog with Jacqueline Novak as being about the endless search for the perfect product.
In a closing round of quick takes, Berlant said she believes in gifted psychics, has been seeing ghosts in recent years, and that all curses should be lifted for free. She spoke about her love of Los Angeles despite its solitude, and said non-performers giving wedding speeches make her laugh. Poehler closed with tips for wedding speeches: open with a joke and end sincerely.
Chapters
- 0:05
Introduction
Poehler introduces Kate Berlant and her HBO special Parmesan, and previews a call with John Early.
- 3:11
John Early on Kate Berlant
Early recounts meeting Berlant, their shared bed and inseparable friendship, their comedic style, and offers questions for Poehler to ask.
- 13:56
Kate arrives and the special Parmesan
Berlant arrives, jokes about found lipsticks, and explains the deliberately unserious title of her special.
- 19:45
Phone addiction
Berlant describes ITAA meetings, social media breaks, and how going offline restores memories and intimacy with oneself.
- 22:55
Men and funny women
Berlant shares a formative teenage memory about boys disliking funny girls, and the pair discuss comedy and gender.
- 28:08
Sexuality and gender performance
Berlant talks about coming out later in life, failing within sexual categories, and performing gender on airplanes.
- 35:54
Anesthesia and medical anxiety
Berlant discusses her anesthesia bit and an unnecessary angiogram prompted by an Instagram neck massager.
- 38:32
Childhood, nepotism, and early jobs
Berlant describes growing up an only child of artists in Santa Monica, being called a nepo baby, and faking calls for Dallas radio.
- 43:41
Working with John Early and conflict style
Berlant discusses her bond with Early, their gentle onscreen viciousness, her withdrawing conflict style, and the chimney sweep incident.
- 49:48
John's questions and Poog
Poehler asks Early's questions and the two discuss house slippers and Berlant's podcast Poog with Jacqueline Novak.
- 55:56
Quick takes: psychics, ghosts, and Los Angeles
Berlant shares views on the moon, psychics, recent ghost sightings, paid curse-lifting, and her love of Los Angeles.
- 1:00:59
Wedding speeches, parties, and closing
Berlant says non-performers performing make her laugh, discusses hosting anxiety, and Poehler offers wedding speech tips.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- John Early
John Early recalls that on meeting Berlant he had never met anyone his age as funny as his comedy idols.
“I just had never met someone around my age who who was as funny as like my idols were”
- John Early
John Early attributes his love of passive-aggressive comedy to growing up in the Protestant South, where anger is not expressed directly.
“I come from kind of like Protestant world where like, that is just in the water”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant argues that people need help with phone addiction because they are in a fight for their lives.
“we do need help because we are in the fight for our lives yes and it's the kind of thing that it's become it's like the weather”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant argues that the most devastating personal effect of phone use is the loss of intimacy with oneself.
“But then just on the base level, like on a personal psychological level, like you've lost all intimacy with yourself”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant recounts a popular boy warning her as a teenager that boys dislike funny girls because they remind them of other boys.
“He was like, you should be careful though. Guys don't like funny girls because it reminds them too much of other guys”
- Amy Poehler
Poehler argues that being funny involves embarrassment, which men dislike.
“there's obviously like to be funny is to be a little embarrassing and men hate being embarrassed”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant says she is less interested in sexual categories than in failing within them, calling herself a failed straight woman.
“what's interesting is like failing and what's funny is like failing within those categories like i'm a failed straight woman for sure”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant says gender performance only becomes unsettling when people are unaware they are performing.
“it's only when people don't know they're performing that it starts to get scary sometimes”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant says two class clowns in a romantic relationship can be complicated.
“and this is where it can get hard, funny on funny, two class clowns in bed, it can get complicated”
- Amy Poehler
Poehler says people now have access to too much information about themselves, which stresses them out.
“I'm obsessed with this idea that we are now giving ourselves too much information that's making us very stressed”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant recounts being included in a New York magazine piece about nepo babies, which she considered a stretch since her parents were not in the industry.
“There was like a New York magazine piece about Nepo babies. And my face was in it. Next to like Chalamet”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant argues that people do not really want to find the right product but rather to keep searching forever.
“You want to engage in the, in the search forever. The search is kind of, you know, the ego loves to search and never to find”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant says that over the last couple of years she has been seeing ghosts.
“But I swear to God, last couple of years, I'm seeing ghosts”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant objects to psychics charging to lift curses, saying curse-lifting should be free.
“All curses can and should be lifted for free”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant describes Los Angeles as brutally solitary compared with New York, though she loves it.
“There's something brutally solitary about Los Angeles. I love New York so much”
Linked moment · 1:00:59Skip to 1:00:59 using a listen link in the info box.
Kate BerlantBerlant says what makes her laugh most is non-performers performing, such as people giving wedding speeches.
“Um, what makes me laugh is non-performers performing. Like I've been to a couple weddings”
- Kate Berlant
Berlant argues that a good party requires structure that is then allowed to dissolve, since an over-controlled party is miserable.
“over controlled party hell hell for everyone hell so that's the thing you have to create the structure but you have to let it to dissolve”
- Amy Poehler
Poehler advises wedding speakers to open with an easy, self-effacing joke and finish sincerely.
“Start with a really nice, easy joke up front, maybe something about how you're nervous, something self-effacing”
People
In the conversation
- Amy PoehlerAmerican actress, comedian and podcast host, formerly of Saturday Night Live
- Kate BerlantAmerican comedian, actress, and writer; co-host of the podcast Poog
- John EarlyAmerican comedian, Randolph's Eternity co-star
Discussed
- Jacqueline NovakAmerican comedian and writer, co-host of Poog with Kate Berlant
- Chelsea PerettiAmerican comedian who laughed at the special's title
- Jennifer LawrenceAmerican actress reportedly linked to exposing the Summer House leak
- Rachel DratchAmerican comedian and former SNL cast member
Topics
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From the publisher
Kate Berlant was seeing a few too many ghosts for a while. Amy hangs with the actress and comedian and talks about why you can't have two class clowns in bed, if she's a nepo baby, and why all curses should be lifted for free. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: John Early and Kate BerlantExecutive producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige GarbariniOriginal music: Amy Miles Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at https://paypal.com/payin4Switch today at https://www.Visible.com for just 25/mo. Or get the premium Visible+ pro plan and save $10 on your first month with code HANG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 21, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.