#656 - Fahim Anwar

Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · April 30, 2026 · 2 h 11 min

Theo Von and comedian Fahim Anwar riff on gooning, recall their Midwest tour, and discuss the Comedy Store, fame, dance, Boeing, and post-9/11 Muslim stereotyping.

Summary

Comedian Fahim Anwar joined Theo Von to promote his fourth stand-up special, Intrusive Thoughts, released on YouTube, and his weekly Comedy Store series Fahim Works on Stuff. Much of the episode consisted of improvised riffing, including an extended bit about gooning and hypothetical virtual reality sex games, a Waymo joke from Anwar's act, and jokes about robot security dogs.

The two recalled Anwar opening for Von on a Midwest arena tour, including the Fargodome, a fan in Clear Lake, Iowa whose hat repeatedly blew away, a visit to the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played their last show, and trips to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Anwar described being raised in Seattle by Afghan immigrant parents, learning to dance by imitating Michael Jackson, studying mechanical engineering, working in stress analysis at Boeing in Long Beach, and engineering his firing so he could collect unemployment while shooting the MTV show Disaster Date.

On comedy, Anwar said he chose stand-up because it was the most accessible route to Saturday Night Live, described the pre-COVID Comedy Store as a heyday, and argued that digital platforms have democratized comedy. Von reflected on his Road Rules fame as a lesson in the limited value of popularity and defended Joe Rogan against clipped criticism. Near the end, Von asked about media portrayals of Muslims; Anwar described post-9/11 secondary screenings and compared being a minority to wearing an away jersey you cannot take off.

Chapters

0:00
Opening riffs and the new special
Von introduces Anwar, they joke about the Watch Duty fire app, and Anwar plugs Intrusive Thoughts and Fahim Works on Stuff.
6:35
Gooning and VR sex games
A parachuter hitting a jumbotron prompts an extended riff on gooning, virtual reality sex games, and a Perplexity definition of the term.
20:05
Midwest tour memories
Anwar recalls playing arenas on Von's tour, the Fargodome, the windblown hat in Clear Lake, the Surf Ballroom, and a meet-and-greet.
30:53
Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial
They discuss visiting Mount Rushmore and read about the unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial, then muse on suffering and late-stage capitalism.
42:16
Dance and physical comedy
Anwar explains how childhood dancing to Michael Jackson made him comfortable with physical act-outs on stage.
50:26
The Comedy Store then and now
Anwar describes the pre-COVID heyday, the natural cycle of stage time, the rise of digital comedy, and celebrity sightings including Quentin Tarantino.
1:01:57
SNL dreams and comedic heroes
Anwar explains he chose stand-up as a route to SNL and finds comfort that his heroes feared being fired.
1:11:23
Michael Jackson and introversion
They recall the Black or White premiere, and Anwar describes himself as an introvert whose creativity depends on comfort, including on Rogan's show.
1:25:02
Road Rules and the value of fame
Von reflects on his MTV Road Rules fame without money and what it taught him about popularity.
1:33:08
Boeing, engineering, and Disaster Date
Anwar recounts his mechanical engineering career at Boeing and how he left for the MTV show Disaster Date.
1:36:32
Waymo bit and moon landing
Anwar performs his Waymo joke, discusses what drives him in stand-up, and says he believes the moon landing happened.
1:51:17
Tech clips and nostalgia
They watch clips of Bill Gates and a robot security dog and reminisce about anti-drug ads and low-resolution childhood footage.
2:00:51
Muslims in America and closing
Anwar discusses his special's purpose and post-9/11 stereotyping of Muslims, before they wrap up.

Key points

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

Fahim Anwar
Anwar says his childhood dancing makes physical act-outs second nature and that much of comedy is nonverbal.
“And then you realize how much of comedy is nonverbal even. It's really cool to have a great joke and people are laughing”
Listen from 48:54 · Stand-up comedy craft
Fahim Anwar
Anwar argues the Comedy Store was in a heyday before COVID and that the exodus to other cities pared it down.
“We were in the heyday of the comedy store and we didn't even know it before COVID happened”
Listen from 51:18 · The Comedy Store
Fahim Anwar
Anwar says top comics going on the road naturally clears stage time for the next tier to develop.
“that just naturally clears up stage time for this top tier at the comedy store. Cause like you're on the road”
Listen from 53:48 · Stand-up comedy craft
Fahim Anwar
Anwar argues digital platforms have democratized comedy so a comic anywhere has as much of a shot as one in LA or New York.
“Before you had to be in New York and LA, now you just got to be on phones. So it's kind of cool how it's democratized comedy”
Listen from 54:59 · Stand-up comedy craft
Fahim Anwar
Anwar says he chose stand-up over improv because it was the free, self-reliant route to SNL his parents wouldn't need to fund.
“So that's why I got into standup cause I wanted to get on SNL”
Listen from 1:04:45 · Saturday Night Live
Fahim Anwar
Anwar finds it validating that SNL stars like Spade and Sandler feared being fired, showing self-doubt is universal.
“That they were having self-doubt like that during what I thought was just the pinnacle and peak of comedy”
Listen from 1:06:40 · Saturday Night Live
Fahim Anwar
Anwar describes himself as an introvert whose creativity only emerges with people he knows well.
“I can't have real fun unless I'm accustomed to you and I know you and we have history. Then my creativity can come out”
Listen from 1:18:44
Theo Von
Von says criticism of Rogan as unsupportive about antidepressants during their conversation did not match his own experience.
“people were giving him a hard time online about him like not being supportive, like about antidepressants or something”
Listen from 1:20:36 · Joe Rogan clip controversy
Fahim Anwar
Anwar says people add their own spin to clips, whereas Rogan's long-form show lets audiences decide for themselves.
“i think what's great about the show is that it breathes for three hours and have all these different people and then people kind of decide for themselves”
Listen from 1:21:12 · Joe Rogan clip controversy
Theo Von
Von says his Road Rules fame without money taught him popularity had little value and prepared him to handle later fame differently.
“one thing was i realized at that time that like there wasn't a like being popular was cool but there wasn't like a ton of value to it”
Listen from 1:28:18 · Fame
Fahim Anwar
Anwar says he gets the biggest rush from making a new or mediocre idea work rather than performing proven jokes.
“But if I can get something that's mediocre or a brand new thought to work, that's when I get all the like dopamine and stuff”
Listen from 1:40:14 · Stand-up comedy craft
Fahim Anwar
Anwar recounts that Boeing refused him a leave of absence, so he stopped responding until they fired him so he could collect unemployment.
“And then I read that you can only collect unemployment if they fire you. So then I sent an email”
Listen from 1:41:33 · Disaster Date
Fahim Anwar
Anwar, a former engineer, says he believes the moon landings happened while downplaying his own expertise.
“I'm not as smart as people think I am just because of the title. I think we did”
Listen from 1:45:27
Fahim Anwar
Anwar describes a special as a snapshot of a year of touring that lets him dump old jokes and move on, showing a cohesive hour in a clip-based era.
“it's nice to show that you can do a cohesive 45 to an hour. It's sort of the difference between breaking a vase into a million pieces”
Listen from 2:01:49 · Intrusive Thoughts (comedy special)
Fahim Anwar
Anwar believes social media is eroding broad-brush stereotypes that were easier to sustain when information channels were few and controlled.
“I think it is changing with the internet and social media. You can't paint people with these broad strokes that you used to back in the day”
Listen from 2:04:46 · Islamophobia in the United States after 9/11
Linked moment · 2:05:21Skip to 2:05:21 using a listen link in the info box.
Fahim Anwar
Anwar says Muslims in America felt the negative branding after 9/11, including being subjected to secondary searches when flying.
“When I would fly, I would be secondary search and I grew up with Boy Meets World and TGIF. I'm just as American”
Listen from 2:05:21 · Islamophobia in the United States after 9/11
Fahim Anwar
Anwar compares being a minority to wearing an away jersey that cannot be removed.
“being a minority is kind of like having an away Jersey. You can never take off”
Listen from 2:05:37 · Islamophobia in the United States after 9/11

People

In the conversation

Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
Fahim AnwarAmerican stand-up comedian and actor, former Boeing engineer

Discussed

Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
Michael JacksonAmerican pop musician Druski names as who he would want to be in another life
David SpadeAmerican comedian and actor who worked with Theo Von on the film Busboys
Quentin TarantinoAmerican filmmaker whose films draw on samurai imagery
Mike TysonFormer heavyweight boxing champion who fought Jake Paul
Bill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft
Korczak ZiolkowskiSculptor who began the Crazy Horse Memorial
Henry Standing BearLakota chief who commissioned the Crazy Horse Memorial
Damon WayansAmerican comedian and actor who archives recordings of every stand-up set
Jeff RossComedian who made a documentary inside a Texas county jail
John StamosActor who watched Anwar's late set with his back turned

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From the publisher

Fahim Anwar is a stand-up comedian and actor. His new special “Intrusive Thoughts” is out now on YouTube. Fahim joins Theo to talk about the power of dance, an adventurous weekend they had in Clearlake, Iowa, and what can be done about America’s gooning epidemic. Fahim Anwar: https://www.instagram.com/fahimanwar/ Fahim’s new special “Intrusive Thoughts”: https://youtu.be/46cxhMQYH74 Fahim Works on Stuff: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLziXdq2x78fH1IHv-bxx5pd9VjwKmZrE9 ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner #CELSIUSLiveFit https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Perplexity AI: Ask anything at https://pplx.ai/theo Manscaped: Get 15% OFF your entire order @MANSCAPED with promo code THEO at https://manscaped.com #ManscapedPartner #TCSociety Quo: Go to http://quo.com/theo for 20% off your first 6 months. Modiphy: Get 50% off the last website you’ll ever need at https://modiphy.com/THEO ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend Twitter: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers P…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy Interviews·Stand-Up