Mindy's Comedy Archives

Our first guest EVER, the great Rosebud Baker talks us through her comedy moments from early bar shows to her special “The Mother Lode” and her new book (!) “Fully Baked”. Pre-Order HERE: https://bit.ly/FullyBakedRosebudBaker

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Host
Mindy Tucker

Guest
Rosebud Baker

Theme Song
Taking Pictures by Hula

Podcast Consulting
Seltzer Kings

Cinematographer
Eric Durkin

Editor/Sound
Jeremy Balon

Chief Administrative Officer
Jin Moon

Booking Consultant
Marianne Ways

Graphics
Howdy.nyc

Executive Producer
Mindy Tucker

Sponsor
Blonde Medicine

Special Thanks
Pat Byrne

★ Support this podcast ★

Creators and Guests

Host

Mindy Tucker

Comedy Photographer and Archivist that has documented 20 years of the NYC Comedy world.

Guest

Rosebud Baker

Known for her biting wit and unapologetic style, Rosebud Baker's comedy takes audiences on a ride that's as brutally hilarious as it is refreshingly real. Rosebud is an Emmy-and-WGA Award- I winning writer, for her work on Saturday Night Live and Inside Amy Schumer. She's also written for HBO's That Damn Michael Che, and Comedy Central's Roast of Alex Baldwin. Her first comedy special, Whiskey Fists, was praised for its raw honesty, sharp punchlines, and unflinching humor about life's messiest moments. Vulture named her second comedy special (The Mother Lode,) 'one of the best comedy specials of 2025. Known for her fearless, darkly funny perspective, Rosebud has been featured on Netflix's That's My Time with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, and This Week at the Comedy Cellar. Her acting work can be seen in Life & Beth on Hulu, and on the big screen in the comedy- horror feature, Hell of A Summer.

What is Mindy's Comedy Archives?

MINDY'S COMEDY ARCHIVES is a visual podcast featuring intimate interviews with the people who have been an instrumental part of the New York comedy community for the past 20 years. In each episode, our guest flips through a chronological stack of photos (starting with their very first "Mindy") using each image to unlock specific memories about their evolution in comedy. We'll touch on memories of early struggles and day jobs, to breakthroughs, friendships, and career shifts in an ever-changing industry.

[gentle music] All right, Rosebud,
thanks for coming in

today.

Hell yeah.

All right.

You know I always will.

We got two boxes to get through.

Okay.

And here's number one.

Oh my God.

[laughs]

Look at that. That looks like, um,
some sort of

wedding invitation.

Yeah.

Like a slutty wedding invite. Just-

[laughs]

I'm taking pictures of you.

I'm taking pictures of everything.

A woman likes to roam.

A woman likes to everything.

Oh my God.

Did you know that that's
when you enter the archives?

No.

I didn't either.

Uh, oh my God.

I've been sitting on that.
It has been so hard not to text you.

This was, like, the comedy Met Gala.
What was this called? It was at The Creek.

It was The Creek Awards, and it's-

The Creek Awards. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it was The Creek Awards,
and then also I put out the

New Year in Comedy would come out in
connection with The Creek

Awards,
and we did this crazy stuff out front.

Yeah.

And so yeah, put
that down for the viewers.

Oh my God. This is crazy.

Oh my God, look at Blair.

Right?

Oh my God.

This is wild.

Yeah. So-

I remember this so well. Like, I,
I remember

it being, like, a huge deal.

By the way, this dress is a dress
that I wore for my high school

graduation.

[laughs]

And I remember holding onto
that dress because it was the,

had that cost over $300.

Oh, wow.

And I kept that dress...

Well,
obviously since high school graduate, it,

I don't even know when this was.
What year was that?

Yeah, so September 6th,

2015.

September 6th, 2015.

Yeah.

So Obama was still in office when
that photo was taken.

Yeah.

That is

wild.

Yeah. It's interesting to me that this
is your first photo,

and,

uh, that The Creek Awards, this
is either the last

one-

Mm-hmm

... or next to the last one.
I think it's the last one.

Yeah. I think it was.
I think I remember it being the last one,

remember that because it
was such a big deal to me

to, like,

be invited, which i- well, nobody
was really

invited. It was like you could just go.

Yeah.

But I was [laughs] but to me, I

was, I was still such a baby comic

at this point,
and I remember feeling like the fact

was going

felt like an invite even though I
was crashing.

Yeah.

You know? Like, it was... I was still-

But we were so glad to have you there

... it was just like... I mean, it
was just this state of

delusion where you could turn--
you could take anything that was

neutral and make it, like,

and make it, like,
a story for yourself

Yeah.

You know, like that first time you get,
uh, a spot at the Knitting

Factory. You're like, "Well, this is it."

I mean, next it's a sitcom, right? The,
it's...

Anyway.

Oh my God.

And I did not remember this either.

This is you at-

This is at the Bell House

... this is at Littlefield.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Th- l- exactly.
Sorry.

It's the Women in Comedy photo shoot-

Mm-hmm

... in 2016.

Mm-hmm.

And Maryanne Ways helped put
that together.

Yep.

Uh, and yeah, this is the one that
was in The New York Times.

Uh, so, like, the Times was there
that day.

Yeah.

Uh, but yeah,
I'm embarrassed of how we did this.

Wait, this photo was in The Times?

No.

Oh, okay.

That, that one is, though.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Uh, we had you guys sign up and [laughs]

like, with numbers so
that we could caption you.

Right.

Um, and then-

Yeah. I remember picking out that, um,
that

veil because I, I had been in a

relationship at that point for about four
years, and there was still no ring,

and I remember picking out the veil.

[laughs]

Whoa.

To be... [laughs]

Oh my God. Yeah, so

the delusion persisted. Um, but yeah,
I remember that

very well. I remember that very well.
And we were, like, dancing at, like...

I think we were, like... I was, like,
trying to twerk at, like, noon at

that. I remember that.

[laughs] Yeah,
and we're thinking of doing it again this

'cause it,
it would be the 10-year anniversary.

But what you're holding in your hands
is one of the, uh,

problems,
which is we had so many people come, and

we were so grateful
that we had such a turnout, and it was

so wonderful 'cause we did this 'cause we
wanted you all to meet each

other.

Right.

The point of the shoot
was bringing you all together-

Yeah

... because at that time,
the geography of New York

comedy had already changed to the point
that I would

have someone in here on a Tuesday who'd
been doing comedy for

five years and had never met the person
who was in here on

Thursday,
also had been doing comedy for five years.

Right.

And that used to not be possible.

Yeah.

But by the time we get to this date,
so many

of you

y- it's not even that you hadn't met,
you weren't aware of each

other.

Of each other. Yeah.

And so we were so ecstatic that

there were that many of you.

Yeah.

Uh,

I have no idea

who is back here.

Yeah.

I have no idea where you are in, in
that print.

I have no idea where you are

I found myself.

You did?

Yeah, immediately.
Found myself right there.

[laughs]

It's just the power of narcissism.

Yeah.

Um, wow. Oh my God. [laughs]

So that is one frame

from... I, the other thing we did that day

that I don't think anyone ever downloaded
or looked at is it's a

huge composite image.

Yeah.

And it's where you can see all of your
faces better.

Um-

Oh yeah, you went, like, around the room.
I remember that.

I remember you going, like, around...
What were we in, like a circle

Yeah, yeah. And it worked.
It actually came out so cool,

but because you had to click through to
view it-

Yeah

... you can still go
and find this photo today.

Um, but you have to look at it
and scroll in

your, uh, internet browser.

My God.

Yeah. Yeah, show the c-

That's incredible

... show the kids. Yeah.

Wow. Oh, I remember this very well.

Very, very well.

[laughs]

Oh my gosh, and Mateo.

Mateo was Joan.

Yep.

Mateo was Joan Crawford and I was Amy,

which is crazy because literally two years
after this I started

opening for her.

Really?

Yeah.

Um, but I remember I was Amy Schumer for,
um, Stick or

Treat. It was my first Stick or Treat,

and

it was a, it was kind of a cop-out 'cause,
like,

you don't really have to do an impression
of Amy.

Like, you can just dress like her
and not... You know what I mean?

Yeah.

It's not like she has, like, an accent
or anything.

She just tells jokes, and I,
I remember just going up and, like,

telling jokes. Just telling Amy's jokes.

Yeah.

It was like, uh, I was like, I don't-
I'm not

an impressionist, and this show is, like,

such a great show because you just get to
dress up in a

costume-

Yeah

... you know, as, like, your heroes.

But I didn't have any sort of impression
for it, and I remember being like really,

really nervous about that.

I was like, "I guess I bring like, um,
like a bottle of wine on stage?"

And like, I don't know. Like,

anyway,

I mean, I did get the costume pretty good.

Yeah, you did.

So now we're getting into performance
photos.

Mm-hmm.

And, you know,
I have always thought of performance

as, like, this is kind of showing
that you showed up to work that

day.

Yeah.

You know?
I'm always trying to make them artful.

Yeah.

But I am always...

I,
I don't really think anyone uses them

online,
but I still think they're important.

I think they're really useful for, like,
tour photos,

but I see what you mean. Like,
it's almost like,

I think they're more useful for, like,
actors almost.

I don't know.

Yeah.

But it is, I,
I really enjoy looking at them because it

it really reminds you of, like,
what you went there for.

Like, what it felt like to be there.

You know, the Hang is its own world.

You know? It's so social. You're,
you're with other people.

You're with your friends.
You're shooting the shit.

But when you're on stage,
it's such a solo sport.

Yeah.

I mean, it really, it- it's just you,
so...

And I love this photo 'cause it's like

you can tell that I was like,

I was either s- uh, starting or ending.

I'm imagining. I think I
was probably ending the set.

Yeah, I think you're about to walk off.

Yeah, but like,

I look so, like, pleased with myself.

Yeah.

Oh my God.

This dress

is so, like, 2016.

It's wild.

Oh, this is another Stick or Treat.

So that's what I was trying to figure out.

I was like, are there photos missing,

what happened that you don't appear in the
archives again

until the next Stick or Treat?

But what I think is, I think that this was

maybe a taping for See So,

and it was done, like,
in the middle of the year.

Yes.

Because the next Stick or... So those-

That's why I was nervous.

Okay.

I remember 'cause I was like,
"I'm not doing anything that's not, like,

like, gonna stand out." I was worried
that I wasn't doing anything that

stand out, and it was, like, a taping.

For me,
it was like the first taping I'd ever

Oh.

I think it was the first taping I'd ever
done.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

Okay, I need to put
that down in the archives.

Um,

so yeah, that was in June of 2016,

and the next photo is from,

let's see, 10/29/2016.

So they were both in the same year.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.
So there must have been two Stick

year.

Yeah.

And I've literally blocked that out.

Yeah.

They did the taping for See So.

Yeah.

[laughs] Which is no longer-

No longer

... with us,
and then we did one just for us,

and I was, uh, Maria Bamford.

[laughs] Oh, yeah.

I forgot.

Yeah.

Very Maria Bamford.

Oh.

Yeah.
So these are interesting to me because

at a venue called Faulkner.

Uh-huh.

And it was for a show, uh, put on by Lucas

Kaiser.

This is from December of 2016,

and I love these photos just because they
show you

showing upIn a room that sat,

oh my goodness,

20 people-

Yeah

... tops-

Yeah

... in that room.

And they're not-

Sparsely. By, by the way, sparsely.

I don't think that it was, like, sold out-

... or anything. It was, like,
maybe 12 people in the audience.

Yeah.

So I think this is the last time
that we have you in a

room that small.

I remember this photo.
I remember this photo really

well. Um,

I really loved it because I looked so
tired.

And, but that, it wasn't, like,
in a bad way.

It was like, I remember I got--

I had this day job that, it
was like my first day job

that gave me health insurance and, like,
it was like a,

I wrote articles.

Um, and so it was, like,
a writing job to me, and

I felt like a writer

and, um, and I would go to my writing job,
and then I would

rush home, and I would walk my dogs,
and then I would go do spots, and I

was exhausted. And

I mean, hilarious that that
was exhausting to me now,

but it was a lot. And I remember, um,

feeling like,

like, "Oh my God, I'm, like,
being responsible, and I'm still, like,

and doing comedy and feeling like..."

You know, that, like, pink cloud
that I was on when I first

started, like, started to wane,
and it started to feel like,

"Okay, this is tough. Like, this is work.

I'm really working, and, um,

I don't know if any of it's gonna pay
off." And I

felt

a little, like, I
was unhappy in my personal life, my

relationship, and it was just, like,
a tough time,

um,
where I felt like I had been putting in

work in all these different areas of my
life, and all of it was kind of, like,

leading to, like, where? You know?

Um-

I have a question.

Yeah.

Would you say you
were three to five years in comedy at

I started comedy in [scoffs] yeah,

2013.

And

so yeah, I was, like, three years in,
which is hilarious, and I'm like, "Where

are the results?" [laughs]

But no, so this area-

Yeah

... this three to five years in-

Mm-hmm

...
is my area of most concern because this

lose people.

Mm-hmm.

This is where your friends who have day
jobs,

your friends who aren't comedians, this
is where they go away.

Yeah.

This is where it happens. Your first year,
they'll still come to a show.

They'll come to a bringer show.

Yeah.

You start getting three years in,
you're going to those shows alone.

Yeah.

And none of your friends are showing up.

Yeah.

And also, three to five years is
when you have to start

thinking about your finances-

Yeah

... and a day job
and whether you're gonna jump or not.

Right.

And so

that is why I am still out at

shows.

Yeah.

Because three to five years in,
you probably can't

afford to come in and do photos,
but you a- need

them the most-

Yeah

... at three to five years.

I mean, all of these photos
were all photos that you took of me for

at shows or at events, you know. Like,
I mean, I, I guess

the Creek Awards was a show.

Women in Comedy wasn't a show, but it
was like a, it was a thing, you know?

Yeah.

It was a comedy thing.

But that, uh, that is, again,
that's part of the reason why we did it.

Yeah.

You know? Um, but yeah,
I think three to five years in

is such a,

um,

it is such a do or die time.

Yeah.

And the amount of support
that you need there,

I think that's the most important time.

Yeah.

Because once you get to a place where
you're six or seven years in,

and you have a manager,
and you have maybe people to help you on

the back end, you're kinda rolling along.

Yeah.

Three to five years,
there's still no results.

Right.

And you've sacrificed so much.

Oh my God, yeah.
I remember just being like,

"Oh my God, I

totally devoted my life to something
that's absolutely unpro-

like, not profitable, and I don't know if

I'm funny. Like,
I feel like maybe I could be, but I

don't know if I'm funny. I'm, like,
trying to be funny at this

day job that I have, but they, like,
won't let me"

[laughs] like. So it was just, like,
this-- And you can, like, see it

in my face, and I remember, like,
really liking that photo, not from,

like, a,
"What a great promo photo I can use," but,

what a snapshot of, like, where I was at.

It was, it's, like, such an honest photo.

Um, so I really liked that.

I don't remember this at all. Oh my God.

Yeah?

Wait, this-

Yeah. [laughs] Okay.

Is this when I was Jim Gaffigan?

Yeah.

This is Jim Gaffigan from Stick or Treat.

Yeah.

Okay, hold on. This is wild. First of all,
I'm-- I

obviously really committed to the
character

here.

[laughs]

And that is kind of, like,

my resting face.

Yeah.

yeah.

Then this was my favorite, Robert Dean.

Robert Dean is Mork.

Yeah.

Oh my God. It's wild.

So many Stick photos.

Mm-hmm.

So many Stick or Treat photos.

Do you think you
were past At The Cellar yet here?

No.

Okay.

I know for a fact that I wasn't,
'cause when was this, 20- 2017?

Yeah. Stick, uh, 2017.

2017, wow, yeah.

So that's the thing.
You're not in the archives from

December of 2016

untilYeah, October of

2017. Had you started touring?

No.

No, I hadn't. Um,

I remember that time being spent a lot at
New York Comedy

Club.

Okay.

Yeah,
'cause I got passed at New York Comedy

like around 2016.

Okay.

And I remember being there almost every
night-

Okay

... from like 2016 through to like 2018,

which was when I first auditioned for

JFL-

Okay

... I think.

And I was working that day job. So I
was working this day job in Flatiron,

and I was--

And New York Comedy Club was as close--
It was the closest venue to

Flatiron. Bleh. So I think I
was probably just there.

I wasn't doing as many shows like out at,
in Brooklyn or at

bars or like in different venues. I, I
was really just like

hitting this one club over and over
and over again.

So that is a personal theory that I have-

Mm-hmm

...
and I'm very curious what's gonna happen

people. I always think it's usu- not

always. It's usually a good thing-

Mm-hmm

...
when you don't see someone for a stretch

Yeah

... because it means they're in a club
or they're on tour or

they booked a TV show.

Right.

And then you see them reappear again.

Yeah.

It's usually something has changed.

Yeah.

So that's like your first kinda large gap,
and it's

interesting to me, um,
that it's 'cause you're at a

club and-

Yeah

...
you don't need a bar show in the same way

Yeah. I think that's what happened.

Um-

Yeah

... this I don't remember at all.

Yeah. This is--

Yeah, I think--

I wanna say this is also the stay, the

same Stick or Treat.

I remember that's Katie Hannigan, right?

Yeah.

Wow.

So yeah, this is also Stick or Treat.

I remember Katie Hannigan calling those
her Medicaid glasses.

Oh my God.

I remember that because,
'cause now it's like become part of my

It's like when I see glasses like
that I call them Medicaid glasses

because of Katie.

Oh my God.

So yeah,
we have some performance photos of you

as Jim.

I really committed to this.

Yeah.

Oof. [laughs]

I was really committed.

Um, oh my God.

Yeah. So this is first studio photos

here.

Yeah.

And it makes sense
that you would've needed to come

in. This is, uh-

Right before my Caroline's, uh,
what would, what did they call that?

It was a Caroline's-

Oh, God

... breakout. Break,

breakout artist?

Something.

It was like Ca- uh,
Caroline's breakout artist, uh...

Oh, fuck. Yeah, so this is November 2017,
and

actually only like a week after Stick
or Treat.

Yeah, so Caroline's would give

artists an opportunity to,

um, like I mean stand-ups. We--
They would give us an

opportunity to headline,
and you'd get like two shows in one

night,

and

whenever you got your I think it
was called breakout artist,

you would just be pushing tickets

like as much as-- And this was back
when like you had to,

um, you had to like write to,

uh,

not New York Times.

Time Out New York.

Time Out New York, yes.
You'd have to write to whoever you knew at

York, and you'd have to pitch yourself,

and I was like pitching myself to

whoever I knew that worked at Time Out New
York 'cause usually whoever was

working the comedy section in Time Out,
at Time Out New York was

like comedy adjacent-

... or was a stand-up. So I remember

reaching out to them, getting
that listed in-- And I

needed photos. I was like,
"I need photos to get this listed and to

promote this, this show,
and I need the photos to be like

eye-catching.
I need people to look at me

I,
I wasn't even concerned with them thinking

I was like, "I, it, I don't care." I
was like-- I remember coming in and being

like, "Mindy,
I just need to look hot." I was like,

I don't care.
They'll find out I'm funny once they get

Just make me look hot." And,
and you did it.

You really did it. We, we did-- I mean,
it's so funny 'cause it's like

I literally look like I'm a Celine Dion
cover artist

and-

This is still an all-time pic

... it's still just like an all-time--
Yeah, it's such a great photo, and

I-- you've told me that people come in
and ask for that background.

Yep,
and I think you're the only person who got

that background.

Yes.

[laughs] I think maybe you told me ahead
of time you were coming in with

gold-

Yeah

... is what I'm thinking.

Yeah. Yeah.

But you've brought up a couple of things
that are pieces of comedy

infrastructure that no longer exist.

So one of them is Seeso-

Uh-huh

... which for a while
was helpful to what we'll call

the comedy middle class.

Mm-hmm.

It was something that gave you, um, a

little bit of stage time.
It gave you experience taping something,

and it gave you a small amount of income.

Yeah.

Right? And that's gone.
And then the other thing is I don't know

that people realize how much we lost
when we lost

comedy advocates at Time Out New York-

Yeah

...
'cause they used to be really responsive,

called Joke of the Week.

Yep.

That was so helpful-

Yeah

... to so many comics.

Yeah.

Um-

'Cause you could take that.
You'd take a picture of it.

You'd put it on your Instagram, and it
was like it's, it,

it wasn't even about spreading the word to
the world.

It was about spreading the word to other

comics.Like,
and that's how you got bigger,

was just like earning the respect of other
comedians.

Yeah.
But also people did pick up physical

Time Out New York-

That's true, yeah

... and look at them for something to do.

Yeah.

That and The Village Voice
are both things that helped

get a few butts in seats-

Mm-hmm

... that are now, uh, gone.

Yeah.

I remember this one too,
just serving armpit.

[laughs] So the next photo is from

July of 2018.

Oh my God.

This is at The Bell House

and yeah.

Fuck, I, I miss this shirt.

[laughs]

Yeah.

Yeah, you know what this is.
You did Las Culturistas.

Yeah. You can-- I, I was

so nervous too because I had been in the
clubs so much

that showing up for Las Culturistas felt
like, "Oh

shit," like, "Am I gonna be

okay for this?" You know?
You can tell that I wasn't having fun

was worried about fitting in with
that crowd.

Like,

that was my main concern, was fitting in.

It's funny because I've always really
thought of like

the alt scene as like the coolest kids.

[laughs]

And

I never felt like I fully like fit in with
them.

And the club scene,

you know, I, I just,
I always worked the club scene.

That was like where I, where I was.
But I always really

wanted to be like an alt

comic because I--
the thing about alt comedy that I really,

really respect is
that I can watch an alt comic and

I don't know how they're doing what
they're doing.

Like, I get how a joke is written.

Mm-hmm.

I can see how you did that.

[laughs]

I know like--

I- it's like watching a magician
when you know the trick.

But when I watch like an alt comic

that's like killing,

I'm

so in awe and so mesmerized

and I'm,

and just jealous and like,

I'm like,
"How did you do that?" Because I know

Right

... for a, for a while. Like I know
that wasn't funny when it

started.

Yeah.

And I can't think of anything more
embarrassing than bombing with what,

with what is now,
with what I'm watching right now, which

Right.

Because it just requires such a level of
like

commitment to, um, the bit and to

yourself.

So I have always just kind of

been really,

uh, nervous around that scene

and you can [laughs] totally tell. I mean,
I am not smiling.

I'm-- even a little bit.

Yeah, so speaking of alt, uh, comedy,

the next photo is from Union Hall in
August of

2018.

Wow.

Yeah.

Wow.

And that's you and Sam Reddy
and some pizza.

Yep.

[laughs]

Yeah. I still have this shirt.
I love this shirt.

Um-

I'm wondering what material you would've
been working on in 2018.

Uh,
do you know when your first like special

My first special came out in 2020.

Okay.

Um, this would've been,

you said August of 2018?

Yep.

When was JFL?

Uh, that's usually, uh,
I wanna say it's July.

Yeah, so it would've been right after

I did JFL

and I had got like

my first real like on-camera gig,
and it was that

documentary called Inside Jokes.

And, um,

we shot it for Amazon, uh,
for Prime Video.

And

they had filmed me from

I guess 2017, like middle of 2017

through the summer of 2018, and filmed my

set and filmed like the auditions and the,

and working on the set-

Yeah

... up until

the, up until finding out if we
were going and,

and then the trip to Montreal.

Yeah, it's a really good documentary.
You should absolutely check it out.

Robert Dean also in that.

Robert Dean was in it, yeah,
and Simon Gibson who I saw this week in

'cause I was on the road in Portland
and stopped and just did a little

gig, um, at like this improv theater

and Simon was there and he,
he [laughs] he, um,

he was like, "Oh no, I, I,
I think I locked my keys in my car,"

like runs out and he's like, he's like,
"Oh, thank God."

He's like,
"I was stupid enough to lock my keys in my

enough to not, uh,
lock the car." He's like, "So the

keys were there." [laughs]

He's like, "But luckily I
was dumb enough to not lock the car at

all."

Um,

yeah.

Oh my God, I remember like so well

just this period of time in, in comedy for

me. I, I, I felt like, okay,

things are starting to pay off.
Like things are starting to...

You know, I quit my day job. I got,
I got the check from that, um,

uh, Amazon Prime Video thing and I'd

gotten a manager at Montreal

and-I remember feeling like,

"Oh,
this is how it's supposed to go." Like,

"Okay,

this is starting to... Now we're cooking.
Now we're cooking with gas," you know?

Um,

I just felt so fucking good about myself.

I remember that.

I remember feeling really good about m-
you can...

I mean-

Yeah, I feel like you can see it in
that one.

Yeah. Yeah. I was just really, I felt,

um,

confident.

Yeah. So these next ones
are from the Bell House.

Uh, it's in-

This is 51st Jokes?

So this is August 26th, 2018, and

it's a show called 50 Lady Bits. Uh,

I believe Sachi put that on, and it's an

all-woman show.

Yeah.

And, uh-

Yeah.

Yeah, so I think by this point-

Sachi's a manager now.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, we're gonna have her on.

Yeah.

I'm so excited.

Good.

But, uh, but

by this point, I don't think you needed

this kind of show,
and what's interesting to me,

there, I would say,
for the love of the game in these.

Hmm.

And, um,

yeah, I, I,
I don't think you needed to be on a

point in your career.

It's funny.
I never thought about it like that.

I never have thought about, like,

do I need to

do this? It...

You know, in a sense,
I always need to do it.

I always need it, you know? [laughs] Like-

Yeah

... I just,

I like getting on stage. I'm just,

I'm a real, um, stage pig.

I'm the same way.

[laughs]

I'm the same way.
Have you ever heard the parable...

I don't remember which, like,
fable this is,

the bull and the boy?

Mm-mm.

I'm gonna get this so wrong, but, um,
basically this,

this kid,

while he's a kid, the bull is also, like,
newborn as well, and every

day he picks up the bull,
and as he grows and as the bull grows,

he lifts him up every day. And so
when he becomes an adult and

adult, he's able to lift up the bull-

Really?

...
because he's been doing it this whole

Yeah.

And I think of art is that.

Yeah.

If you're doing it every day and
if you're building up your skills,

gonna be able to lift up the bull.

Yeah.

Right? And so I will do a show in a

bowling alley-

Yeah

...
because I'm gonna have to think quickly.

I'm gonna have to get portraits in under a
minute.

I'm gonna, like,
have to find the best sight lines

and it's... You know, I will be fast
and very good-

Mm-hmm

... when I'm doing a special.

Right.

Right? So it's all, uh,
being able to lift up the

bull.

Yeah.

Right? And I, I think this
is why I get along with comedians.

Yeah. Yeah, it's just this like...
It's an impulse. It...

Or a, really a, a compulsion. Is that...
That's really another way to say it.

I think that is a compulsion.

Yeah.

It's a compulsion.

Yeah. [laughs] I agree.

An addiction, a compulsion,
whatever you wanna say.

Yeah.

These are great.

Yeah, these are just some fun...

Uh, again, I would say this
is why I'm still at the shows, uh,

you know,
because these probably refreshed your

months.

Mm-hmm.

Probably were able to use it on a thing
or two.

Yeah.

Um, and yeah, just cute.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

Mindy.

[laughs]

I mean-

And then this is, uh, yeah,
you with pizza.

We got two, uh, photos of that.
I don't think that's about you and

pizza. I think, uh,
it's the only thing served backstage.

Yep, yep.

Yep, I remember this. Everybody
was leaving.

Like, everybody had left, and there
was pizza left over,

and me and Christie and Maria
were all eating pizza,

and you were on your way out the door.

Yeah, and I will say that I...

This era is probably one of the last
times.

It was already getting difficult.

People almost won't let me do a photo like
that anymore.

Everybody wants, like,
the quote unquote "Mindy after the

show," that single shot,
and I wanna give it to them, right?

I want you to have that. I want,
I want you to have that photo

able to use for promo and stuff.
I want you to have it, but I'm

also a little, I don't know, a s-
a soupçon, if you will,

of a historian.

Uh-huh.

And I'm interested in

who was all together at the venue at the
same

time, who was working at the same time-

Yeah

... in the city.

Yeah.

That's interesting to me,
but whenever I try to take

basically an establishing shot, you know,
like backstage at the Bell

House or something,
and I'm trying to get a shot of, like,

backstage-

Yeah

... and they begin to form a line

for the, for the portrait, and I'm like,
"I get that.

I get that impulse," but also I d-
I just wanna be able to take a few of

those-

Yeah

... at every event, and it's harder
and harder to do.

I know. I feel like, um,

it's just gotten to be so

commercialized.

Yeah.

Is, is kind of... I...
That's the word that's coming to mind.

Um,

you know, everyone
is approaching it in such a...

Like, you got all these comics that
are working, like, l-

like, comics,

you know?

Yeah, I have had people,

you know, look at me strangely
when I'm just trying to have a little

conversation with them.

Yeah.

You know? And it's like, "Take the pic.

Take the pic." And I'm like, "I-"

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

Jesus.

Just, just asking how you-

That sucks

... how you feel about your set.

That just fucking sucks.

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

So this is-Uh, May

of 2019, we're at Littlefield.

Mm-hmm.

And gonna see an appearance of, I think

Robert Dean is in these.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wow.

Here he is. Hold on.

Uh-

This is Robert right after... I think,
was Robert doing his show?

So you're absolutely right. Your memory
is spot on.

This is Robert doing a show

at Littlefield,
and you showed up to support.

Yeah.

And we're gonna see
that by you more than once in the

You showed up for that.

Yeah.

And there's Josh.

Yeah, he had asked me to do a, uh,

to do a spot.

And that's the last time I see you before
the

thing happens.

Before COVID.

And we're gonna cut to-

Wait, what year, what, what date was this?
Do you remember?

Yeah, so it's March... I'm sorry, May

2nd, 2019.

Okay.

Wow.

Let's see. I met Andy

in...

Like, Andy and I started dating in, like,
November or

October of 2019.

Wow.

So a few months after that.

Um, and then in this next photo,

I had just gotten married.

This was...

I married Andy, and then we... When was

this, 2021 or '20?

That's pretty much the first show

post-lockdown.

And, uh, that was at a parking lot.

Yep.

This is before the vaccine,

so if I do a show, this
is definitely one that's

gonna get blown up pretty big because you
can see in the

audience,

um, everybody's wearing a mask. This
is June 8th

of 2020.

And it's-

Oh, so it's right before I got mar-
I got married in September of 2020.

So this is-

Wow.

Yeah, June 8th, 2020.
It's in a parking lot close

to the Creek and the Cave.

In Long Island City.

Yeah, Rebecca put it on.

Wow.

Yeah,
and I was grateful she called me for it,

I was so glad to be there
and so glad to see

everybody. I, I didn't cry, but I,
I teared up a couple of times-

I did, too

... that day.

I did, too.

Just seeing people again.

Yeah, I remember that.

And I had m-
I had missed everyone so much.

Aw.

Yeah, so this is you and Che.

Yeah.

And are you guys working together by this
point?

Well, Che and I were...
I went on the road with Che

for a whole summer in 2019. So

me and Che and Sipho
were all on the road together for

the whole summer of 2019.

And the COVID stuff happened,

um,

and I didn't see him for a long time.
This was the first maybe...

No, not the first time, but

I hadn't seen him in a little while.
I remember I hadn't seen him in a few

Um, what a bad person.

[laughs]

And then this next one
is really interesting to me.

It's not that it's a great photo,
but it's you doing comedy

on a rooftop.

Um, this is July 30th of

2020.

And speaking about the compulsion to just
keep going-

Yeah

... this is pretty much it. Like,
look at this wide.

So this is at, it's at, uh, Turks Inn.

Uh-huh.

And they had an...
They had been doing this show inside.

They've got a gorgeous showroom in there,
but this was on a

roof.

Yeah.

And-

Yeah.

Yeah

I barely remember this show.

Like, I barely remember.
I kind of remember it,

but

I mean, I remember seeing you,
but I don't remember... Was Shane there?

Yeah.

Okay, Shane was there, yeah.
Shane Torres was there.

I remember seeing you,
and I remember seeing Shane Torres.

But yeah, I don't... I mean, this is,
like...

Yeah,
I was getting pretty lax with the masks.

I was just putting fucking bandanas on.

Oh my God, this is just, like,

such a time capsule.

Yeah.

And I,

you know, that's kinda why I was out a-
at shows even then

Jen and I were having to carefully weigh,

like, "Okay, if I get sick and then I miss

jobs, we might lose the studio."

Yeah.

Right?
So we were trying to put me in the safest

conditions possible because we
were also trying to hang

on to the studio during COVID,

and so I was going to shows with, like,
a medical grade

N95.

Yep, I remember that.

And, and, like,

it's like you don't have time to explain
to people, like, "At the end of the day,

I'm doing this for you."

Right.

Right? W- But I,

but I was.

Yeah.

You know, 'cause we

somehow, magically,

we got, I wanna say it
was three book covers

during COVID.

Yeah.

And they were enough to keep the studio
open,

which is bananas.

Yeah.

And then the next photos that you have
is when, you

know,
thank goodness we did keep the studio

because you came in.

These are for Whiskey Fist.

Yep. This is May 24th,

2021.

Yep.

And I shot Whiskey Fist in

March of 2020,

and it was coming out

June or July of 2021.And this

was,

this photo was inspired by George Carlin.

Yeah.

Um, 'cause I was, like, looking at, like,
photos that I really loved,

and there are these photos of, like,
George Carlin in his album,

um-

Class Clown

... yeah, Class Clown.

And

I loved those photos.

Yeah.

I really loved this shoot.

I li- I liked this shoot because

it was so different from...

Like, I mean,
check out the difference between, like,

just my level of comfort.

Yep.

Between, like, this

and this,

it was like,

just in terms of, like,
how hard I felt I had to sell myself,

this was just so much more relaxed.

Yeah.

You know?

Oh my God, my girl.

Yep.

So this is South by Southwest.

Mm-hmm.

And I do like the backdrops from
that year.

I have different feelings about different
years on the,

on the backdrops, but.

Me and Blurry.

Yeah, so that would,
that's gonna be March of

2022.

That was right after I started working at

SNL.

Okay.

Yep.

This would've been, like,
one of my first breaks after SNL.

I think you may have been there for two
days.

Yeah.

'Cause we have some costume changes
and stuff,

and I do love those

post-pandemic South By years.

Yeah.

It was just so emotional to see everyone.

Even when we get to 2022,

it's still,

like-

Wow

... such a trip to see everybody.

I love my

choice of pants there. [laughs] Uh,
this photo

I used for a while.

Oh, good.

I remember using this photo.

This one right here.

Wow.

Oh yeah, and these were...

I think this was when I was opening for

Sarah Silverman.

At South By?

Yeah. Or no, no, no, Moon Tower.

Oh, no, these are South By. You're still-

Oh, these are South By?

Yeah. I think this may be a different day.

That's cool.
I was wearing the merch to the,

to the thing.

[laughs] I was literally wearing a South
by Southwest T-shirt that I bought there.

Yeah, so by then you already had kind of a

lot going on,

and the next time that I see you

is this day,

which is-

Oh my God

... mm-hmm,

taping your special.

Yep.

And this photo, you can barely see you,
but this is

you outside the venue before the

taping, and I almost never can get an

establishing wide like that, but I ran.

[laughs]

Yeah.

I ran across traffic.

Yeah.

[laughs]

Look at this. Oh my gosh.

Matteo,

Nick.

God.

this is, you shot one part of a stand-up

special while pregnant.

Yes.

And it was so

great.

Uh,

so pregnant.

So pregnant. [laughs]

So yeah, I mean,
I think for a book we probably only need

photo

showing that you're pregnant,
and I tried to narrow it down.

There's a couple hundred photos from
that day.

Yeah.

But I'm like, "Dude, I don't know.
There's several that I

like,"

and there's some closer up shots of you
outside the

venue that I also like.

I mean, these pictures,
outside of just being, like, pictures

of my special are--

They mean so much to me, you know? I mean,
I never did, like, a

maternity shoot, you know? I wasn't...

[laughs] I was like, I was trying to,
like, work at SNL and, like, get a special

together, and I remember I
was in the middle of writing my book,

um,

and everything was, like,

changing so rapidly. Like, ev- my life
was just

changing so rapidly that I

never thought to be like, "Oh, let me get,
like,

photos of me pregnant," you know?
'Cause I'm like,

the time." But these ones

really, really meant something to me.

Um-

Oh, to me too. I was genuinely... Like,
I was nervous.

I mean, I can shoot a special in my sleep,
especially a special

at this location.
I've done umpteen of them.

Yeah.

But I wanted to nail it so

badly. I wanted to get it right so badly

because it was such a big deal,
and because I knew how much you had going

also.

I was so, like...

It was so weird to shoot something

where, like, I felt... Oh my gosh,
look at these.

I love these,

and I love that we got a photo together.

Only one. It's the only one.

I know.

I think we have some from, uh,
like some phone photos later

on, but yeah, it's the only one on, like,
the camera camera.

Oh, and here it is.

Here's the infamous

one half of, uh,

my special cover.

This was the one that we went with, right?

Yeah.

I love that I left the Fitbit on.

[laughs] Just completely forgot I
was wearing a Fitbit through my whole

special.

So that is box one.

[laughs] All right.

So this is 2015 to 2023.

And-

And this is-

Box two starts with 2023.

How is it not still 2023?
That's what I'm wondering.

Yeah.

How is it n- how has it been three years?

I don't know.

Okay.

To me, it was yesterday, for sure.

That's so upsetting. Okay.

All right. This-

This is you backstage at the Bell House.

You hosted a book release party for Jesse.

Jesse.

Yeah.

This is for Jesse. I remember that.

This is November of 2023.

Does it- do you have an exact date?

November 7th.

So that's gonna be the first-

This would be the first time
that I did stand up or did a

show. I wouldn't call it standup, but I,
I did a

show after having my baby. It was four

weeks postpartum. And, um,

and I remember it being a big night
because it was also the first time

able to wear jeans in, huh, months,

and I was,
I was obviously very happy about it.

[laughs]

That was November of 2023.

Yeah.

And then

I went back to work at SNL

for

all of that year

and

was still doing spots here and there.

Um,

but for the most part was, like,
going to work and going home

and waking up my daughter
and having frozen cherry

parties in the, in the kitchen.

Um,

and then

that season ended,

and it was, I think
that season ended in May 2024,

that season ended,
and in September of 2024, I

shot the second half of my special,
The Motherload,

with

my daughter there.

Um, there's Marelle

doing my makeup.

Yeah. So this is September

19th, 2024.

Mm-hmm.

And some great behind the scenes of you
and

Minnow.

I can't. Oh my gosh. She is-

I know

... fucking...

God, she was a cute little squish.

Here's my set list.

Really great outfit.

This is my set list.

I remember buying that, uh,
outfit on Instagram before

she was born and being like,
"She's wearing this to my special taping,"

'cause it was, like, so, like,
Saved by the Bell.

Yeah, these are so backstage. Like-

Yeah

... all of these are so, like,

getting my hair done, getting, um-

Yeah. And I'm glad I did, though,
is because-

Yeah

...
he does your makeup for the next thing

coming up.

Yeah.

And Christina di-
did my hair for the next thing.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah.

And then-

Yeah, you just start to learn-
you just start to...

I- it's funny 'cause, like,

over time you just, like,
develop these relationships with,

like, people that you collaborate with.

And, you know,

there are certain ones that you're like,
you just keep going back to. You know?

Like you and me. I, I-

Yeah

... whenever I get something,
whenever I have something,

I'm like, "Well,
it's gonna be Mindy," 'cause that's,

know? And you just sort of assemble, like,
a team of Avengers.

[laughs]

Yeah.

Yeah. Um,

so this was the sh- this was, these
are the live photos

from my, the second half of my special.

Yeah. And, uh, again, there was, like,
more than 200 photos to

get through, and so I just kinda pulled-

I know. I love all of them.

Yeah.

It's so hard.

I was just like, if I, you know, if I
was gonna have to pick one, which,

this was me trying, and I- there
were so many.

Yeah.

I just, I'm kinda-

I mean,
I'm not helping you out here at all.

If this was an attempt to, like,
narrow things down for the book-

[laughs]

... we're gonna have to go through again

because these are all so good. I mean, I

just... Sorry, I just love all of them.
Okay.

Yeah.

I'll put this one down. This is my sister,

my sister Mary Stuart.

Yep.

These photos I love so much 'cause these,
I mean, they're

not the live photos, but, like,

these, like, the second
that the taping was over,

just, like,

loving on your friends and,

like,

it just felt...

Look at Alex. [laughs]

So yeah,
we have people from the show popping up to

Sydney,

Chris.

I mean, it's just...

And then walking around the corner after.

So this one to me, um...

Yeah,
we're not at the one I'm obsessed with

photo.

Mm-hmm. Crew photo.

Yeah. And, like, these, I'm like, "Okay,
they can live on the website, but I don't

know that we have to put them in the book.

Like, I can edit out that."

Yeah.

But then look at everybody together.

Sweetiepie Che showing up.

I know.

You know, he,
he really hates people to know it,

dude.

He really is.
Sorry for blowing your cover.

You know? Sorry, Che.

Sorry, but you're a sweetiepie,
and everybody knows it.

[laughs] Even though I'm

clearly fighting with him.
[laughs] I think he

came up and he was like, "Hey, you know,
you'll... It's okay.

You'll g- you'll get it next time,"
or something like that.

When the reality of this night was that

this special was supposed to be a
two-parter, and it is.

If you watch it on Netflix, it's,
it's two specials

edited into one special.
It's Rosebud before having the baby

and Rosebud after the baby's been born,
right?

So in one she's pregnant, and one--
and then another she's not, right?

The second taping

was so great.

It was so wonderful that after

the first-

After the first one

... after the first one,

all of us were like, "How will you edit

that?"

Yeah.

What do you cut-

Yeah

... from this absolutely perfect hour
that we just saw?

Everyone's working for a perfect hour.
We just saw one.

We also were here for the other hour.

And, uh, pretty much after the show, uh,
like I remember being with you

at The Cellar and just being like,
"I have no idea what you will do."

I also f-
I remember telling you I have no idea what

No idea.

Because I had this concept,
and what ended up happening

was Kelly Lyons, who

is awesome,

I-- She's my editor. She worked at "SNL"

for a number of years.
She's edited all of Mulaney's

specials. Um, she's worked with Bill on,
uh...

She worked with Bill Burr on, uh, "Drop,
Drop Dead Years."

She's incredible, and I knew I wanted a,

I knew I wanted a female editor,
and I knew I wanted...

And that was like the most important to
me.

Um,

and she was a mother,

and she'd worked at "SNL."

Wow.

I knew that she would be able to like take
something and be like,

"See what you can do here." You know what
I mean?

Like,
and not get overly attached to anything

kind of

fly by the seat of her pants.
So I told her, I was like, "Look,

the first hour, I'm proud of it.
The concept I'm proud

of." I was like, "But

if the concept is getting in the way of
funny, and if the

concept is getting in the way of just
telling the story,

fuck the concept." I was like,
"Just cut the second hour." You know

what I mean?
"And just leave it as like a second hour.

It's fine."

So she...

So then she provided me with two different
cuts.

One was of the first
and the second hours together,

and I-- just following the arc of
that second hour.

And

the second was just the second hour by
itself.

So she gave me two different specials.

She cut two different specials,
and she was like,

like, "Well, now,
now I've got a real embarrassment of

riches." Now I'm like, "Oh, boohoo,
my crown's too heavy." You

know? Like I was like,
"This is..." You're...

I was like,
"This is almost making it harder because I

And she was like, "Well,
then just go with what's more interesting

And I was like, "Well,

the cutting back and forth-"

Yeah

"... to me is more interesting."

Yeah.

You know? And I thought, "Well, what
if people don't get it?

Like do I need to like put,

I don't know,
like a thing ahead of it?" Like, "Hey,

Right

"... a year apart from each other."
And then I thought, like

you can't really start a comedy special
with like white text on a screen.

It looks like a true crime documentary.

So I just was like, "The people that
are gonna get it are gonna get it,

and the people that don't get it

don't matter."

Okay.

You know? So that's kind of what I,

well, what I went with. Um,

but yeah, I remember this night.
I remember being like, "Wow." Like

ju- I, I ne-
I am not one to walk offstage and be like,

but that was the f- first time
that I've walked off and been like,

"Holy shit." Like

everything that could've gone right went
right.

Yeah.

And I

was just like,
"What a fucking stroke of luck." [laughs]

Like-

And you are. You'll get offstage,
and you'll have a note for yourself.

I've seen you do it. You know, like, "Oh,
I should've zigged

when I zagged or whatever."

Yeah, yeah.

And I've always admired
that 'cause I'm that way about photos,

I'm like, "Yeah, it's great,
but I should've or I could've

feel like that's how you get better.

Yeah.

Um, but yeah, that night there
was nothing, even for

the most,

uh-

Cynical

... person. There was just nothing. It
was great.

Yeah.

It was great.

I mean, honestly,
I would've shot it on film

That's my only thing.

[laughs]

That, that's my only... And then s-
this is the last joke.

This is my closing joke

from The Mother Load.

Yeah, so that one I think if I
were to do a show, there's like

a couple of those where you can see the
crowd,

and I think printed larger it could be
really cool.

Yeah. I really like that.

But I think you look fantastic there.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

Yeah, these are all like...

Yeah, I... And even this
is like it's narrowed down.

Um-

I love this one 'cause it just feels like
the venue.

It just feels so mu- you know,
you see that reflection right there.

There's that mirror behind the, the, this,
um-

Yeah, it's a great venue.

Yeah.

But this next one,
if I had to pick only one photo,

like w- I could only do one-

Yeah

... it's this one.

Yeah.

I love it.

Yeah.

It's you, and you, you know you did well.

Yeah.

You know it.

Yeah, I've got real, um,

I, I,

I just finished my ballet recital vibes
[laughs] you know?

Yeah.

But I t- I love the look on the face,
and it's just...

I also really love we know we're in New
York.

Yep.

Um, we know e- you know, somebody walking

into an art gallery,
they know nothing about anything.

Mm-hmm. They know that's in New York.

They know it's in New York,
and they know something

great has happened. They don't know what.

Yeah.

Um, but I, I just, I love it.

I love it too.

I love it too. I remember just

feeling like

I don't know if I've ever really felt,
like, proud of myself, you know?

Yeah.

Um,

y- even, like, even having a baby,
you're like,

"What the fuck was that?" It wasn't, like,
a feeling of like, "I'm so

proud of myself." It was like,
"What did I just go

through?"

Yeah.

But this, I was, like,

really

proud of myself. I was proud of, like,
what I made.

Yeah.

Um,

like I set out to do something,
and it took so long to get there.

Like, I was like,

"Okay, I'm gonna sell this special,

and it's gonna take a long time to make,
and it's more expensive

than it needs to be,
but it's what I wanna make,

and this is how I wanna tell the story."

Yeah.

And I was just like...

Yeah, I don't know.

Yeah.

Yeah, I just, I love that moment.
And then we just have a

couple.
I think I only printed out one of these,

then this is ultimately our kind of

preferred cover-

Yeah

... that went out in some places, I think.

Mm-hmm.

And then the next photos
are you back at the studio.

Can I just for a second, can I just-

Please.

Like-

Yeah

... that's so crazy.

So that to me is the project.

It-

Yeah

... to me, the art is,

is that and being a part of that,

and

I find joy in that as well.

Yeah.

Is, like, look at,

look at everything you've done,
and look at how much you've changed.

Yeah.

And yeah, it, it... To me, I'm

not interested in one photo.
I'm interested

in a decade of photos.

Yeah.

And sometimes I'll have people--
And then meanwhile, I'm not mad

but I'll have people say, "Oh,
who's someone you really want to photo?"

Uh, you know, like,
"Who's a celebrity you really wanna

have no interest in that."

Yeah.

I'm interested in working with people who
are interested in working with me, and

if they'd like to collaborate over time,
awesome.

Yeah.

But, like, just the idea of, like,
I'm gonna go into,

you know,
one of those fancy hotel rooms

Uh, why? What does that mean? What,
what relationship is there?

I, I'm interested in photos that are-

Yeah, what's the value?

Yeah, I'm interested in photos that
are a document of a relationship

over time.

Yeah.

Now I'm interested.
This I'm interested in.

I mean, this is a-

Yeah

... this is like a living document,
you know?

Yeah.

It's really, um...

I mean, it's just crazy, Mindy.
It's crazy.

[laughs]

I... Like, opening for him was, like,
a huge deal for me.

Oh, yeah.

I remember that being like, "Whoa."
And then this to

this.

Like, from this

to this

to that to this, like, is just so

crazy.

It is. You worked through all of this.

Mm-hmm.

You were always showing up,
always trying to get better-

Oh my God

... and just kinda always pushing.

Damn, I'm gonna fucking tear up.

I've had this theory for quite a
while that you could read the

archives and tell who
was going to be successful,

and the way you can tell
is the number of times they show up.

Damn,
I gotta start leaving my house again.

[laughs]

No, yeah, I mean,

I was obsessed. I,
I've always been obsessed with comedy.

Like,

you know,

I was lucky enough to have gotten sober
before I

started.

Yeah.

Um,

but

I mean, fuck, my sister's in these photos,

you know?

Yeah.

She would w- she would go to my open mics.

Like,
she would go sit at my open mics and,

And I remember being like,
"Can you not smile so hard, like,

It's, like, embarrassing."

Yeah.

You could see her?

Yeah, I could see her,
and she would be like,

like the whole time, and I'd be like,
"You've gotta stop. Like, we're in a...

There's four people here, you know?

Like, this isn't..." [laughs] But yeah,

I took all of the obsession
that I had with, like, getting drunk

and drinking, and I really just,
I really threw

it into comedy in a major way.

And, um-Yeah, it turns out when you

have an addictive personality,
if you put it into something that's

can, [laughs]

can provide results.

Yeah.

I have a lot of anxiety.

Yeah.

And the w- the way that I live with it
is I like to

do something towards my work every day.

Mm-hmm.

And so that- that's how I regulate it.

Yeah.

So if I have a day where I've done a photo
shoot, well, then I've clearly done

something towards my goal,
and I feel really good.

Yeah.

Uh, if I have a day where I've edited,
kinda same.

Vacation-

Yeah

... I don't like so much.

No.

The anxiety just begins to build,
and by the time we get to day

seven-

Oh my God

... I'm like,
I've done nothing towards my goals.

Yeah. Day three, I wake up, I go,
"Why am I still here?

This isn't where I live."

It's not relaxing to me.

[laughs] Yeah.

Relaxing to me is living in New York City-

Yes

... coming to my studio-

Mm-hmm

... doing something cool-

Yep

... with you.

Yeah.

Now I'm relaxed.

Right.

Now I'm good.

Now I feel like myself.

Yeah. And I, I don't know
that there will ever

come a time when I enjoy a vacation.

Um,

to be determined, I guess, but, uh-

Yeah

... yeah. Right now, no.

My idea of a good time is in my studio,
thank you so

much.

Oh my God.

Yeah, so these next ones, you came in

for... This is just a fun day. This
is just us in

studio being us.

Yeah, I think I hadn't taken photos,
promo photos since Whiskey

Fizz, really.

Yeah, you just needed some promos,
but this is a fun, and I'm really

grateful that we had this day.

We ran through a bunch of looks.

Mm-hmm.

Had a good time with it.

Yeah. This had to have been recent, right?

Was that this-

So this is February of 2025.

So a year ago,

basically.

Uh, basically, yeah.

Yeah.

And then the next time you're in

July 29th of 2025, and that's gonna

be for your book cover.

Right.

But I think part of the reason why we're
so happy

with your book

and the cover is
that you had just been in.

We had just been, like,
just working through ideas.

Yep.

You know?

Yeah.

Um-

I love this photo.

This is my tour poster,

my current tour,

and I've been using this as well,

and this.

And this is my author photo

for my book.

Yeah, so this is July of 2025,

and this is us in studio with the full
team.

So we had Morel here.

Yep.

We had Daniel on lights-

Mm-hmm

... and helping out.

I remember I, I hired a stylist,

and, um, I was like,

"I wanna do..." You know,
for my book cover, I hired a stylist.

I was like, "I wanna do, like..." Um,

I sent her a bunch of pictures, uh, of,
like, outfits I liked, and about

half of them were just Drew Barrymore in
the '90s.

And, um,
and so she got me this outfit that

I, I still...
I'm wearing these jeans today.

[laughs]

And we took all these other photos.

I remember this was towards the end of the
shoot.

We started just playing around,
and I love this

photo. Like,
I don't know what I'm gonna use this photo

I have to find something for it,
'cause it's so funny to me.

Yeah.

Um-

I'm going to

...

and then this was

the book cover,

um, for Fully Baked.

And I remember calling Mindy
and being like, "Here's the

concept. I wanna be coming out of a cake.

I want the cake to be,

like, a real cake,

and,

um...
or I want it to look like a real cake,

it, like, on a table,
and I come up through the middle." Or,

know. Like, I'm, I don't,
I wasn't sure how we were gonna do it,

know that we will find a way to do this."
Um,

and you contacted...

Sid.

Yeah.

Yes, yes, yes.

This, so this is an actual, practical,
for real prop,

not Photoshopped.

Yeah.

And it was hilarious
when they unpacked it.

I was dying laughing.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's like, there was, like,
a big hole in the top,

and I was wearing a halter,

and, uh,

and I, I was like, "Well, screw it.
Let's just, you know,

coming out through the top of a cake."
This is, like, the scariest...

Yeah.

I remember showing this picture to my
daughter when I got home

"No." [laughs]

[laughs]

"I don't like it." But

now she... It's the only photo she ever,
like, requests to

see. She goes,
"Can I see Mama popping out of the cake?"

Aw.

And,
and just out of the blue she'll just be

cake?" And, and she'll,
she wants to see the videos of it from

day, and she wants to see the photos.
She loves it.

She, like, loves this photo. Um,

now I'm starting to realize it's, like,
'cause I look like Barbie.

Uh-

[laughs]

... but that's, yeah, she, like,
loves that photo.

And this one I love 'cause it feels so,
like,

I don't know, like Gwen Stefani
or something.

Yeah.

Like, that angle in the '90s.

This is, like,
a much softer version of it, but there

What do you call that?

I have no idea, but Steve Madden-

Steve Madden, yes

... the campaigns with the big head
and the little feet.

Yes, yes.

Yeah,
it was very influential for a lot of us,

Yeah. Um,

and here's Morel and Christina.Oh my

gosh.

[laughs]

There we go. There's our girl.

So there's phone photos, I think,
of both of us around the cake.

But yeah, I think Daniel maybe did
that one.

And we have the final

book cover.

Yeah.
So is there anything you want people to

book before it comes out? Or
is there anything you're-

Yeah

... nervous about?

Yeah. I'm really nervous. Um,

you know, I was--
I've been recording the audiobook for a

my voice sounds like this,

and there have been parts of the book
that I

have not been able to read, um, because

I can't stop crying.

And

like when I was writing it,
it didn't feel that

emotional. It just felt like

just telling the story.

But

reading through it now,

um,
there's two chapters in particular

like--

I've been like, "Okay, we have to stop.

I have to go like collect myself,
and I'll be right back." You know?

'Cause, uh, yeah, it's funny. There's...

But like a lot of my jokes are dark, and

I think the reason why I'm able to tell

jokes about where I can like make light of
like pretty dark

moments in my life is because like

I w- I wouldn't be able to do that
if I hadn't like been to therapy and,

and worked through it myself.
Like there was a lot of

like processing that went on before I ever
bring

something to the stage.

Yeah.

So,

you know,
nobody's gonna laugh at something

So I have to do a lot of that.

Um, and the book is basically like

it balances the two. Like I,
I really allow people

in. I, I really feel like it's,

it's so personal,
and I'm really nervous about that

because

I don't think that I present as like a
very sensitive

person. Um, but

y- I totally am, and

like anyone who's like a tough cookie, I'm

100% like a soft

little fucking crybaby on the inside.

yeah, I'm just like when I read the book,
I'm like, "Oh, fuck.

Like everybody's just gonna fucking know
this about me now." And there's a

part of me that's like a little sad

to give that up.

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah.

Like when you finish a special
and you're like, "That's just theirs

now.
That's not even mine anymore." Like

I mean, it is my story, but it's,
it's like

it's a little tough, you know?
And I don't know

how my family's gonna react. Um,

that makes me nervous, but, uh,

you know,
you have to be honest in your writing

fucking respect your writing and,

and nobody's gonna get anything out of
your writing.

if you're writing f-
to help with the purpose of like

hopefully helping others
and making them feel less alone,

uh, you have to be honest.

Mm-hmm.

yeah. I, I try to do that
and balance like respect

for, for the people in my life
that didn't ask to be in the public eye.

Right.

Um, that's a tricky balance.

Yeah.

Um, especially when your stories
are intertwined.

yeah. It's t- I-- But I'm,

I'm really proud of it. Uh, I think that

it's

gonna be relatable to anybody who's ever
like, uh, struggled

figure out who the fuck they are
and find out like

what their place is in the world
and who's just like a late

bloomer.
Like I've just been a late bloomer my

life. But yeah, there's, uh, there's some

real integrity in being a late bloomer,
I think.

I'm a late bloomer.

Yeah.

And I think my-

A lot of artists are.

Yeah. I'm so incredibly grateful that

everyone else in my--
When I got my master's degree,

everyone else had either a job or

a solo show to head to. I did not. I

didn't have any of that.

Mm-hmm.

And I was lost in the wilderness for like

five years.

Mm-hmm.

But those five years,

looking back, it's like, oh,
it's so important that I did

this far-flung thing
that doesn't have anything to do with

Yeah

... because I met so and so.

Yeah.

And, you know,

s-
so we're gonna talk to some of the people

five-year period in this project.

Oh, nice.

Um, but yeah, I think that

I,
I think there's a lot to taking a little

Yeah.

Definitely. Definitely.

Yeah.

And that's-- Those years
are all covered in this book,

them and being like, "Oh, that's right.

Like I taught yoga to Hasidic Jewish women
for

like a year and a half." That
was like a day job that I had for a

little while.

That's in the book?

Yeah.

I had no idea.

Yeah. I'm like, I f- fucking forgot.
Like I-- You know what I mean?

Like I taught yoga at

24 Hour Fitness for a while,
and everybody called me the angriest yoga

instructor and-

[laughs] See, I think people get
that wrong

about you. You're not angry.

No. No.

You're smart and incisive. There
is a difference.

I'm a little fed up,

but like if you're paying attention,
you should be fed up.

[laughs]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm a little tie-tie,
that's all.

To quote Mike Cannon.
Mike Cannon always says that,

of my vernacular.

Yeah, he's the best.

Yeah.

I haven't seen him in forever.

[laughs] Um,

wow, Mindy. This has been incredible.

I can't believe this. Like, I wish
that we had done this before I wrote

the book,
but then of course we wouldn't have this.

Yeah.

But yeah, it's, um... Because so much of

the latter half of the book
is just these years of my life.

Yeah.

That like I-- And so much, you're--
You think about it, th- this is

like,
this is like this much of the shows

Yeah.

This is like nothing-

That's the thing

... of the shows that I've done.

You know, you-- I th-
I think we've sort of figured out

at New York Comedy Club for a stretch.

You toured for a stretch.

Mm-hmm.

And then you were at the show for a
stretch.

So you appear kind of periodically,
but I think that's

what's interesting about your archives,
right?

Is that you're away
and you're learning stuff,

again. Um, I, I think it's really-

Yeah

... really cool.

Yeah.

But yeah.

I do love an isolation period. Oh my God.

But yeah. Anyway,
it's been wonderful to have you on, and

we're very excited for the book.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah.

I'm taking pictures of you.

I'm taking pictures of everything.

Do you remember your first joke?

Yes, I do.

So I started comedy in 2013, which is

when every female comic had some premise
about Disney princesses

and how disappointing they
were as an adult woman.

Um, and I was no different.
I had this joke about how every Disney

got saved by a man, and how I

wanted to see a Disney movie where the
princess saved herself.

Like I wanted to see a Snow White where
she wakes up in a

house full of dwarves and she goes, "Oh,
fuck.

I think I have a drinking problem."
[laughs]

I'm taking pictures of you.

I'm taking pictures of everything.

A woman likes to roam.

A woman likes everything.

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