The Cruelest Part of Nostalgia Is That It Won’t Let Us Leave Every few days, our social media feed softly clears its throat and says, “Hey, remember when things were better?”

First substack essay!

She was truly one of a kind

Three Meetings with Catherine O’Hara - The Pop Break An editorial from comedian John Poveromo about the late actress Catherine O'Hara.

Comedian @johnpoveromo.net remembers the late Catherine O'Hara.

#johnpoveromo #comedy #standup #comedian #fucktrump

ICE OUT 0F EVERYWHERE JOIN OUR NATIONAL DAYS OF ACTION IN SOLIDARITY WITH MINNESOTA. ABOLISH ICE NOW! JAN 30 BLACKOUT-DON'T WORK. DON'T SHOP. SHUT DOWN THE ECONOMY. JAN 31 PROTEST HIT THE STREETS. MAKE NOISE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

ICE OUT OF EVERYWHERE JAN 31 PROTEST. HIT THE STREETS. MAKE NOISE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

ICE OUT! NATIONWIDE SHUTDOWN! NO WORK. NO SCHOOL. NO SHOPPING. JAN 30, 2026 SIGN ON TO JOIN US: NationalShutdown.us

On 1/30 we are shutting it down, and, on 1/31, we are gathering across the country to demand ICE Out of Everywhere, permanently!

This is not how we should be receiving apocalyptic news.

#johnpoveromo #comedy #comedian #standupcomedy #socialmedianews

I wish the comics who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Fest would just be honest & say they did it for the money. I’d
respect it more than the “comedy as cultural diplomacy” bit. If telling jokes in hostile environments truly moved the progressive needle, we wldn’t still have red states here at home.

And why is that?

I’m a pretty happy person except every now and then I think, “What if the Big Bang was just the gun going off in God’s mouth?”

Comedian John Poveromo Talks About Hosting a Q&A with the Head and the Heart at The Stone Pony (ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The Head and the Heart headline a show at The Stone Pony Summer Stage on Thursday, July 31, 2025. The bill also includes sets by Wilderado and Marfa. For fans who purchased the ...

Had a blast pretending I know what I’m talking about while being mentioned alongside The Head And The Heart! Huge thanks to New Jersey Stage for letting me ramble on about how music, comedy, & community all intersect & the ongoing pursuit of emotionally destroying people with heartfelt conversation.

To be completely honest I have no idea what time because the booker is a fucking knob and doesn’t return phone calls. The actual owner of the club is extremely nice but the guy in charge of everything else is a fucking dick so I’m left wondering when the fuck the showtimes are.

Zoinks! Getting a jumpstart on promoting some upcoming shows! Joanne and I are looking forward to returning to The DC Comedy Loft this summer August 22nd and 23rd! Purchase tix at the website on the graphic! Come out and support!

Maron didn’t just set the bar for podcasting, he made it matter. He was the blueprint. He exorcised the industry by making it raw, personal, and necessary. Hard not to feel like anyone who picked it up afterward was just stealing the mic, recording into the echo of everything he built.

Media outlets are writing thinkpieces about how no one knows how to do publicity anymore because their own platforms shattered the concept. They broke it, then monetized the mess.

We’ve officially entered the ouroboros PR cycle.

Mike Farrell discusses M*A*S*H and we surprise him with a special guest from the show! YouTube video by Dystopia Tonight With John Poveromo

We lost a true original. Loretta Swit wasn’t just Hot Lips—she was heart, bite, grace, and grit. The first time Mike Farrell appeared on Dystopia Tonight I called her to see if she’d like to come on towards the end to surprise him. We all talked for another 40 min. Pure joy. Rest easy, Major.

Canned
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Join the NO KINGS protest all around the country on Saturday, June 14. Go to indivisible.org to find the one near you, or start one where we need it.

Hungry Hearts and Empty Wallets When the sauce is store-bought the outrage is homemade.

Toms River, I love you, but it’s time to put Olive Garden Mussolini in a home.

George’s legacy as Norm on Cheers is etched into television history, but in that hour, I got to see the guy behind the barstool. He was a generous, genuinely kind human being who showed up, had fun, and made us all feel like we were regulars.

Cheers, George - thanks for pulling up a seat.

He and his lovely wife Bernadette joined us during hour 18, alongside Colin Mochrie, John Fugelsang, Jeff Michalski, and Madeleine Smithberg—a crew that brought just the right mix of heart, hilarity, and humanity when it was starting to feel like we’d officially entered delirium.

I didn’t know George Wendt well outside of the iconic characters he brought to life, but I was lucky enough to share some time with him during last year’s 24-hour MS benefit.

a man in a suit and tie is drinking from a blue mug that says " good " ALT: a man in a suit and tie is drinking from a blue mug that says " good "

Overheard at a #Jersey Diner:

Waitress: (To a 6 year old boy) - Better eat all your vegetables! I bet you thought you left your mom at home huh?

Boy: Actually she left us.

Me:

Springsteen calling out Trump’s corruption from across the Ocean is classic Jersey. We speak the truth even if it’s off the turnpike, even if it’s in 4/4 time, even if it comes with a price. Because silence costs more and as the Boss says in the song, “Our dreams will not be thwarted.”

Bill Maher: My Dinner With Monsters - Adult Coloring Book — John Poveromo If Bill Maher sharing a dinner with Trump while democracy flatlines in the background wasn't enough to fill your dystopian quota for the year strap in because there's more! Now you can join Bill Mahe...

My New Adult Coloring Book is out! And only 10 bucks!

Congrats, to my Canadian friends!! Color me proud, jealous, and fully ready to hide inside a moose until customs clears me.

Virginia Giuffre’s voice rattled the foundations of power and her silence now is fucking deafening. Her death isn’t just tragic, it’s a brutal reminder of what trauma doesn’t let go of… even when the world pretends it has.

National Average Price for a Gallon of Regular Gas:
January 2025 - $3.08
April 2025 - $3.15

National Average Price for a Dozen Eggs:
January 2025 - $4.95
April 2025 - $6.23

Practicing my Pompeii pose in case I go out in these fires. Right now I’m between “born-to-run freeze” and “collapsed dramatically clutching a pork roll egg and cheese.”