Ep. 139: Yakov Smirnoff & Salamishah Tillet

Episode 139

1st December 2023

These fancy things will never come in between you and this brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself! In this episode… Guests: Yakov Smirnoff is an iconic comedian, who made a name for himself after making Johnny Carson laugh on “The Tonight Show.” He’ll explain how he had to fight for the chance to be […]

Episode notes

These fancy things will never come in between you and this brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself!

In this episode…

Guests:

Yakov Smirnoff is an iconic comedian, who made a name for himself after making Johnny Carson laugh on “The Tonight Show.” He’ll explain how he had to fight for the chance to be on the show and how he learned to make art in the face of tragedy.

Salamishah Tillet is a scholar, activist, curator, and writer, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her work in The New York Times. She’ll tell us about what it was like to keep that honor a secret – even from her friends and family.

Areas of Expertise:

Salamishah: The Nadal/Federer tennis rivalry, the Donovan McNabb era of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Beyoncé/Rihanna.

Yakov: The Canary Islands, the science of love, and the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.

What’s the Difference:

Make Some Noise

What is the difference between sound editing and sound mixing?

What is the difference between a yell and a shout?

Experts:

Kuk Harrell and Tricky Stewart: Songwriters, producers and executives, whose multiple Grammy awards include hit songs with Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa: Writer, producers, and directors of many TV shows and films, including Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Hosts:

J. Keith van Straaten

Helen Hong

Credits:

Theme Song by Jonathan Green.

Guest Live Show Engineer is Jeremy Beavers.

Maximum Fun’s Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.

Associate Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.

Seeing our next live-audience show in Los Angelesby YOU!

In this episode...

Guests

  • Yakov Smirnoff
  • Salamishah Tillet
  • Kuk Harrell
  • Tricky Stewart
  • Glenn Ficarra
  • John Requa

About the show

Twice a month, host J. Keith van Straaten and co-host Helen Hong quiz the smartest celebrities they know to find out why they love what they love! Recorded before a live audience in downtown Los Angeles, this game show features comedians, actors, and musicians answering arcane questions on topics they claim to be experts in. But don’t worry; if they slip up, there are real experts on hand to give us the facts!

If you’re in the Los Angeles area and would like to be in the audience for a podcast taping, get your free ticket at http://www.gofactyourpod.com!

How to listen

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