Blocks w/ Neal Brennan - podcast cover

Blocks w/ Neal Brennan

Neal Brennanwww.nealbrennan.com
Based on his Netflix comedy special, "Blocks." Neal Brennan interviews friends and colleagues about the things that make them feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how they are persevering despite these blocks.
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Earthquake

Neal Brennan interviews Earthquake (Chappelle's Home Team - Earthquake: Legendary plus more specials) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. 00:00 Intro 2:30 Comedy Career 10:00 Spirituality 16:02 Sponsor: BetterHelp 18:08 Sponsor: Tushy 20:09 Marriage 32:02 Selfishness 37:57 Inattentiveness 43:18 Sponsor: Modern Mammals 44:31 Sponsor: ExpressVPN 46:29 Biggest challenges of his life 57:47 Grudges 1:03:13 ...

Jul 10, 20251 hr 17 min

Ramy Youssef

Neal Brennan interviews Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA, Ramy, Mountainhead) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:17 Television 2:45 911 Joke 4:20 In Love 5:05 Balancing Work & Relationships 13:36 #1 Happy Family USA 21:15 Sponsor: Huel 23:54 Sponsor: Mando 25:50 Ramy Explains Islam to Neal 32:40 Shame 40:40 Forgetfulness 44:...

Jun 26, 20251 hr 9 min

Stephen Merchant

Neal Brennan interviews Stephen Merchant (‘The Office,’ ‘Extras,’ ‘An Idiot Abroad,’ ‘Life’s Too Short,’ ‘Hello, Ladies’ and more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:33 Origin story 3:07 Ricky Gervais 7:49 Origins of the Office 10:56 Ambition in the UK vs. US 14:22 The Office First Season 17:11 Success 18:24 Christmas Specials 21...

Jun 12, 20251 hr 21 min

Josh Groban

Neal Brennan interviews Josh Groban (multi-platinum musician) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 2:07 Getting discovered 6:34 Early singing career 15:21 Singing with Celine Dion at the Grammys 20:11 Reaction to success 21:37 Insecurity 34:07 TV Special 35:04 You Raise Me Up 38:55 Loneliness from Being Uncategorizable 46:56 Building...

May 29, 20251 hr 21 min

Tom Green

Neal Brennan interviews Tom Green (The Tom Green Show, Freddy Got Fingered, This Is The Tom Green Documentary) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:33 Testicular Cancer 3:44 White Rapper 4:59 DIY roots 6:18 Norm Macdonald & Letterman 9:44 Experiencing sudden fame 15:05 Hosting SNL 19:08 Sponsor: Harrys 21:10 Sponsor: BetterHel...

May 15, 20251 hr 31 min

W. Kamau Bell

Neal Brennan interviews W. Kamau Bell (We Need to Talk About Cosby, United Shades of America, Who's With Me? 2025 standup tour) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 9:20 We Need to Talk About Cosby 14:19 Sponsor: Huel 17:01 Sponsor: BetterHelp 18:25 Who Defines What's Black? 50:42 Sponsor: Aura 52:16 Sponsor: Tushy 53:48 Smart for a ...

May 01, 20251 hr 35 min

Larry Wilmore

Neal Brennan interviews Larry Wilmore (Nightly Show, Daily Show, Bernie Mac Show, Blackish, Insecure & much more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 3:15 Dating, Marriage & Kids 7:30 Therapy by Proxy 8:26 Emotions 13:53 Providing 25:01 Sponsor: Mando 26:52 Sponsor: BetterHelp 28:00 God & Death 49:04 Sponsor: Rocket Mone...

Apr 17, 20251 hr 43 min

Blake Griffin

Neal Brennan interviews Blake Griffin (NBA Rookie of the Year, 5-time All-NBA, Amazon Prime announcer) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:45 Retirement 12:00 Mentoring 16:10 Clippers 19:50 Are NBA Players happy? 23:03 Sponsor: CookUnity 27:38 Coachability / arguing / Competitive 34:20 Clippers 47:40 Announcing 51:46 Survey 53:00 ...

Apr 03, 20251 hr 26 min

Carol Leifer

Neal Brennan interviews Carol Leifer (Standup, 'Seinfeld,' 'Hacks,' 'SNL' & Much More) about the things that make her feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how she is persevering despite these blocks. Carol's new book is called 'How to Write a Funny Speech... for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Funny-Speech-Graduation/dp/1797232231 ---------------------------------------...

Mar 20, 20251 hr 28 min

William H. Macy

Neal Brennan interviews William H. Macy (Shameless, Fargo, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Seabiscuit, Pleasantville & many more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:19 Serendipitous 2:27 Becoming an Actor 5:32 Different roles he’s played 6:21 David Mamet 10:10 Meddler 16:00 Adlibbing vs writing 22:50 Sponsor: The Perfect Jean 24:46 ...

Mar 06, 20251 hr 25 min

Ari Shaffir

Neal Brennan interviews Ari Shaffir (America's Sweetheart on Netflix, You Be Trippin' Podcast, This Is Not Happening & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:58 Neal gives Ari his flowers 3:15 Anti-authority 6:12 Parking Lot Urchin 7:50 Moving to LA, Comedy Store, how he changed 13:39 Wanting to Make Things 17:40 Sponsor: ...

Feb 20, 20251 hr 31 min

Joe List

Neal Brennan interviews Joe List (Fourth of July, 'Enough for Everybody,' + more specials, 'The Standups' on Netflix) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:12 Netflix Specials 3:30 Marriage 4:55 OCD 15:03 Sponsor: Tushy 16:36 Sponsor: Mando 18:08 GAD 23:00 Mental Health Improvements 25:45 Family & Raising Kids 29:40 Fear of deat...

Feb 06, 20251 hr 27 min

Jason Reitman

Neal Brennan interviews Jason Reitman ('Saturday Night,' 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife,' 'Up in the Air,' 'Juno,' 'Thank You For Smoking' & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:30 Fears Obituary Credits 3:00 Reason for Making 'Juno' 6:00 Ego After Making ‘Up In The Air’ 7:45 Being Ivan Reitman’s son 11:00 Ambition & Nepoti...

Jan 23, 20251 hr 19 min

Paul Scheer

Neal Brennan interviews Paul Scheer ('Joyful Recollections of Trauma,' Human Giant, The League, Black Monday, How Did This Get Made? Podcast) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:48 Writing about Trauma 3:02 Origin of the book 5:50 Childhood abuse 10:05 Dad vs. Stepdad fight 11:59 Fighter 14:18 Leaving his abusive stepfather 20:21 ...

Jan 09, 20251 hr 30 min

Jerry O'Connell

Neal Brennan interviews Jerry O'Connell (The Talk, Stand by Me, Kangaroo Jack & much more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:00 Neal & Jerry's 1992 Memory Disagreement 6:50 Stand by Me 12:20 Imposter Syndrome 14:40 Should there be Child Actors? 23:23 Jealousy of Corey Feldman and other people 27:50 Sponsor: CookUnity 30:...

Dec 19, 20241 hr 18 min

Akaash Singh

Neal Brennan interviews Akaash Singh ('Gaslit' special, Flagrant) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:05 Starting Standup 13:05 Confrontation with Wife 15:45 How do you ask for what you want? 19:45 Guy relationships 22:58 His Own Emotions 24:30 Alcoholism in Family 26:30 Boundaries with Schulz 28:48 Sponsor: Verso 30:35 Sponsor: T...

Dec 12, 20241 hr 2 min

Matteo Lane

Neal Brennan interviews Matteo Lane (Hairplugs & Heartache) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:43 Andrew Schulz 4:30 Being a Gay Comedian 13:30 Being Gay Now vs. Then 15:28 Coming out of the closet 18:40 Sponsor: Public Rec 21:01 Sponsor: Tushy 22:36 Anxiety 27:30 Sensitive 30:50 Dimming his own light for others 40:38 Being ...

Dec 05, 20241 hr 15 min

Ken Burns

Neal Brennan interviews Ken Burns (Leonardo Da Vinci on PBS plus The Civil War, The War, Jazz, Baseball and many more documentaries) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:00 What qualifies for a Ken Burns documentary 2:16 Leonardo da Vinci 5:17 Self-parody 8:22 Why he decided to work on da Vinci 12:00 The Last Dance 16:50 da Vinci’s...

Nov 28, 20241 hr 15 min

Ron Livingston

Neal Brennan interviews Ron Livingston (Loudermilk, Swingers, Office Space & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:56 Everyman 3:43 Swingers 8:16 Office Space 19:13 Sponsor: Uncommon Goods 20:29 Sponsor: The Perfect Jean 22:04 Executive Function 30:52 People Pleasing 43:53 Sponsor: Verso 45:40 Perfectionism 52:48 Fatherho...

Nov 21, 20241 hr 5 min

Randall Park

Neal Brennan interviews Randall Park (Always Be My Maybe, Fresh Off the Boat, WandaVision, Shortcomings) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:30 Ali Wong 3:00 UCLA & Asian-American representation 5:20 Parents & Upbringing 6:24 How the Immigrant Experience Influenced Him 8:48 Randall’s dad passing away 12:27 Anxiety 16:43 Ho...

Nov 14, 20241 hr 5 min

Ben Schwartz

Neal Brennan interviews Ben Schwartz (Ben Schwartz & Friends, Parks & Rec, Middleditch & Schwartz and more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:48 Improv Tours 4:15 Social Media Addiction 9:28 Self-worth tied to job 24:33 People Pleaser 36:31 Relationships vs. Work 45:47 Staying Connected -----------------------------...

Nov 07, 202452 min

Robert Smigel

Neal Brennan interviews Robert Smigel (SNL, Conan, TV Funhouse, Dana Carvey Show & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Triumph the Insult Comic Dog 2:46 Robert Smigel intro 4:04 William Shatner 5:22 Competition at SNL 19:39 Writing for Seinfeld at SNL 23:45 Conan 29:58 Sponsor: Mando 31:42 Raising a Kid with Autism 37:58 Temper ...

Oct 31, 202458 min

Tommy Tiernan

Neal Brennan interviews Tommy Tiernan (The Tommy Tiernan Show, On tour in North America now) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:38 Extremities 6:08 God 15:50 Tension 26:09 ADD, Maybe 30:09 Temper & Parenting 35:14 Moody 40:35 Guilt 51:45 Age 1:01:10 Worry & Obsession -------------------------------------------------------...

Oct 24, 20241 hr 5 min

Marlon Wayans

Neal Brennan interviews Marlon Wayans (Good Grief special on Amazon, Wild Child Tour + much more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:53 Anxiety 9:33 Grief 22:07 Depression 27:02 Accepting His Trans Child 33:30 Sponsor: BetterHelp 34:32 Tupac, Biggie, Drake & Kendrick 41:01 Confrontation in Relationships 50:12 OCD with Clothe...

Oct 17, 202455 min

Stavros Halkias

Neal Brennan interviews Stavros Halkias (Fat Rascal on Netflix, Let’s Start a Cult, Tires & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 2:00 Competitiveness 6:40 Health 13:42 Family Guilt 25:33 Sponsor: Tushy 27:32 Crowd Work 37:27 Rumination 42:38 Isolation 51:33 Artistic Integrity ------------------------------------------------...

Oct 10, 20241 hr 1 min

Questions & Answers

Neal Brennan answers your questions about the things that make you feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how you are persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:45 Death of an Alcoholic Family Member? 7:50 What’s with the dings? 9:46 Most Effective Depression Treatments? 18:00 Autism? 22:47 Sexual Guilt? 30:43 Family in Art? 34:25 Letting Go of People? 39:25 Feeling on Autopilot? 42:35 Loneliness in Relationships? ...

Oct 03, 202451 min

Felipe Esparza

Neal Brennan interviews Felipe Esparza (Bad Decisions on Netflix, Last Comic Standing & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 2:25 Fame 5:08 Addiction 11:13 PTSD from growing up in Boyle Heights 20:31 Sponsor: Mando 22:30 Sponsor: BetterHelp 24:06 PCP 28:15 Terminator 2 Story 36:06 Recovery 46:15 Weed & Mushrooms 51:30 S...

Sep 26, 20241 hr 7 min

Dan Harmon

Neal Brennan interviews Dan Harmon (Community, Rick and Morty) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 3:10 Before ‘Community’ 4:37 Emotional Health headline 5:12 Thoughtlessness in Relationships 8:30 Emotional Origin Story 14:47 #metoo and apologies 28:35 Sponsor: ExpressVPN 30:40 The Audience 32:05 Compulsion to be Special 42:25 Shame...

Sep 19, 20241 hr 30 min

Ed Helms

Neal Brennan interviews Ed Helms (The Goods, The Hangover, The Office, The Daily Show, Snafu podcast, & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 2:02 The Goods 3:33 Snafu 4:46 Diagnosed ADHD 10:22 Upside and Downsides 12:33 Confused by the World 17:08 Daily Show and Hangover auditions 23:32 Sponsor: Tushy 25:12 How ADHD diagnos...

Sep 12, 20241 hr

Greg Fitzsimmons

Neal Brennan interviews Greg Fitzsimmons (New special 'You Know Me' on Youtube, Fitzdog Radio & more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks. ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:20 Feeling like a man after his dad died 08:19 Irish 24:17 Sponsor: BetterHelp 25:51 Being skinny got him into fights 41:36 Depression & ADHD 49:47 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 53:43 Af...

Sep 05, 20241 hr 13 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android