#283 Getting Indecent with Kiki Andersen

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Jeff Dwoskin 0:28

All right, Kelly, thank you so much for that amazing introduction. You get this show going each and every week, and this week was no exception. Welcome, everybody to Episode 283 of classic conversations. As always, I am your host, Jeff Dwoskin. Welcome back for what's sure to be the most indecent episode of all time. My guest today is Kiki Anderson host of indecent with Kiki Anderson. You're going to love my conversation with Kiki and that's coming up in just a few seconds. And in these few seconds. Glen Tico was here this week as well. It's comedian week. Don't miss that amazing conversation but don't first miss the amazing journey of Kiki Anderson from Baltimore journalist to La comic to host of indecent with giggy Anderson. Oh, the stories are about to roll out right now. Oh, and she's won two Emmys. That's pretty cool. Right. Kiki Anderson. Enjoy. All right, everyone excited to introduce my next guest two time Emmy Award winner, host of the podcast and decent funny as hell a comedian. Welcome to the show. The dazzling Kiki Anderson. How are you? Hello, Jess,

Kiki Andersen 1:42

I am groobie How are you?

Jeff Dwoskin 1:44

I'm good. I'm good. That's all your publicist email just just funny as hell and would be dazzling on your show.

Kiki Andersen 1:52

Does like I like that. Put it on my gravestone.

Jeff Dwoskin 1:55

Well, it's very nice to meet you. Interesting. backstory. You have your I know you're a comedian and podcaster now and doing all the funny stuff. But interesting background. Yeah, as a reporter in Baltimore, let's start there. ASU, Walter concrete crane, like, you know, we

Kiki Andersen 2:15

call the Cronkite because we were drunk. So it's a Cronkite

Jeff Dwoskin 2:18

school. Broadcasting. Alright, so your first dream was to be a journalist.

Kiki Andersen 2:23

Well, my first room actually was the late night. I loved John Stewart. I love the Daily Show. But I didn't grow up in a place where comedy was being really I mean, I grew up outside of DC. But I didn't know anybody that did comedy. My parents weren't in that world. So I had never even heard of like improv, I just knew that I liked it. And my dad was a journalist. And then I was pretty good on the school paper, or whatever the bar is for that. You know, really reporting on those sports. Sorry, I thought, you know, I'll go do the news route. And eventually, somehow I'll find comedy. And that is really what happened. I went I studied journalism, I was pretty good in school became a local news reporter, because that's what you do when you graduate journalism school. And then finally, when I moved back to the East Coast, iPhone stand up, and I loved stand up, but I was doing stand up till two in the morning and then going to work at five in the morning. And that's just not a way to live. And you can't report on the mayor and shit about the mayor. So at some point, there was a fork in the road and I had to decide what I was going to do. So here I am broke in LA, and happy.

Jeff Dwoskin 3:24

Oh, living the dream, living the dream. Were you always funny. Let's start there. Like were you the funny person in school making your friends laugh while you went down the path to journalism? Was there always something even not knowing where you still funny? Were you the funny one in the group?

Kiki Andersen 3:40

Yeah, I think that really depends on who you ask. But I'm not like not the big jokester. Like I don't I don't like being the center of attention, actually, which I think surprises people because I'm on stage. But I like embarrassment. I can control like, you know, when you get on stage, you have your script, your jokes that you wrote, I don't like to drag attention to myself. I've never been the loud person and never been the prankster. So I think there was a lot of people that were probably surprised by that choice. But then I think there's other people that maybe had read my writing or knew me when I was little. And you know, I was always trying even before you and I really knew what comedy was. I was always trying to formulate jokes, like, especially according to my parents were like, Yeah, you were always it was like you had this vague understanding of what a punchline should be. And I'm like, I know, I still don't am 31 I

Jeff Dwoskin 4:22

totally understand. I'm the same way like I, my brother, he would joke he'd say, you know, I want to be friends with onstage, Jeff. That's, that's why, because off stage, it's, you know, the same way I totally understand.

Kiki Andersen 4:35

Yeah, every comedian is so cool on page and then you meet them and they're all dorks.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:41

I will not take that personally. I include it. So when you're doing the reporting, when you're winning all your Emmys, what kind of led you to try stand up like kind of dip your toe into that? How did you get into how did you go down that path? Well,

Kiki Andersen 4:59

I am flee found improv first. And a lot of people hate on improv especially stand up comics, I think it's the best way to start comedy. You know, you just throw a bunch of shit at the wall and see what sticks and see what you're good at what gets a laugh, and you just kind of you learn game you learn how to heighten things, you learn the basics of comedy. And you know, you make friends, it's so much fun. And then after that, I got into sketch comedy, more of a writing twist on it. But then eventually, I kind of just wanted to work on stuff by myself, I wanted to find my own funny and rely on myself on stage. So I got into stand up. And you know, I still do some sketch stuff here and there, but stand up. I don't have to rely on other people, which is great. So I really love it. I haven't looked back since

Jeff Dwoskin 5:41

the first time you went up either for improv or stand up, what kind of prompted you to even just get on stage. Because I remember like when it was something in the back of my head, for the longest time, it was hard. I did take a class like a writing class at one of the comedy or the venues and then they did seven minutes was sort of graduation. And then from there was off to the races. But that first time on stage isn't easiest for everyone. So you know you. I think there's a lot of tears, right? Like you studied comedy. You took a lot of classes, you went through that. Where was the first place you stood on stage?

Kiki Andersen 6:16

First place I stood on stage? Well, I guess my first improv class was in the basement of a synagogue. They originally got their own theater, which was very nice. But it was Baltimore. You know, that's the great thing about the Baltimore comedy scene is it's very DIY, like there wasn't really a scene when I started. But we we created one and then there was a demand for it. People were buying tickets and people were joining the classes. So the little synagogue became a theater and then you know, the one bar show became 10 bar shows and the scene has really exploded since then. The first time I did stand up was in the upstairs of a bar where I also did improv. And I think there was like six people there. And I wouldn't say that i Everyone talks about their first stand up time is like totally bombing. I totally bomb. I had plenty of bombs after that, don't worry. But the first time was actually a pretty pleasant experience. I felt like I had a pretty strong idea and because I was already doing local news, I was already on TV. So I had the competence for it. So I don't know it wasn't traumatizing. At least not the first time several times after that. Yeah, lots of traumatizing bombs.

Jeff Dwoskin 7:19

Yeah, my first two times on stage were really my third time was the one where I went down in flames so hard. My wife even said to me if I were you I'd probably be crying right now.

Kiki Andersen 7:32

Oh, there's been a lot of crying and crying in your car maybe calling your mom a little bit

Jeff Dwoskin 7:38

Okay, so the synagogue funny Jews little cliche but okay, we'll go with it. Area All right, well before we make the jump, so Emmys winning Emmys. You just need Grammys Oscars and Tony so you're on your way you're ahead of most comedians and this you got to for the EGOT so far what was it like winning Emmys like what's I mean that's gonna be a thrill Where do you keep them got him out show

Kiki Andersen 8:02

I have hidden behind my TV because it's like, I don't want to like bury them in closet but I also don't want them to be like out there like I feel it feels icky. I don't know really what you're I used to have like jewelry because you know they're like spiky so I used that like rings I'm trying to make them like more of a decorative art piece when like ostentatious look look at what I've one piece you know, I don't know I'm using a noose or like a weird thing because it's like oh, look at this horrifying traumatic thing I reported on and I'm now being celebrated for you know, the first one I got was for a mass shooting and then the second one was for police corruption. So cheerful subjects but it is nice to see your hard work pay off I guess.

Jeff Dwoskin 8:43

Okay, but they do they probably trigger some interesting memories. Their extensive that reporting wasn't tied to the most positive events in the world, but it's still awesome. It's really cool. You have two more Emmys than I do. So I'm

Kiki Andersen 8:59

Thank you. Yeah, it is. You know, the thing about news is like you're reporting on bad shit all the time. Every day is bad shit most of the time. So you become numb to it. I'm sure it's like being like, like a doctor but much lower pay grade. You know? It's like yeah, everyone that's coming in has cancer everyone is not well, so I wouldn't say that you're like harping on the subjects necessarily that you're reporting on. It is a job and you have to show up for it and you do have to like give up a lot. Be a news reporter your weekends or holidays your sanity? Your potential to be a millionaire ever. So yeah, it is nice to have something to show for everything you put on.

Jeff Dwoskin 9:34

Is it hard then it sounds like it's the day to day would be difficult and was it extra difficult for you as a kind of a emerging comedian and someone who could see the funny and things to say oh my god, we got another mass casualty. Like why is Kiki cracking a smile? Oh no, no, I was thinking something else. I was like, what if that mass casualty was a class Omkar?

Kiki Andersen 10:01

Yeah, you're probably focusing on like the police commissioners like goofy hairdo. Yeah, you're you're like roasting the person that's at the podium. But like, it's not about the shooting. It's like, look, I'm ridiculous this guy is Yeah, I don't know. I everyone in news takes themselves so seriously. It's the and funniest industry out there. I think everybody in news like kind of thinks they're a hero. And you're like, you know what? Nobody watches fucking local news. Like, nobody cares. Nobody cares that you missed your live shot. Nobody cares. Like, that's what they nobody cares. That's the headline here. And then you got like a slew of angry emails from the community. The one time they tuned into local news throughout the last 10 years of their life, you know, it's like, well, you didn't cover this and it's like, actually, I covered that last week. But thanks, I'll let Tucker Carlson know your opinion about his new whatever you know, like everybody thinks that you're right next to the president, but also that you are nobody piece of shit that they can talk to you for.

Jeff Dwoskin 10:56

So yeah, I was like a local celebrity though.

Kiki Andersen 10:59

There is a niche that watches local news and they're pretty diehard, and they love their anchors and their weather caster, but I never you know, I wasn't one of those like lifers that like has been on the news. 30 years. Those people are usually the big staples. Okay, yeah. All right. So

Jeff Dwoskin 11:14

when you're there though, you're starting. Wait, I wrote it down. You had a couple you started show so you're alright. So you're kind of making the transition from reporter to comedian is way way improv Kiki Okey I think it is. No, no Lipson, Kiki. Okie sorry. That's why I guess we're doing it. But improv. Improv. Kiki okie would have been good too. When improv met stand up. So you start creating and adding to the scene yourself extending beyond the synagogue's basement creating your own shows.

Kiki Andersen 11:46

Yeah, I think the first few years of comedy are so fun in that, like, it's you're just trying to do the dumbest things possible with your friends on stage. And so we were always trying to come up with new show ideas to make that possible. So one of the shows that I created was honestly a ripoff of Lip Sync Battle, but it was all characters. So you know, you had to like your pill addicted salesman and you had your corny priests time we had all these crazy characters doing crazy lip sayings and competing for the cop. But the point was to just be a funny character or be a funny panelist or whoever. And then what was the other one

Jeff Dwoskin 12:21

when improv met stand up? Oh, yeah, that was a way

Kiki Andersen 12:25

to just get people's wheels turning. So we would have four stand ups and then the improvisers would do improv based off of the jokes that the stand up. So just told

Jeff Dwoskin 12:33

now that you've done both improv and stand up, which you didn't prefer, do you prefer stand up? I mean, that's where you landed. Because like to me, I never did specific. I never did improv. And it always scared me to do improv. But stand up. I've done a lot of people who are in improv I talk to are like, Oh, I could never do stand up. To me, which is mind boggling. It's like you'd rather go up there with nothing than knowing what you're going to say. And they're like, it was just, you know, I mean, it's like, it's a whole different interesting point of view the different mindsets of improv folks versus stand up comedians. Yeah, I think there's very few

Kiki Andersen 13:09

people that thrive in both settings. But I do think that to be a good stand up, you have to have some improv skills, right? Everybody's posting these crowd work clips. Now, you got to be a good listener, you have to have like a clear point of view. And establishing that clear point of view, where you take any stage is important, whether it's improv or stand up. I don't, I don't think I could ever go back to improv the sense that like, I was really my best at improv with a very select group of people. I had this improv troupe called Banana phone, and we were all stand up. So we all kind of have the same fucked up sense of humor. And it was just magic on stage. We were all on the same page with every Joe could finish each other sentences. And I've never been able to find that since then, you know, you join these like, like comedy like UCB, your Groundlings, whatever. And you get stuck with like, random people who are also taking the classes. And that's just you're not going to find your people that way. Although I think those classes are great in their own right. Like, I've never been able to find that first in problem ever again. So I'm probably dealt with improvs

Jeff Dwoskin 14:06

How did you make the decision to leave Baltimore? The Oh, wait, there was a Kellyanne Conway story, right? Yeah. Everyone thought you were hurt and all that kind of good stuff on Twitter. I gotta your mother. That was event amazing.

Kiki Andersen 14:23

Yeah, well, let's talk about like news. People not finding it funny at all. So my legal name is Kelly Anderson. And then there's Kellyanne Conway. So for a very long time, when people were tried to send hate tweets to Kelly and her twitter handle was Kelly and Oles my Twitter handle Kelly a media would auto populate and people wouldn't think to like, edit it and fix it. So I would just get all of her hate tweets. And I thought it was hilarious. Like that's great. You know, it's harmless, but also great because you get kind of feel like the ire that politicians get rightfully so in her case. But other newscasters like really didn't think that were funny. They were like this is damaging your brand and your credibility and like Who gives a shit? This is hilarious. This is the joy of my days reading my my tweet read.

Jeff Dwoskin 15:11

And Kellyanne is like, oh, people aren't really that upset with me these days. She's like, Yeah, I guess they want more. I guess they want more.

Kiki Andersen 15:23

Yeah. Oh no, I made sure after a while to like we like quote, tweet them and be like Ron Kelly dude and then at her, so make sure she sees

Jeff Dwoskin 15:32

Did she ever respond to you?

Kiki Andersen 15:33

She never responded. But I do think that Twitter caught on but at some point, the tweet stuff coming. So I think something flagged that something was amiss.

Jeff Dwoskin 15:43

That's really funny. Sorry to interrupt, had to take a quick break. Do you want to thank everyone for their support of the sponsors we need support the sponsors. You're supporting us here at Classic conversations. And that's how we keep the lights on. And now back to my conversation with Kiki Anderson. We're heading from Baltimore to LA and we're back giving me like specific highlights before we move into comedy and leave Baltimore like I know you were red carpet interview or you interviewed like a million really cool celebrities like because I saw Yeah, clips like Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, we got Ed Harris. Weird owl. Oprah

Kiki Andersen 16:21

okay. I'm really impressed. You really did your homework. Yeah, well, that was kind of funny. Because before I took my first job in local news, I was actually in LA just trying to figure out what I was going to do. And I found this job on Craigslist of all places. That was like seeking, like entertainment report, or like, it was very weird. I was like, this isn't even a real job. Like there was no information about the job. So I was like, This feels like a scam. And so ended up being for LA Film Fest, which I think is now defunct, but they hired me to basically be like their in house red carpet reporter which at the time, like I hadn't interviewed any money, like I had done a few school projects, you know, but like, I was a brand new college graduate had no freaking clue what I was doing. And my first interviews were with biggest stars in the world. Yeah, it was dope. That was so cool. The coolest job possible. Especially because like, later on, they put me on the Spirit Award. So I would get to interview them like right after they got off stage and won their award which how many people in the world get to say you get to see like Brad Pitt's wiping the sweat off his face after like winning an award. You know, he's a drunk too. So that was fun.

Jeff Dwoskin 17:28

What did you talk to Brad Pitt? About? What do you what, how much time you got with these folks like minutes?

Kiki Andersen 17:33

It depends. I mean, when they were on the red carpet, sometimes we get a few minutes with them. But right after they won their awards, it was like 30 seconds in and out. So you just have to be quick. And you had to make sure you got you asked an interesting question right away. Because, you know, you didn't want a boring sound, but like, Thank you, thank you film independent, you know, no, I like yeah, I won this award, and I want to celebrate with fuckin cocaine or whatever. No, they never said that. But you know, that's the sound that you're looking for.

Jeff Dwoskin 18:02

It's funny, was there any of them that were not so great to interact with? In that timeframe? They're like, get me out of here.

Kiki Andersen 18:10

Um, yeah, but I'm not gonna put that out there. I don't want to come back and bite me in the butt.

Jeff Dwoskin 18:15

All right, I'll assume it's Moby. Now. I'm kidding. I don't know. That was random. Okay, so All right. So you're in LA. What finally made you leave Baltimore, though, when you finally decided I journalism isn't for me. I'm going to pack it up, moved to LA and follow my dream to be a comedian.

Kiki Andersen 18:33

Well, I think I made the leap, because I had a really influential conversation with a friend. But I was like, I don't know what to do. Because, you know, I've worked so hard to get to this point in my journalism career, but it's really not what I love. But they, you know, I know where my next paycheck is coming from. I've done pretty well in it. But I'm always worried that I'm gonna lose my job. Like, I show up half asleep every day. Someday, somebody's gonna find my standup and I'm gonna get in trouble. I'm gonna get cancelled. And he's like, Well, it sounds like you can't stop doing comedy. So maybe you should give it like a real try. Like if it's the thing you can't stop doing. And maybe it's what you're supposed to be doing. And I don't know if it's what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't really believe in like callings. But it's the thing that I love doing. And I'm broke. But I'm happy. I mean, I hope someday I'm not broke. Yeah, imagine having to wake up Monday morning and go do local news anymore. Like, I'm so glad I put that life behind me. So when I finally made that choice, I actually wanted to move to New York, but a series of family events happened in my life and most of my family ended up in LA so I ended up here, which has been great.

Jeff Dwoskin 19:34

And this is where you became rose Battle champion. You gotta. You gotta you gotta be wearing the shirt. I watched it. You took down Sarah for Tammy.

Kiki Andersen 19:47

Yeah, oh, actually, she'd be my ass, but she's really good.

Jeff Dwoskin 19:50

Okay, well, you both did. Great. I watched there was a clip on YouTube that was refined is that the only road time you did there was bad or is that the only one I was able to find on YouTube?

Kiki Andersen 20:01

Um, no, I do it pretty frequently. But she's the current roast battle champ. She's got the belt, so it was an honor to lose to her.

Jeff Dwoskin 20:10

What is that genre or path with the rose battle? That's not stand up. That's just insults back and forth? How do you prepare for one of those? Like how, like when you're doing that, is it? Like, if I don't know, Sarah, or I don't know, you know, I mean, like, how do you prepare for that to make it, I guess accessible enough to the audience that may not have known Sara or may not know, Kiki, if it's Sarah's jokes, and still kind of engaging? Like how personal can you get in like, it's a comedians dream to be able to just break balls like that right in front of everyone. But like, when you're doing that, and it's for a show and a contest? Like, what's the tricks of the trade there?

Kiki Andersen 20:47

Well, I think everyone's got everyone who does roast battle has a different perspective on it. And like, where the limit is, and where the line is, and how they prepare for me personally, that arena, people don't and shouldn't talk like that in real life, you are going to be entertained the same way you would go be entertained, like in a wrestling match. And I think it just levels the playing field, you know, everyone's fair game. It's the great equalizer. You know, none of us are here to get our feelings hurt, you're gonna make fun of me for being Jewish. I'm gonna make fun of you for being Muslim. But I think, for me, there is a way to be racial without being racist. And where that line is very sometimes. But I do think there's a difference. And so anyway, first, I'll just look up what's on what's available about them on the internet, on their Instagram, what battles they've already done, what's already been said about them, what they talk about, and their stand up. And then like today, for example, I'm going to have lunch with somebody that I'm battling a week or two, and we're just going to exchange information. And that's how you know that it's safe, right? Because I'm giving you this information about myself so that you can make fun of me for it. Or I'm telling you what's off limits. Please don't talk about that onstage. Yeah, the key is to find the things that are obvious about people like you wear glasses and a hat and find a way to write that joke. But then also find the thing people don't know about you and make it quick, punchy and palatable enough to make it into a good joke.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:04

All right. That's cool. Yeah, I find those hilarious to watch like, like, even just like when they do the row celebrity rows and stuff like that. But the rows battles are, are awesome. All right. Well, thanks for taking me through that. And then photographer, I found your camera, Kiki Instagram.

Kiki Andersen 22:23

When I went to journalism school, actually, I guess, goes back to the school paper I got when I was in high school, I got on the school paper because my photography teacher recommended me. So I started out as a photographer. And then when I went to journalism school, you kind of learn about cameras, mostly video cameras, but you know, it all lives in the same world. And then when I moved out here, it just became a way to make money. But I had gotten this great job photographing live comedy shows with the biggest comedians in the world. And that helped me get on stage with them. And so for a while that was that was just my way in. But getting that stage time, it doesn't matter who you were on the lineup with it was the fact that I was getting real stage time in a really good venue with a full audience that really helped me cut my teeth. It all worked out. In the end, it all came full circle.

Jeff Dwoskin 23:09

How did you break into the LA comedy scene? Like what's the process there? Like? Did you have to find clubs to audition for which clubs? Do you work? Talk me through that?

Kiki Andersen 23:21

Yeah, I'm still trying to break into the scene. Oh, yeah, I'm six years in. And I'm, I'm not past at all the clubs yet, which is ultimately the dream. But you know, a lot of it is just building your own connections with indie producers at first that gives you stage time to work and grow and learn. And I've been really lucky that I have people that booked me pretty consistently. But when I first moved here, I couldn't get booked anywhere. Like people didn't care that I've been doing stand up for X amount of time. They didn't care if I had a good job at the open mic. It's like, Who are you your new wait in line. And I did, I waited in line. And then I built my own connections. I started my own show for a while. And then you know, once I got to a place where I felt decent enough, I did start auditioning at the clubs and I did get passed at the Laugh Factory. So the Laugh Factory was first club to give me the green light and say you're good enough to be on our stage. And we'll pay you for it. Now. I'm just working on the other two clubs.

Jeff Dwoskin 24:11

That's awesome. Yeah. So what is the supernova comedy team?

Kiki Andersen 24:15

So supernova was that indie show that I was working for? They still run I don't work for them anymore. But you know, they just they were kind of born out of the pandemic because they had this great venue that was indoor outdoor, like it didn't have a roof. And it had a circular circular stage and people could sit around it and not worry about getting COVID Everybody from Bill Burr or to Nick Kroll to Whitney Cummings, Nikki Glaser was performing on that stage. And so at first I just offered my services photographer I just wanted to be around it and just watch my favorite comedians work, which was invaluable in itself. That's the cool thing about LA is you get to watch your favorite comic bomb and gracefully right you learn how to bond you learn how to work, you learn how to change a joke from set to set, and then eventually I started getting stage time there and making connections out way. Yeah, I mean, besides meeting my favorites, the best part was just getting to cut my teeth really like that's so there's no replacement for that.

Jeff Dwoskin 25:07

How did the podcast come about in decent with geeky Anderson?

Kiki Andersen 25:11

Yeah. So I was approached by next chapter podcast who is a brilliant DC based team also comedians are all kind of in that world. And they had approached me about a different podcast originally, that they went in a different direction with which was totally fine. But we, they had a certain vision, and I was, I didn't quite fit into it. But we really wanted to work together. So we start throwing around other ideas. And eventually, we originally had thrown around this idea called foreign and politics. We wanted to talk about like political scandals and like dirty politicians, but although I'm sure there's tons and tons and tons of stuff, sometimes it gets to in the achiness. And it's hard to make it funny sometimes. So we were like, Okay, this might not be the kind of podcasts we can keep going forever. So we we laid it on in decent, you know, just anything taboo, anything that gives anybody any kind of IQ, like why is it icky? Is this something to hold on to? Is there something to abandon? Follow the money like who's profiting off the rage here? And it's been really fun. We've talked about everything from porn to politics, X religion, tech, the future dystopia? Really? It's a big umbrella, and it's gonna go all kinds of crazy directions.

Jeff Dwoskin 26:21

Yeah, I mean, you go deep, I listen a couple episodes. Which Which is your favorite one? Like if, if listeners should dive into one just to kind of get a feel for geeky and like, what, which one is one of your favorites so far? I listened to the one with Dr. Laurie batido.

Kiki Andersen 26:39

Laurie is such a great guys, isn't she? Yeah,

Jeff Dwoskin 26:41

she was really cool.

Kiki Andersen 26:43

Yeah, Laurie works for she's a contractor for porn hubs Wellness Center, which I didn't even know existed. But that episode was actually born from us just wanting to talk to Pornhub before now, as you may know, doesn't do interviews. They are a very embattled company, sometimes rightfully so sometimes not rightfully so. But she's a contractor. So she could talk to us just not on behalf of Pornhub. And so we talked to her a little bit about Internet porn and like, porn consumption habits, and like masturbation, and she's just like, like your crazy Auntie, you know, but like, super full of knowledge about romance and the internet. And she's just so much fun. So that's definitely one of the episodes I read, recommend. And then like Lavon Briggs, she goes by preacher Bay, she's like a, I forget what the term is the origin theologist Sure, but she's also a podcaster and very sex positive. She's so funny. So we have the Cole to the Vice News reporter and she her beat is the internet and sex. So she, she talks a lot about like, where Porn was came from, and like, where it's going with the future of AI and all that, which is super scary and interesting. So those first few episodes, they're just so wide ranging but so fun.

Jeff Dwoskin 27:52

Yeah, I mean, it's you go there. So it's really, it's good. You're really good host. Thank you was like some of your wishlist guests that you hope to get on the show one day. Um,

Kiki Andersen 28:04

we've reached out to some bigger names. We're not a big enough podcast yet to get them I think. But we had originally tried to get Anthony wiener. He turned us down. But fingers crossed. There's others though. As you know, Anthony Weiner is an embattled politician whose last name is wieder which is also how he signs his emails. Fun fact. She could sign them Anthony, but he sends them wiener.

Jeff Dwoskin 28:25

The only advice I would give you don't ever think like you're too small, because reach out because you never know what's going on with these folks. Some of the yeses I got early on, when I would reach out I'd be like, holy crap, I can't believe they said yes. Now I gotta prepare to talk to these people. Yeah, so don't don't ever think like, oh, we only have six episodes. It's like you have a great you have a great show it's quality point of view, people will want to be on it. And by the time they get back to you, you'll be twice the size. Right? Okay, but don't hold back. What's next on your docket? You got shows you're doing more podcasting is how much of that does that take up most your time these days?

Kiki Andersen 29:03

Yeah, you know, we're building something. And at first, we didn't know exactly what it was gonna be. And we're still, you know, we kind of operate in chunks. So the first four episodes are about sex and porn. The next four episodes are about like media, like political messaging, and then stay tuned for the next four episodes. But we're always figuring it out as we go along. And it's a team effort, but it does take a lot of work. So building that has been most of my life for the last few months. But podcasting is the only thing I do. So right now I'm just building my new stand up material trying to get a new cop hour by the end of the year, just really trying to work on that online content. Jeff, so that's, that's how you make the money these days.

Jeff Dwoskin 29:39

It's hard. Yeah, there's so many and then, you know, one minute there's threads and then next minute no one cares about threads. Oh, God,

Kiki Andersen 29:46

I know is that even are people on it? I don't know. I looked at it. I was like, oh look like NBC News tweeted and like Arby's.

Jeff Dwoskin 29:53

I think the problem was they went to Instagram people. They must have gone to Instagram people to talk about it. They should have gotten that Twitter people to figure it out. I have a pretty big Twitter account. But I don't have a big Instagram account. But on threads it was one to one with however how big you were on Instagram. So when they converted over I got a percentage of those people. So if I only had 800 I've got 200. And the people that were big on Instagram have you know, 100,000 have 80,000 on threads, but the way they're good on social isn't Twitter.

Kiki Andersen 30:27

Yeah, we kind of talked about this on our last episode of indecent how like, we this great guest Bridget, we were just talking about how threads deals to sanitize like, like it's to like she said, brand safe. There's nothing going on there. It's not interesting. And for me feels like like the first open mic you go to after the new year where it's like, well, who are you people? Like you are on Twitter. You don't know how to tweet, you're not funny, like online and leave me alone. Like just because you have an Instagram doesn't make you a good leader. Yeah,

Jeff Dwoskin 30:57

I think everyone was so kind of drained from x, Twitter and all that. It just was so refreshing for like a hot second. And then, like you said it was there was no trends. There was no way to go viral. There's no, there was no way to be seen. So it was like, last his last are pretty pretty quick.

Kiki Andersen 31:16

Yeah. So I don't know, I don't know if everybody feels this way. But I'm kind of different on every platform, like on Twitter, I'm a little meaner. I talk a lot more shit, you know, on Instagram, like, my friends, parents follow me. You know, I'm a lot more careful about what I post, which is definitely not true of Twitter. So threads is like is like having a party at your house that everyone's invited to. And you don't really necessarily want everyone there.

Jeff Dwoskin 31:39

Well framed? What's the process that you're going through to build this new 30 minutes? Is the goal to or what do they say create an album these days? What does know? What is it called when it's just all digital? I guess an album, we can still call it an album. Right? Sure. Yeah. So is that is that the goal to kind of put that together? Are you hobnobbing? Do you get to take advantage of being around all these famous established comedians? Like Hope is the hope also, oh, maybe I can, I'll tour with some of them, that kind of thing. Because that could probably be a good way to get noticed lots of go on the road, get lots of experience that way.

Kiki Andersen 32:14

You know, certainly there's value in networking. But I think what I've taken away from my time in LA, I've been here almost five years is that at the end of the day, the most important thing you can do is be your own creator and have people want to work with you because of what you've done rather than you trying to suck up to the power t and get people to just like you, because that that goes far to a certain point. You want fans, you want people to buy tickets, because they like you and what you have to say and your point of view. So for me this new 30 minutes is trying to take it to the next level for me try to talk about harder subjects try to be a little more like news and politically savvy, because I think that's what people expect when they come to me just because I used to be a news reporter. And I used to shy away from that because I was like, Well, I don't know if I have the the sharpest new take news take you know, like I'm a comedian. I'm I'm not a news reporter anymore. But the truth is, it is what I talk about on my podcast. It is what I talk about my day to day and so I am trying to lean into that a little bit more. I don't know about putting out albums anymore. I think like Andrew Schultz said it best every 32nd clip you put out there is a new way for people to find you and discover you know, so I'm less worried about putting out one full set as opposed to just making sure I have 30 new one minute clips, you know, in the next year or next six months.

Jeff Dwoskin 33:29

That is true. You're right. And you just and then the burden is finding the right software to put coolest types of captions on it.

Kiki Andersen 33:38

Right. GT word retention,

Jeff Dwoskin 33:40

right. Where can people keep up with you on the socials?

Kiki Andersen 33:46

I'm on all the things including threads. It's Kiki Anderson. Anderson with an E. No, no, I'm Danish.

Jeff Dwoskin 33:56

Dana's Jewish, Latina everything your everything right.

Kiki Andersen 34:00

I fit in everywhere. Nowhere. It's very devastating.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:05

All right. So everyone, check out the podcast in decent with Kiki Anderson. Check out our YouTube. I'll put links to everything in the show notes so people can find, oh, all the key key they want in their life they can find.

Kiki Andersen 34:21

Thanks, Jeff. I really appreciate it. This has been so fun.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:23

I will not put a link to the Wix resume of yours that I also found online.

Kiki Andersen 34:30

I hate how high up that goes on my Google search.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:35

Thank you so much for hanging out with me. I really appreciate

Kiki Andersen 34:37

it. Likewise, Jeff. Thank you. All right, everyone.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:40

That was the amazingly hilarious and dazzling Kiki Andrew sin. Definitely check out in decent with Kiki Anderson on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast, a wonderful podcast indeed. He is a fabulous host amazing comedian. All the links are in the show notes. Well, I can't believe it either interviews over the calling me one thing I know, Episode 283 has come to a close. I do want to thank one more time, my special guests, Kiki Anderson. And of course, I want to thank all of you for coming back week after week. It means the world to me, and I'll see you next time.

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Transcribed by https://otter.ai