Randy Cohen (Late Night with David Letterman, The Ethicist)
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Randy Cohen joins me to talk about the creation of the Top 10 List; growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania; going to Cal Arts to study music and having little talent for it; betting on Johnny Carson\'s monologues; being a Knicks fan; the solitary life of a writer; first article about Japanese game shows; Modest Proposals a book of satirical letters; meeting the Pope; his first two books; not working with Steve Martin; wanting to end being a freelancer; staying up to watch Letterman; submitting a packet to NBC; not liking Small Town News; having fun appearing on camera; Steve O\'Donnell always making him play a doctor; Merrill Markoe\'s brand of humor; lack of diversity in the writing room; Merrill\'s structure of pieces lasted after she did; "Late Night in Tokyo"; "Monkey Cam Show"; Dr. Ruth objects to the monkey; "The English Dub Show"; Randy\'s attempt to do an episode recast; Bad Phone Calls segment; G.E. Handshake; the crew made your piece funnier; man who\'s; Chris Elliot; leaving in 1990; TV Nation; The Ethicist; most of his writing is under 1000 words; his play The Punishing Blow; being the head writer for the first year of The Rosie O\'Donnell Show; his radio show Person Place or Thing
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