It's Depression Mode. I'm John Mo. I'm glad you're here.

Our show's producer, Gabe Mara, brought up the idea of having Joel Kim Booster on the show,

and I thought that sounded great. I'd seen Joel on this NBC sitcom called Sunnyside, and he was amazing.

One of those performances that you watch and you think, this goes beyond funny.

This is a complete creative event.

Something new and amazing is being born here.

I knew Joel had done a lot of stand-up and was

well regarded. I watched a few clips of that, hilarious, smart, innovative, and I knew he wrote

as well for Billy on the Street and the show the other two brilliant, brilliant shows.

He's also the co-host of the very funny urgent care podcast with very funny person

Mitra Juhari. My only concern was whether Joel had any connection to mental illness, any kind of

struggle. Combing through Google and Joel's Twitter, there were some hints. He mentions

bipolar disorder, but he mentions having that well under control.

I figured if there wasn't much there, he's obviously a sharp guy. We could talk about the industry

or mental health in entertainment or something like that. I didn't know if there would be a lot

going on with Joel Kim Booster's mental health until the interview started, and I asked him how he's been doing lately.

What a coincidence that we're recording today, because I am in the midst of a pretty bad

depressive episode right now.

Barely, barely getting through today.

I mean, I'm actually been fairly productive, but it's been like moving through a fog doing it

and it's been like pulling teeth.

So I'm really happy to come here and talk about it

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