Margaret Cho Is Still Hopeful About Comedy
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 707 Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Margaret Cho is a trailblazer and ‘mother’ to your favorite comedians.
She burst onto the scene in the 90s performing at night clubs and later starred in the ABC sitcom 'All-American Girl', the first network show to center an Asian American family. Margaret reflects on the impact of her groundbreaking show, how she sees her role as a mentor for younger comedians, and why she’s still optimistic about comedy even as it swings to the right.
Plus, she shares how standup helped her get through a very intense rehab experience. Margaret Cho is also on tour! Her latest standup set is called Choligarchy.
Note: This episode includes conversations about suicide and addiction. Please take care while listening. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988.
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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey y'all, Sam here. |
| 0:06.6 | Thank you so much for checking out my show with KCRW. |
| 0:10.0 | Question. |
| 0:11.2 | Have you ever thought deeply about the relationship between laughter and breath? |
| 0:17.5 | I had not until this week, until my guest this episode told me her theory of laughter and breath. |
| 0:24.9 | Laughter is an unexpected breath of air that you take that you didn't realize you were going to take. |
| 0:30.7 | Yes. |
| 0:31.1 | Because you're confronted by a different kind of thinking that is so unexpected that you have to pause and take a breath. |
| 0:40.4 | Laughter is the unexpected breath that you take that ensures the next moment of life. |
| 0:46.7 | So it's the ultimate expression of hope. |
| 0:49.0 | Breath is hope. |
| 0:50.3 | That is comedian Margaret Cho. |
| 0:52.3 | And I got to tell you, just about every minute of my chat with her, was that good. |
| 0:57.1 | We talked about everything, the state of comedy, that recent Kevin Hart roast, the industry shift to the right and towards the manosphere, which is a big theme of Margaret's new comedy tour, Choligarchy. |
| 1:10.2 | We also spent a lot of time in this chat on Margaret's journey. |
| 1:13.6 | She told me all about the two years she spent in rehab and how comedy helped her get through it all. |
| 1:19.6 | You will hear reference to a dog in this conversation because Margaret's Chihuahua, Lucia, was here for the chat. |
| 1:33.4 | You can see that dog on YouTube, if you like, because this chat lives there as well. |
| 1:35.4 | All right, let's get into it. |
| 1:49.6 | You've become one of those people in the industry where you're like this comedic auntie or mother to so many. |
| 1:57.4 | I will talk with comics, of course, Asian American comics, but all types of comics. |
| 1:57.9 | Yeah. |
... |
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