WRITE UPS & SHOUT OUTS
5/23/17: Ssense Magazine, “Aparna Nancherla Is Not Completely Depressing” by Julia Cooper
“‘I just want the confidence of one of DJ Khaled’s shirts,’ Aparna Nancherla tweeted wistfully. Online or off, she’s funny as hell. Nancherla’s comedy burrows into the idiosyncrasies of being a living, breathing, anxious human in America in 2017.”
5/4/17: Rolling Stone, “The 50 Funniest People Right Now”
“New York-based Nancherla made a huge splash last year with her killer debut album, Just Putting It Out There, on Tig Notaro’s label. She’s been doing stand-up for 10 years, along with her Web series Woman-hood (with Jo Firestone) and podcast Blue Woman Group (with Jacqueline Novak). She goes deep on why pizza is similar to yoga (“That’s my sacred circle”) and topics like depression and anxiety: “Sometimes people are like, ‘There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Uh, have you checked out some of fear’s work? Pretty much churning out the hits since forever.”
12/2/16: Paste Magazine, “25 Best Comedians of 2016”
“There were a lot of excellent albums out this year, or like five excellent albums out this year, and Aparna Nancherla’s Just Putting It Out There was the best: an hour of casual, unassuming spirals from everyday anxiety into Beckett-ian existential despair, disguised within her signature loopy drawl. This was also the year she released a Comedy Central Half Hour, produced Seeso’s Debate Wars with Brian McCann and Michael Ian Black, and made appearances in shows like Netflix’s The Characters and Inside Amy Schumer. And we’d be remiss not to mention Womanhood, the lo-fi deadpan masterpiece of a web series she made with Jo Firestone (scroll up). Very good and great!””
6/6/16: TheAtlantic.com, “Comedy: Slowly Becoming Less of a Boy’s Club” by David L. Sims
6/6/16: Variety.com, “10 Comics to Watch for 2016”
“Aparna Nancherla, who has opened for John Oliver and Tig Notaro. A former staff writer for “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” she has been seen on “Inside Amy Schumer” and Apatow’s “Love.” She hosts the podcast “Blue Woman Group” with Jacqueline Novak.”
6/1/16: Nerdist.com, You Made It Weird #319: Aparna Nancherla
Splitsider.com plug: “Aparna Nancherla is the envy of any working comedian today — she’s been a writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers, Comedy Central just announced her upcoming half-hour special, and she continues to host the coolest and best bang for your buck weekly standup show in NYC, Whiplash (it’s free). However, what makes her the honest weirdo comedy nerds love is her ability to harness that honesty into her material.”
3/31/16: Depression and Comedy with Aparna Nancherla
“‘Introverted anhedonia’ is a good way to describe the humor of talented standup comedian Aparna Nancherla, whose pithy expression of the depressive mindset is gaining her an impassioned following on Twitter…”
3/24/16: The 100 Funniest Jokes in the History of Twitter (#18)
“#18. I once dated an apostrophe. Too possessive.”
2/9/16: Blue Woman Group Is a Hilarious Podcast About Depression
“The podcast shatters the stigma around depression in a unique and incredibly intimate way. It’s a natural move for Nancherla, whose hysterical Twitter feed and stand-up often caters to the anxious and lonely.”
8/7/15: Paper Magazine, 10 Feminist Comedians to Watch
“…her laidback, observational stand-up is a delight.”
7/15/15: Marie Claire, The 50 Funniest Women of 2015
“Who’s that girl: The deadpan comic on every comedy nerd’s radar.”
6/16/15: i-D magazine, “beyond broad city: 5 female nyc comedians you should know”
4/25/15: NPR, “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”
With panelists Peter Grosz and Amy Dickinson, and interviewee Bruce Eric Kaplan
3/30/15: Vulture.com, “The 50 Comedians You Should Know in 2015” by Elise Czajkowski, Nate Jones and Jesse David Fox
“…in the style of the great Maria Bamford, this gentle-seeming stand-up can pack a punch.”
2/25/15: Playboy.com, “Comedian Aparna Nancherla Dishes on Stand-Up and Twitter in Our Lucky 7” by Julia Edelman
“Aparna Nancherla is an up-and-coming comedian with a strikingly original style. While initially unassuming, her stand-up—described as dry, observational, and occasionally absurdist—quickly draws you in.”
1/27/15: CBC, Radio Q Interview: Aparna Nancherla Can’t Believe She’s a Comedian Either
“Comedian Aparna Nancherla makes absurd jokes about little stuff, like Netflix, and big stuff, like race in America. She joins guest host Shad to discuss the political nature of her humour, and how breaking the fourth wall as a comic is important.”
1/6/15: WITS Extra with John Moe: Episode 71, Aparna Nancherla
“Comedian and writer Aparna Nancherla stopped by the Wits studios recently. John Moe got the chance to talk with her about almost attending West Point, working on late-night television, the process of writing funny things on sad subjects, and the current wave of comedians who are also first-generation Americans.”
12/30/14: Jezebel.com, Comedy Queens: Here’s Who Made Us Laugh in 2014″ by Madeleine Davies
“You may not know Aparna Nancherla if you don’t frequent New York standup shows, but please trust me on this one — she is an absolute fucking gem. Follow her on Twitter and she will make you laugh every day.”
11/7/14: The Amherst Student, “Comedian Alum Ready for Center Stage” by Eli Mansbach
“Nancherla said that being a comedian happened ‘kind of on a whim.'”
11/3/14: Time Out NY, “The Top Ten Funniest Women in New York” by Tom Brink
“Comedy nerds will know the dry absurdist stand-up, improviser and writer from her appearances on @midnight, Adam DeVine’s House Party, Conan and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. But it’s her Twitter feed, @aparnapkin, that will make you fall in love with her, showcasing her eye for the sublimely weird with tweets like “BEAUTY TIP: replace your head with a sunset.” Forty-thousand followers can’t be wrong. ”
9/30/14: Flavorpill.com, “11 Essential Young Comedians in New York City” by Elise Czajkowski
“There is a no one else doing stand-up quite like Aparna Nancherla. The soft-spoken comic’s stories are a blend of personal tales and absurdism, with a mix of politics thrown in. A former writer for Totally Biased, she’s performed on Conan and been lauded for her hilariously dry Twitter feed.”
9/18/14: NBC News, “Off Color: An Unlikely Comedian Embraces Her Outsider Role” by Anna Sterling
“As a South Asian woman, standing five feet tall, with cropped black hair, and often bespectacled, the unassuming Nancherla seems to relish defying expectations.”
9/12/14: Mental Illness Happy Hour Podcast with Paul Gilmartin, Episode 190: Aparna Nancherla
“The first generation Indian-American comedian opens up about her low self-esteem, perfectionism, depression, anxiety, eating disorder, the trap of becoming the ‘good child’ and the constant struggle to not compare herself to others.”
5/1/14: Time Magazine, “The 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2014: Aparna Nancherla (Comedy)” by Sarah Begley
“Up-and-coming comedian Aparna Nancherla is a chuckle-worthy respite in anyone’s Twitter feed. Always lighthearted and often self-deprecating, she alternates between satirizing showbiz culture and taking a baffled look at the mundane wackiness of the world — and people — around her.”
8/14/13: Splitsider.com, “Talking to Aparna Nancherla About Twitter, Chris Rock, and Writing for ‘Totally Biased'” by Phil Davidson
“Nancherla is a welcomed change of pace in an art form that is predominantly manic. Her jokes have an existential bent and are delivered at a slower, steadier pace, which allows audiences to pick up on the subtleties. The industry has taken notice as last year she was hired to write and perform on FX’s Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell, which moves from weekly to nightly on the FXX channel next month, so we’ll be seeing even more of her.”
7/25/13: Laughspin.com, “Nancherla, Wetterlund, Morril among impressive New Faces at Just For Laughs (Review)” by Emma Kat Richardson
“My first real belly-laugh of the evening came courtesy of Aparna Nancherla, whose delicate, sweet appearance belied nothing of her savage wit and snark. Sporting something of a Sarah Vowell-esque speaking style, Nancherla waxed hysterical…Comedy nerds may recognize Nancherla from Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, on which she’s a staff writer and stellar onscreen asset.”
6/27/13: The Times-Picayune, “‘Totally Biased’ writer Aparna Nancherla drops three free shows on New Orleans” by Cate Root
“Aparna Nancherla isn’t the type of person you’d expect to see wildly waving a gun onstage. The slight comedian specializes in wordplay, and the particular absurdity that blooms out of neurotic thought. But as a writer and performer on the new political late-night series “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,” Nancherla gets to flex different comic muscles, wringing the most out of her background as a sketch writer, improviser and stand-up comedian.”
5/7/13: Funny or Die Blog, “15 of the Funniest Stand-Up Comediennes You SHOULD Be Following” by Paul Franke
5/1/13: Serial Optimist, “The Biggest LOL’s From the LOLiest Aparna Nancherla” by David Dean
“It’s hard for me to even try and write an introduction to comedian Aparna Nancherla. She set the bar so high with this interview I feel like I should just get out of the way as quickly as possible so you can start reading it. What do you need to know? She is truly on of our favorite comedians IN THE WORLD and makes us laugh out loud more than anyone else. She writes for FX’s “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.” She will make you smile on the constant, this interview will make your ribs hurt from laughing so hard, she is the tops, crazy smart, beautiful, insanely funny Twitter feed, I mean, I could go on all day. JUST READ ON AND GET OBSESSED WITH HER LIKE WE ARE. Maybe one of the best interviews ever IN THE WORLD!”
3/5/13: “SXSW Comedy Spotlight: W. Kamau Bell and the Totally Biased Writers” by Samantha Pitchel
“On nearly every list of ‘names to watch,’ Nancherla is a standup, writer, and improviser with a deliciously absurd worldview.”
1/28/13: Splitsider.com, “The Next Wave: The Top 10 Up-and-Coming Comedians on Each Coast” by Bradford Evans & Elise Czajkowski
“Aparna Nancherla started doing comedy in Washington, DC, before moving to Los Angeles and becoming wildly popular there. Last year, she was snapped up by FX’s Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, where she was hired as a writer and even appeared on camera for a few popular, funny segments. She currently splits her time between both coasts and her other credits include Last Comic Standing and WTF with Marc Maron.”
1/7/13: Serial Optimist, “’10 Comedians You Must Know’ In 2013” by Deborah Thomasian
“Queen of that slightly cynical but innocent humor, Aparna Nancherla has been winning audiences everywhere she goes. You may have caught her on “Last Comic Standing”, The Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Aspen Rooftop or WTF podcast. Writer and player on W. Kamau Bell’s “Totally Biased” Aparna is sure to be soaking up the laughs. Look out for her on SF Sketchfest’s comedy lineup this year.”
12/27/12: LA Weekly, “12 L.A. Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013” by Julie Seabaugh
“Though the Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell writer/player boasts a formidable improv and sketch background, her discursive narratives are best appreciated when she’s squirming beneath the stand-up spotlight. Her onstage demeanor may suggest anxious naïveté, but her propensity for bone-dry cynicism — not to mention breaking the fourth wall to lob asides about the axioms of comedic performance itself — is what’s recently been landing her at festival after festival. Follow her on Twitter at @Aparnapkin, where she dispatches such droll gems as “In LA auditioning for a parking spot,” “just peed, or as they call it in the biz, networked with the toilet” and “emotion pitch: deprassed (sassy depressed).”
10/18/12: Time Out NY Joke of the Week: Aparna Nancherla
8/17/12: Splitsider, “Follow Friday: Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin)” by Roger Cormier
11/4/11: Joonbug.com, “The Funniest Twitter Users You’ve Never Heard Of” by Brad Mielke
“Aparna Nancherla, an L.A. comic, spared potential followers the trial of spelling her full name, opting for AparNapkin. Her dry humor is anything but low-brow, however, as her recent Halloween tweets attest. (‘Help! I’m at a pretentious party surrounded by metaphors!’)”
9/28/11: The Huffington Post, “18 Funny Women You Should Be Following on Twitter”
6/1/11: Maryland Gazette, “Improbable Comedy: It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Topher Forhecz
“‘I think Aparna is one of the cleverest, funniest comedians out there,’ Levone says.”
4/24/11: Punchline Magazine Blog, “Bridgetown Comedy Festival: Day 3” by Meagan Kate
“Aparna Nancherla is, of course, adorable. I met her earlier in the weekend but had yet to actually see her set at the festival. She was fantastic and her stage presence is absolutely gripping.”
4/21/11: Portland Mercury Blogtown, “The Ladies of Bridgetown” by Alison Hallett
“Aparna Nancherla got some recent attention in a Washington Post profile of DC’s comedy scene. She has since moved to LA; her humor is low-key, observational, and totally charming.”
4/12/11: Comediva Blog, “#Hashtag: A Tweet Extravaganza” by Nikki Muller
“For example, good puns and witty observations were #winning (i.e. follow @aparnapkin for such gems as, “If reverse racism is wrong, I don’t want to be white,” ha!)…”
3/2/11: 2011 East Bay Express, “Emily Heller Explains It All” by Rachel Swan
“Nancherla has a talent for taking quotidian topics into surreal territory.”
1/28/11: 2011 India Abroad Magazine, “She’s Serious About Funny Business” by Sandip Roy
“‘Sometimes people don’t know what to make of me.'”
12/21/10:
NPR “Tell Me More” segment based on the Washington Post Magazine story
Click To Listen to NPR “Tell Me More” segment
12/20/10: 2010 Splitsider Feature: “The Depressive’s Guide to Comedy: Laughing to Keep From Crying” by Becca O’Neal
“Aparna Nancherla’s quiet, introspective style reveals a comic who’s very much at home in her own mind and on stage. Rather than finding them uncomfortable or awkward, audiences are endeared to Aparna’s disclosures of her insecurities, neuroses, and resentment of her youthful appearance. … Because of this perceived innocence and vulnerability, there’s leeway for Aparna to delve into subjects that could, if handled improperly, make audiences recoil. Instead, they lean in, listen, and laugh.”
12/19/10: 2010 Washington Post Magazine, “One-Joke Town: Can Comics Hit the Big Time in Washington?” by Christina Ianzito
“Yet when it’s her turn onstage, she looks fearless as she grabs the microphone, to some welcoming applause. “Oh, the microphone’s taller than me,” she notes, dripping sarcasm. “That never happens.”
7/15/10: 2010 LOL @ Artscape Baltimore Blog
“I don’t get how parachutes are designed to save lives, but parachute pants are designed to destroy them.” -Aparna Nancherla
7/15/10: 2010 LOL @ Artscape Baltimore Preview
“Aparna has a kind of dry and low-energy style that draws you in—and then she catches you off-guard with a hilarious punch line.” –Jason Weems
5/28/10: Punchline Magazine, “Carolines Break Out Comedy Artist: Myq Kaplan” by Dylan Gadino
“Q: Who do you think are the breakout comedy artists of the next few years?
A: It’s hard to distinguish between who has already broken out and who will break out later, but here goes…Aparna Nancherla, Alex Koll, Brian Moote, and Erik Charles Nielsen are hilarious friends in cities that I have less allegiance to. (The cities, not the people.)”
3/18/09: Comedy Nerds Blog, “Comedy Foot Soldiers – Aparna Nancherla” by Dustin D’Addato
“I recently saw her perform here in New York at Greenpoint’s indy comedy show Too Cool For School and I can tell you she is going to be big.”
2/16/09: Punchline Magazine Blog, “Some Reflections on the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival” by Dylan Gadino
“Four comics especially stood out to me: They are Aparna Nancherla, Joe Zimmerman, Maria Ciampa and Jeff Havens. Each one of these comics had a very strong presence, a unique point of view and excellent writing skills. In short, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these four, in the next few years, ascend to the surface of the underground.”
8/12/08: The Comic’s Comic Blog, “Up All Night at the DC Comedy Fest” by Sean McCarthy
“Aparna Nancherla claims she is an introvert, which is an odd-but-true trait for a stand-up comedian, but is quick to point out, “I watch, TV, too!” so you can relate to her. She has a good, strong stage presence. If only she hadn’t gotten the silent treatment from Last Comic Standing this year, perhaps she would have been the first female winner?
Testimonial from Danielle DeSilvis, Health Educator/Program Coordinator at Health Education Services, Georgetown University
“Aparna’s dry and relatable wit has become a favorite among Georgetown University students. Her presence is in high-demand at the bi-yearly comedy shows that Georgetown organizes during finals and midterms as stress relief for the students.”
PODCASTS
8/12/13: Show Me Your Bits Podcast with Alexis Guerreros: Aparna Nancherla
6/10/13: Act Three Comedy Writers Podcast with Chip Dwyer: Episode 3, Aparna Nancherla
5/10/13: Keith and the Girl Podcast: Episode 2651, Dead Giveaway
4/8/13: The Nerdist Podcast: Episode 342, Stand Up Cluster 2013
“It’s the annual stand up cluster at the NerdMelt showroom in LA! This year features the hilarious Ali Wong, Dan Telfer, Mark Little, Beth Stelling, Maronzio Vance, Aparna Nancherla, Ryan Singer and Ron Funches!”
4/4/13: Steve Hernandez & Scott Luhrs’ RTDOK Podcast: Episode 157 with Aparna Nancherla
4/2/13: Andy Wood & Matt Kirshen’s Probably Science Podcast: Episode 63 with Aparna Nancherla
3/28/13: Merrill Davis’ Good Talk Podcast: Episode with Jake Weisman and Aparna Nancherla
3/4/13: Myq Kaplan’s Come Hang Out With Me Podcast: Episode 45 with Brent Sullivan and Aparna Nancherla
1/7/13-1/11/13: Yo, Is This Racist? Podcast, Episodes 59-63 with Aparna Nancherla
12/31/12: This Better Be Funny Podcast, ep. 54 with Aparna Nancherla
12/13/12: Baby Geniuses Podcast, Ep. 16 with Gabe Liedman & Aparna Nancherla
6/7/12: Matt Likes Girls: Live at the 1st Annual Chicago Women’s Comedy Festival
“This week, Matt is…joined by Megan Gailey, Stacey Smith, Katie Dufresne, Danielle Call, Amy Sumpter and Aparna Nancherla!”
6/7/12: Ryebread Radio: Episode 119
“Aparna Nancherla joins us on The Bread! Coming in all the way from LA, we talk about her career in comedy, her experience on WTF with Marc Maron, what it was like being on Last Comic Standing, why you should be following her on Twitter…”
8/15/11: WTF Podcast With Marc Maron: Episode 201 – Rob Huebel, Joe Lo Truglio, Aparna Nancherla, Bob Ducca, Jim & EddieClick To Listen
WRITING PROJECTS/BLURPS
5/30/13: CC:Studios Blog: The Group Coupon Project 4: Whale Watching Tour
5/23/13: CC:Studios Blog: The Group Coupon Project 3: Beginners’ Knitting Class
5/16/13: CC:Studios Blog: The Group Coupon Project 2: Thai Massage
5/9/13: CC:Studios Blog: The Group Coupon Project 1: Hollywoodland Tour
“If you have the internet, and I think you might, you’re just a couple clicks away from endless deals & steals. But how do you know which ones are worth your time? That’s where I come in. If you want an anxiety-ridden, risk-averse introvert’s review of what’s out there, you’ve come to the right place. This is the Group Coupon Project.”