Among the people inadvertently promoting Simon Taylor’s new sitcom The Sonny Disposition – a satire about the chaotic, ego-driven world of podcasting – are Kyle Sandilands, Karl Stefanovic and Anthony Albanese.
asserted
Sandilands → promote → podcasting
“The timing is perfect,” says the comedian, who created the series with Josh Samuels.
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who → say → Samuels
“Every day, someone in my team is messaging me going, ‘Kyle Sandilands just started a podcast!
asserted
Sandilands → message → podcast
Karl’s in the news for an episode about right-wing extremists!’
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Karl → ’ → extremists
And then Albo got himself in trouble [over the so-called melon-gate affair].
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Albo → get → affair
But the idea for The Sonny Disposition occurred well before these headline-grabbing incidents.
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idea → occur → incidents
“It actually came from me not wanting to do a podcast,” says the 38-year-old, who was hired as a writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 24 before becoming the first Australian stand-up to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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who → come → Fallon
“Everyone’s like, ‘You’re a comedian; where’s your podcast?’
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podcast → ’ → ?
But I’m so sick of them.
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I → ’m → them
There are so many already, and I don’t know what I’d be offering that’s different.
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that → be → what
So I’m offering this instead – a sitcom about podcasters.”
asserted
I → offer → podcasters
What fascinates Taylor is the medium’s “Wild West” aspect, and the performative authenticity of many hosts.
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fascinates → fascinate → hosts
“As a journalist, you have to follow ethical guidelines,” he says.
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he → have → guidelines
“But as a podcaster, you can reach an audience without any of those pesky ethics.
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you → reach → ethics
You get to be the CEO as well as the face of the show.
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You → get → show
You’re a gunslinger; you’ll do anything to beat the other guy’s ratings and win over the algorithm.”
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you → ’re → algorithm
I always feel like I need to get a bit more work done before bed so I’ll have a coffee, work until 1am and then sleep better knowing I’ve ticked off a few things.
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I → feel → things
It’s a terrible health habit but my mum’s side of the family is Italian, and my grandparents would always have coffee after dinner, so maybe I have enough Italian DNA to handle it.
Greatest fear?
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I → ’ → it
I have nightmares about my wife ghosting me.
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wife → have → me
I’ll wake up and go, “You left me again, you blocked me.”
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you → wake → me
But my wife and I have a good rule.
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wife → have → rule
We don’t say, “You did this in my dreams”; I’ll say, “Dream Lucy did this”, and she’ll say, “Dream Simon did this.”
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Simon → say → this
If I were to psychoanalyse myself, I’d guess it’s about losing what makes me happiest: being at home with my family.
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me → psychoanalyse → family
The line that stayed with you?
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that → stay → you
There’s variations of this line going around but my friend, Philip Escoffey, a magician from the UK, distilled it into a nice quote: “Luck gets you through the door but hard work determines how long you stay there.”
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you → ’ → door
In a career like this, you never know when you’ll get a break.
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you → know → break
I’ve had lucky moments, but to stay in the game I have to keep writing jokes so I’m always ready.
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I → have → jokes
I know people who make a living from social media, but I’m not jealous of them because they’re constantly posting and checking their numbers, even when they’re talking to their friends.
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they → know → friends
If I did that, it would change my relationship with my family.
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it → do → family
I just want to get home, put my phone on “do not disturb” and engage with my kids.
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I → want → kids
When I started, I thought I was a lone wolf.
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I → start → ?
It took me 10 years to realise that this is a team sport in many ways.
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this → take → ways
We’re a collective of comedians who look after each other.
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who → ’re → other
I wrote a book about this.
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I → write → this
In my 20s, I had a one-night stand – and then I was told I was going to be a dad.
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I → have → stand
I got a Facebook message, then a phone call.
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I → get → message
’s when the world changed for me.
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world → ’ → me
I was really emotional; I was excited but also worried because I didn’t really know the woman.
asserted
I → know → woman
Then I was told, “No, it might be another guy.”
uncertain
it → tell → ?
So it was nine months of me waiting to see whether it was me or this other guy.
asserted
it → wait → ?
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
