Aparna Nancherla Explains Why She Named Her Depression Brenda

Aparna Nancherla shares her favorite joke she wrote for Seth, talks about how self-doubt inspired her book, Unreliable Narrator, and explains why she gave her depression a name.
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Aparna Nancherla Explains Why She Named Her Depression Brenda - Late Night with Seth Meyers
• Aparna Nancherla Expla...
Late Night with Seth Meyers
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[@RHCole]

Aparna is the most relatable comedian working today, hands down.

[@qazzaqstan]

Aparna is one of my favorite comedians. I listen to her album when I'm going through rough times, and it is nice to be reminded that at some point I will not only feel better I might even be able to laugh at the absurdity of everything.

[@travixx07]

Which album?

[@qazzaqstan]

@@travixx07 Just Putting it Out There

[@elizabethdalton-jandreau5588]

​@@qazzaqstanThanks! I adore Aparna, too. 😊

[@a24396]

I absolutely LOVE that Seth had her as his guest. She seems like a terrific person and a very sweet person... Thanks for sharing such a cool person with all of us.

[@GrecoRomanNinja]

Aparna is one of my favourite comedians ever. She's exceptional.

[@the.masked.one.studio4899]

Her honesty is so refreshing.

[@michaelkerr9942]

Love the Brenda analogy...so perfect! Brenda visits me sometimes...never makes the bed and doesn't do the dishes...and I love when she's leaves!❤

[@TiagoNomad]

I remember watching her stand up some time ago and it was hilarious. I loved it. 😃

[@vargasfamily282]

Aparna Nancherla is the name of the friendly voice in my head

[@jodiramberg707]

Loved this interview!! I need to read her book!!! Pope yes 😂 funny seeing Seth in a suit 😂

[@michaelmenard8614]

Corporate is one of the greatest 2 seasons in television history. She was so great in it.

[@slowvoltage]

Pope Yes is one of my most memorable gags from Late Night. 😹

[@resonantmoonaudio]

Not me checking my work list over the summer and realizing I worked on the audiobook. It was a lot of fun. I hope folks listen or read, but listen because the author's delivery is amazing,

[@leahtigers771]

lovely human being 🥰

[@arman0612]

Absolutely my favorite living comedian. Saw her live a few weeks ago and I didn’t stop laughing for a second to the point I was sweating and my abdomen hurt. Then, she signed the book, took a photo with us and was the sweetest human. Happy for all her success and she deserves it all!

[@raypelling6440]

I"m now going to be singing forever, in my head, 🎵🎵Love that chicken from Pope-yes!!🎵 Thanks so much for your work and your interview!!! It was a team effort here, and you all nailed it. As someone who recently found out they probably have imposter syndrome on top of anxiety, etc... this was helpful and encouraging. 💗💗💗

[@1midnightfish]

Cool woman, I love what she says and how she says it. I am currently dwarfed by my scary reading pile, but I hope to read her book one day. It will never not be relevant 😊

[@MidnightHunnyRun]

I loved that Popeyes joke! I've thought about it every time I've eaten Popeyes since seeing it on the show. Glad to find out she wrote it.

[@jordanberman8873]

Aparna was great on corporate, always nice to see her

[@H.G.Wells-ishWells-ish]

This my first time seeing her, or even hearing her name. She is funny and charming! Look forward to seeing her in the future. Cheers!

[@briteboy6131]

She's the best!!

[@arcticgoddess]

This movie had movie theaters across the country sobbing and laughing en masse. It took me watching it 2x to fully break open and really feel for the first time in years. This movie is now the most awarded of all time with 400+ awards and it deserves every one. Thank you for your reaction. 🥰

[@Ddal0ceano]

It's cool that Seth gives comedian writers a platform

[@VieenRennes]

Best guest all week!! Actually wicked funny

[@70foolio]

Thank you for writing this book. BTW we all know Brenda and deal with her but keep moving forward. ❤❤❤❤❤

[@LaGuerre19]

I just LOVE Aparna. Her outlook and attitude are The Best. Started following her on Twitter when she was writing here

[@sarahhudson7108]

APARNA!! YES!!!

[@freesimorgh]

She looks and sounds like a witch! I already love her for it! I can’t wait to watch more of her comedy! Long live witches! 🧙‍♀️

[@kplicanic]

I’ve been a fan of hers from the first bit I saw her do (way back when). Can’t wait to check out her book! 👏

[@bea4156]

She is delightful and Seth as always is wonderful 🥰

[@lashendawest7509]

We love aparna nancherla

[@loveinthematrix]

Def

[@JillKnapp]

I love her so much. She's so great.

[@grankmisguided]

Aparna Nancherla is so criminally underacknowledged for her always-excellent random guest appearances on things! Just this week I caught up on this season of What We Do In The Shadows, and her little appearance as the energy vampire council member with the quiet microphone was gold 👏👏 Also recently consumed Mythic Quest, in which she gets to play it pretty straight and surly and it's very satisfying. (Even in Space Force, where she's basically given nothing fresh to work with, even though it's the only time I've seen her that I wasn't thrilled, she's still much more watchable than a lot of folks I could imagine put into that role.) I also really like the vibe of her stand-up album! It feels to me like she's especially solid at post-punchline work, which from many other standup comedians, including some of the most established and beloved ones, can be just like 2% cringey and bring the otherwise earned laugh down slightly early, almost feeling like they don't have enough confidence in the joke to let the laugh ride no matter how many times they've told it to great reaction... but Aparna tags things at an expert pace and volume and crucially never without adding something of deliberate substance. A good joke does the heavy lifting to get a laugh going, but then it's like it becomes a balloon slowly falling to the ground... Lots of comedians catch it and pull it back into themselves so they can throw it back into the air right away, which is a lot of inefficient effort. I mean, that's a pacing that works for them, for sure, but Aparna feels like she just gets under the balloon and lightly pokes it back up a couple feet with a single finger a few times before she takes it back to re-throw... Does that metaphor make sense? idk, it just feels super well-honed. 👍

[@mxg75]

The "Pope yes" joke holds up.

[@ericminch]

Really insightful and incisive comedian!

[@margarete6888]

I love Aparna! Just ordered her book.

[@1anonymousb]

She's so funny. I actually got to meet her once, although I was kind of a dork when I did.

[@frankbyrne6069]

Aparna is great.

[@rimothytimothy1398]

I was first introduced to her through seeing her on an episode of Harmonquest and she made some joke referring to a "goop foot" and I've been enchanted ever since

[@mannnimsobored]

I love to see her again! She’s hilarious

[@JD-dh7bk]

She's adorable and funny. If I named my depression/anxiety I'd probably go with frank

[@michelemaliano7860]

My fav joke of hers was during a time when I was lonely and watching a lot of true crime. She voiced my revelation about dating. She said she’s single because if she dated she has a 50-50 chance of either ending up dead or in prison. I lmao!

[@hayberdasher8625]

She seems like someone who would be nice to hang out with 😊

[@Meegwun]

What a perfect coincidence! I've always "written" and have always been plagued by self-doubt. Recently, I started a small retirement business teaching golf, and so on FB, I write "articles" about golf which I hope are at least mildly amusing. Unlike Ms Aparna though, nobody reads them.

[@kelliott7864]

That sounds like a really cheery book.

[@janethope]

She’s so adorable. Love Aparna ❤

[@steveg9863]

Keep up the good fight! You are funny and Brenda too

[@hallelumaybe]

Corporate is one of my fav shows ever she was so great on it!!

[@rainbowbgood]

Her writing in B in Apt 23 and in Mythic Quest is also really funny.

[@jpsilvermusic]

She's very funny

[@painetdldy]

i love aparna!

[@shiftybat7318]

I bet she could make a killing in voice acting. She already sounds like an Adventure Time character (and a little like Amy Sedaris, who also rules).

[@julielove5569]

She was on Bojack Horseman for half the show, which also starred Amy Sedaris.

[@gingerpowera1a]

Pope.yes…😂😂😂

[@Hammyann]

Love her

[@AlbyMarz]

"it was my personal nightmare" 😹

[@bunnyfernwood]

I love her, she’s so dang cute and naturally funny

[@madnessbydesign1415]

Do yourself a favor and watch "Womanhood" with Aparna and Jo Firestone. They both are masters of making awkwardness hilarious... :)

[@mistressofceremony]

Hands down the most human comedian on the planet

[@statman64]

I bet she would have had some real winners on Surprise Inspection! (Pope Yes notwithstanding)

[@lenasmith2549]

Gah this woman is so awesome and brilliant, awkwardness and all

[@mimiDchi]

Hysterical 😂

[@DOSkywalkR]

I don't think i was aware she worked on the show, I've seen several stand-up videos of her over the years - I really like her deadpan delivery. She can be hit or miss, but generally she's pretty funny 😁

[@danschoenharl3856]

Oh,... so I'm not the only one. Even introverts can find strength in numbers.

[@tegofido]

"corporate" is a great show!!!!!

[@tegofido]

She did wonderfully in that show.

[@Cheskaz]

So great!

[@tegofido]

Rip lance Reddick

[@calibby85]

She was so cute in Master of None

[@getrealnow73]

Pope Yes genius

[@frederickarcala4749]

She was in a mobile service commercial that was hysterical.

[@ConnorMalbeuf]

god I love her

[@annrobinson9526]

❤️❤️❤️

[@Stuie299]

I know she's here to promote her book, but not one mention of The Great North? I'm so disappointed. That show deserves a lot more attention then what it's currently getting.

[@egrace3738]

I thought she was also very funny on Space Force 😅

[@Dr_1212]

😆👍

[@jeffmccrea9347]

NO JOKE!!! My first wife of 5 years was named Brenda. Then I got paroled, spelled D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D, and got sober. This was 38 years ago. Best moves I ever made.

[@loveinthematrix]

Lol, bye bye Brenda 😊

[@jeffmccrea9347]

@@loveinthematrix ...Lol, bye bye Brenda... You are truly a generous person. She didn't even get that.🤣🤣

[@stanleysharkey3753]

Wait until she finds out that Flo-Rida's name is just Florida with a hyphen.

[@WonsPhreely]

Anyone else here from Corporate?

[@peterbathum2775]

not under positive circumstances rofl

[@rachel_rexxx]

A quiet riot that one

[@wallacerose8663]

It's Hollyhock Mannheim-Mannheim-Guerro-Robinson-Zilberschlag-Hsung-Fonzarelli-McQuack!

[@redcomet0079]

Liked her in Master of None

[@UrFaveMF]

Popeyes 😂😂😂😂

[@instigatorartworks]

🐊

[@gbursine]

i just hear hollyhock

[@gzucc]

"self-doubt"..... who is the 'self' doubting? Doubting oneself is consistently thought of as a singularly 'human' trait.

[@kelliott7864]

If you work at it, you can definitely instill self-doubt in a dog. Speaking of sadism, orcas can also be real dicks.

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

Like when you tried to rehab John Mulaney after he blew his life up.

[@darareachphon]

allegedly means all legs Ed Ly.

[@darareachphon]

This is not a product of karma.

[@tweegeTX3]

🤦‍♂️ wake me up when Americans realise something being funny doesn’t make it a “joke”. We work ours in.

[@Noah-yw6uv]

Wtf

[@mismissy]

Seths forced laughs since he returned 😣

[@haydn-db8z]

Just heard her being interviewed on public radio on the way home this evening... and I was reminded of why I no longer listen to public radio - it's now boring and all about identity politics.

[@BunnyMan-ec4xg]

She looks so tiny next to Seth. Or is his forehead growing?

[@radiophodity]

0:26 How much helium did she inhale?

[@StopStaringAtMyBoobs]

entirely unfunny

[@loveinthematrix]

you’re just a dude