“I didn’t start doing stand-up to become vertically integrated.” In a September Boston Globe interview, Josh Gondelman said he was building a new hour for a possible spring special, developing a writer-interview podcast, and collaborating with Alison Leiby.
His 2025 YouTube special, Positive Reinforcement, covers aging, desserts, and kindness. Gondelman calls his comedy “friendly without being limp.” On ghosting: “People call it ghosting, when someone breaks up by not texting back. But that’s the wrong term. That’s not ghost behavior. If there’s a ghost in your life, he stays in touch.”
Gondelman started at Boston open mics in 2004. The Stoneham native later wrote for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, served as head writer and executive producer of Desus & Mero, and contributed to the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, according to his background biography. He has appeared on Conan, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Hey Riddle Riddle.
Josh Gondelman performs at Punch Line Houston on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 7:30 PM. See venue for pricing.
Also performing in Houston this week
If you’re already booking your weekend, here’s the rest of this week’s headliners:
- Sarper Güven — Punch Line Houston, Monday, October 19, 2026
- Foos Gone Wild — House of Blues Houston, Tuesday, October 20, 2026
- Joanne McNally — Punch Line Houston, Wednesday, October 21, 2026
- José Rafael Guzmán — Houston Improv, Wednesday, October 21, 2026