South Beach Sessions - Erin Ryan & Alyssa Mastromonaco
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What is the premise of the South Beach Sessions episode and who are the guests?
Kings Network.
We can poke fun at each other because we know each other so well now that I can almost predict... I could predict something that Alyssa would say. Something that Alyssa is very uncomfortable with is, like, sex. And
I...
Yep, I'm a prude. I love a joke that is so sexual and gross that it makes people uncomfortable. And sometimes when I'm scripting... We have a series called... Can I say the F word? We have a series called This Fucking Guy. And sometimes I give Alyssa deliberately the grossest jokes. Like... If there's something about, like, felching, I'll have Alyssa read it. If there's something about dry humping, I'll have Alyssa read it. And
I know it brings her such joy that I give it 110%.
Hello and welcome to South Beach Sessions. I'm very happy to have Erin Ryan with us today. She's a comedy writer. It's always sunny in Philadelphia. She's a journalist as well, managing editor at Jezebel. Used to do the Daily Beast and what she does now with Hysteria is exceptional. She makes politics very easy to consume. And I'm having her here, at least in part, to help me because I tend to, in these dark times, be obnoxious and strident. And I need to find the funny. I need to find the funny, right? Because I get... I get mad and a bunch of stuff gets lost in my tone. And you do this all better than I do when you attack the darkness with some humor. So thank you for being with us.
Oh, thanks for having me.
What advice do you have for me? How can I do something a little bit better in this realm?
Starting simple. Here's what I have concluded after years of writing as a columnist where I did get to make my little jokes and goof around and then working in like scripted television, which was also about writing jokes and goofing around. And now my podcast, which I have to have a take, you know, like I have to have a way to lead somebody through a tough process. story and have them feel like they're with me but we're still like we're respecting the seriousness of the story but we're not getting bogged down by it and honestly sometimes you just have to nope out and noping out is when you get into it and you're like nope nope can't do this can't do this right now because the closer I am to like my
The less actual anger, the less funny I am. I have to like let the anger come kind of like a cloud and just stand back and look at it rather than like living in the cloud, if that makes any sense. I know that sounds kind of like what a therapist might say, but that's kind of how I try to
approach this. Well, to avoid it is what you're saying,
right? I just you don't have to be on all the time. You do not need to monitor the situation. You know, things are going to be happening regardless of whether or not you're paying attention. And if paying attention is decreasing your quality of life, then take a step back and take a deep breath and then come back to it and learn what you need to know in order to function as a part of a democracy when you have the bandwidth.
Well, so this is something interesting because I have largely checked out on social media and it has been really good for my mental health. But I fall behind in the places where you're competing on content. You must feel some of this because even though your podcast is every Thursday, you're not doing necessarily every day. My guess is you're always thinking about how to make some of these things better.
Oh, yeah. I mean, I've got two little kids. One is four and one is two. So they kind of take up a lot of my time right now. I don't really have time to to waste and like just doom scroll because I have to like chase these little humans around all the time. But I tell my older daughter that being a writer is kind of like committing to a life of always having homework, just homework every single the feeling of having a paper due the next day. That is the job of a writer. And being a podcaster is adjacent to that, especially when it comes to the news. Because, you know, my husband will say things to me like, you are very stressed out. You need to take a break.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the premise of the South Beach Sessions episode and who are the guests?
0:04–6:53
2
How did Erin Ryan transition from a miserable finance job to writing for Jezebel and The Daily Beast?
6:53–13:47
3
What motivated Erin to quit Merrill Lynch, take $100 Sunday shifts, and eventually pursue a full‑time writing career?
13:47–19:45
4
How did Erin break into television writing and land a spot on the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia writers’ room?
19:45–29:42
5
What is the ‘alchemy’ behind Erin and Alyssa’s eight‑year partnership and how do they balance trust and likability?
29:42–39:27
6
How do Erin and Alyssa blend news, opinion, and humor to make journalism feel authentic for listeners?
39:27–48:48
7
What are Erin’s thoughts on the future of journalism in the age of AI, streaming‑style news, and independent outlets?
48:48–1:00:59
8
What personal anecdotes (earliest memory, favorite car song, toughest self‑critique) reveal the hosts’ personalities?
1:00:59–1:06:37
Speakers
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