THE EGO LOVES TO SEEK AND NEVER FIND" is the closest thing to an organizing ethos for comedians Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak's delightfully meandering new podcast, Berlant & Novak-and for their beloved podcast Poog before it. After meeting and becoming friends through New York's standup comedy scene more than a decade ago, the pair bonded over their mutual obsession with purchasable solutions to the problem of being alive. Poog, which premiered in November 2020 and aired more than 200 episodes, blew up not only because listening to Berlant and Novak dish about colonics, egg freezing, and being healed by the title of a book they haven't actually read is pure sorcery but because-crucially-the hosts aren't taking their search for enlightenment too seriously. It's their chemistry and observational humor that keep listeners hooked, as when Novak theorizes that babies love Elmo because they are the only ones who remember that God looks like him or when Berlant describes a Lypo-Spheric vitamin-C serum as having "horse-cum consistency."
Berlant is best known for her digressive improvised comedy, which pairs sharp eloquence with clownish gestures, as in her stand-up special, Cinnamon in the Wind, and her one-woman show, Kate. Novak is riding the success of her Emmynominated special, Get on Your Knees, a tender and poetic rumination on the blowjob. Their podcast handles wellness with equal measures of gravitas and absurdity, providing a space for those of us who are neither spirulina-addicted barre sluts nor anti-vaxx raw-milk shills. Over vegan Thai food in Studio City, Berlant and Novak shared their health hits and misses.
On how their relationship with wellness has evolved since starting a podcast:
Kate Berlant: Part of me is like, It hasn't changed. The wider culture has changed.
Jacqueline Novak: Wellness has become broader and more commonplace.
This story is from the The Cut - Spring 2025 edition of New York magazine.
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This story is from the The Cut - Spring 2025 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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