Whitmer Thomas Honors His Mom Through Comedy

Comedian Whitmer Thomas talks about returning to his hometown to film his first hour-long comedy special at Alabama's legendary Flora-Bama Lounge where his late mother used to perform with her band Syntwister.  He says his music and comedy is his way of honoring his mom, and in a way, he’s now fulfilling her dream by pursuing his own.  We also discuss some of his most recent skating injuries, what it was like touring with comedian Bo Burnham, and how he went from being an angst-ridden emo kid in high school to parodying emo bands in his act.  Plus we talk about Pee Wee Herman, Donald Trump, Blink 182 as the ultimate parody band, his early obsession with Zach Galifianakis, and the time a 3-year-old Whitmer got kidnapped by his own obsessed fan! His hour-long comedy special Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One debuts on HBO on February 22 at 10PM E/P.  Follow him on Twitter at @WhitmerThomas.  Today's episode was sponsored by Online Trading Academy and Wave. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.