Online comments hailed Melissa McCarthy’s sixth turn hosting on December 6, 2025 as comic genius, but our collective take was more mixed. We discuss Pentagon Press Conference Cold Open and Jost’s growing confidence as a performer, A Helping Hand and McCarthy’s dramatic range, and closely analyze Free Sample as a way to discuss fat humor, embodiment, loneliness, and attachment theory. Readings and resources include theoretical work regarding fatness and loneliness, as well as conversations on Harlow’s psychologically deprived monkeys.
Listen on Libsyn: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/2c89370a-7471-4cc7-bf08-7c242ae80adf/id/39420280
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-49-melissa-mccarthy-s51e07/id1712886779
Readings
Cox, J. (2021). A fat imposter: The embodied intersection between race, body type and fatness in Margaret Cho’s comedy. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ltt_etds/42/
Harlow, H. F., & Harlow, M. K. (1962). Social deprivation in monkeys. Scientific american, 207(5), 136-150. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24936357
Motta, V. N. (2023). Loneliness: from absence of other to disruption of self. Topoi, 42(5), 1143-1153.
Rowe, K. K. (1990). Roseanne: Unruly woman as domestic goddess. Screen, 31(4), 408-419.
Resources
Baker, M. (2010, December 16). Harlow’s studies on dependency in monkeys [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNBEhzjg8I
SciShow Psych. (2024). Harlow’s horrifying monkey experiments [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/qEEEu1HEtU0
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