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The Roundtable

Comedy writer Carol Leifer's “How to Write a Funny Speech”

By Joe Donahue
Published August 1, 2025 at 11:34 AM EDT

Carol Leifer is an Emmy-Award winner who has written for such shows as “Hacks,” “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Modern Family,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” and 10 Academy Award broadcasts. As a standup she appeared on “The Tonight Show,” HBO, as well as “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Her new book is “How to Write a Funny Speech… for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place.”

[Encore airing]

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Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
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