Fun is Not a Destination: A Fun Audit with Comedian Josh Gondelman on Music is Therapy with DJ Hesta Prynn

What if you’re not actually bad at having fun? What if you’ve just been looking for it in the wrong places? In this episode of the Music is Therapy podcast, DJ and licensed therapist Hesta Prynn sits down with comedian and writer Josh Gondelman for an honest, funny, and genuinely useful conversation about what it actually means to have a good time. Josh Gondelman is a former writer for *Desus & Mero* and *Last Week Tonight with John Oliver*, and one of the most thoughtful optimists working in comedy today. Together, he and Hesta conduct a full **Fun Audit** — diagnosing what’s actually fun versus what adults have agreed to pretend is fun. Pickleball. Farmer’s markets. Music festivals. Therapy. Nothing is safe. But the real music is therapy conversation is about friendship. About the spontaneous phone call versus the scheduled catch-up. About sending someone a song when you’re thinking of them instead of posting it into the void. About showing up for people in the small, consistent ways that actually keep relationships alive — even when you keep missing the big moments. Josh Gondelman talks about staying optimistic when it takes real work, the concept of being a Beastie Boys Jew, why “play” might be a more useful word than “fun,” and the smallest possible adventure you can go on this week. (Hint: it involves walking into a store you’ve passed a hundred times and never entered.) By the end of Music is Therapy , the answer is clear: fun isn’t something you chase. It’s something you create — in the margins, with the people who matter, in the places you’ve been ignoring. **This week’s challenge:** What’s one small thing you could do today to make your life 5% more interesting? Go do that. **Music Connection Therapy July 1 LIVE Workshop:** **The Soulful Art of Persuasion** by Jason Harris — Music is Therapy free Zoom workshop July 1st at 12:15pm ET  https://mct.hestaprynn.com/july-1 June Playlist: **Therapy, DJ Set or Vacation**: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/70qa5enke0r7kHtOSPockT?si=9c869d6e19564842 **Connect with Josh Gondelman:** Standup Special "Positive Reinforcement" Newsletter Website **Connect with DJ Hesta Prynn and Music is Therapy**: https://hestaprynn.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hestaprynnmusic Send Hesta your fun songs: [musicistherapypod@gmail.com](mailto:musicistherapypod@gmail.com) *Music is Therapy* is a production of iHeart Podcasts. Hosted by Hesta Prynn. New episodes every week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.