Angela Nissel faces down grief with a laugh | The Verge
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The author’s latest book, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead, finds humor in difficult times.
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The author’s latest book, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead, finds humor in difficult times.
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Angela Nissel’s latest book, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead, is my kind of memoir. Sure, it’s a deeply emotional tale about caring for a terminally ill parent. But it’s delivered with the sort of gallows humor that I often turn to to get me through tough times.
Of course, that sort of dark humor should come as no surprise from Nissel. She first made a splash with The Broke Diaries, which grew out of a blog she kept in college detailing her daily struggles and, at times, embarrassment at being a broke student. Eventually she went on to produce and write for hit shows including Scrubs and The Boondocks.
One of her most lasting contributions is undeniably Okayplayer, which she co-founded with Questlove. Though, as we’ll find out shortly, being involved with one of the most important online outlets in hip hop is something of a bittersweet memory for Nissel.
A knockoff Swiss Army Knife. It was a gift from the Scrubs grips over 20 years ago. I always have a screwdriver, a knife, and a corkscrew in my pocket. I feel like a badass.
My dog. He’s analog and breaks down my cardboard boxes in seconds. Now they all fit in the recycle bin.
What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer? (Do not count preinstalled software like Gmail.)
Craigslist. Youngins sleep on Craigslist. I’ve found a free patio set and in the early aughts when I was lonely and new in L. A. I made a friend to go clubbing with. I forgot my wallet, and she thought I was scamming her and we never hung out again, but I still love Craigslist.
What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?
That I somehow still butt dial people. The phone biometrically knows my face, but can’t tell when it’s my wallet accidentally dialing someone?
Wordle. Connections. Essays I swear I’m going to get around to reading but never do. Now I feel badly. I’m going to read one.
I limited myself to four or my anxiety starts skyrocketing.
Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)?
Instagram, because I’ve been told by my book publisher that in 2026 I have to make “charismatic vertical videos” to sell my latest book. I’m working on being both vertical and charismatic.
A small corner of Reddit where we laugh at the shenanigans of one celebrity wife. I love that place so much I even thanked our group by nickname in my latest book’s acknowledgments.
My first Fitbit. For a person who grew up on Commodore 64s that took an hour to load video games, wearable tech that instantly tells you how lazy you are seemed like something out of The Jetsons. Now robots are performing surgeries, and the goalpost for futuristic tech has moved.
Wearable tech that was supposed to shock me into breaking bad habits. I was like, “Why am I doing this to myself?”
Castle Wolfenstein! The mechanics of that game on the Commodore 64 blew me away! Of course, now, it looks like Pong compared to newer games, but when I played it with my brother, I remember feeling like I was in the future, yet killing Nazis from the past.
I wish I’d created The Blackening. It’s a movie. It’s so brilliant that I’m unsure how they got it made. A lot of brilliance tends to die in development out here in Hollywood to make way for “sure money bet” reboots.
The groundbreaking site I created with Questlove. For 25 years, I’ve had to answer questions about why the only woman involved isn’t mentioned in the creation of the website, why the man I hired suddenly replaced me, or why I don’t know who owns the site. I’ve also learned of how many women — mostly of color — have been erased from their creations as the Internet moved from “cool place to hang” to corporate megamall. I’m proud of my part in Internet hip-hop history, but I hate how many women I meet who have been erased.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Be interesting and interested! That means get offline and have things to talk about besides what social media is talking about. Despite us being so connected, we have a loneliness problem in the US. Getting offline, taking local community college classes, and free birdwatching groups has taught me so much and given me new acquaintances, both bird and human.
Take an edible. I’m an experienced user now. They used to make me paranoid, but now I’m like an edibles master, and I know just the right dose to take so my anxiety disappears, and I can relax into making some art without the voice in my head that says “This sucks! Everyone is going to hate this, and you’ll die broke!”
Give myself permission to relax and take in someone else’s creation. Permission to be stuck and get inspiration from someone else’s book / movie / Substack has been a big help for me. There’s so much amazing art around, and when I look at other people’s, it reminds me why I feel the drive to create.
When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?
Every day I go to the dog park without it. I feel we can learn so much from just watching nature, including our beloved mutts. I feel we stole the game of American football from how dogs play. My dog is always defense, btw.
What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?
Books! Last book purchase was If I Ruled the World by Amy Dubois Barnett.
Anything that gives you more free time to just relax. So, again, books, lol. For
She had jokes, trauma, and a very suspicious relationship with pigeons.
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