Daniel Friedman: Mystery Novels and True Crime

Apr 21, 2025

I got to talk with mystery novelist Daniel Friedman about his Buck Schatz series (which includes Don’t Ever Get Old) and some true-crime favorites. https://amzn.to/3G0ZFLj 

What do Serial, Making a Murderer, and The Central Park Five have in common? (Spoiler alert: They all did it.) How dumb are serial killers? Why is firing squad more humane (and honest) than lethal injection? Was Lord Byron bipolar?

Catch me on tour, opening for the brilliant Scott Thompson. (Dates Below) Tickets here: https://newscottlandland.com/live-events

Seattle, WA - APRIL 21

Portland, OR - APRIL 22

Eugene, OR - APRIL 24

Louisville, KY - May 17

Indianapolis, IN - May 18

Buffalo, NY - May 20

Cleveland, OH - May 21

Pittsburgh, PA - May 22

Toronto, CA - May 24

Boston, MA - May 28

Ogunquit, ME - May 30

Stamford, CT - May 31

NYC, NY - June 1

Philadelphia, PA - June 3

Alexandria, VA - June 4

Atlanta, GA - June 10

Watch full episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJ
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🍺 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-econ/id1863476697
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Who am I?

Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and author of That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore. You may have seen him on FOX's Gutfeld! and Open to Debate (with Michael Ian Black). Lou was the head writer and producer of the Webby Award-winning comedy channel We the Internet TV and produces Comedy Is Murder, a sketch comedy series with Free the People. Lou is a FAIR-in-the Arts fellow, on the advisory board of Heresy Press, and hosts the live debate series The Wrong Take and The Lou Perez Podcast. 

During my tenure at We the Internet, I made the kind of comedy that gets you put on lists and your words in the Wall Street Journal: “How I Became a ‘Far-Right Radical.”

How’d I start out?

I began doing improv and sketch comedy while an undergrad at New York University, where I was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz.

For years, I performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (both in NYC and L.A.) in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz and my comedy duo, Greg and Lou. G&L are probably best known for our sketch "Wolverine's Claws Suck," which has over 20 million views across online platforms.

I was a writer for Fox Sports' @TheBuzzer; produced The Attendants with the Above Average Network; produced pilots for FOX Digital and MSN Games; and was a comedy producer on TruTV's Impractical Jokers.

I hosted the stand-up show Uncle Lou's Safe Place in Los Angeles, performed at the Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and co-created the political comedy podcast Unsafe Space. I’ve opened for Jimmy Dore, Rich Vos, Dave Smith, and Rob Schneider.

I taught creative writing at the City College of New York, "writing the web series" for Writing Pad, and comedy writing workshops for the Moving Picture Institute.