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Comedian, actor and writer Pete Holmes stopped by the station for a visit before his shows this weekend at Cobb’s Comedy Club, and he and I ended having one of the more surprising conversations I have ever had with a comic.

Pete and I ended up going down a metaphysical rabbit hole discussing religion, spirituality, and comedy all while Pete had me hysterically laughing. The star of HBO’s Crashing candidly  discussed how his religious upbringing ultimately lead him down a very different path into stand-up comedy, how getting divorced at 28 propelled him further into the world of stand-up, and how all of that ended up as the basis for the Judd Apatow directed HBO smash hit Crashing. We also touched on the afterlife, listening to Hendrix on mushrooms, and the wonders of being a new parent.

I had heard from almost everyone in the comedy world who has worked with Pete about what a genuinely nice person he is, but I had no idea how thoughtful and insightful he was until we had this conversation. Check out the full podcast below.

Catch Pete this weekend at Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco, but  get your tickets now, because they are almost sold out.

Also, keep an eye out for Pete’s upcoming second special on HBO Dirty Clean when it comes out on Dec. 15th. And of course, don’t miss season 3 of Crashing when it premieres Jan. 20th on HBO.