In the Works 004: The Professional Talker

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IN THE WORKS is a series about the women who get things done. Each edition goes inside what she's working on, where she goes, and what she wears through all of it.

Photos by Zaina Mahmoud.

Claire Parker is a Brooklyn-based podcaster and comedian. She sums up her career best when complimented on her thoughtful answers: “Well, thanks. I talk professionally.”

However, one does not become a professional communicator overnight. Originally from New Jersey, Claire was working the standup comedy circuit in New York City while holding various day jobs when she met the woman who would become her best friend and longtime co-host, Ashley Hamilton.

The two Brooklyn-based comedians decided to bring their love of comedy, conversation, and pop culture to podcasting. They first created a Britney Spears podcast with an un-fact-checked approach to discussing everything from her discography to her memoirs to her lore.

Their next podcast, ‘Celebrity Memoir Book Club', had them reading hundreds of celebrity memoirs and discussing them in depth weekly. After beginning to lose their minds from reading so many celebrity memoirs, they broadened their scope, rebranding to ‘Good Noticings' — which applies their critical lens, strong stances, and comedic takes to everything happening in the zeitgeist.

A few nights prior to this profile, the author attended the second ever ‘Clash Talk' at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It was extremely funny. ‘Clash Talk' — a live panel talk show — is the latest endeavor in the content universe Claire and Ashley are building alongside their podcast.

This evolution was always part of the plan.

We are stand-up comedians first and foremost, so I feel like when we started the podcast, the goal was always to get people to come out and see us perform live. I love performing live. I love having people in person.

The week of this profile, ‘Good Noticings' was moving studios. Claire chose a quiet plaza in Clinton Hill next to her favorite Japanese market for the shoot.

On Work

Plain Jane New York: What is the premise of ‘Good Noticings' for anyone hearing about it for the first time?

Claire Parker: ‘Good Noticings' is the podcast that I do with my best friend and fellow comedian Ashley Hamilton. We basically take all the hot headlines from the week and do a little bit of a deeper dive. We actually read the articles and we come up with opinions, and then sometimes we'll even bring in a secondary or tertiary source so that we can give the listeners a bigger picture of what's going on in the news and in pop culture.

PJNY: How did ‘Clash Talk' come about?

CP: We just love talk shows. We love interviewing people and we feel like the late night landscape is changing, and we want to be a part of the change. We want to hold celebrities accountable for actually being interesting and entertaining. I don't think they should get away with just getting up there and saying whatever. We love a Graham Norton panel show. We love British humor. We love a Channel 4 TV talk show. And so we're really trying to bring that to the US.

PJNY: Obviously ‘Good Noticings' has developed past just a podcast. Why was it important to expand it?

CP: We are stand-up comedians first and foremost, so I feel like when we started the podcast, the goal was always to get people to come out and see us perform live. I love performing live. I love having people in person. I feel like post-COVID, people love coming out and meeting each other. We have such a strong community, which I feel like — if you listen to our podcast, you probably have a specific set of values and also probably a specific sense of humor. And so I feel like it's a great way for people to make friends in real life if they can bond over the pod.

PJNY: What did you want to be when you grew up?

CP: I feel like I wanted to be everything when I grew up. And then when I was in college, I had a professor be like, “Well, if money was no object, what would you be?” And I was like, “Well, everybody would be a comedian. Everybody's dream is to be on SNL.” And I remember him being like, “No, it's not.” And that's when I found out that was my unique dream. So I guess that had always been my dream, but I didn't know that not everybody in the world wanted to be doing stand-up.

PJNY: What's the piece of work you're proudest of so far?

CP: I think the thing I'm proud of most is, one, my special that I put out. I just decided I wanted to do it and I did it, and I am really proud of how it looks, how it came out. I feel like the people who have liked it got exactly what I was trying to do, and so I'm proud of that. And then also I'm just proud of the constant pivots. I feel like we had something that worked, and to be able to walk away from something that works to pursue greener pastures — I'm proud of the courage that took.

PJNY: What do you love most about your work?

CP: My dream has always been to be able to pay my rent by hanging out, and that's what I figured out. That's kind of an incredible job. We're going to Edinburgh at the end of August for Fringe Fest, which is this amazing experience. I went last year for my comedy special, Claire Parker's 32, and this year we're going back with ‘Clash Talk'. To see that many people being creative on that scale, you'll see the most genius thing you've ever seen in your life, and it's just one person with no props. And then you'll see some of the worst things you've ever seen, and it just is fun to see what people are putting out there at all levels. We're doing eight nights of ‘Clash Talk'.

On Getting Dressed

PJNY: What are you wearing today?

CP: Today I am wearing my Plain Jane New York white t-shirt — The Shortie sleeve. I thrifted these trousers somewhere in London. I have my Crocs, and then I got this handkerchief from Liberty London.

PJNY: What makes an outfit feel like you?

CP: I feel like if it has an academic vibe. Everything I wear ends up being a little bit dark academia. And then I love a chunky boot. Simple, easy.

PJNY: What do you think about when you're getting dressed to record versus for an event versus for stand-up?

CP: I feel like the big thing about getting dressed to record is I'm sitting down, so what'll work sitting down, what won't be too revealing if I'm crossing my legs a lot. I think I've been trying to lean towards bright colors that pop on camera — that aren't necessarily in my normal palette, but just what'll catch the eye as people are scrolling.

PJNY: And for stand-up?

CP: For stand-up, my number one rule is I don't want to show my knees. It has to be something that I absolutely feel confident in, because if you're alone up on stage, there's nowhere to hide. You can't do that thing where you wear an outfit and then step outside and feel embarrassed and you're trying to cover yourself. When you feel uncomfortable in an outfit, it's tenfold when you're alone on stage, especially if you're trying to post a photo or a clip later. So, things that make me feel confident, things that I can walk in. I can't wear something I can't move and lunge in, should I want to do an act-out. And yeah, I try to stay within my own color palette. I do a lot of blues, navys, blacks, whites.

On Life in New York City

PJNY: What's your favorite thing about living in New York?

CP: My favorite thing about living in New York is kind of everything. I love the walkability. I love that everybody here is trying their best at every single thing. I love the variation in different industries. I don't want to go somewhere where everyone's doing the same thing, because I think it's cool that the people who rule the roost in the finance world don't care about the people ruling the roost in the stand-up world, who don't care who's the best dancer, but they're all here living together. I love that. I love buskers on the subway. I love an e-bike. I love bopping around. I love going on a walk. I feel like when I take the J train over the Williamsburg Bridge, I still am in awe. So kind of every part.

PJNY: Favorite spots to shop?

CP: I love the second floor of the Chinatown Mall. There's an Eckhaus Latta there, and then there's this place called Old Jewelry, and then there's just a lot of vintage stores. I was just walking through Cobble Hill for home goods, down Atlantic — they have the most gorgeous stuff. There's this potter I'm obsessed with from England who I'll actually gatekeep, because I feel like his stuff goes on sale so randomly, and they had his vases there. So walking down Atlantic is great for home goods. I love the Lower East Side for shopping. There's a couple great vintage stores in Greenpoint. Bunny's Vintage, and then there's the one we did a book swap at — Close Friends Vintage.

PJNY: Where do you take someone who's visiting?

CP: I love to take people on meandering walks. I do a big Williamsburg-Greenpoint run that includes McCarren. I call it the Great Gates of Greenpoint, where you go to the Five Leaves area, and then you can do all the thrifting — you go to Seven Wonders, you can end up at Taqueria Ramirez, I love putting my name down for Bernie's. So I just think walking through and window shopping in those areas is fun when you've anchored it with a great brunch and then a great dinner. I also love to take people to the second floor of the Chinatown Mall. I feel like that's such a fun thing — nobody trusts you when you walk in because it's kind of a defunct mall, and then you go upstairs and it's the coolest vintage and the coolest clothing stores, and then you can get amazing Chinese food next door.

PJNY: Favorite place to eat right now?

CP: I love Dolores in Bed-Stuy, that's a big one. All my Bed-Stuy spots — Dolores, Little Muenster. I love Barker's, and then I love Welcome Home. Those are kind of my ‘en route' spots, and then I've been getting a lot of ice cream at Brown Butter. Those are my top five rotation spots right now.

PJNY: What's one place that feels very New York to you?

CP: Parks. I know that's silly, but anytime you go to a park and there's a thousand people there doing unique, interesting things, I love it. I love a park in the summer in New York — it's really people just spreading out, making do with this space. Anytime I go to a park and there's live music, I'm like, ah, isn't this cool?

PJNY: What part of the city do you find yourself spending the most time in?

CP: I live in the Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill area, so I'm there a lot. And then my studio is in East Williamsburg, so I'm there a lot. I feel like Greenpoint is probably my favorite neighborhood. But I love being everywhere — I really do love an errand. With stand-up, I was doing mics and shows all over the city, so I could be in multiple boroughs in one day, in one evening. I love the commute.

PJNY: What's something you do every week without fail?

CP: I definitely go out to eat every week without fail. I mean, I'm going out to eat three to four, five to six times a week.

PJNY: Best place to meet up with friends?

CP: I love going for a walk. I mean, the best place to meet up with a friend is at their place, and then they come back to yours. I love living in a neighborhood with my friends and just going for a quick ‘let's go get a coffee' walk, just to get out of the house.

PJNY: Best place to spend time alone?

CP: Oh, a backyard. I feel like the thing that Brooklyn has over Manhattan is that every restaurant, every cafe has the cutest backyard. To just be under a tree in a backyard with a breeze is amazing.

Rapid Fire

Go-to coffee spot? Padmore's in Brooklyn.

Favorite season in the city? Spring. When things wake up, it's amazing.

Best walk? To your friend's house who lives nearby, so it's no problemo at all, and then they can walk you home.

One thing you never leave the house without? My phone and my keys.

Something you're excited about right now? Going to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival to do ‘Clash Talk', in August. Oh, and Rosalía's album Lux — I just saw her live and it changed my life.

Current obsession? A specific type of yellow rose I'm trying to grow in my backyard. I've been doing a lot of research on best climbing flowering plants for a Brooklyn backyard — a purple clematis versus a yellow... I think it's called a Thomas Grady rose or something. I sound not-obsessed describing it, but I've done a lot of research.

Your perfect NYC day in 3 stops? Go to Welcome Home and get a cinnamon roll and something savory, like a sandwich, and eat it in Herbert Von King Park. Then maybe walk around the Lower East Side to do some errands and shopping, pick some stuff up. And then out to Queens, to Forest Hills Stadium, to see a concert.

Thanks for reading.