{"id":4826,"date":"2026-08-01T20:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4826"},"modified":"2026-08-01T20:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:21:08","slug":"angela-nissel-interview-good-grief-pass-the-bread-mom-is-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4826","title":{"rendered":"Angela Nissel faces down grief with a laugh"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Angela Nissel\u2019s latest book, Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>is my kind of memoir. Sure, it\u2019s a deeply emotional tale about caring for a terminally ill parent. But it\u2019s delivered with the sort of gallows humor that I often turn to to get me through tough times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Of course, that sort of dark humor should come as no surprise from Nissel. She first made a splash with The Broke Diaries<\/em><\/a>, 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<\/em><\/a> and The Boondocks<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One of her most lasting contributions is undeniably Okayplayer<\/a>, which she co-founded with Questlove. Though, as we\u2019ll find out shortly, being involved with one of the most important online outlets in hip hop is something of a bittersweet memory for Nissel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oh, and she has my favorite GIF submission yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your most indispensable tool?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A knockoff Swiss Army Knife. It was a gift from the Scrubs<\/em> grips over 20 years ago. I always have a screwdriver, a knife, and a corkscrew in my pocket. I feel like a badass.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which is the most underappreciated?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My dog. He\u2019s analog and breaks down my cardboard boxes in seconds. Now they all fit in the recycle bin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer? (Do not count preinstalled software like Gmail.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Craigslist. Youngins sleep on Craigslist. I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That I somehow still butt dial people. The phone biometrically knows my face, but can\u2019t tell when it\u2019s my wallet accidentally dialing someone?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wordle. Connections. Essays I swear I\u2019m going to get around to reading but never do. Now I feel badly. I\u2019m going to read one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How many tabs do you have open right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I limited myself to four or my anxiety starts skyrocketing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Instagram, because I\u2019ve been told by my book publisher that in 2026 I have to make \u201ccharismatic vertical videos\u201d to sell my latest book. I\u2019m working on being both vertical and charismatic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your happy place online?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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\u2019s acknowledgments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your favorite gadget you\u2019ve ever owned?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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<\/em>. Now robots are performing surgeries, and the goalpost for futuristic tech has moved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which was the most disappointing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wearable tech that was supposed to shock me into breaking bad habits. I was like, \u201cWhy am I doing this to myself?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What game do you have the fondest memories of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Castle Wolfenstein<\/em>! The mechanics of that game on the Commodore 64 blew me away! Of course, now, it looks like Pong<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is one thing you wish you had created?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wish I\u2019d created The Blackening<\/em>. It\u2019s a movie. It\u2019s so brilliant that I\u2019m unsure how they got it made. A lot of brilliance tends to die in development out here in Hollywood to make way for \u201csure money bet\u201d reboots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What creation are you most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The groundbreaking site I created with Questlove.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which are you least proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The groundbreaking site I created with Questlove. For 25 years, I\u2019ve had to answer questions about why the only woman involved isn\u2019t mentioned in the creation of the website, why the man I hired suddenly replaced me, or why I don\u2019t know who owns the site. I\u2019ve also learned of how many women \u2014 mostly of color \u2014 have been erased from their creations as the Internet moved from \u201ccool place to hang\u201d to corporate megamall. I\u2019m proud of my part in Internet hip-hop history, but I hate how many women I meet who have been erased.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve ever received?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you do when you need to focus?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Take an edible. I\u2019m an experienced user now. They used to make me paranoid, but now I\u2019m 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 \u201cThis sucks! Everyone is going to hate this, and you\u2019ll die broke!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you do when you\u2019re feeling stuck?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Give myself permission to relax and take in someone else\u2019s creation. Permission to be stuck and get inspiration from someone else\u2019s book \/ movie \/ Substack has been a big help for me. There\u2019s so much amazing art around, and when I look at other people\u2019s, it reminds me why I feel the drive to create.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last piece of physical media you bought?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Books! Last book purchase was If I Ruled the World<\/em> by Amy Dubois Barnett.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you think is worth splurging on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anything that gives you more free time to just relax. So, again, books, lol. For $20-$40 bucks, I get DAYS of brain relaxation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What would the tagline for your biopic be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She had jokes, trauma, and a very suspicious relationship with pigeons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last GIF or meme you used?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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