Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che pulls up a chair with Ron Bennington for a conversation about comedy, cancer, caregivers, and finding reasons to laugh when life gets serious.
Che talks about the influence of Patrice O’Neal, growing up broke and funny, why laughter helps us process pain, and the strange healing power of getting onstage. Ron opens up about the unexpected fellowship he’s found since his diagnosis—and why having comedians visit him during treatment has become such an important part of PORTCAST.
Then Ron has a surprise for Che: SNL’s legendary Wally the Cue Card Guy shows up in the chemo room, cue cards in hand.
Portcast is recorded during Ron Bennington's chemotherapy treatment, filmed in an active chemotherapy suite. Some abrupt cuts and unusual visual changes are sometimes necessary to protect the privacy of patients, and staff, and to facilitate Ron’s medical care.
SiriusXM host Ron Bennington was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in March 2026.
Visit https://portcastshow.com for more
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Timecodes:
00:00 - Michael Che Enters the Chemo Room
01:00 - The Influence of Patrice O’Neill
03:55 - Che Wanted to Get Ron a Teddy Bear
05:17 - Caregivers Matter
06:34 - Wildly Optimistic
07:31 - Che Wants BearBack
08:00 - Too Soon or Too Late?
09:50 - The Tao of Che
11:20 - Growing Up Broke and Funny
12:30 - How We Get Divided
14:00 - The Comedy Cellar
15:41 - Laughter Helps You Process Pain
17:11 - The Stage Can Heal You
19:00 - Finding Fellowship in the Chemo Room
21:00 - Ron Surprises Michael Che with Wally the Cue Card Guy
24:00 - Inside Saturday Night Live
25:00 - How Cue Cards Work at SNL
27:25 - Daily Show vs SNL
30:00 - Will Wally Drop SNL Bombshells