In each episode of our podcast “Life in Seven Songs (opens in new tab),” we ask the world’s brightest minds and leaders: What songs tell the story of your life? 

Raunchy, risk-taking and always hilarious, Margaret Cho makes audiences laugh not despite the traumas she has endured — sexual assault, disordered eating, substance abuse and an attempt to end her life — but because of them. Cho’s career as a stand-up comic began when she was a teenager in the ’80s in San Francisco. By age 18, she was opening for the likes of Jerry Seinfeld; later, her career exploded to include television, film, music and just about every other corner of the arts.

Cho’s songs weave a story from her childhood, when she experienced bullying and discovered stand-up, to her rave- and drug-fueled 20s to finding sobriety in her early 50s. Here’s her playlist:

1: Carpenters, “(They Long to Be) Close to You”
2: The Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby”
3: Freur, “Doot-Doot”
4: The Go-Go’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”
5: Deee-Lite, “Groove Is in the Heart”
6: Oasis, “Wonderwall”
7: Sia, “Chandelier”

Listen to Margaret Cho’s full playlist on Spotify (opens in new tab). Find the transcript of the episode here (opens in new tab). Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].