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Bette Midler says she’s “one of the funniest people I know.” Garry Shandling told her, “You write like a guy.” At one point or another you probably laughed at one of Nell Scovell’s jokes—you just didn’t know it until now. Scovell is a veteran Hollywood comedy writer, producer and director whose credits include Late Night with David Letterman, The Simpsons, Murphy Brown, NCIS, SPY Magazine, Vanity Fair, The White House Correspondents Dinner for President Obama and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which she created.

In a fascinating conversation with Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, Scovell talks about her book, Just the Funny Parts: And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys’ Club, and opens up about breaking into all-male writers’ rooms, taking a stand on sexual harassment in Hollywood years before the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements and how she ended up co-writing the blockbuster bestseller Lean In with Sheryl Sandberg.