0:00

gene, of you know that i had a little comedy

0:02

career situation?

0:04

i

0:05

did not know that far cry, 3

0:07

more? well,

0:09

that's

0:10

dog else once

0:13

a month as more the most of them

0:14

it was like this one summer in some school

0:16

and i was an intern at comedy

0:18

central's and i was actually

0:20

things color rock turn which

0:23

it was called that because it was a program

0:25

created by chris rock after he said he

0:28

was tired of only seen by people

0:30

in these writers rooms for tv shows we

0:32

never met

0:33

chris rock band i've never met chris rock know but i'm

0:35

assuming you in all the other rockstar

0:37

or brown right

0:38

we were people colors a year

0:41

and we were very conspicuous

0:44

and , would be these like intern

0:47

lunches with comedians like larry wilmore

0:49

and us mind the which is awesome

0:52

and they're supposed to be these pep

0:54

talks but it was mostly public

0:56

how messed up the comedy game was

0:58

oh i mean how ago

1:00

the like season vet they seen a lot of being vagina

1:02

like mixer you go into a which are the

1:04

opens in on me

1:05

yeah so that summer like we used to go

1:07

sell out of stand up shows at bars

1:09

in the evenings and i would always sit

1:11

in the back because whenever i said of france

1:14

comedian who usually you know wade

1:16

or non blacks two point me out

1:18

for an off color joke pun intended

1:21

wait what would they

1:23

say

1:24

the winner we don't crowd were gray and so

1:26

there was a truly distressing number

1:29

of fried chicken sixteen

1:31

really like fried chicken

1:33

really the so lazy so corny like into

1:36

a twenty four sons room again whatever

1:38

yeah and like is really hockey

1:41

and i felt embarrassed for them but

1:43

if you're a person of color time to come up

1:45

through the institutional comedy ranks whether

1:47

it's you know tv writers' room was a big

1:49

improv troops or whatever it may the you

1:52

just have to eat a lot of stuff

1:54

or not the get

1:56

my you ever

1:57

this is why left

1:58

oh and by the way you listen to

1:59

the switch yes you are it was i'm

2:04

, a tiger and i'm jean dobby and

2:06

we been talking some comedians about how

2:08

they have , response to

2:10

eat

2:11

the forward to going important his

2:13

uptight listeners this episode has

2:15

some mature line

2:15

hurt as much are we work and blue today

2:18

i'm off and yeah we've been talking

2:20

to some comedians about how they talk about

2:23

recent days and we're going to have to a few more this week

2:25

and one thing that keeps coming up in these conversations

2:28

and it's maybe something that's specific to stand up

2:30

comedy and maybe impromptu is

2:32

how the audience is part of the architecture

2:35

of the joke right the way to

2:37

the comic presents themselves to their

2:39

audience you know if they're persona whatever and

2:42

the way the audience perceive them that's

2:44

all part of this dance that they're

2:46

doing on stage in real time

2:49

and if a really fascinating to watch how each

2:51

of these comedians has decided

2:53

the do that dance with the audience

2:55

yeah it sounds a little bit about

2:57

them ray like and the last episode

2:59

zooey was kind of the screen for

3:02

agent of chaos iconic

3:05

mean anything you know people consider

3:07

month king an icon but others consider robert

3:10

me an icon so kind of waivers

3:12

between the two extremes

3:14

into a dyson way as was kind of

3:16

genial and self deprecating

3:19

were not you know that they do success rate as i can't

3:22

think that donations

3:25

you're better than us

3:28

like to go back to the dance

3:30

metaphor is worth couldn't

3:32

do anything

3:33

exactly and the way can

3:35

do enjoy lose it even though

3:38

they've cracked his business owners i

3:40

thought was another not completely there's i like

3:42

they're still com a seat by what

3:44

the audience expects of them and as based

3:46

on how they look or honey so yes

3:49

and sacked as

3:50

this comedian this week talked about this very

3:52

explicitly

3:53

the name is a partner launcher allah

3:58

no my know opponent

3:59

brown and simple favor missing

4:02

class or as voice actor

4:04

you know fairview blue checkpoints moon

4:06

miss some of the opposing a low

4:08

voter

4:09

and she had a great joke

4:11

from her comedy album just putting

4:13

an author says about being typecast

4:16

an acting class they do this exercise

4:19

where everyone has to stand up for

4:22

the class size which celebrity

4:24

you look legs and ,

4:26

little long so subtle in we

4:28

started we serve with a very

4:30

handsome like all american football

4:32

player looking you know

4:35

you know that one line male models

4:38

have that kind of declaring their underwear

4:40

that's different herbs and addicts worked

4:42

out

4:42

yeah

4:45

made out of that line like every

4:49

fired , him was that line so

4:51

he served as an enemy people were just shooting

4:53

overeating

5:03

they read stole a fair as an accurate

5:05

read on an early

5:07

boy get moving around the room we got to like

5:09

a curvy sexy right

5:11

the had immediately family i should

5:13

have different

5:17

you need a plan

5:19

so

5:20

there are going again totally

5:22

fair was like slowly moving around

5:24

to me as a do your breathing

5:26

exercises some be fine

5:31

you know i figured some ignited throat and

5:35

the in his twenty thirteen their

5:38

lives now

5:41

the gonna be a couple hours santa

5:51

my go long silence

5:54

as a noise is happening

5:59

the crimea

6:15

you know many killing she has her

6:17

own so is he had it for a while

6:19

many presents know the real know

6:21

something about the have a very amazing

6:24

career talented person or take it as

6:26

a compliment another long

6:28

silence and then someone

6:31

goes

6:46

the

6:46

the time his general type with

6:50

a beard i persevered then

6:59

again you know work is work they're doing

7:01

amazing things the chin wigs now as

7:03

like another amazing

7:05

career as career compliment

7:08

people

7:22

the so bad this that's rough

7:24

on us

7:26

i know it was so bad with

7:29

upon and told us that she didn't

7:31

want to make jokes about race when

7:33

she first started out but it just can been

7:35

seen for her you wasn't something

7:38

i really

7:38

didn't you but it felt like this story

7:41

it may be the first time that i

7:43

kind of was like oh yeah like i know

7:46

my identity plays a pretty big factor

7:48

in like my place in in

7:50

this industry i'm like howling proceed

7:53

on stage or like as an entity

7:56

mike entertainment yeah appointed

7:58

told us she's trying

7:59

my the audience to think about

8:02

this stuff by given them a little

8:04

benefit of the doubt because it happened

8:06

to me i

8:07

they didn't feel like i was just site making

8:09

some sweeping statement about all

8:11

people are misinformed about minority

8:14

representation on screen or something he was if

8:16

like well this is an example of had

8:18

this shows up in the industry be

8:20

at my life

8:23

it's funny because there's you know things inside

8:25

your community that you're like can i even

8:28

air this public earlier like to

8:30

a mixed audience but then it

8:32

is like they almost feel included

8:35

by you

8:35

bringing them in a little more to your

8:37

own experience vs

8:39

what had happened to raise where

8:41

people feel like attack to bore

8:44

you're automatically vilifying them for

8:46

not getting

8:47

your lived experience

8:51

that was appointed unsure

8:53

most recently is on the show search party on h

8:55

b o max and you can hear her voice

8:58

everywhere i go

9:00

after the break being a person

9:03

of color onstage every joke

9:06

isabel raises

9:08

after the break stay with

9:10

us

9:15

parker three coats which

9:18

are , who the next next

9:21

who's on first see it i did this

9:25

boo

9:26

just do burrow both tomato tomato

9:28

tomato now as you an amateur hour a

9:30

workout know you you deserve all the meals

9:33

get a hug and got the stage

9:35

the bag and i'd and

9:38

next comedian is brian by he's

9:40

he's indigenous comic and he has his feelings

9:42

about those formal recognition as of indigenous

9:44

lands that people sometimes here

9:46

before events or meetings

9:48

i think it will that like my and acknowledgements are

9:51

becoming more

9:53

, either ever ice

9:55

that i've using their and like and time and

9:57

place for them you know

10:00

and one of those times and places is

10:02

not on their home the

10:04

library during lake hardcore

10:07

, i was working voices company

10:10

and during our weekly like that

10:12

second meeting that have a far far

10:15

if you're not

10:18

into him as he started arguing

10:20

like landed moslem those in need

10:23

there was like one meeting with

10:25

us and know and microphone from

10:27

isis five bedroom home anaesthesia

10:30

he

10:32

if you figure out how does one of my indoor waterfall

10:35

a we are

10:37

england on the mainland the

10:42

like the

10:48

lady dollars in a while and

10:51

you know whatever

10:56

and during the day

10:58

that while walk into know warby parker and

11:01

like that huge banner like we're

11:03

on stolen land and then

11:05

like right below the military [unk] yoga

11:07

room or

11:12

i will walk out of there with orphan

11:17

the

11:19

i get it right i'm a sucker for a glasses deal

11:21

to

11:22

the land so when we talk to buy and

11:24

he told us that this joke came

11:26

out of the great awakening of

11:29

twenty twenty i wrote this piece

11:32

for mcsweeney is which is like

11:34

i'm like as satire website and

11:36

it was all just like sake land acknowledge then

11:38

flag one is for like a luxury

11:41

condo legwand

11:43

as well the washington football team

11:45

and from there

11:46

he decided to build it out as a longer

11:48

bit

11:48

yeah i think it was a

11:50

result of lake post

11:53

george boyd stairs people

11:55

or organizations were just trying to

11:58

sack off a box

11:59

and i just wanted to call that out and

12:02

away because i it

12:04

seems like no one when you

12:06

really pointing out that land

12:08

acknowledgements should be sacred it shouldn't be

12:10

something that's just like tacked on as

12:12

the and for optics

12:15

and even like after a few months after somebody

12:17

like tag me in a tweet they're like abraham

12:19

by he just saw that like

12:21

some police department at a landing hundred

12:24

like that's beyond parody you know like that's like

12:26

an onion headline was so funny

12:28

like i'm to the maginot a cop doing a landing

12:30

knows me at wow he's reading your

12:32

rights like you have the right to remain

12:34

silent and this is piscataway

12:37

list but , know just because

12:39

brian is indigenous and make

12:42

a lot of jokes about it it doesn't mean that he wants

12:44

his comedy to just be

12:46

about that which is sort of the point that

12:48

a partner with make an earlier but i'm

12:51

i don't want every job to be about race

12:53

but i also think that like being

12:56

a person the color

12:58

onstage every joke is

13:01

about radius and away whether or not

13:03

it's stated even

13:05

the joke that aren't of our race are about

13:08

race

13:10

nuclear blinds jokes about race and

13:13

other subjects at then used throughout

13:15

new york city he's also been on

13:17

comedy central's stand up featuring

13:22

the you interviewed our final

13:23

median are so did his name

13:25

is massive running i am a stand

13:27

up comedian and an actor and i have

13:29

a podcast i do a lot of things

13:32

as we don't as i was a member parker that mas

13:34

with all one of our very very for as comfortable

13:36

as way back and baby when a big increase it

13:39

with episode actually with opponent and

13:41

sarlo who we are early in this bike as are

13:43

they were talking about the politics around

13:45

pronouncing york and an echo there

13:47

is difficult ethnic name so i get

13:49

mad as a ,

13:52

of had things with that the last name

13:54

i get a job rania good caproni

13:57

last year which is like of wrestling term

13:59

friends

13:59

though he i get i get it all

14:02

so mas have a bike as called

14:04

back to school with mascarpone he's

14:06

been on so's item of airport

14:09

in minnesota i craze anatomy and

14:11

his oh for us is about the january

14:14

six insurrection

14:15

my favorite day was january seventh

14:18

when those guys who stormed the capital they

14:20

would let him on the airplanes visitors

14:23

, if you go was that is the best videos

14:25

the at the airport crying their disposal

14:27

man man have my boys bath

14:29

and so for me on another overblown

14:33

i was once was little wealth of the my world motherfucker

14:38

the by the way when it in let the muslims on the

14:40

plane

14:40

we don't cry right which is walked

14:42

away look if look if

14:45

i was in high def init nice

14:50

you know when you look at that hypocrisy when you look

14:52

at how says blind

14:54

that is to reality

14:57

as someone who comes from a muslim country

14:59

having see what happened after september

15:01

eleventh there was a whole no

15:04

fly list and i know people who had

15:06

nothing to do

15:07

with

15:08

that them eleven whose names all of a sudden

15:11

we're who names that would

15:13

raise a red flag bread vs

15:15

these guys were see when am committed a crime

15:18

by entering congress by trying to overthrow

15:20

democracy

15:21

and they have the nerve

15:23

the next day to go to the airport and say

15:25

i pick my meal it's vegetarian really

15:28

they are a lot of when he does all birds in wessex

15:31

by like one of the funny detail discipline the with

15:33

how so many of those

15:36

people got popped like five

15:38

fbr by the feds later

15:39

because they do like looked on the internet like they didn't cover

15:41

their faces like that was like how much impunity

15:44

they were moving with it's absolutely

15:46

nuts and anybody was a person of color

15:48

will understand how

15:51

you know listen when somebody who's

15:53

who are you know a muslim or brown person

15:55

commits a violent act

15:57

the whole community is on edge going like oh my

15:59

god this person's com his act area

16:01

there's can be repercussions against the community

16:04

the a hobby wasn't black if you are about a shooting

16:06

or whatever that a hobby whether black yeah

16:08

and these guys who some the kept these it's twisted

16:10

it like they stormed the capital and that same day

16:13

their leader trump was saying thank

16:15

you to the patriots south part of the joke

16:17

i do i go when i was watching

16:19

these guys storm the capitals about oh my god

16:21

they have terrorists to i'm

16:24

sorry patriots

16:27

that's what why people go there thera patriots

16:31

what fun it is where the criminals there

16:33

have begun patriots killers

16:35

, lone wolves

16:38

of us alone whoop with a white guy who killed somebody

16:42

so yeah it really is this thing that you're saying

16:44

that they're almost you know the pupils from

16:46

the capital at least

16:48

they were proud of it in the

16:50

you know and they took it from another lesson in think oh we should

16:52

hide oh my god what have i do i got carried away

16:55

no they said no we were trying to save

16:57

democracy by storm in the capital

17:00

enchanting paying mike pence kill

17:03

nancy pelosi and so

17:05

to expose that hypocrisy i think

17:07

he tried to do it and and in a joke for

17:09

lot of him as saying that they didn't mean to storm

17:12

the capital they got caught up

17:14

in the moments

17:16

for kind of bullshit privilege

17:19

bullshit excuse right

17:22

what gotta put i don't know by you guys who never

17:24

been a set of a big fuss

17:28

is , the a cm cm

17:31

a bank robber run by made

17:33

eye contact list due to sit by the first

17:39

go in front of the judge your honor i didn't

17:41

mean to do what i got caught up with a moment's us

17:44

i was going for twenty dollars this article for twenty

17:46

thousand was out for

17:48

, going to do that

17:51

is so much going on the world right now between

17:53

people just trying

17:55

pay their bills two

17:57

and a terminal social media to

17:59

what it is there's so much people

18:01

get distracted by that

18:04

you can't assume that everybody knows every detail

18:07

melissa january sixth and

18:09

, yeah you gotta paid the details before

18:11

you going to the punch lines and

18:13

i think by the way the penny away or on

18:15

the country depending on what kind of an audience you have

18:18

i've done that before weather's been audience members

18:20

who i think we're pro january

18:23

six they were january cichlids ethan exactly

18:25

i've had those people my audience and i could see

18:28

them like turpitude read with

18:30

anger from so the way you handle

18:32

it if somebody really guess that angry i have just

18:34

been like listen to what a great country

18:36

we live in that you are able to have your opinion

18:38

on able to have my opinion and

18:40

i go i only have two more trump jokes so

18:42

viewed as you want to stay you can if you don't you're

18:44

welcome to leave

18:48

what makes comedy a good medium

18:51

for talking about things like us the

18:53

out race about racism or parties

18:55

i was on a panel was with deal huguely

18:57

and he said comedy is like giving people

18:59

their medicine in orange juice and

19:03

, i think there's something to that

19:05

that if you give it to them with laughter

19:07

if you give it to them without preaching they

19:09

last and they accept it

19:12

and then they think about it and i think

19:14

that someone was born

19:16

in iran and seeing the lack of

19:20

freedom of expression in iran i

19:22

really value the freedom of

19:24

expression in america and

19:26

iran and in and lot of other countries

19:29

where you have an authoritarian

19:31

state they don't want any jokes

19:33

about their leaders because they know the jokes

19:35

will expose

19:37

that the emperor that i

19:39

was close on

19:41

and so i try to emphasize

19:44

that we should lean into

19:46

the ability to make fun of our leaders and

19:48

our leaders should lean into the

19:51

made fun of because ultimately

19:54

that shows

19:55

a certain level of

19:57

security in the

19:59

school system of democracy that we

20:02

live in where jokes are going to overthrow

20:04

joe biden

20:06

especially during the

20:09

early days of the war in iraq there

20:11

was a whole debate about

20:13

the value of comedy like the volume making fun

20:15

of powerful people whether

20:17

satire

20:19

what good weather was useful or

20:21

whether it's sort of placate people that

20:23

am i in some ways would have like naka

20:26

, people from my being angry who

20:28

didn't within within i don't know if that's

20:30

true i know that i can't

20:32

pick up the phone a be like yo donald us have

20:34

a sit down i gotta point out some stuff to stuff

20:37

and i know that there's a lot of people who

20:39

are the same but i can't reach so

20:41

what can i do i can make fun of them

20:43

i can hope to expose some

20:45

of what's going on and a hypocritical way

20:48

and make people and least feel a

20:50

sense of relief but

20:52

relief don't think that we should stop telling jokes because

20:54

of can apply gay people

20:58

though how do you find fresh ways

21:00

to talk about recent comedy and are

21:02

there any ideas

21:04

or protests to talk about recent comedy that

21:06

to find really

21:09

compelling was mostly useless

21:11

i think that you

21:13

know sure there's some stereotypes are you still

21:16

hit on to get a punchline or alas but

21:19

, try to just talk about what's going

21:21

on in my life you know i'm married

21:23

to an indian woman so we're a biracial couple

21:25

returned i trotted i try to talk about

21:27

my kids being bi racial they're born

21:29

in america so they're american as

21:32

six those things lead to

21:34

telling real stories telling real as much as we feel

21:37

like oh we're past that time

21:39

when you know let's say the stereotype of muslims

21:42

being terrorists are you messing with as old

21:44

that's try to dinner come on for

21:46

then here goes my son he goes to sleep away camp

21:48

last summer easily thirteen any

21:51

says the kids they're calling him abdul

21:53

and telling him to go back back to

21:55

africa well and i'm going

21:57

what what is the wrong kind of

21:59

and

22:02

i'd say the i assume ago would you say back

22:04

to them because i thought about going to blow up their house and

22:06

the way to go buddy i mean that's an old

22:08

stereotype but

22:10

it basically takes they're

22:12

making fun of your diffuses

22:14

that it took a long time for

22:16

african americans stop

22:19

being cast as whatever was criminals

22:22

as start being cast being cast f b

22:24

i agents similarly

22:27

a lot of cultures wants to come to america takes

22:29

a while

22:30

for us to go away from

22:32

those other parts and start getting

22:34

the parts were oh that girls is a doctor

22:37

or whatever that is and

22:39

there are shows along the way there are comedians

22:41

along the way that help

22:43

the show that there's many colors

22:45

to us but i think by just

22:47

being a comedian of color onstage

22:51

that's , think reaching our goals just

22:53

by being from that background and being onstage

22:56

talking about stuff that has us do with your ethnicity

22:59

helps break those stereotypes

23:04

what did you too much more of a british you thinking that i'm up

23:06

to suffer with

23:07

they grabbed me that was

23:09

mazda brawny he's brawny stand with media is an actor

23:12

he does a lot of thing that he says he's

23:14

also the host of the pike s back to school

23:16

with mazda running

23:19

if a look we've come full circle

23:21

how so

23:23

whereupon or talks

23:25

about

23:25

at first her comedy didn't need to be

23:27

about race just kind that ended up

23:29

that way and then mas

23:32

talks about how hopefully and

23:34

talking about race still family have

23:36

the chance to know

23:37

huckleberry but , body

23:39

with a of in a little bit different right like he

23:41

was saying even if i'm not

23:43

making a joke about race race dot

23:45

on a the race job because you know who he

23:47

is actually those days and how

23:50

people preseason i

23:52

bear with me dean but this

23:54

makes me think of a bit about bill cosby

23:56

our law and okay i know enough

23:58

forgive me i'm sorry the cause

24:01

the i can actively avoided making

24:03

race jokes for most of his career

24:05

but so much of the commentary about his

24:07

comedy became , how

24:09

he was like some black comedian

24:12

who didn't joke about race so

24:15

race was still kind of the elephant in the room

24:17

which is when i get my point

24:19

and i guess it goes back to the idea about

24:21

, only thing part of the mccain for

24:23

the job the way a joke works like i kept thinking about how

24:25

differently the same joke that

24:28

with me disease or saturday might lane

24:30

in a room where say say

24:32

that mother something to run everyone

24:35

in a partner is something to and how

24:37

do you see from asia like even

24:39

if every they say the same the deliveries

24:41

are the same enemy in the face of they make the

24:43

same they just become different

24:46

jokes and become different room in like

24:48

maybe the audience is giving

24:50

them some reaction

24:52

in order for the important in subtle ways

24:54

is a different bit you know

24:56

like okay something

24:58

as heard from a very brief the comedy career

25:01

is that in order for

25:03

a good jokes a word he gonna need

25:05

to things like you need audience

25:08

to kind of share some

25:10

understanding with you and the things

25:12

where people your ruff

25:14

thing or whatever rarer

25:16

and the joke needs to give the audience

25:18

the think do

25:20

something to do

25:22

like what do you mean by that

25:24

well comedians are always trying to

25:26

make

25:26

the audience coconspirators in some way so

25:28

whether it's young chappelle

25:31

once an audience to be complicit in

25:33

is trolling like he says something transfer

25:35

the and then he let us at his own joke like

25:37

a little kid who's caught syncs up the mysterious

25:40

and then you'd like to go have go have he got them

25:43

to laugh or something they

25:45

probably won't live in a difficult echo there

25:47

someone of can say

25:48

yeah but like for all

25:51

comedians like the people we talked to the

25:53

laughter comes from letting the audience connect the dots

25:56

not from you walk into them the way

25:58

to the punchline and

25:59

though i think would seem so neat

26:02

and so brave about the

26:04

comedians like the people we spoke to not

26:06

capella car because but

26:08

they have to just constantly

26:10

assume that they can stitch together

26:13

some understanding with a room for strangers

26:16

and then though strangers will wanna do

26:18

a little work with them

26:20

in a know you but i that they

26:22

twelve matt hard to pull off

26:24

yeah man that's why i'm on the radio and others

26:29

nigel that social please

26:31

follow us on twitter were at npr coats

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episode was produced by debug mode some

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and summer to mods it was edited by

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dahlia mourtada and steve german

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shut up to the rest of the codes

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which massive the the know christina

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good the base of the sir john perry and

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