Happy Saturday!
I'm writing today's email from a house on the Russian River, which it turns out is located in Northern California and doesn't require any quid pro quo to access. These days, I'm finding myself half-immersed in impeachment news and current events, and half-looking ahead and planning for a new year. So today's email is full of people who are focused on how to actively address what's happening in the world and also change it for the future.
Upcoming Shows
LOS ANGELES
Thursday, January 9th at 7:30 pm. Due to a scheduling conflict, this show had to be postponed. New date TBA
Wednesday, January 15th at 7 pm at the Lyric-Hyperion. Matt Porter and I are starting a monthly multimedia comedy show called HOMEWORK. Tickets are on sale now. Link
NEW YORK
Friday, February 7th and Saturday, February 8th. I will be back in NYC workshopping a stage show about long term couples and new scientific research on love. Details coming soon.
This week’s list
GREAT:
Yegor Zhukov is a twenty-one-year-old university student on trial in Moscow. He's "accused of 'extremism,' for posting YouTube videos in which he talked about nonviolent protest, his campaign for a seat on the Moscow City Council, and different approaches to political power." The speech he gave in court is beautiful and thought-provoking and certainly as relevant to our present moment in America as the situation in Russia. Masha Gessen translated it into English for The New Yorker. A Powerful Statement of Resistance from a College Student on Trial in Moscow
FUNNY:
Joe Pera's comedy is quietly subversive. He takes small moments seriously. Simple pleasures like grocery shopping or having a conversation over breakfast are worthy of full episodes of television. And while it sounds like that might be slow or boring, it's not. Joe makes it incredibly funny, with the help of his head writer and co-star Jo Firestone. The new season of Joe Pera Talks With You is out now. Here is a delightful interview with him and Stephen Colbert: Joe Pera Talks Soothing Joys
INTERESTING:
My friend Shuchi recently sent out an email encouraging her friends to more actively participate in protests and rallies around climate change. It's easy to support Greta Thunberg's message in principle, but sometimes people like me wonder whether marching in the streets makes a meaningful difference. Shuchi made a very compelling case that it does. So much so that I want to just share what she wrote with you verbatim.
"Social movements like this one are beautiful and powerful beasts: it's hard to pin-point what a single action achieves and yet movements are responsible for most of the powerful political transformations of our time. I'm thinking of the Indian struggle for independence, the civil rights movement, the fight for suffrage." Shuchi also included this fascinating case study by Mark Engler on marriage equality and how social movements build power. When the Pillars Fall: How Social Movements Can Win More Victories
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Have a great day,
Chris