Hi friends,
It's Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting. Feel free to spread the word and share these emails with friends. If you're checking this out for the first time, you can sign up to get these emails here.
Live shows
EVERYWHERE:
For the past several months I've been working with some of the smartest and funniest people around on a new TV show for National Geographic. It premieres this Monday at 10 p.m. ET. The premiere features Larry Wilmore, Chuck Klosterman, Erin Brockovich, and yours truly. Here's an article about the show.
A new episode of You're the Expert is out today featuring Harvard astrophysicist Alyssa Goodman and comedians Maeve Higgins, Ken Reid, and Steve Macone. Link
NEW YORK:
Saturday, November 26 all-day at The Wild Project. In light of this election, I'm producing a day of fundraisers for nonprofits that are going to be critical over the next four years: the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the International Refugee Assistance Project. We'll have a comedy show, a concert, and writers/poets reading their work. I'm still working out the exact details but tickets and lineups will be up soon. In the meantime, please mark your calendars.
You can also find my full up-to-date show schedule online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
The election has hit me hard. I'm feeling scared and confused and sad. But I've been finding solace in friends and poetry and music and community. I've loved Leonard Cohen's "Samson in New Orleans" since I first heard it and I've had it on repeat the past couple days. It felt like the perfect song for this week even before he passed away. Rest in peace, Leonard.
I've also been reading the poems "Good Bones" by Maggie Smith and Adam Zagajewski's "Try to Praise the Mutilated World," which both capture some of how I'm feeling.
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
It's okay to laugh too. We need it this week. So here's a surefire hit: Tig Notaro and Stephen Colbert meet at long last. If these two together can't make you laugh, nothing can. These are two of the greatest comedians alive, with two of the biggest hearts. They're also two gigantic weirdos. It's wonderful. Tig Notaro Has No Fear of Awkward Moments
1 Interesting Thing:
If you haven't heard the story of Derek Black yet, this is what you need to read today. This is the power of simply listening to each other and not shutting people out because of their beliefs. Derek Black's father founded the white nationalist website Stormfront. His godfather is David Duke. For a long time, Derek Black was the crown-prince of racism in America. But then a Jewish classmate started inviting him over for dinner. And Black accepted.
That was the first step that led to a sea change and his eventual renunciation of racism. The story is remarkable. It should be a movie. I'm sure it will be. Black gives me hope that with hard work and patience and a conscientious effort to step outside of our bubbles, it's possible to connect with each other and overcome hate. Please read this. The White Flight of Derek Black. (h/t Jon Grau)
Thanks for reading. Take care of yourself this weekend.
Chris
