3 Things: Katie Fisher, Myq Kaplan, and Brendan Koerner
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 see the archive and sign up to get these emails here.
Upcoming shows
EVERYWHERE:
Comedy at Dreams got extended through May so we'll be shooting new episodes and streaming live every Wednesday for the next few months. You can watch on your phoneusing the Dreams app. This week, Evan Kaufman and I host Michelle Buteau, Janelle James, Shalewa Sharpe, Sarah Tollemache, and Chelsea Hood. If you're in NYC, you can get free tickets to be in our studio audience by RSVPing here.
A new episode of You're the Expert is out today. Eugene Mirman, Maeve Higgins, and Ken Reid learn about behavioral economics and how social media affects what jobs we get and what we do with our money. Link
The Payoff podcast is going strong. Our third episode, all about love and credit scores, comes out on Wednesday. Link
My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
I'm a big fan of traditions, emotional vulnerability, and cookies, so I love Katie Fisher Day. Each year, on March 12, it's a grassroots celebration of kindness. Katie Fisher Day is "a holiday created to spread joy (through cookies)." Abbi Jacobson (from Broad City) designed their logo, Amy Poehler is a fan, and Rachel Rosenthal helps run the whole thing each year. In past years, people have participated from Connecticut to Costa Rica to China. Kate Fisher Day
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Myq Kaplan is constantly writing new jokes. His brain works faster and spits out more hilarious ideas than anyone else I've ever met. Myq is the master of taking a small wordplay and spinning it into something much bigger, funnier, and more meaningful. He's got a new album out now called No Kidding and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you ever get a chance to see Myq live, take it. No two shows are the same and Myq is one of the most inventive comedians performing today. Myq Kaplan
1 Interesting Thing:
A team of Russian hackers discovered a way to crack the algorithms behind slot machines. Using just a cell phone and precise timing, they've engineered a way to crack the code and guarantee a win. Law enforcement officials arrested one member of the St. Petersburg-based organization, "which employs dozens of operatives to manipulate slot machines around the world...quietly making millions by cracking some of the gaming industry's most treasured algorithms." The story was reported for WIRED by Brendan Koerner, a writer behind some of the most impressive nonfiction narratives out there. One of Koerner's books is currently being adapted by Spike Lee, the other is about a couple who hijacked a plane while on acid. I think this story is even crazier. Russians Engineer A Brilliant Slot Machine Cheat --- And Casinos Have No Fix
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: Antonia Cereijido, Jo Firestone, and Thomas Hargrove
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 see the archive and sign up to get these emails here.
Upcoming shows
EVERYWHERE:
Wednesday, February 15th at 8 p.m. ET Comedy at Dreams is live again and you can watch from anywhere on your phone. This week, I'm hosting solo because Evan is in Florida. Watch as I finally cut loose. Also great sets from Aparna Nancherla, Jo Firestone, Alingon Mitra, Myq Kaplan and Ana Fabrega. Watch the show from anywhere: Link
Or get free tickets be a member of the studio audience in NYC (also includes free drinks and snacks): Link
My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Antonia Cereijido is making some of the most interesting radio out there. She's got such a warm personality and a knack for finding unusual stories. I've had the good fortune to cohost The Payoff with Antonia and I've seen her talent firsthand. But her main job is reporting for NPR's Latino USA. This story she did for them is hilarious and fascinating and great. Finally someone tackles the big question: Are the Minions Latino? (h/t Bianca Giaever)
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Jo Firestone is truly hilarious. I've never been more certain that someone is going to be a huge celebrity. She makes me laugh so hard and everything she does is unique and smart and so goofy. She made her debut on The Tonight Show this week with a spot-on impression of Betsy DeVos. Watch as Jimmy Fallon interviews her about her plans for the U.S. education system. Jimmy Interviews Betsy DeVos
1 Interesting Thing:
"His innovation was to teach a computer to spot trends in unsolved murders, using publicly available information that no one, including anyone in law enforcement, had used before. This makes him, in a manner of speaking, the Billy Beane of murder." Thomas Hargrove is a retired journalist who has been using big data to identify serial killers on the loose. The power of computers to solve crimes is incredible, but this also reveals what happens when police departments don't keep up with technological innovation: people get killed. Hargrove wants to change that. Serial Killers Should Fear This Algorithm
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: San Quentin, Ten Meter Tower, and Franklin Leonard
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 see the archive and sign up to get these emails here.
Upcoming shows
EVERYWHERE:
Later today, a new episode of You're the Expert will be out, all about the science of climate change. Jo Firestone, Aparna Nancherla, and Josh Sharp learn what it's like to live in Antarctica, what happens when a scientist goes insane, and how best to deal with climate change deniers. Link
Wednesday, February 8th A new episode of The Payoff comes out this Wednesday, where Antonia Cereijido and I learn how to negotiate salaries, why reporters care about the "jobs report," and interview Alexandra Cavoulacos, founder of jobs site The Muse. Link
Wednesday, February 8th at 8 p.m. ET Evan Kaufman and I host the second week of Comedy at Dreams live and you can watch from anywhere on your phone. Great comics, futuristic technology, and our faces, all from inside your phone. Link
NEW YORK:
Sunday, February 5th at 3 p.m. at The Wild Project. You Get A Spoon is back in NYC with music from Julia Anrather, comedy from Gary Richardson, surprise guests, and so many prizes. Come for an afternoon of performances, prizes, and kitchenware. The Comedy Bureau called it "one of the 100 best things in comedy." Link
Tuesday, February 7th at 9:30 p.m. at New York Comedy Club. I'm telling jokes along with some of NYC's best comics on a showcase for the Montreal Just for Laughs festival. Watch as I try my hardest to impress the producers and earn the right to escape to Canada. Link
CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA:
Friday, February 10th at 8:00 p.m. at Wabash College. If you're in Indiana and you're looking for a panel-based comedy show, I feel confident saying that you cannot do better than You're the Expert. We're going to be there with a great scientist and comedians Matt Porter, Charlie Hankin, and Shalewa Sharpe. Also, it's free. Link
My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
San Quentin State Prison partnered with design firm IDEO in an effort to redesign prisons for young men. What would it look like if incarceration rehabilitated inmates rather than destroyed them? The experiment was featured on PBS NewsHour's "Brief but Spectacular" segment last week. It inspires me to believe that big institutions can be changed and that people are worth more than their worst mistake. I'm proud that my wife works at IDEO and that her colleagues are taking on these kinds of challenges. PBS NewsHour on San Quentin
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
If you haven't already seen this video, prepare yourself for a treat. It's Swedish people trying to convince themselves to jump off of a very tall diving platform. It's simple and hilarious and amazing. You've probably already seen it, but I feel compelled to share it again because I love it so much. Terror and joy and love and indoor pools. Ten Meter Tower(h/t Max Tuttman)
1 Interesting Thing:
If you're a screenwriter, one of the biggest honors you can get is to find your script on The Black List. It's an anonymous survey in which movie execs, agents, and producers name the scripts they liked the most that year. The Black List was started in 2005 "by a 27-year-old film executive from west Georgia named Franklin Leonard, and has become an influential index of the most original and well-written—if not the most bankable—screenplays in Hollywood. Its power to launch careers and expedite projects is astounding." Leonard's survey not only recognized four of the past eight best picture winners, but it's pushed Hollywood to look beyond sequels and action movies, and given a leg up to diverse filmmakers. The Hollywood List Everyone Wants to Be On
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris
