3 Things: Somniloquist, Liam Neeson, and Sarina Roma

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:
There's a new episode of You're the Expert online today. It features a chemist who invents new colors that scientists use to help develop cures. Listen here:  Link

The Payoff is still up and running too. Each week, Antonia and I learn how to be a little less terrified of dealing with money: Link

BANGOR, ME:
TODAY, March 18th at 7:30 p.m. You're the Expert headlines the Maine Science Festival with panelists Roy Wood, Jr., Michelle Buteau, and Charlie Hankin.  Link

ATLANTA, GA:
Tuesday, March 21th at 7:30 p.m. at 7 Stages. You're the Expert returns to the Atlanta Science Festival with Josh Sharp, Shalewa Sharpe, and Chuck Bryant (from Stuff You Should Know). Link

WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Thursday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. at National Geographic. We're taking over NatGeo's Grosvenor Auditorium for a very special live You're the Expert. Link

My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.

 This week's list

1 Thing I Think Is Great:

Adam Rosenberg talks in his sleep. For years, other people have told him about it. But he decided to mount an audio recorder over his bed and hear for himself. The result is this hilarious and bizarre video where Adam animates the real sound bytes he captured of his subconscious. The Somniloquist
 

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

What is your all-time favorite comedy sketch? I was debating with some friends and when it comes to the sketch that has consistently made me laugh the most, it's this one. Liam Neeson trying to do improv with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant is so simple and so funny. I don't think this will ever stop making me laugh. Liam Neeson Does Improv


1 Interesting Thing:

Sarina Roma is a documentary producer with a new series on Netflix called Abstract: The Art of Design. The show is fascinating and addictive. It covers everything from Christoph Niemann's illustrations to cars to stage design. Each episode is beautifully shot and it's one of those shows where after watching it, you notice all sorts of new details in the world around you. As they say in the series "From architecture to photography to typography, their art shapes our lives." Abstract: The Art of Design


Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Maria Bamford, Anthony DeVito, and Canada

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:
There's a new episode of You're the Expert online now. If you've ever wondered about the romantic life of penguins, you're about to learn more than you ever thought was possible. Listen here:  Link

New episode of The Payoff is up now too. Antonia and I get a lesson on sticking to a budget and how to make slightly less terrible decisions around money: Link

NYC:
Sunday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. at The PIT Loft. I'm telling stories at the Katie Fisher Day show. Cookies, jokes, and lots of wonderful people. Link 

BANGOR, ME:
Saturday, March 18th at 7:30 p.m. You're the Expert headlines the Maine Science Festival with panelists Roy Wood, Jr., Michelle Buteau, and more.  Link

ATLANTA, GA:
Tuesday, March 21th at 7:30 p.m. at 7 Stages. You're the Expert returns to the Atlanta Science Festival with Josh Sharp, Shalewa Sharpe, and Chuck Bryant (from Stuff You Should Know). Link

WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Thursday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. at National Geographic. We're taking over NatGeo's Grosvenor Auditorium for a very special live You're the Expert. Link

My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.

 This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:

Maria Bamford is one of my all-time favorite comedians. For years, she's been writing and performing some of the most inventive and hilarious jokes around. This bit, where she tries to connect with the audience by leaving her personal material behind and trying to do some "more relatable" jokes, is amazing. Maria Bamford: What People Want (h/t Josh Gondelman)
 

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

Anthony DeVito made his network television debut last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  Whenever I have the good fortune to be on a show with Anthony, I love watching audience members experience him for the first time. He's also an incredibly thoughtful and intelligent guy, as you may know if you heard his story on This American Life about watching his 90-year-old grandmother fall in love. He talks about her in his standup set too. He's just great. Anthony DeVito


1 Interesting Thing:

"Roxham Road is a quiet contry road jutting off another quiet country road, where a couple of horses munch on soggy hay and a ditch running along the muddy pavement flows with melted snow. It cuts through a thicket of dormant trees, passing a half-dozen trailer homes and after almost a mile runs into a line of boulders and a rusted railing with a sign: Road Closed." The stories of people fleeing the US for Canada are tragic and eye-opening. We hear a lot about people trying to get in, but far less about people trying to get out. Since Trump, Quiet Upstate Road Becomes a Busy Exit from U.S.  and The Underground Railroad for Refugees


Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Doug Stanhope, Vine Scares, and Tove Danovich

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 streams live every Wednesday night. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET and loops for the rest of the night. You can watch on your phone using the Dreams app. If you're in NYC, you can get free tickets to be in our studio audience here.

You can listen to You're the Expert online here:  Link

Episodes of The Payoff are online here: Link

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY:
Thursday, March 9th at 7 p.m. at Vassar College. You're the Expert comes to Vassar with Josh Sharp, Gary Richardson, and Obehi Janice trying to guess what a leading professor does all day. Free with registration. Link

NYC:
Saturday, March 11th at 9:30 p.m. at The PIT. I'm one of the comedian judges for Dancify That! It's a hilarious show where dancers choreograph a performance to viral videos. Last time I was there, a live peacock came onstage. I'm very excited to see what happens this time. Link 

BANGOR, ME:
Saturday, March 18th at 7:30 p.m. You're the Expert headlines the Maine Science Festival with panelists Roy Wood, Jr., Michelle Buteau, and more.  Link

ATLANTA, GA:
Tuesday, March 21th at 7:30 p.m. at 7 Stages. You're the Expert returns to the Atlanta Science Festival with Josh Sharp, Shalewa Sharpe, and Chuck Bryant (from Stuff You Should Know). Link

WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Thursday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. at National Geographic. We're taking over NatGeo's Grosvenor Auditorium for a very special live You're the Expert. Link

My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.

 This week's list

1 Thing I Think Is Great:

People often describe Doug Stanhope's comedy as "dark," "gritty," or "raw." He's certainly not your run-of-the-mill TV star. His material is profane. He smokes and drinks onstage. His audiences are rowdy. But he's a legendary performer because he pulls jokes out of material that most comics wouldn't dare even discuss. Here's a brilliant (but NSFW) Stanhope bit about nationalism and immigration. Doug Stanhope
 

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

On the complete other end of the comedy spectrum, "scare videos" require no writing, no particular intelligence, and no particular skill. But they are somehow still hilarious. We watched these in the writers room at work and no one could make it through all of them without bursting into laughter. There's something primal in our lizard brain that wants us to laugh at strangers screaming. Full disclosure: this video is dumb, don't click on any of the ads, and it's a compilation from a social media platform that doesn't even exist anymore. I bet you'll still laugh. Top 50 Vine Scares (h/t Ashley Brooke Roberts)


1 Interesting Thing:

"Until the 1970s, bluefin tuna was a literal trash fish. If it wasn't put into cat food, sport fishermen paid to have it hauled off to dumps (after taking a smiling photo next to their strung-up carcasses). Until the mid-1900s, tuna's reputation was so bad in Japan that it was referred to as neko-matagi, food too low for even a cat to eat." Tove Danovich is a food and agriculture journalist. Her research into the history of bluefin tuna (and whether the species can survive) is a fascinating look at how our tastes change over time and what that means for endangered fish. Caught Dead


Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris