3 Things: Kurt Vonnegut, Todd Barry, and Meghan O'Hara
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:
The final You're the Expert episode of this season just got released and it's one of my all-time favorites. Dr. Nancy Pokrywka tells us about all about the surprisingly beautiful mysteries of the fruit fly. Link
It's Tax Day, and if you're looking for some IRS-related jokes and information, you know I have you covered. The latest episode of The Payoff is all about a tax mystery and the advice I never knew I needed to know. Link
CAMBRIDGE, MA:
Sunday, April 23rd at 4:00 p.m. at the Brattle Theater. I'll be hosting You're the Expert live with Aparna Nancherla, Jo Firestone, and Marina Franklin. Link
NYC:
Thursday, May 4th at 9:00 p.m. at UCB East. I'm telling jokes on Fresh Out! a great standup show hosted by the hilarious Ashley Brooke Roberts and Jim Tews. Link
Tuesday, May 16th. Time and location TBA. I'm leading a walking tour of NYC's most hilarious signs and graffiti as part of a series put together by filmmaker Bianca Giaever.
WASHINGTON, DC:
Saturday, July 22nd at the Kennedy Center. Tickets aren't on sale for this yet, but mark your calendars because Jo Firestone and I are opening for Aparna Nancherla at the Kennedy Center and it's going to be an incredible night.
My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
I've had time this week to get back to my own writing and work on some projects that I'd been meaning to finish for quite a while. Anytime I get stuck, I find myself going back to Kurt Vonnegut's advice for writers. I love his books, but he was also so thoughtful about his process and generous in sharing what he'd learned.
This is a response he sent to a high school English class who'd written him. "What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow."
Read that whole letter here or another favorite, Vonnegut's "How To Write With Style" (note, this is a PDF).
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Todd Barry is understated and hilarious, a master joke writer, but also just as good at improvising and working a crowd. I just finished his new book, Thank You For Coming To Hattiesburg, a travel diary of "secondary markets," all the slightly off-the-road places he could find to perform. Todd's so good at seeing very strange details and making them hilarious. A perfect example of this is the section on his website he maintains as a "Receipt Museum." It makes me laugh so hard. It's basically Todd roasting weird receipts that he's gotten from restaurants. Make sure to scroll down and read them all. Todd Barry's Receipt Museum
1 Interesting Thing:
Meghan O'Hara's documentary The C Word is out now on Netflix. It's both a personal story of her diagnosis with cancer and a very interesting look at the factors influencing illness and health in America. The topic sounds like it could be depressing, but it's not, and I was amazed at what she uncovered. I had no idea that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies own and produce nearly all the processed food in the US. It's unbelievable when you see the similarities between how they sell Kraft and how they sold cigarettes. If you have Netflix, it's definitely worth a watch. If you're still not sold, Morgan Freeman narrates. The C Word
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: Mike Ward, Chop & Steele, and Eden
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 The Payoff online now all about student loans. Antonia and I interview Undersecretary Ted Mitchell, who ran the entire federal loan program from 2014 to 2017, share our own stories, and learn about the best way to tackle our debt. Link
A new episode of Explorer airs Monday at 10 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel. We take a look at El Salvador's strict reproductive laws, talk with Scott Pelley about journalism, and have Dave Coulier from Full House investigate the return of the mullet. Watch a preview here: Link
You can listen to episodes of You're the Expert here: Link
WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Thursday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. at National Geographic. You're the Expert takes over NatGeo's Grosvenor Auditorium with Aparna Nancherla, Maeve Higgins, and an amazing scientist. Link
My full calendar with all upcoming shows is online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
This is a classic comedy bit that I keep coming back to year after year. It never stops being funny. Only five lines and barely any words, but I believe Mike Ward has truly created a masterpiece. E-Mail Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying To Give Out Over The Phone
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Local morning shows have a tough job: lots of airtime to fill and not a lot of time to prep. As a result, sometimes they don't really have time to vet their guests before they're on air. That can lead to magical results, like professional strongmen Chop and Steele. The duo sent out a "press release" and successfully appeared on three morning shows across the country. You have to watch the incredible television that resulted. Fake Strongmen Prank Morning News Shows
(Chop and Steele are actually Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, the hosts of the Found Footage Festival, which is so much fun and hilarious. These guys are great.)
1 Interesting Thing:
A reality show where the contestants are totally cut off from the outside world and try to rebuild civilization from scratch. It's an interesting idea, but honestly, not the most original. But the story of Eden, which just finished taping in the Scottish Highlands this week is more bizarre than anyone could have imagined. The first few episodes aired and got bad ratings, so the network canceled the show. But no one told the contestants. So they've just been living in the wilderness for months. They're about to walk out of the woods to find out about Brexit, Trump, and the fact that they were barely even on television. It might not be a TV show, but it's definitely a great premise for a movie. TV Show Contestants Spend Year in the Wildnerness – With No One Watching
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend,
Chris
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
