3 Things: Liz & Mollie, Bob Ross, and Maria Konnikova

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
The newest episode of You're the Expert features MIT's Dr. Roz Picard talking about how she helped invent wearable computers and the future of "emotional technology." Link

BURLINGTON, VERMONT:
Sunday, August 26th at 5:30 p.m. I'm teaching a workshop at the Vermont Comedy Club on writing for television and then telling some jokes on the show afterwards. Come join for one or both! Link

NYC:
VENUE CHANGE Saturday, August 11th at 6:00 p.m. Comedians in a Blanket is a combination of a picnic and standup show. It's always delightful. Normally it's in Prospect Park but because of the rain today's show is at the bar 61 Local. Same picnicky vibes though. Link

SOLD OUT Monday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. at The Wild Project. A short play I wrote is making its debut as part of Cherry Picking, an annual festival of new work.  Link

As always, you can find my schedule with all upcoming dates online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
Liz Fosslien is an illustrator, tech person, and economist. She makes very funny cartoons about the workplace. Mollie West Duffy is a writer, organizational designer, and researcher. They're writing a book together about emotions at work that's part research and data, part personal anecdotes, and part illustrations. It comes out in January. I can't wait. Their work is funny, informative, and most of all, useful for anyone with feelings. I admit that I'm biased because I'm married to Mollie, but I truly think their book is fantastic. In the meantime, check out their website (and sign up for their monthly newsletter with exclusive comics, articles, and research!) No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed


FUNNY:
Bob Ross, with his iconic fro and palette of paints, made creating art accessible for millions of Americans. Or at least, he tried to. It was a valiant mission. Unfortunately, while he explained things simply, Bob painted kinda... fast. You might not realize quite how insane his speed was until you see thirteen comedians try their hardest to paint along with him in Micah Sherman's Bob Ross Challenge. Each video is 90 seconds of joy. Micah not only created the videos but he's also using the series to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (which is what Bob Ross died from). Support a great cause by laughing for a minute and a half at a time. Episode one features Aparna Nancherla. The Bob Ross Challenge


INTERESTING:
Maria Konnikova is a science writer for The New Yorker, an experimental psychologist, and the host of a podcast about con artists. Or maybe I should say, she was those things. Because over the past year, as Maria started writing a new book about luck and decision making, she dove into research on the world of professional poker. The research worked. She ended up winning more than $200,000 in tournaments and is now a sponsored professional poker player. Here's a fascinating interview with Maria about how that happened, her findings, and the psychology of decision-making. Maria Konnikova Shows Her Cards


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If someone forwarded you this email and you want to sign up, you cansubscribe here.

Thanks,
Chris

3 Things: Krista Tippett, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, and Jack Gilbert

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
The current episode of You're the Expert features Dr. Lauren Nolfo-Clements and her research on giant swamp rodents. Link

BURLINGTON, VERMONT:
Sunday, August 26th at 5:30 p.m. I'm teaching a workshop at the Vermont Comedy Club on writing for television and then telling some jokes at the club afterwards. Come join for one or both! Link

NYC:
Saturday, August 11th at 6:00 p.m. in Prospect Park. Comedians in a Blanket is a combination of a picnic and standup show. It's always delightful. Follow the giant white balloons to get to the show. Link

Monday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. at The Wild Project. A short play I wrote is making its debut as part of Cherry Picking, an annual festival of new work. Tickets are already almost sold out, so if you want to come, don't delay. Link

I'm going to be announcing a lot more show dates soon. As always, you can find my schedule with all upcoming dates online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
This summer, I've spent a fair amount of time outdoors in natural places where I couldn't get cell service or check email even if I wanted to. And that's led me to think more deeply about how I engage with the news, politics, and current events. I know it's irresponsible to shut everything out and live in ignorance, but taking in the full firehose of misery, corruption, and despair sometimes feels like more than I can handle. I don't know the right answer, but I loved hearing Krista Tippett (from NPR's On Being) wrestle with that same conundrum. I think her response is beautiful and important to take in. "Hope is a muscle" and "joy is a piece of basic human resilience." How Can We Be Present to What's Happening in the World Without Giving in to Despair and Hopelessness?


FUNNY:
The profile of Gwyneth Paltrow in The New York Times Magazine went viral and deservedly so. It is hilarious and provocative and a pleasure to read. But the star here isn't Gwyneth (although, WOW, Gwyneth), it's Taffy Brodesser-Akner, the writer. She is so funny and so sharp. Here's one of my favorite passages, where she describes exactly what the GOOP newsletter is:

"The newsletter was at first kind of mainstream New Age-forward. It had some kooky stuff in it, but nothing totally outrageous. It was concerned with basic wellness causes, like detoxes and cleanses and meditation. It wasn't until 2014 that it began to resemble the thing it is now, a wellspring of both totally legitimate wellness tips and completely bonkers magical thinking: advice from psychotherapists and advice from doctors about how much Vitamin D to take (answer: a lot! Too much!) and vitamins for sale and body brushing and dieting and the afterlife and crystals and I swear to God something called Psychic Vampire Repellent, which is a 'sprayable elixir' that uses 'gem healing' to something something 'bad vibes.'"

After reading her Gwyneth profile, I went down a Taffy rabbit hole. All her work is amazing, but if you liked this one you might also enjoy Jimmy Buffett Does Not Live the Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle. I'm ready to declare myself a full Taffy-Head. Taffy Brodesser-Akner

INTERESTING:
I recently discovered the poet Jack Gilbert and, like the Krista Tippett interview, it spoke so directly to everything that's going on in the world today. For about six months in 1962 he was one of the most famous writers in the world, but then he turned away from fame and chose to live in semi-obscurity in Greece, Japan, and rural Massachusetts. He kept living and writing about the importance of living and beauty and joy in the midst of the darkness in the world. A Brief for the Defense by Jack Gilbert


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If someone forwarded you this email and you want to sign up, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Duplass Brothers, Natasha Rothwell, and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.

Upcoming Shows

This week's episode of You're the Expert is one of my favorites we've ever done. We interviewed Dr. Lauren Nolfo-Clements about her research on invasive species (specifically giant swamp rodents) and it made me laugh so much. Ken Reid, Josh Sharp, and Caitlin Durante were on fire as panelists and we actually learned a lot about the animal known as a nutria. Link

Once the shows are announced, my schedule with all upcoming dates will be online here.

This week's list

GREAT:
Jay and Mark Duplass act, write, produce, direct, fund, create and just about every other verb you can think of related to movies and television. Their book Like Brothers is a cool look inside their creative process. I felt inspired by how they've been so prolific and successful by making mostly ilow-budget projects that they don't need to get anyone's permission to do.

Their book is more than a look inside the industry, it's also about the benefits and pitfalls of collaborating so closely with another person, a story about masculinity and brotherhood, and a really fun conversation between two total film nerds. Some of my favorite chapters in the book were where Jay and Mark sit in airports looking at strangers and imagine full movie plots that would make sense for them. Here's an except: Like Brothers by the Duplass Brothers (h/t to both Mollie and Dave)


FUNNY:
Natasha Rothwell is another prolific artist. You've probably seen her as Kelli on Insecure, and you're about to see a lot more of her in a new HBO show she's developing and in the next Wonder Woman film. I'm a big fan of Natasha. She is funny and kind and thoughtful. She's also not afraid to go really big with her comedy, which can lead to some bizarre and hilarious characters. Here's a bit from her Netflix special that is nuts and makes me laugh so much. Bring Your Child to Work Day (and here's an interview with Natasha)


INTERESTING:
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a critically acclaimed musician and composer. He loves to eat at a particular high end restaurant in New York. But he absolutely despises the music they play. On the one hand, this is very much a rich person problem that I'm not sure I should care about. On the other, it's a premise that's led to a pretty fascinating look into the psychology of background music and the way it affects our daily experience without our conscious acceptance. Annoyed by Restaurant Playlists, a Master Musician Made His Own (For deeper digging, also watch this video about James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem's quest to change the sounds of the NYC subways)


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If someone forwarded you this email and you want to sign up, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great Saturday,
Chris