3 Things: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Joe Pera, and Suleika Jaouad

Happy Saturday! Every week I send out an email with some upcoming performances and three things for you to enjoy. This newsletter only grows by word of mouth, so feel free to forward it and tell your friends. This week, I'm trying to hold multiple truths in my head at once. It's the start of my favorite season, filled with light, swimming, eating outdoors, and family vacations. It's also a terrifying moment when America seems to be on the brink of another pointless and deadly war.

So I'm reminding myself that you can be happy and scared at the same time. You can push for the country and the world to be better and more just, and it's also okay to take a break from the news to laugh at some online videos. At least that's what I've been telling myself. My summer 2019 vibe is crying into a hotdog. 

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
Both full seasons of Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas are streaming online and on HBO Go. Link

You can listen to all the episodes of my podcast You're the Expert on any podcast app. Three comedians interview a scientist about her work and why it matters. Link

SEATTLE:
TONIGHT! Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Liz and Mollie are reading from their book No Hard Feelings and answering questions about emotions at work. Check out this great Seattle Times interview with Mollie and come join me in the audience. Link

NEW ORLEANS:
Tuesday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Theater. I'll be performing at this Pop-Up Magazine show. SOLD OUT

NEW YORK:
July 29-31 at The Wild Project. A short play that I wrote is going to be performed as part of this year's Cherry Picking festival, which celebrates "new work, creative risk, and prosecco." Tickets on sale soon here

You can find ticket links for all upcoming shows as soon as they are announced online at my website here.

This week’s list

GREAT:
When I recommended Taffy Brodesser-Akner's writing here once before, I got deluged by excited emails back from her fans. Taffy might not be the most famous writer on the planet, but everyone who does know her is obsessed. Or as this article puts it, she's "every other writer's favorite writer." Personally, I know that if she started a cult, I'd ask where to sign up and what color clothes to buy. Her food diary for Grub Street is the perfect combination of my interests: food, comedy, and things that Taffy has written. Taffy Brodesser-Akner Loves a Good Breakfast Salad (h/t Meredith Gringer)


FUNNY:
I went back and rewatched all the episodes of Joe Pera Talks With You recently. They're relatively short, so they don't take up too much of your time, but the show is brilliant and different from anything else on TV. They pioneered a new genre: soothing, Midwestern comedy. It's almost certainly the only show on television that's devoted two full episodes just to helping you go to sleep. Jo Firestone is great as the love interest in this show, but you can also see her influence behind the scenes as head writer. I'm glad that the Jo(e)s got to make this show and I'm excited for season two. In the meantime, let Joe Pera Talk You Back To Sleep.


INTERESTING:
Suleika Jaouad is a writer, teacher, and activist. I first came across her work when I read her column in the NYT, "Life, Interrupted," about being diagnosed with leukemia at 22. Now in remission, she just gave a beautiful talk about "the porous border between sick and well" and how the hardest part of her recovery was once the cancer was gone. What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or spread the word. If someone forwarded you this email but you're not yet on the list, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Gideon Irving, Eliza Cossio, and Terrace House

This week, I've been working on some longer term projects. My favorite thing in the world is performing in front of a live audience, but sometimes the show scheduling and joke writing means that I don't leave myself enough time to tackle bigger, more ambitious ideas. So I'm taking some time over the next few months to do that. In the meantime, you might notice I have fewer live shows on my calendar. And I'm sure friends and family will notice a desperate need for laughter and a sharp, hungry edge in my eyes every time I hear the sound of applause. (I'm joking... kind of.)

In the Fall, I'll be doing a big national tour and I'm staying open to any fun, interesting opportunities that might pop up in the meantime. Since tomorrow is Father's Day, I'm also feeling grateful to have had a dad as supportive as mine, even if he truly could not understand my career any less. He was the first person in his family to go to college and worked in an auto factory over the summers to pay his tuition. I'm an adult who gets paid to play make-believe. As he put it when I told him I was quitting teaching to tell jokes, "Well, you're continuing the grand Duffy tradition of your dad having absolutely no relevant career advice to give you at all." 

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas is now officially wrapped, but both full seasons of the show are streaming online. Link

You can listen to all the episodes of my podcast You're the Expert on any podcast app. Three comedians interview a scientist about her work and why it matters. Link

SEATTLE:
Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Liz and Mollie are reading from their book No Hard Feelings and answering questions about emotions at work. Check out this greatSeattle Times interview with Mollie and come join me at the show. I'll be there to cheer them on! Link

You can find ticket links for all upcoming shows online at my website here.

This week’s list

GREAT:
Gideon Irving is one of my all-time favorite performers. His live shows are like nothing else. Everything about his performances sounds made up. He traveled the world playing concerts exclusively in strangers' living rooms. One tour, he pushed a full show's worth of instruments and set pieces and magic tricks in a modified shopping cart while rollerblading behind it. Right now, he's about to tour the American West on horseback. And he just released a fantastic new music video which, after watching, will blow your mind to learn used no special effects or editing at all. Gideon Irving - Woke Up Looking (Here's the making of video. Don't skip it!) 


FUNNY:
Over the past three years working together, Eliza Cossio has become one of my closest friends. She's a deeply kind and wonderful human being. She's also unbelievably hilarious. Eliza has such a strong, unique comedic vision. Her new short film just premiered at the Lower East Side Film Festival and won the Audience Favorite award. It's the story of a woman who asks a witch to help her win her ex-boyfriend back. I guarantee you will not see another short film as funny or beautifully shot as this one. La Bruja 


INTERESTING:
If you've hung out with me in the last two months, you've almost certainly heard me rave about the show Terrace House. It's a Japanese reality show where a group of six people live in a beautiful house together and try to accomplish life goals (often finding romance). There's not nearly the same kind of forced drama as on American reality TV. In fact, a lot of Terrace House is just people making plans to go out to restaurants together and then debriefing what they talked about during their meal. Then a panel of celebrities comment on what's happening during the show and they're so funny. Also, each season of Terrace House is so long that at a certain point contestants on the show watch themselves onTerrace House and then you're watching them watch themselves. It's wild. Please get hooked and then talk about the show with me. I'm currently watching Terrace House: Opening New Doors (Bonus: still images from Terrace House without any context)


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or spread the word. If someone forwarded you this email but you're not yet on the list, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Emma Hunsinger, Michelle Buteau, and Ana Fabrega

I'm feeling very nostalgic this month. I had my college reunion, I wrapped writing forProblem Areas, and Mollie and I are getting ready to move out to LA at the end of the summer. Time keeps on slipping into the future.

Comedy and writing sometimes look solitary from the outside, but they're actually only possible with friends to bounce ideas off of and folks who believe in you (and want to read your emails / see your shows). Thinking about the past few years has made me even more grateful for the creative and supportive communities I'm a part of.  So thank you for being a part of mine (whether I've met you in person or not). And if you identify as LGBTQIA+, happy Pride Month! 

Upcoming Shows

EVERYWHERE:
Last night's series finale of Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas looked at segregation and how we might finally achieve the goal of integrated schools. Both full seasons of the show are now streaming on HBO. Link

You can listen to all the episodes of my podcast You're the Expert on any podcast app. Three comedians interview a scientist about her work and why it matters. Link

NYC:
TONIGHT! Saturday, June 8 at 9:30 p.m. at The Brick. I'm back for another month of Monster Mash, Carley Moseley's super fun show of snacks from a guest chef and improv from NYC's best comedy writers. Link

Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m. at The American Museum of Natural History. I'm part of a night of dinosaur-themed comedy at the museum. I was born to be on this show. Link

SEATTLE:
Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Join me in the audience for Liz and Mollie's book talk and discussion about emotions at work for No Hard Feelings. Link

You can find ticket links for all upcoming shows online at my website here.

This week’s list

GREAT:
Emma Hunsinger's cartoons almost always have an unexpected twist. Her flow chart for whether or not you can wear a t-shirt to the office becomes a quiz about whether you're really over your ex. A nuclear family is actually a corporation focusing on branding and development. Or in her new, beautiful piece, the quest to draw a perfect horse is actually about processing her feelings for another girl in her class. How to Draw a Horse


FUNNY:
Netflix's Always Be My Maybe is a classic and hilarious romantic comedy. For whatever reason, it's a genre that's not being made a lot these days, which makes this movie feel even more special. If you need a break and to laugh, let Randall Park and Ali Wong take over. To me, the funniest performance in the movie was by Michelle Buteau. Michelle has been one of my favorite standup comedians since the first time I saw her perform, so it's very fun to watch her crush in a movie now too. She's one of those people where I think it's just impossible for her not to be hilarious? See for yourself. Always Be My Maybe


INTERESTING:
Ana Fabrega and Julio Torres have a new show premiering on HBO next Friday called Los Espookys. It's about "a group of friends turning their love for horror into a peculiar business." Ana stars as Tati, "Los Espookys' test dummy [who is] constantly juggling several odd jobs, such as breaking in other people's shoes and testing child safety locks." Julio plays Andres, the "dark and mysterious heir to a chocolate empire. His only true nemesis is his gorgeous boyfriend." I've never read a description that made me want to watch a new show more. If you don't know Ana already, I strongly recommend followingher on Instagram and watching some of her comedy shorts (like this or this). She makes me laugh so much and I can't wait to see what she makes with a full budget. It's going to be amazing. Los Espookys Season 1 Trailer


Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or spread the word. If someone forwarded you this email but you're not yet on the list, you cansubscribe here.

Have a great Saturday,
Chris