3 Things: Toni Morrison, The Onion, and Latino USA

This has been a tough week in the U.S., full of violence and tragedy. I'm finding it increasingly hard to not become numb to mass shootings and despicable immigration policies. They just feel so unrelenting. But the most important writing, comedy, and art remind me that it doesn't have to be like this. That this is not normal and there's a better way. It's been a week when I really needed a reminder of that. 

Upcoming Shows

NOTE: I'll be doing a national tour with Pop Up Magazine in September and October. Details and tickets should be announced in the next week or so. I'll let you know as soon as they're live.

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

You'll be able to find ticket links for all upcoming shows as soon as they are announced online at my website here.

This week’s list

GREAT:
Toni Morrison's characters and stories were rich and vivid. But her true specialty was sentences that cut to the quick. Her Nobel Lecture is a perfect example. It's hard to imagine anything more chilling than her description of oppressive language (a danger that is more and more present every day in 2019). "Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge. Whether it is obscuring state language or the faux-language of mindless media; whether it is the proud but calcified language of the academy or the commodity driven language of science; whether it is the malign language of law-without-ethics, or language designed for the estrangement of minorities, hiding its racist plunder in its literary cheek—it must be rejected, altered, and exposed. It is the language that drinks blood, laps vulnerabilities, tucks its fascist boots under crinolines of respectability and patriotism as it moves relentlessly toward the bottom line and the bottomed-out mind."The Magnitude of Toni Morrison by Hannah Giorgis


FUNNY:
I'm not sure it's funny in a laugh out loud way, but I think no comedic institution handles tragedy and hypocrisy better than The Onion. They have an amazing ability to satirize America's response to violence and racism. Here are a few recent examples: Koch Foods CEO Applauds Immigrant Arrests As Consequence of Illegally Accepting Job at Koch Foods or this "American Voices" piece about the FBI opening domestic terrorism investigations or Mitch McConnell Wonders If He Could've Done More to Harm People in Private Sector. 


INTERESTING:
Graciela Mochkofsky wrote about "the vital importance of learning to see Latinos in Trump's America." The essay got me thinking about how much I enjoy the stories and reporting of NPR's Latino USA. I first started listening to the show (and podcast) a few years ago when I was working with Antonia Cereijido, who produces and often hosts. They cover serious issues like the El Paso Shooting but they also have fascinating, lighthearted episodes like Antonia's deep-dive investigation into whether the Minions are Latino.


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Stay safe out there,
Chris

3 Things: Joan Didion, Los Espookys, and Happier in Hollywood

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my show dates and recommendations of things I think you might enjoy. This week's edition is all about dreams: the dreams we have when we're young, the surreal comedic visions of Ana Fabrega and Julio Torres, and the promise/reality of life in Hollywood. Personally, I'm dreaming of being done with all the logistics of moving and being able to get back to performing and writing again. I can feel how close it is, there's just a mountain of cardboard boxes I have to scale first. I hope wherever you're reading this email, it's a fully unpacked, extremely stable location. If not, I feel your pain and I'd raise a glass to you, but I don't know which box the glasses are in.

Upcoming Shows

NOTE: I'll be doing a big West Coast tour at the end of September and an East Coast tour in early October. Details are still being finalized but that should be announced soon. 

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

SAN FRANCISCO:
Thursday, August 8th at 7:45 p.m. at Beer Basement. I'll be doing a short standup set atThe Setup, a great comedy show. Last time I was in town and did the show, there was a documentary crew filming three famous Norwegians visiting the US for the first time. I spent my entire time onstage asking them about Scandinavian canned fish and it was a joy. Maybe that will happen again! Link

You'll be able to find ticket links for all upcoming shows as soon as they are announced online at my website here.

This week’s list

GREAT:
So much of my nostalgia for places I've lived has to do with that particular time in my life more than any city or state. Before New York, I loved living in Massachusetts. I would ride my bike everywhere, have spontaneous potluck dinners with friends, get drinks with teachers on Friday and laugh about the wild things our students had said. But those weren't ever really Boston specific, they were about a place in time. I don't think any writer has captured that feeling better than Joan Didion. I finally read her famous essay about her twenties in New York City. First there was the magic, the buildings, the parties, the feeling of endless possibility, and then the realization that she's no longer the same person she used to be. Goodbye to All That (h/t Eliza Cossio) 


FUNNY:
A few months ago, I wrote how excited I was for the HBO show Los Espookys to premiere. I just finished the season and it was even better than I'd hoped. Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega are two of the most inventive and unique comedians and they made a show that no one else could have. It's a bi-lingual comedy about a group of friends who form "a business that conjures thrills and chills for a variety of clients." The episodes take surreal twists, including everything from the American ambassador getting trapped inside a cursed mirror to an energy drink pyramid scheme where the CEO personally comes to collect his debts. The show is amazing and it just got renewed for a second season! If you don't have HBO, the full first episode is up on YouTube. El Exorcismo 

If you're looking for more Julio and Ana, I strongly recommend their videos from when they wrote for The Chris Gethard Show. Julio and Ana


INTERESTING:
Even though I've been making a podcast for over a decade, I don't listen to them all that much. But Mollie introduced me to the Happier in Hollywood podcast, which has great advice for television writers (or really everyone) and I've listened to every episode. It's hosted by Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, two extremely successful showrunners who have been best friends since high school. They're smart, funny, and charmingly Midwestern. But they also know a ton about living in Hollywood. I am a loyal fan of the show even though I'm pretty clearly not the target demographic (a fair amount of their advice is solidly directed at middle aged women). I love it anyway. Happier in Hollywood


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: Penelope Spheeris, Daniel Simonsen, and Ben Stark

Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my show dates and recommendations of things I think you might enjoy. This is the last time I'll be sending my Saturday email from NYC (for a while, at least). Prepare for slightly later delivery in future weeks, as I adjust to West Coast time. In the meantime, I'm packing up, saying goodbye to friends, hopefully finding a place to live in LA, and buying a used car. It's a pretty long to-do list. 

Here's what I think I'll miss most about NYC: Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, taking the East River Ferry, cramped dinner parties full of friends that I love, living in the same city as my family, pizza, bagels (but importantly, NOT pizza-bagels), the sheer volume of incredible comedians in one place, and the moment when I'm riding the subway and a passenger does something extremely rude/odd and then I make eye contact with a stranger sitting across from me and we both silently raise our eyebrows to say "Get a load of THIS guy."

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

NEW YORK:
TONIGHT! Saturday, July 27 at 10:00 p.m. at Union Hall. Dillon Stevenson and Mike Brown host Super Video Bros, where comedians (including me) break down classic music videos.Link

July 29-31 at The Wild Project. I'll be acting on Monday and a short play I wrote is being staged on Wednesday at the Cherry Picking festival for new work. SOLD OUT

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:
Penelope Spheeris pioneered the punk film scene. The daughter of a sideshow strongman, she grew up traveling with her parents' carnival. That informed her eye for outsiders and her cutting sense of humor. She's the director who invented the conceit of interviewing rock stars as they cook breakfast. She directed Wayne's World (including, of course, the Bohemian Rhapsody scene, one of the most iconic comedy sequences ever on film). Then she got fed up with Hollywood and quit. Her foul-mouthed interview withThe Onion A.V. Club is so good. Penelope Spheeris: Hollywood Can Blow Me


FUNNY:
Daniel Simonsen was the funniest comedian in Norway. Then he moved to the U.S. to try his luck here. Years ago, when I first moved to New York, we were on a show together and I remember being shocked at how good his jokes were. Unless you're already deep in the Norwegian immigrant comedy scene, you've never seen anything like him. I can't stop laughing at his set on Colbert. He has incredible tips for a shy person at a summer barbecue. Daniel Simonsen


INTERESTING:
Have you ever shown up to work only to discover you're dressed identically to someone else in the office? Ben Stark goes deep on the history of business casual and the phenomenon of "worktwins". It's a very funny essay that made me think about office fashion in a way I never had before. "Creative jobs demand creative dress, but there are only so many ways to say 'I have disposable income.'" Are You My Worktwin?


BONUS PSA:
If you haven't yet, please claim your $125 in the Equifax data breach settlement! It's extremely easy and it makes sure the company faces consequences for not keeping personal information private. More info here 

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 day,
Chris