3 Things: Paul Chaat Smith, Desus & Mero, and Christopher David

Hey there,

I normally try to toss a little funny anecdote from my week up top. But this week, I was... still inside. Very few anecdotes to share when the biggest event of my week was that one night, while cooking veggie burgers, I set off the smoke alarm. And actually the alarm didn't even go off. It just got a little smoky. Oh god, this might be the most boring story I have ever typed. Let's get into the list ASAP.

Upcoming Events

LIVESTREAMS:
- TODAY Saturday, July 25th at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE ALREADY HERE! Once again, my Zoom game show will feature games, comedian guests, and regular audience segments like where Sheena from Canada shows us her giant pet rabbit and then tells us a fact about bunnies. As always, we'll be raising some money for the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network. You can play along or just watch and laugh from the safety of your home. Link

-Wednesday, July 29th at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET
AMNH MARS FEST I'll be doing a bit on this Mars-themed comedy show that Karen Chee has put together for the American Museum of Natural History. I don't know quite what to tell you to expect but the lineup is great. Details here

This week’s list

GREAT:
Paul Chaat Smith is a Comanche author, essayist, and curator. His work focuses on "the contemporary landscape of American Indian politics and culture." As Washington's NFL team has finally decided to retire their blatantly racist name, Smith has a great interview about the long history of Native American imagery in popular culture. Seeing Native Americans Nowhere, and Everywhere


FUNNY:
I was once on a flight back from a comedy festival where Desus and Mero were also performing. To be clear, I was performing at a small comedy club and they were performing at a huge theater. We did not cross paths at the festival. But we were booked on the same flight back to NYC. I ended up sitting right across from them in the waiting area. I didn't want to bother them so I didn't say anything, but I couldn't help but overhear their conversation. And I was shocked by how funny they were. They were just as funny sitting and waiting for the plane at 7 a.m. as they are on their TV show or in front of a huge crowd. These guys just have a natural well of comedic genius. It's unreal. And they're not just funny, they're a great example of how you can crush jokes, grow personally, and be kind all at the same time. Read all about it: Desus and Mero Have Conquered Comedy


INTERESTING:
When the video of Christopher David first went viral, it was because he seemed like some kind of Portland man of steel. He approaches federal officers, they strike him with batons. He does not react. They strike him again. He doesn't back down. Only when they fire pepper spray does he finally walk away, giving them the middle finger with both hands. What a badass, right? Of course, people were going to share that video. But in reality, David is not an invulnerable superhero. He is a peaceful law-abiding citizen who walked up to federal officers to ask them a simple question about what they were doing. He posed no threat and he was brutally attacked. Now he'll need surgery to recover the use of his hands. The federal response in Portland is terrifying and I hope we look beyond the memes to see what's really happening and fight back against it. A Navy Veteran Had a Question for the Feds in Portland. They Beat Him in Response.


That's all for this week. if you're enjoying 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 can subscribe here.

Thanks for reading,
Chris

3 Things: Scott Warren, Hannibal Buress, and Jane Mayer

Hey there,

I'd never heard of Lucy Jones before I moved to Los Angeles, but apparently any true Angeleno would immediately know her. She's SoCal's "most famous seismologist" and the woman behind The Great California Shakeout earthquake drills. As a scientist who has spent her career trying to get people to prepare for seismic events and take precautions in the face of dangers that they think probably won't affect them personally, she's the perfect expert for this moment. And she's been preaching a new public health message to anyone who will listen. It's simple, direct, and to the point. Anyone can understand it. In the words of Lucy Jones, "Don't share your air."

As cases and hospitalizations surge here, I've been thinking how different things could be if our leaders all embraced simple, clear, science-based messaging. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Don't share your air.

And if you're a politician or a person who doesn't believe covid is real? Hey! Here's an idea: don't share your air. Keep your mouth shut tight.

Upcoming Events

LIVESTREAMS:
- TODAY Saturday, July 18th at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE ALREADY HERE! It's Teacher Appreciation week on my Zoom game show. We'll be featuring teachers playing games with comedians from The Onion, Clickhole, and Conan and we'll be raising some money for the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network. You can play along or just watch and laugh from the safety of your home. Link

This week’s list

GREAT:
Isabel Castro and Ora DeKornfeld have made a beautiful and powerful documentary about the trial of Scott Warren. Warren is an humanitarian aid worker in Arizona with the group No More Deaths, He faced felony charges and up to 20 years in prison for providing water and food so people wouldn't die in the desert. How did that become a crime? And what does it mean if it becomes illegal to give water to someone who might otherwise die of thirst? Castro and DeKornfeld followed Scott's work in the desert, his trial, and the repercussions on the community. USA v Scott  (The film is free at the top of the page.)


FUNNY:
Hannibal Buress put out his new special for free on YouTube. It's hilarious. I love how not only does he have great jokes and stories, but he makes full use of the form. It's multimedia, there are visual effects and sound effects and a DJ. He made the whole special a sponsored ad. Even the end credits are packed full of jokes. But while the meta jokes and form-breaking stuff is fantastic, about halfway through, the special turns to Hannibal telling a story about being arrested by a cop for being disrespectful to him. Those thirty minutes are some of the best, tightest, and funniest comedy I've seen this year. The way he mixes his story and jokes with the actual bodycam footage and news reports about it... You've gotta see it. Hannibal Buress: Miami Nights 


INTERESTING:
No one else breaks the broad range of stories that Jane Mayer breaks. Dark money,
predator drones, sexual misconduct, the prosecution of whistle-blowers... the list goes on. At a time when we need the truth more than ever, Mayer's investigative journalism uncovers stories no one else is telling. This report about "the secretive titan behind one of America’s largest poultry companies" is a look at the ways in which wealthy donors are taking advantage of coronavirus to put workers in danger. How Trump is Helping Tycoons Exploit the Pandemic


Thanks for reading. if you're enjoying 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 can subscribe here.

Stay safe,
Chris

3 Things: Chloë Ellingson, Patricia Lockwood, and The Sober Lush

Hey there,

I imagine this is happening to you too, but I keep finding events on my calendar that leave me stumped. A friend's wedding on the other side of the country? An artifact from a past life. A big family trip to a shared rental house in Oregon? A a strange overlap with an alternate dimension. Each time they pop up on the calendar, I'm jolted into awareness of how quickly things can change. That's scary when it swings in the bad direction, but it also makes me hopeful that if we keep pushing we can make the same kind of dramatic changes in a positive direction. My goal for this week is to channel the energy of people furious about Costco discontinuing sheet cakes, but apply it to racial and economic justice. Please join me. (Also, I'm genuinely inspired by the woman who proudly told a reporter that she ordered a cake meant to feed 48 people for herself every single month and had the workers write "Congrats on your new Costco card" on it.)

Upcoming Events

LIVESTREAMS:
- TODAY Saturday, July 11th at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE ALREADY HERE! Today's Zoom game show will once again be raising money for the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network and it features hilarious panelists Chrissy Shackelford and Eliza Cossio.  You can play a round or just watch and laugh from the comfort of your home. Link

This week’s list

GREAT:
Chloë Ellingson is a Canadian photojournalist. While it's still not safe to travel, I've been enjoying reading stories and looking at images from far away. Reading about a trip doesn't do it quite as effectively as being on the ground, but I can still feel the boundaries of my imagination expanding. Ellingson captures some amazing images in Quebec's far north. "The Tshiuetin line, the first railroad in North America owned and operated by First Nations people, is a symbol of reclamation and defiance for the communities it serves." Commuting, and Confronting History, on a Remote Canadian Railway


FUNNY:
Patricia Lockwood makes me laugh and gasp in equal measure. Her memoir, Priestdaddy, about growing up the daughter of a Catholic priest (he converted to Catholicism after having kids, which is apparently a loophole?) is one of the most jaw-dropping books I've ever read. And her account of contracting coronavirus and then wondering if it was causing her to go insane is hilarious and terrifying and absolutely could not have been written by anyone other than her. It's wild. Patricia Lockwood's Coronavirus Diary


INTERESTING:
I don't bring it up all that much, but I stopped drinking several years ago. I stopped for several reasons, none of which was nearly as exciting as many other people's stories. But I do think stopping has made my life better. I feel healthier, I've saved a ton of money, and when I wake up feeling like I got hit on the head by a hammer now, it's because I was actually hit on the head by a hammer. (It's rarer!) I know that during this particularly stressful time, a lot of folks are reevaluating their relationships with alcohol, so I thought I'd say that even if you don't have a particularly dramatic story, it's still okay to just decide your life is better off without it. This interview with Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine Libaire about their new book, The Sober Lush, put into a words a lot of feelings I've had about not drinking but haven't quite known how to express. A Guide to Living Decadently Without Alcohol (h/t The Ann Friedman Weekly)


That's it for today! Thanks for reading. if you're enjoying 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 can subscribe here.

Stay safe out there,
Chris