Funny You Should Mention, a collaboration between the Comedy Cellar and The Gist is my attempt to take seriously the idea that comedians want to A) get laughs, but also B) make us think.
For a few years now, comics have been credited as occupying a place in society closer to public intellectual or philosopher than clown. So I thought it might be interesting to my audience to hear comics fielding questions which draw them out and challenge their theses and ideas. While getting the laugh is the certainly the point of what they’re doing, making a point is a fascinating bonus. All episodes will be on youtube, in addition to appearing in the feed of The Gist.
Episode 1: Nimesh Patel
Over his career Nimesh Patel has had periods of wanting to make points interlaced within the punchlines and periods when he’s aspired to be a purely joke-oriented comic. He’s somewhat of the perfect comedian to kick off this series which treats comedy routines as argument or Op-Eds. Nimesh has actually written an Op-Ed for the NY Times. In this episode we discuss being kicked off stage at Columbia University, eviscerating the healthcare system when over a dozen of your cousins are doctors, and more about Indian President Narendra Modi than most conversations with comics usually include.
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