Growing up in Palm Springs, Iranian-American Muslim comedian Negin Farsad yearned to fit in. But as she grew older amid rising Islamophobia, Farsad realized she had her own people, and she could use her comedy to do more than make people laugh -- she could make them think. Farsad gives her Brief But Spectacular take on being an Iranian-American Muslim female comedian lady.

People tend to be afraid of silence -- they develop verbal defense mechanisms like small talk to instantly fill gaps in conversation. But according to radio journalist Alex Blumberg, some of the most amazing moments on air come from the “raw electric silence” of true emotion. Blumberg gives his Brief But Spectacular take on good tape and why silence really is golden.

Teenagers today have never known a world without smartphones and social media, and most of them can’t even conceive of a time where people sat around the dinner table without checking their Instagram pages. We asked a handful of eighth-graders from a Los Angeles public school to give their Brief But Spectacular takes on what technology means to them.

Comedian Tim Heidecker’s style has been described by critics as absurd, offensive, disgusting anti-comedy, but Heidecker politely disagrees. What he considers not funny, however, is the theft of his and other performers’ content. Illegal downloads makes it tougher for him and his team to make more comedy. Heidecker gives his Brief But Spectacular take on why people should pay for things.