May 12 What makes comedian W. Kamau Bell laugh By Elizabeth Flock “Comedy is like expensive cheese,” comedian W. Kamau Bell once said. “Well, it’s like cheese, in general. Everybody likes what they like, and everything they don’t like, they think is the worst.” That may be the case, but still… Continue reading
Aug 29 Gene Wilder, star of comedies ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Young Frankenstein,’ dies By Larisa Epatko For anyone who’s heard the “Oompa Loompa” song or Frankenstein pronounced as “Fronkensteen,” Monday's news of actor Gene Wilder’s death cuts deeply. Wilder died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 83. Continue reading
Jun 30 Watch 3:39 Tig Notaro explains how to make breast cancer funny By PBS News Hour Comedian Tig Notaro lost her mother, ended a long-term relationship and got diagnosed with breast cancer all in the same year. It was, she says, more than she could handle, but it also spurred a writing spree that helped her… Continue watching
Feb 16 Watch 6:19 How’s the revolution going? Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef answers (satirically) By PBS News Hour Last week Egypt marked the five-year anniversary of the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. But the road forward has been slow and tumultuous. Jeffrey Brown talks to Bassem Youssef, the political satirist some call the "Jon Stewart of Egypt,”… Continue watching
Feb 11 Watch 2:52 ‘Billy On The Street’ on the art of the ambush By PBS News Hour You may know him as "Billy On The Street" but there's more to comedian Billy Eichner than meets the eye. He gives his Brief but Spectacular take on the most difficult person he knows: himself. Continue watching