I go deep with Jason Zinoman on the Hasan Minhaj controversy + Marc Maron's comedy podcast beef with Joe Rogan + why Nate Bargatze's standup is blowing up rn + is Jim Gaffigan our new Mark Twain?
Hey Gabe, finally finished this one. Great stuff. I really appreciated Jason's insights about comedy vs. cancel culture, and your discussion on the future of podcasts.
I did a letter exchange on taking risks in comedy back in mid-September and shared some of my personal thoughts there. Worth a bookmark for a rainy day: https://agowani.substack.com/p/on-taking-risks
Hey Amran, thanks so much for listening & for yr super kind words. And thanks for the link to yr letter exchange which I just read. First thought: Field Research is such a great name for a newsletter. Something abt the experience of reading the letter exchange really drove that home. My fav part of your most recent letter was yr opening 2 graphs. Especially the part where you hashtagged managing to have not been shot as an achievement with #firstworldproblem. That was a brilliant joke/not joke.
I agree w you there is backlash coming.
I basically agree w you abt punching up/punching down.
Tho I agree w Jason that as we've learned anyone can make themselves the victim. Also I like his idea of being opposed to any grand unified theory of comedy.
Anyway I love your enthusiasm for podcasting & I am v excited abt yr forthcoming podcast & I know from our email we're gonna talk abt it at some point & I'm excited for that. Cheers.
Thanks for the feedback on the newlsetter name! That was something that just hit me as I moved from Medium to Substack back in May 2022.
Definitely agree on all your other points. I do think punching up is generally a better route, but there's exceptions to everything. The example Jason mentioned about Chapelle dunking on the kid with terminal cancer is astute. For that one, I think the pure absurdity of the bit makes it hilarious. And to the broader point, there's definitely no singular way to make comedy. You just know it's funny when you experience it.
Re: the podcast, my co-creator Cat Baab-Muguira and I filmed our first episode last week! I'll be uploading it to YouTube over the next few days. It's definitely a real-time work-in-progress, but something we're both excited about. I'll shoot you the link via email once it's live, and I'm looking forward to our future discussion!
Great conversation, Gabe! Really enjoyed this one, and I learned a lot listening to Jason. What was cool about this convo was that I've been reading Jason's work for years, but I never really thought about who was writing those pieces in The New York Times. Shame on me, but good on you for elevating Jason. If comedy is going to be treated as a serious art, it needs serious critics like Jason.
OK, your question. I don't know if I have a favorite comic. Too many comics come to mind. But Mitch Hedberg would be near the top of that list. He wrote these perfect little one-liners. Some were as shallow as puddles, but others were as deep as Mariana Trench. Not that it mattered. The jokes and the writing were always so good, and Mitch had this perfect delivery that fit him like a glove. I loved his act, and I miss him dearly.
Oh gosh thanks so much listening, Michael, & for yr thoughtful reply. I love that you now know that Jason Zinoman is behind some of your fav writing abt comedy. I always run to see whatever new thing Jason has written & now I'll have someone to talk to abt those columns (you).
I love the way you adore Mitch Hedberg. My first love for that style of one liner will always be Steven Wright but it's really been a while since I watched Hedberg so maybe I need to go dig around on YouTube.
Not as easy to follow as I am unfamiliar with mist references to the comedians mentioned. Despite this the conversation flowed and had a sense of urgency to it. I wonder what Jason Zinoman meant when saying there are things you can do on the page that can’t be done on a podcast.
I can hear the delivery of a standup comedian! Great conversation; made me think about a lot of ideas as a writer as well as thinking about cultural icons.
A lot of the background here is unfamiliar to me, but it was still a really interesting conversation. Thank you.
Ditto.
Thanks so much for listening, Jeffrey, & I'm thrilled that it was still interesting, despite some stuff being unfamiliar!
Hey Gabe, finally finished this one. Great stuff. I really appreciated Jason's insights about comedy vs. cancel culture, and your discussion on the future of podcasts.
I did a letter exchange on taking risks in comedy back in mid-September and shared some of my personal thoughts there. Worth a bookmark for a rainy day: https://agowani.substack.com/p/on-taking-risks
Hey Amran, thanks so much for listening & for yr super kind words. And thanks for the link to yr letter exchange which I just read. First thought: Field Research is such a great name for a newsletter. Something abt the experience of reading the letter exchange really drove that home. My fav part of your most recent letter was yr opening 2 graphs. Especially the part where you hashtagged managing to have not been shot as an achievement with #firstworldproblem. That was a brilliant joke/not joke.
I agree w you there is backlash coming.
I basically agree w you abt punching up/punching down.
Tho I agree w Jason that as we've learned anyone can make themselves the victim. Also I like his idea of being opposed to any grand unified theory of comedy.
Anyway I love your enthusiasm for podcasting & I am v excited abt yr forthcoming podcast & I know from our email we're gonna talk abt it at some point & I'm excited for that. Cheers.
Thanks for the feedback on the newlsetter name! That was something that just hit me as I moved from Medium to Substack back in May 2022.
Definitely agree on all your other points. I do think punching up is generally a better route, but there's exceptions to everything. The example Jason mentioned about Chapelle dunking on the kid with terminal cancer is astute. For that one, I think the pure absurdity of the bit makes it hilarious. And to the broader point, there's definitely no singular way to make comedy. You just know it's funny when you experience it.
Re: the podcast, my co-creator Cat Baab-Muguira and I filmed our first episode last week! I'll be uploading it to YouTube over the next few days. It's definitely a real-time work-in-progress, but something we're both excited about. I'll shoot you the link via email once it's live, and I'm looking forward to our future discussion!
Great conversation, Gabe! Really enjoyed this one, and I learned a lot listening to Jason. What was cool about this convo was that I've been reading Jason's work for years, but I never really thought about who was writing those pieces in The New York Times. Shame on me, but good on you for elevating Jason. If comedy is going to be treated as a serious art, it needs serious critics like Jason.
OK, your question. I don't know if I have a favorite comic. Too many comics come to mind. But Mitch Hedberg would be near the top of that list. He wrote these perfect little one-liners. Some were as shallow as puddles, but others were as deep as Mariana Trench. Not that it mattered. The jokes and the writing were always so good, and Mitch had this perfect delivery that fit him like a glove. I loved his act, and I miss him dearly.
Oh gosh thanks so much listening, Michael, & for yr thoughtful reply. I love that you now know that Jason Zinoman is behind some of your fav writing abt comedy. I always run to see whatever new thing Jason has written & now I'll have someone to talk to abt those columns (you).
I love the way you adore Mitch Hedberg. My first love for that style of one liner will always be Steven Wright but it's really been a while since I watched Hedberg so maybe I need to go dig around on YouTube.
Not as easy to follow as I am unfamiliar with mist references to the comedians mentioned. Despite this the conversation flowed and had a sense of urgency to it. I wonder what Jason Zinoman meant when saying there are things you can do on the page that can’t be done on a podcast.
I can hear the delivery of a standup comedian! Great conversation; made me think about a lot of ideas as a writer as well as thinking about cultural icons.
Oh gosh you are so kind, Kathleen, thanks so much for listening, I was thrilled to be having that convo w Jason!