3+ week, 2+ day ago  (995+ words) NPR's Scott Simon talks with journalist Geoff Bennett about his new book, "Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms." (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INTRO, IN LIVING COLOR") HEAVY D & THE BOYZ: (Singing) You can do…...

2+ day, 8+ hour ago  (160+ words) NPR Fresh Air Weekend: Arsenio Hall; 'Roastmaster' comic Jeff Ross Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, as well as new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with…...

4+ day, 22+ hour ago  (161+ words) In 2020, writer Annabelle Gurwitch went to urgent care for a COVID-19 test and learned she had stage 4 lung cancer. She writes about life as a "cancer slacker" in her memoir, "The End of My Life is Killing Me." The humorist…...

5+ day, 22+ hour ago  (86+ words) NPR Comic Jeff Ross on roasting, loss and his epic bar mitzvah Known for his ruthless celebrity roasts, Ross turns inward in his Netflix special, "Take a Banana for the Ride," which details the loss of his parents and grandfather....

6+ day, 13+ min ago  (450+ words) "Going bald is one thing, but people thinking that I was sick or weak, for some reason, that really bothered me," Ross says of being diagnosed with alopecia. "Like, it's hard to go out and be the funny guy if…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago  (883+ words) Jason Sudeikis, from left, in Ted Lasso, Steve Carell in Rooster and Jason Segel in Shrinking " all star in comedies from Bill Lawrence. Apple TV, HBO hide caption Unless you're a media nerd or a budding TV critic, you may…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago  (931+ words) Performers Percy Mtwa, left, and Mbongeni Ngema in a scene from "Woza Albert" at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1981. Ruphin Coudyzer/AP hide caption JOHANNESBURG, South Africa'When it first started in the 1970s, South Africa's Market Theater staged…...

3+ week, 17+ hour ago  (163+ words) Live from London, it's Saturday Night? Saturday Night Live made its UK debut over the weekend after a well-hyped promotional campaign. Will this all-American sketch show translate to British audiences? We examine SNL's multi-million dollar gamble. Come see Planet Money…...

4+ week, 2+ day ago  (730+ words) NPR's Scott Simon speaks with playwright Wallace Shawn and director Andr" Gregory about their newest play, "What We Did Before Our Moth Days." They've been working together for five decades. ANDRE GREGORY: Thank you. WALLACE SHAWN: Delighted to be here....

10+ mon, 4+ week ago  (627+ words) Back in March, a group of comic luminaries " from John Mulaney to Nikki Glaser " gathered at the Kennedy Center to celebrate O'Brien for receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. BOB SMIGEL: (As Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) Good…...