Aug 15, 2017
BARRY CRIMMINS who is to comedy what General Robert E. Lee is to surrendering joins us from Scotland. Comedy Giants RAJ DESAI, JIM EARL, & JON ROSS, plus author of "Snooze: The Lost Art of Sleep" MICHAEL MCGIRR and Film Critic MICHAEL SNYDER. On today's show Comedian Barry Crimmins worries Americans have forgotten what we should be ashamed of. He joins us from Scotland to remind us how disgraceful we are as both a nation and a people. Jim Earl worries that Barry Crimmins has left out a few things that Americans should be ashamed of. He joins us from Los Angeles to remind us how disgraceful we are as both a nation and a people. Comedy Writer Raj Desai doesn't remind us of how disgraceful we are as both a nation and a people. But he does remind us of how disgraceful David Feldman is as both a comedy writer and a person. Comedy Writer Jon Ross has a farm, so he's happy and yet he's funnier than ever so screw him. We go to Australia and talk with Author Michael McGirr about sleep, and why Americans would be better off if we just stopped for awhile. Film Critic Michael Snyder talks Dunkirk.
In Snooze, Michael McGirr delves into the mysterious world of sleep, including its many benefits, its stubborn elusiveness, and exactly what our brains really get up to while we’re in bed. He offers readers a tour through the odd sleep patterns of some of history's greatest minds, including Aristotle, Homer, Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, and more. He looks, too, at the demise of sleep in our increasingly fragmented modern world―and examines what that means for everyone from the Average Joe in the workplace to those with serious sleep disorders.
Here's what they're saying about Barry Crimmins:
"Barry is hilariously funny, but more important, his humor comes
out of a deep intelligence, and extraordinary understanding of the
world around him and an intense commitment to social change." --
Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States.
"He breaks down reality in a hilarious way. He seems ticked off at
everything, and when you hear him, you agree. One of the few
political comedians who are really good." -- Steven Wright in U.S.
News and World Report
"The finest political satirist in the nation. A prolific writer of
comedy who is both keenly insightful and superbly humorous." --
Swift Kicks
"Barry makes Jack Reed look like Michael Milken." -- Dennis
Miller
"Barry Crimmins uses his sharp sense of irony as a political
weapon. In his hands, the subversive joke is the first small act of
resistance." -- Billy Bragg
"Crimmins did more...to educate these folks about the arms race and
other issues than hours of speeches and editorials could have
done." -- Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
"A hallmark of Crimmins' shows are their unpredictability. He's
known to go off on an unscripted monologue like a musician riffing
in a jam session, an act of inspired spontaneity few comedians
attempt." -- Mark Sommer Albany Times-Union
Raj Desai has written for The 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's Hulu series for which he received a 2017 Writers Guild Award and a 2016 Primetime Emmy nomination. He's been on late night TV and Comedy Central doing stand-up. Raj has also written for Comedy Central, The New Yorker, and McSweeney's. He also played Reba on the hit show "Reba."
Jim Earl is a Peabody and Emmy Award winning comedy writer.
Jon Ross is a genius.
