Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
The Hulu comedy, Dave, is a fictional story about the sensationalized rapper, Lil Dicky. The show look like many other comedies at first but is actually jam-packed with well-thought out jokes and plots. Dave is now streaming on Hulu and FXX.
Bo Burnham has taken on many roles throughout his career. We discuss his latest project, Inside, now streaming on Netflix.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is thought to be the oldest epic poem ever written, created in 2000 BCE. Throughout time, poetry has stayed constant, with greats like Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Henry Thoreau publishing cherished works still topical today. John Kenney is a modern poet whose work is frequently featured in the New Yorker. He’s best known for his …
Sometimes you don't want a critically acclaimed show or Oscar-worthy movie, but rather something funny like a cheesy rom-com or a bit of classic stand-up. We discuss two Bo Burnham comedy specials that are now streaming on Netflix.
Two years ago, NBC debuted a strange new comedy show called The Good Place. It was written by Michael Schur, a writer on The Office and the creator of Parks & Recreation, so people were willing to get it a change… but it’s logline was pretty out-there. It’s a half-hour comedy about people who died in the afterlife and, specifically, about Eleanor …
We all love a good theater performance. But are theater and performance good strategies to affect social change? Our guest thinks so. He’s a performer, writer and educator who uses serious play and theater to help change people’s minds and change society for the better.
A new documentary from HBO, Come Inside My Mind, explores the life of actor Robin Williams as told by his friends and family. The documentary is cleverly narrated by the actor himself using audio from earlier interviews.
Comedy is all around us: all over social media, in advertisements, even on church signs. Former Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings says that while it can be fun, it does come at a cost when jokes are made in arenas where they're inappropriate. We discuss the history and impact of jokes on our culture.
Authors Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein use humor to explain philosophical beliefs from deep thinkers, like Immanuel Kant and John Locke.
Traditionally, a sitcom show is episodic: you don’t necessarily need to see every episode. But NBC’s The Good Place embraces a serialized structure, which gives it a unique feel.
This weekend, you may have noticed a Netflix banner for the new season of Master of None. The show was created by, and stars, comedian Aziz Ansari and made a big splash in the fall of 2015 when it first debuted.
This week's guest, Larry Bogad is a performer, writer and educator who uses serious play and theater to help change people’s minds and change society for the better.
Sometimes talking about serious subjects - even with friends and family - can cause arguments and bad feelings. Our guests are two very talented and funny people who use humor, satire and irony to make their points about women in science and technology, and the immigrant experience.
Everyone likes a good comedy show, and these days there seems to be a comedian around every corner. Comedy club comics, television shows, movies and plays that try to make us laugh at the absurdities of life are very popular, but did you ever wonder just how they come up with their material? We talk to a veteran comedy writer about the process of writing …
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