What's So Funny About...? – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to comedian and activist, Steve Bhaerman

Steve Bhaerman is an internationally known author, humorist, and workshop leader. For the past 35 years, he has written and performed as Swami Beyondananda, the "Cosmic Comic." Swami's comedy has been called "irreverently uplifting" and has been described both as "comedy disguised as wisdom" and "wisdom disguised as comedy."

As the Swami, Steve is the author of Driving Your Own Karma (1989), When You See a Sacred Cow, Milk It For All It's Worth (1993), Duck Soup for the Soul (1999) and Swami for Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile Dysfunction (2004).

You can learn more about Steve's work here. The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this special episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, Alternative Comics, we talk with Alan Jenkins and Gan Golan, creators of the graphic novel 1/6.

Alan Jenkins is a multimedia writer, Harvard Law School Professor, human rights advocate, recovering Supreme Court litigator, and producer and editor of the social justice superhero Helvetika Bold! He is a Co-Founder and former President of The Opportunity Agenda, and has appeared widely in print and broadcast media, including CNN, MSNBC, the Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

Gan Golan is a NY Times bestselling author, artist and activist known for  'Goodnight Bush' and the critically-acclaimed 'The Adventures of Unemployed Man'. He’s designed Rock Music posters for Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Nick Cave and Henry Rollins and his Ben Harper poster is considered one of the greatest music posters of all time.

Together this Dynamic duo are the creators of 1/6 , a graphic novel that explores what might have been if the events of January 6th went according to plan.

You can find out more about 1/6 and get your copies at https://onesixcomicsstore.com/ The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify .

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Environmentalist and Comic, Belina Raffy of Sustainable Standup, Maffick, and Giggling With Earth.

Belina Raffy is here to bring the Cosmic Giggle to Earth. She is US-American and French, is based in Berlin, Germany, and she teaches individuals and organisations around the world how to improvise, align with nature, and write & perform a loving form of stand up comedy about climate and social issues. She has run her course Sustainable Stand Up over 50 times online and across 11 countries. And she is in the process of writing her second book. Her first is called, “Using Improv to Save the World (and me)”.

Question for this episode:

What is so funny about climate change?

In this special Thanksgiving episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the ⁠Liberation Comedy Project⁠, I talk with comedian, producer, and actor Blake Pickens (see bio below) about his perspective on Thanksgiving, the balm of laughter, and all kinds of hilarity.

Blake Pickens is an Emmy Award winning Chickasaw comedian and filmmaker. Blake began his career writing satire for The National Lampoon, where he published numerous featured articles. He is a part of A Tribe Called Sketch, the first all Native American sketch show on a US Second City Stage. He can be seen performing stand up all over LA.

Blake was selected for the Time Warner Sundance Native Producing Lab and Fellowship and the Sundance Producing Fellowship for his film, THE LAND. The film premiered in 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by IFC Films. Blake has produced content with a focus on diversity and inclusion, ranging from feature films to commercials and music videos. He has produced commercials that have won a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions two years in a row (2017, 2018), and won a 2018 Emmy for his P&G commercial, THE TALK. He also won an MTV VMA for his work on John Legend’s music video, SUREFIRE. His second feature film as a producer, WILD INDIAN, with Michael Greyeyes and Jesse Eisenberg premiered at Sundance 2021.

Blake was also selected for the inaugural 2020 Sundance Indigenous Intensive for his comedy pilot, THE WILDEST WEST, which was also selected for the Black List’s Indigenous List. He wrote on the Rugrats reboot for Nickelodeon and wrote on Spirit Rangers for Netflix. He is currently in post production on THE ROOF for Disney+/Launchpad and is part of Illuminative’s Producers Program.

Blake is a graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC, has an MBA from LMU, and is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

Blake can be found on Instagram at @blakepickens and see some of his work at ⁠https://blakepickens.com⁠/.

The "What's So Funny About...?"Podcast is incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to performer, a professor of conflict resolution and the Director of the Washington Improv Theater’s WIT@Work program, John Windmueller, PhD (see more below). John talks about how the tools of improv can be used in variety of situations from business negotiations to hostage negotiations. We also discuss the power of laughter, neurobiology, and even a tad on spirituality.

This episode's "What's So Funny About...?" question is, "What's so funny about the 'Montgomery Brawl'?" Listen to find out John's answer.

The Liberation Comedy Project is incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

John Windmueller serves as the Director of WIT@Work, the applied improv and corporate training branch of Washington Improv Theater. WIT@Work is one of the largest providers of applied improv training in the US, with clients including Deloitte, Google, Comcast, Capital One, Marriott, NPR, NIH, EPA, and the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit. John has over two decades of experience designing, delivering, and overseeing professional training and graduate education focused on communication, collaboration, and creativity. In addition to his education and training background, he holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and has extensive experience working as a facilitator and mediator, helping groups and communities have constructive conversations. Along with directing WIT@Work, John performs regularly at WIT and at improv festivals throughout the U.S.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to humorist, mentalist, and magician Dr. Steve Taubman, author of Bulletproof and UnHypnosis, and performer of Mind Magic which combines elements of comedy and mindreading with a healthy dose of psychology and theater, drawing on Dr. Steve’s laser-sharp observational skills and his refined sense of the absurd. In our conversation we touch on many elements of the human experience and how we can bring attention and laughter to our world.

The brilliance of how Steve uses his many talents is that he does so in service to helping people question their assumptions in fundamental ways, incorporating mindfulness, magic, and more. It is a fun episode. This episode's "What's So Funny About...?" question is, what's so funny about getting old? Listen to find out Steve's answer.

The Liberation Comedy Project is incubated by Mediator's Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

Humor made a difference in Rev. Barbara's life. So she made her life's work to use humor to make a difference in other people's lives. In this episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" podcast, we talk to Rev. Barbara Ann Michaels, Comic Artist, Entrepreneur, and Founder of The House of Holy Humor. Listen in as we discuss how humor works in our lives to help us heal, transform, and create in every area of our lives by allowing us to work with our vulnerabilities. Keep up with Barbara at https://www.jesterofthepeace.com/.

Key Takeaway:

"There is nothing off limits in comedy. And some things are too soon to joke about forever."

For the inaugural Liberation Comedy Podcast, "What's So Funny About...? we are thrilled to have Karith Foster, American comedian, speaker, television and radio personality, actress, author, and entrepreneur. Karith is the founder and CEO of ⁠Inversity Solutions⁠ a consulting firm that specializes in and Foster Russell Alliance for Meaningful Expression (FRAME), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which is committed to "Inspiring free speech, social change and empowerment through education and mentorship."

In this episode, we discuss how comedy can help be a healing force in society and we ask our "What's so funny about... Question of the Day"--What's So Funny About Illness?

In this special episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, IrReverent: Spirituality, Comedy, and the Body Politic, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk with Benjamin-Shalom Rodriguez and Rev. Barbara Ann Michaels.

Benjamin-Shalom Rodriguez (he/they) is a queer, Mexican-Israeli-American writer, director, and comedian. Ben's currently developing his half-hour animated comedy, Jesus Versus Zeus, with Sony and completed  season 2 of Stoned Breakups, which he created and hosts. He’s also an educator and filmmaker mentor with Edward James Olmos’ Latino Film Institute/Youth Cinema Project, where they teach students from underfunded schools how to make short films, and a charter member of the queer Latinx writers collective, The Clubhouse.

Benjamin is also the director of America's Next Top Immigrant (https://danceswithfilms.com/americas-next-top-immigrant/) and can be followed on Instagram at @lolohgosh and lologosh.

Reverend Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace, (https://www.jesterofthepeace.com/), is an award-winning interfaith minister, performance artist, humorist, and author on a humanitarian humor mission.

She founded the House of Holy Humor, a secular congregation for the humor arts. All faiths and atheists are welcome. Love, art, and humor are her trifecta of tools for emotional well-being. House of Holy Humor delivers playfully serious participatory arts experiences that further love, connection, and healing internationally, often through collaboration with organizations.

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Her background includes using audience-interactive art and performance to further community and corporate missions at events from galas to trade shows to festivals and parties.

She also had a 20 year career as an arts educator in theater and improvisation for adults and youth, amplifying their leadership skills through self-expression and collaboration.

As an ordained interfaith minister, she was a wedding officiant for 10 years, specializing in creative ceremonies, including costume and helicopter weddings, for over 550 couples. She performed some of the first legal LGBTQ weddings in New York State.

Her definition of a fulfilling life is people finding, giving, and being appreciated for their gifts to humanity - all people seen, heard, celebrated, and connected. She acts for a win-win world.

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Nick Marx co-author of That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them

Nick Marx is an Associate Professor of film and media studies, specializing in media studies, media industries, digital media, and American politics and culture.  He is author or co-editor of several books, including Sketch Comedy: Identity, Reflexivity, and American Television (Indiana University Press, 2019), The Comedy Studies Reader (University of Texas Press, 2018), and Saturday Night Live and American TV (Indiana University Press, 2013).  His peer-reviewed research has appeared in The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Communication, Culture & Critique, Television and New Media, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, and in the anthologies From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels (Routledge, 2022) and How to Watch Television (New York University Press, 2013).

Nick's most recent book project is That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work For Them (University of California Press, 2022), which analyzes the cultural influence and economic clout of libertarian and conservative comedians like Joe Rogan, Tim Allen, and Fox News' Greg Gutfeld. You can read an excerpt of the book at New York magazine, and you can follow Nick on Twitter (@marxnick).

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).