Comedy

Comic W. Kamau Bell's new show, produced by Chris Rock, mixes standup, sketches and interviews. Bell tells Fresh Air about the origins of his political humor and why it's important for him to have a multiracial audience.

Fallon is thankful for slow walkers, people named Lloyd and the word "moist." The comedian and host of Late Night collects more than 100 nuggets of gratitude in a book called Thank You Notes. He talks with Terry Gross about giving thanks and doing impressions.

The comedian co-wrote a film with Ira Glass, of public radio's This American Life, about his life and sleepwalking disorder. But making Sleepwalk With Me, based on Birbiglia's one-man show and comedic memoir, caused Birbiglia anxiety — which exacerbated his disorder.

Tig Notaro walked onstage hours after finding out she was diagnosed with cancer, and talked about it in a standup comedy set that Louis C.K. described in a tweet as masterful. Notaro spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the set, titled Tig Notaro: Live.

This interview was originally broadcast on Oct. 8, 2012.

Amy Schumer talks a lot about sex -- so much so that her Comedy Central special was called simply Mostly Sex Stuff. But her comedy is about much more than that. On her show Inside Amy Schumer, as well as in her stand-up, she tackles racism and awkward moments, and yes, sex, too. Also sex.

With Jon Stewart on leave, The Daily Show's "Senior British Correspondent" John Oliver has stepped up to fill in as host. In a Fresh Air interview from 2010, he talks about moving to the United States to join the show -- and the weird credibility his accent immediately gives him with Americans.

The screenwriter, producer, director and actor, whose name has become synonymous with American comedy, talks about his penchant for spoofs and his decades-long friendship with Carl Reiner. Brooks, who is among a handful of people who've won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, is the subject of a new documentary on PBS.

This weekend will be Hader's final romp on Saturday Night Live. He joined the cast in 2005 and has been nominated for an Emmy for his character Stefon, an obsessive clubgoer. Hader talks about not understanding how people do standup and about watching old films, which sparked his interest in Hollywood.

This interview was originally broadcast on Aug. 22, 2012.