How to Find the Comedy in A Messed-Up World (with Maeve Higgins)

·32 min·3 clips

Comedian Maeve Higgins uses humor to challenge how we see borders and the idea of 'good' versus 'bad' immigrants.

Host Chris Duffy introduces the episode by highlighting the unusual combination of comedy and immigration, framed through the work of guest Maeve Higgins. Higgins is a comedian and author who moved from Ireland to the U.S., using humor to complicate narratives around migration. She explains that her comedy stems from personal experience, having become an immigrant herself about ten years ago. Higgins discusses her O-1 visa, which labels holders as 'aliens of extraordinary ability,' and jokes about this while questioning the ethics of ranking immigrants by worth. She reflects on skepticism about comedy's impact, noting it can be a form of self-expression, relief, and community-building, but also weaponized. Higgins critiques political hypocrisy, citing Mike Pence's pride in his Irish refugee grandfather while supporting xenophobic policies. She emphasizes using imagination to rethink borders, pointing out their origins in violence and white supremacy. Practical advice includes educating oneself on immigration history, supporting existing organizations like those aiding single parents in Sunset Park, and avoiding 'savior' mentalities. Higgins shares anecdotes from her research, such as visiting the Border Security Expo where rifles were raffled, and interviewing a 10-year-old girl in Richmond about monument protests. She stresses resisting simplistic immigrant stereotypes—criminal, victim, or economic contributor—in favor of recognizing individual complexity. The episode concludes with Higgins recommending self-education, community sponsorship, and critical consumption of immigrant stories, alongside a quote from professor Ruha Benjamin about building better worlds.

As heard by us

Comedy and migration meet in a humane, clear conversation.

Maeve Higgins uses comedy to think through immigration without flattening either subject, and the episode works because it lets jokes carry real tension around borders, belonging, and the divide between "good" and "bad" immigrants.

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Why you'd press play

Hear comedy turn immigration into something clearer, kinder, and harder to ignore.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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