The Stand Comedy Club presents: 10 For 10 Podcast · Witz Comedy Network

ARI SHAFFIR | 10 FOR 10 | EP. 9

·50 min·3 clips

Roger Waters used a giant inflatable pig to say, 'US tax dollars go in here.'

1. The Stand Comedy Club presents: 10 For 10 Podcast centers this episode on Ari Shaffir's special 'Jew' and how it was built. 2. Host Kieran McCann speaks with Ari Shaffir, a comedian whose latest special 'Jew' has reached two million people on YouTube. 3. The episode asks how a 90-minute comedy special about religion can stay 'timeless' and still feel current. 4. Shaffir says the hour had to cover religion, culture, laws, stories, and his own experience in it. 5. He says the material took five and a half years to write and about 'two and a half, 240 total' to hone. 6. He describes getting corrected on a Noah bit after assuming Noah had 40 children. 7. He says another bit about 'the Jews fucking through the sheet' depended on a myth he later learned was false. 8. Shaffir says fact-checking mattered because 'you can't lie' when the material is recorded as a special. 9. He says he wanted the set to be accessible even to people who are not religious. 10. He points to Roger Waters in Providence and the inflatable pig that said 'US tax dollars go in here.' 11. Shaffir uses that Roger Waters image to explain how a performer can entertain people while still making a point. 12. He says the special was delayed by 'many kerfuffles,' COVID, and a venue problem involving insurance. 13. He describes moving the taping to midnight shows at The Stand under a pen name. 14. He says Colm Turrell opened the show at the Comedy Cellar and the nights packed up quickly. 15. He says he later used those recorded shows, plus a Cleveland recording, to rebuild the special after taking it off for a year. 16. Shaffir says the break made the special better because he could see where setups were too long or jokes were confusing. 17. He describes the process as 'pretty lonely' and says he had to keep working with leftover material for years. 18. The conversation has an interview style with quick back-and-forth, specific examples, and frequent comic asides. 19. Listeners who like stand-up craft, club culture, and comedy about religion. 20. Skip if you want polished celebrity publicity talk without backstage detail.

As heard by us

A relaxed comedy-world conversation about Ari Shaffir's latest special, touring, and the craft of making jokes work in different rooms.

Kieran McCann and Ari Shaffir spend this episode in an easy, low-key conversation about Shaffir's latest special, Jew, which McCann calls timeless and says has already reached two million people on YouTube.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for Ari Shaffir talking about his special, club spots, Edinburgh, and what still feels timeless.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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