Today, exploring the idea of humor as a tool for survival, told through conversations from our new podcast, creating our own lives, and guided by lily percy. The simpsons looks to books, but learns nothing new by ryan harrington. Theres been a bit of a war of words going on lately between the simpsons and comedian hari kondabolu. Together, they host the untitled kondabolu brothers podcast. Waiting for 2042 by hari kondabolu on amazon music. For almost twenty years, new york universitys asianpacificamerican institute has offered residencies to journalists, poets, photographers and painters and other artists. Why hari kondabolu takes on the simpsons in new trutv doc.
Comedian hari kondabolu made a documentary in 2017 called the problem with apu. Club apu nahasapeemapetilon dennis perkins hank azaria hari kondabolu linda holmes npr the problem with apu the simpsons. Comedian hari kondabolu on diversity, race and burger king. Hari kondabolu is a brooklynbased comedian and writer who the ny times has described as one of the most exciting political comics in standup today. His jokes tackle politics, race, gender, religion and yet they never sound. Hari kondabolu says his mom is hilarious and not because of her accent the immigrants rights organizer turned comedian wont impersonate his parents indian accents. Hari has become something of a fixture in the podcastradio scene, with guest appearances on programs such as npr s all things considered and wtf with marc maron. Hes appeared on conan, jimmy kimmel, comedy central, russell howard. Because a lot of white people are not used to being called.
Ive been traveling all over the world telling jokes. Comedian hari kondabolu 04 discusses white fragility npr. Hari kondabolu on fox 5s good day new york on 472014. Speaking on npr s morning edition, comedian hari kondabolu 04 said some white audiences dont like it when he jokes about race. Comedy for social change comedians hari kondabolu and franchesca ramsey want to make you laugh, but they also want to make you think and take action toward changing the world. Hari kondabolus netflix special warn your relatives is one of the comedy specials you can find streaming right now. When hari kondabolu, a comedian and filmmaker, encountered the simpsons character apu for the first time he was eight years old and thrilled to see someone like himself on tv. Do entertainers, celebrities and speakers like hari kondabolu do paid appearances and speaking engagements. Hes made a lot of key people laugh with his incisive anecdotes, including jimmy kimmel, conan obrien. Hari kondabolu 04 comedy cd as seen on the late show with david letterman and conan as heard on fresh air with terry gross on npr link.
The film focuses on the character apu nahasapeemapetilon, an indian immigrant in the animated sitcom the simpsons who, for a period, was the only figure of south asian heritage to appear regularly on mainstream u. You can find booking and speaking fee information, contacts for booking agent, publicist, agency, manager and biography information on hari. Heres a clip of hari kondabolu on john olivers new york standup show in 2010. Check out waiting for 2042 by hari kondabolu on amazon music. Hari kondabolu targets a lack of racial representation on the simpsons in the problem with apu. Hari kondabolu is a brooklynbased standup comedian, the child of indian immigrants, and a big fan of the simpsons. Kondabolu says his goal isnt to shame the show or demand apus erasure. Getting your laughs where you can in the wide world of. Why apu on the simpsons is racist hari kondabolu talks. Hari kondabolu is a brooklynbased, queensraised comedian who just released the criticallyacclaimed album, waiting for 2042. Hari kondabolu is a brainy comedian who cuts through the polite talk around race and gender. A public radio regular, hari has been interviewed on fresh air with terry gross and has also been heard on morning edition, all things considered, studio 360, bullseye with jesse thorn, marketplace and the moth.
Hari kondabolu is the writer and star of the new documentary the problem with apu. Kondabolu performed on the fx series totally biased with w. Comic hari kondabolu 04 among fresh air best of 2014 npr. Hari kondabolu does a lot of comedy about race and ethnicity. In hari kondabolus documentary the problem with apu, the comedian explains how a show as beloved as the simpsons still retains a racial blind spot after 30 years. Terry gross interviewed comic hari kondabolu 04 on npr s fresh air in april 2014. A new documentary calls into question the simpsons. Kamau bell and hari kondabolu are here to commiserate with us. The show just about rolled its eyes at hari kondabolus the problem with apu. Its a phrase that is widely associated with apu nahasapeemapetilon, the convenience store cashier from the legacy animated sitcom, the simpsons. This year for the first time ever they invited a standup comedian. A new documentary calls into question the simpsons apu. His comedy covers subjects such as race, identity, inequality, and the lgbt community.
The documentary grew out of a fiveminute piece that mr. Hes also performed stand up on conan, jimmy kimmel live, and the late show with david letterman. Hari kondabolu is connected to almost everyone in show biz. Hari kondabolu worked as an immigrants rights organizer in seattle and did comedy as a hobby on the side. For comic hari kondabolu, explaining the joke is the joke many comedians think that explaining jokes ruins jokes, but hari kondabolu doesnt mind. The documentary is an accessible, thoughtful, and candid look.
Hari kondabolus new album mainstream american comic. Ap one of the most difficult tasks in hollywood is to get someone who is successful to admit they are dead wrong. He even liked the character apu nahasapeemapetilon, the convenience store owner. Comic hari kondabolu 04 among fresh air best of 2014 npr january 1, 2015 by matt odonnell leave a comment. I dont want the stuff i talk about to be niche issues. How one direction can end the muslim ban by hari kondabolu duration. Director michael melamedoff and comedian hari kondabolu released the problem with apu, a documentary about how south asian people have dealt with seeing most of their american representation on. Between growing up in queens and currently residing in brooklyn, comedian hari kondabolu has appeared on letterman, conan, and npr. When indianamerican comedian hari kondabolu steps on stage at the neptune theater in seattle, where his netflix special warn your relatives is being filmed, he looks at the packed audience in. The simpsons response to the problem with apu recognizes. But as his following grew, he realized he couldnt do both. He is also a regular contributor to npr s wait wait dont tell me. Biography of hari kondabolu and speakers bureau with booking information for famous speakers like hari kondabolu.
Speaking to interviewer david greene on friday september 16, 2016, he observed that its sometimes not the content that offends them, but his choice of the phrase white people. Hari kondabolu says his mom is hilarious and not because. In it, he interrogates the legacy of apu, the convenience store owner on. Also, some of the greatest acting i have seen in my life. His comedy special cuts, but kindly in his netflix debut warn your relatives, kondabolu walks the line between broad humor and bloodletting shares. The simpsons looks to books, but learns nothing new. For comic hari kondabolu, explaining the joke is the joke. I was looking for something funny to listen to that would ease my commute to and from a very painful, hostile workplace and vitamin h was just want i needed. Its already been 30 years, and the impact has already been made, he says. At first i thought i liked his first album better that i. The books they hold up for comparison but fail to use as a teaching tool cannot be rewritten in the same way. The standup comic hari kondabolu talks about his documentary the problem with apu, which uses the notorious kwikemart clerk as a springboard to discuss issues of representation and minstrelsy in. Npr s elise hu talks kondabolu, whose new film the problem with apu delves into. Kondabolu is a perfect guide to this history and examination of the simpsons apu.
A new documentary calls into question the simpsons apu by eric deggans npr nov. The simpsons responds to apu controversy, hari kondabolu. Conan, john olivers new york standup show, and has his own comedy central presents special. Newsweek the comedian is not afraid to be confrontational and aggressive with issues that make people sweatracism, sexism, classism, colonialism and white privilegewhile putting his vulnerabilities onstage through jokes and anecdotes that.
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