Authors Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx of That's Not Funny--which shows how much political and cultural power the right-wing comedy world has gained. Sienkiewicz is Associate Professor and Chair of the Boston College Communication Department and Marx is Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies in the Department of Communication Studies at Colorado State University. 

Dan discusses being rejected from The Tonight Show. 

Dr Jo Boaler is a Stanford Professor. Former roles have included being a maths teacher in London schools. She is author of 18 books, numerous articles and a White House presenter on women and girls. Her latest book is called: Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead and Live without Barriers. She co-founded www.youcubed.org, is currently one of the writing team creating a new Mathematics Framework for the state of California, co-leading a K-12 Data Science Initiative and was named as one of the 8 educators “changing the face of education” by the BBC.

Mike Pesca is host of The Gist,and guest hosts the NPR Programs All Things Considered and the news quiz, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. His work has been featured on This American Life, Radiolab, and Planet Money. He has frequently appeared on MSNBC, CNN, and The PBS Newshour, and written for The Washington Post, The Guardian, GQ, Slate, and Baseball Prospectus.

Tanael Joachim (TJ) is a stand up comic, a regular at the Comedy Cellar and an Op-Ed contributor for the New York Times. His first special, January 3 is available on Amazon Prime. 

Noam, Dan and Periel catch up: Dan gets to Vegas despite a cancelled flight, Louis CK's Grammy, Noam’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the slap, Justice Jackson, "Don't Say Gay" and more. 

A CONVERSATION highlighting the role of comedy as a political, moral and analytic tool in our time: Taboos are everywhere. Plain facts are being denied. Arguable propositions are foisted on us as if they were certainties. Decorum and politeness sometimes blind us or intimidate us or deceive us. The comic makes us laugh, for sure. But, in that act he also creates space for saying the unsayable. He has "plausible deniability." He can be a truth teller, a liberator, a sage...

Featuring:

• Glenn Loury: Professor of Economic and Professor of International and Public Affairs, Brown University. Host of The Glenn Show podcast. He is among America’s leading critics writing on racial inequality.
• Roland Fryer: Harvard Economist, Macarthur "Genius" Fellow, Time 100 Honoree, McDonalds Employee of the Month specializing in Race and Education. Standup Comedian.
• Coleman Hughes: Writer, podcaster, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist who specialises in issues related to race, public policy and philosophy.
• Noam Dworman: Owner of the Comedy Cellar

Mia Jackson is a Georgia native now living in New York.  Her first half hour special is available on Epix and her second half hour special is on Comedy Central. She is a regular at The Comedy Cellar.