Joan Alexandra Molinsky, known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer, and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that was heavily self-deprecating and acerbic, especially towards celebrities and politicians, delivered in her signature New York accent. She is considered a pioneer of women in comedy. She received an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award, as well as nomination for a Tony Award.
Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe content that was an "alternative" to the mainstream stand-up of the day which took place in working men's clubs, and was characterised by unoriginal gags often containing elements of sexism and racism. In other contexts, it is the nature of the form that is "alternative", avoiding reliance on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt has defined it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material."
Heeb is a Jewish website aimed predominantly at young Jews. The name of the publication is a variation of the ethnic slur "hebe", an abbreviation of Hebrew. However, in this case, the word "heeb" seeks to function as empowerment for the Jewish community, thus eliminating the hatred associated with the word.
Ned Arnel "Carlos" Mencía is a Honduran-American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race relations, Latin American culture, criminal justice, and social class. He is best known as the host of the Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia (2005–2008). Around the time of the show's cancellation, several comedians accused Mencía of plagiarism and stealing jokes.
Elayne Boosler is an American comedian, writer, and actress.
The Moth is a nonprofit group based in New York City, dedicated to the craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities alongside everyday people like veterans, astronauts, school teachers, and parents. The Moth offers a weekly podcast and in 2009 launched a national public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, which won a 2010 Peabody Award. The Moth has published four books, including The Moth: 50 True Stories (2013), which reached #22 on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Best-Seller List; All These Wonders: True Stories about Facing the Unknown (2017); Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying the Impossible (2019); and How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth (2022). In September 2022, The Moth published an interactive card deck, A Game of Storytelling, which debuted at #1 on Amazon's top-selling card game list.
Lisa Landry is an American comedian, actress and writer.
Sara Schaefer is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and author.
Bob Smith was an American comedian and author. Born in Buffalo, New York, Smith was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and the first openly gay comedian to have his own HBO half-hour comedy special. Smith, along with fellow comedians Jaffe Cohen and Danny McWilliams, formed the comedy troupe Funny Gay Males in 1988.
Beth Lapides is an American writer, comedian, producer and host, best known for creating Un-Cabaret.
Rebecca Addelman is a Canadian comedian, writer, director and actress living in Los Angeles, California. She was a contributing staff writer on Fox's sitcom New Girl and is the creator of Guilty Party.
Jennifer Ann Kirkman is an American stand-up comedian and screenwriter, podcaster, and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on Chelsea Lately for 70 episodes from 2008 to 2014.
Mike Albo is an American writer, comedian, actor and humorist. He is known for his writing and performances that criticize and satirize contemporary celebrity and consumer culture.
Catherine Simone Avnet Lazarus was an American writer, comedian, and talk show host. Lazarus was awarded "Best Comedy Writer" at the ECNY Awards and named one of New York's "Top 100 New Yorkers". Theater Mania called her a "comedy darling" and Lewis Black described her as "more brilliant than she'll ever know". Lazarus is best known as creator and host of the Employee of the Month, a monthly comedy show and podcast filmed live at Joe's Pub in New York City where she interviewed famous people about their jobs. The show was called "beloved" by The New York Times, and "hilarious" and "ambitious" by BlackBook.
Bridget Everett is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She began her career appearing and co-writing alongside Michael Patrick King the Broadway musical comedy At Least It's Pink: A Trashy Little Show (2007), and the following year made her screen debut with a minor role in the romantic comedy film Sex and the City also directed by King. She later performed on Inside Amy Schumer (2013-16), and the comedy film Trainwreck (2015) and her own one-hour Comedy Central special Bridget Everett: Gynecological Wonder (2015). Everett has described herself as an "alt-cabaret provocateur."
Jeannie Louise Gaffigan is an American actress, producer, and comedy writer. She is best known as a writer and executive producer for The Jim Gaffigan Show, a show loosely based on her own family life with her husband, Jim Gaffigan.
The Story Collider is a US-based non-profit group dedicated to telling true, personal stories about science. Their mission is to empower both scientists and nonscientists alike with the skills they need to tell these stories and share them through their live shows and podcast, with the goal of exploring the human side of science.
Michelle Buteau is an American stand-up comedian, actress, television host, producer, and podcast host.
Adrianne Tolsch was an American comedian. Tolsch's comedy style is bold, conversational, and covers broad topics. She made jokes about life as a middle-age woman, her sex life, her Jewish identity and Jewish family, and life experiences. She was long associated with the Catch a Rising Star comedy club in New York City, as a performer, club manager, and the club's first woman emcee. She was a headliner at many major comedy clubs in the United States and toured domestically and internationally. She also performed on Broadway and in cabaret shows and was a graphic artist. She was married to fellow comedian and writer Bill Scheft. The two toured together in the United States and co-produced the documentary film Take My Nose... Please!
Daniel Lobell is a Los Angeles-based American stand-up comedian, podcaster, and comic-book writer best known for his podcast Modern Day Philosophers. Comedian Marc Maron credits him with creating the first podcast focused on stand-up comedy, Comical Radio.
