Dec 30th, 2004 · Before The Onion and The Daily Show, Mort Sahl's shtick satirized the news of the day. Sahl revolutionized stand-up comedy, leading the transition from tame jokes to the dark, satirical wit of comedians like Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen. Terry Gross spoke to Sahl in December 2003.
Dec 30th, 2004 · Dave Chappelle, who has a self-titled variety show on Comedy Central, has been called the funniest man on television. Richard Pryor calls Chappelle his favorite comedian. Chappelle himself claims he's America's No. 1 source for offensive comedy. We rebroadcast an interview with Chappelle from September 2004.
Dec 29th, 2004 · Matt Groening is the creator of the highly acclaimed animated Fox sitcom The Simpsons. He tells us how the show and its characters evolved, and discusses his role in the production of some 300 episodes. Groening also created the TV series Futurama and still draws the weekly comic strip Life in Hell.
Nov 26th, 2004 · Friday laughs with comedian Rodney Perry. This segment was first broadcast May 21, 2004.
Nov 5th, 2004 · NPR's Tavis Smiley welcomes back comedian and prankster Rickey Smiley for more Friday laughs.
Oct 29th, 2004 · With tension running high over Tuesday's presidential election, NPR's Tavis Smiley welcomes back veteran comedian George Wallace for some laughs on politics and more.
Oct 22nd, 2004 · Coming to the microphone this week is comic Retha Jones, who pulls plenty of laughs out of her gag bag. Before she turned to comedy, Jones was an athlete and a model.
Oct 8th, 2004 · NPR's Tavis Smiley laughs it up with comedienne Leslie Jones during this week's installment of Friday Comedy.