The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Bill Maher on free speech, comedy, and his haters

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Vox's Sean Illing talks with comedian Bill Maher about the risks and challenges of political comedy today, free speech, and whether ideology undermines humor. They discuss how Maher — who's been out front on issues like animal rights and climate change — has become such a lightning rod for a certain species of progressive.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: Bill Maher (@billmaher), comedian; host of Real Time with Bill Maher

References: 

  • Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and Youtube
  • Bill Maher: stand-up tour schedule
  • "10 Percent of Twitter users create 80 percent of tweets, study finds" by Ren LaForme (Poynter; Apr. 24, 2019)
  • "Americans and 'Cancel Culture': Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment" by Emily A. Vogels et al. (Pew Research; May 19)


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    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Editor: Amy Drozdowska
    • VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson

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