While an episode of Hasan Minhaj’s political comedy talk show “Patriot Act” usually takes weeks, if not months, of research and writing, after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police on May 25th, Hasan felt he couldn’t wait -- he needed to speak out right away. The result was “We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd,” a powerful digital short released on Wednesday, June 3rd, which would eventually be uploaded on Netflix as a regular episode. Though there is comedy throughout the 12-minute address, often Hasan eschews laughs to convey the gravity of his words. 

In this episode, host Jesse David Fox talks to the former “Daily Show” correspondent about when comedy is most effective to raise difficult issues and when it’s not, how his show differs from other late night talk shows, and whether Hasan should have become a civil rights lawyer instead of a comedian.

You can watch all six seasons of “Patriot Act” on Netflix. You can follow Hasan on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter and Instagram.

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