Standup comedy is under attack, figuratively and literally. In the past few months, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock were both physically assaulted on stage. And with increasing calls to silence offensive comics, more attacks are likely.

But why should you, good citizen, care? Why should you stand up for a bunch of degenerates who just want to tell dirty jokes? It's because offensive comedy has a long history in America of shining light on issues that "good" people would rather just ignore. From Lenny Bruce to George Carlin to Richard Pryor to—yes—Andrew Dice Clay, offensive comics have a unique ability to get us talking about subjects that make us uncomfortable. And it's only through this openness that we're able to question premises, traditions, and biases, and decide whether change is necessary. 

Offensive comedy matters, and it deserves protecting.

Sources:

The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy 

https://www.amazon.com/Comedians-Thieves-Scoundrels-History-American/dp/0802125689

The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of An American Icon

https://www.amazon.com/Trials-Lenny-Bruce-Fall-American/dp/1570719861

The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle 

https://www.amazon.com/History-Stand-Up-Mark-Twain-Chappelle/dp/B08YRP1R2G 

Pulling punchlines: Comedy can be offensive. But should it be reined in? 

https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2021/1129/Pulling-punchlines-Comedy-can-be-offensive.-But-should-it-be-reined-in

Lenny Bruce - "Religions Inc."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQacnto7wAM 

Lenny Bruce - Tits and Ass 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axEGY1zWe8g

Lenny Bruce - How To Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua0TT87KNwo 

George Carlin - 7 dirty words (best part) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbZhpf3sQxQ 

Richard Pryor Just Us

https://youtu.be/HVHaioBfWiE

Ricky Gervais – Golden Globes 2020 (Uncensored, HD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJOb9xHggS4

Andrew Dice Clay "Poems" 

https://youtu.be/aTKZRire8Wg

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 US 726 (1978)

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1977/77-528

Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L, 594 US _ (2021) 

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2020/20-255 

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Eric Cervone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericcervone

Eric Cervone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericcervone 

https://www.ericcervone.com/

Isaac Morehouse is someone I first met over a decade ago, and who I’ve loved following ever since. He is an entrepreneur who has been involved in multiple start-ups, he’s run a taxpayer advocacy group, and he’s the author of numerous books. He is the founder of Praxis, Crash, and Career Hackers, and the co-founder of PartnerHacker—all focused on helping young adults find their true purpose and avoid the dull, soul-sucking treadmill of higher education and corporate America that is the default option for many of us. You might have seen Isaac on TV talking about the death of college, the value of apprenticeships, and how to make yourself marketable to employers. He's inspiring, passionate, energized, and one of my favorite people to talk with.

Get Isaac's books: https://www.amazon.com/Isaac-M-Morehouse/e/B00QLR969M

Isaac's personal website: https://isaacmorehouse.com/

Follow Isaac on Twitter: https://twitter.com/isaacmorehouse

Isaac on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/isaacmorehouse 

Praxis: https://discoverpraxis.com/

Crash: https://crash.co/

CareerHackers: https://careerhackers.com/ 

00:00 Introduction

1:42 Where does the entrepreneurial spirit come from?

8:50 Not letting your spirit get broken by the system 

11:00 DC dead-eyes

13:00 Have fun when you can have fun

16:50 Low tolerance for pain as a virtue

23:01 How to succeed being willfully irresponsible

25:40 How can I make the most money by doing the least things I dislike?

33:20 Figuring out what you want through process of elimination

38:00 You don't have to make a leap to get a better career

41:25 What Isaac learned from politics & DC

53:50 Who has done the most to change the NBA?

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Eric Cervone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericcervone 

https://www.ericcervone.com/

Aaron Sibarium is associate editor at the Washington Free Beacon. He graduated from Yale University, where he was the opinion editor of the Yale Daily News. Before joining the Free Beacon, he was an editor at The American Interest.

Aaron has recently focused his reporting on dystopia of college campuses, including publishing a recent column for Bari Weiss' Common Sense Substack: https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/the-takeover-of-americas-legal-system.  

In this conversation, we cover the recent controversy at Yale Law School and how the current campus culture is spilling into the real world, threatening some of the most fundamental aspects of the American legal system.  Aaron's column at the Washington Free Beacon: https://freebeacon.com/author/aaron-sibarium

Follow Aaron on Twitter @aaronsibarium

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Eric Cervone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericcervone

Eric Cervone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericcervone 

https://www.ericcervone.com/

Tony Hsieh was one of the most fascinating people in an industry full of fascinating people. As the CEO of Zappos, he created a  revolutionary culture that is still studied today. Outside of Zappos, Tony invested hundreds of millions of dollars into creating a unique community in Downtown Las Vegas, based on Tony's vision for world peace. Tony also had severe internal demons; despite attempts from friends like singer Jewel to help Tony, his alcohol and drug abuse fueled a years-long downward spiral that ultimately led to his death at 46 years old.

Kirsten Grind is an enterprise reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She has received more than a dozen national awards for her work, including a Pulitzer Prize finalist citation. She is the coauthor of the new book, "Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh."  

Get "Happy at Any Cost": https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Any-Cost-Revolutionary-Vision/dp/1982186984/ 

Kirsten Grind on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KirstenGrind

Kirsten Grind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirsten.grind

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Eric Cervone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericcervone

Eric Cervone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericcervone 

https://www.ericcervone.com/

Robert Corn-Revere is an attorney and partner in the Washington, DC office of Davis Wright Tremaine. Bob is one of the country's preeminent First Amendment lawyers, having argued on behalf of Playboy in front of the Supreme Court,  defended CBS Television and Viacom in an FCC proceeding resulting from the Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," and successfully petitioned for a pardon of comedian Lenny Bruce. (If you're interested in hearing more about Bob's illustrious career,  check out on conversation on Episode 57.) Bob's new book, "The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First Amendment and the Censor's Dilemma," is a masterful look at the mindset of censors and why censors never occupy the moral high ground.

The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Censor-Eye-Beholder/dp/1107570379/

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Other ways to support the podcast: https://www.ericcervone.com/support​

Follow Eric on Twitter and Instagram @ericcervone

Dr. Rima Azar is an Associate Professor of health psychology at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada. She was suspended from her position, and banned from campus, following complains about her personal blog. She’s fought back against the suspension. Last June she spoke with Jordan Peterson on his podcast about what she was going through. In this conversation, I talk with Rima about her time growing un in Lebanon during its civil war,  what happened to her at Mount Allison, why she chose to fight back, and where she goes next.  

Rima's blog: https://bambisafkar.ca/  

GoFundMe for Rima's legal defense: https://www.gofundme.com/f/t88quc-raising-money-for-legal-fees 

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Other ways to support the podcast: https://www.ericcervone.com/support​ 

Follow Eric on Twitter and Instagram @ericcervone

John Hasnas is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, and the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics. John has written some of my favorite pieces of academic legal writing including The Myth of the Rule of Law, The Obviousness of Anarchy, and recently Ten Questions about Democracy. 

What makes John’s work unique is that most legal scholarship is dry, and boring—usually, it seeks promote some minor incremental change in a niche area of the law. John’s work forces the reader to think from first principles about the very nature of law and government. It’s what the founders of this country did, and what few serious thinkers do today.  

John's website: https://sites.google.com/georgetown.edu/john-hasnas/home

Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics: https://global.georgetown.edu/georgetown_units/georgetown-institute-for-the-study-of-markets-and-ethics

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Michelle Drouin is a professor of psychology at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. She has served as a forensic consultant, expert witness, and she is an internationally-recognized researcher and speaker. Dr. Drouin focuses her work on issues related to technology, relationships, couples, and sexuality. Dr. Drouin is also the author of the upcoming book Out of Touch: How to Survive an Intimacy Famine, which will be out February 1. The book is a scientific and personal look at how technology and the COVID pandemic are shaping the way we interact with each other at all levels.

Pre-order the book: https://www.amazon.com/Out-Touch-Survive-Intimacy-Famine/dp/0262046679

Michelle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMDrouin

Michelle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.michelledrouin

Michelle's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQGjAp4GXU4

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Other ways to support the podcast: https://www.ericcervone.com/support​

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Dorian Abbot is an associate professor of geophysical science at the University of Chicago. Dorian first made national news when he challenged the university's diversity hiring practices. (To hear that story, check out our conversation on episode 43.) In August, Dorian published a widely discussed op-ed in Newsweek titled “The Diversity Problem on Campus,” which caused MIT to cancel a lecture he was scheduled to give at a prestigious event. Dorian's been all over the media since then to talk about what’s happening to academic freedom on campuses across the country.

Dorian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DorianAbbot

Dorian's Newsweek article: https://www.newsweek.com/diversity-problem-campus-opinion-1618419

Dorian's Substack article: https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/mit-abandons-its-mission-and-me

The University of Austin: https://www.uaustin.org/

New York Times coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/us/dorian-abbot-mit.html

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Ryan MacDonald is an MMA fighter and UFC veteran with a professional record of 11-2. He is also the owner and coach of 6910N1 MMA & Fitness in his hometown of North Platte, Nebraska. Ryan is coming off an impressive finish last week at Art of Scrap 3 against fellow UFC veteran Willie Gates.

Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mainevent_mac

Ryan on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/maineventssb

6910N1 MMA & Fitness: https://waysofharmony.wixsite.com/6910n1mma

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Support the podcast and join the Honest Offense community at https://honestoffense.locals.com​​​​​​

Other ways to support the podcast: https://www.ericcervone.com/support​

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