Rajiv Satyal – Funny Indian Comedian

I drove a mile up the street to interview the biggest comedian in the world. I sat down with Russell Peters at his mansion in our shared town of Studio City, California, to ask him my famous (well, after this) litany of questions in Episode 118 of The TanGent Show. As with all of mine, I did not edit, so what you’ll hear is a raw, real conversation between two comics and a peek into Russell’s daily life when he’s actually not touring the planet. Despite the fun interruptions and a bit of an ADD start, the result is a remarkably free-flowing chat that simultaneously showcases Russell’s legendary wit and features his seldom-seen serious side. Russell initially claims he wants to keep it to 30 minutes but we went for almost two hours (like both of our first times). We actually continued chatting after the outro so the official podcast is 1 hr 25 min. (I’ll release the rest, where we reviewed Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, in the future.) Russell reveals his love for The Police and rap (ironically made by people who don’t like the police), describes the merits of being punched in the face, resents the recent attention to bullying (which happened for the second straight episode), reveals what motivates him in a year where he’s going to make $20 million, shares what frustrates him about his career, approves of both my bald head as well as the new name of this podcast, and comes full circle in how to beat the bullies (with a tangent about boxing, which involves, appropriately, being punched in the face). I do let fly with my loud laugh a number of times - but can you blame me? And despite (because of?) our different humor styles, you’ll be entertained by the continual punch-counterpunch between an established global star and a rising one. Since he helped launch my career, I’ve always said that without Russell, there’s no Rajiv. Well, without Rajiv, there’s no 1.5-hr Russell interview. Enjoy.

I traveled to the Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, offices of Marketing Guru/Blogger/Author Seth Godin to discuss a plethora of topics… the definition of leadership, American exceptionalism, how he knows whether his speeches are successful, how to improve the US school system, how to avoid the “race to the bottom,” how overrated degrees can be, whether you should have a backup plan, the differences between freelancing and entrepreneurship, his latest success (Squidoo), why you should give away as much as possible, what he’s really good at, whether I should hire joke writers, kicking it with Malcolm Gladwell, and the best darned answer to my Jeopardy! question yet. Brought to you jointly by Funny Indian and Brand Innovators, please enjoy my interview with this genius, and more importantly, kind soul.

I was so glad to have caught Chris D’Elia right before his catapult to stardom. He used to call me [...].

I was so glad to have caught Chris D’Elia right before his catapult to stardom. He used to call me [...].

Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were once roommates. Might they one day talk about that time when Hasan Minhaj [...].

Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were once roommates. Might they one day talk about that time when Hasan Minhaj [...].

What you have to realize, says Maz Jobrani, is that many of the men running these countries are insane. One [...].

What you have to realize, says Maz Jobrani, is that many of the men running these countries are insane. One [...].

“Love to,” is what Sebastian Maniscalco said when I told him I’d love to interview him on my podcast. A [...].

“Love to,” is what Sebastian Maniscalco said when I told him I’d love to interview him on my podcast. A [...].