Comedian Drew Michael on Optimization, Social Media Culture, and Empathy

May 28, 2022

Drew Michael, a stand-up comedian and creator of the thought-provoking special "Red Blue Green," discusses the delicate balance between artistry and offensiveness in comedy. He shares insights on how ideology shapes our emotional responses and the role of social media in distorting empathy. Drew also reflects on his journey overcoming deafness and how it influences his comedic perspective on masculinity and vulnerability. The conversation reveals the challenges of engaging with societal norms while maintaining authenticity in the creative landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Inexplicable Online Behavior

Ryan Holiday questions the motivations behind sharing pornography on LinkedIn.
He finds this behavior as baffling as online attacks.

ANECDOTE

Assault Rifle Raffle

A Texas town raffled an assault rifle to benefit a police officer injured in a shooting.
Ryan Holiday finds this reaction illogical and even obscene.

INSIGHT

Societal Momentum

Societal momentum is primarily influenced by technology, war, disease, and environment, not protests.
Drew Michael acknowledges the potential for nihilism when recognizing individual powerlessness against larger forces.

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Ryan talks to Drew Michael about his new stand up special Red Blue Green, the line between being artistic and being offensive, how ideology and emotional disposition are linked, and more.

Drew Michael is a stand-up comedian who has long been a fixture in the New York stand-up scene. Drew has also released comedy albums (2013’s Lovely and 2016’s Funny to Death) along with a very funny Comedy Central half-hour. He spent the 2016-2017 season writing for SNL, and he appeared on an episode of The Carmichael Show. Drew also has two Netflix specials, Drew Michael (2018) and Red Blue Green (2021).

Drew is not a stranger to adversity. At 3 years-old, Drew discovered he was deaf, and this had a profound impact on how he perceived the world. He dropped out of engineering school twice to pursue his career in stand-up comedy. Drew uses comedy to ask what the role of comedy should be for him personally and for the art form more broadly. His most recent specials are a revelation about how he thinks about masculinity, strength, and vulnerability in relation to his work as a comedian

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