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Comedy

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Collage of Chelsea Handler and torn pink paper

Chelsea Handler: Modeling Activism in Comedy

Shiraz Rothschild

I admire Handler’s ability to talk about aspects of her identity that many shy away from. As a Jewish comedian that is a critical part of the rule book: lean into discomfort.

Topics: Comedy
Borscht Belt Historical Marker - placard with info about Monticello

Bringing the Borscht Belt Back to Life

Jen Richler

JWA talks to Marisa Scheinfeld, founder and director of the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project. 

Actresses from early 2000s films on blue patterned background

The Makeover of the Media

Leila Nuri

These fun movies from the early 2000s are still watched frequently as they are thought to be timeless classics, but the awkward and problematic comments have yet to be addressed.

Topics: Film, Comedy, Media
Collage of Fran Fine and Janice Litman-Goralnik on pink striped background

Celebrating the Jewish Women of The Nanny and Friends

Ava Weinstein

In Janice from Friends and Fran from The Nanny, I see some of myself—a chatty Jewish woman with curls and a loud laugh—and I never found Janice annoying, or saw Fran as anything less than who she is: funny, beautiful, independent.

Episode 88: Jewish Women Behind the Mic

Here at Can We Talk?, we’re podcast fanatics. And we especially like shows that feature Jewish women’s voices. So we decided to bring together some of our favorite Jewish women podcasters to talk shop. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Judith Rosenbaum takes us behind the scenes with Stephanie Butnick from Unorthodox, Judy Gold from Kill Me Now, and Emily Bazelon from Slate's Political Gabfest, to talk about what makes their shows Jewish, sharing the mic with men, and answering to their listeners.
Collage of characters from TV show Bumper in Berlin on pink gradient background

The Pitch Perfect TV Spin-Off Offers Lots of Bumper And Little Feminism

Miriam Niestat

The first episode’s failure to pass the Bechdel Test was my first hint that Bumper in Berlin would not be the continuation of the Pitch Perfect movies I expected. 

Jewish Women and Comedy

This article looks at the place of American Jewish women in comedy. It chronicles the reasons comedy has been a difficult field for women and looks at the careers of several remarkable women who found success in different eras and forms of comedy.

Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard is an American actor, stand-up comedian, singer, memoirist, and talk show host. She has been a high-profile LGBTQ+ presence over a career that has spanned five decades. Bernhard’s work amalgamates the three perspectives that she has said define her: “the feminist, the social commentator, the Jewess.”

Rain Pryor’s One-Woman Play “Fried Chicken and Latkes” Earns NAACP Theatre Award

February 21, 2005

On February 21, 2005, Jewish comedian, actress, singer, and writer Rain Pryor received an NAACP Theatre Award for her one-woman autobiographical play, “Fried Chicken and Latkes.” In the play, Pryor explores her experiences with racism growing up Black and Jewish in Beverly Hills, CA, as well as her complex relationship with her father, the late comedian Richard Pryor.

Rachel Brosnahan accept flowers from a man.

I’m Tired of Trying to Root for Midge Maisel

Sarah Jae Leiber

Over and over, Midge hurts people who trusted her, and the show lets her get away with it.

Topics: Television, Comedy

Jean Carroll

Born Sadie Zeigman, Jean Carroll was the first Jewish woman stand-up comedian. Famous throughout the United States and England in the 1950s and 1960s, she innovated a new style of anecdotal, conversational stand-up.

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for her sharp, detached stage persona and boundary-pushing material that often deals with themes of Jewish identity.

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is one of America’s most loved and successful comedians. Her career is built on a true riches-to-rags-to-riches story and is firmly centered on growing up in an unconventional Jewish upbringing.

Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna Cropped

Laughing and Crying: The Compassionate Humor of Gilda Radner

Jessie Schwalb

Gilda Radner demonstrated that sharing one’s struggles publicly through humor can be a powerful act.

Topics: Comedy, Writing
Promotional Image for Seinfeld

The Catharsis of Jewish Comedy

Sarah Groustra

What is Jewish comedy?

Topics: Comedy

Episode 50: Laughing with Liz Glazer (Transcript)

Episode 50: Laughing with Liz Glazer (Transcript)

Tiffany Haddish Becomes a Bat Mitzvah

December 3, 2019

On December 3rd, 2019, actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish became a bat mitzvah on her 40th birthday.

Episode 50: Laughing with Liz Glazer

Stand-up comedian Liz Glazer left a successful career as a tenured law professor six years ago to pursue comedy full time. "It's the usual route to stand-up," she says. As a result of the pandemic, Liz has been performing for online audiences only and reconnecting with the roots of her sense of humor. This is the first in our four-part series on creativity during the global pandemic.

Natalie Portman in "Jane Got a Gun"

Eighteen Jewish Country Songs

Beth Levine

Here are eighteen heimishe tunes to get your ortho slides a tappin’ and your tush a boppin’.

Topics: Comedy, Music

Episode 38: Joan Rivers and Treva Silverman: Partners in Comedy (Transcript)

Episode 38: Joan Rivers and Treva Silverman: Partners in Comedy (Transcript)

Episode 38: Joan Rivers and Treva Silverman: Partners in Comedy

Joan Rivers and Treva Silverman were friends and partners in comedy for decades. In this delightful conversation from JWA’s archive, Joan and Treva talk about what it was like to be women in comedy in the 1960s and 1970s, how they got their start driving to gigs in the Catskills in Joan’s beat up old car, and the origins of some of their favorite jokes.


This is the second episode in a two-part series.

Episode 37: Joan Rivers, can we talk? (Transcript)

Episode 37: Joan Rivers, can we talk? (Transcript)

Episode 37: Joan Rivers, Can We Talk?

In this episode of Can We Talk?, we share a 2006 interview with Joan Rivers from JWA’s documentary Making Trouble and talk about Joan’s legacy as a pioneering Jewish woman in comedy. We’ll also explain why we chose Joan’s signature tagline “Can we talk?” as the name of our podcast.


This is the first episode in a two-part series.

Ilana Glazer in "The Planet is Burning"

Ilana Glazer’s Stand-Up Special Is Not on Fire

Emma Cohn

One of JWA's Rising Voices Fellowship almumnae reviews Ilana Glazer's stand-up comedy special The Planet is Burning.

Topics: Television, Comedy

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