Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
We continue with the literal trials of Lenny Bruce - and the nature of free speech in comedy clubs.
Does free speech mean that we occasionally have to listen to what we don’t want to hear?
We dive into the gamut of free speech from the controversy of Milo Yiannopoulos appearing at a NYC comedy club - to comedian Ahmed Ahmed having a comedy club patron call 911 on him for making ‘Middle Eastern’ jokes.
Are there limits to Lenny Bruce’s plight?
Lenny Bruce was a comedian who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. And because of that, he became a martyr for free speech. Between 1961 to 1964, he was arrested on obscenity charges 8 times - for performing stand up comedy. You might have seen a fictional portrayal of Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
In this CH101 episode we dive into the history of Lenny Bruce, censorship, and free speech in stand up comedy.
The late George Martin will always be best remembered for his legendary work as the producer of The Beatles. Did you know that the man who made the Fab Four sound amazing got his start as a producer of comedy albums?
Yes, the man behind creating the soundscape for A Day in the Life - also produced comedy albums for Peter Sellers, The Goon Show, and Beyond the Fringe (featuring Dudley Moore). Producing comedy is where Martin learned his chops to produce such Beatles classics as Strawberry Fields Forever.
