Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Comedian @areil_comedy grew up Jewish in Kentucky, learned stereotypes from Law & Order, and discovered New Yorkers can be even more judgmental than Southerners.
In this episode of Funny You Should Mention, Ariel joins Mike Pesca to talk about her debut special A Jewish Star, and how being an outsider twice over gave her a unique comedic voice. She shares why there’s no such thing as a “hack” topic if you’re honest, how small misunderstandings became her raw material, and why she calls her style “explanatory comedy.”
The conversation moves from Kentucky synagogues to New York comedy clubs, from Law & Order to late-night TV, and from learning to laugh at stereotypes to literally drinking a beer thrown at her on stage — a viral moment that led straight to Jimmy Kimmel.
Funny, smart, and self-aware, this episode is both a masterclass in comedy craft and a portrait of how identity shapes art.
🎙️ Funny You Should Mention S3E2 — out now.
@comedycellarusa @comedycellarclips
#ArielElias #AJewishStar #StandUpComedy #ComedyPodcast #FunnyYouShouldMention #ComedyCellarusa #JewishComedy #ComedianInterview
🎧Listen to Funny You Mention wherever you get your podcasts or on spotify Here👉open.spotify.com/show/2jJUIUX02jywsGliTYJzKE?si=847b423b4e7244fd
_______________________
Follow us:
INSTAGRAM:
/ pescagist
TWITTER:
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
Join the "Pesca Profundities" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter:
mikepesca.substack.com
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro – Welcome to Funny You Should Mention
00:39 Growing up Jewish in Kentucky
01:04 Explaining Kentucky to New Yorkers
03:23 “We were all ignorant together”
04:14 Learning stereotypes from Law & Order
06:25 New Yorkers vs. Kentuckians
08:10 How Jews got to Kentucky and Spain
09:05 Taking Spanish citizenship oath on Jan. 6
11:36 “Aside from all the death, Covid was great”
13:12 Southwest Airlines and bad flights
16:52 What makes a joke hack?
17:36 Ladino, Spanish, and Jewish roots
19:03 “Hanukkah’s a lame miracle”
22:28 Feeling like an outsider in Kentucky
24:26 Explaining yourself becomes your art
28:16 The craft of “explanatory comedy”
30:13 The “Earl” joke and callbacks
33:03 Clean vs. risqué humor
36:49 Performing in synagogues
38:48 Comedy influences and finding her voice
41:11 Truth in comedy: “A lie is real”
44:34 Why she titled it A Jewish Star
49:25 Studying in Cuba under dictatorship
53:17 Autocracy, propaganda, and nuance
55:15 The beer-can incident
57:11 “Would it be funny if I drank it?”
59:25 Going viral and Jimmy Kimmel
01:03:55 “No notes” — Redemption at Uncle Vinny’s
Comedian @areil_comedy grew up Jewish in Kentucky, learned stereotypes from Law & Order, and discovered New Yorkers can be even more judgmental than Southerners.
In this episode of Funny You Should Mention, Ariel joins Mike Pesca to talk about her debut special A Jewish Star, and how being an outsider twice over gave her a unique comedic voice. She shares why there’s no such thing as a “hack” topic if you’re honest, how small misunderstandings became her raw material, and why she calls her style “explanatory comedy.”
The conversation moves from Kentucky synagogues to New York comedy clubs, from Law & Order to late-night TV, and from learning to laugh at stereotypes to literally drinking a beer thrown at her on stage — a viral moment that led straight to Jimmy Kimmel.
Funny, smart, and self-aware, this episode is both a masterclass in comedy craft and a portrait of how identity shapes art.
🎙️ Funny You Should Mention S3E2 — out now.
@comedycellarusa @comedycellarclips
#ArielElias #AJewishStar #StandUpComedy #ComedyPodcast #FunnyYouShouldMention #ComedyCellarusa #JewishComedy #ComedianInterview
🎧Listen to Funny You Mention wherever you get your podcasts or on spotify Here👉open.spotify.com/show/2jJUIUX02jywsGliTYJzKE?si=847b423b4e7244fd
_______________________
Follow us:
INSTAGRAM:
/ pescagist
TWITTER:
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
Join the "Pesca Profundities" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter:
mikepesca.substack.com
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro – Welcome to Funny You Should Mention
00:39 Growing up Jewish in Kentucky
01:04 Explaining Kentucky to New Yorkers
03:23 “We were all ignorant together”
04:14 Learning stereotypes from Law & Order
06:25 New Yorkers vs. Kentuckians
08:10 How Jews got to Kentucky and Spain
09:05 Taking Spanish citizenship oath on Jan. 6
11:36 “Aside from all the death, Covid was great”
13:12 Southwest Airlines and bad flights
16:52 What makes a joke hack?
17:36 Ladino, Spanish, and Jewish roots
19:03 “Hanukkah’s a lame miracle”
22:28 Feeling like an outsider in Kentucky
24:26 Explaining yourself becomes your art
28:16 The craft of “explanatory comedy”
30:13 The “Earl” joke and callbacks
33:03 Clean vs. risqué humor
36:49 Performing in synagogues
38:48 Comedy influences and finding her voice
41:11 Truth in comedy: “A lie is real”
44:34 Why she titled it A Jewish Star
49:25 Studying in Cuba under dictatorship
53:17 Autocracy, propaganda, and nuance
55:15 The beer-can incident
57:11 “Would it be funny if I drank it?”
59:25 Going viral and Jimmy Kimmel
01:03:55 “No notes” — Redemption at Uncle Vinny’s
