Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Often considered a uniquely American art form, stand-up comedy has been a topic of both celebration and controversy. Many influential comedians and humorists have used their platforms to address a wide range of social and political issues. However, some critics assert that a climate of “cancel culture” has caused other comedians to censor themselves, fearing potential repercussions for certain jokes. Some who have not censored themselves, like Dave Chappelle, have become targets of blistering criticism. Have these issues been blown out of proportion in a sensitive era? Are American comedians as free as those in other countries to express themselves and push the boundaries of artistic freedom?
Featured:
Greg Coleman has been active in the Minnesota comedy scene since 2012. He was voted Best New Comic of 2012 at the MN Comedy Awards, and later was a finalist in the American Black Film Festival Comedy Wings Competition. Coleman was named one of the top five comics to watch in 2016 by The Growler. In recent years he was selected to perform at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Oregon, the Odd Block Comedy Festival in Canada, and the 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival in Minneapolis.
Jackie Kashian is a stand-up comedian who has been seen on Conan O’Brien, James Corden, HBO, Netflix, and Comedy Central, and heard on NPR and Audible. Her five comedy albums and specials have been number one on Amazon and Apple and number three on Billboard. In addition to performing in two podcasts, “The Jackie and Laurie Show” and “The Dork Forest,” she has written for “The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies” and “Comics Comics Quarterly.”
Tiffany Norton began her stand-up and broadcasting career over 15 years ago and has been entertaining audiences with her confident presence and mischievous point of view ever since. In 2008, she joined the Tony Fly Morning Show on radio station B96. In 2013, she made the leap to KS95 as a producer, traffic reporter, and on-air contributor, with a weekly cumulative audience of over a million. She has opened for Louie Anderson, Rob Delaney, and Josh Blue and performed at national festivals.
Neal Justin (moderator) covers the entertainment world, primarily TV and radio, for the Star Tribune. He also reviews stand-up comedy. He is the founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms. Currently president of UNITY and co-chair of the Star Tribune News Guild, he teaches at Minnesota State University. Justin is a former governing board member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
Record Sept. 19, 2023
Often considered a uniquely American art form, stand-up comedy has been a topic of both celebration and controversy. Many influential comedians and humorists have used their platforms to address a wide range of social and political issues. However, some critics assert that a climate of “cancel culture” has caused other comedians to censor themselves, fearing potential repercussions for certain jokes. Some who have not censored themselves, like Dave Chappelle, have become targets of blistering criticism. Have these issues been blown out of proportion in a sensitive era? Are American comedians as free as those in other countries to express themselves and push the boundaries of artistic freedom?
Featured:
Greg Coleman has been active in the Minnesota comedy scene since 2012. He was voted Best New Comic of 2012 at the MN Comedy Awards, and later was a finalist in the American Black Film Festival Comedy Wings Competition. Coleman was named one of the top five comics to watch in 2016 by The Growler. In recent years he was selected to perform at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Oregon, the Odd Block Comedy Festival in Canada, and the 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival in Minneapolis.
Jackie Kashian is a stand-up comedian who has been seen on Conan O’Brien, James Corden, HBO, Netflix, and Comedy Central, and heard on NPR and Audible. Her five comedy albums and specials have been number one on Amazon and Apple and number three on Billboard. In addition to performing in two podcasts, “The Jackie and Laurie Show” and “The Dork Forest,” she has written for “The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies” and “Comics Comics Quarterly.”
Tiffany Norton began her stand-up and broadcasting career over 15 years ago and has been entertaining audiences with her confident presence and mischievous point of view ever since. In 2008, she joined the Tony Fly Morning Show on radio station B96. In 2013, she made the leap to KS95 as a producer, traffic reporter, and on-air contributor, with a weekly cumulative audience of over a million. She has opened for Louie Anderson, Rob Delaney, and Josh Blue and performed at national festivals.
Neal Justin (moderator) covers the entertainment world, primarily TV and radio, for the Star Tribune. He also reviews stand-up comedy. He is the founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms. Currently president of UNITY and co-chair of the Star Tribune News Guild, he teaches at Minnesota State University. Justin is a former governing board member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
Record Sept. 19, 2023
