Cliff’s Note:
Friends, it was an honor to get to talk to Andy Borowitz, and to enjoy it so much that we stayed for over 90 minutes.
This is the kind of thing I get to do because of you—because enough of you find value in these real conversations that you’re willing to step up and become a member of the team and subscribe.
And right now, annual membership is just $36! Step up during our Back to School Sale and help keep Blue Amp Media independent, unbought, and fun.
—Cliff
by Cliff Schecter
On Friday I was joined by comedy writer, stand-up comedian, actor, political satirist, and most recently comedy-substacker, Andy Borowitz. We planned to talk for 30 minutes. We went 90. That should give you an idea how much fun the conversation was.
We covered everything from his comedy career to Trump’s awfulness to The Jonas Brothers! That last one I didn’t even expect. Most interesting was Andy’s story of going from from initial interest in becoming a comedy writer and performer—which his corporate-lawyer dad only accepted once he saw Andy’s scripts and could compare them, in that there was a logical progression, to his legal briefs. We discussed his move to Hollywood, writing for tv classics such as All In The Family, Square Pegs, and The Facts of Life. And then of course the smash hit he created and is most known for, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
I was sure to ascertain that Will Smith had never slapped him.
We went onto discuss his eventual burnout from comedy writing for tv, and how he started The Borowitz Report initially just for fun, emailing his daily satirical takes to his friends. Then a friend built him a website—initially he was excited just by seeing three new people show up—and it took off. It took a decade, but The Borowitz Report got so popular it was purchased by The New Yorker. It got him invited to be a regular on CNN Mornings, (where I remember watching him…and laughing), with all of this eventually leading to a move to Substack, where he has one of the largest and most well-read publications.
And we ripped the hell out of Trump. Because, as Andy said, that is a tough thing to find these days, so we wanted to be sure to supply you with it.
The truth is the conversation went long because Andy’s had a fascinating life and is just both a great and gracious guy. Relaxed, self-deprecating, funny, serious when necessary, and genial. One of my favorite shows I’ve done so far. Hoping to do it again sometime in the not-to-distant future.
Meantime, enjoy this one my friends!
-Cliff
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