A recent study from Brunel University London estimated the annual turnover in the stand-up comedy industry to be worth over a billion pounds. A serious amount. Despite some issues in terms of stagnation of earnings cited in the report, there’s no doubt that comedy is big business. At the time of writing, we’re at the midpoint of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world. It continues to be dominated by comedy acts, from well-established giants to fledgling funny folks cutting their teeth. Perhaps it’s a sign of increasingly difficult times that we’re proportionally inclined to pay a premium to anyone who can deal out some laughter, and of course the internet provides us an incredibly wide net to cast for just the right people to tickle our funny bones.
In a previous article I cast a critical eye on what I consider to be the uglier side of comedy, where hugely successful performers consistently fail to punch upwards. Thankfully, though, there’s a flip-side to that and, for the (hopefully) compassionate skeptics out there, we have not only comedic defences for some of those marginalised groups but also some spirited attacks on the enemies of science and reason. To restore at least a little of your faith in humanity, and to hopefully give you a giggle along the way, let’s scrutinise some selected segments of skeptical standup.
1: Reiki: Micky Flanagan
Mostly known for stories of everyday life and light-hearted social commentary, lovable cockney Micky Flanagan might not be someone you’d expect to take a pop at alternative medicine but, with over a quarter of a century in the business, some diversification of the portfolio always helps to keep things fresh. Flanagan finds little difficulty in squeezing some laughs out of one of the most laughable ‘treatments’ out there and, as a bonus parting shot, he’s got an undiluted treat in store for homeopaths.
Read about Reiki in The Skeptic.
2: Incels / Evolution – Ilisa Shlesinger
You only need to go to the comments section under this video (or any of hers) to see why Ilisa Schlesinger directs so much of her comedic ire towards misogyny; insults about her appearance and choice of clothing, the usual ‘women aren’t funny’ generalisations, seemingly deliberate skewing of a message about sexual selection to make accusations of eugenics, and all done with an undercurrent of antisemitism. All the more justification for a scathing and hilarious takedown of incel culture, accompanied by some disturbing microphone-driven prop work.
Read about incels and evolution in The Skeptic.
3: Antivaxxers – Jim Gaffigan
Ok, so it’s been just about long enough since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that we can start to get a little nostalgic about those strange times, and then feel depressed by how much traction science denialists gained during that period. Recorded in 2021, Jim Gaffigan’s Netflix special ‘Comedy Monster’ rightfully takes some time to address some of the strange uncertainty of the early days of lockdown (remember trying to clean your groceries, anyone?), and pivots to the full-blown misinformation-fuelled meltdown we experienced from a significant proportion of the global population.
Read about vaccine denialism in The Skeptic
4: Religion – Daniel Sloss
There’s no way this list was ever going to be free of Scottish influence, and in terms of picking apart some of the factual frailties of religion, Kevin Bridges’ routine about the origins of atheism was a strong contender. However, with a clear nod to the problem of evil, Daniel Sloss conjures up a scenario that is almost certainly a regular occurrence for all medical professionals (more so for some in certain parts of the world). As well as dealing with misplaced gratitude, he also rams home the point that getting through customs in the USA for some people was already problematic well before the current administration raised that particular bar.
Read about religion in The Skeptic
5: Ghosts – Jackie Kashian
Among his impressive body of research, skeptic community favourite Professor Chris French has looked into the differences between people who believe in the paranormal and those who don’t. The TL;DR version is that some people are much more likely to attribute a strange encounter to ghosts than others. This phenomenon is perfectly presented by veteran standup Jackie Kashian, albeit with a brief but useful tangent to discourage you from swimming with dolphins. To close things out there’s also a pleasing pop at the latest, and possibly most pathetic, ghost-detection technology.
Read about the paranormal in The Skeptic
6: Pseudoscience – Dara Ó Briain
Considering his near-ubiquitous presence in the intersection between comedy and science on the entertainment Venn diagram, it’s no surprise that Dara Ó Briain makes the list. With plenty of rich pickings available from his back catalogue, this extended rant is a veritable mixtape of skeptical talking points. Among the topics in his crosshairs are media scaremongering, homeopathy, false balance, psychics, astrologers, herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, auras, and the wellness industry.
Read about pseudoscience in The Skeptic
7: Feminine hygiene – Sarah Silverman
With some questionable material in the distant past, and more recent controversy surrounding hastily deleted comments about Israel and Hamas, Sarah Silverman may not be an entirely welcome addition here. That being said, she has a passable track record of speaking up about feminism, and this short but apparently sweet-smelling snippet is a perfect skewering of a capitalism-fabricated taboo.
Read about wellness in The Skeptic
8: Conspiracy theories – Pierre Novellie
After an encounter with a seemingly friendly heckler, South African-born standup Pierre Novellie went on a voyage of personal discovery that ultimately ended with an autism diagnosis at the age of 31 (his book and comedy special around that are both excellent). Fitting the somewhat stereotypical persona of an autistic person, Novellie has a drive to explore and understand the truth, which means his analysis of the allure of conspiracy theories, and the inconvenient fact of how reality can be somewhat boring, is depressingly accurate. The comedic delivery thankfully softens the blow, and the pivot to Michael Jackson raises interesting questions about the preponderance of circumstantial evidence, with a hilarious payoff.
Read about conspiracy theories in The Skeptic
9: Immigration / Brexit – Shaparak Khorsandi
As if to drive home the point about the UK’s attitude towards overseas visitors and their offspring, Shaparak Khorsandi adopted her former stage name ‘Shappi’ while at school to avoid ridicule from pupils and confusion from teachers (read more about why she changed her name back here). Who better then to strip down the plight of immigrants and the ‘merits’ of Brexit, albeit in the somewhat frosty atmosphere of a stereotypically Swiss audience who seem determined to remain neutral throughout. Also worth a mention in the Brexit comedy stakes are James Acaster’s cup of tea monologue on Mock the Week, and Polish comedian Luisa Omelian’s beautifully drawn-out metaphor, so check them out as well!
Read about immigration in The Skeptic
10: Gender (and much more): Steve Hofstetter
The catchphrase ‘Go woke go broke‘ has been repeatedly shown as false, although disappointingly so has its counterpart ‘Go fash lose cash‘. One of the finest examples of disproving the former and encouraging the latter is Steve Hofstetter, who continues to sell tickets wherever he goes even as his content veers ever more in the direction of social justice. Rather than just a segment, the entirety of his most recent comedy special ‘Me, Myself, and ID’ is dedicated to themes of trans rights, homophobia, workplace sexism, and the concept of personal growth. It’s a near-perfect embodiment of reason with compassion, and you get to laugh along the way. As you might expect he gets more than his fair share of hostile hecklers as well. Go to his social media to check out some of those demolitions.
Read about gender in The Skeptic
Thanks once again to those who helped me crowdsource this list. Points however were deducted for the many who failed to read my request for standup comedy clips and sent me the Mitchell & Webb Show’s Homeopathic A&E sketch again (and again, and again).
It’s always comforting to know that there are voices of reason out there, and those who can influence people in a positive way through comedy will always be a valuable resource. Seek them out, and support them if you can whenever they’re in your vicinity.
