Dec 18, 2013
This episode was recorded in Brooklyn, New York.
Having co-created the Daily Show and co-founded Air America it is a solid fact that Lizz Winstead has left a permanent mark on American entertainment and the American consciousness. Like most innovators and socially forward thinkers the roots of her tree began in stand up comedy.
I worked with Lizz several times in the early years of my career as her opening act. I was a very young and inexperienced comedian and I loved and respected her from our initial meeting. She was a strong female headliner in a profession that was mostly male dominated. She shared her comedy wisdom with me back then and I have always appreciated the intelligence she brought to any project she put her name on.
In the early years of Comedy Central I appeared on the first version of the Daily Show that Lizz was one of the producers of. I felt like a proud relative seeing Lizz kicking ass in the television world just as hard as she had as a headliner in the stand up comedy world. It had been many years since I had seen her and both of our lives and careers have taken many twists and turns since then.
Today, Lizz can be seen on countless political talk shows commenting on American politics.
I believe it is no easy task for a comedian to move into political activism and stay funny as well as socially relevant but Lizz has done this supremely. Her current passion is defending the reproductive rights of women from law makers who wish to infringe upon this right.
In this episode she refers to herself as a vagina warrior, which makes me smile even as I type the words.
I was excited to see my old friend who I respect greatly. I arrived in Brooklyn on the subway and stepped out into a cold down pour of December rain. At her home I was delighted to find she had just had delivered my favorite pizza, prosciutto and fresh arugula. This woman is magic. Right before we started recording she let me smoke at her window which broke and remained half open with the cold air streaming in. I was thrilled to take a ride through her opinions and thoughts on a wide range of topics and I was secretly pleased she was not angered that I had broken her window. She is someone I have always respected and been cheering for from afar.
She is the one and only comedy crusader that is Lizz Winstead.