#147 | Jesse Appell | Intercultural Comedy

Comedian Jesse Appell on bridging China and the West with comedy, Laowai Style, and studying Chinese xiangsheng comedy. Jesse Appell is an independent creative, entrepreneur and intercultural comedian based in Beijing who uses comedy to bridge cultural divides between China and the West. Jesse has performed on television, radio, and live on various platforms in China, his intercultural comedic pieces have collected millions of views across various traditional and new media platforms. Jesse has become a trailblazer in the new and fantastically interesting field of intercultural comedy; this work has been featured on TEDx, PBS, NPR and PRI, as well as Chinese media such as CCTV, BTV, and CRI. Jesse was also listed as one of the "People of the Year" for 2012 by the Global Times for my viral video "Laowai Style,"​ which garnered two million views in China. In the English-speaking world, Jesse's "Great LOL Of China" tour, has performed Chinese comedy at over 30 schools, such as at Harvard, Yale SOM, University of Washington, Brandeis, Wesleyan, and UH Manoa. Previously, as a Fulbright Research Fellow, Jesse conducted 14 months of research on Chinese traditional Xiangsheng comedy, studying Chinese humor through performance and became a disciple of master performer Ding Guangquan (丁广泉 ) and also perform bilingual improv comedy, Chinese language standup, and bilingual rap. Lastly, Jesse is a hobbyist of Chinese tea culture, he enjoys writing sci-fi / fantasy novels, and he has a giant pet stuffed octopus named Copernicus. To learn more about Jesse: https://www.instagram.com/whatxisaid Chapters 0:00 Welcome Jesse Appell 5:03 Cycling in Xinjiang 7:36 Discovering improv 10:12 Comedy across cultures 15:18 A creative way forward online 17:54 Farmland and food security 22:58 Tea as part of life in China 25:30 When print publishing collapsed 28:07 Ancient tea trees and porcelain 30:39 Where tea is grown matters 35:39 How America talks about China 40:44 Hard to find good stories from China 45:47 Exchange programmes and the Fulbright 48:22 Learning from a crosstalk master 50:53 Filming in China then and now 53:29 You can still go to China 56:03 Give the microphone to people on the ground 58:37 Sensationalised reporting at home 1:01:11 A polluted media well 1:03:47 The early days of stand-up in China 1:06:24 Tea with the authorities 1:11:25 No fighting in the tea room 1:13:57 The economics of running a tea house 1:16:32 Too many eggs in one basket 1:19:04 Staying dynamic 1:24:07 Finding sponsorship 1:26:43 Real strength 1:31:46 Visas and immigration 1:34:22 Why cultural exchange stalls 1:39:24 A year in a monastery 1:41:58 Ryan's goals for the podcast 1:44:31 Unconventional products for travellers 1:47:05 Funding a show without notes 1:49:42 Make the first one good, then move on 1:52:20 The podcast as daily practice 1:54:51 Motorbikes in the mountains 1:57:26 Shanghai or Beijing 2:00:01 Humans crave stability 2:02:35 America's natural beauty 2:05:07 Getting things made in China 2:07:42 How modern advertising works 2:10:14 Where to find Jesse The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com