BYOB with Michael Fanone

If you’ve been around here a while, you know the usual menu — corruption, cover-ups, the people in power betraying the folks they’re supposed to serve. I’m not apologizing for any of it. But you can’t run on rage alone, and neither can you. Sometimes you pour a drink, sit down with somebody worth talking to, and just talk. That’s what BYOB is. Bring Your Own Booze. No teleprompter, no producer in my ear, no agenda. This time I brought Jay Jurden. If you don’t know Jay yet, you will. He’s a stand-up, writer, and actor out of New York by way of Jackson, Mississippi — a Black, queer kid from the South who turned all of it into some of the funniest material out there. He’s done Fallon three times, hit Colbert, wrote for Jon Stewart’s show, and put out a special, Yes Ma’am, that you can go watch after this. Variety named him one of their comics to watch, and they were right. Here’s why I wanted him at the table. Jay says true things and makes you laugh while he does it — which, if you think about it, is the same job I’m trying to do, just from the other side of the room. Comedy and accountability aren’t that far apart. Both of them work by refusing to look away from the thing everybody else is too polite to name. So grab whatever’s in your fridge, hit play, and hang out with us. It’s loose, it’s honest, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun than another headline about somebody getting indicted. We’ll be back to the fights soon enough. For an hour, let’s just enjoy each other’s company. Watch the full BYOB with Jay Jurden below. And if he made you laugh, go give the man a follow and see his special — comics like Jay are worth showing up for. Thank you John H, Jeanne Elbe, MzNicky in East Jesus, TN, Judith Evans, Jersey Jean, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe