Comedy can do more than make us laugh

Co-hosts Edie Lush and Claudia Romo Edelman meet three female comics who challenge bias through their jokes and their lives. “I like to play with stereotypes,” says Irish comic Catherine Bohart. “I like to upend them. I like to use them.” Noam Shuster, an Israeli, took up comedy after she failed in more traditional approaches to peacemaking. “Through comedy and performance you can reach more audiences and diverse audiences and audiences maybe I would have never met.” Sindhu Vee (her real name is Venkatanarayanan. Guess how funny she makes that!) explains that her comedy is powered by the “outsiders gaze” of being a bit different all her life. She was born and raised in South India, became a banker, moved to London and married a Dane (they have 3 kids).  “I think the biggest stereotype is a mother in comedy,” She says. Co-Host Edie Lush notes how similar these three modern female comics seem to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who fought to break into a man’s world of comedy sixty years ago. That’s a fictional TV show but this is real life, now. Special Guest Julia Streets, a comic in London and host of the DiverCity Podcast, recommends facts and actions for this episode. You will also hear from Ann Cairns, the executive vice chair of MasterCard, sponsor of this season of The Global GoalsCast. A research engineer, she was the first woman to work an oil rig in the North Sea. Edie and Claudia also try their hand at comedy, which is why they are sticking to podcasting.