John Knefel

"Politics" should be John Knefel's middle name. Growing up in a Iowa, a swing state, he understood the political world at a very young age, an that has stuck with him to today. At age 35, he has used his passion for politics as a throughline through the different careers he's already had. Starting his career with stand-up comedy in New York right after college in the midwest, he parlayed that into his own podcast, Radio Dispatch, which lead him into the world of journalism, freelancing for top publications like Rolling Stone and The Nation. With his newest venture, writing for Comedy Central's The President Show, he's finally been able to combine his two core passions: comedy and politics. What You'll Learn: When writing for a political comedy show, how can you stick to satire rather than sticking to the daily news cycle (10:08) Where is the line drawn for taking political comedy too far (17:25) How to bring the trend of storytelling into comedy (47:00) Why are people driven by their political beliefs (59:17) How to make money as a freelance journalist in our day and age (1:13:48)