Comedy: A Question of Timing

The week of the terrorist attacks, "The Late Show With David Letterman" went off the air. It returned in a subdued form the following week. Somehow, the world didn't seem funny anymore. Fast forward to late December, and "The Late Show" featured the Top Ten Osama bin Laden Complaints (#1 being "What the hell do I have to do to get on 'Oprah'?"). They say comedy is all about timing. Since September 11th, stand up comics have had to walk a fine line between getting the public to laugh again and understanding when a joke about a particular person, place or event can be told without being overly offensive. This hour, three of the world's top stand-up comedians discuss the challenges in their field since 9/11.

Guests:

Reverend Tim McIntyre, one of Boston's rising political comedy stars

emcees the Thursday Night Fights at the Comedy Studio in Boston;
Omid Djalili, named Britain's funniest Iranian stand-up comedian and actor;
Ahmed Ahmed, Egyptian stand-up comedian living in California