David Javerbaum: God's Ghost Writer

David Javerbaum, comedy writer and former executive producer for The Daily Show with John Stewart, is out with a new book titled "The Last Testament: A Memoir by God," which he co-wrote with the almighty.

So, you might be wondering what it's like to work with such a powerful figure? That's apparently a touchy subject.

"Um, it's hard for me to discuss that frankly because he's in the room right now," Javerbaum whispered. "But he wanted to update his message and one of the thing he's probably weakest at is a sense of humor, and if you've been tracking some of his work for the last 6,000 years, you know that mirth is not his strong suit."

In the book God (via Javerbaum) talks about issues both small and large.

"[For the potato famine], he apologizes to the people of Ireland, who he has great respect for. He was not afflicting or mad at Ireland, he was mad at the potatoes," Javerbaum said. "But to answer sort of the broader question about it, you know, why do bad things happen to good people? ... Bad things happen to good people to balance out the good things that happen to bad people."

According to Javerbaum, it's just that simple.

The Harvard graduate wrote for the Daily Show from 1999 to 2010 and while the show identifies itself as a fake news show, it has over the years garnered a reputation of being more on top of the news than so-called "real" news shows. Javerbaum says that was never the show's goal, and still isn't.

"The intent is to be funny while making a point about the news, and the fact that people turn to us for their news is entirely a function of other institutions failure and not our success," Javerbaum said. "... I believe that most news organizations are so entrenched in the status quo that they have no real desire to make actual change."

David Javerbaum will be at Church Boston Monday evening at 7pm for a conversation with comedian Lauren Antler. The show is called "God Walks Into a Bar."

You can follow God, via Javerbaum, @thetweetofgod.

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