i recommend

Editor’s note

Born in Hyderabad, Meghana Indurti is a brilliantly talented Los Angeles-based satire writer and stand up comedian. She is also a contributor to The New Yorker and Reductress and a headline contributor to The Onion. She makes excellent fun of politicians, capitalism, corporations, and of course, white people. Meghana, therefore, is the best person to turn to when you really need a good laugh:)

Over to Meghana..

I love political comedy and satire so here are my recommendations of very funny people to follow as well as youtube essays and books.

Madeline Horwath: is a fantastic cartoonist and humorist for The New Yorker. My personal favorite is ‘SHOOT TO THE MOON.’ Madeline has their own unique POV and is my personal favorite at portraying anxiety about everyday realities. Follow their Instagram for more zany, satirical pieces and commission something!

Skyler Higley: is a staff writer for Conan and a contributor to The Onion, Clickhole, and The New Yorker. He also makes some incredibly hilarious sketches that always offer a fresh, sometimes silly, often left-field takes on topics serious and timely. My personal fave: ‘Googles Whether Horses Got Their Own Medals At The Olympics’. 

Sahib Singh: is an stand-up and sketch comic in the DC metropolitan area. His sketches parody condescending fake-woke people of all kinds—pretentious music fans, Elon Musk fanboys, rich entrepreneurs with annoying business jargon… like this one. 

Maddie Wiener: is a stand-up comedian who was recently named one of Just For Laugh’s New Faces and will make her debut on Comedy Central in 2021. Maddie and I came up together in Chicago and it’s obvious to everyone who has seen her perform that she is destined to be one of the greats. Her comedy is hot fire, joke after joke after joke, covering topics from dating to sexual identity to everything in between. Check out her JFL performance here. 

Jordan Stafford: is a cartoonist and sketch comedian who makes some of the most joyful sketches. It’s often expected for POC to always have art about “their story” and “their journey” and sometimes this can feel like trauma dumping. Jordan’s silly, hilarious, and sometimes moving sketches always make my day. This one parodies A24 films, ‘Attractiveness Scale.’

Janelle James: is a stand up comedian who has killed it every time I’ve seen her and who is a wonderful person to follow on social media as well. Janelle’s comedy is music to my sometimes cynical heart. But she never goes over the top with her cynicism, simply offers realism with a punchline. One of my favorite jokes by her wonders why people are still having babies with climate change. Watch her funny set on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’. 

Sammy Obeid: is a stand up comedian who specifically spoke up a lot during the most recent wave of Israel’s attack on Palestine. When you watch Obeid’s stuff, you’re taken aback by how many jokes he is able to squeeze into 30 seconds—and how many of those jokes are so unexpected. His mathematical mind also takes every topic—whether it's the Israel/Palestine conflict or rankings of condiments—and jokes about it from every angle. Follow him on social media and watch this specific set on Jesus being a Palestinian Jew. 

Ali Drapos: is a stand up comedian and sketch writer whose videos are left-field hilarious and always heighten to the most absurd level. I don’t know how her mind comes up with stuff like this. She parodies the way men write women in songs, board games, and weird tropes in porn. There’s no insane topic she doesn't make even more insane with her POV. This is one of my favorites: ‘Vogue - 685 Questions’.

Note: This is NOT sponsored content. We use this section to spotlight the recommendations of people we trust and admire.