Jason is third party offended by a frozen pizza raising some questions with Chris about the nature of offense and how it relates to comedy. Is offense a key part of comedy? Is targeting certain demographics just a bit of fun, or is it part of a bigger problem in society? What about targeting WASPs? Is that ok?
Zane Lamprey- also known as the Anothony Bourdain of drinking- joins The Recombobulator Lab to help tease this out. Together they try to identify 'the line' in part 1 of this 2 part episode and better understand the idea of taking offense.
After such a fun episode in season 1 with Zane, Chris and Jason couldn't wait to get him back on for season 2 to talk about the hot topic of taking offense. Since they spoke last Zane has been doing a stand-up tour around breweries in the US. He also did a show at a weed farm. It was a shareholders night with a difference. Everyone was h1gh and Zane had to figure out the audience dynamic a little differently to how he usually does.
Zane addresses a question that is on a lot of people's minds about being a comedian on tour. How on earth do they stay in shape while drinking at every show? Alcohol and comedy go hand in hand almost as well as comedy and offense. So what is Zane's secret and how does he stay such an 'attractive man' to quote Jason?
The topic of offense is on the tip of everyone's tongues in interviews with comedians, according to Zane. The way he sees it the landscape is always changing. Comedians are consistently setting and moving the bar. That's how comedy works. the problem now is that there's video. Things that were ok to say 10 years ago can be shown again now and ruin someone's life. The job of a comedian is to push the envelope and ride the edge but the edge is always moving.
Zane thinks that some people deliberately keep things up their sleeves as ammunition and use it at a time that will really hurt someone's career or life.
This is part 1 of a 2 part episode. In episode 2 Chris and Jason will talk about Ricky Gervais' view on taking offense and hear more of Zane's stories.
For more about Zane Lamprey see https://zanelamprey.com/
