Tanya Mosley

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. And my guest today, comedian Roy Wood Jr., takes the serious, sometimes absurd stuff we deal with in everyday life and makes us laugh about it. Even news events that on the face of it are kind of scary, like white men in America gravitating to militia groups.

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. And my guest today, comedian Roy Wood Jr., takes the serious, sometimes absurd stuff we deal with in everyday life and makes us laugh about it. Even news events that on the face of it are kind of scary, like white men in America gravitating to militia groups.

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. And my guest today, comedian Roy Wood Jr., takes the serious, sometimes absurd stuff we deal with in everyday life and makes us laugh about it. Even news events that on the face of it are kind of scary, like white men in America gravitating to militia groups.

That's Roy Wood Jr. in his latest comedy special, Lonely Flowers, on Hulu. It's Wood's take on how isolation has sent society spiraling into a culture of guns, protests, rude employees, self-checkout lanes, sex parties. And he also talks about why some of us would rather be alone than connected. Wood is known for his razor-sharp wit.

That's Roy Wood Jr. in his latest comedy special, Lonely Flowers, on Hulu. It's Wood's take on how isolation has sent society spiraling into a culture of guns, protests, rude employees, self-checkout lanes, sex parties. And he also talks about why some of us would rather be alone than connected. Wood is known for his razor-sharp wit.

That's Roy Wood Jr. in his latest comedy special, Lonely Flowers, on Hulu. It's Wood's take on how isolation has sent society spiraling into a culture of guns, protests, rude employees, self-checkout lanes, sex parties. And he also talks about why some of us would rather be alone than connected. Wood is known for his razor-sharp wit.

He spent years on the stand-up comedy circuit, dissecting pop culture and current events, and for nearly eight years, he was a correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Wood currently hosts the CNN News Quiz show, Have I Got News For You?, which was adapted from a long-running British series under the same name. Roy Wood Jr., thank you for being here, and welcome back to Fresh Air.

He spent years on the stand-up comedy circuit, dissecting pop culture and current events, and for nearly eight years, he was a correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Wood currently hosts the CNN News Quiz show, Have I Got News For You?, which was adapted from a long-running British series under the same name. Roy Wood Jr., thank you for being here, and welcome back to Fresh Air.

He spent years on the stand-up comedy circuit, dissecting pop culture and current events, and for nearly eight years, he was a correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Wood currently hosts the CNN News Quiz show, Have I Got News For You?, which was adapted from a long-running British series under the same name. Roy Wood Jr., thank you for being here, and welcome back to Fresh Air.

You know, at the end of that clip I just played, you heard the beep. That was the N-word. It was part of the punchline that you use in the joke, and it almost is like an exclamation point. And I know that you have weighed whether you use it. I think you talked about in another special how your uncle was like trying to not use it himself. Yeah, trying to quit it.

You know, at the end of that clip I just played, you heard the beep. That was the N-word. It was part of the punchline that you use in the joke, and it almost is like an exclamation point. And I know that you have weighed whether you use it. I think you talked about in another special how your uncle was like trying to not use it himself. Yeah, trying to quit it.

You know, at the end of that clip I just played, you heard the beep. That was the N-word. It was part of the punchline that you use in the joke, and it almost is like an exclamation point. And I know that you have weighed whether you use it. I think you talked about in another special how your uncle was like trying to not use it himself. Yeah, trying to quit it.

Right, right. He's on the N-word patch. How do you decide when to use it in your comedies?

Right, right. He's on the N-word patch. How do you decide when to use it in your comedies?

Right, right. He's on the N-word patch. How do you decide when to use it in your comedies?

I did notice, though. I mean, I noticed when you were on Conan O'Brien, his podcast, you used it and he didn't laugh, you know, because he kind of it also can make people uncomfortable. Right. It can make people they don't know if they can laugh at it.

I did notice, though. I mean, I noticed when you were on Conan O'Brien, his podcast, you used it and he didn't laugh, you know, because he kind of it also can make people uncomfortable. Right. It can make people they don't know if they can laugh at it.

I did notice, though. I mean, I noticed when you were on Conan O'Brien, his podcast, you used it and he didn't laugh, you know, because he kind of it also can make people uncomfortable. Right. It can make people they don't know if they can laugh at it.

I want to know how you got to that point, because I just noticed within a bit you do this thing where you reference something that the masses will get. And in that same bit, there are references that only Black people will get. I mean, an example of this was last season on your CNN quiz show. It was the one where you had Kara Swisher on and you made a reference to the movie Coming to America.

I want to know how you got to that point, because I just noticed within a bit you do this thing where you reference something that the masses will get. And in that same bit, there are references that only Black people will get. I mean, an example of this was last season on your CNN quiz show. It was the one where you had Kara Swisher on and you made a reference to the movie Coming to America.