Now What?
Last things first, in case you’re wondering why you haven’t received many emails from me recently — I’m OK, but is Substack OK? I’m increasingly not so sure.
I found myself surprised to meet Substack CEO at a Substack “Summer Drinks” meetup this summer. If you know me, though, you’re probably less surprised to learn that I snarked my way through the interaction, first by jokingly promoting one of Substack’s new features to him, then in conversation mentioning his then-new promotion of one Richard Hanania for his suppposed “enlightened centrism,” which in fact, as we all now are painfully aware, Hanania promotes racist philosophy. How and why McKenzie hasn’t apologized or backtracked is even more baffling than his note just yesterday boasting about all of the awful voices he platforms and profits from. And no, I’m not linking or restacking it here.
My friend , the brilliant author of Welcome To Hell World, already had made a great case for leaving last year:
When I joined Substack in early 2019, everything seemed so much simpler. Now, not so much. But I still have a choice. Actually, I have plenty of choices in terms of where to publish my journalism and essays, and how to deliver newsletters to readers wherever they may be. So I don’t have to be here any longer.
In the meantime…
I picked up a new freelance client this week in The Daily Beast. My first two pieces are already up: An overview of Maria Bamford’s new memoir, “Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere.” It’s great!
Last night, I shared how Shane Gillis has overcome his SNL shaming and four years later become the top draw on Netflix.
Piffany readers may recall I covered Gillis two years ago when his first special, self-released on YouTube, came out.
Anyhow.
I’ve also been continuing to review comedy specials for Decider and curating the live NYC comedy listings for The New York Times.
Recently reviewed:
Jared Freid: 37 & Single (Netflix)
Chris Fleming: HELL (Peacock)
Sasheer Zamata: The First Woman (YouTube/800 Pound Gorilla Media)
Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (Netflix)
This weekend in live comedy in NYC…
Caitlin Cook’s The Writing On The Stall opened this week at SoHo Playhouse (runs Wednesday-Saturday through Sept. 23)
Rachel Bloom’s Death, Let Me Do My Show also opened in previews this week, with an official opening Sept. 14 and running through Sept. 30 at the Lucille Lortel
Taylor Tomlinson plays Radio City Music Hall this weekend — Saturday’s almost sold out, but tickets are still available for Sunday
Sabeen Sadiq is recording her first stand-up album this Sunday, Sept. 10, at New York Comedy Club. Supporting her with opening sets: Mohanad Elshieky, Naomi Karavani, and Salma Hindy
If and when I decide on a new platform to share comedy news and other musings, I’ll be sure to let you know accordingly. In the meantime, I greatly appreciate each and every one of you and thank you for your support.