 Boom, what's up everyone? Welcome to simulation. I'm your host on sake and really excited to still be on site in New York City, New York We are now going to be talking about all things related to comedy all things related to working your ass off 600 plus shows a year. I'm I'm tired So tired as I drink my coffee We're super excited to have Harrison Greenbaum joining us on the show. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm excited Really pumped. Yeah So let's give a quick background on Harrison. Harrison's got multi award-winning comedian over the last 13 years He had a huge magic inspiration growing up as well. He's done America's Got Talent He's done Conan. He's done last comic stand been eliminated from a lot of reality shows But also that's it really crucial to persevere and get up to those rankings as well and test yourself He's also the host of what's your problem, which is a very funny show We're gonna be talking. Thank you. Yeah a little bit as well And yes, he does over 600 shows a year, which it makes him one of the most in-demand comedians in New York City It's thank you. Yeah, it's weird to be and this is like we're in a Shackleton themed bar And so like that guy what survived the Antarctic like or Antarctica, right? He survived it for like Seven months and like he didn't lose a man. I'm like, oh, I did 600 comedy like it feels a comparison to Shackleton I feel like like his influence is that but it's cold. So it's keeping me awake. So it's perfect. Yeah, yeah, and So here's a couple things that I think are really important for Harrison to touch on Harrison's got you now that he has these tons of years of experience and tons of shows under his belt I really want us to first take like a big history look at civilization. Okay, humans find themselves as stewards of earth now Here we are a big transition. You're like, here's your background as a comedian now Everything about the history of civilization I'll make it easier so we have this big history look at civilization and here we find ourselves as stewards now We live in a very complex world seven point seven billion people now a lot we hockey sticked up in population We got exponential technologies. Yeah. Yeah, so tell us about your thoughts on the current state of things I mean, I think it's hard for me to take any kind of bird's-eye view because I've the slice of civilization that I've experienced is Even if you include the experience that I've learned through my grandparents or whatever. It's so small overall I do think there is that exponential growth like that's what you look for with technology and at some point There's a there's an inflection point where it goes like straight vertical, right or almost vertical and I think I would like I think we're probably if I had to guess like Going around the inflection point like we're gonna hit that straight vertical or that near vertical If it went straight up, there'd be no change of value The time would stop but if it was so that's that's a crazy thing to think that we might have made it like no other group or or era or generation has gotten that I guess the Just to be able to experience that part where the growth is that quick Who knows maybe we did it. Maybe this is just we were just coming around the bend But yeah, I think that the development of technology it seems interesting It feels to me because I'm a big tech geek and I all I do is like read tech blogs and look at what's the latest gadget I'm like, what's happening at CES, you know that kind of stuff and it seems that we're at a point now Where it's not like you dream it and then you have to come up with the technology is that there's so much technology available It's just about finding a company who's willing to like put it together in the package that it needs like you can make a Smart refrigerator if you want the technology definitely exists and then there's a question of whether a refrigerator company wants to use the technology That's already there So it's kind of interesting that you can kind of The technology almost ahead of the dreams at this point like you can dream a thing Like I have all the technology to do that not to say that we're not going to push it even further But it seems really cool that like especially all the things that I saw as a kid in sci-fi movies Yeah, like is I remember watching big that was the big moment for me Where I realized heck was really accelerating was I was a kid. I was watching big and he had a living comic book And then the iPad came out. Yeah, I was like, I think I just got the thing that Tom Hanks has I think I now own the thing that I want it as a boy And it's here and it does more than just being a comic book like this is that's just one of the things this thing does So I think yeah, we're at the point now where it's it really is like our dreams are almost Falling behind the pace of technology because technology is accelerating so fast And hopefully we'll have that next moment where we're like we're excited for flying cars And then in a couple decades it's like boom like the normal the normality is flying cars or that the We're excited for preventative medicine. So we don't have to Be Alzheimer's and cancer and all this kind of stuff. Oh medically That's I mean, that's the Ray Kurzweil thing of like reaching that point where we're either the last generation to die Or the first generation not to yeah, that's what it feels like. Yeah. Yeah, it'll be really suck over the last generation And there's our kids who are like we're gonna live forever like God damn it Or if we're the first generation to not die, but we haven't gotten any anti-aging So we're the only old people on earth forever. Yeah, forever We're gonna be like 90 years old and everybody else is gonna be gorgeous And then you just have to hope we come some kind of fetish that people are like, oh, I I'm really into those those rainy people They're so rare That would really that would be the worst case scenario. I would love to live forever I guess as long as I could be like There's no like oh Henry twist to living forever But man if I get to live forever But they I have to be in a 90 year old body when everybody else is at a 20 year old body That does not see that does not seem unfair Harrison I think a good question to follow up with you on this would be what are some of the you Indicated that the hockey stick and we're riding along and we're at that inflection point Well now what would you say are some of these pressing issues that we need to as a unity as a civilization? Make sure that we have ironed out. Well, I mean, I'm no extra. I'm literally a stand-up comedian But I I do think that one of the dangers of any time you accelerate through something like with any process is that There is a sort of there's a processing speed That happens within within each of us of a how fast we can process information and develop things and then as you add more More people because I was a psych major in college. We studied intergroup dynamics The more people you add the slower the overall processing time is like we I was in a class It's actually also part of the Harbor Business School and we were talking about, you know like how many people should be in your organization, how do you organize your organization and You find that, you know, there are some orchestras that don't have a conductor There's this one orchestra called Orpheus. They don't have a conductor everything is done to democratically and it's cool and it works but it takes them a lot longer to make a decision because there's not one Conductor to be like no, we're doing this way and so there's benefits to both ways That sounds like China in the US With a conductor and without a conductor. I mean, they definitely have a conductor this way Yeah, I mean, I but I think we have it the same thing where there's a reason you have a president and you don't just have Congress I think part of it But I think one of the reasons you do that is because of that processing power is you do need So then the same with juries like is 12 people the right number like if you put 18 people on the jury You might be better off in terms of it's more gonna reflect the opinion of America at large The more people you add just the more reflective it will be of the population But at a certain point nothing will get done You'll never get a jury that agrees on anything if you have a thousand people in the jury It's interesting So I think that's the issue is right now there the speed is rapidly increasing We the amount of technology that's coming out is rapidly increasing But the number of people is increasing and so the processing time is going down You have billions of people in just the last couple Yeah, try to get a billion people to agree on something it will take forever Yeah, so there is this danger of like not having agreement on everything or are making it very difficult for people to just agree Because there's more people and more opinions and so we don't want to ever get to a point where like You know there's that danger of one guy making a decision or one girl making a decision That like has a very negative effect on a lot of people on it and he gets to do it Because he's made the decision and done it before anybody else make wait what I'm sorry It sounds like some of the algorithms for the two billion people that use YouTube and Facebook That's what this sounds like when When they're making decisions just a handful of people are in charge of two billion human animals perception on Social platforms. Well, that's a whole other thing is that now the tools it used to be that you could a Small group people couldn't own a tool that had that much kind of re like Some there are we now have tools that will reach a billion people instantly or or eight I mean seven billion people instantly and yeah that kind of power is something no human has had before Like that's that you had a newspaper baron, but how many people did the newspaper baron how many eyeballs did he really control? And he was considered very powerful. So I think yeah, there's a lot of danger in that and There is no I don't know that there's there's no easy or pat answer for how do you regulate and how do you control and make sure? That nobody gets hurt. Yeah, it's gonna be tough for us to figure out how to prosper collectively But it's the most important thing we can figure out how to love each other and move forward Together cohesively as a single earth tribe. Well, that's that's like such a perfect thing Because like my thesis in college was on race related humor and its effect on prejudice And so it was I did a lot of research on prejudice racism all that kind of thing and the main factor in anything misogyny Homophobia it's in group versus out group. Yeah So what you define is your in group is your group and then you kind of the out group is and as is outside of you And so if they get hurt it doesn't matter in a way like you it's how we're tribally built And if we define the in group as humanity It's a lot better people are a lot better to each other because we're all the in group Exactly, and there's this whole practice of learning how to really Do a really good job in getting behind someone else's eyes and seeing how they've lived a life And absorb stimuli through their life through their ten years fifty years a hundred years However, old they are and then be able to really gain that sense of oh This is how you got the belief systems that you've had and really carry that on to other people and fundamental attribution error Like not falling victim to FAE like realizing that I mean fundamental attribution error I'm sure you're familiar But like the idea of that for anybody who was a dirty psych major like I was Basically the idea is the biggest error we make according to psychologists Why it's the fundamental attribution error is that we tend to attribute behavior to internal things So the guy was mean to me because he's an asshole. Can we say I say that word? Okay? Yes So but maybe that guy's mean to me because he had a really really shitty day He's actually the nicest person in the world, but you caught him on the one bad day We're something that you're terrible is going on with this family or yeah It's something awful and so that like anybody would be in a bad mood And so instead of saying he's a he's a bad person because he's in a bad mood Maybe he's a great person and once you recognize what FAE is yeah It really makes you I think a better person. I have to send a step back I I screw it up all the time, but it's like realizing if somebody does something that it's not maybe not who they are it's the environment or the Something external and that also helps you relate more to a person You're like maybe that person isn't doesn't mean to be mean to me He's actually a really nice person But he just has circumstances around him that are causing him to be mean in this moment. Yep Yep, that's always a slow down and really Cognize and think instead of immediately react and that's a whole process of meditation as well that can help us with that I'm glad you brought up fundamental attribution errors and Actually, this all kind of ties. Okay. Let's transition now. You did psych you did psych at Harvard But besides that you also started the Harvard stand-up comedians It was a Harvard it was really the Harvard stand-up comic society says Harvard sucks with the acronym stand-up comic society Yeah, so we submit the paperwork Yeah, so I submit the paperwork, but I'm like I'm not if I write Harvard sucks on the application. They're immediately gonna be like no you can't do that It's like I'm gonna painfully write out that Harvard stand-up comic society I'm never gonna use the acronym at any point in the paperwork. I'm just gonna write it out every time So I send in the paperwork and you know you wait you get an email from the dean's office We need to see you about the paperwork. I'm like, damn it. They figured it out. I mean, it's hard. They shit They're smart. So I go in and they go. Yeah, it's the name and I go damn it. They go. You're actually an undergrad Organization so it should be the Harvard College stand-up comic society Do you mind changing it? We'll approve it right away. And I was like, oh my god They did not see this so we became Harvard College sucks, which is just as funny and then like years later I ran into somebody in the dean's office who was like We obviously when you're a student, we couldn't tell you this but goddamn That was like the funniest prank somebody's ever pulled off on us. We're like you totally got us We did not see it. The only reason they knew it was Harvard College sucks was after the organization been around for a few months We applied to the trademark office because if you want to print up a sweatshirt that has Harvard on it You got to get approval because it's their logo and their brand So you just send in a request like hey, I'm gonna make t-shirts. They're gonna say Harvard It's for our group on campus so we send in the the design and it says like Harvard sucks on it like Harvard College sucks on it and They were like, oh god damn it. No, we get that's what I got the angry email whether like god We can't take their approval back, but you got us So yeah, that was it was a fun. It was a fun time. And so the First so further there's a couple things that I want to get to as you know You're really going hard cuz Harvard is tough to get into and you start surrounding yourself with really intelligent diverse people from around the world Yeah, so there's like a really There's like a salient moment in life for you right there where you're like wow I went from being really really smart in high school to being one of so many smart people Yeah, yes, you tell us about that moment. I mean, it's great. Like you feel I mean obviously you It you you it's we're talking about tribes like you walk into Harvard and everybody like all of a sudden You're like, oh, like I can say that big word and not have to explain it to anybody else I know it sounds like hope like There's that sense of okay, like we're all on the level and not that everybody at Harvard is smart They're definitely not there are legacies, but They're there there athletes. No, they're almost everybody there is very smart But it's not to say also that like people who don't get in aren't smart Like that's the crazy thing about Harvard is there is so much luck because I think I think the statistics that I heard It's probably changed a lot, but 20,000 people apply. It's probably a lot more now But 20,000 people applied I think when I applied and like 16,000 of them would be considered academically eligible So like the vast majority are considered smart enough to do the coursework and do well at Harvard Yeah, damn 16 out of 20,000. Yeah, so then how do you from that 16,000? How do you find the 1500 that is actually gonna get in so there there's all these other factors of like, oh, are you really good at this thing? You know, I always yeah, correct say being oh, what was it being? There you could be well-rounded. That's one thing when there's think there's some I've read the phrasing There's like an admissions officer described it where it's like being really well unrounded where it's like You're so good at this one thing that like we should put you in the class because you're the best figure skater in the world Or you're the best violinist or the best. Yeah, you invented this thing that they use in knee replacement search Yeah, whatever it is. Yeah, so finding those people are really good for the class, too And I always felt like my whole job was to discover what everybody's superpower was Yeah, because everybody had a thing power. Yeah, you'll be like you'd be talking to somebody I remember I was trying to ask her on a date. I was like, we should go ice skating I'm a terrible ice skater But I was like I done it a couple times like oh, I can show you some tricks that I picked up And she was like an Olympic level figure skater. I had no idea that she was so kind She was just like I mean like I've done it before I'm like, oh really? Where have you done it? And she was like, I mean like at the Olympics. They're like, oh shit God damn it. You should be teaching me. Obviously. I'm gonna fall on my face. So like everybody has that everybody has Now now you attribute a lot of your interest initially in comedy to your grandfather to tell us about the comedy and Magic Interest when you were young and how that went through Harvard into now. Yeah, I mean I I've been very lucky I have I only had three grandparents. My grandfather passed away far as born So my name is Harrison, which is based on Harold. So I've named after the one grandfather but didn't make it but Yeah, my paternal grandfather Holocaust survivor went it was in Auschwitz Lost his whole family But had a really great sense of humor by the time I met him and when he was in America having lived in America You know, it was and there's that remarkable contrast between somebody who seemed literally the worst possible thing you could see and Being really funny and I think that was part of what how you get through that Yeah, and that's a powerful lesson as a child to realize that's what humor can do is allow you to get through those kind of things But to keep your sanity like how do you keep your like it's a it's a if you went insane because of what you saw No one would everyone would understand. Yeah. Yeah, but he didn't he was he had a sense of humor and he was he was incredible The other side my paternal my maternal grandmother We used to like drive around in her valve listening to a 2000 year old man on like cassette tape And so she really introduced me to like all those comedians the Mel Brooks and watching it's a mad mad mad mad world And really that also is that getting that part of the humor and the structure and the craft of it Yeah, so I really you know and obviously my parents are just very funny and awesome and they have incredible senses of humor So that just yeah, that's how you make a comedian So they should have known that you were gonna it's all their fault. Yeah You did this And then I said did the stand-up then start in the college then was that the first yeah, so I was a kid magician I'm still a magician. I love magic so much. I was five years old. I started doing magic tricks I always loved performing and I would do tricks What you know, I was it I would just perform at the drop of a hat and that how I'd have a rabbit No, but I This is the problem of drinking coffee is I'm just like I'm gonna end up going faster and we're talking about that like Sticking right now is exactly what's happening. You're gonna be like wow his words are good are just yeah, so fast so fast But yeah, I did magic my whole life went to magic camp Where I'm still a counselor and I love it tennis magic camp go if your kids interested in magic send them it's life-changing But then I got to college and I had a fraternity brother Who was like yeah, I'm doing this stand-up comedy show and they only did it once a year and the reason? I started my group actually was because I wanted there to be sort of a home for stand-up constantly not just one show a year But he was a come do it do magic. You're funny when you do magic come to our show I was like well, why don't I try stand-up and I did it and sort of I was addicted as soon as I got on stage and started I was like this is the art for him This is this is the thing and I think that's I think that's most comedians is it's a drug Yeah, and as soon as you get that first hit you're like I you become addicted like state I feel like people who book comedy clubs often feel like drug dealers Yeah, you have all these comics we're like trying to scratch the it's like you get me on can you get me on can you get me on And definitely like that's probably the way they have to think about it is that they have access to this very Like sought after a drug. Well, there's there's I kind of like to compare someone taking the stage as a comedian and Making hundreds of people laugh at the same time I like to compare that to when someone feels like a sports stadium or for a music event or something like that and there's you know 10,000 30,000 people all just in tune with the artist or the comedian or the performer that's happening And you know, that's one of the reasons why we want to take these intellectual discourses and debates and meditations and comedies and Bring them to the big sports stadium stages because we love the idea of the thousands of people all at the same time Having that feeling all together. There's an energy Yeah, I hosted the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve And so I got to talk in front of a million people at once literally I'm on the stage holding a microphone And I've been being to a million people all over Times Square in New York And there's just this energy that literally just hits you in the chest because all just all eyes are aimed at one point Yes, and it's it's intense. It's crazy totally and you just you feel it You're you're it's just it's almost indescribable. Yeah, exactly. This is the best hit. I've ever got it No, I'll ever reach it. Yeah, I'm gonna perform for a million people every day You run out of people very quickly if you did million million people sets. It would be you do like seven shows I'd be like done That may as may that may very well be a big part of the future of performance is Doing it for that many people I'm like kind of like the America's Got Talent. This is a good segue a little bit I don't know. I mean, I think 20 million people on a TV show is fine Like but at a certain size, I think you're coming because comedy does have to be specific. There's always specificity and so Performing for the whole world your comedy would have to be broader than if you're performing for one country Absolutely for one state. That's a good point. Yeah, so there is a broadening which would reduce art If you try to perform something that makes the whole world's happy Yeah, it's not gonna be it's gonna be a very different art But it's also I think it might be watered down or so brought us to lose it's sort of uniqueness to a degree But then there's also that it's so broad that you can make it so that all of the humor is Humor that earth can relate to with you can maybe talk about things like how complex the hockey sticking is and how we need To work together and in fun ways like something crazy like the genetically engineered children walking around and like right I'm speaking like culturally like I just did a tour in Kazakhstan and they have to rewrite your whole set Not only was I being translated into Russian So that's a language barrier thing that you have to work with this translator who was incredible We have to work really hard to figure out How do you translate these jokes but then even if he translated me exactly word-for-word? There's so much cultural difference That's right and so like even saying a joke where you're like I'm gonna go to the supermarket If you're performing for the whole world that doesn't track for everybody Some people are like, what's the supermarket? Yeah? Yeah, or or the word that you use or in their language Yeah, it could be that or even the concept like the way I you know like the way we treat women and you know They're equals as they should be a Walmart's in Laos, but there are certain countries where like they're behind culturally in terms of like women's rights Gay rights civil rights. Yeah, so if you act like it's an assault that you take the assumption Obviously women and men are equal. Yeah, which I would hope would eventually be the world Things some countries don't necessarily believe that right now. So they wouldn't get that joke Yeah, so like that's that you know, there's people of all yes skin color religion or whatever If you do a joke like my wife was driving There's some countries where they're like, what do you mean a woman's driving like there's that you know That there's that thing like so I had a certain point you get so high level that You lose the ability to make jokes or like high concepts of like do we all see red and then you go fit shit There's color-blind people like there's always one group Yeah, yeah that you might so it's see too many groups that opens people up also to People saying oh well, why is it okay for women to drive there? Maybe that's something that we should adapt and change to so that's also interesting could be broadening people's perspectives through jokes like that Okay, so that's a really cool part of this like global picture of comedy now Now what is it like, you know working your way up to? Doing last comic standing and Conan and America's Got Talent and what was that process like and then what is it like being there? Doing yeah, it's exciting. There's a lot of pressure like America's Got Talent You know the numbers going in that it's I think it's 20 million people are watching an episode so you go from 200 people to 20 million people and you also realize that like let's say the average audience size that I'm getting up to live You know what I mean a comedy club 200 people. Yeah You know, I'll do I'll do theaters of thousands of people, but even if I did a thousand people a night In the number of nights I would need to do to hit 20 million. Yeah, and I'm doing that at one set So there's this pressure of like I'm gonna perform for more people in this moment than I will in years of touring Even decades of touring You you don't want to think about that too much because then you'll psych yourself out But that's something in the back of your head. So there's a there's a pressure to that But then like there's there's a saying like overprepare and then go with the flow and That's that's sort of my approach to any TV thing is be way over prepared do this set a million times run around like before Conan I got the call. I was an it was an email, but I got an email on I want to say Thursday or Wednesday something like that. It's like Thursday or Friday They're like we were ready because but basically they approve your set and then it's about waiting for a Slot in an episode to give you so you get the email like Friday Thursday Friday. You're getting Tuesday We're gonna fly you out Monday, and you're gonna be on the show Tuesday You had a lot of preparation. So you're like, oh shit. I have four days between now and Conan Yeah, not that I haven't the only way to get to that point in the set as you've sent them a video It's a set you've done a million times already So you've done the hours already totally but that's but that moment where you're like, okay Conan's in four days. I just called everything where I could I was like I want to go on stage and run the five-minute set that I'm doing for Conan Yeah, I did 22 shows. I think in like three days perfect and then boom So I I really ran that thing like a marathon runner. It's how a professional does it. This is that's really well done Yeah, and Seinfeld used to literally jots. We felt like a like an athlete like he would run around like I'm doing my set over And over again exactly. Yeah, and so that's the over prepare part and then the go with the flow is You can prepare as much as you want But if you're a robot It's you're not going to deliver the way you want You're not supposed to be over repairing so that you can do it without thinking as soon as you remove the thinking opponent You're dead So like even with the set on Conan one of the first things I did was a riff because they like stood up immediately As soon as I walked out and I was like, I haven't done anything yet You guys can sit down and that's obviously not something you prepare You don't know that's gonna happen But if I wasn't in the moment then I wouldn't be able to do that So the over prepare go with the flow is sort of my like mantra for any of that TV thing I was like you're gonna do the over repair and that's good But then you need to give yourself the freedom to break from the thing that you've been rehearsing a million times Yeah, those are really good pieces of advice and I like how your drive is so is so evident There is that you know you work your ass off to get the opportunity and then when you get it You go and you hustle around 22 shows prior You know to go through the practice and then you still remain a presence a really humane presence when you walk Into the door to be able to to be there with the audience and engage with them in a friendly way It seems kind of crazy to be doing 600 plus shows not a hernatic Yeah It seems how it seems weird how often you want to do heroin like So this is like two to three sometimes a night Five o'clock seven and nine or seven nine eleven. It's usually way later It's usually like your first shows around seven or eight comedy before seven or eight could be weird Comedy's better in the darkness But yeah, I mean you can go to four o'clock in the morning sometimes just running sets and I think the record I think I did ten shows in a day was like my record for most shows in one 24 hour period. That's badass Yeah, yeah, and so then now now how often are you writing new material for the different sets always always? But sometimes like I always say you have to change something about Every set so every set if you at least one thing different. Otherwise, you're not taking in fresh data And granted you can do the same set to different audiences and that's going to be different Like who doesn't work in this room and this environment, but I'm always trying to change even Tweaking one word or one pause changing where the pause is so at least I'm trying something new because if I don't then The set doesn't ever get better. Yeah, so I'm always changing a little bit But sometimes it's massive sometimes I'm gonna walk out and I've never done this bit before and you're gonna sandwich it between Bessino works we have cushion But that's the excitement like as comments always talk about like the day a new bit works is one of the most exciting Days because you have a new toy. It really is a kid Yeah, and you got a new toy for Hanukkah or Christmas. They're like I have this new thing to play with Yeah, because you can still play with the old toys But you played with them for a year and you're like you're pretty much aware of how this toy works Yeah, but then you get this fresh new toy and then that's the addiction right is that You have this fresh choice you want to play with it all the time and then eventually you've kind of overplayed with it That's you play with that a lie like okay. I'm ready for the next toy. That's a good way to put the Specific jokes that you're writing is that you go and you land the first time and you're like yes Awesome, and then you go tinker with it and put it into your different sets And then you you know get old you get sick of the toy, but you already have new material that you've been testing and writing That's good. That's good. It's good way to put it Okay, so I think this is really important because I think a lot of young people don't necessarily even know that Comedy is a it's humor is really important in our world. Yeah, it's so crucial Well, I guess the lessons of humor like I've lectured On how you how you use comedy in a non-comedy context It doesn't mean you have to be funny But like the less comedians are all about giving as much information as possible in as tiny space as possible It's about compressing. Yes sort of a lot of ideas into a tiny space. It's a compression algorithm Yeah, and it's like the way poetry works to like poetry's such a tiny space with all of this stuff in it Yes, and so like that's a really good way to communicate. Yeah, and humor like being aware of Yourself and how you're being perceived and being honest and authentic That's the other thing that comedians are is we'll tell you how we feel Yeah, sometimes if you're uncomfortable at a meeting or you're something's happening that strange Instead of ignoring it just say it and like the relief that goes through the room when you're like, yeah, isn't this crazy They're like, oh my god. It was crazy. Okay, let's fix it. Why hold that back? So that kind of honesty and authenticity is a lesson You don't need to be funny per se. You can still learn that from a comedian. I love that the It's kind of blunt. It's very like blunt honest about the moment instead of holding things back and releasing feelings So the compression that you're talking about this is all it's all super important. Um, how does one figure out when to? Enter humor into Because then there's also people that are really serious and I like to be really serious And so if you're trying to you know say like oh, this is really crazy, isn't it? Yeah, there's a time and a place for humor for sure like if you're if something very if you're at a funeral like the odds of you making a killer joke Are lower like be appropriate with who you're with But yeah, I feel like there's definitely People could use more humor. Yeah, and like with emails like obviously be careful You don't want to email the CEO of your company and like try a joke that might offend them. That's a bad plan But like sometimes being a little funny is is a good thing I mean the world the world on hold needs more humor than less for sure. Yes. Yes. Yes now How does one think as we will get to kids in a moment? How does one get to? knowing how to be properly You know, there's there's a big uprising of political correctness happening and a big uprising of people being offended by things and There's there's a certain amount of Ethics that are evolving although I will say because we will keep saying that there's like people are getting more offended I don't necessarily know if that's true Okay, I think the tools for people who are offended to be loud and make it known are definitely like Pre-twitter, I think I think people were just as I think people were always as offended when you talk about like My heroes from older generations like you're Richard Pryor You're George Carlin your smother brothers like those guys got a ton of complaints when they were on television But they were letters that were mailed to the TV networks And so you never saw them unless you were the TV network and then they could choose whether or not they responded to them They could be like what do you mean? We got a ton of letters and then like kick the door close of the closet that's overflowing with letters We didn't get any complaints or they can be like wow we got complaints. We got to cancel the show So I don't know if the outrage and offense is more But now a random person can tweet something and a million people can see it So that one one person who was outraged can amplify his message interesting So I don't know if people are more offended I just think people are more aware when people are offended. Yeah, there's an amplification with exponential technology That's happened. That's interesting and then there then there becomes a really interesting dilemma as a comedian, which is Are when you're responding to offense Making sure that you're not responding to one person amplified a million times as opposed to a million people being offended And that being one message being sent So it's figuring out which one it is Because you don't want if only one person is offended out of a million. Yeah, you're probably doing fine Yeah, yeah, but if that person is out as allowed as loud as a million That message has the same volume as a million people being offended at volume one. Yeah I think one of the goals in many ways of comedy is to help people evolve their ethics Ones that may not be caught up yet in the equality of opportunity between men women people of all different skin colors and religions and places around the world So this comedy's role is to help people evolve towards that unity towards that Yeah, there's studies from like the 50s and 60s because in doing my thesis I've read anything if humor was the keyword in your psychological article I read it and there's all these studies where they just tell you statements So people read very serious essays trying to persuade you about you know Why misogyny is wrong and then there would be a joke that illustrates why misogyny is wrong And even though the joke is shorter and it doesn't have any data The way a scientific or serious article would jokes are on whole far more persuasive at changing attitude than a serious comment and that's a very powerful tool like it it the way I looked at it was it's sort of like a like a Sneak attack like you're by the time your brain realizes that Information has been injected into your brain. It's too late because you're like oh, it's just a joke I'll listen to the joke and then you're like, oh, no, he hid this thought in it As opposed to when you just hear thought you can immediately be like do I like this thought or not? And so you want to use the tool for good. It can also be used for bad. There are racist jokes totally Yeah punching up first down. Yeah. Yeah, I mean so you it's a it's a any power can be used for good or bad It's right knowing about physics can be used to build a bomb. Yeah, but it also help people Yeah, yeah, so it's the same thing jokes are a more persuasive thing than a statement Use your power for good. That's a good point. I like that Harrison. Okay Teach us about why do we see so few examples of kids being able to enter comedy? Why is it so difficult for this process like for kids like even children? It seems yeah But children I mean like children in the sense that when we're young in high school No one's coming in and saying why don't you practice speaking in front of people and telling jokes? You know what I mean and building up a sense of stage presence building up a getting through that barrier of fear Also practicing humor practicing it amongst your friends See, I don't think there's enough of that in the in the early years of children And then they're the same thing of like I if you ask a five-year-old to write a play It's gonna be it could be very fun to watch, but it's not gonna be it's yeah But 14 to 18 year olds have evolved much more than five and so they're much more able to come up with material I don't know that even if the 14 year old is now more advanced I don't know if there there's a self-awareness that's required from comedy that comes in like maybe the early 20s Yeah, not to say that I haven't seen some very young comics or very good Yeah, but also just pragmatically sure the way we experience comedy right now is in comedy clubs and at bars a lot of alcohol and a lot of adults, so I think there is just a Pragmatic thing where comedy is consumed by adults in adult environments Whereas like it's the same thing with a certain kind of you can see a musical that's geared for kids And then there's adult musicals. Yeah. Yeah, so there is room for it But I do think there is just pragmatically because comedy is consumed in these adult environments It's harder for a kid to because their physics They're legally not allowed to enter some of these environments. Yeah. Yeah, and then there maybe needs to be then environments for Younger people below 21 up maybe 15 to 21 or why not for them to be able to go and test their footing That could be quite interesting Okay, that's it. And then it's also the audience, right? So if I'm a stand-up comic who's 14 You it's a very different set if I'm a 14 year old performing for adults versus 14 year old performing for other 14 year old That's right, and that will be really interesting. That's right That's right to have teenagers design stand-up comedy that's really to be consumed by teenagers That's what I'm saying There's a lot to poke fun at in the social media age of how we use the devices and yeah How we're addicted to them and if they can start poking fun at that and getting people to be like, okay We are ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah, that could help. That person would have to literally invent a market Yeah, because they can't just go to the comedy club because that's where adults are showing up So they have to figure out boom We have a 3 p.m. Show where teenagers are allowed. We got this. That's what I'm saying The after-teen comedy. Yeah tween comedy. We got the after-school. Let's make this market happen It's like 16 to 20 year old market Okay, a couple Okay, couple last thoughts on the way out. I would love to see that like we're a 14 year old It was like isn't aren't isn't having a substitute teacher amazing Like It's like that they're they sit there struggling trying to pronounce the name of foreign kids in the classroom's names And they're like zaki minute That was right. It's why don't they even try just be like hi. I this name is spelled this way It's I it's not for me to butcher it. Why don't you just tell me how to pronounce it and I will nail it There you go. It's gonna make this weird attempt where they're just like is there a See this one. I'm saying this is good stuff or like how just how addicted we are to Messaging each other in the classroom and talking about things And it would be a good window I don't know adults who are like in their 30s would find that I think really good 14-year-old comedy for 14-year-olds Should be unfunny to 30 year olds We should be like what you're complaining about that because our problems are so much bigger in a way We're like you're worried about homework, and we're worried about the world Yeah, yeah, and not to say that these we have all these teenage activists who are incredible That's right, but they're their day-to-day is A lot different than our day-to-day so that and that's again to bring a full circle of like Performing for the world versus performing for a specific audience you can do a lot more when you know your specific audience So the 14-year-old is performing for a 14-year-old There's some amazing things and then finding out what's really laughing because whenever he's laughing That's them saying oh, I feel this way or oh, I I get it If you have a room of a thousand 14-year-olds laughing at a problem, and I'm an adult and I hear that I'm like this is a problem. I can fix and make their lives better Just all the all the students now that have laptops in the classrooms Lol, are you actually doing homework right now? No I'm such a hand writer and that's a dinosaur thing now. It's crazy Okay, couple. Yeah, the couple quick questions on the way out Okay, first question is What would you say is a core driving principle of yours? Ooh, that's that's hard. I mean I I guess the good example is Taylor Swift I did warm up comedy for Katie Couric's talk show So there was a lot of celebrities coming through and Taylor Swift said something that was really important was there's a difference between Walking on stage and saying here. I am like you're welcome. Oh, yeah, and walking on stage and saying thank you for being here Thank you for being here totally. Yeah, and that's oh my drive is always that ladder of like I'm in I'm in service of the audience That's right. It's not here to see me per se. I'm there to make you happy. I'm too I'm doing all this work and making all these sacrifices so that you can have a fun night out And you can enjoy yourself and you can maybe you learn or maybe it changes how you think but I'm doing that for you And so that's the core driver is making sure at all points that it's not an exercise and like I want you to see How good I am that's not what this is about. It's I'm trying to get good enough so that you can have this really amazing moment It's all about that aiming the arrow from the stage out to the audience I'm aiming this it's not about what the audience is doing coming towards me. That's right. Well That that may be over something like because I have the lap. I'm using the laughter on that stuff to do stuff But it's about me giving you something as opposed to you giving me something. Yes. Yes, very beautifully said I like that core driving principle We're always we find a lot of our meaning in life by giving some Taylor Swift. Yes, that's right It's like we come out with gratitude for this experience You know the gratitude to be sitting down with you the gratitude for the viewers that are watching this And when we carry that presence it really helps us melt more into our humanity Unless so into our ego and gratitude practice like I took a class in college called positive psychology And that was writing a gratitude journal or telling people you appreciate them like I'm so grateful I wrote a letter to my grandmother for her 80th birthday. She's a passing way before her 81st I didn't know that at the time, but I wrote her a letter. It was just a gratitude letter It was just let me tell you why you're so special to me Yeah And it was this letter that I gave just to her in an envelope like this is for you read it later And of course she showed it to everybody and framed it because she's a Jewish grandmother But the goal was it was supposed to be a private thing, but of course look at this And she knew she she always knew how grateful I was I don't think I ever she never not didn't know that but that letter meant so much to her as a result of meant so much to me That's right And when she did pass it made it slightly easier to know that she at least knew how much she changed my life And so like that gratitude practice is very very important. Yeah That's a really crucial lesson. There's an assignment Write a letter to somebody that maybe doesn't know how grateful you are. That's right. We've and we've had Andy on our show before where we've actually talked about He actually has a site where people can go and write this letter to people Root quite easily about what they're grateful for about them and my point being is this is such a great exercise with your Relatives with your older relatives. Yeah express the gratitude that they worked hard to bring you into the world for Oh and shout out what we're talking about gratitude. There's Rabbi Brian. He was a counselor at magic camp He's still a very good friend of mine He's an amazing person and he puts out a newsletter. He's a thing called religion outside of the box And it's all about sort of the the it's your whatever your spiritual understanding is Spiritualism as a practice regardless of what religion you are He's a rabbi, but it doesn't matter if you're not Jewish and so like that kind of gratitude practice like he's such a He's always about all that stuff. So if you're interested in that kind of stuff in terms of paying it forward and showing gratitude I'm grateful to him, and I think he you guys should check him out. Yep. I can really feel you on Too much coffee. We are we are plugging our gratitude for people that have meant that it taught me about gratitude So there you go now. Okay. Next question is if you could rebuild civilization from scratch. How would you design it? Oh? If I could build it from scratch It's funny because you end up in a twilight zone scenario We're like I'm just gonna make everybody look identical so that none of those things are an issue But then they would just fix it on like the tiniest microscope I think that oh this guy's hair goes this way and this guy's hair goes that way like so there you can't fix any of The problem so you assume that kind of our brains are built the way they are I Don't even if but even if you like remove you make sure nobody ever goes hungry Then there's just more and more people and eventually the world runs out of resources. It's like how do you design a system? I? mean I guess The only thing the most basic thing would be Then what we're talking about with making sure everybody who's born recognizes that They're all part of the in-group that this idea of having these arbitrary divisions is Almost never if ever the right solution Sometimes you need it because you not need it But like sometimes you need to recognize like my family is a unit and I need to take care of my family Not at the expense of other families But you need to concentrate on your family unit and that starts to become in-group e to us to a degree But you you always when push comes to shove realize that we're all part of the same group And so if you work from that Philosophy that on a whole we have a lot more in common than different with everybody It solves a lot of most of the major issues that we have is about treating everybody The same regardless of what who they are That's a really good first principle of the root of the design is Have everyone understand we're all on the in-group of earth in yeah group of earth It's it's a step it's one step past do unto others as you would do unto yourself because that's almost selfish It's like what they like if I like it, then they'll like it to a degree. This is about just recognizing that everybody Is in the same group. We're all on the same team Team human team human team earth. That should be your merch. Yeah. You say team human Yeah, we got we got a Douglas Rushkoff's good friend. We're really excited to featuring him soon He's a big advocate on team human. He's wrote a book on out. There you go Yeah, we have a lot of cool team human merch that's with our own themes and stuff That's amazing Last two questions. I will get to sports gear. Yeah On team human. Yeah. Now last two questions first one is wouldn't be simulation if we didn't ask you Are we in a simulation? Oh, would I know if I was in a simulation? That's really the question I mean after the Truman movie came out There was a huge rise in people believing they were they were Truman Who knows? I think we all watched that movie. We're like wait a second like checking behind cabinets for cameras like We would never know and so I guess the point is to just be the best person you can be like the other Core motivator for me And I think if I'm building the simulation it all connects is to leave the world a better place than when I entered it I don't know if it's gonna be a small amount better or a large amount better, but leave it better And I think that Whether we're in a simulation or not that principle still applies if it's if we're in the matrix It's kind of more of a waste to make the matrix better than That's your ultimate test is to continue leveling up and making this place better and focusing on that That's your test in the simulation. That's the test. Yeah, so whether it's a simulation or not Yeah, yeah, and we'll be able to poke and prod at the at the code soon to figure out figure it out I think hopefully. Oh, yeah. Okay, and last question Harrison. What's the most beautiful thing in the world? The beautiful most beautiful thing in the war in the world. I mean, I'm a comedian so it's probably make when somebody laughs it really laughs. That's a Beautiful thing and if you can give that gift to somebody it's it's wonderful It's really wonderful when people are legitimately laughing so hard, you know There's no there's no better compliment after a set when somebody comes up Like I've had a really rough week or a month or year and for that those moments you were on stage I forgot about it and I was really happy That's amazing. So yeah for me as a comedian the most beautiful thing in the world is making somebody laugh. Yeah, that's why I'm a comedian. I Love that and whenever I'm laughing my ass off rolling around on the floor, right when I'm doing that those moments are so precious I just try to bottle them up there. It's so precious and you're right when someone comes up to you and tells you About how you positively impacted their life. That's really incredible. Yeah So this has been really enlightening. Thank you so much for joining us on the show and talking to us It's been a pleasure. Thank you so much, man. Yeah, Godspeed on all of your endeavors Everyone check out the links below to Harrison's work in his bio also go and Go go and Go and go and push yourself out into uncomfortable Circumstances and situations where you can really test yourself into the world find meaning through that process go and enter some jokes into into the world and Really with care with care. I just hope there was something to be like put a joke in the middle of like their email to their CEO care with care with care. Yes, and Also go and you know support Harrison support us join us in our efforts so we can continue doing cool things like coming out on Sight to great places like New York to interview great leaders like Harrison also go and build the future everyone Manifest your destiny into the world. We love you so much and like don't justify it with manifest destiny Manifest your death Build that was a rough period in American history This is mine now. Build the future everyone. We love you. Yeah, earth as one. We love you human See you soon you