Writer, comedian, podcaster Hari Kondabolu (l) with his brother, writer-artist-performer Ashok Kondabolu.
Writer, comedian Hari Kondabolu has been hailed for working
new social territory with his standup, video, and podcast projects. The New York Times calls him "one of the
most necessary political comedians working today", HPR’s Noe Tanigawa
reports Kondabolu’s willingness to tackle even tough contemporary topics with
humor and humanity set him apart.
Hari Kondabolu is Artist in Residence at the Shangri La
Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design.
Kondabolu offers a free conversation at UH Manoa March 7, 2018, then
he’ll perform stand up at Marks Garage Thursday, March 8th.
HPR Generation Listen members will enjoy a live podcast
taping by Kondabolu and his brother, writer-artist-performer Ashok Kondabolu at
Shangri la. On the Kondabolu Brothers
Podcast the two get into heated conversations about religion, gentrification,
racism, and baseball.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Hari Kondabolu followed
a kind of “college intellectuals” circuit to his current very busy
schedule. Kondabolu attended Wesleyan,
then Bowdoin, graduating in comparative politics, before a Masters in Human
Rights from the London School of Economics.
Kondabolu's parents immigrated to the U.S. from India; he worked at one
time as an immigrant rights organizer in Seattle.
Kondabolu: I think
that comedians, first of all, we do a lot of thinking. Our job is to think and
to create and find ways to explain very difficult things, in the simplest way
possible. Hopefully without losing all
the complexity. We have to keep people’s
attention. Even if they’re tired, we
have to find a way to grab them, and get them to pay attention.
Kondabolu: There’s no
production value, it’s just a human and a microphone. It’s very ancient the idea of an individual
talking to a large group. There’s this
ancient element to it which I don’t understand how it’s still effective. Maybe it’s people really desire human
connection. I think people, especially
now, need that.
Kondabolu: There’s
anxiety, certainly, there’s a certain sense of, since the Trump election,
there’s been a lot of. I feel it’s almost existential, like, Where do we go
from here?
Kondabolu: A lot of
people who go to my shows are people who believe strongly in the things I
believe in, or they do the work in the things I believe in, so they’re tired,
and frustrated, and confused! That’s why
I love doing stand-up, there’s a relief there!
There’s something cathartic in it.
There’s a shared set of ideas and ability to laugh at the group. That’s certainly something that’s been
wonderful even in this terrible time.
Kondabolu discusses his views on gun control in the extended
interview here. His television and video
appearances are available widely online and through his website. Recently he has begun posting conversations
with his brother, writer-artist-performer Ashok Kondabolu, on The Kondabolu
Brothers Podcast. Kondabolu will head to Brooklyn, Cambridge, and Los Angeles
after three public performances in Honolulu as part of his Artist Residency
with Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design.
Kondabolu: I'm
excited to discover something that is completely different, I’m very curious
about colonial history, how race works, how class works, the context is so
different! I’m not sure a week and a
half is enough time, I want to do my best.
Comments