NPR

'You Get Paid For Doing Therapy': Stand-Up Comedians On Anger

For centuries, people have turned to jesters for relief from the miseries of life. As it turns out, some stand-up performers turn pain and rage into their own coping and catharsis.
Comedian Mo Amer, seen here in his Netflix special <em>The Vagabond</em>, says that stand-up has been a significant part of his "coping process" with an itinerant childhood.

Veteran comedians know all about the funny side of anger.

The late George Carlin wrote an entire bit called "Free-Floating Hostility." Jerry Seinfeld once declared in the Los Angeles Times that "All comedy starts with anger."

The rant is often a comedian's sharpest tool, whether it's the screams of the late Sam Kinison or the tirades of Chris Rock — like "Stop telling your kids they're special!"

has plenty to be angry about

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