This is fresh air. I'm Terry Gross. If you're a fan of celebrity roasts, you probably know my guest Jeff Ross as the roast master general. He loves to make people laugh by insulting the guest of honor, as well as the roasters. But his new Netflix comedy special is very personal and autobiographical. It hits lots of emotional notes and reveals a more vulnerable side of

him beneath the tough skin that's gotten him through tough times. He talks about his family. His

great-grandmother founded the popular New Jersey Catering Hall Clinton Manor, which Ross's

father eventually took over. It was known for its weddings and bar mitzvizs and for the food.

One of the people who aspired to have a wedding there was the main character in Judy Blume's

1978 novel Wifey. While Jeff Ross's friends were out having fun, he was cutting brisket for the

next catered affair. It was a tight-knit family, but that kind of ended when Jeff was young.

His mother was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 12 and died when he was 15. Five years later,

his father died of an aneurysm, leaving Jeff and his younger sister orphaned. In his early

20s, he lived with his grandfather and became his caregiver until he died.

If you know what Jeff looks like, you know he's bald. It's not a fashion statement. It's a result of alopecia, a condition in which you lose your hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes.

Shortly before, he started preparing his one-man Broadway show, in which he talks about all of these things,

he was given a far worse diagnosis that he added to the show, and that was stage three colon cancer.

It required surgery and several months of chemo. His new Netflix comedy special is a filmed version

of that show, which is called Take a Banana for the Ride.

The special begins with clips of him from a couple of roasts, including the now famous

or infamous 2024 roast of Tom Brady, which was produced and co-hosted. Here's Jeff Ross.

Snoop.

Love you, man, so much.

The only person that's in hell more smoke than Snoop is Pete Davidson's dad inside the World Trade Center.

Thanks, Pete.

Tom, I really wanted you to be our first goat to be roasted because you're an example to

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