Dave Chappelle on free speech and the purpose of comedy | NPR’s Newsmakers

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4.6 • 59K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

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Summary

In this bonus episode of Up First, we’re sharing the latest episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, featuring comedian Dave Chappelle. The provocative comedian and architect of Chappelle’s Show is one of the biggest names in comedy. Now in arguably the most successful chapter of his life and career, he views himself not just as an entertainer -- but as a professional processor of events and experiences. He describes comedians as 'the nation's kidney' -- an essential organ for processing the raw experiences of life.

Chappelle believes that function is one shared by comics and journalists -- they both process events and help audiences make sense of the world. That conviction is why he recently invested $15 million into the infrastructure of WYSO, the public radio station in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

In this conversation, Chappelle tells host Michel Martin why free speech is so important to him, and why he refuses to let public expectations dictate his art.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is Michelle Martin with a special episode of Up First, a conversation from our sister's show, NPR's Newsmakers, where we interview some of the most influential people of our time.
0:13.3	You can watch the show on NPR's YouTube channel or search for newsmakers wherever you get your podcast.
0:19.3	Our guest today is comedian Dave Chappelle.
0:24.1	My favorite part of my evolution was when I quit. Do you feel like your job is to be provocative?
0:34.3	No, I don't court it. I just don't flinch from it. But if you're a person that's
0:40.2	very angry or passionate about something and you feel like you have to police comedy to get your
0:45.6	point across, you should assess your point. Dave Chappelle is one of the most influential
0:53.7	stand-up comedians of our time.
0:56.0	He's known for pushing the boundaries of what it's okay to say in public.
1:00.4	He also uses his influence to advance the causes he believes in, in his art and in his community.
1:06.4	Now, you probably know that, but what you may not know is that he lives here in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
1:11.6	And that's where we begin our conversation.
1:14.6	Thank you for having us.
1:16.0	Oh, man, what an honor. What an honor.
1:18.5	Tell us where we are.
1:20.8	Well, this is my future offices for my production company in what they call the old union
1:27.1	schoolhouse in Yellow Springs,
1:28.8	Ohio, which we have just completely renovated for our local NPR affiliate, WISO.
1:37.7	Is it too strong to say that you saved the station?
1:41.1	Save the station, no. I think the have would have survived and hopefully thrive without me
1:46.5	but what i did achieve is i kept them here in yellow springs so so our npr affiliate has a very
1:55.1	special relationship with the community um it's like our lifeblood it's's a connective tissue for our community. So if they had
	...

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