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Honestly with Bari Weiss

David Sedaris: Punching Down

Honestly with Bari Weiss

The Free Press

News, Society & Culture

4.67.8K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2023

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It’s Thanksgiving week, which for many of us means eating too much turkey and pumpkin pie. For others, it means getting into arguments with your Gen Z cousin who, in a fit of righteous rage, calls you a settler colonialist and storms out of the dining room. Whatever your holiday may bring, we here at Honestly wanted to bring you a drop of delight from none other than the most delightful man on planet Earth: David Sedaris. Sedaris is a humorist and author of many best-selling books: Calypso, Theft by Finding, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Barrel Fever. . . and most recently, Happy-Go-Lucky, which I had the privilege of talking to him about last December. It’s probably my favorite episode of all time. What makes David’s writing so unforgettable is his ability to find something meaningful and true in the utterly mundane; the way he finds humor in the most horrific moments in life; and his commitment to the lost art of making fun of ourselves. So for today’s episode, we are thrilled to have David here to read an essay he calls “Punching Down.” It is funny, it is frank, and fair warning, if you are a parent of small children, it might also be a little bit offensive. Happy Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:31.2

I'm Barry Weiss and this is honestly.

0:34.0

It's Thanksgiving Week, which for many of us means eating too much pumpkin pie,

0:40.0

and for others, maybe the very same people, means getting into arguments with your

0:44.5

Gen Z cousin who in a fit of rage calls you a settler colonialist and storms out of the

0:49.1

dining room. Whatever your Thanksgiving may bring and let's hope it brings only good things, we here

0:55.6

it honestly wanted to bring you something delightful. From the most delightful

0:59.6

man on planet Earth, or at least on the upper east side of Manhattan, David Sedaris.

1:07.2

Sedaris is a humorist and the author of many best-selling books.

1:10.9

They include some of my favorite books, books like Calypso, Theft by Finding. Let's

1:15.8

explore diabetes with owls. Me Talk Pretty One Day. Naked. Holidays on Ice, Barrel Fever. And most recently Happy Go Lucky, which I had the privilege of talking

1:26.0

to him about last December.

1:28.1

It was many people's favorite episode of all time.

1:31.2

What makes David's writing so unforgettable is his ability to find something meaningful

1:36.2

and true in the utterly mundane, and the way he finds humor, or makes it, in the most horrific moments in life. And last and very rare

1:46.2

quality these days, his commitment to the lost art of making fun of ourselves.

...

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