Kumail Nanjiani Made One of the Best Comedy Specials in Years

Good One

Vox Media Podcast Network

Comedy, Comedy Interviews

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2025

⏱️ 100 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kumail Nanjiani talks about his return to comedy after 12 long years. We also discuss doing comedy with muscles, Marvel backlash and how he still relates to his audience despite his ever-growing fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Who are you really?
0:05.7	Introvert? Extrovert? Maybe you're a Pisces. According to some scientists, we're thinking about it all wrong.
0:12.2	I always say that, you know, academic personality science needs like a PR person because we're not really good at spreading the word on what personality actually is.
0:22.4	That's this week on Explain It to Me. New episode Sundays, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:29.7	I have to think that art has to be able to have some sort of impact, you know.
0:35.4	And I think stand-up comedy can be particularly powerful because
0:39.3	it can speak so directly. Like, you know, I think movies, TV shows obviously have points of
0:46.7	view, but I think stuff gets lost. There are people who are huge fans of Star Trek who are
0:50.6	incredibly racist. And it's like, how can you do that? The whole point of Star Trek is not that.
0:55.7	They had the first interracial kiss on screen.
0:57.8	And you're against interracial dating?
0:59.3	That's crazy.
1:05.5	This is Good One.
1:06.5	I am Jesse David Fox, scenewriter, vulture, and author of Comedy Book.
1:10.2	My guest today is Kumail Nanjiani, whose special Night Thoss comes out on Hulu on December 19.
1:15.5	It is Kumail's first stand-up special in 12 years, and it is good.
1:20.4	Like, really good.
1:22.7	So my favorite special of the year, it is arguably one of the best handful of specials released by anyone
1:27.5	over the last decade.
1:29.0	As we discussed, the special is largely influenced by the strikes of 2023 and the reaction
1:33.7	Kamail received for getting jacked and co-starring in the first Marvel movie to truly bomb
1:38.4	the Eternals.
	...

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