CoastLine: Alonzo Bodden on cancel culture, why comedians shouldn't apologize for old jokes, and how Hulk (his Great Dane puppy) is teaching him peace

Published August 30, 2021 at 4:02 PM EDT

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Alonzo Bodden comes to the Dead Crow Comedy Showroom September 3-4, 2021 for the grand reopening.

Alonzo Bodden is known and loved by NPR listeners around the globe as a frequent panelist on the comedy news quiz show, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! But his own standup comedy lives in the tension between light jokes and the heavier, more depressing news of the day. He's a self-described news junkie who might be losing his tolerance for the same old storyline. And his jokes on letting the younger generation take over, well, that's where it goes dark... Listen to this episode for context.

The New York Timeshas called him the James Earl Jones of stand-up because of his deep and mellifluous voice. He’s a comedian NPR listeners will recognize as a frequent panelist on the beloved comedy news quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

Alonzo Bodden has starred in four stand-up comedy specials – the most recent: Alonzo Bodden: Heavy Lightweight.

In one of the biggest breaks of his early career, he won the third season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, but America never got to see him win as NBC cancelled the show just before the last episode.

He’s hosted his own podcast, Who’s Paying Attention, since late 2012, which went on hiatus after he joined the lineup at an AM talk radio station in Los Angeles – KBLA. But the talk radio gig is coming to an end as the podcast restarts in the fall.

And as stand-up comedy returns to the Cape Fear region with the grand reopening of the Dead Crow Comedy Showroom, Alonzo Bodden headlines the shows September 3rd and 4th, 2021.

Guest:

Alonzo Bodden, standup comedian