Andrew Schulz, ‘Podcast Bro,' Might Be America's Foremost Political Journalist

New York Times

4 hours ago

The comedian Andrew Schulz has risen to arena-headliner status on the strength of his irreverent, defiantly anti-woke standup. His material is a high-energy blend of gleeful raunch and precise observation, all peppered with ethnic jokes, slurs and smack talk. (Which, as much as such a thing is possible, generally comes across as good-hearted or, at least, not meanspirited.) But provocation is not the only trick in his bag. In Schulz's most recent special, 'Life,' which came out on Netflix this year, the 41-year-old moved into more vulnerable and narratively driven territory. It's about his and his wife's experience with I.V.F. (told in highly un-family-friendly language).
Despite all his success with standup, Schulz has perhaps become even better known for his podcasting. His shows 'Flagrant,' co-hosted by Akaash Singh, and 'Brilliant Idiots,' co-hosted by Charlamagne tha God, are appointment listening for millions, not just for humor but for political discussion too. That relatively newfound breadth and Schulz's ready embrace of disparate subject matter — from politics to sports to theology to culture writ large — has led to him becoming a star of the so-called online manosphere. Although that term, or 'podcast bro,' or any other potentially reductive label one might apply, would most likely frustrate the entertainingly pugnacious Schulz.
But whatever you want to call him or his corner of the online world, it's influential. Donald Trump went on 'Flagrant' last fall ahead of the presidential election, and progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have been guests on the show this year. For me, that raised questions about what Schulz's bigger goals are, and what responsibilities might come with his growing influence.
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In the last four or five years, you've really blown up. What has shifted in the culture to enable you to come to prominence? When I started posting stuff on the internet, specifically standup, things changed for me. I was trying to get an HBO special or, back in the day, Netflix is just coming to prominence, or Comedy Central. I was trying to get anything, and I couldn't get any motion with standup. So out of desperation, I filmed my own special, pitched it to everybody, nobody wanted it, and I was like, I'm going to put this online. At the time there was a sensitivity, especially in corporate America, about edginess and jokes. So my gamble was maybe if I put this out on YouTube, there will be an audience that likes this type of comedy. I put it out, and a weird thing happened: Everybody only watched 20 minutes. So I put out a 20-minute version of it, and the next weekend, I sold out a comedy club. The next weekend I sold out another one. I was like, Whoa, there's really something over here on the internet, and I can be my authentic self with comedy despite what the cultural sensitivity of the time is.
You obviously have clear ideas about what works with audiences. Does that create a temptation to pander? If you actually are trying to create something authentic, you're going to make less money, but you maintain your integrity. Oftentimes what happens is you'll have an opinion that's maybe a little different, and you'll be rebuked for that opinion for years, and then people will start to come around. Then the same people that rebuked you will start echoing those sentiments with no accountability. We had Bernie on the pod, who I love.
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