Negin Farsad

A few years ago, Negin Farsad was set to perform in Centralia, Washington. As she arrived at the theater, she saw that her show was being protested by a group of about 15-20 people. They were there because they thought this comedian would try to convert the audience to Islam. In addition to being protested, Negin has been asked to provide extra security at shows or risk being shut down, she has been called an “Islamofascist” by right wing websites, she has received hate mail and death threats.

And yet, ask her how she feels about today’s social and political climate in the United States and she’ll tell you: she’s optimistic. Really optimistic.

Negin has performed in nearly every state of the Union—and, armed with that experience, this comedian/filmmaker (and recovering policy advisor) makes The Case for American Exceptionalism:

• She walks us through a world of declining social capital (oh yeah, she’s a Robert Putnam-head) because the fact that we are no longer a country of conveners has made us… rageful and dull.
• She talks about the internet’s capacity to distort reality and how that messes up our perception of how things really are. For example, where is New York City in the top 10 of dangerous cities in the state of New York? Trick question, it’s not on that list! But if TikTok was your source, you’d think you were walking into a crime pit.
• But like an optimist, she offers a new lens on patriotism. She shares policy changes throughout the country that get no attention because federal controversy sucks the oxygen from these state-wide solutions—like New Mexico just made childcare free, who knew?!
• And! she offers up solutions! From her experience co-founding a small organization to help her local park, to striking up conversations with strangers, to the nuts and bolts of accepting people’s foibles.

Because, at that show in Centralia, WA when the protestors came to her show, Negin wasn’t mad. Her heart was warmed! And she invited them in from the literal rain of the Pacific Northwest—because the reality was, she had every right to perform and they had every right to protest her. It’s these kinds of fundamental rights that make this country exceptional.

In this powerful, funny, heartfelt talk, Negin blends the rigor of standup comedy with the poignancy of a TED Talk to help us all believe in the American project… again.

If you think there’s nothing funny about the political landscape we’ve found ourselves in, think again. Negin Farsad is helping us all find the humor in our current events—and showing us how, even in our polarized moment, laughter can still help us find a way through.

Negin is an Iranian-American comedian whose work has been called “smart, funny, and fascinating” (The Wall Street Journal). The author of How to Make White People Laugh and director of The Muslims Are Coming!, she understands how we can use humor to bridge our deepest divides.

In this witty, fully customizable talk, Negin discusses the news of the week—or any topic your organization wants to forefront—with her signature hilarious and hopeful commentary. She offers a light-hearted yet incisive look into current events and the topics of the week. Audience members will walk away laughing and inspired to find a way forward together.

Negin Farsad has devoted large parts of her career to comedy that breaks barriers, particularly as it relates to Islamophobia, immigrant rights, and bigotry.

As a policy advisor for the city of New York, she worked on the city’s campaign finance initiative, a program that pushes for a level playing field for candidates who aren’t made of money. She took that know-how into her comedy with such works as Bootleg Islam—an off-Broadway solo show about a boozy trip to the Islamic Republic of Iran. She gleaned lessons from her two-person Edinburgh Fringe Festival musical The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Romantic Comedy, not to mention her work with the standup show, The Dirty Immigrant Collective.

This work has given Negin tons of anecdotes from the frontlines of prejudice and a prescription for how to change the discourse. She brings real world activist comedy experience, a dash of comedy philosophy, and a touch of public policy for an engaging and hilarious look at the question of how to learn to laugh together.

Negin Farsad is an accomplished comedian, writer, and filmmaker. How did she get into this business and stay in it long enough to drop the day job? Negin knows exactly what the pitfalls are, how to avoid them, and how to make a living in an industry that A) not only has a monetization problem (summed up by “the internet”) but B) is extremely “dude-heavy,” with only 8% of above the line functions going to women. Navigating the terrain is difficult and school programs—rightly focused as they are on craft and technique—often miss the boat on how to actually start a career in comedy and/or media.

Negin has won various director awards, has made three feature films, and has written and directed for networks like Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, IFC, BBC, PBS and others. She is uniquely qualified to talk about the nuts and bolts of the industry—getting jobs, raising money to make movies, maintaining sanity, etc.—and can speak to the particular challenges faced by female graduates entering the work force.