In the wake of the Me Too movement, there has been a small outcry of (mostly white, cis, male) comedians who complain that political correctness has made it “too hard” to be a comedian. See Jerry Seinfeld in This Interview with Seth Meyers where he says that PC culture “keep[s] moving the line back further for no reason!” Let’s address this right now, comedy is supposed to make you uncomfortable to a point, but for too long have shit comedians taken this idea and run to genuinely offensive and (even worse) unfunny degrees. Comedy which degrades others, places marginalized identities in harmful stereotypes, or undermines the struggles of social movements is not only lazy writing, but is harmful towards those it takes advantage of “for the laughs”.  If you are a comedian who cannot adjust to the tastes of an ever-changing audience/culture, then you probably weren’t that good of a comedian to begin with.

Thus enter the Mcelroys.

The Mcelroys are three brothers, Justin, Travis, and Griffin, whose comedy media empire has exploded in the last few years. Their podcast “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” is an advice show that rarely offers advice worth taking but is definitely worth listening to. They take listener submitted questions and in a process not too dissimilar to alchemy turn them into comedy gold. What drives their show is the synergy between them, made only possible by growing up together. Their understanding of each others cadences and sense of humor allows them to riff on a single theme until they reach peak obscurity or surreality, while never making a joke at the expense of others (or if one of them does the others will generally call them out on it).  They also have a short-lived show based on their podcast of the same name which I would totally recommend watching. In the show, they return to their hometown of Huntington, West Virginia, and take questions from viewers while causing mild havoc and bothering the mayor.  For the fantasy lovers and giant nerds out there they also have a Dungeons and Dragons podcast, which honestly is more of them making jokes while Griffin attempts to tell a story (an extremely well written and intricate story I might add!).

If you love stupid jokes, goofs, or want to truly understand about half of the references I make on a daily basis, I’d totally recommend giving it all a listen. I promise you won’t regret it.

(For a full list of their many many podcasts, click here!)

-Tim Caston