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Mark Moshe Kasher[1] (born July 6, 1979)[2][3] is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area.[2][4] He is the author of the 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16. In 2009, iTunes named Kasher "Best New Comic" and his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! was ranked one of the top 20 comedy albums on iTunes that same year.[4][5] He was also named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine.[4]

Key Information

Early life and education

[edit]

Born in Queens, New York,[6] Kasher moved to Oakland, California with his mother and brother when he was one year old.[2][6] Kasher grew up in North Oakland's Temescal[2] and Piedmont Avenue neighborhoods,[7] and his family lived mostly on disability assistance and food stamps.[8] A son of deaf parents, Kasher worked as a sign-language interpreter from the age of 17.[2][6][9][10] His parents met at the World Games for the Deaf in 1967 and split up when Kasher was nine years old.[8]

When Kasher was four years old, his father Steven, a former painter who was born to secular, communist Jewish parents,[11] became a Hasidic Jew in the Satmar community in Brooklyn; Steven's grandfather, originally from Hungary, was a New Square Skverter Hasid.[12] Kasher regularly spent summers with his father in Sea Gate, Brooklyn until his death[12] — Kasher was 20 at the time.[2] His father lived with Gaucher's disease.[11] Kasher's brother is a rabbi.[13][14]

In his autobiography Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16, Kasher wrote about having been moved in and out of mental institutions from the age of four and using drugs from the ages of 12 to 16. He was kicked out of four different high schools.[8] In an interview with SanDiego.com, Kasher described himself as "pretty straight edge," stating that he has been clean "since I was very young."[13] He earned his G.E.D. at age 16 and later became a sign-language interpreter.[8]

Kasher attended community college in the Bay Area, where he studied theater and wrote several long-form monologues.[8] He later transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in religious studies and minored in Jewish studies.[2][11][13] Before his career in comedy, Kasher had considered becoming a college professor in Jewish history.[13]

In 2001, Kasher attended an open mic comedy night in New York which included a performance by Chelsea Peretti, a comedian and writer with whom Kasher had attended junior high school in Oakland.[2][13] After seeing her perform, Kasher asked Peretti to take him along on future performances, offering to perform with her.[2][13] For his first performance, she took him to an open mic at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.[13]

Career

[edit]

Stand up

[edit]
Kasher in 2010

In the early 2000s, Kasher performed mainly in the Bay Area, regularly performing at the Punch Line and Cobb's comedy clubs in San Francisco.[2][10][13] In the mid to late 2000s, he participated in many comedy shows with fellow comedians Brent Weinbach and Alex Koll.[15][16][17] In 2008 Kasher moved to Los Angeles.[2][6][10]

2009 marked a significant year in Kasher's comedy career. He was named "Best of Fest" at that year's Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival;[4][5][10] his performance in Aspen garnered him an invitation to the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal that same year.[10] This was followed by an appearance on the Comedy Central series Live at Gotham.[10][13] Kasher had also released his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! through Rooftop Comedy Productions in April 2009;[6][10] near the year's end the album was deemed one of the top 20 comedy albums of 2009 on iTunes. Kasher was also recognized by iTunes as the Top New Comedy Artist of 2009.[4][5]

Kasher's stand-up act has been featured on such television programs as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010[2][13] and John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show in 2011.[18] He has appeared on Conan, Showtime's Larry Wilmore's Race, Religion & Sex.[19] He has also appeared as a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately.[2][13]

Kasher has performed at festivals internationally. In addition to the aforementioned Rooftop Comedy Festival and Just For Laughs, in 2010, he appeared at Fun Fun Fun Fest[20] and South By South West[14][21] both held in Austin, Texas, as well as Cat Laughs in Kilkenny,[22] Ireland, and the Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, Washington.[23] In 2011 he appeared at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Melbourne, Australia. Kasher has also attended SF Sketchfest in San Francisco, California on several occasions.[10][24][25]

In addition to the iTunes awards in 2009, Kasher was named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine[4] as well as "One of the Top 20 Jews In The Arts" by Shalom Life in 2011.[26] John Wenzel of The Denver Post also ranked Kasher #2 on his list of the top 10 comedy shows he attended in the Denver area during 2011.[27]

In January 2012, Kasher recorded his first solo comedy special for Netflix, Moshe Kasher: Live In Oakland at The New Parish nightclub in his hometown of Oakland.[2][28][29]

In September 2016, Comedy Central ordered a talk show series to be written and hosted by Kasher, entitled Problematic,[30] which premiered on April 18, 2017.

Writing

[edit]

Kasher is a published playwright, writer, and author. While still in college, Kasher's long-form monologue "Look Before You Leap" was included in the literary collection Monologues For Men By Men: Volume Two published in 2003.[31] In 2011 and 2012 he contributed several articles to Heeb magazine.[32] In 2012, he published his autobiography Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 published by Hachette Book Group's Grand Central Publishing.[2][9][33] He wrote an episode titled "Pardon Me" for the television show, The New Normal.[7]

Acting

[edit]

Kasher played small roles in the independent films Sorry, Thanks (2009)[34] and Wish Makers of West Hollywood (2010).[35] He appeared on episodes of the Fox sitcom Traffic Light in 2011[36] and the NBC sitcom Whitney in 2012.[37] Kasher played the role of Ruben — a gay, deaf man confined to a wheelchair — in an episode of the U.S. television series Shameless which aired March 18, 2012.[38][39]

Podcasts

[edit]

In 2011, Kasher, along with Neal Brennan (co-writer of Chappelle's Show) and DJ Douggpound (Doug Lussenhop of Tim and Eric Nite Live!), started a podcast called The Champs.[13] Kasher said the following of the podcast in a 2011 interview with SanDiego.com: "It’s Doug dropping sound effects and beats over me and Neal kind of hosting an hour of ridiculous chat. We have a rotating black guy guest, there’s a different black guest every week."[13] Guests of the show included actor/comedians Wayne Brady and David Alan Grier, as well as musician Questlove, adult film star Lexington Steele and professional basketball player Blake Griffin. The show has strayed from its guest format on occasion with guests such as comedian and actor Bobby Lee, former pornographic actress Sasha Grey, former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco, and actor Aziz Ansari. In 2014 The Champs was named "Best Podcast" as part of LA Weekly's "Best of L.A." issue.[40] The podcast ended in 2016.[41]

In October 2014, Kasher premiered a new podcast on the Nerdist Podcast Network. Hound Tall Discussion Series is a live monthly podcast that covers a single topic. It's "an hour long chat with an expert and a panel of comedians, they learn all there is to know about things".[42] The first episode was about harems and the expert was Jillian Lauren, author of Some Girls, while Pete Holmes and Beth Stelling made up the comedic panel.[43]

On 15 July 2019, The Endless Honeymoon Podcast co-hosted with his wife, Natasha Leggero, premiered on most platforms such as Apple,[44] Spotify,[45] Stitcher[46] and YouTube.[47]

In 2020, Moshe and his brother Rabbi David Kasher began their podcast Kasher vs. Kasher to explore life during the Coronavirus pandemic.[48]

Personal life

[edit]

Kasher married fellow comedian Natasha Leggero, who converted to Judaism, in October 2015.[49] The couple had a baby girl in February 2018.[50]

Filmography

[edit]
  • Sorry, Thanks (2009) (Andrew)
  • Wish Makers of West Hollywood (2010) (waiter)
  • Zoolander 2 (2016) (Chimney Sweep)

Television

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Bibliography

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Discography

[edit]
  • Crowd Surfing Vol. 1 (Comedy Dynamics, 2020) Download/streaming
  • The Honeymoon Stand Up Special w/ Natasha Leggero (Netflix, 2018) LP/streaming
  • Moshe Kasher: Live In Oakland (Comedy Dynamics/Netflix, 2013) CD+DVD/download/streaming
  • Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! (Rooftop Comedy Productions, 2009) CD/download/streaming

[53]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Moshe Kasher

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Moshe Kasher (born July 6, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and actor whose work frequently explores themes from his personal experiences with addiction, recovery, Jewish identity, and immersion in niche subcultures.[1][2] Born in Queens, New York, to deaf Jewish parents who separated shortly after his birth, Kasher relocated with his mother and brother to Oakland, California, where he was raised in an Orthodox environment and became fluent in sign language as a child interpreter for his family.[2][3] His early life was marked by severe challenges, including experimentation with drugs beginning at age 12, multiple institutionalizations for mental health issues and substance abuse, and achieving sobriety by age 15, experiences detailed in his autobiographical writing.[2][4] Kasher gained prominence through stand-up comedy characterized by sharp observational humor, crowd work, and candid storytelling drawn from his eclectic background, including time in recovery programs, raves, and Hasidic communities.[5][6] He is the author of two bestselling memoirs: Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 (2012) and Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes (2024), the latter examining his navigation of groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Burning Man.[7][6] In television, he has hosted series such as Problematic on Comedy Central, which tackled cultural controversies, and co-hosted the Emmy-winning Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism special produced by the LeBron James Family Foundation.[8][9] His acting credits include roles in Zoolander 2, Another Period, and Betty, while he continues to perform stand-up and co-hosts the podcast Endless Honeymoon with his wife, comedian Natasha Leggero, whom he married in 2015.[1][10] Kasher's career has intersected with controversies, including disruptions at book events for Subculture Vulture by protesters objecting to his pro-Israel stances and work combating antisemitism, reflecting tensions in comedy and public discourse around Jewish issues.[11][9] Despite such pushback, his unfiltered approach to personal and societal topics has solidified his reputation for blending humor with raw introspection.[12][5]

Early Life

Family Background and Upbringing

Moshe Kasher was born on July 6, 1979, in Queens, New York, to Jewish parents, both of whom were deaf.[2][3] His parents met at the Deaf Olympics and had two sons, with Kasher's older brother, David, born prior to him; both children were hearing.[13][14] His parents separated shortly after his birth, when he was nine months old, amid a reportedly contentious marriage.[2][15] Kasher's mother, a secular Jew, relocated with her sons to Oakland, California, where they lived with Kasher's maternal grandmother in a modest household with limited Jewish observance.[15][14] His father, Steven, remained in New York; born to ardently secular, communist Jewish parents—whose own mother descended from a line of Hasidic rabbis—Steven later remarried into a Hasidic community, diverging from the family's earlier secular leanings.[16][17] Kasher's early years in Oakland involved minimal formal exposure to Judaism, limited to occasional visits to a local Reform temple, reflecting his mother's secular approach and the practical demands of a deaf-parent household where American Sign Language was the primary mode of communication.[18][14] This bilingual environment, combining spoken English and ASL, shaped his childhood interactions, as he and his brother served as interpreters for their parents from a young age.[13]

Personal Challenges and Addiction

Kasher's early exposure to substance abuse stemmed from a chaotic home environment following his parents' divorce, which exacerbated his preexisting psychological vulnerabilities; by age 12, he had already begun regular drug use, including multiple substances, after years in psychoanalysis starting around age four.[19][20] His addiction rapidly intensified, involving heavy polydrug consumption that intertwined with criminal activities such as theft and violence, as detailed in his autobiographical accounts of Oakland youth.[21] These struggles led to institutional interventions, including his first rehabilitation program at age 13 and subsequent admissions—totaling three rehabs—by age 16, alongside involuntary commitments to mental hospitals for acute episodes tied to his self-destructive behavior.[22][23] Kasher's descent also featured legal entanglements from drug-related offenses and a pattern of run-ins with authorities, reflecting the causal link between untreated familial discord and adolescent delinquency in his narrative.[24] Sobriety was achieved at age 16, marking a pivotal recovery milestone that halted his trajectory toward further institutionalization or worse outcomes, as he later reflected in memoirs and interviews emphasizing the role of repeated treatment failures preceding this success.[25][8] This early arrest of addiction enabled his eventual pivot to comedy, though he has described sobriety as an ongoing, individualized process rather than a guaranteed endpoint.[26]

Education and Career Beginnings

Formal Education

Kasher faced significant disruptions in his secondary education due to behavioral problems, drug addiction, and legal issues, leading to expulsions from multiple schools; he ultimately earned a General Educational Development (GED) certificate instead of a high school diploma.[15] Following this, he enrolled in Bay Area community colleges, including Diablo Valley College and Laney College, where he studied theater as a minor, experimented with acting, and composed long-form monologues and plays that foreshadowed his comedic style.[27][28] Kasher subsequently transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and a minor in Jewish studies.[29][2][3] At UCSB, he initially aspired to an academic career as a religious studies professor, influenced by his coursework, but shifted toward performance and writing after encountering challenges in scholarly pursuits and rediscovering his interest in humor.[29][15]

Initial Forays into Comedy and Performance

Kasher initially explored performance through academic channels at Carnegie Mellon University, concentrating on performance and video art, which laid the groundwork for his later integration of comedic elements into live presentations.[30] In 2001, following his university studies, Kasher entered the stand-up comedy scene by attending an open mic night in San Francisco, prompted by comedian Chelsea Peretti, marking his debut performance at the Luggage Store Gallery.[31][32] Throughout the early 2000s, he regularly performed at Bay Area open mics and established clubs such as The Punch Line and Cobb's Comedy Club, refining his observational style rooted in personal anecdotes from his Oakland upbringing and recovery from addiction.[29][33] These formative experiences emphasized crowd interaction and narrative delivery, distinguishing Kasher from peers by blending intellectual premises with rapid-fire punchlines, often drawing on subcultural observations from his pre-comedy roles as a sign language interpreter and rave organizer.[31] By 2008, consistent regional gigs enabled his relocation to Los Angeles, transitioning from local honing to broader professional circuits.[33]

Stand-up Comedy Career

Development and Style

Kasher initiated his stand-up career in 2001 in San Francisco, participating in an open mic night alongside Chelsea Peretti at the urging of comedian Tony Sparks. Early performances leaned heavily on improvisation, which he later balanced with refined writing techniques before re-emphasizing spontaneous interaction roughly five years in, allowing audience dynamics to influence the set's direction.[31] His comedic style centers on intensive crowd work, transforming audience banter into extended, collaborative narratives through keen listening, quirk identification, and recurring callbacks, eschewing rote queries like job titles for deeper personalization. This method, honed over nearly two decades, positions crowd engagement as the core of live stand-up, recapturing vaudeville-era improvisation amid the scripted predictability of many specials.[31][34] Kasher's approach elevates crowd work—a divisive element in modern comedy—by framing it as essential for unscripted risk and revelation, as showcased in his 2020 album Crowd Surfing, where interactions dominate the runtime. He describes probing audience "monsters" via these exchanges, blending surreal humor with real-time adaptability to foster chaos-driven laughs while ensuring inclusivity.[35][36][37]

Notable Specials, Tours, and Techniques

Kasher's debut hour-long stand-up special, Live in Oakland, premiered on Netflix on December 15, 2015, featuring performances from his hometown venue where he recounts encounters with various individuals from his life.[38] In 2018, he collaborated with comedian and wife Natasha Leggero for The Honeymoon Stand Up Special on Netflix, a series of three sets addressing family dynamics, relationships, and the anxieties of impending parenthood through personal anecdotes and observational humor.[39] His 2019 release Crowd Surfing, recorded at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., emphasizes improvised interactions with audience members, available as both an audio album and video special via Comedy Dynamics.[36] Kasher maintains an active touring schedule across North American comedy clubs and theaters, with notable runs including appearances at Comedy Works in Denver from October 9 to 11, 2025, and Stand Up Live in Phoenix on October 30, 2025.[40] [41] Earlier tours have included multi-night residencies at venues like The Den Theatre in Chicago and festival circuits such as the Sarcasm Festival in Ashland, Oregon, in December, showcasing his evolving material on sobriety, identity, and social absurdities.[42] [43] A hallmark of Kasher's technique is extensive crowd work, where he directly engages spectators to generate spontaneous material, often extending interactions into extended bits that explore audience members' backgrounds and reactions, as highlighted in specials like Crowd Surfing and live reviews.[34] [31] He incorporates surreal, exaggerated storytelling drawn from autobiographical elements—such as his Orthodox Jewish upbringing and addiction recovery—delivered with a deadpan, intellectual delivery that contrasts provocative topics with precise timing and linguistic play.[36] This approach allows for dynamic adaptation to live audiences, prioritizing unscripted energy over pre-written routines while maintaining thematic consistency on personal and cultural friction points.

Writing Career

Memoirs and Autobiographical Works

Kasher's debut memoir, Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16, was published on March 28, 2012, by Grand Central Publishing.[44] The book chronicles his tumultuous adolescence in Oakland, California, including his upbringing with deaf parents, early experimentation with drugs starting at age 12, repeated stints in juvenile detention and psychiatric facilities, and escalating criminal behavior such as theft and arson.[44] Kasher frames the narrative around his chaotic path to sobriety by age 16, blending raw recounting of events with comedic introspection on themes of family dysfunction, racial dynamics in a predominantly Black neighborhood, and the intersections of addiction and mental illness.[45] In 2024, Kasher released Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes through Random House, structuring the work as six interconnected essays exploring his immersion in various American subcultures.[46] These include his experiences in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, the Burning Man festival, Orthodox Jewish communities, and the punk rock scene, often tying back to his recovery from addiction and cultural identity as an observant Jew.[47] The memoir delves into how participation in these groups shaped his worldview, with Kasher reflecting on the tension between outsider status and belonging, while critiquing the performative aspects of subcultural rituals.[47] Unlike the linear chronology of Kasher in the Rye, this volume adopts a thematic, episodic approach, emphasizing personal growth amid eclectic social experiments.[46]

Other Publications and Contributions

Kasher contributed a long-form monologue titled "Look Before You Leap" to the anthology Monologues for Men by Men, published as part of a collection of dramatic works while he was still in college.[48] This early piece marked his initial foray into published playwriting, drawing from his experiences and comedic style.[28] Beyond stage works, Kasher has written for numerous television series and films, including episodes of HBO's Betty (2020), Comedy Central roasts, and Another Period (2015–2018).[49] He also contributed to the screenplay for Zoolander 2 (2016) and the series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015), as well as Little America (2020).[1] These efforts extended his comedic voice into scripted media, often incorporating themes of subcultural immersion and personal absurdity consistent with his stand-up material.[49]

Media and Broadcasting

Television Hosting and Acting Roles

Kasher hosted the Comedy Central late-night talk show Problematic with Moshe Kasher in 2017, featuring discussions on polarizing topics such as guns and identity politics with guests including Kumail Nanjiani and Awkwafina.[50] The series, created by Kasher and Alex Blagg, aired for one season and positioned him as a host tackling liberal viewpoints on modern societal divides.[50] He has also served as a host for Just for Laughs: All-Access, a comedy showcase program.[51] In acting, Kasher portrayed the recurring character Dr. Harmon Goldberg, a physician, on the Comedy Central period satire Another Period from 2015 to 2016, collaborating alongside his wife Natasha Leggero who starred in the series.[52] He appeared as Colby, a demon subordinate, in the NBC fantasy comedy The Good Place in 2016.[1] Additional guest roles include a restaurant manager in Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, appearances in Shameless on Showtime, Portlandia on IFC, Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Fox/NBC, and a receptionist in Garfunkel and Oates on IFC in 2014.[51][53] Kasher also acted in HBO's Betty in 2020.[1]

Podcast Ventures

Kasher co-hosted the comedy podcast The Champs with Neal Brennan from its inception in 2012 until its conclusion around 2016.[54] The series featured interviews primarily with black comedians, musicians, and celebrities, often exploring humor, culture, and personal anecdotes in a candid format, with early episodes including DJ Douggpound as a co-host until 2013.[55] In 2014, Kasher launched Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher, a live discussion podcast produced initially through the Nerdist network, where he hosted panels delving into a single topic per episode to unpack broader philosophical or cultural questions.[56] Episodes covered subjects such as raves, harems, and the history of the internet, with the series concluding via a farewell show at SF Sketchfest in 2023.[57] The podcast emphasized exploratory, often irreverent dialogue among experts and comedians.[58] Kasher co-hosts The Endless Honeymoon with his wife, comedian Natasha Leggero, which premiered on July 15, 2019, and continues to release episodes.[59] The podcast offers advice on relationships, marriage, and family life, drawing from the couple's experiences, including post-baby dynamics and interpersonal conflicts, and has expanded to live tour events.[60] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kasher co-hosted Kasher vs. Kasher with his brother, Rabbi David Kasher, starting in 2020, examining Jewish practices and theology amid contemporary challenges.[61] The series pitted the comedian's secular perspective against the rabbi's orthodox views in short, debate-style episodes.[62]

Personal Life and Sobriety

Recovery Journey

Kasher began experimenting with drugs at age 12, amid a tumultuous upbringing in Oakland, California, marked by his parents' divorce and their deafness, which contributed to his early immersion in psychoanalysis starting at age four.[63] By age 15, his substance abuse had escalated to include dealing drugs at raves, multiple arrests, and repeated institutionalizations in mental hospitals and rehab facilities—three rehabs by age 16 alone—culminating in a rock-bottom phase of severe addiction and criminal behavior.[23] [64] In 1994, at age 15, Kasher achieved sobriety through engagement with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), where he credits the 12-step program with providing structure and purpose during his recovery, describing himself as a "boy-king" within its community as he navigated early meetings and sponsorship dynamics.[65] [47] His memoir Kasher in the Rye (2012) chronicles this trajectory from addiction to initial sobriety, emphasizing the raw mechanics of withdrawal, institutional interventions, and the shift to long-term abstinence without romanticizing the process.[64] Kasher has maintained sobriety continuously since 1994, spanning over three decades, and has revisited his AA experiences in his 2024 memoir Subculture Vulture, framing recovery as an individualized, ongoing commitment rather than a finite event, while acknowledging AA's role in forging his identity amid subcultures like rave scenes and institutional settings.[66] [12] He has shared his story in AA speaker meetings and podcasts, highlighting practical challenges such as avoiding triggers in comedy environments, but without endorsing AA as universally effective beyond his personal causal pathway from desperation to sustained remission.[67] [22]

Marriage and Relationships

Kasher married fellow comedian Natasha Leggero on October 11, 2015, after dating for approximately three years.[68][69] Prior to the wedding, Leggero, raised Catholic, underwent a formal conversion to Judaism, completing classes with a Conservative rabbi and expressing enthusiasm for the process, including immersion in Jewish study and practices.[69][70] The couple has one child, a daughter named Frida Coco, born on February 24, 2018, when Leggero was 43 following fertility treatments including IVF.[1][71] No prior long-term relationships for Kasher are publicly documented in detail.[72]

Public Commentary and Views

Cultural and Political Perspectives

Kasher has described himself as a leftist committed to cultural sensitivity, yet he has consistently critiqued what he views as excesses in progressive outrage culture and performative political correctness. In his 2017 Comedy Central series Problematic, he examined polarizing topics including cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, gun rights, and technology's societal impacts through monologues, expert interviews, and street segments, emphasizing civil discourse over partisan vitriol or simplistic resolutions.[73][74] The show's debut episode on cultural appropriation, for instance, featured a historical rap parody with MC Serch and discussions with Black intellectuals, concluding that while appropriation warrants scrutiny, blanket condemnations stifle nuance.[75] Politically, Kasher has avoided deep dives into electoral figures or news cycles, stating in 2017 that he had no interest in addressing Donald Trump weekly, instead prioritizing evergreen cultural tensions amenable to conversation.[76] He has linked broader shifts, such as the perceived end of a "nerd era" dominated by intellectual elitism, to Trump's 2016 rise, arguing it exposed vulnerabilities in smug liberal complacency. In a 2024 interview, Kasher advocated for comedy that can offend without "willfully hurting people," defending provocative humor as a tool for truth-telling amid rising demands for orthodoxy over contextual ideas.[77][78] On cultural matters, Kasher's perspectives emerge from his self-described role as a "subculture vulture," immersing in groups like raves, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Burning Man, which he analyzes in his 2024 memoir Subculture Vulture for their communal rituals and ideological appeals without endorsing tribal loyalties. He approaches cultural borrowing skeptically, as seen in Joe Rogan discussions questioning rigid definitions of appropriation that ignore historical hybridity, yet he maintains empathy for marginalized viewpoints.[12][79] This framework informs his broader commentary favoring open inquiry over enforced sensitivities, as evidenced by his resistance to book bans and event disruptions prioritizing ideological purity.[11]

Positions on Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel

Moshe Kasher, born to deaf parents with his father serving as a rabbi in the Satmar Hasidic community, describes his Jewish upbringing as an extreme duality: secular in Oakland, California, after his parents' separation when he was nine months old, and intermittently immersed in ultra-Orthodox life during visits to New York, where he "cosplayed as a Hasidic Jew."[29][2] This fragmented experience left him feeling alienated within Jewish communities, yet he maintains a strong identification with Judaism, viewing it as foundational to his identity despite limited personal observance.[79][80] In his 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye, Kasher recounts rebelling against Orthodox expectations during adolescence, including drug use and petty crime, but credits Jewish principles encountered in recovery programs with aiding his sobriety, stating that Judaism became "critical to his recovery" without fostering bitterness.[81] Kasher engages Jewish tradition through intellectual and familial debate rather than ritual practice, co-hosting the podcast Kasher vs. Kasher with his brother, Rabbi David Kasher, an Orthodox Torah commentator, to explore classical Jewish texts amid contemporary issues like the COVID-19 pandemic.[82][61] He characterizes Judaism as "a loose garment" in adulthood, prioritizing cultural and aesthetic connections over strict adherence, and has family ties to Israel, including relatives in Me'or Modi'im.[2][29] Responding to critics who questioned his Jewish loyalty after memoir excerpts mocked Orthodox life, Kasher affirmed in 2012: "I love Jews and Jewishness," emphasizing that humor from personal experience does not negate affection for his heritage.[83] On antisemitism, Kasher has publicly confronted its manifestations, including a 2013 incident in Australia where an anti-Semitic heckler attempted to fight him post-show, which he recounted as emblematic of broader prejudice.[84] In 2017, he discussed antisemitism's historical origins with Joe Rogan, attributing it to entrenched stereotypes and envy of Jewish success.[85] He participated in the 2022 "Recipe for Change" event hosted by Idina Menzel and Ilana Glazer, focusing on Jewish identity and combating antisemitism through dialogue.[86] Regarding Israel, Kasher expresses reluctance to engage publicly, tweeting in December 2016 that while he holds "many thoughts on Israel," his overriding priority is avoiding debates with partisans on either side due to their intensity.[87] He omitted Israel from his 2024 memoir Subculture Vulture, completed before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, citing a desire to steer clear of the topic's divisiveness despite personal connections.[17] In a January 2024 podcast with Marc Maron, he voiced frustration with the Israel-Palestine discourse, aligning with sentiments that individual commentary feels inconsequential amid entrenched positions.[88] This avoidance extends to his comedy, where he has explicitly sidestepped Israel-related arguments to focus on other "problematic" issues.[79]

Reception, Achievements, and Criticisms

Professional Accomplishments

Kasher has achieved recognition in stand-up comedy through two Netflix specials: Moshe Kasher: Live in Oakland, recorded in January 2012 at The New Parish nightclub, and The Honeymoon Stand Up Special with Natasha Leggero, released in 2018, which explores themes of impending parenthood.[38][39] He hosted the Comedy Central series Problematic with Moshe Kasher in 2017, featuring discussions on social issues, and Problem Areas on Viceland the same year.[89][7] In 2023, Kasher won a Daytime Emmy Award as co-host of the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I Promise Hall of Fame special.[8] His memoirs, Kasher in the Rye (2012) and Subculture Vulture (2024), have contributed to his status as a two-time bestselling author, with the former receiving critical acclaim for its raw depiction of addiction and recovery.[7][90] Kasher co-created and co-hosted the podcast The Champs with Neal Brennan, which gained popularity for its comedy discussions, and The Endless Honeymoon with Leggero, which holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating from over 3,900 reviews on Apple Podcasts as of recent data.[90][60] He has also written for television series including Another Period and films such as Zoolander 2.[91]

Controversies and Public Backlash

In January 2024, a promotional event for Kasher's memoir Subculture Vulture, hosted by PEN America at a Los Angeles venue and featuring an onstage interview with actress Mayim Bialik, was disrupted by six protesters affiliated with Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG). The demonstrators interrupted the proceedings with chants, including accusations of complicity in "genocide," and profanity directed at Kasher, Bialik, and PEN America staff; one protester, Palestinian-American author Randa Jarrar, was physically removed by security after refusing to leave, halting the event prematurely.[92][93][94] The action reflected heightened tensions in literary circles following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, with critics targeting Jewish figures perceived as supportive of Israel amid broader boycotts of PEN events.[95] PEN America condemned the interference, affirming that while dissent is a core value, tactics preventing dialogue violate free expression principles.[92] Kasher's 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 faced removal from school libraries in the Rio Grande Valley Independent School District in Texas as part of a June 2024 purge of 676 titles deemed inappropriate by conservative advocates, including works by J.D. Salinger and Maya Angelou. Kasher responded positively to the ban, viewing it as validation akin to historical censorship of provocative literature and recounting how youthful bans on albums like 2 Live Crew's fueled his interest.[78][96] Kasher's 2017 Comedy Central series Problematic, which examined cultural controversies through interviews and satire, drew criticism from alt-right commentators for its perceived liberal bias and mockery of identity politics, though reviews praised its civil approach to divisive topics like cultural appropriation.[97][98] Earlier, a 2012 promotional appearance on Conan promoting Kasher in the Rye elicited complaints from some readers over its candid depictions of addiction and Orthodox Jewish life, prompting Kasher to defend the material's authenticity against charges of sensationalism.[21]

References

  1. Moshe Kasher - IMDb
  2. Moshe Kasher writes his Book of Revelations in the experience ...
  3. Moshe Kasher - The Oakland Artists Project
  4. Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who ...
  5. 'Good One' Podcast: Moshe Kasher on Crowd Work - Vulture
  6. Comedian Moshe Kasher offers up a roadmap to himself in ... - WPR
  7. Moshe Kasher - The Comedy Store
  8. For comedian Moshe Kasher, 'the world is out there, waiting for you'
  9. 'Recipe for Change: Standing Up To Antisemitism' Wins Emmy
  10. Who Is Natasha Leggero's Husband? Moshe Kasher's Job & Kids
  11. PEN America Issues Statement On Disrupted Book Event For Moshe ...
  12. Moshe Kasher on 'Subculture Vulture' Book and the Joke He Wants ...
  13. Hard to Hear - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
  14. Life's no joke for Oakland-raised bad boy turned comic - J Weekly
  15. Comedy Central Host Keeps His Act Strictly 'Kasher'
  16. From Here To Absurdity - New York Jewish Week
  17. Prodigal comedian Moshe Kasher returns for Bay Area gigs - J Weekly
  18. Moshe Kasher mashes up subcultures - Jewish Herald-Voice
  19. Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who ...
  20. The Epic Journey of Moshe Kasher - AddictionNews
  21. Moshe Kasher Responds to Critics - Jewish Book Council
  22. Damp January: Is Sobriety... Forever? (with Moshe Kasher) - wavePod
  23. An Afternoon Chat with Author Moshe Kasher - LAist
  24. Kasher in the Rye - Bookforum
  25. When Moshe Met Burning Man
  26. Moshe Kasher on History, Truth, and the Effectiveness of AA - Clips
  27. Moshe Kasher Comes Home | Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda
  28. Comic Moshe Kasher returns to Punch Line - SFGATE
  29. Raised half secular, half Satmar, comic Moshe Kasher is half serious ...
  30. Interview: Comedian Moshe Kasher - NAILED Magazine
  31. Working the Crowd • Moshe Kasher Gets Up Close and Personal ...
  32. Moshe Kasher - Musixmatch Podcasts
  33. Moshe Kasher Biography | Fandango
  34. When Bantering With the Crowd Is the Whole Point
  35. Moshe Kasher on Crowd Work: "Everybody's a Monster"
  36. Moshe Kasher: Crowd Surfing - Comedy Dynamics
  37. Whaddaya do for a living? Comic Moshe Kasher and the art of ...
  38. Watch Moshe Kasher: Live in Oakland - Netflix
  39. Watch The Honeymoon Stand Up Special | Netflix Official Site
  40. Moshe Kasher | Live in Denver - Comedy Works
  41. Moshe Kasher Tour Dates | Stand-Up Comedy Database - Dead-Frog
  42. Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) / X
  43. @moshekasher | Linktree
  44. KASHER IN THE RYE - Kirkus Reviews
  45. https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780446584265
  46. Subculture Vulture by Moshe Kasher - Penguin Random House
  47. Review: 'Subculture Vulture' a compulsive memoir by an Oakland ...
  48. Monologues for men by men - California State University, Fullerton
  49. Moshe Kasher | Penguin Random House
  50. Problematic with Moshe Kasher (TV Series 2017) - IMDb
  51. Moshe Kasher - TV Guide
  52. Moshe Kasher Movies & TV Shows List | Rotten Tomatoes
  53. Moshe Kasher - Earwolf
  54. The Champs with Neal Brennan + Moshe Kasher (Podcast)
  55. https://www.soundcloud.com/ptreats/sets/champs
  56. Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher - Podcast Series - IMDb
  57. Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher Farewell Sh... - SF Sketchfest 2023
  58. Hound Tall Discussion Series with Moshe Kasher - Nerdist
  59. The Endless Honeymoon Podcast (Podcast Series 2019– ) - IMDb
  60. The Endless Honeymoon Podcast
  61. Kasher vs. Kasher - About - Rebooting Jewish Life
  62. Kasher vs Kasher - Podcast - Apple Podcasts
  63. Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who ...
  64. Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who ...
  65. Moshe K got sober in 1994 at 15 years old (NSFW) - Sober Cast
  66. Moshe Kasher: <em>Subculture Vulture</em> - 92nd Street Y
  67. Moshe K got sober in 1994 at 15 years old (NSFW)
  68. Interview: Moshe Kasher & Natasha Leggero turn couples ...
  69. Comedians Stand Up for Judaism - Jewish Journal
  70. 11 Things We Love About Jewish Mom Comedian Natasha Leggero
  71. Obituary for John "Johnny Legg's" Leggero
  72. Moshe Kasher dating history
  73. Moshe Kasher's Comedy Central show is Problematic.
  74. Why Moshe Kasher's 'Problematic' Is the Political Comedy Show We ...
  75. How Moshe Kasher's New Talk Show Blends Shock Value with Civility
  76. Moshe Kasher Is Getting Problematic In Comedy Central's New Series
  77. Moshe Kasher: Comedy Can Be 'Offensive' Without 'Willfully Hurting ...
  78. Comedian Moshe Kasher joins list of banned authors - The Forward
  79. Jewish comedian Moshe Kasher tackles the most 'problematic' issues
  80. This comedian sees a connection between the Burning Man festival ...
  81. https://jta.org/2012/04/17/ny/from-here-to-absurdity
  82. David and Moshe Kasher on 'Unorthodox' and podcasting
  83. Moshe Kasher Responds to Critics - The Forward
  84. Moshe Kasher Offends Some Jews - This Is Not Happening - YouTube
  85. Joe Rogan & Moshe Kasher on the Origins of Anti Semitism - YouTube
  86. Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism with Idina Menzel ...
  87. Moshe Kasher on X
  88. WTF Podcast: Episode 1506 - Moshe Kasher : r/MarcMaron - Reddit
  89. Moshe Kasher Speaks On His New Series, Comedy ... - YouTube
  90. Moshe Kasher | Stand-Up Comedy Database - Dead-Frog
  91. Moshe Kasher - NextUp Comedy
  92. PEN America Statement on the Disruption of a Los Angeles Book ...
  93. WAWOG Protestors Disrupt PEN America Event with Mayim Bialik
  94. Palestinian-American writer Randa Jarrar was dragged out of a PEN ...
  95. Citing Gaza, prominent writers pull out of PEN World Voices Festival
  96. Texas school district agrees to ban nearly 700 books
  97. Comedy Central's Moshe Kasher Pissed Off The Alt-Right Hilariously
  98. Problematic with Moshe Kasher needs work, has potential
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