“No Bubbes, No Bagels.” Comedian Alex Edelman Hates Shtick
From Say More by The Boston Globe
June 4, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
Comedian Alex Edelman discusses his journey in comedy, the evolution of Jewish humor, and his aversion to shtick.
Comedian Alex Edelman is always striving to be better. He spent his childhood going to a yeshiva Jewish day school in Brookline Massachusetts, and now performs comedy on the world’s biggest stages. He’s well known for an award-winning Broadway show “Just For Us,” which recounts his covert visit to a white nationalist meeting in New York City. His new show is called “What Are You Going to Do.” This week on Say More, Alex sits down with host Anna Kusmer to talk about striking a balance between tradition and modernity, the past and future of Jewish comedy, and his renowned hatred of shtick. Email us at saymore@globe.com.
People in this episode
Host: Anna Kusmer
Guest: Alex Edelman
Topics covered
- Jewish comedy
- tradition vs modernity
- personal growth
- comedy performance
- cultural commentary
Keywords
- Alex Edelman
- Jewish comedy
- shtick
- comedy
- tradition
- modernity
- Just For Us
- What Are You Going to Do
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Boston Globe
Books & works: Just For Us, What Are You Going to Do
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