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Comedians Mo Amer and Azhar Usman ask the big questions the modern world makes you forget. Are we living in a simulation? What is money? What is life after death? They get real when it gets uncomfortable and funny when it gets serious. Are they joking… or not? New episodes drop every Thursday.

Episodes

Trailer: This is Mo. This is Azhar.

1 mins

Join comedians Mo Amer and Azhar Usman on a journey—towards uncovering the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying Big Answers to life’s Big Questions (Are we living in a simulation? What is money? Where did the world come from?)—all while remaining really...

Wait, So Aliens Are Real?!

Free Episode19 mins

Meet “The Professor” (the defacto guide through the Joking Not Joking universe), who introduces The Realness Lexicon (a shorthand meta-language co-created by the hosts). Mo and AZ discuss the central importance of “keeping it real,” the purported existence of aliens,...

So You Wanna Live Forever? ft. Ramy Youssef

25 mins

Do most people live in a state of ‘death denial’? Should we all aspire to live to a healthy 102; or shoot for a more modest, albeit blessed, 63 years? Are therapy, astrology, and deep breathing the keys to a...

Do You Believe in Ghosts? ft. Ahamed Weinberg and Paul Elia

25 mins

Mo, AZ, and comedian Ahamed Weinberg discuss the demonic forces they’ve encountered in childhood basements, AirBnBs, and at Coachella!? Comedian homie Paul Elia also chimes in. Oh, and Bollywood agent “Ozzie Patel” calls up the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre...

What Is Realness Anyway? ft. Quintessa Swindell

23 mins

Actor Quintessa Swindwell (Black Adam, Trinkets) and the hosts get into one of the core questions of The Lexicon: What *is* realness? Can we find objective truth in the modern world? How do we remain authentic to ourselves, while steering...

Are We Living in a Simulation? ft. Amir Sulaiman

24 mins

Elon Musk supposedly believes in Nick Bostrom’s “Simulation Hypothesis,” the notion that we are living in a hyper-realistic computer simulation. Are we? Mo and AZ consult with 3x Grammy-nominated poet and Marvel screenwriter Amir Sulaiman about whether we’re currently, at...

O Canada! Wannabe America? ft. Dave Merheje

26 mins

Mo and AZ razz Lebanese-Canadian standup comedian, actor, and dear friend Dave Merheje (Ramy, Sometimes I Think About Dying) on not only being from Canada, but wanting to move back. Their roast of Canada takes a very important, very relevant...

Is Porn Addiction a Public Health Crisis?

19 mins

Mo, AZ, the Professor, and Guruji discuss the pornification of the modern world—its impact on society, mental health, and how it affects dating, marriage, and relationships today. The genie’s out of the bottle, and in everyone’s pocket. 


More Info:

Book: Pornified: How...

Are We Recording? ft. Amir K & Brother Ali

30 mins

ENERGY VACUUM! AZ calls up a man whom The New Yorker described as “perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world,” but forgets to mention that the call is being recorded. Can Mo ever forgive the blunder?...

Where Did Everything Come From? ft. Amir Sulaiman & Brother Ali

21 mins

Does anything mean anything? If so, how do we know? And if all we have are words to define other words, what is the origin of language itself? Poet Amir Sulaiman and rapper Brother Ali are back with Mo and...

What is the Global Monoculture?

21 mins

Mo and AZ discuss what’s happening to culture, as technology and interconnectedness continue to shrink the world. Also, we get a throwback to September 2001, when AZ felt the need to check Oprah as to whether America is a ‘melting...

Is Fiat Money the Greatest Scam of All Time? ft. Amir K & Furqan Rydhan

24 mins

OOPSIE DOOPSIE! Seems like the U.S. Military might have accidentally, kinda, sorta maybe, allegedly misplaced trillions of dollars?! Comedian Amir K joins Mo and AZ, as they call up serial tech entrepreneur and Silicon Valley insider Furqan Rydhan (

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