By now, the wisdom of some jesters are well established. Comedians are like tyrant vaccine. Having protected us from the faux outrages and overreaches of a moralistic and inflexible right, as Lenny Bruce did, some are brave enough to also protect us from the puritan outrage theatre of an unhinged left. There are plenty of examples. But the line between being a jester and being an activist is also thin. As Late Night and Political Talk Shows vanished altogether as a respectable medium, and some comedians confuse their fame with expertise and their ability to cause outrage as effectiveness, only a handful of comedians can still be taken seriously.

Every once in a red tide or blue moon, however, a jester arises with such intellectual honesty, even-handedness and insight that they become bona fide public intellectuals on top of being funny men. Not activists – but activators. Such a rare talent is Konstantin Kisin. If you haven’t checked him out yet, you can catch him all over YouTube. Better yet, read his mind directly over at his Substack: https://konstantinkisin.substack.com/