Episode
153: How Robert Farid Karimi Uses COMEDY & FOOD as a Powerful Strategy for Social Change
- Published
- Nov 26, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3265
- Processing state
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- https://change-the-story-chan.captivate.fm/episode/how-can
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Summary
Robert Farid Karimi The "inbetween" is often ignored. It is also the juicy territory that this week’s guest, comedian, chef, poet, educator, and activist Robert Farid Karimi has been investigating over the last couple of decades. like many of our guests Robert, who is also known as Mero Cocinero, Farid Mercury, the Peoples Chef , and even in some quarters, Betty Crocker's radical heir apparent, is not easily pegged. In the conversation that follows we explore some of the stories, ideas, and questions that animate his work. How can humor become a bridge in a conflict-ridden community? What is the role of the fool and gossip in the post truth era? What can community organizers learn from Mel Brooks and Cheech and Chong. Along the way we hear great stories and have a little fun. Delicious Quotes I feel for people who feel that they themselves are bridges because this, it's not easy work to hold, two sides of earth so that others can cross. A lot of times people they're not appreciating everything it took to keep everybody up. …we say in Spanish, "chesme", gossip. And talking about how immigrants, how we transmit the information, especially when you come from cultures, where the official news is being controlled like Iran and Guatemala, like gossip is powerful. Chesme is powerful. So, I became this bridge by valuing the words of others as truth, Humor to me was never about insulting or bringing others down. Humor for me was always, "How can you lift up the room? We've had a bad day. Why you gotta be a downer?" And I think growing up, that's why I valued it so much. That's why it became part of my toolkit. They brought me in to General Mills, …and had me cooking where the Betty Crocker kitchen ladies cook. They stayed. The women who had worked all day stayed because they wa…