Episode
This Was Funnier in China: Jesse Appell's Cross-Cultural Comedy Journey
- Podcast
- Barbarians at the Gate
- Published
- May 5, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2925
- Processing state
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Summary
On this episode, we sit down with the one and only Jesse Appell—Chinese TV stand-up comedian, blogger, lecturer, tea entrepreneur, and passionate bridge-builder for US–China cultural exchange. In his newly published book, Jesse shares the unlikely story of how a Fulbright Fellowship to study the traditional Chinese humor form “crosstalk” (xiangsheng) launched him from student to television star, with his video clips capturing more than half a billion views on the Chinese Internet.