Legendary jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus said, "To make the simple complicated is commonplace, but to make the complicated simple, awesomely simple, is creativity." When he said that he was shooting the ceiling of his apartment while getting evicted, and talking about W Kamau Bell. Kamau has strong opinions and big ideas delivered in a package of silliness.

Hari is totally uncompromising in his point of view. He never goes for a cheap laugh or panders to the audience. Every bit ends with an incitement to revolution and killing whitey. In a funny way.

I love the economy of Bill's delivery. He has control and intention around every syllable, so each line maximizes the laughs. His voice and cadence are fantastically musical, and animate his writing. If there were justice in the world, and we were a less racist country, young comics would copy his delivery.

Jamie has built an international comedy career of being smart and opinionated, and he hangs out with famous smart people on his podcast, which I admire and envy. Jamie does smart comedy about big ideas, and doesn't fear the darkness in our society that frightens so many liberals. I'm excited to see how people like Jamie, the generation who came up in comedy after Hicks, carry the tradition of rebel comedy forward.

I think Maria is one of the funniest comedians in the country, and I can't wait to work with her at the Punchline July 20 and 21. Not only is she hilarious and deep, but she's emotionally honest and takes risks.