Cross-posted from Fast Company In a reminder that “what happens at SXSW definitely does not stay at SXSW,” Fast Company captured part of a conversation I had with Behance cofounder Scott Belsky and has posted the high-quality surveillance footage here on the Internet for your viewing pleasure. In the video, ... read more
Two down, eight to go. That’s our progress bar for shooting the web series we’re making with AOL about successfully crowdfunded businesses. A few weeks ago, we went up to East Harlem to visit Aurora Anaya-Cerda, owner of La Casa Azul Bookstore. It’s the only independent bookstore in East Harlem ... read more
Leaping precariously across the 18-inch gap between the dock and the untethered ramp to a party yacht rented by a 22 year old CEO and his delegation of American college students studying abroad; Nearly ordering iced coffee from the hotel bar before realizing that the price, 12 euros or nearly ... read more
At Cultivated Wit, we believe in making things easy. Though I wrote a 4,000-plus-word feature for Fast Company about unplugging from digital social technologies, I believe in making that work accessible via as many digital social technologies as possible so have performed an audio edition of the piece along with ... read more
I first met Saman Arbabi the night before my opening keynote at SXSW 2012 in Austin, Texas. My friend Raina Kumra insisted I attend his talk, Iranian Outlaws: Satire vs. Censorship. I was so impressed and moved by his presentation that I asked to include some of his slides in ... read more
“Do you have any ideas for docu-soaps?” the network executive asked me out of nowhere. “That depends. What’s a docu-soap?” I asked. I was in a meeting my TV agent had set up during a visit to Los Angeles. “It’s a documentary soap opera,” she explained. “They’re really big right ... read more
It is often said that a business is successful if it creates jobs. We disagree. Creating jobs is a sign of massive failure for it creates “costs” and “liability.” True success would be to create labor output with no compensatory input. That would be the cold fusion of business. Thus ... read more
As part of our relationship with AOL for our web series Funded, the entire Cultivated Wit team will be going to Cannes, France for the Cannes Lions Festival June 16-20. While there, we will attend things while nodding our heads, shake many hands, and flash a series of increasingly large ... read more
Late night comedy shows have employed the shove-a-microphone-into-a-stranger’s-face technique for several decades now. The Tonight Show has a long history of quizzes and gotcha-type moments exposing some level of ignorance in the public. I’m particularly interested in these street interviews when the setting is the historically black Harlem neighborhood in ... read more
This past weekend, I was invited to join John Hodgman and Carrie Brownstein on stage as part of “The Connecticut Forum.” The Forum’s final event of the year was on Funny Smart People. Here is some of what happened as retold through tweets, photos, and vines. read more
Baratunde Thurston is the president and company spokesmodel. He also holds the role of supervising producer of digital at The Daily Show, a television program you've perhaps heard of. He wrote the New York Times bestseller, How To Be Black, and served for five years as director of digital for The Onion. He has advised the Obama White House, has more than 10 years experience in standup comedy, and more than 30 years experience being black.
Follow Our Followables