<p>Join me for an in depth look at some of the excuses that were made by the comedians who went to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.</p><p>Was this festival an indication of progress in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or was it put on to create the <em>illusion</em> of progress?</p><p>Comedian Andy Kindler (from Bob’s Burgers) joins me to discuss.</p><br><p>[The extended episode is available via the Premium tiers on patreon.com/nicemangos]</p><br><p>Subscribe today to support the show or you can purchase the episode individually too!&nbsp;</p><br><p>———</p><br><p><em>Featured Clips from: Chris Tucker, NBC News, Bill Maher, Louis CK, Tim Dillon, Aziz Ansari, Whitney Cummings, Bill Burr &amp; Joe Rogan</em></p><br><p><u>Links:</u></p><br><p>A Saudi journalist tweeted against the government – and was executed for ‘high treason’: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/saudi-arabia-turki-al-jasser-executed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/saudi-arabia-turki-al-jasser-executed</a></p><br><p>Producer/Animator receives prison sentence for Netflix Comedy series <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/04/world/middleeast/netflix-masameer-saudi-arabia-prison.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/04/world/middleeast/netflix-masameer-saudi-arabia-prison.html</a></p><p>Archived version of NYT article: <a href="https://archive.ph/QqSR8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/QqSR8</a></p><br><p>Saudi cartoonist sentenced to 23 years <a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-cartoonist-sentenced-crackdown-0fbb4a3d9532a363ea6f014bdab53876" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-cartoonist-sentenced-crackdown-0fbb4a3d9532a363ea6f014bdab53876</a></p><br><p>Human Rights Watch: Riyadh Comedy Festival Whitewashes Abuses <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/23/saudi-arabia-riyadh-comedy-festival-whitewashes-abuses" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/23/saudi-arabia-riyadh-comedy-festival-whitewashes-abuses</a></p><br><p>Human Rights Watch ‘Cannot Accept’ Donations From Aziz Ansari and Other Comedians Who Performed at Riyadh Comedy Festival <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/human-rights-watch-refuses-aziz-ansari-riyadh-donation-1236544862/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/human-rights-watch-refuses-aziz-ansari-riyadh-donation-1236544862/</a></p><br><p>Tim Dillon Fired from Riyadh Comedy Festival <a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/tim-dillon-fired-riyadh-comedy-festival-saudi-slavery/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.billboard.com/pro/tim-dillon-fired-riyadh-comedy-festival-saudi-slavery/</a></p><br><p>Dave Chapelle says its easier to talk in Saudi Arabia than the US <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dave-chappelle-saudi-arabia-free-speech-1235439890/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dave-chappelle-saudi-arabia-free-speech-1235439890/</a></p><br><p>82% of Jewish Israelis Back Forcibly Expelling Gazans <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/yes-to-transfer-82-of-jewish-israelis-back-expelling-gazans/00000197-12a4-df22-a9d7-9ef6af930000" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/yes-to-transfer-82-of-jewish-israelis-back-expelling-gazans/00000197-12a4-df22-a9d7-9ef6af930000</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>