When comedian Julia Sweeney and her brother both got cancer, she decided to tell the story the best way she knew how: in a comedy club. It might seem like a strange choice, but what resulted is halfway between standup comedy and true-life diary entries.
-
Download Control-click (or right-click) Tap and hold to download
- Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe in Apple Podcasts Subscribe
- Transcript
Julia's Brother Gets Cancer
Julia talks about her brother Michael's cancer. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, stage four. He had no insurance. Julia took care of him, and he and her parents moved into her house to be near a cancer treatment center. (25 minutes)
Julia Gets Cancer
In the second half of the show, she talks about her own cancer — cervical cancer that was diagnosed six months after her brother got sick. Julia eventually turned some of these vignettes into a one-woman show called God Said, Ha!, which Quentin Tarantino made into a movie and Julia released as a book. The comedy club where she performed, Un-Cabaret, is devoted to getting very funny people to tell unusually honest stories. Julia's latest one-woman show is called Letting Go of God, excerpts of which are heard in our episode Godless America. (25 minutes)
Related
Act Two: We Don't Talk About That
Act Two: Black Hole Son
Act Three: Ashes
Staff Recommendations
Mapping
The world redrawn by the five senses.
Harper High School - Part One
We spent five months at a high school in Chicago where in the last year 29 current and recent students were shot.