Gary Simons

Gary Simons, winner of Georgetown University's funniest person on campus contest, joins Mike Birbiglia to ask 10 key questions about starting out in comedy. They discuss getting an agent, transitioning from 5 minutes to an hour, and relationship advice for comedians in love. Pete Holmes also offers his advice in this insightful and engaging conversation.

Gary Simons, an executive editor at Ethnologue, delves into the alarming state of global languages, revealing that while 7,164 languages exist, many are at risk. He critically examines claims that a language dies every two weeks, questioning the accuracy of such statistics. Simons discusses the impact of urbanization, migration, and colonialism on language loss and emphasizes the role of communities in language preservation. With fresh data suggesting lower extinction rates than feared, he highlights hope amidst the crisis.