Joe Raiola uses his experience from his career in comedy to discuss the value of political satire. If Donald Trump seems to be invincible, why do we keep aiming satire at him? Will it serve a purpose if it doesn’t affect him? Joe Raiola explores not only the meaning of satire, but its purpose in politics, especially in this era.

In a mostly floundering career spanning four decades, Joe Raiola has not established himself as a comedian, comedy writer, speaker, or producer. He keeps doing all that stuff anyway. For an embarrassing 33 years, Joe has been a member of “The Usual Gang of Idiots” at MAD Magazine, churning out a steady stream of pointed political satire and pure silliness. As MAD Senior Editor, he continues to make funny noises in the hallway, which isn’t a problem he insists, “since I work at the only place in America where if you mature, you get fired.” As a performer, Joe continues to appear around the country in The Joy of Censorship, his un-acclaimed first amendment lecture program. Since 1993, he has somehow managed to present “Joy” at countless professional conferences, public libraries, colleges, and regional theaters in 44 states. As a producer, Joe is the driving creative force behind the Annual John Lennon Tribute charity concert in New York City. Now in its 37th year, it is the only ongoing Lennon Tribute concert in North America or Europe officially sanctioned by Yoko Ono. Joe produces the Tribute through Theatre Within, a grassroots non-profit he established in 2006, which provides music and meditation workshops to children who have lost a parent to cancer and adult cancer survivors.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx