Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston [ website | myspace | facebook ] is a conscious comic and vigilante pundit who has successfully merged his interests in technology, politics and comedy. He has written as Jack Turner for the popular black political blog, Jack & Jill Politics, since its founding in the summer of 2006. He also a writes at The Huffington Post, DailyKos and his own site www.baratunde.com. He contributed to blackpeopleloveus.com

Baratunde has often used art as an expression of his activism. He has authored three books, including Keep Jerry Falwell Away From My Oreo Cookies, was nominated for the Bill Hicks Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, declared a Champion of the First Amendment by Iowa State University, and called “someone I need to know” by Barack Obama. He was an early member of Laughing Liberally and The Black Comedy Project, and his stage presence has earned him emcee duties at the National Conference for Media Reform, Netroots Nation and South by Southwest. He has been featured in various media outlets including NPR, the BBC, CNN, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, C-SPAN and ComedyCentral.com.

Baratunde speaks at colleges and conferences around the country and performs regularly in New York City, where he lives and works by day as an editor for The Onion. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Harvard and before that, he graduated from high school.

If you are a fan of Jon Stewart or the Bill of Rights, you will love Baratunde Thurston. He is not just an alternative to mainstream media. He’s an antidote.