Hosted by a Jewish-Palestinian lesbian married couple

The BBC World Service is launching a new topical comedy show.

Comedians vs. The News will hosted by New York-based  stand-ups - and married couple - Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini and feature international guest comics.

Salomon is a Jewish-Canadian comedian who used to be a  war crimes lawyer and El-Husseini is a Muslim-Palestinian Canadian whose family fled Kuwait in 1990.  As a couple, they described themselves as ‘basically a living breathing current event’.

Salomon says: ‘Before comedy I worked at the UN as a war crimes lawyer, until I decided it was time to get serious.

‘Something about me is that when I first heard Beyoncé sing "Okay ladies, now let's get in formation" I heard, "Okay ladies, now let's get information" and I thought, that seems like a sensible plan.

‘Comedians vs The News feels like something the globe needs right now, because who better to make sense of what's going on than people who spend their nights in basements trying to win over drunk strangers? I'm excited to break it down, build it back up, turn it on its head and other buzzwords. 

‘My hope for this show is that it will play a hand in achieving world peace, eradicate poverty, lower the sea levels and bring back animals that have gone extinct. But ultimately it will be the Nobel Committee that will have to make that determination.’

El-Husseini added: ‘Before comedy I was studying political science in university because my parents had finally come to terms with me not becoming a doctor and settled for the next Prime Minister of Canada.  

‘With this show we’ll be hoping to heal the world’s woes one joke at a time. I’m hoping to be the Jacinda Ardern of radio shows. The beauty of comedy is how we caan address serious issues lightly – and look for some levity and positivity in this crazy time we are living in. 

‘I love the news, I love comedy and I love my voice. I feel like I hit the jackpot making a show tailored specifically for me. Great casting, BBC World Service!’

The show, which will also be  released as a BBC Sounds podcast, launches at 9.30am on August 30, and guests on a teaser clip include British stand-up Eshaan Akbar and Australia’s Brodi Snook

It will run weekly  until November and producers say it will tackle everything in the news ‘from the US Presidential campaign, the pandemic, and global protest movements, to pop culture and the quirkiest stories from around the world’.

Published: 19 Aug 2020