<p><span>Baratunde Thurston is the author of “How to Be Black” and is a brilliant social-media commentator. Less than a year ago, he started working as an executive on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” where he’s had a hand in the viral success of </span><a href="https://email.wnyc.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=CrpzOdoZckCo1HN1l8TwqI8L4GO7i9MIfsr4TyFMAaT9g0Sx8xMm45VYJGywLrT4Y0THD-YOfbE.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dJSBGDC0rKWU" target="_blank">segments</a><span> like “Black Trump.” So why is he moving on so quickly? Thurston tells Nicholas Thompson, the editor of newyorker.com, that, among other things, he hopes to get back to his podcast, “Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race.” But he cautions that, while humor can raise awareness and help relieve pain, we can’t expect even the very best jokes to solve our problems.</span></p>
Baratunde Thurston is the author of “How to Be Black” and is a brilliant social-media commentator. Less than a year ago, he started working as an executive on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” where he’s had a hand in the viral success of segments like “Black Trump.” So why is he moving on so quickly? Thurston tells Nicholas Thompson, the editor of newyorker.com, that, among other things, he hopes to get back to his podcast, “Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race.” But he cautions that, while humor can raise awareness and help relieve pain, we can’t expect even the very best jokes to solve our problems.