EP 204: Azhar Usman believes in (the) Truth
“Who controls the rhythm of the algorithm?”
Azhar Usman is a Muslim American writer, actor, comedian, producer - and many other things - of Indian descent (by way of Chicago). Dave Chappelle once declared, “Azhar’s like a comedian from the future.” One of the most outspoken voices of his generation, Azhar’s a writer & Co-Executive Producer for Hulu’s award-winning RAMY (stop what you’re doing and watch this show NOW). Marvel Studios recently also announced that Azhar would be joining the MCU in the highly anticipated Disney+ show MS.MARVEL (Raman fan-girls over the comic it’s based on). Azhar’s worked on comedic projects for Netflix, Hannibal Buress, Mo Amer, and Hasan Minhaj (he served as a writer for Minhaj’s epic 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner speech). Azhar co-created ‘ALLAH MADE ME FUNNY–The Official Muslim Comedy Tour’ (which toured 20+ countries across 5 continents), toured India for the US State Department as part of “Make Chai Not War”, was named one of ‘The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World’ (Georgetown University), and called ‘America’s Funniest Muslim’ by CNN.
Oh and he’s a father of four, former attorney, and dotcom entrepreneur - so at least we know his parents are proud of something. As we continue our conversations with Muslim Americans for the Holy month of Ramadan - this is a deep one you’re going to enjoy, so buckle your seat belts...
This episode originally aired in April 2021 and is part of our celebration of Muslim American voices and stories this Ramadan.
This episode is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, who’s encouraging you and your community to make sure you’ve got your updated COVID-19 Vaccines. We can do this. Find updated vaccines near you @ VACCINES.gov
LEARN ABOUT AZHAR
@azharcomedy (Instagram, Twitter)
MENTIONS
TV: Ramy (Hulu): imdb.com/title/tt7649694
TV: 90 Day Fiancé - imdb.com/title/tt3469050
BOOK: The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga): goodreads.com/book/show/1768603.The_White_Tiger
PERSON: Mansur Al-Hallaj ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج (Sufi Mystic): wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hallaj