Stewart Huff, P.I.

Abstract

This essay by Susan Seizer and Aviva Orenstein presents and analyzes the stand-up comedy of Stewart Huff, a regional road comic whose work is a stellar example of truth-telling through humor. His show God Hates Ann (2017) exposes and critiques sloppy and narrow-minded anti-science arguments and bigoted attitudes. Through a hilarious, if sometimes horrifying, march through the history of intolerance to new scientific ideas, Huff demonstrates the folly of resisting change, and challenges uncritical devotion to tradition. The contributors focus on both the subversive content of Huff’s act and his engaging form of delivery to explore how he expertly embodies the duality of being a “P.I.” —simultaneously Private Investigator and Public Intellectual.