Joe Messina

From the time I was a kid watching Seinfeld with my dad, I was fascinated with what comedians do. Even when I didn't understand the subject matter, I recognized comedy's power to break down the details of our world that most people take for granted. Then my camp counselors read to us from George Carlin's Napalm & Silly Putty when I was 12, and all hope of my growing up a normal person was lost.

When I was 17 I saw a flyer at school for a comedy night at the local student coffeehouse. I told some jokes about Skittles and Power Rangers, and that night a dumb 17-year-old named me decided how I would spend the rest of my life.

Now I perform stand up throughout Philly and I have worked at clubs and festivals throughout the country. I cohost the monthly political comedy show Party Lines at Good Good Comedy Theater with Max Barth, and I host the weekly podcast Breaking Up with Joe.

My comedy has been described as cerebral, intellectual, and sanctimonious. Often political, relentlessly logical, and unabashedly moralizing, I leave even those who disagree with my politics horrified to find that they're still laughing.