‘The Daily Show': Al Franken, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman and Hasan Minhaj Among Guest Hosts After Trevor Noah Exit

For Al Franken, a Comeback Attempt Goes Through Comedy Clubs

Fmr. Sen. Franken: Trump ‘thinks the government is a reality show, when the rest of America is dealing with this reali

Al Franken Headshot White Bkrd

Franken is delighted to talk about his fifteen seasons at *Saturday Night Live*—with behind-the-scene stories about the show’s evolution from Gilda, Chevy, Belushi, Aykroyd to Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, and Chris Farley. Franken wrote a lion’s share of the show’s political satire with Jim Downey, a Republican. Downey and Franken felt it wasn’t *SNL*’s job to have a political bias, but rather to do well-observed political satire that made the audience laugh and had the virtue of not being stupid, rewarding viewers for knowing stuff about politics without punishing them for not.

Franken saved his political bias for his books. Immediately upon leaving *SNL*, Franken wrote *Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations*, the first of his four *New York Times* best-sellers, including *Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balance Look at the Right*. From 2004–2007, Franken was the #1 progressive radio talk show host in the country on Air America radio.

In 2008, he ran for the US Senate in Minnesota, clobbering incumbent Norm Coleman in the smallest clobbering ever—by 312 votes. Franken was re-elected to the Senate in 2014 by a margin of over 200,000 votes.

Franken gives another rare behind-the-scenes look at an even longer-running institution—the United States Senate. What is Mitch McConnell like? Do you really want to know? Chuck Schumer? Lindsey Graham, Bernie Sanders? Deb Fischer? Who? She’s from Nebraska. In his 8 1/2 years representing Minnesota in the Senate, Franken led on health care and education reform, on privacy, mandatory arbitration, and the courts. His questioning during Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearings led to Sessions’ recusal from the Russia Investigation and Bob Mueller’s appointment to lead it.

As Franken said when he left the Senate, “I may be giving up my seat, but not my voice.” The eponymous Al Franken Podcast focuses on the most important issues facing our country on any given day. With guests like Jeffrey Toobin, Michael Lewis, Nobel Prize-winning climatologist Michael Mann, and Michelle Obama (not her, but guests like her), The Al Franken Podcast has beentaking deep dives into the Supreme Court, the clowns populating Trump’s agencies, and climate change.

Franken cuts through the conventional wisdom and tells you how it really is. For example, President Trump has a tendency to exaggerate or just flat out lie. Really.

Senator Al Franken

Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot: And Other Observations

Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

Keynote Speaker Profile & Booking Details for Senator Al Franken. Contact UTA Speakers to book top rated talent for live, hybrid, and virtual events.

Senator Al Franken | Booking & Contact Info | UTA Speakers

As the only speaker on the lecture circuit who has won 5 Emmys (Wikipedia missed two for producing), written 4 New York Times #1 best-sellers, taken home 2 Grammys, and served as a United States Senator, Al Franken brings a unique voice to the stage. Whether discussing his career in comedy or in public service, Franken delivers a singular experience—leaving audiences thoroughly entertained, more knowledgeable, and either optimistic or extremely depressed about our nation’s future—depending on how he feels that day.

These days, the world moves a mile-a-minute. Culture, Politics, Technology—constantly evolving, coinciding and diverging in ways both welcome and unexpected to chart the course of the 21st century. Our speakers stand at the vanguard of these movements, ready to guide audiences worldwide through the heat of the moment into the world of tomorrow.

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UTA prides itself on representing a wide array of Jewish voices. Oscar and Emmy winners, journalists, politicians, activists—all of our Jewish speakers have risen to the top of their fields. Whether discussing their upbringings and heritage, their personal philosophies, or Judaism’s role and impact in the modern world, these luminaries forge powerful connections with Jewish audiences around the globe.