Ilana Glazer’s first stand-up special, now streaming on Amazon Prime, has a provocatively unfunny title: “The Planet Is Burning.” But that dark, deadpan phrase also captures something of the millennial ethos that Glazer, 32, and her comedy partner Abbi Jacobson demonstrated in their Comedy Central show “Broad City”: In times of personal and political chaos, just having fun can be an act of defiance. Calling from her beloved Brooklyn home office, Glazer named ten things that she cannot imagine life without — for better and, in one instance, for worse. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1. “Know My Name” by Chanel Miller It’s such a heavy topic — Miller is a writer who had to go through the court system after pressing sexual assault charges — and yet she’s such a talented writer that it’s somehow a joy to read. She writes in such a present way that you actually feel like you are with her, supporting her through this journey. You feel like she’s your friend, and you’re like, “This happened to you?!” I couldn’t believe the balance she struck between darkness and light.
2. Jeremy O. Harris’s “Slave Play” I just saw “Slave Play.” I’m so glad that it’s in my brain, now, moving forward. Something I loved about Jeremy O. Harris’s writing is that he is not responsible for cleaning up the messy questions for you. The play completed, but it wasn’t resolved. It just highlighted what a complex, layered position we’re in right now. In a way, it felt like it was from ten years in the future, and yet, it’s from right now, this very moment. There were certain pieces of that play that will stay with me forever.
3. Reusable water bottle I have a reusable coffee cup and a reusable water bottle, and I tote them around with me all the time. I can’t really accept a plastic water bottle in my hands anymore — you know, a Poland Spring bottle, it hurts.
4. “Scary Movie” I just rewatched the original “Scary Movie” with my friend, and it was a wild experience. It was shocking. It reminded me why PC culture has become what it is today. I was 13 the year it came out, and I remember how I felt watching it for the first time: As a woman, I felt fat and ugly and stupid. That’s how the movie makes you feel. I mean, I have to admit, it was so funny. Even rewatching it, I was LOLing, but it also really hurt. It was so misogynistic and racist. It was so offensive, and yet they’re commenting on … well, something about the way the world is. So I can’t live without it, because unfortunately it’s part of who I am as a comedian.
5. Wendy Nichol My friend Wendy Nichol runs a woman-owned jewelry, clothing and bags company that is all made in New York. It’s such a unique experience to be able to walk into a shop and see the products being made before your eyes. It’s jewelry made for working women to buy themselves for themselves — it’s so hot.
6. Tim Maia’s “Brother, Father, Sister and Mother” My friend, [filmmaker and comedian] Lucia Aniello, sent me this song. Paul [Downs] and Lucia did “Broad City” with Abbi and I. I used to say to them, “You’re my mother, you’re my father, you’re my sister, you’re my brother,” because it was such an intense experience and we played all these different roles in each other’s lives. So Lucia sent me this song by the Brazilian musician Tim Maia just as a joke. But the song is so good. I thought he was a new singer, the way the album art looks and the way the music sounds, it just sounds like someone who must be alive right now. I haven’t been able to stop listening to him since I discovered him. His music has been making me so happy in these chaotic, dark times.
7. Miss Lily’s My friend [comedian] Kevin Barnett passed away last year. He loved jerk chicken, and I’ve been eating a lot of jerk chicken wings since he passed. Miss Lily’s has been here since I came to the city 14 years ago, and I love that it feels like the New York that I moved here for.
8. My office I’m so proud of myself for renting this one-bedroom apartment five minutes away from where I live. I got it in November, and I’ve been setting it up and making it a place where I can do my work instead of doing my work at home — and also a place where I can make good food for myself and meditate. I turned the bedroom into a meditation room. I like to move around when I work, so I have a table, and there’s a counter, and then I have a room in the back that I can sit on a meditation pillow and write at this little table. It’s a dream come true.
9. “Uncut Gems” It updated my understanding of Jewish masculinity, which in my business is something I really need to be constantly updating and understanding more deeply [laughs]. I enjoyed it, and it says so much about intergenerational Jewish masculinity from the Safdie Brothers to the studio and producers to Adam Sandler. It was a unique experience to watch, and it got me thinking.
10. “The Great British Baking Show” I just truly need this show. I went away [over the holidays] and the Netflix there didn’t have “Great British Baking Show.” I was sad, because I’ve been relying on this show a lot to make me happy. It makes me so relaxed. It’s soothing and meaningless. I love it.
