Margaret, did you have trouble during the pandemic with your comedy?Д¬HO: Yeah, IвЂ™ve never taken that much time off- I usually perform three times a week. IвЂ™m up here with a microphone and you guys are laughing? We had to feel each other out, because I donвЂ™t think they were used to being an audience, either. TRAN: I did my first comedy set after 18 pandemic months, and when I told my first joke and the audience laughed, I was like, вЂњWoah, this is a weird job.вЂќ It almost felt like a first date. ThatвЂ™s why the pandemic changed comedy for me. It happens to me weekly, where I havenвЂ™t done standup in a couple of days, and the first show of the weekend feels bumpy every time. You and your audience are in it together.Д¬HO: ItвЂ™s about getting used to it. The first show was kind of rough, but when I watched your set, I was like, вЂњThis is a whole other level of effortlessness.вЂќ There can often be a separation between a comedian and an audience, but not with you. I found out the day before, and I tried so hard to seem completely cool about it. I thought I was doing one 10 minute set, but it turned out I was doing four half-hour shows. You invited me to open via text message, and I misread it. TRAN: I learned so much watching you that weekend. TRAN: And I opened for you in January of 2020. But of course, weвЂ™ve seen each other on TikTok. I was like, вЂњNot only is there an Asian person on TV, but sheвЂ™s really funny.вЂќ So lately IвЂ™ve been thinking about you also.Д¬HO: We love each other! I havenвЂ™t seen you, in the flesh, for a while. Then I saw you on a Comedy Central special, you were doing a joke about soy milk. I would urge him to do stand up, and he would look at me and say, вЂњLook at our faces, do you really think we can ever be on TV?вЂќвЂ™ It was so disheartening, because he was right-there was no proof that people like us could do it. In high school, there was this asian kid who was really funny. People have been sending me clips of you doing that. People keep asking me, вЂњWho is the one to watch?вЂќ and I keep saying, вЂњItвЂ™s all about Robin Tran!вЂќ IвЂ™ve been hyping you on the Today Show, Good Morning America, everywhere IвЂ™ve been lately. Our month is here, finally- Asian American Pacific Islander heritage month. MARGARET CHO: I hope your ears have been burning Robin, because I have been talking about you so much lately.

Here, the pair discuss the disastrous performances that sparked their careers, cosplaying confidence, and why the world needs more Asian-American comics (and less of everybody else).

To mark the occasion, Cho got on the phone with one of her own favorite comedians, her fellow festival performer Robin Tran. The show, recorded during the Netflix Is A Joke live comedy festival in Los Angeles, features post-pandemic material from standup legends and newcomers alike.

The fruits of that era of introspection can be seen in NetflixвЂ™s latest comedy special, Stand Out. When the pandemic forced the the Grammy- and Emmy-nominated comedian to take her longest break from the stage since she began doing stand up as a teenager (more on that below), the 53-year-old San Francisco native went back to the drawing board, interrogating her relationship to performing, reminiscing on her earliest flops and triumphs, and reshaping her material. Cho has never been one to pull punches-but sheвЂ™s also proven an ability, time and again, to reinvent herself. An established name in the comedy world, Cho recently appeared as a lead in Joel Kim BoosterвЂ™sВ queer Pride and Prejudice remix Fire Island, and made a cameo on season two of Hacks on HBOMax.

Funny reader boards for back to school