Professor Michael Krasny Invites You to Yuk It Up with Him

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS -- At the heart of it all is the phenomenal prevalence of Jewish comics — experts and casual observers have at various times estimated that as much as 80 percent of all successful American comedians are Jewish. To balance the all-laughs tilt, the Marin-based author, educator and radio host flexes his scholarly straight man muscles to include historical insights and jovial or profoundly tender personal anecdotes from interviews he’s conducted and from more than four decades of collecting Jewish jokes. Krasny is host and senior editor of Forum, KQED-FM radio’s award-winning news and public affairs program, and a frequent interviewer or commentator on radio, television and at public events. A professor of English at San Francisco State University, he’s a widely published writer of columns and books that include “Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic’s Quest” (2010).