Comedian Roy Wood Jr. on joking around in the era of Trump

It’s fitting that comedian Roy Wood Jr. is an avid player of Sudoku. “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” correspondent always seems to be a few steps ahead of the obvious.

It’s a necessary skill when you make jokes during a time of fake news and political division. “The problem with writing jokes now is that stuff evolves so damn fast,” he says, laughing.

Wood, a radio host for a dozen years, is the new host for Season 4 of Comedy Central’s “This is Not Happening,” a storytelling series in which performers offer real tales from their lives.

Some celebrities scheduled to take the stage this season are Louie Anderson, Sandra Bernhard, Drew Carey, Tommy Chong, Darrell Hammond, Tom Green, Talib Kweli, Howie Mandel, Kevin Smith and Rita Rudner.

The Associated Press recently talked to Wood about punchlines in the Donald Trump era, how comics seem crucial now and about how he honed his approach watching BET’s “ComicView.”

I don’t know if we have a responsibility. As a comedian, I don’t think you give an oath to give a damn. But there are comedians who give a damn. I could name some comedy specials that have come out in the last two years and they didn’t address a single drop of anything that’s going on. And that worked for those guys because that’s their style of comedy. But there are definitely comedians out there who will take an issue head-on and run right into a brick wall and don’t care about being wrong.

I would argue that comedians and print reporters — specifically print reporters — are the white blood cells of a sickened democracy. They’re the only two that have the time and

PHOTO BY JORDAN STRAUSS — INVISION — AP, FILE In a Sunday file photo, Roy Wood Jr. arrives at the 22nd annual Critics’ Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar, in Santa Monica. Wood, a radio host for a dozen years, is the new host for Season 4 of Comedy Central’s “This is Not Happening,” a storytelling...