Smugged By Reality

In What This Comedian Said Will Shock You, comedian Bill Maher distills decades of political and cultural insight into a single volume with the goal of tackling the most important issues of our time while remedying any loss of "philosophical coherence" for longtime viewers of his HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher.

Across 24 chapters—spanning topics including free speech, cancel culture, race, drugs, Trump, religion, Trump, capitalism, immigration, identity politics, trigger warnings, and Trump—Maher doesn’t pull a single punch.

Did I mention that he mentions Trump?

Introducing the book, Maher notes that he’s faced increased criticism in recent years for directing more of his ridicule toward the Left. His response? "Well, yes, they’re a lot funnier than they used to be, and I’m a comedian."

Meanwhile, Maher pre-debunks the notion that he’s therefore become a conservative, saying that his rejection of the Left’s "menu of delirium" and refusal to "jump on the Crazy Train" is hardly evidence that he’s a card-carrying Republican these days.

Here’s the thing: If you’re already a fan of Real Time with Bill Maher, you’re going to love this book. Why? Because it’s a compilation of editorials from his show, with Maher crediting at least 10 other contributors to the original scripts. So, is this book a bit lazy? Sure—it’s the literary equivalent of those sitcoms in the 1990s that padded out entire episodes with flashbacks. And is this book like charging $30 for printing out the subtitles from a YouTube playlist? Well, yes.

Nonetheless, this book is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, with just the right amount of maddening liberalism for conservatives and moderate common sense for leftists.

In other words, Real Time with Bill Maher.

Ironically, Maher declares that both sides are smug, and yet you cannot fully enjoy the breadth and depth of the book’s chapters without attempting to mimic Maher’s trademark smugness to add weight to the jabby-est jabs.

The purpose of this compilation, according to Maher, was to answer whether he has changed as much as everything around him over the past 20 years, describing this as his "special focus in researching himself."

And while it’s hard to answer that question given that the editorials are shuffled and undated, it’s clear that Maher’s voice has remained steadfast in defense of liberal values … along with some occasional advice on child-rearing from the proudly childless Maher.

Throughout the book, there are countless moments where Maher hits the nail squarely on the head. He notes that almost every job in our society—"dental hygienist, rodeo clown, dog walker, mall Santa, chicken-sexer"—requires a definable skill set … except for members of Congress. He shreds the modern reinvention of journalism as simply reporting on the social media controversy surrounding a nonstory. Or, to put it more bluntly, "the news media has lost trust because they became eyeball-chasing clickbait whores who bump the story about climate change for the one about grizzly bears in a Jacuzzi." And he skewers the liberal refusal to speak the truth out of fear of being labeled, gasp, racist!

Like so many comedian-commentators in this space, Maher does struggle to break free of an over-reliance on a few good ol’ fashioned logical fallacies. False choices, strawmen, and the fan-favorite reductio ad absurdum all make an appearance, and he even explains post hoc, ergo propter hoc ("after this, therefore because of this") just after linking statewide opiate epidemics with voting for Trump.

But despite straddling the popular boundary between comedy and commentary, Maher hits the mark time after time. He digs into the impact of social media on our society, with particular focus on the damage it’s doing to the younger generations. He rejects judging people of the past by the standards of today. And he declares that "China is the new Islam" while mocking our collective refusal to criticize the actions and failures of the communist dictatorship.

And then there are flashes of the few layers of liberal squishiness that have yet to be dried up by climate change, for which Republicans are obviously to blame.

He describes the scowling enviro-Robin Hood temper-tantrum-addict, Greta Thunberg, as "the conscience of her generation" and "the model citizen" while also mocking Generation Z as spoiled brats who think it’s all about them. Thunberg clearly missed that memo.

He commends Biden for "[getting] things done" on Afghanistan. Er, what?

And he also makes several unintentionally laughable claims regarding the unique villainy of Republicans. For example, the idea that election denial is an affliction limited to Trump alone. Bill, you’ve got a call waiting from Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jimmy Carter, Jerry Nadler, John Lewis, … oh you get my point.

And you can’t possibly be an outspoken liberal without demonstrating a few blindspots when it comes to the wrongdoing of Democrats that, by default, are never, ever as bad as that of Republicans.

Or perhaps a touch of idealistic left-wing math, such as declaring that a member of the Walton family was a "deluded nitwit" for spending $800 million on an Arkansas art museum—bringing free-to-enter culture to one of the flyover states Maher also jokes is terribly uncultured—instead of "giving [their] employees a raise."

With 2.1 million Walmart employees worldwide, that would amount to $380 per employee. Once. Before taxes.

And we simply cannot forget a healthy pinch of Barack Obama worship: "He was a brilliant academic, former law professor and statesman." Ew.

In spite of these lovable flaws found in even the most red-pilled liberal—a phrase Maher would doubtlessly despise—one common thread exists throughout his book: the desire for us to come together regardless of our differences, embrace our common values while resisting the urge to divide and fight, and do what may be difficult, but what is right.

Speaking of wokeness, Maher says that "everybody hates it, and no one stands up to it," and concludes the fascinating chapter on cancel culture as follows:

"If you stand up to the mob for just a day or two, their shallow, impatient, immature, smartphone-driven gerbil minds will forget about it and go on to the next nothing burger—and you, you will still have your cojones!"

Real Time, and by extension this book, makes one thing undeniably clear: Bill Maher still has his cojones.

What This Comedian Said Will Shock You
by Bill Maher
Simon & Schuster, 400 pp., $30

Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker, and podcast host. You can find him on Substack and follow him on X at @ighaworth.

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