Ari Shaffir

Ari David Shaffir is an American comedian, actor, podcaster, writer, and producer. He produced and hosted the Skeptic Tank podcast from 2010 to 2023. He now hosts the podcast "You Be Trippin'" where he discusses travel experiences and stories. He also co-hosts the podcast Punch Drunk Sports with Jayson Thibault and Sam Tripoli, and is a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on the "Protect Our Parks" episodes with Shane Gillis and Mark Normand. He created and previously hosted and produced the This is Not Happening television series, an adaptation of his monthly stand-up show.

Early life Ari David Shaffir was born in New York City to a Jewish family of Romanian descent. His father was a Holocaust survivor. The family followed Conservative Jewish practices until Ari was nine years old, when they moved to Maryland. There, his parents adopted Orthodox Jewish beliefs. When he was 16, he worked at Arlington National Cemetery.

Shaffir attended high school in Rockville, Maryland. He went on to study for two years at Yeshiva in Jerusalem before transferring to the University of Maryland, where he graduated in 1999 with a degree in English literature. Shaffir played on the university's NCAA golf team in 1995 and claims he was the lowest-ranked NCAA athlete.

Career Shaffir's first and only comedy performance on stage before he moved to Los Angeles took place in his early twenties at an open mic night at a "sports comedy place in Northern Virginia". He cites Bill Burr as his favorite living comedian.

Shaffir first became known to a wider audience with the viral video series The Amazing Racist. He left the show as producer and host in 2017 after selling his third special, Double Negative, to Netflix rather than Comedy Central. Roy Wood Jr. replaced him as host.

In 2010 Shaffir appeared on the 3rd episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, his first of 59 appearances on the show. In 2011, Shaffir began his podcast, Skeptic Tank. On most episodes, Shaffir picks a subject his guests (mostly comedians) can discuss as experts. While subjects are often comic he's also discussed serious issues such as mental health, suicide, rape, and prison. Every 50 episodes the comedy team Danish and O'Neill appear as guests. In 2013, Shaffir began to cohost the sports podcast Punch Drunk Sports with fellow comedians Sam Tripoli and Jayson Thibault.

Shaffir spent several years earning a living as a commercial actor, appearing in ads for Coke Zero, Subway, Domino's, and Bud Light. He appeared in the comedy feature film Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016). As of 2017, Shaffir claimed to have no interest in pursuing acting as it could take him away from his stand-up.

Following the death of basketball player Kobe Bryant in 2020, Shaffir caused controversy with a video posted to Twitter in which he stated: "Kobe Bryant died 23 years too late today. He got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals who attack comedy enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they dislike rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper. I hate the Lakers. What a great day."

Filmography

Film The Fax (2004; short film) Reeling in Reality (2005) Pauly Shore's Natural Born Komics (2007) inAPPropriate Comedy (2013) Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)

Stand-up specials Revenge for the Holocaust (2012) Passive Aggressive (2013) Paid Regular (2015) Double Negative (2017) Jew (2022) America's Sweetheart (2025)

Television Minding the Store (2005; three episodes) West Side Stories (2012; television film) This Is Not Happening (2013–2017) What's Your F@#Cking Deal?!?! (2016) The End (2025)