RTA – The Power of Story Can Save Us: Interview With Novelist and Comic Dave Terruso

“There’s no real person you can straight-up demonize once you get to know them.” — David Terruso

Today I interviewed David Terruso. Here’s a bit about him:

Dave Terruso is a novelist and stand up comic based in Philadelphia. As a comic, Dave has opened for acts including Richard Lewis, Gilbert Gottfried, Maria Bamford, and Colin Quinn. He was featured on the RISK! podcast episode 350 Out of Bounds. Dave is the co-founder of Philly Sketchfest, an international sketch comedy festival now in its 11th year. His latest book is a graphic novel superhero detective mystery called ALTER EGO: THE OTHER ME (Issue 1). You can read the first 2 chapters free at AlterEgoBlue.com

To catch up with our guest:

Facebook: Dave Terruso

Instagram: @alteregoblue

In this episode David and I were two good comedians and dove right into talking about children dying and suicide. Then we determined:

The power of story can save us.

Creating well-rounded characters challenges people to accept common humanity.

Common interests around music, comedy, etc. can bring together people who usually stand across political lines.

You’ll also get to hear a bit how I research my characters and how I debunked a Trump conspiracy theory.