Jerrod Carmichael Talks with Vinson Cunningham

At barely thirty years old, Jerrod Carmichael has released two comedy specials and stars in the sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” now in its third season. The New Yorker staff writer Vinson Cunningham finds him a unique voice in the comedy landscape: while many comedians see themselves as social critics with opinions, Carmichael’s characters are often ambivalent and apathetic. His jokes about Trayvon Martin and other subjects have raised the hackles of Spike Lee, among others. “A lot of times, a black [writer] tends to write aspirationally, and write what we think the picture should look like,” Carmichael tells Cunningham. “I try to stay in that pocket of truth. . . . That’s the biggest contribution I can give.”