My pal Kliph Nesteroff has a new book out — Outrageous, subtitled "A History of Show Biz and the Culture Wars." I haven't got a copy yet because Kliph wants to bring me one next time we have lunch but I agree with its central premise as discussed in this interview in Rolling Stone.
That central premise is that people are wrong to say that comedy is being massively repressed in this country…or to the extent it is, that's nothing new. There have always been some people profiting — financially and/or politically — for calling for the banning of certain kinds of humor. And I dunno if Kliph feels this way or says this in the book but I think a lot of comics who claim they're not getting booked because their material is too edgy and controversial are actually not being booked because they aren't that good. Or in at least once case that I can think of, are rumored to have priced their services way out of the market.
Anywhere, here's a link if you're not about to have lunch with the author and so have to order your own copy.