THE ENTERTAINER From childhood to college to career , Ben Gleib ’ 00 has wanted to make others laugh and think . From his mind to your feed —@ bengleib
He became a fixture on the roundtable talk show Chelsea Lately , and a regular commentator on CNN , discussing anything from pop culture to politics .
“ Comedy has always been a great source of truth ,” Gleib says . “ It ’ s very important to me to give people something to think about and make them question their beliefs . That ’ s really what UCSD ’ s communications department taught me — the theoretical focus helped me shape the way I saw the world , and look at things through a different lens .”
Between theory in the classroom to the practical education he gave himself , Gleib today stands ready with something to say and the initiative to find a way to say it . And while his commentary may be unpopular to some — a target for heckling or sometimes worse — it has produced a marked shift in the projects he pursues . For instance , Gleib ’ s podcast “ Last Week on Earth ” is his own weekly spin on current events , and he moderates the live show “ We the People ” at the Hollywood Improv , bringing together voices from the right and left for lively discussion .
But when he decided to do more than just tweet his support for getting out the vote , he ended up with a much larger project .
Five weeks before the latest midterm election , Gleib had a notion to create and host a non-partisan Telethon for America , the first telethon designed not to raise money , but rather to get people to pledge to vote and bring friends out to the polls . In less than a month , Gleib signed actress Olivia Munn to co-host , partnered with the nonprofit “ When We All Vote ” and filled the phone bank with celebrities like Natalie Portman , Jane Fonda , Justin Theroux and Charlize Theron . Gleib felt the telethon played a small part in what proved to be the biggest midterm voter turnout in 50 years .
“ It was cool to put the exact skills I gained from UCSD to use almost two decades later ,” says Gleib . “ I hadn ’ t put together a production like that since college . It felt really good to do it again , with an even bigger impact .”
View clips and images from Gleib ' s career at tritonmag . com / ben
HIGHLIGHT REEL
A start at Muir and no slowing since :
THE GLEIB SHOW : Starting as a freshman on Muir TV , Gleib ’ s own late-night talk show had all the monologues , guests and desk bits , sketches and street comedy you ’ d expect . Gleib wrangled prime guests of the 90s , including one whose manager signed Gleib even as a student .
“ THAT TIME WITH THE TANK ”: Every year an episode of The Gleib Show was broadcast live on campus , with one featuring an unforgettable entrance — a Marine caravan brought Gleib down Library Walk atop a tank . “ It was an entrance I still have not topped to this day ,” he says .
IDIOTESTER : In 2014 the Game Show Network named him host of Idiotest , a show comprised of trick-question visual puzzles that could stump even UC San Diego ’ s finest . Test your wits on the toughest brain teasers at tritonmag . com / ben
TALKING HEADS : In addition to commentator spots on CNN and the Today Show , and over 100 appearances on Chelsea Lately , for the last seven years Gleib has produced the podcast " Last Week on Earth ," tackling politics , pop culture and other madness .
STAND-UP MAINSTAY : All the while , Gleib has traversed the country on the comedy circuit , and with Scott Richardson ’ 02 , created the coastto-coast live comedy show “ Comedy Juice .” Gleib ' s latest stand-up special , Neurotic Gangster , premiered on Showtime and can now be found on Amazon Prime or follow : @ bengleib
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