‘I’m a Pedestrian at My Core’: Catching Up With Comedian Jake Cornell

Chatting with Jake Cornell feels a lot like catching up with an old friend. We’ve already spent a lot of hours on FaceTime together over the years… sort of. 

You might feel the same way if you’re a fan of Cornell’s videos. The Brooklyn-based comic, writer, and podcaster typically records TikToks and Reels on his walks around New York, during which he pops off into his earbud microphone with insights about dating, or And Just Like That..., or how gay guys in New York are like Pokémon. 

Cornell will appear at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis on Thursday to share longer versions of those musings, which he says are always more fun to discuss in front of a crowd. We caught up with Cornell to talk about walkable cities, the problem with wind, and how comedy is like digesting (sorry!) ahead of the show. 

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Racket: Minnesotans love to hear about how great we are, and you recently posted a pretty popular video, as everything was going on in the Twin Cities during Operation Metro Surge, about how much you like it here—but also, how this place is not to be fucked with. I’d love to hear a little bit about your relationship to Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. 

Jake Cornell: I’ve only been once, but it was my favorite stop on tour last year. The audience was just such a good vibe, I remember having one of my favorite shows. And I didn’t go in thinking I wasn’t gonna have a great time in Minneapolis, but I remember having a moment halfway through the show where I was like, “Holy shit, I’m having fun. These people are so great.” I went out with my openers and some of my friends who live in town after and had one of the best nights out on tour, I was just like, “I love this town.”

And then, as ICE is coming, I’m seeing all this horrible shit that’s been happening, watching what’s been going on and watching how hard Twin Cities residents have been resisting—creating mutual aid networks and really fighting back. Knowing how fun and lovely those people are but also how fucking badass they’re being has been really amazing to see. 

I do think there’s a funny dichotomy here, where people are generally very friendly and very fun, and then also they have this very tough side, the midwestern part of them. So tell me about this upcoming tour—and then, how does your comedy, what you do on stage, what you do on TikTok, what you do in your podcasts, how does that all fit together for you? 

Last year I was touring a show called “Hey Big Guy,” It was this big show that had kind of a beginning, middle, and end, and had a lot of moving parts to it. This year I was like, “I want to go out and just do standup.” I want to make people laugh, I want to feel a little more free, I want to have a little more fun with my audiences—I want to talk with them, and talk about more varied things. My last show was really about my family, and this one I can go all over the place talking about a ton of different stuff. 

For me, the stuff you do on stage is where you have the most space to like, really dive in on things and really talk through ideas and explore funny thoughts and not worry about the time crunch of needing a reel to be a minute long, or about things getting taken out of context, or the algorithm. It’s just people in a room who are there to see me, and I get to talk to them. It’s the most fun version of that, and I think coming to see me live, it’s the best version of what my comedy is. 

I’m always curious how people feel about TikTok—when you’re someone who does standup, and does podcasts, it’s obviously a tremendous way to get your jokes in front of people. 

Undeniably, yeah. 

But at the same time, I do think it can be limiting, and the algorithm is annoying, and it seems like almost everyone you talk to has a love-hate relationship with it.

A hundred percent. I think, especially now, I would truly love nothing more than to delete all the social media off my phone and look away. But it’s such a part of my job, and it’s such a part of my career, that it’s not an option. I’ve always tried to view it as part of my job, not my job. I never want to be an influencer—I’m a comedian. I post, I promote my shows to get people out there, but the goal is the larger projects that mean more to me. 

I am a really big believer of: You need to have a life to be able to write about life. I always equate creativity to digestion. I wish there was a less gross metaphor, but it’s the one that works the best. If you want to produce stuff, you need to feed yourself. You need to drink water. You need to go out and nourish yourself. Having things going on in your life so that you can talk about them is vital, so I need to be able to have a life outside of my job, because it’s actually kind of part of my job, to have a life. 

Every time a video of yours comes across my For You Page, it feels like I’m just joining you on a stroll while you rant about something. You do it very naturally, but I think people think it’s easier than it actually is to be funny online—to open your front-facing camera and film a video of yourself, and have that be quippy and resonate with viewers, I actually find to be really difficult. Can you talk at all about what you’re actually doing when you film?

That’s a good question, I’ve never thought about how to articulate it. I mean, there’s the creative aspect of it, and then there’s the practical aspect of it. It’s having an idea that’s relatable and easily digestible—or not necessarily easily digestible, but presented in a way that makes it clear what you’re trying to say. 

It goes back to kind of feeding yourself, being out there and living life so that you have things to give you an idea. And it’s also the simple things of making sure the sound is clear, making sure that the lighting is good. I can’t tell you, on my camera roll there are hundreds of videos where halfway through there’s a gust of wind that blows out the mic, because for some reason I decided it would be my thing to film all of my videos outside. If I haven’t posted a video in a couple of weeks and you’re wondering why, there’s a good chance it’s ‘cause it’s been a windy time in New York.

Nothing like a gentle breeze to ruin your day. Are you going out with the intention of filming or does the mood strike while you walk?

I’m a pedestrian at my core. Like, I’m a walker. It’s one of the reasons I love New York, it’s one of the reasons I don’t want to live in L.A. The number-one delineator of whether I’m going to like a town on tour or not is, “Is it a walkable city?” So I’m often on a walk—I’m walking to the gym, I’m walking to my friend’s house. Sometimes if I’m sitting down and I’m writing and feeling stuck, I’m like, alright, I’m gonna go for a walk. But most of the videos you see happen while I’m walking my friend’s dog or walking to the gym or running an errand. I am just out and about walking. 

I think walking is so underrated, especially if you’re a creative person or in a creative field. There’s just no substitute for getting out of your house, getting out of your head for a while. 

Exactly. I love L.A. I have a lot of friends who I visit out there. And always, on, like, day three, I’m in a car and I say out loud, “OK, I’m done driving.” It’s just not for me. 

Jake Cornell
Where: Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis
When: Thursday, March 5; 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show
Tickets: $25 in advance or $30 at the door; find more info here