Ben Kissel

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Benjamin Grant Kissel (born July 21, 1981) is an American podcast host, former politician, author and comedian. He is mostly known for his work as a co-host on The Last Podcast on the Left.

Life and career[edit]

Kissel was born on July 21, 1981, as the youngest of three brothers and first-generation American in an evangelical Christian household in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Kissel's parents are conservative, his two older brothers are gay and his family would regularly take in foster children who often had traumatic experiences, all of which Kissel said influenced his political views at an early age.^[1] Kissel owns two dogs, Puffin and Jerry.

Kissel considers himself a "pragmatic" libertarian and identifies as an atheist.^[1]

Kissel attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he received a degree in political science, and performed frequently at comedy clubs and local venues.^[2]

Kissel moved to Brooklyn, New York City in 2006 and worked as a stand-up comedian and bartender. He would later work as a dog sitter and at Fox News as a writer for Red Eye and guest political expert until 2016, though he does still occasionally make guest appearances.^[3][4][5] In 2011, he created horror/comedy podcast The Last Podcast on the Left with co-hosts Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski and has since appeared on The Last Stream on the Left and live shows alongside them.^[6] Kissel also co-hosts Abe Lincoln's Top Hat, a political podcast ran under the Last Podcast Network.^[7]

In 2014, Kissel produced a short film titled Lawbreaker in which he attained over 300 signatures to repeal a law in Hadden, New Jersey that banned crossdressing in public, while also crossdressing himself. The law was successfully repealed.^[8] In 2017, Kissel ran for Brooklyn borough president as the candidate for the Reform Party but lost with 1.79% (6,017) of the vote.^[9] In 2019, he produced a documentary titled Hail Yourself, America! about his experiences as a politician and his campaign.^[10]

In April 2020, Kissel co-authored and published The Last Book on the Left: Stories of Murder and Mayhem from History's Most Notorious Serial Killers.^[11] The book appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.^[12]

References[edit]

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