With the razor-sharp wit he's brandished since his start in New York's comedy scene in the late ‘70s, Maher's candor has made him not just a comedy icon but one who's keenly attuned to the ever-changing worlds of politics and popular culture.

In his regular live appearances, Maher flaunts the same caustic but clear-eyed humor that's made HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher a television institution since 2003. Skewering idiocies, banalities and hypocrisies from across the political spectrum, Maher doesn't flinch from controversial topics of the day, and he finds laughs in subjects that other comedians don't dare to touch.