J. R. Havlan

J. R. Havlan is a former writer for The Daily Show, where he won eight Emmys for Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. Before his writing career, he was a stand-up comic, including a stint doing crowd warm-up for Politically Incorrect which led to writing jokes for that show's monologue. J.R. was also a writer for the New York Times best-selling books "America: The Book", "Earth: The Book", and the 2006 and 2008 Academy Awards. Most recently, J.R. created and hosts his own podcast called Writers' Bloc, on which he interviews other television and film comedy writers about their backgrounds, beginnings and influences with a focus on the process of writing comedy. Although no longer a writer for the Daily Show he still maintains a close friendship with Jon Stewart.

He graduated from California State University, East Bay (previously known as California State University, Hayward) in 1987 with a degree in finance. Havlan has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

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