Comedian Roy Wood Jr. on 'The Daily Show,' politics, and the future of comedy

Comedian Roy Wood Jr. has had a heck of a year.

He hosted the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April. He started a nationwide tour in September.

And, after eight years with "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, he announced he was leaving the show in October. In an interview with Esquire Magazine, Wood said that he’s ready to explore new territory in comedy.

Now he’s bringing that exploration to Seattle, performing at the Moore Theater on Sunday, Dec. 31.

"I really don't get into politics nearly as deeply as I used to within my stand-up," Wood told KUOW. "It was almost a realization — how much being constantly informed for my job just made me inherently informed for stand-up."

Now, after covering two elections and countless political events, Wood said he's focused on trying to translate where we are as a society, instead of focusing on specific issues.

It's part of why he chose to leave "The Daily Show" earlier this year.

"I wanted the time and space to explore what it could look like somewhere else — to quarterback my own situation."

Wood also noted that the job of being a comedian has changed since he first started as a 19-year-old. Or, more specifically, comedy has changed.

"Comedy, to a degree, has become very siloed, much like politics and political opinions," Wood said. "Comedians are just supposed to be chaos agents. And you're supposed to respect our perspective enough to let us get to the punch line. But now, people won't let you get to the punch line — they will arm-fold and stare at you."

Wood said audiences have gotten tougher. But the job of a comedian, and the process of writing jokes, remains the same.

Listen to the full conversation with Roy Wood Jr. by hitting the "play" at the top of this story.