As an art form that only requires a performer, a stage, and a microphone, stand-up comedy couldn’t be any more minimal. Yet the smartest, boldest, and funniest purveyors of the form prove that great comedy comes in infinite variations. Of course, it helps that there are always fresh observations to make or, in the case of provocateurs like Anthony Jeselnik or Amy Schumer, taboos to break. And fresh insights and perspectives from comics such as Ali Wong, Tiffany Haddish, and Kumail Nanjiani bust up old notions about who gets to tell their stories and crack wise.