There’s a lot of feel-good content on the internet. At any given moment, there are thousands upon thousands of videos to watch featuring silly animals, heartwarming family reunions, relaxing meditative practices and so on. But there is perhaps no one online who is better at making sweet, hilarious and wholesome content than Jewish comedian Julian Barnum-Shapiro.
So without further ado, here are 18 things to know about him.
1. Julian was born on July 7, 1999. He was raised in Brooklyn.
2. He’s a Cancer.
3. He has five gay parents — three moms and two dads. One of his dads, Lorin Sklamberg, is the lead singer of the iconic klezmer band the Klezmatics. (He’s also the sound archivist at Yivo Institute for Jewish Research.)
4. His family is interfaith! Julian’s friend Miles has some serious Hanukkah and Christmas logic that he shares:
@recesstherapy Here’s some Miles logic for today 😮😂 #christmas #hannukah #recesstherapy #easter #eastersunday
5. He first started performing in third grade when he took an improv class in school. According to the New York Times, it “spiraled” from there. “He would get really into one form of creation and take it to some level: stop-motion animation, puppets, musical theater, improv, regular theater,” one of his moms, Sophia Lee, told the Times. “He was sort of a serial monogamist.”
6. According to his parents, Julian has always been extremely outgoing. “When he was 7 or 8 and we went out for dinner, over the course of the meal, Julian just got up and walked around, and by the end he’d talked to everyone at every table,” Sophia said. “We’d joke that we’d call him the Mayor of Everywhere.”
7. He has a BFA in acting from Boston University, where he graduated in 2021. For his senior thesis, he filmed himself chatting with kids on a playground in Boston. (More on that in a second…)
8. Julian has been compared to a contemporary Mister Rogers for his heart-warming and silly interviews of little kids on the streets of New York. This is the basis for his show “Recess Therapy,” which he started in 2021.
“I make ‘Recess Therapy’ because I think adults can learn a great deal from children,” he told the New York Jewish Week in 2023. “Kids are full of empathy, love and joy. They are always willing to learn and rethink their ideas! As we get older our ideas and sense of self hardens into an identity. Kids can teach us to be malleable and embrace change!”
9. One of the first clips to go viral from “Recess Therapy” was Julian’s interview with Tariq aka “Corn Kid.”
10. “Recess Therapy” has had some very fun celebrity guests over the years. This includes Olivia Rodrigo, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Rogers, Ilana Glazer and more.
11. Before “Recess Therapy,” Julian created an internet show called “The Social Distance.” It featured himself, his dads and his friend Quentin all isolating together during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
12. And now, in addition to “Recess Therapy,” Julian also hosts the YouTube show “Celebrity Substitute,” as well as the podcast “Gems with Miles and Julian.”
@gems_pod NYC or LA… or Turks and Caicos
13. Julian attended New York City public schools and it influenced his desire to give back to them via his show “Celebrity Substitute.”
“Personally, the influence of my own teachers has been profound, and for a long time, I’ve wanted to help recognize and support these dedicated professionals,” he told Variety.
14. On how his Jewish identity has inspired his work, he told the New York Jewish Week: “Growing up within a culture of storytelling and music greatly influenced my interest in the arts. I feel like my early exposure to Passover tradition — putting on a play of the story of Passover and hearing my dad sing — got me interested in the arts.”
15. Julian has won a few awards through his creatives endeavors. “Recess Therapy” was honored with the Family Entertainment Safe Streaming Hero Award from Variety in 2022. And “Celebrity Substitute” won two Webby Awards in 2025.
16. When Julian collaborated with “Sesame Street” in 2025, he achieved a lifelong dream! “When I was 13 years old, I somehow talked my way onto set and was able to watch the taping of an episode. I just remember sitting there with my mind blown!”, he recalled on Instagram.
17. In the Perfectly Imperfect newsletter, Julian shared his love of the Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell demo for the song “Our House.” “[It] is one of the most beautiful and intimate song demos I’ve ever heard,” he wrote. “It makes me want to fall asleep smiling.”
18. According to Julian, his best experience as a Jewish New Yorker was attending Benj Pasek’s Passover seder.
