Born a Crime Excerpt: Trevor Noah Talks South Africa In New Memoir

Before Trevor Noah became Jon Stewart’s successor on “The Daily Show,” he grew up during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. In his new memoir “Born a Crime,” Noah tells his coming-of-age story that covers the difficulties of being born mixed, which was considered illegal in South Africa at the time, and grew up with his eccentric mother, a comically zealous Christian, savvy hustler and inspiring parent that drove Noah on his path to stardom. Some of the stories in the memoir include when he subsisted on caterpillars during times of extreme poverty or being thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Listen to the audio excerpt below read by Noah about South Africa and the prevalence of witchcraft in the country.

Noah has been working as a comedian since 2002. He moved to the United States in 2011 and became the first South African comedian to appear on “The Tonight Show” as well as “Late Show with David Letterman.” In 2015, he released a one-hour standup special “Lost in Translation” on Comedy Central.

“Born a Crime” will be released on November 15. To pre-order the audio book or download it for free with a 30-day trial, head to the memoir’s Audible page. “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” airs weeknight at 11 p.m. ET only on Comedy Central.