Comedians
Culture Desk
Judd Apatow’s “Bob and Don: A Love Story”
Watch a short film about the lifelong friendship between Bob Newhart and Don Rickles, who were not an obvious match.
Annals of Communications
Hasan Minhaj’s “Emotional Truths”
In his standup specials, the former “Patriot Act” host often recounts harrowing experiences he’s faced as an Asian American and Muslim American. Does it matter that much of it never happened to him?
On Television
Chris Rock’s Live Experiment in Saving Face
“Everybody fucking knows. . . . I got smacked, like, a year ago,” the comedian finally says at the end of his Netflix special, as if that’s not the reason we’re all here.
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The New Yorker Documentary
Elsa Majimbo’s Unfiltered Comedy
In Julia Jansch’s short documentary “Elsa,” the Kenyan comedian opens up about the darker side of becoming a social-media sensation.
The New Yorker Interview
Aubrey Plaza in Real Life
The “White Lotus” star on her dream collaboration with Mike White, her long-standing feud with Joe Biden, and her decade-plus search for a role that resonated.
The New Yorker Interview
Kate Berlant Has Nothing to Confess
The comedian, whose one-woman show is back until mid-February, says, of performing onstage, “I always felt incredibly myself up there when I was never talking about myself.”
The Theatre
The One-Person Show, Served Three Ways
In “Small Talk,” “Without You,” and “cryptochrome,” Colin Quinn, Anthony Rapp, and Evan Silver take the mike.
The Boards
Colin Quinn Just Wants to Make Small Talk
In his new show at the Lucille Lortel, the comedian examines how “Nice day, isn’t it?” and “How about those Mets?” can make the world a better place.
Dept. of Fatty Meats
Two Comedians Walk Into a Deli
Katz’s Delicatessen, the home of “I’ll have what she’s having,” agreed to let a couple of twenty-four-year-olds stage a standup show among the pastrami and the Cel-Ray soda.
Page-Turner
There’s Nothing Decorous About Rob Delaney’s Grief
“A Heart That Works,” the comedian’s account of losing his son Henry to brain cancer, marries comic style with deadly seriousness.
Culture Desk
Kevin Nealon Is Hiking and Laughing and Drawing
The beloved comedian has a hit YouTube series and a new book of celebrity caricatures.
Pop-Up
Wyatt Cenac and Donwill Shop for the Blaxploitation Sound
If you attend their pop-up film series “Shouting at the Screen,” prepare to take a drink every time a pimp suit appears onscreen.
The New Yorker Documentary
What’s So Funny About Getting Old?
The eightysomething comedians in Elizabeth Zephyrine McDonough’s new documentary have some thoughts.
The New Yorker Interview
Alan Alda Is Still Awesome
The actor and director talks about his podcast, the comedic chops of Volodymyr Zelensky, and being called an “honorary woman.”
The New Yorker Live
Jenny Slate and Julio Torres on the Secret Life of Objects
On June 23rd, the comedians discuss the search for humor in unexpected places, in a conversation with the staff writer Michael Schulman. The conversation will be part of The New Yorker Live Summer Series, exclusively for subscribers.
L.A. Postcard
Meeting Cute, Plus Cancer
Stephanie Allynne told Tig Notaro that she was straight. Notaro wrote back, “O.K., dyke.” Now their two kids call them Mère and Mom.
The New Yorker Interview
“Tell Me to Be Bette Midler, I Would Find a Way”: An Interview with Sam Richardson
The comedian discusses home-town comedy, the boundaries of joke-telling, Batman, and the eternal race question.
The Boards
Old Funny Guys Playing Old Funny Guys
Billy Crystal and David Paymer kibbitz at the Friars Club about “Mr. Saturday Night,” their 1992 movie turned Tony-nominated musical, and about no longer requiring old-age makeup.
Q. & A.
Meg Stalter Skipped Straight from the Internet to “Hacks”
The comedian describes finding online success during the pandemic, playing Helen Keller’s mom (briefly), and the inspiration behind “Hi, gay.”
Dept. of Knowledge
Wikipedia, in the Flesh
A group of comics discuss how to explore the strangest corners of human knowledge—via Wikipedia articles such as “List of soups” and “List of sexually active popes”—in front of a live audience.