It’s a story as old as time itself: man dislikes his job, decides to pursue a career in comedy, sends a bunch of unsolicited work into The Onion, and eventually becomes editor of the world’s most popular satirical news site. Well, maybe it’s not that conventional, but it is the general career outline of newly-appointed Onion editor Cole Bolton. A former associate economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and research associate at Harvard Business School, Bolton’s comedy experience was practically nonexistent before he joined The Onion as a contributing writer in 2006. But despite never once being a member of a college improv troupe, Bolton’s passion and [...]
In the increasingly competitive world of comedic podcasting, earning the title of "must-listen" can be quite challenging. With an abundance of engaging options available to occupy your 9-5, a discerning ear is essential to remain up-to-date on the very best in audio entertainment. Earwolf, arguably the industry’s leading tastemaker in comedy podcasts, recently added the sophisticated humor of frequent collaborators Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter to their all-star roster by agreeing to host their previously independent podcast, Topics. A comedy podcast set in the non-traditional world of intellectual debate, Topics eschews a number of traditional podcasting norms to create a droll, uniquely entertaining experience certainly worthy of [...]
Comedy's infamous lack of gender (and racial) diversity has remained a relentlessly discussed issue lately, especially since SNL made the bizarre decision to hire a batch of no less than five white male cast members in the fall, took the brunt of the internet backlash that followed, and worked to fix the problem by holding emergency black female auditions. On the other hand, just last week Jerry Seinfeld got touchy when asked why most of his Comedians in Cars guests are white males, which he punctuated with a damning question: "Who cares?" Those two words blew up the internet.
But now the kicker: Gloria [...]
Prior to the release of the 2012 documentary Beauty Is Embarrassing, artist Wayne White's work had much more mainstream recognition than his name. A comedian of the art world and vice versa, White's storied career has consistently eluded a singular identity; he's made cartoons for The New York Times and The Village Voice, both acted in and fabricated puppets and sets for Pee-wee's Playhouse, worked on a handful of children's television series, made music videos and commercials, and created the world's largest country star George Jones head. It wasn't until White debuted his trademark "word paintings" inspired by both his Chattanooga upbringing and lifelong [...]
