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MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Stephen Hoban

  1. Following Colbert’s Lead and Fighting the Super PACsSo it’s as bad as we thought. When the Colbert Report first began highlighting the looming threat of Super PACs last year, the rest of the […]
  2. Talking to the Campaign Legal Center About the Ins and Outs of Colbert’s […]We may not be at the punch line yet, but the setup keeps getting better and better. Colbert’s Super PAC, now known as “Americans for a Better […]
  3. Comedy Looks Beyond the Debt CeilingLast Friday morning NPR host Mary Louise Kelly wrapped up a segment on the debt ceiling debate by quoting the Onion headline “Congress […]
  4. The Colbert Super PAC’s Real (Secret) VictoryYesterday the Federal Election Commission in a 5-to-1 vote approved Stephen Colbert’s media exemption, allowing him to turn his show into a […]
  5. Is Anthony Weiner’s Sex Scandal an Act of Conceptual Comedy?Nothing new can be said about Anthony Weiner’s political future. Either he will resign or he won’t. But few people have discussed how this […]
  6. The Importance of Stephen Colbert’s Bold and Subversive PACOn Wednesday night Stephen Colbert took on Comedy Central’s parent company Viacom, calling out their lawyers for trying to block his attempts […]
  7. A Timeline of Osama Bin Laden ComedyWe don’t have to stop making jokes about him just because he’s dead. It’s fair to wager he’ll be as big a staple in American comedy fifty years […]
  8. The Persistence of Birther HumorWhat does Obama have in common with God? Neither has a birth certificate. Donald Trump’s recent embrace of the birther conspiracy has been a […]
  9. In Praise of the Stoner, a True American Hero Let us sing a few words in praise of the stoner, for the stoner is the last of the American heroes. From the streets of Los Angeles to the […]
  10. The Comedy Stylings of Rep. Anthony WeinerQueens Congressman Anthony Weiner spoke at the Congressional Correspondents Dinner this week, and it was well liked. These dinners are events […]
  11. In Praise of The Onion’s American VoicesFor all the attention their stories receive and how often their news headlines get reposted, The Onion’s American Voices column has a way of […]
  12. Political Comedy Loves the 80sRecently the news has been feeling a little too familiar. Old characters have been making comebacks, and old jokes have come out of retirement. […]
  13. Nir Rosen and the Value of the Comedy KillerIf the internet has a down side for anyone, it’s that it makes it much harder for casual sexists and racists to tell jokes among friends. (And […]
  14. Making Jokes About EgyptIt can’t be easy to write comedy about the stuff that happens around the world. If the President, whose job it is to have opinions about these […]
  15. Political Comedy’s Gender GapI had no idea whether current events would overlap with Splitsider’s Women in Comedy week, but then Michele Bachmann happened. At first I was […]
  16. The Fall of Joe Lieberman: A Look Back Through the Lens of ComedyComedians lost a dependable villain this week: Joe Lieberman announced his retirement in 2012. We’ll always remember Joe Lieberman as the man […]
  17. The Delicate and Vital Role of Comedy After a TragedyOkay, this was a tough week for political comedy. If nothing else, it confirms something about the nature of comedy that we know deep down: it […]
  18. The Year Ahead in Political ComedyThe new year has just begun, but already political forces have been lining up that will define politics and political comedy for the next 51 […]
  19. The Right Way to Make Fun of Michael SteeleThe Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cThe Daily Show on Facebook Part of me hopes that Michael Steele sticks around forever, if […]
  20. The Comedic Reaction to the Many Stages of the Wikileaks StoryThe Wikileaks dump has been a dominant and ongoing story for a couple of weeks now, and the coverage by comedians has been just as heavy. As […]
  21. George Meyer’s ‘Army Man’ and the Birth of ‘The Simpsons’If you follow the stories about the beginnings of The Simpsons, chances are you’re heard of Army Man. But just as likely, chances are you […]
  22. The Better of the ‘It Gets Better’ ParodiesThe Daily Show’s It Gets Worse John McCain parody was a high point in political comedy for the week. Heck, maybe it’s the high point for the […]
  23. Quiz: Who Said It, George Bush or Will Ferrell’s George Bush?George W. Bush is back! Just in time to miss the November midterms, the ex-president is back in the news and in late-night comedy routines. Did […]
  24. The Trouble With Looking for Political Bias in Late Night ComediansIf you like comedy but love statistics, then this was your week. Two studies released this week look into the political leanings of late-night […]
  25. The Impact of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on ComedyThere has been enough talk about the political implications of this weekend’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. What about its impact on […]
  26. Are Comedians Making Enough Fun of Democrats?For a decade, Republicans have been the butt of far more jokes than Democrats have. It’s natural that comedians would make fun of the people in […]
  27. The Top Political Ad Parodies of Election SeasonAccording to news reports, it’s been a brutal year for political ads. But what about political ad parodies? With just over a week until […]
  28. This Week in Political Comedy: SNL and the Sheeba-Shabba Dance“You’re just jealous that you weren’t on Saturday Night Live.” —Christine O’Donnell, who has never been on Saturday Night Live A good […]
  29. This Week in Political Comedy: Glenn Beck, Cartoon CharacterLet a public figure talk long enough, and he will bury himself with his own words. Rick Sanchez learned that lesson this week, after saying […]
  30. This Week in Political Comedy: The Way of Oprah“Rahm Emanuel is leaving the Obama administration. He wants to become mayor of Chicago. If you’re mayor of Chicago, that means you report […]
  31. This Week in Political Comedy: The Delaware Witch ProjectWho says comedy can’t drive the news? This has been a banner week for political comedy, with comics driving three of the major news stories of […]
  32. This Week in Political Comedy: The Colossal Donut IndexThe Colossal Donut Index is an attempt to grapple with a conundrum. This wouldn’t be a complete look at political comedy if it ignored Sarah […]
  33. This Week in Political Comedy: Fahrenheit 9/11The Week in Political Comedy is a column that rounds up the week’s biggest news comedy stories and looks at how the presumptions, opinions, and […]