Jewish Comedy, Then and Now

Cranky essayist prefers the early, funny stuff

No Laughs for Lebanon

French-Jewish comedian cancels Beirut show

Weak, in Review

Harold Ramis and Woody Allen get mostly panned

This Weekend in Media Irritants

Conan, Peyser, Israelis, and punk

Funny Girls

An off-Broadway show pays homage to the queens of comedy

The Ha-Ha

What’s in a joke? Jim Holt finds out.

Radical Riff

How comedians of the 1960s and ’70s revolutionized stand-up

A Fine Mess

How a filmmaker turned his movie flop into a groundbreaking book

Managed Care

Rattled by a sudden lack of indifference

Let’s Put on a Show

Daily Show writer Rob Kutner started putting on an annual Purimspiel five years ago. He discusses his rowdy and popular parody with Sara Ivry.