SNL101

S50 E18: Quinta Brunson

We discuss the inside humor of racial epithets on Weekend Update: Two Applebee’s Barflies Duke and Darlene, the complicated experience of laughing at oneself in Two Bitches vs. a Gorilla and Forever 31, and the racial politics of time in Will and Todd’s Radical Experience.
S50 E17: Jon Hamm

We discuss satirizing socioeconomic inequality in Check to Check Business News, civil disobedience with Emil Wakim on American Patriotism, and the complexity of roasting and comedy writing via Guess! The Correct! Answer!, Gay Parents, and The White Potus.
S50 E16: Jack Black

We discuss the implications of the call-and-response-gone-wrong in Ego Nwodim on the WHCD, ethical non-monogamy in Making Love, the potential of framing to disrupt collective memory in Times Square Kiss, and The First Play through multiple lens.
S50 E15: Mikey Madison

We discuss punching down and missed opportunities as well as the art of waiting in Big Dumb Line, reboot culture in Please Don’t Destroy – Mikey Madison is Squidward, and the dynamics of inside jokes with Devon Walker Shares His Morning Routine.
S50 E14: Lady Gaga

We discuss the power of satire in the Trump, Musk and Rubio Meeting Cold Open, satirizing masculinity and power in Weekend Update: Lord Gaga on His Unwavering Support for His Wife Lady Gaga, the manic pixie dream girl and commodity feminism in Mascara Commercial, and language and power in No More Slay.
S50 E13: Shane Gillis

We discuss how to satirize stereotypes in the Stand Up Monologue and Mid-Day News 2, the difficulty in satirizing Trump in the Cold Open, the trolley problem in Jane Wickline Gives Dating Advice, and the absurdity of direct to consumer drug ads in CouplaBeers.
SNL50: The Anniversary Special

We talk about the show’s role in establishing comedy across the 20th and 21st centuries from Word Association to Black Jeopardy, its complicated relationship with representing Blackness and Black humor exemplified in the In Memoriam montage, and how this epic oeuvre can be used to foster conversations in the classroom.
S50 E12: Timothée Chalamet

Fan favorites like SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta and Tiny Horse were absent In Chalamet’s third time hosting. We discuss Johnson’s ability to impersonate Trump’s haughty cruelty in Founding Fathers Cold Open, the role of AI in interpersonal relationships in AI Software, and the power of intra Black conversations in Giselle, A Concerned Businesswoman.
S50 E11: Dave Chappelle

We discuss Chappelle’s progressively classic Stand-Up Monologue and political aesthetics, journalism’s struggle in the current communication environment with MSNBC social Coverage Cold Open, and the power of ambiguity and backstory in Evacuation Alert. We are joined in the virtual studio by friend of the pod, Chuck Hayward for an exciting conversation about Chappelle’s trajectory.
S50 E10: Martin Short

We discuss the complexity of homelessness and the rhetoric of anti-woke publics in An Act of Kindness, the intractable intersection of gender and comedy in Parking Lot Altercation, and the winner of this year’s Joke Swap. Emmy nominated Chuck Hayward also joins to share his thoughts on demographic trends in the Five-Timers Club Cold Open.