JON STEWART’S VALEDICTORY ADDRESS
As transcribed by Dave Itzkoff of the Times, delivered on August 6, 2015::
Media
DISUNION DRAWS TO A CLOSE
In the spring of 2010, I walked into The New York Times and proposed that the paper blog the Civil War. Out of that grew the Disunion series, which from October 30, 2010 until last week did just that–wote about the war, in matters great and small, generally corresponding to the events of that day …
SUPER SUPER SMART
My article on Heidi Klum is the cover story of the April issue of Success. I enjoyed talking to her–she listened to the questions, gave thoughtful and original answers. The fashion photographer Rankin had a good perspective on why she is successful. “Heidi is just super, super smart. If you come in with a very …
JE SUIS CHARLIE, AND MORE
Until January 7th, I had never heard of Charlie Hebdo, but when Islamic terrorists broke into the offices of what was described as “a small French satirical magazine’’ and killed dozen people, including the editor-in-chief, four other cartoonists, two other editors, an economist, a mainterance worker, and two police officers, I instantly identified with the …
DOCTOR BILL AND MISTER COSBY
Originally published in The American Interest, December 9, 2014 In October, when I began reading Bill Cosby: His Life and Times, by Mark Whitaker, the 77-year-old comedian was enjoying a bit of a boom: a new television series in the works, a new special set to get the Netflix treatment, an exhibition at the Smithsonian …
“THE NICEST WHITE PEOPLE”
Frank Rich interviewed Chris Rock this week in New York magazine. Rock was brilliant–creative, provocative, and enormously perceptive. He said things about race in a way that should change the discussion forever. Here is one comment: “Here’s the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it’s all nonsense. There are …
HOW ROBERT FRIPP MADE A MUSICIAN OUT OF ME
“All my life, I have loved music, and never in my life have I been the tiniest bit musical. Not only can I not sing in tune, I cause others to fall off key. Not only can I not dance, my dancing has often caused injury to others, most memorably on a St. Patrick’s Day …
COMEDY VERITE
Last week I had the pleasure of going to the theater with one half of my Loose Lips co-writers, the gemultlict Lisa Birnbach. What fun! We had dinner on Bond Street in a brick-walled basement level restaurant called The Smile, which had the atmosphere and trappings of the kind of archetypal Greenwich Village that Edna …
A TOTAL ORIGINAL
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Will.i.am for the September issue of Success. He was very different from most interview subjects–he was very relaxed, very confident, seemingly without any canned responses. He was quick to respond to my questions, but every answer was fluid and detailed. I was particularly drawn to one of his …