Political Influence and Comedy: A Cautionary Tale

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt for the latest installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a monthly series on the health of American democracy. Their guest is Roy Wood, Jr., the host of the satirical program “Have I Got News for You,” on CNN. The group discusses the significance of CBS’s cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a recent episode of “South Park” that is searingly critical of Donald Trump, and the President’s deployment of lawsuits and the administrative state to try to intimidate his critics in the media and entertainment industries. “There's always going to be these petty, ticky-tack battles that the Administration fights,” says Wood. “But I don't think that's gonna stop the comedians from doing what Trump hopes this would do, which is silence them.”

This week’s reading:

• “‘South Park” Skewers a Satire-Proof President,’ by Tyler Foggatt
• “What the Cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Means,” by Vinson Cunningham
• “How the Israeli Right Explains the Aid Disaster It Created,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “Should Police Officers Be More Like U.F.C. Fighters?,” by Sam Eagan
• “Is Brazil’s Underdog Era Coming to an End?,” by Shannon Sims

Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.

To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com.