The Brian Lehrer Show Funny Women of The New Yorker
Nov 10, 2025
Liza Donnelly, a celebrated New Yorker cartoonist, writer, and filmmaker, dives into the creative landscape of women cartoonists. She shares her journey starting in the 1970s, driven by the desire to make her mother laugh. Highlights include discussions on humor as a coping mechanism, the unique perspectives younger female cartoonists bring to topics like menstruation and dating, and the challenges of AI on the future of cartooning. Liza emphasizes the timelessness of cartoons while acknowledging their shifting relevance in society.
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Episode notes
Round-Table Cartooning At The Algonquin
- Liza Donnelly describes gathering fellow New Yorker women cartoonists to draw, drink wine, and talk about their creative process at the Algonquin Hotel.
- The round-table session captures camaraderie, teasing, and shared discussions about being women in the business.
How Drawing Started For Liza
- Liza explains she began drawing to make her shy self and her mother happy and kept going after people laughed at her work.
- She submitted cartoons during college and was drawn to The New Yorker for its political cartoons.
Solitude Versus Shared Creative Space
- Donnelly notes most cartoonists work alone but bringing women together revealed shared experiences and joyful, serious conversations about gender in the field.
- The film balances playful drawing sessions with deeper questions about whether being a woman changes the work.
