The Final Edition

These are classic and eerily prescient sketches selected by archivist and writer Joe Davis. It's all there - the apocalypse, Republican cruelty, black people killed by police, Trump running for office, even social distancing, in a way. And somehow, no matter what happens, all the money goes to the same largest corporations. Funny, that.

In memory of John S. Marshall, one of the founding members of "The Final Edition."

This week … we’ve all been indoors. Same as you. Didn’t even record last week, and probably won’t until the end of the month. Recording this is the first time I’ve spoken out loud all day. So … you know … typical weekend, really.And yet we have new sketches at the top of the show, all about diseases - followed by classic sketches, also about diseases and germs. Communicable diseases in particular tend come up now and then - which is why good leadership involves … you know … recognizing and planning for that.

We whisper a sweet goodbye to Mike Bloomberg - and an actual, sincere goodbye (more or less) to James Lipton. Also, you just moved your clock forward - and yes, it’s stupid, and no, we shouldn’t be doing it anymore.The entire second half of the show is the final episode of the audio play, “The Invisible World.” I apologize for the differences in the sound quality from one moment to the next with that production. I didn’t record it in a studio. I was just lugging a laptop and a couple of microphones all over New York. You get what you get.

This week, Utah sees all the other states going their own way and decides it’s going to do the same. Ben and I talk about soup - which we both enjoy. We have an outtake from a recording session in which Ben is just trying to be nice. And we determine the value of human life. The answer is … well … you’re not gonna be surprised.