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New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast
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New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast
Author: Vin Coca, Beth Lawler, Paul Nesja, Nicole Chrolavicius
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© 2025 New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast
Description
In depth discussion of the weekly New Yorker Caption Contest as well as interviews with Cartoonists and former Contest winners.
Email: CartoonCaptionContestPodcast@gmail.com
Credits:
Intro/Outro music created and performed by Chris Nesja.
Podcast logo designed by Dan Nesja with artwork by Shannon Wheeler.
192 Episodes
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Larry Wood, the all time New Yorker cartoon caption contest winner, author and CartoonStock caption contest judge, joins us once again to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. Vin is challenged to come up with the top 25 captions for the next CartoonStock contest. You'll have to wait four weeks to see how well he does. We discuss the winning entry for Contest #929 (Partners in chime). Fin...
A short podcast this week with just the hosts talking about the contests and their favorite cartoons from the current week's issue of the New Yorker. There is a question that was left unanswered about why zebras have stripes. We did a quick google search and found, "While scientists still debate the exact origins and functions of zebra stripes, their recent efforts have focused more closely on three possibilities; protection from biting flies, thermoregulation and protection from predators."...
Joining us on the podcast this week is New Yorker cartoon enthusiast, Stephen Nadler. Stephen talks about his love of all things New Yorker and the New Yorker cartoon and cover art exhibition, hosted by the Society of Illustrators, "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration". You can find more information about the exhibition here: https://societyillustrators.org/.../drawn-from-the-new.../ Stephen also writes a near daily blog about New Yorker cartoon art and related subjects...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with Artist/writer, John Donohue. John was a writer and editor at the New Yorker and tried his hand at cartooning for a while and had five of his cartoons published in it. He decided to take a new direction in his career and started doing on-the-spot ink drawings of restaurants. He's drawn restaurants from all over the world, including London, Paris, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and many more. He's had three books published of his drawings fro...
Joining us on the podcast this week are three of the top syndicated single panel cartoonists, Mark Parisi (off the mark), Wayno (Bizarro) and Dave Blazek (Loose Parts). We have a great discussion with them about cartooning, the creative process, cartoon themes and what animals are funny. Mark and Dave each have a new book out. Mark's book, "The Truth About 5th Grade", was written with Kim Tomsic and is a very funny young readers book. You can order it here: https://www.amaz...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with the great New Yorker cartoonist, William (Bill) Haefeli. Bill talks about how he got into cartooning, his process and his focus on social relationships in his cartoons. Bill explains his unique drawing style and its evolution. A great episode! Bill is featured in the recent book about New Yorker cartoonists, "At Wits End", by Alen Macweeney and Michael Maslin. https://www.amazon.com/At-Wits-End-Cartoonists-Yorker/dp/0593581059 He is also ...
For the last podcast of the year, Larry Wood joins us to talk about the contests (including the recent CartoonStock contest). We have some interesting discussions about using vulgarities in captions and the ethics of being able to submit more captions in the CartoonStock contest (paying another $5 to enter an additional 3 captions). We discuss the winning entry for Contest #923 (Fuzzy Wuzzy had no heir). Finalists for Contest #925 (En Plein Air-Conditioning). Current Contest #927 (That's M...
On this week's episode, Vin, Paul, Beth, Nicole and this year's best captioner, Mark Strout, review past and present contests from 2024 and choose our best and worst of the year. We also talk with Mark about how he started entering the caption contests and his process for coming up with winning captions. And of course, we discuss... The winning captions for New Yorker contest #922 (Rodent you invite them up?) Finalists for contest #924 (Do androids dream of spreadsheets?)...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with New Yorker cartoonist, Adam Douglas Thompson. We talk with Adam about his background in the arts, painting and how he became a New Yorker cartoonist. We also talk about his cartoons, a bit about teaching art at Brooklyn College and the use of AI in creativity. You can find Adam's cartoons and paintings at his webpage: http://www.adamdouglasthompson.com Adam also mentions that his wife , Helen Phillips, has written several books. You can or...
Larry Wood joins us to talk about the contests (including the recent CartoonStock contest). With the holidays coming up, we remind everyone that the best gift is the gift of laughter (has anyone ever noticed how close laughter is to slaughter? Try not to think about it too much). You should buy yourself Larry Wood's book, "Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest". You can also buy it for someone close to you to...
Wayno, the daily cartoonist for the Bizarro cartoon, returns to the podcast to talk about winning this year's Reuben Award for Best Panel Cartoon. We also delve into creativity, music, the Pittsburgh Steelers and scary fairy tales and nursery rhymes. You can find Wayno's Bizarro cartoons here: https://comicskingdom.com/bizarro His Substack here: https://waynocartoons.substack.com/ And the terrific Bizarro merchandise here: https://shop.comicskingdom.com/collections/bizarro-collection Wayn...
On part 2 of this week's podcast we are joined by Humorist, Craig Baldo. Craig has been making people laugh for as long as he can remember. Stand up comedy, warming up audiences for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon, writing ad campaigns for Nike, Dos Equis, Wendy's and many others and he has collaborated with New Yorker cartoonists. We discuss humor, creativity, existential dread and the bar scene at the University of Delaware (circa 1990). The Two cartoonists ...
Due to our podcast recording day falling on Election Day, we decided not to have a guest. We also did our best not to talk about the election and almost made it to the end, but otherwise, it's all contest and cartoon talk! We discuss the winning entry for Contest #917 (Beaver? I hardly know her). Finalists for Contest #919 (A horse in a car? Don't be filly). Current Contest #921 (TSA Prediction-Check). You can purchase original New Yorker cartoon art from Curated Cartoons here: https://w...
On part 2 of this week's podcast we are joined by Illustrator, Eric Drooker. Eric's art has appeared on 40 New Yorker covers (his most recent was on last week's Money Issue) and is in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Library of Congress. We talk with Eric about becoming an artist, His New Yorker covers, his City Trilogy and the role of art and creativity in the world today. The third volume in his City Trilogy, "Naked City...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with New Yorker cartoonist, Yinfan Huang. Yinfan moved to the United States (Minneapolis to be exact) to attend college to be an Illustrator. She later moved to New York, discovered the New Yorker and sold her very first cartoon from the first Tuesday batch she submitted. Impressive! She is also an Illustrator and has illustrated several children's books. She has recently finished a graphic novel memoir that will be published in mid 2025. You can lear...
This week on the podcast, we are joined by two terrific cartoonists, Shannon Wheeler and Ken Krimstein. We've had both on the podcast previously, but we decided to have both on again at the same time. We're glad we did, because it turned out to be a very lively discussion about all things cartooning and a bit about bees. We also talk about their current book projects and they join in on the contest commentary and favorite cartoons from this week's issue. Fun was had by all! You c...
Our guest this week was unable to join us due to a conflict on their calendar (they had "do podcast" and "forget to do podcast" marked on their calendar). They have rescheduled for later this year. Meanwhile, Paul, Beth and Nicole try to hold it together for the podcast and almost succeed until the very end. You can book us for your next event. Beth mentions a very funny facebook page called "Important Otter News". You can check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/ImportantOtterNews We di...
Larry Wood, the all time New Yorker cartoon caption contest winner, author and CartoonStock caption contest judge, joins us once again to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. We also discuss a new caption contest with a cartoon drawn by our own Paul Nesja. The link for this contest is below. We discuss the winning entry for Contest #912 (Apple a Day Keeps the Dr Away). Fin...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with New Yorker cartoonist, Amanda Chung. Amanda's first cartoon in the New Yorker appeared in the Nov. 20, 2023 issue. Her cartoons have also appeared in Air Mail, The Weekly Humorist and other publications. Before being published, Amanda contacted the podcast and Vin offered to collaborate with her. It's been a successful collaboration and we discuss the dynamics of it during her interview. Amanda mentions a few resources that have helped her becom...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with former New Yorker Cartoon Editor and current Cartoon Editor at Air Mail Magazine, Bob Mankoff. Bob talks about the New Yorker and CartoonStock caption contests, A.I., dream cartoons and something new that he's been working on with Robert Nowak (former manager of the New Yorker contest crowdsource voting), called Toondeloo. Toondeloo is a contest based on the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest. Enter the caption that you entered in the current wee...
Larry Wood, the all time New Yorker cartoon caption contest winner, author and CartoonStock caption contest judge, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. There were some great captions for what we thought was a tough cartoon to work with and There's a another tough cartoon to caption for the CartoonStock contest this month and we highly recommend that if you normally don'...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview humorist, Al Mullen. Al his written humor pieces for The New Yorker, McSweeney's and other publications. He is also the creator and publisher of Public Transportation Magazine (PTM). PTM is a very funny eight page Zine that can only be found on New York public transportation. Past issues have included many New Yorker writers and cartoonists and the next issue (probably coming out in September) will have pieces by David Cross, Jack Handey and Roz ...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist, Hartley Lin. Hartley has been contributing to the New Yorker since 2018. He has been creating his on comic book, "Pope Hats" since 2009. In 2019, His graphic novel, "Young Frances" was published with positive reviews. The New York Times stated: “It’s a testament to his vision that a book with such a long gestation can still feel so of the moment. Or maybe it’s that the floating world of one’s 20s, rendered here with such sympathy and ...
The podcast celebrates No Guest August (a holiday that we just made up) this week! It's just us talking about the contests and our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker. Completely organic with no added filler or additives. We do get a bit fried talking about the current contest, but we recover nicely with only Beth losing track of time and thinking it's still last week. We discuss the winning entry for Contest #905 (The Pied Piper of Penn Station). Finalists for C...
New Yorker cartoonist, Drew Dernavich, joins us on the podcast this week. It's been over a year since Drew has joined the podcast. His last appearance was the ill-fated 100th Anniversary episode that is unlistenable due to technical problems (the problem being that none of us knew how to properly use a professional podcast studio). Drew talks about what he's been up to this last year and joins us in the discussion of the New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from the current issue and th...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Winner, Author and CartoonStock Caption Contest Judge, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. Some great discussions on winning the contests and Paul challenges the listeners to figure out a caption he came up with for the "DJ in the boardroom" cartoon. There's a tough cartoon to caption for the CartoonStock contest th...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with Liza Donnelly about producing a documentary based on her book, Very Funny Ladies. The documentary will be called, "Women Laughing" and is currently in the development phase. Liza has started a Kickstarter to help fund it and is nearly to her goal of $50,000. You can help out by going to her Kickstarter page and making a pledge. There are different rewards depending on your pledge level. The Kickstarter ends Tuesday, July 30 at 12:00 PM EST...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we talk with authors Phil Witte and Rex Hesner about their book, "Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons". Phil Witte is a long time cartoonist with cartoons published in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Reader’s Digest, and regional magazines, as well as British publications, such as Private Eye, The New Statesman, and The Spectator. He has previously written two best selling books, "What You Don’t Know About Turning 50" and its sequel, "Wh...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us once again to talk about the current New Yorker contest, our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker and the latest CartoonStock contest. You can email us at the below email address and Larry will send you a signed copy of this new book. Or you can buy an unsigned copy at the link below. https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has.../dp/1250333407/ We discuss the winning entry for Contest #900...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist, Tyson Cole. Tyson is a fairly new contributor to the New Yorker, but his cartoons have been published in many other magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest, Yahoo!, The American Bystander, Weekly Humorist, the Funny Times, and the Cole Family Christmas Newsletter. He has been nominated for the Best Gag Cartoon Reuben's Award three times since 2019. We talk with Tyson about him switching his career path from biologist...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist/Screenwriter/Director, Maddie Dai. Maddie talks with us about her career as a cartoonist and becoming a screenwriter and director. She wrote the screenplay for the movie, "We Were Dangerous" which is being produced by Piki Films (Jojo Rabbit & Hunt For The Wilderpeople) and will be out in August. You can see a trailer for it here: https://youtu.be/R0mRPMX-WCc?si=legg1Ebc_Kk2jwoP Maddie also wrote and directed the short film,...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us to talk about his new book, "Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest". The podcast hosts all received their copies last week and we all agree that it's a great book and we wish it had been around when we first started entering the contest (we'd have surpassed Larry by now if we had). We also talk about the current New Yorker...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview the wonderful Liana Finck. Liana discusses her career, unique insights into the world around her, humor, cartoons, babies, books and parks near where she lives and areas to avoid in them. It's a wide ranging conversation covering everything from creation to pet dogs giving meaningful advice. You can find Liana's webpage here (you can buy her letterpress prints of her cartoons and her original artwork): https://lianafinck.com You can buy h...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview the great Mort Gerberg. Mort talks with us about his career in cartooning and much, much more! A fantastic interview! You can find Mort's webpage here: http://mortgerberg.com You can also find Mort's 50 year retrospective of his cartoons, Mort Gerber On The Scene, here: https://www.fantagraphics.com/.../mort-gerberg-on-the-scene On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the changes for ranking captions and the current contests: Winning captions f...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview the creative team of Jason Patterson and Dan Abdo. Jason and Dan have been friends since high school and have collaborated on Comics, graphic novels, children's books and animation. Jason has also created many New Yorker cartoons, but has not had time for them this last few years. Their "Barb The Last Berserker" graphic novel has three volumes so far and is in development as a series for the Disney Channel. They've written six children's bo...
On this week's podcast, we are joined by the multi-talented Bob Eckstein. Bob talks with us about his latest book, "Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums: Stories and Memorable Moments from People Who Love Museums". We also talk about what's funny these days and take the occasional detour into talking about pickleball (you've been warned!) You can check out Bob's website and buy his book here: https://eckstein2.wixsite.com/mysite-1 You can also subscribe to his newsletter, The Bob, he...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist Dahlia Ramirez (also known as Dolly). Dahlia didn't start out to be a cartoonist, but the siren call of cartooning got to her. (Hmmm, I just remembered how that story goes. Probably not a good metaphor for being lured into cartooning). She has a great story about how a cartoon she did for McSweeny's led to her writing “Sex and the Single Panda”. A great book about The Revolting Pursuit Of Love In The Animal Kingdom. It's very funny and...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Cartoonist Madeline Horwath (also known as Mads). Mads talks with us about their journey to become a New Yorker Cartoonist. Starting out at the exclusive UW-Beloit and currently working on a masters at the London Royal College of Art, they've had plenty of adventures in-between (sometimes involving PBR). Mads also talks with us about their cartoons and how they come up with them. Check out some of Mads official merchandise at their Bonfire...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Artist, Tom Bachtell. Tom talks with us about his career as an illustrator and his time doing the New Yorker's "The Talk of the Town" illustrations. His work has also been feature in The New York Review of Books, Newsweek, Forbes, Bon Appetit, Town and Country, Mother Jones, as well as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, The New York Observer, London’s Evening Standard, and Poetry magazine. Tom has also had a life long...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, the latest CartoonStock contest and our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker. Last chance to preorder Larry's upcoming book on the cartoon contest here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2T36QCZS5V4D4&keywords=lawrence+wood&qid=1699478163&sprefix=laurence+wood%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview ourselves. The hosts: Vin, Paul, Beth and Nicole share a little bit about themselves, how they got into the caption contest, and the creation of the podcast. As discussed in this episode, you can purchase original cartoons at Curated Cartoons. www.curatedcartoons.com You can also buy original work from Drew Dernavich and Nesja Press below. www.nesjapress.com/shop/p/bagel-story-letterpress-print On Part 1 of the e...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Artist, Jenny Kroik. Jenny talks with us about her career as an illustrator and being featured in many national publications (including the New Yorker, of course)! We have a great discussion about art and what it means to be an artist. You can learn more about Jenny at her Website (and ask her about doing a private commission for you!) https://www.jennykroik.com Jenny is also hosting an Artist's retreat in Italy this September. If y...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, the latest CartoonStock contest and our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker. You can preorder Larry's upcoming book on the cartoon contest here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2T36QCZS5V4D4&keywords=lawrence+wood&qid=1699478163&sprefix=laurence+wood%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-2 The ...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview cartoonist, Will Santino. Will talks with us about becoming a New Yorker cartoonist, writing and his current passion, standup comedy. We also talk about his cartoons in the New Yorker and the process of being funny. You can see some of that process at Comedy On State, a comedy club in Madison, Wisconsin, where Will is developing his routine doing open mic nights (Sunday-Thursday). You can learn more about Will (and see one of his com...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview cartoonist Erika Sjule. Erika tells us that her need to draw has always been a part of her life. She has channeled it into zines, graphic novels and more recently, the New Yorker. She talks about her process from ideation to the final publication. We also talk about some of our favorite cartoons of hers. We also congratulate her on becoming a newly minted Mom! You can learn more about Erika at her website: https://www.erikasjule.com/...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview Marty Dundics. Marty is the founder of Humorist Media and editor-in-chief of Weekly Humorist magazine and also produces the podcasts "Talkward" and "The Cartoon Pad". He was also the creative director and editor-in-chief of National Lampoon and worked at 'The Late Show with David Letterman'. He's been busy and we get to talk with Marty about all his busyness! It's a lot of busyness, so it's an extra long podcast this week! You can fi...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview cartoonist David Ostow. David tells us about how he became a New Yorker Cartoonist (by the usual route of becoming an Architect first) and his current gig as a stay-at-home dad. We also talk about our favorite cartoons of his and end up talking about the proper storage of ketchup and butter (Dave reported back to us after the podcast that the butter was in the fridge and there was no sign of ketchup anywhere). You can learn mor...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview cartoonist Brooke Bourgeois. Brooke has had an interesting journey on her way to becoming a New Yorker cartoonist: Harvard, neurobiology, Second City Improv, Scotland, Edinburgh Fringe, a MA in Children's Book Illustration... A very eventful journey! You can find more about Brooke at her website: https://www.brookeabourgeois.com And you can learn more about her upcoming children's book, "Penelope’s Balloons" and preorder it here: h...
On part 2 of this week's episode, we interview cartoonist Justin Sheen. Justin talks with us about how he became a cartoonist, his influences and the methods and techniques of creating his cartoons. You can find Justin's cartoons at his website: https://justinsheencartoonist.com On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss... The winning captions for New Yorker contest #880 (Repent Harlequin said the Ticktockman. Your session ends in five minutes). Finalists for contest #882 (I ...
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, the latest CartoonStock contest and our favorite cartoons from this week’s issue of the New Yorker. You can preorder Larry's book on the cartoon contest here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2T36QCZS5V4D4&keywords=lawrence+wood&qid=1699478163&sprefix=laurence+wood%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-2 Preorder Ashe...
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