Return of the Mic

LESS THAN A WEEK into 2024, Katt Williams went on a podcast and laid waste to the world. Speaking on Club Shay Shay, the entertainment show hosted by pro-football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, the comedian aired grievances and let loose on his long career while taking shots at an expansive list of targets, from Kevin Hart ("No one in Hollywood has a memory of a sold-out Kevin Hart show") to Cedric the Entertainer (whom he accused of stealing jokes) to Harvey Weinstein (the disgraced producer "offered to suck my penis in front of all my people at my agency").
Lasting almost three hours, the episode has been viewed more than 70 million times on YouTube; Saturday Night Live built a whole sketch around the appearance; and some of Williams's strays are still rippling through the atmosphere, as his Diddy comments ("All lies will be exposed") did when video evidence of the mogul physically assaulting his then-girlfriend, the singer Cassie, publicly emerged in May. The episode was such a cultural supernova that when Williams's comedy special Woke Foke dropped on Netflix a few months later, it felt like an anticlimax. He left it all on Club Shay Shay.
If the public face of podcasting was once thinky narrative shows vying for high-art legitimacy, these days it's chat and interview programs that hustle their way into your life. It's podcasts like Call Her Daddy, where Alex Cooper hunts for notoriety and headlines with buzzy bookings. It's Huberman Lab, where the pop scientist Andrew Huberman advises the masses to spend more time in the sun. It's the SmartLess trio (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes) palling around with three presidents (Clinton, Obama, Biden) in a bid to keep the dream of American neoliberalism alive.
Denne historien er fra June 17 - 30, 2024-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra June 17 - 30, 2024-utgaven av New York magazine.
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The Trouble With Men
Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber lead a pair of plays about master manipulators.

A CHINESE-BACKED SOAP-OPERA APP IS KEEPING L.A. ACTORS EMPLOYED
SECRET BILLIONAIRES. AGE-GAP MARRIAGES. PLENTY OF REVENGE.

The Odd Man Out Who's Always In
Michael Cera was made for the Wes Anderson cinematic universe.

The Young Fellows Ball
Nearly 700 fresh-faced supporters of the Frick Collection dressed up in a \"Porcelain Garden” theme to celebrate the museum's long-awaited reopening.

You Just Can't Top Vaseline
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Oops, I Muraled Again
A crafty couple in Jackson Heights cover their one-bedroom apartment in floor-to-ceiling color.

HOLLYWOOD HAS LEFT LOS ANGELES
FOR YEARS, STUDIOS FOUND IT CHEAPER TO SHOOT ELSEWHERE. AND NOW THAT THE INDUSTRY HAS COLLAPSED, ELSEWHERE IS THE ONLY PLACE THEY'LL SHOOT.

EVEN NETFLIX IS JEALOUS OF YOUTUBE
MANY LIKE TO PRETEND THEY DIDN'T SEE THE PLATFORM WINNING THE STREAMING WARS. INDUSTRY INSIDERS SAY OTHERWISE.

Food With Some Tooth
Bánh Anh Em's soups and sandwiches are chewy, crunchy, crispy, and crackly—usually all at once.

Abundant Populism
The GOP is closing in on a massive wealth transfer. Can Democrats unite their warring visions?