Well. It's all over. This whole election business was a field day for cartoonists -- a field month, actually. Being a cartoonist has always seemed like such a cushy job. But, of course, it has its headaches and heartaches. This week on the show: life at the New Yorker, from the cartoonists' point of view. Sneak a peek at the fruits of their labor. Also, we'll have improvised comedy from Mark O'Donnell and David Rakoff. And poets pay tribute to James Wright. You can listen in on The Next Big Thing.

Segment A:

What's the Next Big Thing?
Bill Griffith, creator of "Zippy the Pinhead"
New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast
Voice actor Jim Cummings

Cartoon Lunch
Cartoonist Marisa Acocella and the crew from the New Yorker dodge the groupies each week and find a quiet spot for lunch. And if you're sitting there listening and thinking: which one is Sam Gross and what do his cartoons look like? Check them out here, courtesy of the cartoonbank.com. Read bios of selected cartoonists.


Segment B:

The Chowhound
Jim Leff's craving, of all things, tofu.

Quite Early Morning
Sarah Smith, a guitar, a story. There are few people you'd pick to be stranded with in the middle of the sea. She just might be one of them.

Christmas Dinner
"Hi. Are you Greg?" Comedy improv with Mark O'Donnell and David Rackoff.

Segment C:

The Branch Will Not Break
Poets pay tribute to James Wright, who won the Pulitzer Prize and introduced to readers to such poets as Cesar Vallejo and Pablo Neruda. We also have "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio," read by the author.

This is RELIEF?
Essay by Host Dean Olsher.

Are you a good citizen?
See how you stack up with roving proctor Jule Gardner.

WNYC archives id: 8944