Jason Zinoman

The number of times Ive seen a critic mention the opinion of "purists" and it not result in straw man is very small.

David Cale is one of our great solo artists. Read EV's rave.

Cold take: Last House on the Left gets exactly as much respect as it deserves. And much more than it wants.

Why Arguments About Free Speech Don’t Apply to the Riyadh Comedy Festival

NYT critic @jasonzinoman.bsky.social on the contradictions of the Riyadh Comedy Festival: “It’s hard to see [Dave] Chappelle signing a contract to perform at a university only if he agreed to state his pronouns at the start of the set.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/a...

Why Arguments About Free Speech Don’t Apply to the Riyadh Comedy Festival

Terrific, complex piece by @jasonzinoman.bsky.social about the Riyadh Comedy Festival: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/a...

Why Arguments About Free Speech Don’t Apply to the Riyadh Comedy Festival

Update to this piece which came out this AM: Human Rights Watch said it will not take a donation from Aziz Ansari, emphasized it did not call for a boycott, but did urge comics to call for release of imprisoned activists.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/a...

What Clowns! (That’s a Compliment)

I explore why clowns are everywhere. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/a...

You can now search the Anthropic database for your books 📚 and then file a claim directly if your work was stolen: secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup

Lesbian Stand-Up Comedian Jessica Kirson Expresses “Sincere Regret” for Riyadh Comedy Festival Performance Though she requested a guarantee that she could be “openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material,” Kirson is apologizing to fans and confirms she will donate her fee to a human rights org...

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.

And here is my latest.

open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...

10/1/62: Johnny's 1st tonight show
Sure, you can say he was post-rat pack, middle of the road, medium cool - I know I did
But he was a rock, and a master of his craft
Nice take via @jasonzinoman.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/a...

Second night too

When Shane Gillis Takes the High Road Over Bill Burr ...

Shane Gillis turned down the Saudi comedy festival. www.pajiba.com/news/shane-g...

Yep. And the way the writer discusses Star Wars is how I feel about Alien (and the TV show)

‘One Battle After Another’ Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Rallying Cry

Wow, this is a fiercely eloquent @manohladargis.bsky.social review that will get you to the theater. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/m...

"Critics who have been incessantly saying that late night no longer matters are going to need to catch up. The government doesn’t go after entertainers because they are irrelevant."

Great piece by @jasonzinoman.bsky.social:

In Austin TX celebrating the 20th anniversary of MASTERS OF HORROR at the 20th anniversary of Fantastic Fest! With Joe Dante, Don Coscarelli, Ernest Dickerson and Fangoria editor Phil Nobile, Jr.!

Yup

I'm sure this has been mentioned but, back in 2003, ABC's first choice for the late-night job was Jon Stewart.

But ABC felt Stewart was too "topical"/political, especially for the network of Roseanne and Home Improvement. So they went with Kimmel. And here we are. www.nytimes.com/2002/11/03/m...

Thank you! And for the reminder. It's wild that the guy at the center of the biggest political controversy of the year in comedy was picked because...he wasn't political. Alt time lines where Stewart gets the job are fascinating to consider.

Woah. This hot take makes me at least want to see it.

Means a lot from you, Ben. Thx

He was a good talking head on that cnn doc on the history

Johnny Carson and the Fantasy of America

Interesting on Virtel. I could also see it coming from Kimmel who does revere the form of late night. And yes about Johnny. As i say in this piece, his rep for being apolitical has become overstated. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/a...

How Did Late-Night Get So Political? It Didn’t Start With Trump

I thought Ross Douthat's recent explanation of how late night became more political was off. So I dug into the history. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/a...

Great exit line for sure

YouTube video by Random TV and News Archives Jack paar returns to the Tonight Show [partial Higher quality footage] (March 7, 1960)

Familiar?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrhQ...

YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live Jimmy Kimmel is Back!

ABC has posted the first 28 minutes of @jimmykimmellive.bsky.social

WATCH:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1tj...

How David Letterman Changed Late Night Jimmy Kimmel’s passionate and surprisingly political account of his newborn son’s emergency heart surgery has gone viral this week. It’s hard to...

[gulp] I confess I did (and survived!). During an earlier Kimmel news cycle. Sometimes you have to promote your book LOL. Isaac is actually a very sweet soul who is terribly good at his job. slate.com/news-and-pol...

If the goal was to "avoid further inflaming a tense situation," well, really nice job.