Political comedy & satire in campaign season
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Hour 2
Thick in the thrall of election ads and political coverage, we ask: What’s so funny? We’re in a golden age of political satire, with millions of viewers tuning in to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for news and laughs, and we’re in a hyperpartisan age of politics itself, with a polarized electorate agreeing on very little except their distaste for most if not all political ads. In her new book, “A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political Humor,” Shippensburg University political scientist ALISON DAGNES explores whether popular political comedy is biased, and why there are so few popular conservative political comics. We’ll also hear from DANNAGAL YOUNG, University of Delaware expert on mass communication, politics and entertainment, and media effects, and an improvisational comedian who performs with the improv troupe ComedySportz Philadelphia.
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[audio: 091912_110630.mp3]
Photo Credit: AP Images
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