Comedy Trends
Where comedy is heading: formats, platforms, venues and the business behind them.
The Ethics of Comedy
Every joke has a target, a room and a reason. A clear-eyed guide to the philosophy, the real controversies and the working tests comedians use to decide whether a joke is worth the cost.
Comedy and the Environment
The climate crisis is not funny. The way we talk about it, sell it and fail to act on it often is. A guide to the sketches, films and satire that get it right.
How Comedians Make Money
Almost no comedian lives on one income stream. Here is how the money actually works, from the unpaid open mic to the self-released special, and why owning your audience now matters more than any single deal.
Comedy and Activism: Real Cases
Jokes rarely pass laws. Comedians sometimes do. A field guide to the campaigns, benefits and stunts where comedy stopped commenting on the world and tried to fix part of it.
Does Comedy Change Minds?
Comedians love to claim they move the culture. Researchers have spent twenty years testing that claim. The answer is yes, sometimes, slowly, and rarely in the way the comedian intended.
2025 Comedy Trends, Revisited
A year when late night wobbled, specials went free and comedians argued about Saudi money. We look back at what really shaped comedy in 2025, and check how each trend played out.
Comedy Trends 2026
No blockchain ticketing, no VR clubs. These are the verified changes in how comedy is made, released and paid for in 2026, with the specials, shows and events that prove them.
AI and Comedy: Can Machines Be Funny?
From 1990s pun generators to an AI Seinfeld banned from Twitch and a fake George Carlin special, here is what actually happened when comedy met artificial intelligence, and why the writers' guild fought so hard over it.
Comedy on YouTube, TikTok and Beyond
Six-second loops, vertical crowd work and subway hot takes. How platforms shaped the comedy made for them, what clip culture costs comedians, and where the next wave is coming from.
Alt Comedy in the 2020s
The decade began with every stage dark and Bo Burnham alone in a room. Six years on, alt comedy lives in theatres, phones and tiny rooms all at once. A running history, current as of October 2026.
Alt Comedy Timeline, 1953 to 2026
From a man with a newspaper at the hungry i to a special premiering on YouTube, here are the moments that shaped alternative comedy, decade by decade.
Comedy Podcasts: The Guide
Improvised characters, garage interviews, friends riffing, deep-dive investigations and audio sketch. How each kind works, which shows do it best, and who pays for it all.
Earwolf & Comedy Bang! Bang!
An internet radio slot in 2009, a network in 2010, a $325 million sale in 2020 and a quiet rebrand in 2025. The story of Earwolf, and the improvised character show at its heart.
The Economics of Alt Comedy
Alternative comedy has always been subsidised by someone: the bar, the performer, the student, the platform. An analysis of where the money comes from, where it goes, and what that does to the work.
The Evolution of Stand-Up
Every era of stand-up was shaped by where it was performed and who decided what got seen. Follow the form from music-hall monologues to the vertical video, and see where alternative comedy fits in.
The Rise of Micro-Venues
Thirty folding chairs, one mic and a speaker you borrowed from a friend. Small, temporary rooms have always been where alternative comedy starts, and since 2020 they've become the scene itself.
The Visual Evolution of Alt Comedy
From The Young Ones' punk squat to Tim and Eric's fried VHS and the single room of Inside, alt comedy has always used the look of television against itself. A guided tour of the aesthetics.