Fear vs Funnies with Bob Eckstein and Lenore Skenazy

Welcome to The Funny Times Podcast—America's Funniest Newspaper, now in audio. This episode is coming to you in the midst of both Lent and Ramadan. If you are observing, we hope that it's been a meaningful time for you. Personally, rather than giving things up right now, I have been looking for ways to expand. I'm craving more connection, more laughter, more bold new ideas for how we joyfully resist tyranny together. It was also just the Jewish holiday of Purim. During the Purim spiel, a satirical re-telling of the story of Queen Esther, the audience jeers and shakes noisemakers every time the villain, Haman's, name is said out loud, literally drowning him out. This reminds me of noise demos - jocular protests where people gather outside ICE facilities and hotels where ICE agents are staying to make as much noise as possible. NO JUSTICE, NO SLEEP! This episode of the podcast accompanies our April 2026 issues. If you're a subscriber you should be receiving that issue of the paper around mid-March. It features cartoons about Earth Day, movies, bunnies, weather, alternate realities, and of course all the latest news that we laugh at to keep from screaming.  The April issue also has a story about Books from Lenore Skenazy and Sports from Bob Eckstein. We were lucky enough to talk with these two treasured contributors for the podcast.  Eckstein is a New York Times bestselling author, his most recent book Footnotes from the World's Most Fascinating Museums is a delight, and in addition to Funny Times his cartoons has been featured in the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times and MAD Magazine.  In addition to being a hilarious essayist, Lenore Skenazy is the founder of the Free-Range Parenting movement and coined a new holiday in 2010: "Take Our Children to the Park and Leave Them There Day."  You'll hear these two in conversation with Funny Times publisher Renae Lesser who invites them to examine broad themes of resilience, whether in art or in child-rearing. They consider how independence fuels creativity, why risk is essential to growth and how we can all foster confidence rather than fear.