E219 - How The Simpsons Reshaped American Comedy w/ Alan Siegel

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get much more content. Don’t forget to vote for AP in the 2025 Signal Awards! In a break from the (overtly) political, Derek and Danny are joined by The Ringer’s Alan Siegel to talk about his new book Stupid TV: Be More Funny, a cultural history of The Simpsons and how it changed American comedy. They discuss how a bunch of Harvard Lampoon alumni turned the show into art, the role of Fox and Rupert Murdoch in promoting a show that mocked them both, how Bart Simpson once terrified America’s parents (and George H.W. Bush), the show’s postmodern worldview, and the moment The Simpsons went from anti-establishment to establishment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices