stand-up comedy - The Atlantic

stand-up comedy

Stand-Up Comedy, All Joking Aside

January 9, 2026

A man in a blue button down and khakis stands in front of a microphone with a brick wall and a sign reading 'Comedy Cellar' behind him

I Watched Stand-Up in Saudi Arabia

October 16, 2025

a photo collage of Louis CK, a palm tree, and a scene from the Riyadh Comedy Festival

The One Big Change SNL Is Making

October 1, 2025

Collage of the new cast members of "Saturday Night Live," with Lorne Michaels

The Invention of Judd Apatow

Adrienne LaFrance

October 2025 Issue

Color photo of Judd Apatow at a cluttered desk with his head in his right hand hand, with bookshelves behind him.

Marc Maron Has Some Thoughts About That

August 2, 2025

Marc Maron performing

The Late-Night Experiment That Puts Comedy First

April 7, 2025

There’s Nothing Else Like Netflix’s Mo

March 12, 2025

Yusra and Mo lay down on the floor together, their heads on two pillows.

Saturday Night Live Played the Wrong Greatest-Hits Reel

Esther Zuckerman

February 17, 2025

Still from the "SNL" 50th-anniversary special

The Unfunny Man Who Believes in Humor

February 10, 2025

Photo of Lorne Michaels with pink and yellow sketched lines

What Really Works About SNL

October 6, 2024

Four men on a boat in Revolutionary War clothing with an old American flag and a deep-blue stage backdrop

What Ellen DeGeneres Isn’t Hearing Over All the Applause

September 26, 2024

Ellen DeGeneres sits in her dressing room.

How Joe Rogan Remade Austin

October 2024 Issue

collage of two photos of Joe Rogan's face, one red and one blue, superimposed over a map of the city of Austin, Texas

Sorry/Not Sorry and the Paradox of Louis C.K.

July 14, 2024

Hacks Goes for the Jugular

May 2, 2024

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) backstage before hosting a late-night show on 'Hacks'

The Godfather of American Comedy

Adrienne LaFrance

June 2024 Issue

detail from black-and-white photo of Albert Brooks with film equipment on set

Comedians Only Care About Comedy

November 2023 Issue

Illustration of dots revealing black-and-white photos of Hannah Gadsby, Dave Chappelle, and Louis C.K. along with solid black and white dots on red background

No, Really, I’m Awful

April 26, 2023

The comedian John Mulaney onstage with a microphone in his hand

The Fury of Chris Rock

March 6, 2023

Chris Rock dressed in all-white onstage holding a microphone

Norm Macdonald Wanted Laughter, Not Applause

September 15, 2021

Norm Macdonald performing in 2017