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The New Yorker Daily Humor

Funny This Month: August 2026

John Early in “Maddie’s Secret” | Photograph from Magnolia Pictures / Everett

Cat Cohen


Well, well, well—is it just me, or did August slip away like a bottle of wine? Or was it never mine? Like a true Leo, I was busy laughing at my own jokes all month over at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, where I fear the funniest thing that happened not involving me was when a drunk guy had to be escorted out, mid-show, after claiming he had arrived on a Blade helicopter. Goals! When not onstage, I’ve been turning inward by revisiting “folklore” and weeping gently to the new Phoebe Bridgers album. “I have no secrets, only feelings,” I scream to no one as I maneuver around the fro-yo lines snaking through the West Village. So, to collectively mourn the end of my birthday month, I’d like to share some things that have brought me levity during the last gasps of summer.

 

Now free from the “Love Island” death grip, I’m able to turn to other highbrow programs—namely, Bravo’s “The Valley,” which essentially follows the “Vanderpump Rules” cast (plus a few blessed randos) into their forties, as they try to grow up and become parents, while still very much behaving like children themselves. But one cannot watch “The Valley” without listening to its (unofficial, mandatory) companion podcast “SUP.” Sexy Unique Podcast is hosted by Lara Marie Schoenhals and Carey O’Donnell, two of the funniest people on earth, and their recaps of the show make me howl with laughter. From “glug-glug” to “serpent,” Lara and Carey are storytellers of the highest calibre. If you don’t like it, TRADE ME.

 

A couple of months ago, I was finally lucky enough to see John Early’s cinematic masterpiece “Maddie’s Secret,” a satirical dram-com that follows an up-and-coming food influencer struggling with an eating disorder . . .


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