Regarding the writers’ strike, Slate thinks The Daily Show is a terrific case study in just how bad the strike is going to be and to get: “While a Grey’s Anatomy rerun is a bummer only if you’ve already seen that episode, a Daily Show rerun is the television equivalent of a day-old newspaper. It’s birdcage liner.” 

But fear not!  “A five-year-old episode of The Daily Show, on the other hand, is pure gold […]”  I used think all comedy was liable to spoil, like milk, after a while (why classical Greek comedy is no longer very funny, for example), but this article has me thinking otherwise.  Thank you, internet.

There are so many essays and articles on the writers’ strike, and they’re mildly informative and mostly boring.  But this short essay from The New Yorker, “Why We Strike,” may be worth your time. 

We are not in this for the money. Management would have you believe that we all make $200,000 a year. That’s funny. We wouldn’t even eat something that cost $200,000, unless it was actually $200,000, drizzled with truffle oil, the way Silvio makes it. Yum. The only reason we require payment at all is so we can support those little people we keep telling you about-the assistants, amanuenses, baristas, Rolfers, scarf carriers, and erotic muses we need to create our art. Oh, and our babies. And various charities.

It is, after all, in the humor section.  And it’s written by a real writer.