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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    'Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead' Looks at National Lampoon

    Saturday Night Live begins its 41st season this weekend, but there may have never have been an SNL if not for the National Lampoon. The outrageous satire magazine was founded by two Harvard students in 1969 and expanded into live shows, a radio show, records and finally, movies. Many of the people we know from SNL cut their teeth at the Lampoon.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Oct 2, 2015 • 1 min read

    Saturday Night Live begins its 41st season this weekend, but there may have never have been an SNL if not for the National Lampoon. The outrageous satire magazine was founded by two Harvard students in 1969 and expanded into live shows, a radio show, records and finally, movies. Many of the people we know from SNL cut their teeth at the Lampoon. And even though it’s been gone for two decades, echoes of the magazine and its spin-offs still reverberate through the American comedy scene.

    The full episode

    4 of 4
    Gun Laws, 1965 Immigration Act, and Looking Back At National Lampoon
    1. 0:00Do Gun Laws Target The Right People?
    2. 12:41The Massive Impact of the 1965 Immigration Act
    3. 20:57Film Roundup: 'The Martian' and More
    4. 34:45'Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead' Looks at National LampoonYou’re reading this
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jolie Myers

      Managing Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Al Jean

      showrunner, 'The Simpsons'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Janis Hirsch

      National Lampoon

    • KCRW placeholder

      Douglas Tirola

      director, 'Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead'

      News

    The full episode

    4 of 4
    Gun Laws, 1965 Immigration Act, and Looking Back At National Lampoon
    1. 0:00Do Gun Laws Target The Right People?
    2. 12:41The Massive Impact of the 1965 Immigration Act
    3. 20:57Film Roundup: 'The Martian' and More
    4. 34:45'Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead' Looks at National LampoonYou’re reading this
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand