New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast

Olivia Pecini joins us on the podcast this week.
Olivia had her first cartoon appear in the print issue of the New Yorker a few weeks ago (she's also had a Daily cartoon and illustrated a couple of Shouts & Murmurs). She is also a talented illustrator and works in animation. 
We talk with her about her creative career and how she got onto the New Yorker. We also get sidetracked by the Major League Baseball playoffs. 

On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #1004 (Chess Boarder Collie.)

Finalists for contest #1006 (Up Scales Therapy.)

Current New Yorker contest #1008 (Bar Fly Ball)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Frequent Caption Contest finalist, John Konno joins us on the podcast this week.
John (or a member of his family) has been a finalist in the New Yorker contest five times and more times than we can count in the CartoonStock contest (he's been the top winner in the last two contests). We talk with him about the how he got into entering the contests and he joins us in the contest discussions and our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker. 

The podcast was much saddened to learn of the passing of P.C. Vey this last week. Peter was a wonderfully talented cartoonist and appeared frequently in the New Yorker with many of his cartoons appearing in the caption contest. We hope to have a tribute podcast dedicated to him in the next few weeks.

We mention the Reverse Caption Contest and that the deadline to enter the current one is coming up soon. You can enter it here:
https://reversecaptioncontest.substack.com

We discuss the winning entry for Contest #1003 (Frozen treat meet.)

Finalists for Contest #1005 (Shotgun Shell Station marriage.)

Current Contest #1007 (Wolfgang Pork.)

Original New Yorker cartoon artwork can be found at:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Michael Maslin returns to the podcast to talk some more about cartoons, process, motivation and the contests. We get into a great discussion on a new trend in humor that we're calling "shared experience". 

You can find Michael's Ink Spill Substack here:
https://michaelmaslinsinkspill.substack.com

Liza Donnelly's documentary , "Women Laughing", is starting to be shown in theaters. You can find where it's playing and learn more about it here:
https://www.womenlaughingfilm.com

Rusty Epstein's Reverse Caption Contest can be found here:
https://www.reversecaptioncontest.com

We also discuss the New Yorker Caption Contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #1002 (Monkey Showbusiness.)

Finalists for contest #1004 (Some hair of the dog that checkmated you?)

Current New Yorker contest #1006 (Godzilla Complex.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Bob Mankoff returns to the podcast for a fifth time. We talk with him about the changes to the CartoonStock contest, The recent decision by Air Mail to no longer publish cartoons in its weekly digital magazine and the current state of AI and it's ability to be funny. 
The co-hosts have a lively discussion on the current New Yorker contests and Paul, once again, digs in the gutter for another caption idea.

Here's the link to the games page at CartoonStock:
https://www.cartoonstock.com/games/

On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #1001 (Scared slickless.)

Finalists for contest #1003 (Freezer burn to be wild.)

Current New Yorker contest #1005 (The Bride & Groom get tanked.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Larry Wood joins us this week to talk about the contests and cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.
We have some great discussions and disagreements on the finalists for the New Yorker and CartoonStock contests. Humor is very subjective!

We discuss the winning entry for Contest #1000 (Rocky Swords Picture Show.)

Finalists for Contest #1002 (Singin' in the Rain Barrel of Monkeys.)

Current Contest #1004 (Hello Doggy, Checkmate!)

Be sure to enter the latest CartoonStock Caption Contest with the new rules! The more people who enter, the bigger the cash prize and you can buy more than three captions!

https://www.cartoonstock.com/caption-contest/current

Buy Larry's book here at a new low price:
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407

You can find the Reverse Caption Contest here:
https://reversecaptioncontest.substack.com

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  [email protected]

Guy Richards Smit joins us on the podcast this week. 
Guy has followed his muse down many paths: art, music, video production and most recently, gag cartooning. His art has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, The Hirshhorn Museum and The Pompidou Center among many other museums and galleries. 
His first cartoon was published in the New Yorker in 2022 and he has had many published since then in the magazine and the Daily cartoons.
We talk with him about his career, cartoons and recent projects.

You can find his cartoons on his instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/guy_richards_smit/

Learn more about his illustrations from the World Series of Poker:
https://www.poker.org/latest-news/cartoonist-guy-richards-smit-finds-art-in-pokers-smallest-moments-aXXr98K1Jlpz

Attend his Gag Cartooning workshop this October:
https://workshops.artstudentsleague.org/course/Smit-WS-The-Gag-Cartoon_cd_6448_7619

Buy his original cartoons and prints here:
https://www.hawkandhive.com/guyrichardssmit

You can also buy more of his artwork here:
https://www.artsy.net/artist/guy-richards-smit

Guy’s art will also be at the Charlie James Gallery in November (not on their schedule yet):
https://www.cjamesgallery.com

On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #999 (Elephant has left the building.)

Finalists for contest #1001 (Snail Shell Hell.)

Current New Yorker contest #1003 (Formal popsicle stand.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

John Klossner returns to the podcast to talk some more about cartoons, Children's book illustrations, his stint doing the Caption Contest Commentary for Beth's facebook group and puns. We really dig into puns on this one (fair warning).

Here are the links to the books John worked on:
Smalltown City
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZQM2ZBM?lv
Everyone's Trash
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942155778?lv

And some links to other Caption contests that John contributes cartoons to:
https://moderncat.com/cartooncaption/
https://moderndogmagazine.com/cartooncaption/

Last, but not least, some Maine themed merchandise that uses John's illustrations (it's also his website, so go ahead and poke around in it!):
https://www.jklossner.com/moose-merch


On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #998 (Catch as cat canoe.)

Finalists for contest #1000 (Don't do it, Arthur, you'll be swordy.)

Current New Yorker contest #1002 (Monkey see, monkey doo doo da ron.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Olivia Noble joins us on the podcast this week. Olivia Started submitting her cartoons to the New Yorker through Submittable in 2024 and had her first Cartoon published in the magazine in September, 2025. She has had a second cartoon published since than and has had a cartoon appear in a recent caption contest.
We talk with Olivia about her journey to becoming a New Yorker cartoonist, her process, cartoons and the never ending thrills of copy editing.
She hopes to have a webpage or at least an instagram presence very soon so that people can find her cartoons!

On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #997 (Up, up and a subway!)

Finalists for contest #999 (Send the pachyderm packing.)

Current New Yorker contest #1001 (He who snailt it, dealt it.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]

Larry Wood joins us this week to talk about the contests and cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.
We were all pretty much in agreement with the New Yorker contests, but the podcast gang did take Larry to task for some of the Cartoon Stock picks. Larry was able to defend his personal picks, but could offer no defense for the other judge's picks (he actually agreed with us for a change). 
Larry also states that he thinks his caption for New Yorker Contest #1000 is one of the best he's come up with. We'll see how that works out!

We discuss the winning entry for Contest #996 (Hot doggin' it.)

Finalists for Contest #998 (I'm the catpun of this boat.")

Current Contest #1000 ("Take a sword, leave a sword.")

Be sure to enter the latest CartoonStock Caption Contest with the new rules! The more people who enter, the bigger the cash prize and you can buy more than three captions!

https://www.cartoonstock.com/caption-contest/current

Buy Larry's book here at a new low price:
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407

You can find the Reverse Caption Contest here:
https://reversecaptioncontest.substack.com

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  [email protected]

Rusty Epstein joins us on the podcast this week. Rusty's cartoons have appeared in The Weekly Humorist, The Times and other magazines and will soon be published in the Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker (he recently received an "O.K.", but it has not been published yet). We talk with Rusty abbot his journey to becoming a cartoonist, his process and the challenge of tracking where you've submitted your cartoons.
He has also created and runs the Reverse Caption Contest, a contest where he supplies the caption and you supply the cartoon image. 
You can find the contest here:
https://reversecaptioncontest.substack.com

On Part 1 of the episode, we discuss the current contests:

Winning captions for New Yorker contest #995 (Shell Shock Soccer.)

Finalists for contest #997 (Upsy Daisy Pass.)

Current New Yorker contest #999 (The elephant in the room Caption has left the building.)

We also talk about our favorite cartoons from the current issue of the New Yorker.

Now Voyager is a new magazine featuring many of the cartoonists from the New Yorker. You can check out their website here:
https://nowvoyagermag.com

You can buy original New Yorker cartoon art at Curated Cartoons:
https://www.curatedcartoons.com

The home for all things to do with cartoon caption contests:
https://humororama.lol

Send us questions or comments to:  
[email protected]