464. The Edge of the Authoritarian Abyss with Ann Telnaes & Patrick Chappatte, The Value of Human Skills, & Why “Imperfection” is the New Premium Feature.
Plus! The F-Word and the End of the Joke, Michigan bound, & Morris gets his fart on.
Thank god it’s…
Hey again, friend.
Welcome to Issue #464 of New York Cartoons. As I’m writing this, Morris is snoring loudly in a blanket on the ground, farting intermittently, then looking up at me for a reaction.
Also, a massive welcome to the hundreds of new faces who found their way here after the Ann Telnaes & Patrick Chappatte stream.
If you are new here, I am Jason, this is New York Cartoons, and I usually try to send these updates out weekly. (Keyword: try. Life comes at you fast, usually in the form of a deadline or a dog needing a walk/poop). Since I last landed in your inbox, I have written approximately 4,000 words on everything from the politics of trash to the existential dread of AI, so I figured I would save you some scrolling. Here is the rapid-fire catch-up of everything you might have missed while you were busy living your actual lives:
Drawing on the Edge of the Authoritarian Abyss with Ann Telnaes & Patrick Chappatte
I had a great chat yesterday with my friends Ann Telnaes and Chappatte Cartoons about everything from creeping authoritarianism to the dehumanisation of immigrants. It was a very important chat, and I think you’ll enjoy it. (Live streams are free, replays are paywalled).
Also:
The Odds on Truth. Substack recently partnered with the prediction market Polymarket, which feels a bit like a librarian dating a day trader. I wrote about why this weird marriage might actually be a good thing for independent writers… or is it?
The F-Word and the End of the Joke. I stopped being polite about the terminology we use for the current political climate. This is an essay about why satire is getting harder, why the stakes are getting higher, and why we need to stop being afraid to call authoritarianism by its real name.
The Slow Burn of Mastery. In an age where a machine can learn chess in four hours, why bother spending 10,000 hours mastering anything? I revisited Daniel Kahneman’s work to argue that the value of art isn’t in the result, but in the struggle it took to get there.
The End Will Be Hallucinated. The Doomsday Clock is ticking, but the thing that kills us probably won’t be a T-800 Terminator—it’ll be a chatbot that read a weird Reddit thread from 2014. I wrote about why we shouldn’t spend our final seconds doom-scrolling.
The Leaning Tower of Refuse. We are currently living through the “Trash Revolution” here in NYC, which mostly involves dodging black plastic monoliths that smell like fermented papaya. I wrote a love letter to the new municipal sport of “hopscotching over bin juice” and why the rats seem to be the only ones winning.
The Future Isn’t Polished. It’s Fingerprinted. I read the 2026 Trend Reports so you don’t have to, and the verdict is in: in a world of slick, AI-generated slop, people are craving things that look like they were made by actual human hands. I wrote about why “imperfection” is the new premium feature.
Why Hanlon’s Razor is the Only Thing Keeping Me Sane. I got a nasty email from a reader accusing me of a hate crime I didn’t commit (a classic Tuesday). It inspired this essay on why we need to stop assuming malice when simple coincidence—or stupidity—will do. It’s a plea to put down the pitchforks and take a breath.
See You in the Mitten! Michigan is about to get a whole lot funnier (or at least, more Australian). I announced that I’ll be performing at the Traverse City Comedy Fest in 2026. If you’re in the area, come say hi. I’ll be the one complaining about the cold.
One Sunday, Two Roasts I found two families in New York on the same day: one built around a roast lamb at an Australian pub, and one built around verbal abuse at a comedy club. I wrote about the specific intimacy of insults and gravy.
If you want to support my work, please take out a premium subscription (just $1 per week).
The Sketchbook I’m sharing with you this week is a commission I got from a reader: an original hand-drawn pencil sketch of their favourite bar. If you ever want me to draw you something, drop me a line. (or just reply to this email.)
One of the best shows in town, Yikes! Comedy is back at Flophouse Comedy Club next week on February 24th @ 8pm with an incredible lineup: Because they know the price of eggs is currently higher than my blood pressure, they’re offering 50% off tickets if you use the code YIKES224 at checkout. Come hang out, have a drink, and watch comedy that doesn’t ask you to leave a comment or click ‘like’. Ticket Link.
I caught up with my friend, Beth Spencer for a live drawing conversation where we covered everything from drawing Muppets to Dogs & Cats.
I also caught up with my longtime fellow cartoonist friend Alex Hallatt to talk about AI and its effects on our work and industry. The technology is crossing a line, and we talked all about it…
If you’re new here, or you haven’t had a moment to wander back through the archives of profound genius I’ve shared up to this point, take a peek at the following scribblings:
Silencing the Court Jesters.
I know, I know. I’m meant to be funny on here— It’s a humorous newsletter and I’m supposed to distract you from the boundless horrors of the world. But if you’ll indulge me for one day, I want to talk about something close to my heart. I promise I’ll return to drawing silly cartoons about New York tomorrow.
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Jason, the interview with Ann Telnaes and Patrick Chapatte was great. I especially loved Ann wielding her heavy weight animation wheel, and urging the press to do their job about the upcoming primaries. Fun fact about Ann and I: on October 15, 2000, we were recorded at the now defunct Newseum in Washington DC for a discussion called "Inside Media with Six Chix". (Ann was briefly part of the Six Chix comic strip). We were hosted by The Freedom Forum, an organization that still exists. If I recall correctly (good luck finding a VHS player to watch it on) Ann was talking about pretty much the same things she did with you. The fact that she is still drawing and still has a sense of humor is inspiring, and I thank you for hosting her.
Delighted to see two photos of Morris!