Meet Madeleine
Madeleine Smithberg earned three Peabody’s and an Emmy Award for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, which she co-created and ran as executive producer for seven years. During her time at TDS she hired Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Mo Rocca based on her legendary gut for talent, and was instrumental in bringing onboard Jon Stewart, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry, and Lewis Black, among others. The format that she and her team built more than 30 years ago helped change the way college students get their news and is still as relevant today as it has ever been.
Before that, she spent six years as a talent coordinator, then producer, for NBC’s original Late Night with David Letterman, which she considers her “comedy graduate school.” The segment featuring a rhesus monkey in a blue satin dress attacking David Letterman may be the high point of her career.
As a producer, Madeleine has spent the past four decades making other people funny. Now it is time for her to tell us how she’s done it.
Meet Betsy
Betsy is an acclaimed author and longtime freelancer who lives near Boston.
She calls Mad the most influential woman in late-night comedy you’ve probably never heard of, and she hopes to help remedy the latter.
While reclining comfortably on her couch every weekday at 4 pm, a kombucha or decaf close at hand, Betsy has had the time of her life co-writing the memoir of one of her favorite people in the world. Sharing recipes quickly became a thing. She laughs constantly when she’s working with Mad and she knows how lucky she is to be in this position (lying down) (and writing with Mad).
Betsy’s own book, The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World (Algonquin 2008), received a starred review from and earned a cover story in Publishers Weekly, was Family Circle's Book Pick of the Month, the Progressive Book Club's Staff Pick, and was featured in Everyday with Rachael Ray, Boston Globe and The Washington Post. Betsy spoke about it regionally and nationally, in person and on the radio.