About the Program

"There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words." Dorothy Parker

Minnesota Public Radio presented Wits™, a four part series at The Fitzgerald Theater from March - June, 2010. Wits™ brought in leading humor writers, satirists and storytellers to the stage of the historic theater to share their work and shed some light on a wide range of topics. The series is hosted by American Public Media radio host, McSweeney's contributor, author and humorist John Moe. Moe and his guests will wove (and unraveled) conversations around topics as wide-ranging as hard work, chickens, parenting and distraction. Wits' featured phone calls from special guests, musical guests on stage, and include readings -- poems, passages, quotes -- of works by our favorite clever dead guys, and some living ones, too.

John Munson, of The New Standards, was be on stage and on mic to underscore the shows with his upright bass and commentary. Minnesota Public Radio is not the only one that noticed John's musicality and on-stage wit. Jon Bream of the Star Tribune wrote, "New Standards bassist/singer John Munson is very funny." A handful of writers joined in on the conversations by phone. Enjoy John, John and some of the country's brightest wits for conversations and curveballs.

An American Public Media radio host, John Moe's work has been featured on APM's Marketplace, The Splendid Table, and Future Tense, in addition to NPR's Morning Edition, Day to Day and All Things Considered. Moe was host of APM's Weekend America when it was still in production and writer for NPR's news satire program Rewind. Moe has hosted several public radio programs dealing with the arts, politics, business, and technology at KUOW in Seattle and has been a guest host on Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning.

Author of "Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky" his writings have also been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Seattle Times, and humor anthologies including Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans. A longtime contributor to Dave Eggers' award-winning McSweeneys.net authoring the popular column "John Moe's Pop-Song Correspondences," Moe has also written video games, served as a Senior Editor at Amazon.com, and he sang in rock bands. Having lived in Minnesota only a couple of years, he wonders if God is trying to murder him in the winter. He can't skate but can sled okay.

Native Saint Paulite John Munson has been performing in the Twin Cities for 20 years. He was indoctrinated into the value of Minnesota Public Radio virtually from birth by his mom, Mary Jane. He wrote, sang and played in 90's cult favorites Trip Shakespeare as well as the multi-platinum selling hit-makers, Semisonic. His current projects include founding and playing bass with jazzy revisionists (and hosts of the wildly successful annual Holiday Show at The Fitzgerald!), The New Standards, and his latest rawk group, The Twilight Hours. He's quick to laugh which will make each Wits show go faster for those on the stage.

Wits is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund