The Atlantic Festival: Is Free Speech Funny?
The Atlantic has been publishing since 1857, but its annual festival feels freshly urgent. At the Perelman Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan, the magazine convened generals, politicians, journalists, and cultural figures for a day of conversations about the state of the nation and the future of truth. The marquee names were plentiful: former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, former Vice President Mike Pence, comedian W. Kamau Bell, actor Richard Ayoade, and others. But the heart of the day came not from Washington insiders nor celebrity pundits. It came from a late-night comedian and a Pulitzer-Prize–winning playwright.
David Letterman walked onto the stage with the crowd expecting mischief and stories. Instead, they got a bracing warning. Letterman spoke with a seriousness that surprised even longtime fans, defending political satire as a vital civic space — one now under pressure. His mix of indignation and absurdist humor gave the festival its most electric moment.
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