Connections

National Comedy Center director talks about the state of jokes in 2025

By Evan Dawson,

Megan Mack, Elissa Orlando, Julie Williams

Published October 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM EDT

Two people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at left has long blonde hair and is wearing glasses and a long-sleeved black shirt; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a puffy navy vest over a white shirt. — Journey Gunderson with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Journey Gunderson, the executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, joins us in studio.

We discuss what's new in comedy — including the assertion from the President that comedians are not allowed to make jokes at his expense.

The national center is a trove of historical information, and this is not the first time that comedy has been targeted by people in power.

Our guest:

Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center

Connections

Evan Dawson

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.

See stories by Evan Dawson

Megan Mack

Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.

See stories by Megan Mack

Elissa Orlando

Elissa Orlando is a producer for “Connections with Evan Dawson.” She returns part-time to WXXI News after stepping back from a long career in public media and in translational science.

See stories by Elissa Orlando

Julie Williams

Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.

See stories by Julie Williams