Away with Words

A “relentlessly hilarious, mercilessly self-aware, and consistently compassionate” journey into the Punderdome and other fields of competitive wordplay (Josh Gondelman, Emmy Award–winning comedy writer). When Joe Berkowitz witnessed his first Punderdome 3000 competition in Brooklyn, it felt wrong in the best way. Something impossible seemed to be happening. The kinds of jokes we learn to repress through social conditioning were not only being aired out in public—they were being applauded. A