Jon Stewart’s smart satire makes watching The Daily Show one of our favorite things to do in bed. But it’s a little-known fact that the show owes much of its sassy vibe to Minnesota-born humorist Lizz Winstead, who, with Madeleine Smithberg, co-created the show. Winstead still works the comedy circuit, performing one-woman shows such as Don’t Get Me Started and Stream of Consciousness that get personal on touchy topics, and she’s also appeared on programs like Politically Incorrect and Air America’s Unfiltered. She’s at home anywhere she has an opportunity to lampoon and dissect the news of the day, which is why we permitted her to bring item #1 to The Rake’s deserted island; her powers of creativity are fueled by current events, and it just wouldn’t be fair to cut her off.
1. I would have to bring a computer that would give me Internet access. I need to read Slate and listen to NPR every day. I’m a total news junkie, and I have to keep up with what’s going on in the world.
2. Would a Scrabble board be a ridiculous thing to bring if I was by myself? But I love Scrabble. I play a lot of Scrabble, and I always have. I like the strategy of it. Even if you lose, you achieve your personal best just by being strategic and paying attention. I’m competing with myself, not with the other person. But hey, with my computer, I can play Scrabble on the Internet.
3. My dog, Edie. She’s a rescued collie-shepherd mix. She would provide the most joy I could possibly have on the island. She and I could go swimming, and she’d tell me all her secrets. She’s named after Edie from the documentary Grey Gardens [about the deteriorating cousins of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy]. In the movie, there’s a little Edie and a big Edie; my dog is little Edie and I’m big Edie.
4. A family photograph of my siblings—I’m the youngest of five—singing to my parents on their fiftieth anniversary.
5. I like crappy coffee. It keeps me not broke. In New York I buy coffee from the men who have coffee carts on the streets for a dollar, and I think it’s delicious. Other people think it’s not so great. And I’d bring a bottle of Oban Scotch.
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