Starcast Join the waitlist
On with Kara Swisher

On with Kara Swisher

Cartoons, Capitalism & Censorship: Alison Bechdel & Ann Telnaes on Politics in Art

Aug 25, 2025 · 59m

Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.

On this episode

About this episode

How do artists hold the powerful to account? Graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes have been grappling with that question for decades, in their own very different ways. Bechdel is the creator of the seminal comic strip, “Dykes to Watch out For,” which she self-syndicated for 25 years. She’s also the author and illustrator of four graphic novels, including “Fun Home,” which was adapted into a five-time Tony-winning Broadway musical. She is a professor at Yale, and her latest book is Spent. Telnaes is a two-time Pulitzer winner and the winner of the Herb Block Prize for editorial cartooning in 2023. Earlier this year, she made international headlines after…