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MPR News Staff

Lizz Winstead's 'Hilarious, Tragic Review of 2015'

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Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead, co-creator and former head writer for The Daily Show, is in town this week for her annual show.
Courtesy of Lizz Winstead

Newsmakers take cover. Lizz Winstead is about to unleash her annual "year in review" show.

The Minnesota-born comedian, best known for co-creating "The Daily Show," will be skewering the biggest stories of the year tonight and tomorrow at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.

The show, "Lizz Miserables: A Hilarious, Tragic Review of 2015," will recap the year's winners and losers, according to Winstead. She joined MPR News host Tom Weber to talk about who will make the cut.

"I have 60 pages of material that I'm still culling," Winstead said, with only 8 hours left before the show. "That's three and a half hours and I have to cut it down to 75 minutes."

Minnesota will get plenty of the spotlight, she said, with Black Lives Matter, the lion-hunting dentist, the ongoing Catholic Archdiocese scandal and "the guy who caught the 57-inch muskie."

Then, of course, there are the presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump. ("I think he might have just replaced bed bugs as America's number one pest," Winstead joked.)

The show is also a time to remind people of the stories they've forgotten, she said. A second British royal baby was born. Bristol Palin also had a second baby. Two prisoners broke out of a New York State prison and sparked a massive manhunt. These fleeting headlines will come back to meet Winstead's wit.

Winstead reminisced about the vibrant 1980s Minnesota comedy scene where she started her career. There was everyone from Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold (who once borrowed her car to grab food and didn't come back for days, she said), to Al Franken ("My God, he's a senator," she said).

When asked if Winstead ever considered channeling her political insights into a government office, she laughed.

"I would never run for public office. I don't have the discipline. I am effective when I can call it as I see it, using language that it not suitable for public office — or the radio."

To hear the full interview with Lizz Winstead, use the audio player above.

If you go

Lizz Winstead's show, "Lizz Miserables: A Hilarious, Tragic Review of 2015", will be at the Cedar Cultural Center tonight and tomorrow.