In 2010, Minnesota Public Radio host John Moe created “Wits,” alongside his producer Larissa Anderson and music director John Munson. For five years, the live variety show and podcast hosted authors, musicians and comedians from across the country with the simple goal of making its audience laugh.
Now, almost 10 years after its cancellation in 2015, “Wits” is returning for another one-off show at the Fitzgerald Theatre on Tuesday, Sept. 30. With Moe and Munson reuniting with longtime friend of the show Paul F. Tompkins and a surprise musical guest, it’s almost like no time has passed since they first revived the show independently in 2019.
Moe took on the role of host of “Wits” two years after moving to Minnesota in 2008, still fresh to the musical scene of the Twin Cities.
“I always saw it as, we’re throwing a party,” Moe said. “I just happened to be the one up there on stage moving things along. But we’re all at the same party together.”
Grew and evolved
In its first season, “Wits” hosted former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and author Julia Sweeney, writer George Saunders, journalist Susan Orlean and author/actor John Hodgman. Author Neil Gaiman and actor Wil Wheaton also participated via phone. The show, which was distributed nationally by American Public Media, became a trending topic on social media.
From there, “Wits” evolved to include more sketches, games and musical performances.
These musical performances were led by Munson, who is best known as the bassist in Semisonic. He guided the musical aspect of the show, organizing and leading the musical talent through the live performances.
“Music was the thing that bound the show together, in my opinion,” Munson said.
Another force binding them together was producer Larissa Anderson, now the deputy director of the audio team at The New York Times. Anderson organized everything happening behind the scenes, spending the shows in the producer booth watching the show alongside the audience.
“I think it was just a really great group of people. From the people on stage, all the way to the engineers,” Anderson said. “Everybody was just wonderful.”
The engineering team had microphones placed throughout the audience to capture real time reactions to the show for the podcast and later broadcast.
“You could feel the energy in the room,” Anderson said. “We wanted people to feel like they were part of the show and that they were interacting.”
Canceled, not finished
Anderson left the show with its radio cancellation in 2015, but still visits when she can as an audience member. Most recently, she was able to bring her now teenage son to a performance after playing episodes for him throughout his childhood.
“We had such a good time,” Moe said. “It was more than an entertainment show to us and to our audience. It was a community experience.”
Since the cancellation of “Wits,” Moe continued to work at MPR until he was laid off in 2020. In response, he began his own podcasts, “Depresh Mode,” which centered on frank conversations about mental health, and “Sleeping with Celebrities,” a comedy sleep podcast. The show hosts celebrities talking about everyday topics as a sleep aid.
“I liked the idea of owning what I create. And I wasn’t done talking about mental health,” Moe said. “It’s still so taboo in our society. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to drag those conversations into the sunlight. It’s very meaningful work to me.”
Health scare
After “Wits,” Munson continued to make music and serve as a producer to Minnesota musicians.
But in February 2025, Munson suffered a stroke and, after treatment, entered an acute rehabilitation program to recover.
In response to this, family, friends and fans gathered at Munson Fest, a benefit concert hosted at the now familiar Fitzgerald Theater in May. The night was organized to raise money for his family as he recovered and to celebrate his musical career.
“It was really so magical, and fun and friendly, and everything I would want anyone to someday experience in their lives. I felt like I was being held in the arms of all the people I cared about the most,” Munson said. “It’s beautiful.”
These reunion shows are funded completely through ticket sales, providing compensation for guests, musicians and venues. The first reunion show was held in October 2019, and four shows have since followed.
“It’s not lost on me that the show originally ran for five years. And now, 10 years later, we’re still talking about new episodes,” Moe said. “We got canceled, but we sort of decided not to be. We kept going.”
‘Wits Reunion Show ft. Paul F. Tompkins’
What: Sixth reunion show of “Wits” hosted by John Moe with musical direction by John Munson, featuring special guest actor/comedian Paul F. Tompkins
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30
Where: Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E Exchange St., St. Paul
Tickets: $59-$33 via Axs
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
