In December 2020, a Latino couple was falsely accused by a white momfluencer of attempting to kidnap her children.

The Karen phenomenon where white women falsely accuse people of color of crimes usually fixates on the

accuser the so-called Karen. But for this series we focus on the

innocent couple at the heart of this story. I just want the public to know

what she did was wrong.

In Perfect Paradise People versus Karen.

Available now wherever you get your podcasts. Hello and welcome to Good One, a podcast about jokes.

Typically, each episode a guest comes on to play a clip of one of their jokes and then discusses how they wrote it and how it fits into what they're trying to do with their comedy.

Notice how is it typically at the start of that last sentence?

That's because this episode is not that.

Our guest this week is my colleague, Captain Van Arandonk,

Volcher staff writer, TV critic, stand-up critic, and my friend.

In said hybrid role, Catherine determines Volcher's rankings of the best stand-up specials of the year.

Towards the end of last year, we had Catherine on the show to walk us through a 2019 ranking.

At Vulture, we also do Best of Lists for the Year so far, right around the middle of the year.

So that's what Catherine and I talk about this episode.

Catherine doesn't rank the list until the end of the year, so we go in alphabetical order by first name, because that just sort of felt right.

You know, a good one was created for many reasons, but maybe the simplest was to recommend comedy for people to watch.

I like comedy a lot, it makes me happy when skies are gray,

but seriously at its most elemental, comedy releases pressure.

I'm sure you, like literally everyone, could use some tension relief, and I hope some of these specials help. So let's welcome Catherine Van Arundonk.

I am here with Catherine Van Arundonk. Thank you for joining me. I'm so excited to be here once again.

...