His increasingly shaggy hair and beard mark the passing of time; his body, which he offers frequently to the viewer clad in only his underwear, marks something else: his whiteness, his youth, his willingness to be—I guess—“stripped down” and exposed for the viewer’s benefit. Such writing fictionalizes (often lightly) versions of the author to blur the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined, offering the patina of truth and the play of postmodernism. As we watch Burnham cast in a tight, blue-lit close-up, we’re meant to wonder what kind of club or concert experience we are having as the singer’s face streams onto our screens. By revealing the deep truths of his inner psyche and revealing that every presentation of truth is highly constructed, Burnham gives viewers the illusion of being let inside while reminding us with a wink that we are always outside. The Chalke History Festival announces a new name, new look, and tons for history buffs to get their teeth into!

Like Walt Whitman, Bo Burnham has made the transition from an internet comedy sensation to a soulful poet. If the special is genius, then perhaps here is where its brilliance is located: Burnham performs the very affective blurring that he sees as a hallmark of not only the pandemic but also our digital lives. As we grapple with the question of how much space to give the voices of white men in a society where other voices have been silenced for so long, their autofiction can feel indulgent. Written in his very distinctive comedic voice, EGGHEAD: OR, YOU CAN'T SURVIVE ON IDEAS ALONE brings Bo's award-winning brand of brainy word play to the page in the form of off-kilter writings, thoughts, and poems.The response to this (performance of) vulnerability has comprised a symphony of acclaim, with deep notes of self-recognition. Bo dissects and subverts his relationship with comedy and the audience with his quick-witted hybrid of stand-up, music, poetry and theater. Kathryn VanArendonk puts it this way: “It’s all endless loops of performance and consumption, worrying about performativity and authenticity and productivity, staring at himself in the mirror.

White Woman’s Instagram” lambasts the cringe-inducing aesthetics of Karens on social media: “An open window/A novel/A couple holding hands/An avocado/A poem written in the sand/Fresh fallen snow on the ground/A golden retriever in a flower crown/Is this Heaven? Unlike most other people in such a situation though, Burnham’s sense of humor catered to his many viewers, and nearly overnight Bo became an online sensation.It wouldn't be fair to review Egghead without mentioning the brilliantly simplistic illustrations by Chance Bone. Self-fashioning as a woman—and trying to thread the needle of “acceptable” femininity, online and IRL—is an impossible task. She’s like a counterpoint to Burnham’s early identity, and her essays about poop and mental health are *chef’s kiss*. It’s a serious poem dressed up in the silliness of a tongue-twister reminiscent of “The Purple People Eater”. Autofiction satisfies the market need for relatable protagonists while appearing to offer a stylish new mode through which to deliver content.

I’m looking for books—preferably written by academics for lay people—that address some of the same themes Bo covers in inside.

At a keyboard or standing against the white wall of a room cluttered with camera gear and musical equipment, Burnham sings sharp, silly satirical songs about FaceTiming with his mother, awkward sexting, and unpaid internships.