Funny Because It's True

How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire

By: Christine Wenc

Narrated by: Christine Wenc

Discover the real truth behind the original fake news with this in-depth history of beloved humor publication, The Onion.

In 1988, a band of University of Wisconsin–Madison undergrads and dropouts began publishing a free weekly newspaper with no editorial stance other than “You Are Dumb.” Just wanting to make a few bucks, they wound up becoming the bedrock of modern satire over the course of twenty years, changing the way we consume both our comedy and our news. The Onion served as a hilarious and brutally perceptive satire of the absurdity and horrors of late twentieth-century American life and grew into a global phenomenon. Now, for the first time, the full history of the publication is told by one of its original staffers, author and historian Christine Wenc. Through dozens of interviews, Wenc charts The Onion’s rise, its position as one of the first online humor sites, and the way it influenced television programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Funny Because It’s True peels back the layers to reveal how a group of young misfits from flyover country unintentionally created a cultural phenomenon.

Critic reviews

“The inside story of how a comedy institution was born in Wisconsin, cracked up the country, and changed the way we think about news and satire. I devoured it!”—Patton Oswalt

“Despite dozens of copycats, thousands of comedians, and an exhausting amount of late-night political commentary, The Onion stands alone as the strongest example of incendiary satire in America. Christine Wenc has provided us with a necessary and long overdue history of an enduring, influential gem.”—Kliph Nesteroff, author of The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy

“It feels weird being earnest about a history of The Onion but there's no way around it: I loved this book with all my heart. Funny Because It's True is a thrilling, inspiring must read for comedy nerds and normals alike. Christine Wenc has managed to write a book worthy of The Onion's greatness.”—Simon Rich, author of Glory Days

“The Onion might take silly things seriously, and so does this book—which documents one of the most original ideas to come out of Generation X with the intensity it deserves. Christine Wenc’s deep reporting and you-are-there-anecdotes make sure that everyone knows The Onion’s brilliance is no accident.”
—Tricia Romano, author of The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Village, the Radical Newspaper That Changed American Culture

“You may ask whether a ‘fake news’/news parody outlet deserves such a serious work of history. After you see how The Onion and its writers sparked some of the great comedy that has helped us survive this dreadful century, your answer may well be ‘Yes!’”—Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting)

Too much of a good thing

While I am a huge fan of the Onion and enjoyed hearing about its history, too much — especially the early part of the story—was extraneous. Some solid editing and consolidation would have improved the overall product.

Everything you ever wanted to know about The Onion but were too afraid to ask

I've been wanting a book like this for years, I was curious about the origins of The Onion, and this book takes a journalistic approach, in doing many interviews with the people involved, and telling their story. Going into the lives of the founders to the first print in 1988 all the way to 2023, this book fills you in every major step of the way.

The way that The Onion has grown with the times and adapted to new technologies, like making the decision to embrace the internet when everyone was stealing their stories and not giving them credit, getting on social media, making web videos, a couple TV shows I was unaware of, and plenty of things that didn't turn out as well, like what happened to The Onion Movie.

The book being 12 hours is an ideal length, it never wears out it's welcome. I listen to audiobooks while walking my dog, and she's been taking me on hour to 100 minute walks twice a night lately, so this book went by very quickly for me.

The author does the narration, and she does a great job, it's entirely professionally recorded, like you can tell this was recorded in studio, you never hear breathing or anything else that would take away. She has the right voice and tone through the narration. There's a level of confidence to respect in doing it yourself instead of letting the publisher pick a professional voice actor.

Interesting and Long!

Not sure why i latched onto this one, but the little change up in content was refreshing.

On the good side, the Onion was an institution of goodness for decades and served an important societal function (being the mirror to ourselves). Enjoyed listening of its evolution and the standard the writers held for themselves. I did enjoy the author-narrator’s deadpan style of delivery and the wrap up of what she thinks it all means.

On the other side, this would have gotten more stars had the production team shaved the program length by a factor of two. The story is often lost in the details of personalities and minutiae.

In all, glad i used the credit.

Her lack of knowledge.

So many statements that are factually wrong,she may know Madison but, apparently very little about anything else.