I don't check The New Yorker Near You often enough either, so I'm posting these listings as I see them. Of course, confirm dates and times with the venues.

Sponsored by Foolproof, New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff appears at Town Hall to discuss the publication's nearly 69,000 cartoons, and how he culled the best of them for a massive new compilation. 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-325-3554. $15. 7:30 p.m. Tues., April 19.

Also in the listings: Tony Kushner, Shakti Butler, Lars Vilks, Sister Helen Prejean, Miriam Rajkumar, Noam Chomsky, and Welcome the Whales Day! Seattle has its priorities straight.

Update: Sasha Frere-Jones is moderating a panel at the EMP Pop Conference tomorrow:

Eric Lott et al., "Love and Theft Revisited" (Liquid Lounge, 7:15 p.m. Thursday). Lott's highly regarded minstrelsy study, Love and Theft, provided Bob Dylan with the title of his 2001 album. It also gives a focus to this panel, moderated by EMP's Eric Weisbard and featuring The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones, Stagolee Shot Billy author Cecil Brown, Princeton's Daphne Brooks, and Songs in the Key of Black Life author Mark Anthony Neal, among others.

Brain City: Very Picky This Week [Seattle Weekly]
A Pop Conference Top 10 [Seattle Weekly]