Broadcasting From New Ork

By Anita Hamilton

Is it the nipple and penis jokes, the wild cackling or the dopey foreign accents that keep the laughs coming? In Robin Williams' weekly audio show on audible.com it's all that and more. With his acrobatic voice as his only prop, the comic becomes instantly more likable.

For all its high-tech trappings, the show is essentially an old-fashioned radio program, with all of that medium's intimacy and immediacy. It is also not just about comedy. In the first episode, which went live last Wednesday, the hyped-up star had Eric Idle of the Monty Python Group interview him about everything from Williams' days as a street-performing mime in New York City to his cocaine addiction in the late '70s and early '80s. An upcoming episode with writer John Irving touches on the subject of abortion, revealing Williams as a gentle interviewer who's not afraid to let his guests steal the show. Christopher Reeve and Mario Cuomo will appear in future episodes.

Of course, there's no longer anything cutting edge about Williams' familiar breed of comedy. Downloading the show is a pain, and the sound quality is worse than AM radio. It is also free only until May 18, when the site will start charging $2.95 an episode. But freed from the tightly scripted lines of Hollywood movies, Williams is clearly having fun just being himself--and that's what really makes the show click.

--By Anita Hamilton