The Daily Show Taping

In New York, when you see celebrities, they're usually doing something mundane, like stepping out of the Vitamin Shoppe with enough pills to power an East German wrestling team (Spike Lee) or picking up some Panda licorice at Whole Foods (Harrison Ford). So it's nice every once in a while to see them doing the things they're famous for --- in Jon Stewart's case, hosting one of the funniest shows on television.

A big part of the experience of going to a taping is waiting around and wondering how anyone can be entertaining while sitting under such hot lights. But when the theme music kicks in and the cameras start rolling, you really do feel like you're part of something exciting, like you're an insider. The fact that this glamorous business is just part of the daily routine for all of the stagehands and writers and producers milling around only underscores both the excitement and the insider-ness for us: we live in a place where this happens all the time.