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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

In the Know

Lauren Caspian, voiced by Zach Woods in the NPR-spoof In the Know.

In the Know, the first original adult animated series to run on Peacock, is willfully, aggressively niche: a sendup of NPR and the chamomile-infusion-sipping beta cucks who work in public radio. Its protagonist is a male veteran radio host named Lauren Caspian, voiced by Silicon Valley star Zach Woods, who co-created the show with Beavis and Butt-Head overlord Mike Judge (also of Silicon Valley), Greg Daniels (of The Office), and Brandon Gardner (of Upright Citizens Brigade). Lauren is a sentient virtue signal who insists on calling homeless people “unhoused” and boasts that he “was using the term Inuit in the 90s.” Is In the Know a landmark in the annals of animation akin to Beavis and Butt-Head or The Simpsons? No. But if you’re in that select demographic of people who signed up for a Peacock subscription in order to watch that Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game and who are fluent in the work of Scott Simon and Terry Gross, cancel your plans, put on the kettle, and settle in—you have six episodes of rooibos-steeped delightfulness to enjoy. —David Kamp

Photo: © 2023 Peacock TV LLC