Saturday Night Live at 40: SNL's influence, then and now

This weekend, Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 40th anniversary. In the lead up, Q guest host Sean Rameswaram speaks with original series writer Rosie Shuster about the mythological origins of the show, as well as journalistJames Andrew Miller about what the show means now.

The long-running sketch comedy series will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a three-hour special airing Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. 

Click here or on the listen button above to hear a condensed web version of the segment that aired (audio runs 0:25:23). 

WEB EXCLUSIVE | Norm MacDonald on his groundbreaking, and contentious, time at SNL 

Following his Q interview a few weeks ago, a jet-lagged Norm MacDonald spoke with Q producer Daniel Guillemette at tremendous length about his experiences at Saturday Night Live, when he and Jim Downey remade Weekend Update into a vehicle for blunt, controversial comedy. (Example below.)  

That, of course, before Norm's acrimonious split from the segment and ultimately the show. All of which he talked about in the audio we've embedded below. 

(Please note, this segment contains strong language.)

Producer's Note: This was all set up so I could use a clip of Norm in today's SNL segment, and so I originally expected Norm to talk to me for about five minutes. He ended up being exceptionally -- and surprisingly -- generous with his time, so it became the long segment you have here. As a result of the improvised nature, the audio is a little rougher than usual, as we were set up in an empty studio. Norm wanted to hold the mic, which he rested on his chest. Nonetheless, we thought the content was strong enough to override any audio concerns. Enjoy!