Making sense of the present by revealing the past. Journalists Celeste Headlee and Masud Olufani connect the present to the past through four distinct and varied stories, and New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz adds his signature wit.

When actress Annabelle Gurwitch was fired from a play by Woody Allen, she wondered how she would cope with being downsized by a cultural icon. Turning to friends in show business, she was assured she was not alone. Everyone she knew, from her rabbi to her gynaecologist, had their own account of getting the boot. Featuring interviews with comedians, economists and regular working folks, and drawing on her hugely popular book, Fired! is a humorous look at downsizing in America.

While dining out with friends, Sy suggests the difficulty of separating comedy from tragedy. To illustrate his point, he tells his guests two parallel stories about Melinda ; both versions have the same basic elements, but one take on her state of affairs leans toward levity, while the other is full of anguish. Each story involves Melinda coping with a recent divorce through substance abuse while beginning a romantic relationship with a close friend's husband.

A day in the life of a couple trapped in a sadomasochistic relationship. When Marie decides to break up with Bruce, their conversation devolves into a torrent of foul-mouthed rippings and ferociously humorous musings on their marriage, love, hate and committment.