Postpartum Robot Delivery

The future is now but it's not necessarily an improvement. Plus recs for Edith Zimmerman's cartoons about my face, Roz Chast and Liana Finck in conversation, and Emma Carmichael on sports.

Mollie and I unexpectedly found ourselves in the hospital this week when our son decided to arrive much earlier than his due date. Luckily, everyone is safe and healthy and currently at home, which is a huge relief. That being said, I am scrambling to figure out how to do my parental leave now that everything has happened so soon. You will likely be receiving some guest posts in the next few newsletters from funny friends who I can hit up for a favor.

In the meantime, here is a quick moment that I will share with you. After giving birth, Mollie was craving a very specific smoothie and bowl. I was eager to oblige. However, the restaurant that makes them did not pick up their phone and would not accept orders for pickup online (only delivery).

Ok, no problem, I ordered delivery.

Then I got a notification that my order was going to be delivered not by a human but by a robot. Basically a refrigerated box on wheels with electronic eyes.

I thought that was strange but I wanted to get Mollie her smoothie so I said fine. The estimated delivery time was 15-20 minutes.

An hour later, the delivery was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t get anyone to pick up the phone. But then the tracking dot on the delivery app finally started to move. However, when the robot reached me where I was waiting on the street, it did not stop. I ran in front of it and tried to put in my code but it let out an extremely loud bark and then steered around me at high speed. I tried again but it emitted a high frequently squeal that I can only describe as the kind of sound you’d invent to scare away seagulls. My dad, who was with me, could not stop laughing that I was running after a robot and he started to film.

Here is the video of me chasing after a robot filled with a smoothie, trying and failing to maintain any dignity. I power walked behind this thing for almost a full city block. All I wanted was to get Mollie her smoothie. Instead, I was humiliated by a machine while my dad narrated on video like David Attenborough.

My projects and upcoming events:

BOOK: Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy (Doubleday) - My book comes out on January 6th, 2026. Pre-order it now!

PODCAST: How to Be a Better Human (TED/PRX) - Ingrid Fetell Lee came on the show to talk about how to be more joyful. She is wonderful and this was such a fun episode to record. Listen here (or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s list

GREAT:

I am a huge fan of Edith Zimmerman’s writing and art. It was such a delight to get to visit her at her home and shoot a video together, which will come out this Fall. In the meantime, Edith shared her illustrated diary entries about the experience and they include the difficulty of drawing my face, us discussing our nemeses, and what it’s like to go for a jog while a film crew follows you in a minivan recording every step. Drawing Links: TED Talk Sequence

FUNNY:

Roz Chast is a cartooning legend. Liana Finck is another cartooning legend. Here they are together talking about cartooning, comedy, and life. It’s perfect. The first question is literally “You have two pet parrots, whom you have a deep connection to. Do you consider parrots birds? Do you love all birds? What about chickens? Pigeons? Why or why not?” Liana Finck interviews Roz Chast

INTERESTING:

Emma Carmichael is one of the most talented writers I’ve ever worked with. She’s so smart, so funny, and so clever. Everyone who meets Emma says some version of “Emma is the coolest person I have ever met.” But she’s also warm and thoughtful. Even if you’re a dedicated non-sports person like me, you’re going to enjoy this essay by Emma about growing up a tomboy and loving basketball: Something to Play For

Emma is also currently writing a book that’s an oral history of the first three decades of the WNBA and is going to be amazing.

BONUS FOR PAYING SUBSCRIBERS:

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading! Please share Bright Spots with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Never trust a smoothie robot,

Chris Duffy

This has been Bright Spots, a newsletter.

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…wait, who are you?

I'm Chris Duffy, a comedian, TV writer, podcast host, and both a former fifth grade teacher and a former fifth grade student. I’m currently writing a nonfiction book about humor for Doubleday.