In the last twelve years, Lewis Black has gone from being "that angry guy on The Daily Show" to a comedy icon. Now, he finally has his own show.

In Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, which airs on Wednesdays at 10:30 PM ET on Comedy Central, two comedians argue why the pop culture item they represent is "the root of all evil." Last week's premiere episode, for instance, pitted Oprah against the Catholic church. Black plays the judge who controls the proceedings and makes the ultimate verdict. Sounds corny, but the first episode, which featured Paul F. Tompkins and Greg Giraldo, was wickedly funny and just a tiny bit subversive, everything you want in a good comedy.

I spoke to Black by phone last week; he was in Atlantic City on his stand-up tour. We discussed everything from the 2008 election to being on a cable news show with Ben Stein to sharing a jail cell with Jim Norton. The interview is after the jump.

Say it's 11 AM; Opie and Anthony's XM show is over and you're looking for something to listen to. So why don't you turn on the channel that's the perfect follow-up: Oprah and Friends!

Yes, kiddies, Oprah and her cabal have started a satellite radio station. But you might have to concentrate hard to actually hear the big O on the channel; according to this article, she will only be on one 30 minute show per week, dishing with her buddy Gayle King about celebrities and whatnot.

What you will hear are the people whose careers O has propped up through her TV show: King, trainer Bob Greene, financial expert Jean Chatsky (mmm... Jean Chatsky), psychologist Dr. Robin Smith, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. Oh, and Maya Angelou gets a show, too (let's hope little Jimmy Norton does a guest shot in an O/O&A crossover). So, it's just like the Oprah show you love, but longer and more self-important. Enjoy!

I'll say this right up front: I'm not a huge fan of Opie & Anthony. I've been a Howard Stern guy for 17 years, and I've been enjoying him too much on Sirius to listen to anyone else. But that doesn't mean I automatically hate O&A; I've always thought they were pretty funny during their WNEW days, and the bits from XM I've heard them do -- my friend Roger has it on in the car whenever we go anywhere -- have also been extremely well-done. Unlike most of the "shock jocks" out there, they seem to have a point of view that is genuine and not just created to fashion a persona. And, it doesn't hurt that the show employs some of the best stand-ups out there, like Jimmy Norton, Rich Vos, and Patrice O'Neal.

So when I heard that O&A were going on Letterman last night, I was very interested in seeing what they had to say. Would they try to be outrageous like Stern always tried to be? Would they be real? Would they just do a constant rip job on Stern, who they felt abused his position to go behind their backs, keeping them from talking about him when they both worked for Infinity? I'll have to admit that they did a nice job. I only wish Anthony would have let Opie get a word in edgewise.