Editing Randall Munroe

{{Infobox character
| image      = Randall_Munroe_speaks_at_MIT.JPG
| imagesize  = 250px
| caption    = Randall speaking at {{w|re:publica}} in 2016
| first_appearance = [[120: Dating Service]]
}}

<noinclude>:''For a list of comics, see [[:Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe|Comics featuring Randall Munroe]].''</noinclude>

{{Quote|I'm just this guy, you know? I'm a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. Before starting xkcd, I worked on robots at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. As of June 2007 I live in Massachusetts. In my spare time I climb things, open strange doors, and go to goth clubs dressed as a frat guy so I can stand around and look terribly uncomfortable. At frat parties I do the same thing, but the other way around.|Randall Munroe|[https://xkcd.com/about Source]}}

[[File:What If? 2 signature.png|300px|right|thumb|Randall's signature with [[Cueball]] from ''[[What If? 2]]'']]

'''{{w}}''' is the creator, writer, and artist of [[xkcd]]. He has a degree in physics from the {{w|Christopher Newport University}} and, prior to his career as a professional webcomic artist, was a roboticist independently contracted with {{w|NASA}}. Since his contract was not renewed in 2006 as they [https://blog.xkcd.com/2006/10/06/many-news-things-some-overdue ran out of money to rehire him], he has supported himself primarily through xkcd, selling books and merchandise among other income streams. In his ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog, he occasionally posts "scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions", while on his [https://blog.xkcd.com personal blog], called ''[[Blag]]'', he posts announcements related to his projects, comics, and books.

The content of xkcd tends to stem from Randall's thoughts, experiences, and his physics background. He sometimes writes comics in the first-person and even uses [[Cueball]] to represent himself (such as in [[541: TED Talk]]). That said it is likely that many of these strips are not factually based on Randall's real life; for example, the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]] appears to be written about Randall's own hobbies, although it is likely that few if any are things Randall has ever done himself. Based on his ''what if?'' blog, he wrote two books called ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]'' and ''[[What If? 2]]''. He also published ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', where he explains complex topics using only the 1,000 most common words'', and [[How To]]'', where he gives "absurd scientific advice for common real-world problems". His first book, ''[[xkcd: volume 0]]'', is a collection of his favourite comics published in 2009.
 
In June 2011, Randall announced that his then-fiancée had been diagnosed with stage 3 {{w|breast cancer}}. They married in September of that year. As with other events of his real life, the cancer diagnosis was [[:Category:Cancer|the subject]] of many future xkcd comics.

==Timeline==
{| class="wikitable"
! Date
! Event
|-
|October 17, 1984 || Is born.
|-
|September 30, 2005 || [https://archive.vn/hjmW Launches xkcd.com].
|-
|2006 || [https://xkcd.com/about Graduates] from Christopher Newport University with degree in Physics.
|-
|October 2006 || Starts working on xkcd full time after [https://blog.xkcd.com/2006/10/06/many-news-things-some-overdue NASA stops renewing his contract].
|-
|May 2008 || Moves to Somerville, Massachusetts.
|-
|2008 || Gets nominated for "Outstanding Use of the Medium", "Outstanding Short Form Comic", and "Outstanding Comedic Comic", and wins "Outstanding Single Panel Comic" in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20090310200607/https://www.ccawards.com/2008finalists.html 2008 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards].
|-
|September 2009 || Releases ''[[xkcd: volume 0]]''.
|-
|June 2011 || [https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness Announces] his fiancée was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
|-
|August 2011 || [https://web.archive.org/web/20110429050214/https://www.renovationsf.org/hugo-intro.php Gets nominated] for "Best Fan Artist" in the 2011 Hugo Awards.
|-
|September 2011 || [https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/09/12/672 Marries his fiancée].
|-
|August 2012 || [https://web.archive.org/web/20120408045604/https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2012-hugo-awards Gets nominated] for "Best Fan Artist" in the 2012 Hugo Awards.
|-
|September 2013 || The asteroid {{w|4942 Munroe}} is named [https://blog.xkcd.com/2013/09/30/asteroid-4942-munroe after him].
|-
|August 2014 || [https://www.thehugoawards.org/2014/08/2014-hugo-award-winners Wins] the 2014 Hugo Awards for "Best Graphic Story" thanks to [[1190: Time]].
|-
|September 2014 || Releases ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]''.
|-
|November 2015 || Releases ''[[Thing Explainer]]''.
|-
|September 2019 || Releases ''[[How To]]''.
|-
|September 2022 || Releases ''[[What If? 2]]''.
|}

==Speeches and interviews==

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOWntIdegws MIT Talk] (3 minutes) – May 14, 2007, {{w|Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}, Cambridge, MA

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24 Talks at Google: xkcd] (58 minutes) – December 7, 2007, {{w|Googleplex}}, Mountain View, CA

* [https://youtu.be/z_zwyJ6IYR0 XKCD Comes to Dartmouth!] (86 minutes) – Fall 2008, {{w|Dartmouth College}}, Hanover, NH

* [https://youtu.be/fCa4wPRuicY Randall Munroe at MIT] (excerpt, 7 minutes) – December 17, 2009, {{w|Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}, Cambridge, MA

* [https://youtu.be/AHp_Vh9TESU JoCo Cruise Crazy 3: Randall Munroe] (50 minutes) – February 15, 2013, {{w|MS Freedom of the Seas}} cruise ship, Caribbean Sea

* [https://archive.oredev.org/oredev2013/2013/wed-fri-conference/art-and-code-with-xkcd.html Øredev developer conference 2013: Art & Code with xkcd] (47 minutes) – November 7, 2013, [[Wikipedia:sv:Slagthuset|Slagthuset]], Malmö, Sweden

* [https://www.ted.com/talks/randall_munroe_comics_that_ask_what_if TED 2014: Comics that ask "what if?"] (9 minutes) – March 20, 2014, {{w|Vancouver Convention Centre}}, Vancouver, Canada

* [https://youtu.be/EnbhjvNRD_8 Live Talks Los Angeles: Randall Munroe] in conversation with {{w|Wil Wheaton}} (90 minutes) – September 14, 2014, {{w|Aero Theatre}}, Santa Monica, CA

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GIDDaF26zE Talks at Google: What If?] (60 minutes) – September 24, 2014, {{w|Googleplex}}, Mountain View, CA

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm4Gn9iQ6sE World Economic Forum: Simplicity In Complexity] (13 minutes) – June 27, 2016, Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, Tianjin, China

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_mrGoFQgGs World Economic Forum: Education for a New Age], with {{w|Justine Cassell}}, R. May Lee, and Andrew Fursman (52 minutes) – June 28, 2016, Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, Tianjin, China

* [https://youtu.be/ewdDSGv7Css BookCon 2019: Randall Munroe] in conversation with Adam Savage (34 minutes) – June 2, 2019, {{w|Javits Center}}, New York, NY

* [https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/412 This Week in Tech: Triangulation], hosted by {{w|Leo Laporte}} (75 minutes) – August 30, 2019, podcast

* [https://mbmbam.simplecast.com/episodes/mbmbam-475-edchup?t=34m19s Maximum Fun: My Brother, My Brother and Me], by {{w|Justin McElroy|Justin}}, {{w|Travis McElroy|Travis}}, and {{w|Griffin McElroy}} (59 minutes) – September 2, 2019, podcast

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwmt2M4-C9Y Politics and Prose: How To by Randall Munroe], with {{w|Alexandra Petri}} (72 minutes) – September 4, 2019, {{w|Sidwell Friends School}}, Washington, DC

* [https://teamcoco.com/video/randall-munroe-s-comics-inspired-fans-to-bring-chess-boards-on-coasters Conan: Randall Munroe’s Comics Inspired Fans To Bring Chess Boards On Coasters] (4 minutes) – December 12, 2019, Stage 15, {{w|Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank|Warner Bros. Studios}}, Burbank, CA

* [https://teamcoco.com/video/how-chris-hadfield-serena-williams-helped-randall-munroe-with-his-new-book Conan: How Chris Hadfield & Serena Williams Helped Randall Munroe With His New Book] (10 minutes) – December 12, 2019, Stage 15, {{w|Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank|Warner Bros. Studios}}, Burbank, CA
<!--
'''NOTES:'''
I could find no record of this Conan episode ever airing, nor any record of its taping or production...yet it ''obviously was'' produced{{Citation needed}}, so to narrow it down:
* Based on the subject matter discussed in the episode, it sounds like it was taped during Randall's 2019 [[How To]] book tour, between September 3-19, 2019, according to the [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/06/10/book-tour-announcement/ blag].
* According to [https://teamcoco.com/tickets Team CoCo], Conan episodes are taped on Mondays through Thursdays (i.e. 4 episodes per week), 42 weeks of the year (for a total of roughly 168 episodes)...
* ...but according to {{w|List of Conan episodes (2019)|Wikipedia}}, only 30 weeks worth of new episodes (123 episodes) aired during 2019...
* ...therefore, approximately 12 weeks worth of episodes (around 48 episodes) in 2019 were taped but never aired.
** (I'm guessing these episodes are taped as "backups" or "spares," maybe to air in case a scheduled guest cancels at the last minute?)
* As Conan episodes are taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, I'm guessing this episode was taped during the California leg of the tour, around September 10 to 12, 2019.
** Again according to {{w|List of Conan episodes (2019)|Wikipedia}}, no new episodes aired that week, so it's possible this is one of the 12 weeks they taped "backup" episodes.
* According to the [https://blog.xkcd.com/2019/08/23/book-tour-and-contest-winner/ blag], Randall's book tour schedule around that time was as follows:
** [https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/randall-munroe Monday, September 9, 2019, 7PM, Seattle, WA], at Third Place Books, {{w|Lake Forest Park Towne Centre}}, with {{w|Jeopardy!}} champion {{w|Ken Jennings}}.
** [https://kpfa.org/event/kpfa-radio-94-1-fm-presents-randall-munroe/ Tuesday, September 10, 2019, 7:30PM, Berkeley, CA], at First Congregational Church, with {{w|Adam Savage}} from {{w|MythBusters}}.
** [https://www.scribdchat.com/upcoming-live-scribdchats/2019/9/11/scribdchat-with-xkcd-creator-randall-munroe Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 12PM, San Francisco, CA], at Scribd headquarters, with {{w|Ariel Waldman}}.
** [https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/randallmunroe Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 7PM, Santa Cruz, CA], at Santa Cruz Bible Church, with blogger [[Cory Doctorow]].
** [https://livetalksla.org/events/randall-munroe/ Thursday, September 12, 2019, 8PM, Los Angeles, CA], in Aratani Theatre at Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, with Kyle Hill.
** Friday, September 13, 2019: nothing scheduled.
** [https://www.wellerbookworks.com/event/randall-munroe-libby-gardner-hall Saturday, September 14, 2019, 7PM, Salt Lake City, UT], in Libby Gardener Hall at University of Utah.
* I would have guessed the Conan episode taped on Friday, September 13, when Randall had no other events scheduled, except that the show only tapes on Mondays through Thursdays, so that narrows it down to the California tour dates of Tuesday, September 10 to Thursday, September 12.
* It probably wasn't Wednesday, September 11, because Randall had an afternoon event in Santa Cruz, so it would have been difficult to fly to Burbank for taping at 3:30PM.  So that leaves either Tuesday, September 10, or Thursday, September 12.
* Thursday, September 12 seems likely, because Randall had an event in Los Angeles that evening.  '''BUT...'''
* ...Randall ''appears'' to be wearing the same clothes in the Conan videos above as he does in the KPFA videos below, which suggests that they were recorded on the same day: Tuesday, September 10.
** The Conan episode would have taped at 3:30PM.
** Beginning in January 2019, the duration of Conan episodes was reduced to a half-hour, so ending at 4PM.
** The Berkeley talk began at 7:30PM, so although difficult, it would have been possible for Randall to fly (on an airplane) from Burbank to Berkeley after the afternoon taping, in time for the evening talk.
-->
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/ejt89o KPFA Radio 94.1 FM: Randall Munroe: How To] with {{w|Adam Savage}} (from {{w|MythBusters}}) (59 minutes) – September 10, 2019, First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA

* [https://grist.org/video/how-to-power-your-house-with-xkcds-randall-munroe Grist Magazine: How to power your house, with xkcd's Randall Munroe] (5 minutes) – October 16, 2019, Grist Headquarters, Seattle, WA

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEExr56oXmw Tableau Conference 2019: Overthinking Things with Randall Munroe] (62 minutes) – November 14, 2019, {{w|Mandalay Bay Convention Center}}, Las Vegas, NV

==Absence from ''explain xkcd''==
{{quote|xkcd has inspired a wiki of its own, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Explain xkcd], where fans dissect every comic and share their theories, including about Munroe himself. On the [[Talk:Randall_Munroe|talk page]] for the "Randall Munroe" entry, one user speculated that Munroe pranked Wikipedia editors into putting the fact that he was raised as a Quaker in his bio to illustrate the fake-news cycle of "citogenesis", a concept perhaps explained [[978: Citogenesis|best by Munroe himself]]. "No, I was really raised Quaker", he said bemusedly, when I asked him about the speculation. (He hasn’t spent much time on Explain xkcd, believing instead in "{{w|The Death of the Author|the death of the author}}".)|Marissa Martinelli|[https://slate.com/culture/2019/09/xkcd-randall-munroe-interview-how-to-book-wikipedia.html xkcd Creator Randall Munroe on the Joys of Overthinking Everything], Slate}}

==See also==
* The [https://xkcd.com/about About page] on xkcd.
* The {{w|Randall Munroe}} article on Wikipedia.
* The comics made for ''[[:Category:A Smarter Planet|A Smarter Planet]]'', an IBM corporate blog
* The science columns for ''[[New York Times: Good Question|Good Question]]''

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