IF YOU watch the Oscars on Sunday and like Jon Stewart in his first year as host, you may want to find your way to the Wisconsin Union Theater the evening of April 10, when Ben Karlin, who has been riding shotgun for Stewart at “The Daily Show” since 1999, returns to Madison as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at the Memorial Union.
Karlin worked for the Onion here in the 1990s and also freelanced pieces for Madison Magazine and the newspapers. His star has been in quick ascendance since he joined Stewart. Karlin is currently executive producer of “The Daily Show” and its new spinoff, “The Colbert Report.”