Trying Something New

Naturally there have been endless articles already, but The Atlantic says:

[The Simpson's showrunner Al] Jean told us about the very unusual guest for episode 500: Julian Assange. Currently under house arrest Britain and fighting extradition to Sweden, the WikiLeaks founder recorded his cameo over the phone.

"That was a first," Jean said. "But we've never had a president on. Maybe that's why I was so excited about having Roosevelt this season."

That would be Teddy. In this season's second episode, ... [t]he show features a guest appearance by, yes, Theodore Roosevelt. Sort of. Kind of. They used archival audio of the president's voice to create the impression that TR and Bart Simpson met.

As usual, the article focuses on the writing staff. Not so much as a mention of the artists, some of whom have been with the show eighteen and twenty years.