210. What Makes a Good Sense of Humor?

No Stupid Questions

What is the evolutionary purpose of laughter? What’s the difference between Swedish depression and American depression? And why aren’t aliens interested in abducting Mike?

• SOURCES:
  • Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at Stanford University.
  • Judd Apatow, film director, screenwriter, and comedian.
  • Fredrik Backman, author.
  • Naomi Bagdonas, lecturer in management at Stanford University.
  • James Corden, actor, comedian, and former late-night television host.
  • Dick Costolo, former C.E.O. of Twitter.
  • Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University.
  • Jimmy Fallon, comedian and late-night television host.
  • Daniel Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University.
  • Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and late-night television host.
  • Larry LaPrise, 20th-century American singer-songwriter.
  • Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, actor, and writer.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Fredrik Backman on Creative Anxiety and Procrastination," by Fredrik Backman (Simon & Schuster Centennial Celebration, 2024).
  • "The Relative Importance of Joke and Audience Characteristics in Eliciting Amusement," by Hannes Rosenbusch, Anthony M. Evans, and Marcel Zeelenberg (Psychological Science, 2022).
  • "The 100-Million-Year Origin Story of Laughter and Humor," by Dean Russell (Endless Thread, 2022).
  • Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.), by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas (2021).
  • "What Makes Things Funny? An Integrative Review of the Antecedents of Laughter and Amusement," by Caleb Warren, Adam Barsky, and A. Peter McGraw (Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2020).
  • Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy, by Judd Apatow (2015).
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Can A.I. Take a Joke?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "The Comedian-Ophthalmologist Will See You Now," by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).
  • There's Something About Mary, film (1998).