210. What Makes a Good Sense of Humor?

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).