S4E19 - The Role of Humor in Conflict and Controversy - A Table Talk

Uh oh. The guys are back from their August break and they are ready to talk! Today Lamar and Tom respond to a listener’s question about the use of humor in conflict and controversy.

The listener asked: “Doesn’t the use of in a challenging conversation where conflict and controversy is possible merely mask your real feelings? Doesn’t it just help you avoid saying what you are really thinking or feeling?”

Great question! And today Lamar and Tom try to respond to it - with a bit of humor included, of course!

Take a few minutes to listen or watch and then, tell us what you think. How does humor help or hurt when discussing issues that can be controversial?

We all need a lift now. Hearing about acts of kindness can lift us all. Wow, Thanksgiving is only about 2 months from now! We’ve heard from a few folks and we’d like to hear from more. Have you done a kind act in the past year? Have you received a kind act from someone else? Come on…let us in on it. This is a time when we all need the lift that we can get from hearing about acts of kindness for everyday folks. Please take just a couple of minutes to share an act of kindness with us. It can be one you performed, one you received, or both. Click on this link to our Lamar & Tom’s Acts of Kindness Survey or copy and paste this address in your browser: https://forms.gle/5NQakn6bgeXpm2us5

Finally, please share this survey because an act of kindness shared begets others.

How We Check Ourselves

Fact Checking: Because there are a lot of things happening…some true, some false, some unbelievable…we use the following fact checking sites. Take a look for yourself:

• Snopes - https://www.snopes.com/

• FactCheck.org - https://www.factcheck.org/

• Politifact - https://www.politifact.com/

• RealClearPolitics - https://www.realclearpolitics.com/

• Reuters FactCheck - https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/

Because media can have its own biases, we also rely upon these sites to help us get balanced coverage:

• Media Bias/Fact Check - https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/

• All Sides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

• Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart - https://app.adfontesmedia.com/chart/interactive

Meet Lamar and Tom

Lamar Roth and Tom Klaus are lifelong friends exploring how to get to a 3rd Space - a space where two or more people with opposing viewpoints, ideologies, and worldviews can come together to hear, listen, share, and connect with one another. Together Lamar and Tom hope to carve out a 3rd Space where everything can be on the table for open, straightforward, honest, and, yet kind and respectful inquiry.

Want to watch us do the podcast? Visit the Klaus Haus Productions YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@KlausHausProductions.

Comments? Suggestions? Ideas for guests or topics?

Send us a voice message on Spotify or email us at lamar3rdSpace@gmail.com and tom3rdSpace@gmail.com.

Credits:

Wild Opinions and Nonsensical Musings by Lamar Roth & Tom Klaus

Images by Getty Images, Pexels, Pixabay, Roth Images, LLC and Cyberlink AI

Final review and approval by Jake and Ebie Dawgs Inc.

Photos by Lamar Roth are copyrighted by Roth Images, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For permissions or additional information: lamar3rdSpace@gmail.com and https://www.rothimages.com/

Getting to 3rd Space with Lamar and Tom is produced and sponsored by Klaus Haus Productions LLC and Acorn Consulting, LLC. © 2026. All Rights Reserved. Permissions: hello@klaushausllc.com.

No living creature was harmed in the production of this film but a lot of Colombian coffee was consumed.

Recorded using Riverside.fm - http://riverside.fm/ - from “home studio” locations in Maryland and Kansas, USA and Iowa; Original Publishing Date, September 15, 2026.