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).

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