Audio
12/07/2012
- No Joke -- Why Even Tragedy Gets a Laugh
- 'Escape Fire' Exposes Flaws of American Healthcare
- Blue Whale Barrel Roll Caught on Camera
- Unlocking a Lake’s Bacterial Secrets, Beneath 20 Meters of Ice
- Ask an Astronaut: Don Pettit and Jeff Hoffman on Spaceflight
- Curiosity 2.0? NASA Announces New Mars Rover Plans
Archive
2013
January
February
March
April
May
2012
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2011
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2010
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2009
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2008
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2007
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Subscribe
Dec. 07, 2012
No Joke -- Why Even Tragedy Gets a Laugh
Click 
to enlarge images
to enlarge images
|
|
Tweet |
|
When comedian Tig Notaro found out she had breast cancer, she incorporated the grim news into her stand-up routine -- and got quite a few laughs from the audience. Notaro and neuroscientist Robert Provine discuss the origins of laughter, what separates the amusing from the truly funny, and why even tragedy sometimes gets a laugh.
|
Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer
Guests
-
Tig Notaro
Writer, Comedian
New York, New York -
Robert Provine
Author, "Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond" (Belknap Press, 2012)
Neuroscientist and Professor of Psychology
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland
RELATED READING
Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond
by Robert R. Provine
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED BLOG POSTS
- This Dinosaur Is Made From Balloons, Not Bones
A project for the Virginia Museum of Natural History is more than a bunch of hot air.
- Predicting Storms, Electroshock Therapy, Germaphiles, and More
Each week we’ll round up links to science stories or studies that blow our mind, tickle our funny bone, or generally strike our ...
- The Perils of Plankton
An artist magnifies an overlooked environmental problem in sculptures that are larger than life.
- Brilliant Blunders
Were the theories of illustrious minds such as Linus Pauling and Albert Einstein free of serious blunders? Absolutely not!
Discussion