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Hey, What's So Funny?

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Emil Sitka, second from left, is shown in an undated studio handout photo with the Three Stooges, from left, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine and Moe Howard. (AP Photo/Ventura County Star)
Emil Sitka, second from left, is shown in an undated studio handout photo with the Three Stooges, from left, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine and Moe Howard. (AP Photo/Ventura County Star)

What makes something funny? We’ve got some theories — backed up, no joke, by scientific research — and a few laughers of our own. 

Guests:

Martie Cook, professor of visual and media arts, Emerson College. (@martiecook)

Caleb Warren, professor at the University of Arizona, co-author of "Benign Violations," an academic study on why we laugh at the things we do.

Rick Jenkins, comedian in Massachusetts.

From The Reading List:

The Atlantic: What Makes Something Funny? — "'Humor can be dissected, as a frog can,' E. B. White wrote, 'but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the purely scientific mind.' True to form, philosophers, scientists, and certain left-brained comedians have been scrutinizing humor’s innards for centuries, seeking a serious understanding of what makes things funny."

This program aired on February 23, 2018.

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