Laughter Research

This episode is a review of a research paper by Angus James McLachlan of the Federation University, Australia. The basis of the research explored in today's episode was to examine how laughter is used by people as a marker in conversation to show that the meaning of the words aren’t meant to be serious in the context that they’re spoken (when accompanied by laughter) and also how the person doing the laughing is essentially trying ...

Why is it that we laugh at stuff that's not 'funny', like walking straight into a pole? What kind of person does it make us if we laugh at someone else walking into a pole, but it's not funny when we do it? 

In this episode I explore how laughter is but one of a variety of tools that we use in our everyday lives to help us to cope with the unexpected - like watching our friends get chased by a grizzly bear. 

This episode also deals...

Who is the Laughter Research podcast for? 

Maybe you're a performer and you want to understand more about why people laugh, or maybe you're a school teacher and you're wondering how laughter might benefit your students.

You may be working in a dangerous or stressful environment and you're wondering if laughter can help you to buffer some of that stress. Perhaps, in a more general sense, you're wondering if there is any evidence to ...

What is the purpose of laughter? Is it simply a physiological response to humour? If so, why do people find themselves laughing at extremely 'unfunny' moments, such as when they find themselves involved in a car crash, or when watching a distressing video? 

In this episode, I introduce the idea that laughter is more than an expression of humour appreciation and it is more likely to be a means to help us negotiate our way through th...

Since the last episode (It's been a while), I've done the research on the ways in which people use laughter to help them get through the trials and tribulations of life and I earned a PhD for my troubles. 

I've also lived through a number of life changing challenges, including breaking my spine, and laughter has served me well. 

Now it's time to put these lessons into the magical format of audio and get back on the podcasting saddl...

Today's podcast - released on none other than International Podcast Day...yes, it's a thing...is a follow up interview with Evan Jordan of Oklahoma State University.

If you are a new listener to the Laughter Research Podcast, you might like to check out the previous interview HERE. Evan has been the lead investigator on a study which has been examining various aspects of infant devel...

My guest in podcast episode #15 is Merv Neal. Merv has a lengthy background in business, but a life threatening challenge to his health instigated a transformation in his approach to life. His goals switched from making money to improving the health of others and himself through the use of laughter.

In this episode we ...

Professor Sophie Scott is the deputy director for the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in UCL (University College London).

While the main focus of her research is the neurobiology of speech perception, her work also includes the study of the neuroscience of laughter. She also dabbles in stand-up comedy.

The main focus of my conversation with Prof. Billi...

Steve Cummins is an author, a broadcaster, a stand-up comedian, as well as being the resident host in the Laughter Lounge, Dublin's premier comedy venue. In this podcast episode (which was ...

Susan Cross is a director of and a partner in a company called TellTale. TellTale is a company which helps the management and staff of cultural and heritage sites to create days out, which visitors to the sites will remember and want to return to. 

Susan's consultancy, mentoring and advisory service in this area has resulted in her becoming one of the best known specialist in the field of enhanced visitor experience in the U.K. as ...

Albert Nerenberg, director of the documentary 'Lau...

Laughter Yoga is a very interesting phenomenon from a scientific perspective, because it’s so challenging to study in a rigorous way. There are various reasons for this, which I get into in greater detail in this episode. I also delve into some of the existing research on the subject and I ask, to what extent is the...

Daniel J Lewis is the host of 'The Ramen Noodle - Clean Comedy Podcast', in addition to being the host of the award winning show 'The Audacity to Podcast'. Daniel explains how he uses laughter in his life to overcome challenges and he offers advise to listeners as to how they might invite more laughter into their life, as well as the lives of their loved ones. 

We discuss the challenges of competing against explicit comedy podcasts...

Today's guest is Niall Mulvey, principal of St. Br...

Lynn discusses her book, Seriously Laugh: The life you save might be your own. She summarises her favourite tips on how to bring laughter into your life and she tells me about her work to bring laughter to the elderly through her 'Patch Works' foundation. I also learn about her crowd funding project, to help her complete her PhD in psychology - specialising in the study of laughter as a tool to enhance well-being. 

We discuss Lynn'...

Paul Weeler is co-founder and co-director of an hilarious clothing apparel and merchandise company called 'Life Is Crap'. Paul tells me about how a chance incident, whilst trapped in a British Pub, due to a 2cm snowfall, led to the brainwave of creating a company to parody the popular U.S. brand 'Life Is Good'. Paul describes how the company has evolved and how he takes the company motto 'Life is crap and laughter is the cure' to h...

In addition to being Assistant Professor in Sociology at London School of Economics, Sam Friedman is a comedy reviewer and publisher of his own arts review magazine 'Fest'. Sam describes what he has learned from his experiences, both as a reviewer and as a researcher at the internationally acclaimed Edinburgh comedy festival. Amongst other things, he tells me about comedy snobbery, why attending some comedy gigs is like sitting an ...