The Revolution Will Be Hilarious with Caty Borum

Caty Borum, Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact and Provost Associate Professor in the School of Communication at American University, joins us again to discuss her new book, The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power. Starting with what Caty finds funny and how she uses comedy as part of her practice as an educator, we go on to talk about how comedy can allow us to approach territory where we feel uncomfortable and provide a forum to share the diversity of our lived experiences. Drawing on Caty’s experiences working with comedy writers and comedians, we explore what’s necessary to create comedy that engages audiences around societal issues and helps move social change. Of course, we couldn’t resist sampling some of Caty’s favorite clips along the way, which are linked below.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Caty Borum - Center for Media and Social Impact
The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power (2023, NYU Press)
Author Caty Borum discusses how comedy will fuel the future of social change (WAMU)
A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice (2020, Univ of California Press)
Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change (2020, Oxford University Press)
Yes, And...Laughter Lab

Some of the videos we talked about:
Inside Amy Schumer - Season 4, Episode 3: "Guy-gles"
Georgia Tech - Freshman Convocation - Epic Welcome Speech
Life's a F***ing Fantasy for Santos - A Randy Rainbow Parody
You're Welcome America: Episode 3 Mental Health
Ain't Your Mama's Heat Wave | Official Trailer | Think 100% FILMS
The Hammer - Comedian Corey Forrester
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Reservation Dogs

Also, see the ongoing list of Guest Hosts for The Daily Show (and watch episodes) HERE

And check out our previous episodes:
Taking risks: Comedy as Tool for Social Justice, with Caty Borum
Play as a Precursor to Participation, with Reanne Estrada and Benjamin Stokes

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