Want More Joy? Try Taking Yourself Less Seriously with Comedian Chris Duffy

When we’re exhausted, overworked, or just going through a difficult time, our instinct is often to put our heads down and simply focus on getting through it. But those serious moments may actually be when we benefit from a little silliness and absurdity the most. Laurie explores the science of humor with comedian Chris Duffy, host of How to Be a Better Human and author of the new book Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy . Chris shares what he’s learned about how to find humor in almost any situation — and how embracing the funny can improve our wellbeing in surprising ways. Experts Mentioned: Chris Duffy , comedian, author, and host of How to Be a Better Human E. B. White , writer and essayist Mimi M.Y. Tse , Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ross Gay , poet, essayist, and Professor of English at Indiana University Annie Rauwerda , creator of “ Depths of Wikipedia ” Aparna Nancherla , comedian and author Greg Bryant , Professor of Communication at UCLA Adam Mastroianni , experimental psychologist and author Resources Mentioned: Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy , by Chris Duffy (2026) How to Be a Better Human , TED podcast hosted by Chris Duffy “ The impression management benefits of humorous self-disclosures: How humor influences perceptions of veracity ,” by T. Bradford Bitterly and Maurice Schweitzer ( Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 2019) “ The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness ,” by Elliot Aronson, Ben Willerman, and Joanne Floyd ( Human Learning and Thinking , 1966) “ Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults ,” Mimi Tse, Anna Lo, Tracy Cheng, Eva Chan, Annie Chan, and Helena Chung ( Journal of Aging Research , 2010) The Book of Delights: Essays , by Ross Gay (2019) Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching , directed by Owen Reiser (2025) “ Depths of Wikipedia ” “ Hello, stranger? Pleasant conversations are preceded by concerns about starting one ,” by Juliana Schroeder, Donald Lyons, and Nicholas Epley ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 2022) “ The Perception of Spontaneous and Volitional Laughter Across 21 Societies ,” by Greg Bryant et al. ( Psychological Science , 2018) “ Neural substrates of spontaneous musical performance: an FMRI study of jazz improvisation ,” by Charles Limb and Allen Braun ( PLoS One , 2008) “ Good conversations have lots of doorknobs ,” by Adam Mastroianni ( Experimental History , 2022) Related Episodes: “ Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part One) ” “ The Surprising Case for Oversharing ” “ How To Embrace Imperfection ” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.