68. The Letterman: When does dark humour go too far?

Bad People

BBC

Society & Culture, True Crime, Unknown

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During an operation in 2013 a nurse sends the surgeon, Dr Simon Bramhall, a sharp look. He shrugs it off and tells her “this is what I do” and continues to burn his initials into the patient's newly transplanted liver. Later, Dr Bramhall argues that dark humour is a way to take the pressure off when working in a high-pressure hospital job. On this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen discuss the nature of dark humour and how an unusual crime was eventually prosecuted. Where should we draw the line between “funny” and “harmful”? And was Dr Bramhall’s explanation plausible? CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Louisa Field Editor: Erika Wright Music: Matt Chandler The Open University: Dr Sarah Laurence and Dr Ailsa Strathie Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland #BadPeople_BBC Bad People is produced in partnership with The Open University and is a BBC Audio Science Production for BBC Sounds.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport in world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.2	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:44.4	Has your dark sense of humour ever gotten you into trouble?
0:47.5	Like maybe you made a joke on stage or somewhere else that went too far?
0:51.3	Yeah, I had a bit of a laughing fit at my grandfather's funeral.
0:55.8	He wasn't a good guy at all, he was a very, very bad person and for some reason his
1:01.9	new wife's side of the family had chosen that we had to sing this song about how great
1:06.1	of a guy he was.
1:07.1	And it was just something so absurd about the situation that I burst into laughter and
1:12.0	I was, I would tend to look at my mom to sort of apologise with my eyes for laughing at
1:16.6	her dad's funeral and she was laughing too.
1:20.0	Yeah, that sort of inappropriate reaction when something is absurd.
1:24.7	I definitely have to pull it together frequently.
1:28.0	When we got home from the funeral, I said to my mother, like, can you believe they chose
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