Chris Duffy: A Comedian Walks Into Some Neuroscience
The Story Collider
Story Collider, Inc.
4.4 • 824 Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2016
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After reading about scientific theories of humor, comedian Chris Duffy decides to see if those principles can make his act better. Chris Duffy is a NYC-based comedian who performs across the country. His shows have been featured in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and in The Onion A.V. Club. Chris is the creator and host ofYou're the Expert, a live show, podcast, and public radio program on Boston's WBUR where three comedians try to guess what a scientist studies all day.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to hear a story by comedian Chris Duffy. |
| 0:02.9 | Chris is also the host of You're the Expert, a public radio show where three comedians try to guess what a leading scientist does all day. |
| 0:09.1 | Once the comedians figured out, they interview the scientist about why his or her work matters. |
| 0:13.2 | The show is fun, it's funny, and you might even actually learn something. |
| 0:16.6 | And if you like the story collider, I think you'll love you're the expert. You can find them online at theexpertshow.com or on any podcasting app. |
| 0:27.0 | A science story, huh? |
| 0:30.1 | Is NYU scientists the... |
| 0:31.6 | I felt... |
| 0:32.6 | I was so... |
| 0:33.6 | And I just thought, well... |
| 0:34.6 | I figured it out. |
| 0:35.6 | It was that golden moment. |
| 0:38.1 | Because science was on my side. |
| 0:49.4 | Hey, everyone. I'm Ben Lilly, and welcome to the Story Collider, where we bring you true personal stories about science. |
| 0:55.6 | This week's story is from Chris Duffy. It was recorded in March 2016 at Union Hall in Brooklyn. |
| 1:16.4 | So obviously I am not a scientist. |
| 1:22.0 | I am a comedian, but I do interview scientists on this radio show that I do, called You're the Expert. |
| 1:27.8 | And over the course of many years of doing the show now, I have talked to people who study everything from poisonous snails to people who study nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, I think, is actually |
| 1:34.5 | the one that exists. And it got me thinking that there's got to be people out there who |
| 1:40.4 | actually study the neuroscience of laughter. And maybe those people could help me to become funnier as a comedian. And so over the past few months, I have been taking findings |
| 1:50.6 | from neuroscience and trying to put them into effect in my comedy club performances. And I was |
| 1:57.4 | very skeptical at first. I was skeptical that this could possibly make me a funnier comedian, but I tried it anyway. |
... |
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