How comedy helps us deal with hard truths (w/ Roy Wood Jr.)

How to Be a Better Human

TED and PRX

Self-improvement, Education

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There’s a saying that comedy is tragedy plus time. Perhaps that’s why some of our biggest problems feel easiest to manage with a dose of humor. Comedian, journalist, and actor Roy Wood Jr. has spent his career finding silly in the serious and using this tactic to influence real change. Listen in to learn how you can tap into the powers of humor in your own life. This episode was edited from a live conversation as part of TED’s Membership programming. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more visit ted.com/membership

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective.
0:02.0	Audio Collective.
0:04.0	You're listening to How to Bea
0:10.0	You're listening to How to Be a Better Human.
0:12.0	I am your host Chris Duffy, and today's episode is a little bit of an experiment.
0:15.6	This is a conversation that was recorded live with a remote audience of TED members asking questions and
0:21.6	participating in the interview.
0:23.3	So I think you're going to hear that this is a lot like one of our regular episodes,
0:26.8	but also has some surprising differences and twists and turns based on what the audience
0:31.2	listening live wanted to know more about.
0:33.0	I think that's all of the context that you need in order for this to make sense and for you
0:36.8	to understand what's happening and I hope you enjoy the episode.
0:39.2	Here it is.
0:40.2	It is so great to be here with all of you for this live conversation.
0:44.0	You know, for a lot of us, the world can feel like a really chaotic place.
0:48.0	There are so many things happening all over the world, all at once.
0:51.0	And with cable news and the internet and social media we have access to all of it.
0:56.2	And while there are a lot of good things peppered in there, so much of the information we get can
1:00.4	feel big and heavy and weighty.
1:03.0	Which is why for many of us, the preferred way to consume information about the world
1:07.3	is with a dose of humor.
1:09.0	Well, our guest today specializes in just that.
	...

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