How to make 2026 a year full of laughs (w/ Chris Duffy and Manoush Zomorodi)

How to Be a Better Human

TED

Self-improvement, Chris Duffy, Self-help, Personal Growth, Interviews, Education, Emotional Awareness, Better Human

4.2 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For the past five seasons, host Chris Duffy has been interviewing guests from psychotherapist Dr. Orna Guralnik to poet Sarah Kay to author Andrew Leland and more on how they work to become better humans. In this special episode kicking off season 6, Chris is now in the hot seat. Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour, joins as guest host to interview Chris on finding joy and how a 5th grader taught Chris humor. They also discuss Chris’ debut book Humor Me and the lessons he learned from hosting the podcast throughout the years.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi there. This is How to Be a Better Human. I'm Chris Duffy, and today on our show, we have...
0:07.0	Hey, Chris, I can take it from here. Oh, Manouche. Okay, you... Yeah, I've so got this. Okay. Hi, you're listening to How to Be a Better Human. I'm Manushe Zamorodi. And today, we are doing something a little different. You might know my voice from my podcast at TED Radio Hour.
0:21.6	I'm a journalist and an author.
0:23.6	And today I am so honored to be guest hosting How to Be a Better Human.
0:28.7	If you are a long-time listener, even if you're not, I think you are going to love today's episode.
0:33.6	Because today it is Chris Duffy himself, who shall be in the How to Be a Better Human Hot Seats.
0:39.8	I am going to grill him on how to be funny because apparently he's learned. He's written a
0:46.5	entire book about it. Just kidding, Chris, you are very funny. I have known Chris for years now because
0:52.3	not only are we both hosts of TED podcasts, we actually get to hang out several times a year when we go to TED conferences.
1:00.8	And let me tell you, when I see this goofy guy coming down the hallway after being surrounded by all the bros, I am so happy to hang out with him to mock ourselves, to mock all the gluten-free options that
1:14.6	there are, and to just hang out with Chris because he's such a warm, lovely, kind person who also
1:21.7	manages to be funny. It's kind of a gift. So today, though, we're going to talk about his new book. It is called
1:28.7	Humor Me, How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy. And I think this
1:36.7	is particularly important right now because, oh, everything feels a little overwhelming, a lot
1:43.6	divisive.
1:45.0	And I think we need to remind each other that a simple way to connect is laughter.
1:50.0	And Chris gets into the research behind that, how you can tap humor to make yourself laugh, to make those around you laugh, and ultimately lead a more fulfilling life to be a better human.
2:02.8	Trust me, he has got it all. He also, by the way, if you didn't know, he gave a TED Talk.
2:08.2	So let's play a clip of that now.
2:10.1	In my experience, the difference between people with an amazing sense of humor and those without
2:14.0	is often just whether they are willing to accept and notice their honest reactions
2:19.7	or whether they try their hardest to fit them into a box. And that can shift over time. I saw that
	...

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