The Science & Art of Comedy & Creativity | Tom Segura

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2025

⏱️ 137 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest is Tom Segura, renowned comedian, writer, actor and director. We discuss the “how-to” of comedy writing and storytelling, and what the science of humor and the creative process reveal about human emotion and memory. We explore why surprise and the act of "saying the unspoken truth" activate the brain’s reward circuits, as well as the subconscious mechanisms that shape our sense of what is funny. The episode also examines the bi-directional influence between comedy and cultural standards. It will interest anyone curious about the science of humor, the art of performance and emotional contagion. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Maui Nui: https://mauinuivenison.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman David Protein: https://davidprotein.com/huberman Function Health: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 Tom Segura 00:01:45 Family, Sports, Running 00:09:35 Sponsors: Maui Nui & Helix Sleep 00:12:37 Ideas, Running, Sleep & Brain, Tools: Exercise for Energy; Phone Outside Room 00:20:16 Capturing Ideas, Cannabis, Storytelling, Experimentation 00:27:28 Ideas & Set List, Performance 00:31:52 Wife, Jokes, Reframing Content; Cancel Culture, Audience Reaction 00:40:56 Jokes, Self & Amusement; Evolution & New Material 00:48:26 Sponsors: AG1 & David Protein 00:51:24 Surprise, Hidden Thoughts; Acting 00:59:02 Voice Impersonation, Kids, Strength Training, Activities 01:05:40 Repeating Jokes; State Changes, Crowds & Energy 01:13:11 Silly Mindset; Audience, Emotional Contagion; Humor & Subconscious Mind 01:27:44 Sponsor: Function 01:29:32 Crowd Work, Comedy Clubs; Original Comedy 01:38:13 Comedy & Social Context; Dark Comedy 01:47:51 Drugs, Overdose, Comedian Deaths, Mental Health; Cynicism, Hope 01:54:21 Audience, Twin Comics; Vulnerability; Stand-Up & Performance 02:01:49 Comedy & Passion, Complaints; Childhood Struggle, Insecurities, Therapy 02:10:53 “Bad Thoughts” Show, Upcoming Projects 02:14:44 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:08.8	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.2	My guest today is Tom Seguer. Tom Seguer is a renowned comedian, writer, and director.
0:21.8	During today's episode,
0:26.4	we explore the neuroscience and psychology behind comedy, and we explore the creative process more generally. Tom shares his approach to capturing and developing ideas into narratives
0:30.6	that are at once funny and thought-provoking. We discuss the interplay between daily life
0:35.5	observations and larger cultural dynamics when developing comedy routines.
0:40.3	We spend a fair bit of time discussing the neurobiological basis of humor
0:43.3	and what data and brain lesion patients have taught us
0:46.3	about why we find certain ideas novel, funny, or exciting.
0:50.3	We also talk about how this relates to the activation reward circuits in the brain
0:53.3	and the
0:54.3	seemingly automatic way that things are either funny or not funny to people, suggesting
0:58.5	that humor is like taste or smell.
1:00.7	You really can't negotiate what works for you or what doesn't.
1:03.5	We also discuss emotional contagion and how skilled performers like Tom become masters at reading,
1:08.6	shifting, and dancing with the collective energy of crowds,
1:11.7	whether in small comedy clubs or large arena shows. So if you're creative or you're curious about
1:16.5	human psychology, or if you simply love to laugh, you'll come away from today's episode having
1:21.1	learned a ton of useful information about the creative process and human nature. Before we begin,
1:26.9	I'd like to emphasize
1:27.5	that this podcast is separate from my teaching
	...

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