Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of Maximum Fun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye. I'm Jesse Thorne.

What makes a joke? It's a straightforward question, right? It's like a setup with a punchline.

Maybe add a tag at the end. But the more interesting question, maybe the tougher question, is what makes a joke work?

Or how do you make a joke work?

Joke writers have spent their lives puzzling over those questions, and I submit to you the

answer in book form, joke farming, how to write comedy and other nonsense. Its author is my guest,

Elliot Kaelin. Why is Elliot an authority on the matter of joke writing? Well,

let's take a look at his resume. He started as a production assistant on the Daily Show,

working under John Stewart, where he worked his way up to head writer of that program, which for many

years was the best place on television to hear jokes. He also served as the head writer of Mystery Science

Theater 3,000. More recently, he's been the head writer of an upcoming Ghostbusters show. He also

hosts the wonderful podcast, The Flop House. In short, one of the funniest and smartest people

I've ever met, and he's here in the studio with me now. Let's get into it.

Elliot Kaelan, welcome to Bullseye. I'm so happy to have you here on the show.

Thank you so much, Jesse. I'm so excited to be here on the show. One of my favorite shows.

Why did you want to reveal your secrets, Elliot?

Well, there comes a time when the skeletons in the closet just get too loud, the rattling of the bones.

No, I assume you mean my joke writing secrets.

Yeah.

I love joke writing and I love comedy.

And comedy is not just jokes, but jokes are the most important part of comedy.

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