Why Do We Laugh?

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2022

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Laughter: We do it spontaneously, we do it forcefully, we do it with each other and by ourselves. But why did we evolve to giggle in the first place?

Emily and Regina explore the evolutionary underpinnings of laughter — from chimpanzees to modern-day humans — and the ways it unites us.

Keep laughing with us on Twitter — we're at @NPRShortWave — or email the show at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Aloha, this is Charlene Dyer speaking to you from Kilauea, Hawaii, and Kowai.
0:06.5	My name is Asya and I'm from Chicago, Illinois.
0:08.5	I'm Rachel Percy, Michelle Gander-Rude.
0:10.5	And we're from Charleston, South Carolina.
0:12.5	Rosie from Westchester, New York.
0:14.0	You're three are me.
0:15.0	How old are you?
0:16.0	La-Hana.
0:17.0	Happy birthday, short way!
0:18.5	And you're listening to shortwave.
0:21.5	From and P.
0:22.5	Are.
0:24.0	All right, Regina, I have a question for you.
0:26.0	What makes you laugh the most these days?
0:28.0	In this world.
0:29.0	Right now it's like surprising everyday stuff.
0:32.0	Like joyous, bad karaoke or my daughter and I just like talking to each other.
0:37.0	We'll just start laughing.
0:38.0	What about you, Emily?
0:39.0	Like what makes you laugh?
0:41.0	Yeah.
0:42.0	I think I might be amused by myself.
	...

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