logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
33m 19s

How to find the humor in everyday life (...

TED
About this episode

When was the last time you really, really laughed? For some people, laughter comes easily and anything can set them off. But for many of us, finding humor in everyday life is something we might leave to the professionals. Jo Firestone is a comedian--and long-time friend of Chris’s--who frequently teaches all kinds of people the art of stand-up comedy. In today’s episode, she talks about how humor can be an act of connection, and how comedy can help us see the lighter sides of life, even in difficult times. Case in point: over the last year, Jo taught socially-distant stand-up to senior citizens over Zoom. Now, her students will be the stars of their very own comedy special, “Good Timing” which airs later this month. Barbara Bova, one of Jo’s hilarious students, also joins to share the comedy tips she learned and to tell some great jokes. Find more about Jo on her website at jofirestone.com and check out “Good Timing” on October 15. To learn more about "How to Be a Better Human," host Chris Duffy, or find footnotes and additional resources, please visit: go.ted.com/betterhuman

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts


Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Summer Fridays: How to be more joyful (w/ Ingrid Fetell Lee) (re-release)
How to find and create Joy in your life -- what is joy? And what is its purpose in our lives? We talk with Ingrid about how to cultivate more joy in our daily lives, especially when we don't feel particularly in the headspace for joy, and about how our design choices can have a h ... Show More
38m 25s
Jul 27
How to understand your family history (w/ Keith Rushing)
Journalist Keith Rushing has spent years trying to report on his most difficult story - the history of his own family. Who do we come from? What do we inherit from the past? How can understanding our ancestors make us better humans today? To find out the answers, Chris invites Ke ... Show More
42m 58s
Jul 24
Summer Fridays: How to find “your thing” (or your many things) (w/ Constance Hockaday) (re-release)
Some people are born knowing exactly what they want to do with their life – and because of that, they’re able to get to the top of their field. But most of us have multiple passions and identities, making it difficult to visualize our own unique paths. So, how do we explore who w ... Show More
34m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
How to find laughter anywhere | Chris Duffy
Why are some people really funny and others ... not so much? Comedian Chris Duffy shows how you can sharpen your sense of humor and start laughing every day — by seeing the world like a kid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 
8m 27s
Jun 2024
FYC Episode 98: Laughing at Tigers -Using Humor to Reduce Stress with Carole Deyoe
Certified Life Coach Kim Perone talks with Carole Deyoe, a pharmacist, stand-up comic, and cancer survivor whose mission in life is to convince every patient, caregiver, and health care provider that a little laughter is good medicine, and a lot of laughter is a contagious remedy ... Show More
32m 16s
Mar 2022
A Serious Case for Humor | Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas
<p>A common denominator among all of the great meditation teachers is a sense of humor. They take the teaching seriously, but they don't take themselves seriously. So perhaps there's a link between human flourishing and humor. That's not to say you have to be hilarious in order t ... Show More
1h 7m
Apr 2021
Humor Us
<p>Hahaha! The average four-year-old child laughs 300 times a day. By contrast, it takes more than two months for the average 40-year-old adult to laugh that many times. This week, we talk with behavioral scientist <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/je ... Show More
52m 3s
Oct 2023
How comedy helps us deal with hard truths | Roy Wood Jr.
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 the silly in the serious and using this tactic to influence rea ... Show More
36m 55s
Oct 2021
Humour, Seriously
Humour, Seriously - by Jennifer Aaker & Naomi BagdonasWhy Humour Is A Superpower At Work And In Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It... Even You)Everyone loves a laugh. We like to watch funny movies, listen to entertaining podcasts, go to comedy festivals to watch stand up or impr ... Show More
25m 48s