What is the evolutionary purpose of laughter? What’s the difference between Swedish depression and American depression? And why aren’t aliens interested in abducting Mike?

SOURCES:
- Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at Stanford University.
- Judd Apatow, film director, screenwriter, and comedian.
- Fredrik Backman, author.
- Naomi Bagdonas, lecturer in management at Stanford University.
- James Corden, actor, comedian, and former late-night television host.
- Dick Costolo, former C.E.O. of Twitter.
- Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University.
- Jimmy Fallon, comedian and late-night television host.
- Daniel Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University.
- Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and late-night television host.
- Larry LaPrise, 20th-century American singer-songwriter.
- Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, actor, and writer.

RESOURCES:
- "Fredrik Backman on Creative Anxiety and Procrastination," by Fredrik Backman (Simon & Schuster Centennial Celebration, 2024).
- "The Relative Importance of Joke and Audience Characteristics in Eliciting Amusement," by Hannes Rosenbusch, Anthony M. Evans, and Marcel Zeelenberg (Psychological Science, 2022).
- "The 100-Million-Year Origin Story of Laughter and Humor," by Dean Russell (Endless Thread, 2022).
- Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.), by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas (2021).
- "What Makes Things Funny? An Integrative Review of the Antecedents of Laughter and Amusement," by Caleb Warren, Adam Barsky, and A. Peter McGraw (Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2020).
- Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy, by Judd Apatow (2015).
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936).

EXTRAS:
- "Can A.I. Take a Joke?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
- "The Comedian-Ophthalmologist Will See You Now," by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).
- There's Something About Mary, film (1998).

Adam Mansbach, Maya Forbes & China Forbes, and Kurt Braunohler