What's So Funny About...? (pssilvaii)

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Jeremy Sherman, self proclaimed psychoproctologist and comedic provocateur. Jeremy Sherman, PhD, is a cradle-to-grave researcher, meaning from the origins of life to our grave situation, which he argues is a product of the anxious human desire for seen-the-light last-word absolutes in all their diverse and competing revelations and manifestations. He calls himself an ironic romanticynic, romantic meaning the dream of happily ever after that lives in all of us but can't be met in reality, where all we get is the struggle for existence and our iffy educated guesswork that sometimes goes ironically wrong.

These days, Sherman is most active on his YouTube channel, Trying Beings, which means all of us trying to thrive and the people who try your patience. He's written over 1000 blog articles for Psychology Today under the titles Ambigamy Insights for the deeply romantic and deeply wary, and Jerkology; What makes some people tick like time bombs. The Psych Today editor calls his offerings "Mind candy for people who aren't afraid to think."

Much of his recent research has been in a field he has coined as "Psychoproctology," a light name for a serious subject in which one shouldn't take one's efforts too seriously. It's the careful diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tempting absolutist tendencies.

Sherman has been the primary research partner with Harvard/Berkeley biologists for thirty years. Terrence Deacon on how life emerged from chemistry. His book on that research is Neither Ghost Nor Machine: The Emergence and Nature of Selves (Columbia University Press). His most recent book is called, "What's Up with A**holes?: How to spot and stop them without becoming one."

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Ryan Niemiller aka Cripple Threat.

You may know Ryan Niemiller as the disarmingly handsome comedian and 3rd place finalist from America’s Got Talent Season 14. Despite being born with a disability in both arms, Ryan, the self-proclaimed “Cripple Threat of Comedy”, shares his views of the world from the perspective of the handicapped (and very handsome).

Ryan began his comedy career in Los Angeles, California, and hasn’t looked back since. He’s a favorite performer in clubs and colleges across the country.

His comedy covers topics such as dating, trying to find employment and attempting to find acceptance in a world not designed for him.

With his quick wit, good looks, great timing, and a gimmick that only he can exploit, Ryan hopes to prove to the comedy world that he may be unarmed, but he is dangerous. And handsome – in case you missed it the first three times.

You can find out more about Ryan and show dates at https://www.cripplethreat.com/ and on Instagram @cripplethreat8.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to humorist, mentalist, and magician Dr. Steve Taubman, author of Bulletproof and UnHypnosis, and performer of Mind Magic which combines elements of comedy and mindreading with a healthy dose of psychology and theater, drawing on Dr. Steve’s laser-sharp observational skills and his refined sense of the absurd. In our conversation we touch on many elements of the human experience and how we can bring attention and laughter to our world.

The brilliance of how Steve uses his many talents is that he does so in service to helping people question their assumptions in fundamental ways, incorporating mindfulness, magic, and more. It is a fun episode. This episode's "What's So Funny About...?" question is, what's so funny about getting old? Listen to find out Steve's answer.

The Liberation Comedy Project is incubated by Mediator's Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Wali Collins, a top NYC comedian and accomplished drummer, transitioned from aspiring architect to a sought-after entertainer. Despite an initial reluctance to try stand-up comedy, his humorous talent flourished, leading to regular featured performances. Hosting Comedy Central's "Stand-up Stand-up," he showcased diverse comedians. Wali's versatility extends to film roles in "Submission" and "Coyote Ugly." Notable TV appearances include Netflix's "The Get Down" and Hulu's "Difficult People." His clean, clever style makes him a corporate events favorite, entertaining major companies and even working with Presidents Bush and Obama, plus Michelle Obama. Explore his YouTube channel, "WAIT. WHAT?! with Wali," for thought-provoking content.

You can find out more about Wali's work on instagram at @walicollins and https://www.walicollins.com/.

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this special episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, IrReverent: Spirituality, Comedy, and the Body Politic, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk with Benjamin-Shalom Rodriguez and Rev. Barbara Ann Michaels.

Benjamin-Shalom Rodriguez (he/they) is a queer, Mexican-Israeli-American writer, director, and comedian. Ben's currently developing his half-hour animated comedy, Jesus Versus Zeus, with Sony and completed  season 2 of Stoned Breakups, which he created and hosts. He’s also an educator and filmmaker mentor with Edward James Olmos’ Latino Film Institute/Youth Cinema Project, where they teach students from underfunded schools how to make short films, and a charter member of the queer Latinx writers collective, The Clubhouse.

Benjamin is also the director of America's Next Top Immigrant (https://danceswithfilms.com/americas-next-top-immigrant/) and can be followed on Instagram at @lolohgosh and lologosh.

Reverend Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace, (https://www.jesterofthepeace.com/), is an award-winning interfaith minister, performance artist, humorist, and author on a humanitarian humor mission.

She founded the House of Holy Humor, a secular congregation for the humor arts. All faiths and atheists are welcome. Love, art, and humor are her trifecta of tools for emotional well-being. House of Holy Humor delivers playfully serious participatory arts experiences that further love, connection, and healing internationally, often through collaboration with organizations.

​

Her background includes using audience-interactive art and performance to further community and corporate missions at events from galas to trade shows to festivals and parties.

She also had a 20 year career as an arts educator in theater and improvisation for adults and youth, amplifying their leadership skills through self-expression and collaboration.

As an ordained interfaith minister, she was a wedding officiant for 10 years, specializing in creative ceremonies, including costume and helicopter weddings, for over 550 couples. She performed some of the first legal LGBTQ weddings in New York State.

Her definition of a fulfilling life is people finding, giving, and being appreciated for their gifts to humanity - all people seen, heard, celebrated, and connected. She acts for a win-win world.

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

For the inaugural Liberation Comedy Podcast, "What's So Funny About...? we are thrilled to have Karith Foster, American comedian, speaker, television and radio personality, actress, author, and entrepreneur. Karith is the founder and CEO of ⁠Inversity Solutions⁠ a consulting firm that specializes in and Foster Russell Alliance for Meaningful Expression (FRAME), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which is committed to "Inspiring free speech, social change and empowerment through education and mentorship."

In this episode, we discuss how comedy can help be a healing force in society and we ask our "What's so funny about... Question of the Day"--What's So Funny About Illness?

Humor made a difference in Rev. Barbara's life. So she made her life's work to use humor to make a difference in other people's lives. In this episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" podcast, we talk to Rev. Barbara Ann Michaels, Comic Artist, Entrepreneur, and Founder of The House of Holy Humor. Listen in as we discuss how humor works in our lives to help us heal, transform, and create in every area of our lives by allowing us to work with our vulnerabilities. Keep up with Barbara at https://www.jesterofthepeace.com/.

Key Takeaway:

"There is nothing off limits in comedy. And some things are too soon to joke about forever."

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to performer, a professor of conflict resolution and the Director of the Washington Improv Theater’s WIT@Work program, John Windmueller, PhD (see more below). John talks about how the tools of improv can be used in variety of situations from business negotiations to hostage negotiations. We also discuss the power of laughter, neurobiology, and even a tad on spirituality.

This episode's "What's So Funny About...?" question is, "What's so funny about the 'Montgomery Brawl'?" Listen to find out John's answer.

The Liberation Comedy Project is incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

John Windmueller serves as the Director of WIT@Work, the applied improv and corporate training branch of Washington Improv Theater. WIT@Work is one of the largest providers of applied improv training in the US, with clients including Deloitte, Google, Comcast, Capital One, Marriott, NPR, NIH, EPA, and the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit. John has over two decades of experience designing, delivering, and overseeing professional training and graduate education focused on communication, collaboration, and creativity. In addition to his education and training background, he holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and has extensive experience working as a facilitator and mediator, helping groups and communities have constructive conversations. Along with directing WIT@Work, John performs regularly at WIT and at improv festivals throughout the U.S.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Black Santa Claus aka DC White.

DC is an entrepreneur and pastor who believes in the power of leveraging imagination and the practical to invite people into greater possibilities for themselves and others. We talk about the responsibility of how we encounter people, representation, and the magic of defying expectations. Question for this episode: What is so funny about being a Black Santa in a White area?

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Stephen Hawkins.

Stephen is an impressionist on the comedy scene while in his professional life he is focused on understanding and mitigating political polarization. He is the lead author of the 2018 study Hidden Tribes: a Study of America’s Polarized Landscape and other reports with More in Common that have been referenced in over one-thousand media articles, including in the New York Times, The Economist, CNN, Fox News, and The Atlantic. Stephen appears regularly on CPR’s Colorado Matters, has taken caller questions on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and speaks frequently at national and international conferences. Stephen has served as the Global Director of Research for More in Common since the organization’s founding in 2016, overseeing studies on the psychology of political division in nine countries. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Prior to joining More in Common, Stephen conducted public opinion research for Fortune 100 companies, United Nations agencies, electoral campaigns and political movements. Stephen lives with his wife in Denver, Colorado where he is a 40 under 40 award recipient. Question for this episode: What is so funny about the religious limitations on comedy?

In this special Thanksgiving episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the ⁠Liberation Comedy Project⁠, I talk with comedian, producer, and actor Blake Pickens (see bio below) about his perspective on Thanksgiving, the balm of laughter, and all kinds of hilarity.

Blake Pickens is an Emmy Award winning Chickasaw comedian and filmmaker. Blake began his career writing satire for The National Lampoon, where he published numerous featured articles. He is a part of A Tribe Called Sketch, the first all Native American sketch show on a US Second City Stage. He can be seen performing stand up all over LA.

Blake was selected for the Time Warner Sundance Native Producing Lab and Fellowship and the Sundance Producing Fellowship for his film, THE LAND. The film premiered in 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by IFC Films. Blake has produced content with a focus on diversity and inclusion, ranging from feature films to commercials and music videos. He has produced commercials that have won a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions two years in a row (2017, 2018), and won a 2018 Emmy for his P&G commercial, THE TALK. He also won an MTV VMA for his work on John Legend’s music video, SUREFIRE. His second feature film as a producer, WILD INDIAN, with Michael Greyeyes and Jesse Eisenberg premiered at Sundance 2021.

Blake was also selected for the inaugural 2020 Sundance Indigenous Intensive for his comedy pilot, THE WILDEST WEST, which was also selected for the Black List’s Indigenous List. He wrote on the Rugrats reboot for Nickelodeon and wrote on Spirit Rangers for Netflix. He is currently in post production on THE ROOF for Disney+/Launchpad and is part of Illuminative’s Producers Program.

Blake is a graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC, has an MBA from LMU, and is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

Blake can be found on Instagram at @blakepickens and see some of his work at ⁠https://blakepickens.com⁠/.

The "What's So Funny About...?"Podcast is incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify.

In this special episode of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, Alternative Comics, we talk with Alan Jenkins and Gan Golan, creators of the graphic novel 1/6.

Alan Jenkins is a multimedia writer, Harvard Law School Professor, human rights advocate, recovering Supreme Court litigator, and producer and editor of the social justice superhero Helvetika Bold! He is a Co-Founder and former President of The Opportunity Agenda, and has appeared widely in print and broadcast media, including CNN, MSNBC, the Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

Gan Golan is a NY Times bestselling author, artist and activist known for  'Goodnight Bush' and the critically-acclaimed 'The Adventures of Unemployed Man'. He’s designed Rock Music posters for Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Nick Cave and Henry Rollins and his Ben Harper poster is considered one of the greatest music posters of all time.

Together this Dynamic duo are the creators of 1/6 , a graphic novel that explores what might have been if the events of January 6th went according to plan.

You can find out more about 1/6 and get your copies at https://onesixcomicsstore.com/ The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation and managed by YOUnify .

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to comedian, Robin Johnson. After more than 20 years of military service, Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, USA, Ret., discovered her new mission in improving people, organizations, and communities with humor. Lieutenant Colonel Johnson is a:

• Certified Humor Professional (Association for the Applied & Therapeutic Humor)
• TEDx Speaker
• HEAL*ARIOUS programs facilitator
• Nationally touring stand-up comedian
• Voted Best Charleston Comic 2022
• CEO, Best Medicine Brigade
• Executive Producer

Robin Johnson is breaking new ground with her work and is a powerful of example of what is possible when a person chooses to use their talents to serve others.

IG: @heal.arious

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/healarious

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Nick Marx co-author of That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them

Nick Marx is an Associate Professor of film and media studies, specializing in media studies, media industries, digital media, and American politics and culture.  He is author or co-editor of several books, including Sketch Comedy: Identity, Reflexivity, and American Television (Indiana University Press, 2019), The Comedy Studies Reader (University of Texas Press, 2018), and Saturday Night Live and American TV (Indiana University Press, 2013).  His peer-reviewed research has appeared in The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Communication, Culture & Critique, Television and New Media, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, and in the anthologies From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels (Routledge, 2022) and How to Watch Television (New York University Press, 2013).

Nick's most recent book project is That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work For Them (University of California Press, 2022), which analyzes the cultural influence and economic clout of libertarian and conservative comedians like Joe Rogan, Tim Allen, and Fox News' Greg Gutfeld. You can read an excerpt of the book at New York magazine, and you can follow Nick on Twitter (@marxnick).

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to Environmentalist and Comic, Belina Raffy of Sustainable Standup, Maffick, and Giggling With Earth.

Belina Raffy is here to bring the Cosmic Giggle to Earth. She is US-American and French, is based in Berlin, Germany, and she teaches individuals and organisations around the world how to improvise, align with nature, and write & perform a loving form of stand up comedy about climate and social issues. She has run her course Sustainable Stand Up over 50 times online and across 11 countries. And she is in the process of writing her second book. Her first is called, “Using Improv to Save the World (and me)”.

Question for this episode:

What is so funny about climate change?

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to comedian and activist, Steve Bhaerman

Steve Bhaerman is an internationally known author, humorist, and workshop leader. For the past 35 years, he has written and performed as Swami Beyondananda, the "Cosmic Comic." Swami's comedy has been called "irreverently uplifting" and has been described both as "comedy disguised as wisdom" and "wisdom disguised as comedy."

As the Swami, Steve is the author of Driving Your Own Karma (1989), When You See a Sacred Cow, Milk It For All It's Worth (1993), Duck Soup for the Soul (1999) and Swami for Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile Dysfunction (2004).

You can learn more about Steve's work here. The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).

In this episode, of the "What's So Funny About...?" Podcast, brought to you by the Liberation Comedy Project, we talk to comedian and activist, Philip Ogren.

Philip lives in Boulder Colorado where he is a housing advocate, political activist, and stand-up comedian.  He also hosts a podcast Sharing Boulder which imagines a more inclusive, affordable, climate-friendly Boulder through the lens of housing and transportation policy and land use reform.  

The Liberation Comedy Project is being incubated by Mediators Foundation (https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/) and managed by YOUnify (https://www.younify.org/).