Why Does Comedy Matter When Everything Feels Broken?

Episode Information
Huge thank you to everyone who helped bring this episode together. After we wrapped, I realized I forgot to shout out a few absolute legends like Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore. I also didn’t get to name some of the incredible women in comedy I love and admire so much, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig. And Catherine O’Hara deserves special love too. While she isn’t a stand-up comedian, her ability to make me and so many others laugh is truly unmatched.

There are honestly too many brilliant people to list, but I hope you have someone in your life who makes you laugh whether that’s a comedian you love, a family member, a coworker, or a friend. We all deserve a little more laughter. 

Guest Information 
Belinda Carroll (She/Her), Comedian, Activist
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6509199/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belinda_Carroll_(comedian)
Instagram: @belindacomedy
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@belinda_comedy

Recording and Production
Recorded at:  XRAY.FM Studios
Original Music: Rainezra @rainezra and Vews @pointofvews
Audio Editing by: Kye Gilmer @residual_audio

Learn More/Sources
The following materials were referenced or informed this episode. Links are provided for transparency and further reading.

Proverbs 17:22 (Bible)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+17%3A22&version=NRSVUE

Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/32961/anatomy-of-an-illness-as-perceived-by-the-patient-by-norman-cousins/

Laughter and stress hormones, Berk et al., American Journal of the Medical Sciences
https://journals.lww.com/amjmedsci/Abstract/1989/12000/Neuroendocrine_and_Stress_Hormone_Changes_During.1.aspx

Mayo Clinic on stress relief from laughter
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times (1936)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027977/

Great Depression unemployment data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/10/art1full.pdf

Mel Brooks, The Producers (1967)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/

Mel Brooks on making Hitler ridiculous
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/mel-brooks-on-making-hitler-ridiculous-180962498/

Mark Twain lecture tours and humor
https://www.pbs.org/marktwain/learnmore/writings_humor.html

Dick Gregory biography and civil rights comedy
https://www.biography.com/performer/dick-gregory

Dick Gregory: Beyond the Laughter documentary
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101688/

Lenny Bruce obscenity trials
https://www.aclu.org/documents/trials-lenny-bruce

Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth documentary
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120715/

Bob Hope USO history
https://www.uso.org/stories/1942-bob-hope-and-the-uso

George Carlin on political language
https://www.openculture.com/2013/02/george_carlin_on_soft_language.html

George Carlin books
https://www.georgecarlin.com/books/

Richard Pryor documentary Omit the Logic
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2486682/

Eddie Murphy Delirious
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085478/

Eddie Murphy Raw
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093855/

I Love Lucy “Job Switching” chocolate factory episode
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609194/

I Love Lucy “Lucy Does a Commercial” Vitameatavegamin episode
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609186/

Joan Rivers documentary A Piece of Work
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1558250/

Robin Williams Live on Broadway
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303781/

Mrs. Doubtfire
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107614/

The Birdcage
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115685/

SNL returns after 9/11
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/snl-returns-after-9-11-flna1c9462991

Jon Stewart “Can we be funny?” story
https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/jon-stewart-snl-911-oral-history.html

The Daily Show
https://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
https://www.tbs.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
https://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver

The Colbert Report
https://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report

Have I Got News for You
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mkw3

The Golden Girls
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088526/

Broad City
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2578560/

Parks and Recreation
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266020/

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