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Comedy Heals What Time Can't - Adam Ruben
Adam Ruben is a molecular biologist, comedian, author, and TV host who has spent over 20 years figuring out how to make science funny - and why that actually matters. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins, teaches a stand-up comedy class there, and has appeared across numerous shows on the Science Channel.
In this conversation we cover a lot of ground. We talk about the craft of comedy - how to read a room, how to tailor humour to different audiences and settings, and what separates a joke that lands from one that doesn't.
We also get into something more unexpected - how storytelling and comedy can be a powerful vehicle for revisiting the harder moments in life.
A conversation for anyone who has ever used laughter to get through something - or wondered if they should.
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-⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Introduction | Byrne Bright Podcast00:59 How PJ Found Adam — Science Comedy in DC03:16 How Adam Combined Science and Comedy04:15 Starting Out at Open Mic Nights in Baltimore07:12 Can Anyone Do Stand-Up? What Adam Tells His Students09:04 Finding Your Unique Voice on Stage10:00 Using Personal Struggles as Comedy Material11:31 Mortified — Reading Childhood Diaries on Stage14:46 Adam Reads His Own Homecoming Night Manifesto16:05 Why Kids Feel Everything So Intensely19:04 Why Live Performance Can Never Be Replicated19:29 Having a Newborn at the Start of COVID22:35 The Toughest Part of the Pandemic24:17 Breaking Down at His First Post-COVID Gig26:08 How Comedy Gigs Came Back — Slowly and Unpredictably29:03 Adam's Favourite Type of Audience32:03 The Strangest Gigs He's Ever Done35:14 How to Set Up a Show for Success37:04 The Stony Brook University Disaster39:18 The Microphone — Why It Changes Everything43:57 Stand-Up vs Improv — Which Is Harder?48:19 Storytelling vs Stand-Up — Key Differences51:07 Bullet Points vs Word-for-Word Memorisation53:44 Why Big Audiences Are Easier Than Small Ones55:49 Performing for 2,000 People at the Warner Theater59:06 Why Clean Comedy Opens More Doors1:00:17 Swearing on Stage — When It Works and When It Doesn't1:01:44 There's No Crying in Storytelling1:04:48 Chuck Nice and Science Comedy on Star Talk1:06:21 Why Humanising Scientists Matters1:07:34 The Draw a Scientist Test1:10:16 Wrapping Up — and a Pinball Episode Tease-
Episode filmed at American University, Washington DC🎧
🎥 Podcast available at:
Spotify
Apple PodcastsYouTube
-
📲 Get In Touch:
Website
-
🎵 Music by Casa O'Dennehy
View all episodes
By PJ ByrneAdam Ruben is a molecular biologist, comedian, author, and TV host who has spent over 20 years figuring out how to make science funny - and why that actually matters. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins, teaches a stand-up comedy class there, and has appeared across numerous shows on the Science Channel.
In this conversation we cover a lot of ground. We talk about the craft of comedy - how to read a room, how to tailor humour to different audiences and settings, and what separates a joke that lands from one that doesn't.
We also get into something more unexpected - how storytelling and comedy can be a powerful vehicle for revisiting the harder moments in life.
A conversation for anyone who has ever used laughter to get through something - or wondered if they should.
-
-⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Introduction | Byrne Bright Podcast00:59 How PJ Found Adam — Science Comedy in DC03:16 How Adam Combined Science and Comedy04:15 Starting Out at Open Mic Nights in Baltimore07:12 Can Anyone Do Stand-Up? What Adam Tells His Students09:04 Finding Your Unique Voice on Stage10:00 Using Personal Struggles as Comedy Material11:31 Mortified — Reading Childhood Diaries on Stage14:46 Adam Reads His Own Homecoming Night Manifesto16:05 Why Kids Feel Everything So Intensely19:04 Why Live Performance Can Never Be Replicated19:29 Having a Newborn at the Start of COVID22:35 The Toughest Part of the Pandemic24:17 Breaking Down at His First Post-COVID Gig26:08 How Comedy Gigs Came Back — Slowly and Unpredictably29:03 Adam's Favourite Type of Audience32:03 The Strangest Gigs He's Ever Done35:14 How to Set Up a Show for Success37:04 The Stony Brook University Disaster39:18 The Microphone — Why It Changes Everything43:57 Stand-Up vs Improv — Which Is Harder?48:19 Storytelling vs Stand-Up — Key Differences51:07 Bullet Points vs Word-for-Word Memorisation53:44 Why Big Audiences Are Easier Than Small Ones55:49 Performing for 2,000 People at the Warner Theater59:06 Why Clean Comedy Opens More Doors1:00:17 Swearing on Stage — When It Works and When It Doesn't1:01:44 There's No Crying in Storytelling1:04:48 Chuck Nice and Science Comedy on Star Talk1:06:21 Why Humanising Scientists Matters1:07:34 The Draw a Scientist Test1:10:16 Wrapping Up — and a Pinball Episode Tease-
Episode filmed at American University, Washington DC🎧
🎥 Podcast available at:
Spotify
Apple PodcastsYouTube
-
📲 Get In Touch:
Website
-
🎵 Music by Casa O'Dennehy