You Can't Laugh At That

Today’s guest is Lynda Murdock, executive director of HR (and fun!) for Professional Billing Services West, a radiology billing company that has leaned into the human side of building a vibrant workplace culture.

Lynda is not your typical HR professional, as she has leaned into the fact that she doesn't take herself too seriously, which has transformed the HR function at PBS West into one that cultivates happiness, creativity, and connection between employees. From her off-the-wall "FriYAY" updates, to outside-of-the-box virtual contests, to kickass potlucks, Lynda has truly contributed to a culture that proves you CAN laugh at work.

In this episode, we talk about:

-The culture of adulting Lynda has created and what it means.

-Getting her coworkers to reframe HR to “happy resources” by filling the role of spreading positivity.

-Inspiring employees to be comfortable sharing their ideas by cultivating relationships starting from the interview.

-Translating this culture and relationship cultivation to a virtual stage upon the onset of COVID.

-Lynda’s ideas for Friyay updates to keep people engaged virtually.

-Keeping the culture fun in a virtual setting.

-A renewed focus on mental health.

-To keep the camera on or off?

-The opportunities created by transitioning to a remote work environment.

And more!!!

Follow Lynda on social media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndamurdock/

Find out more about Professional Billing Services West: pbswest.com

About The Podcast:

You Can't Laugh At That is a podcast launched by comedians David Horning and Steve Mers to prove that anything can be funny in a world that often takes itself too seriously. David and Steve are obsessed with the art and science of comedy and why we laugh, so this podcast was started to prove that when approached with the right intent, perspective, and delivery, you CAN laugh at that.

https://you-cant-laugh-at-that.captiv...​

patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

twitter.com/youcantlaughpod

facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Follow David on IG and Twitter: @THEdavidhorning

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/watercoolerdavid

Produced by Water Cooler Comedy - http://watercoolercomedy.org​

Music by Producedbyzip - https://producedbyzip.bandcamp.com

In today's world, where it seems like people either have one opinion or the opposite, any sort of challenge to where we stand is taken as a personal slight, a fireable offense, or downright offensive.

We won't get into the science of questioning our own beliefs and values that it provides, but we DO invite comedian Neko White (TruTV, MTV2, Vice News) onto the podcast to share his bit that challenges the fixed beliefs of a popular social movement by asking the question, "What if it was you?"

This episode dives into the societal constructs of speaking up inside of an echo chamber, why laughing releases us from the stresses of always-or-never thinking, and exploring the gray area of a world pretending to be black or white, proving you CAN laugh at having your beliefs challenged.

In this episode, we talk about:

-How one of his teachers inspired Neko to start comedy at such a young age.

-Neko’s bit about a conversation he had regarding the “Believe All Women” movement.

-The lack of meaningful dialogue between conflicting perspectives around the #MeToo Movement.

-The limitations of believing something 100% of the time.

-How comedy plays in the gray areas of a black and white-focused world.

-Intention behind jokes.

-Being forced into taking a side, when life isn't that simple.

-The rhythm of stand-up and being unconsciously influenced by hip hop.

-Personifying the audience in stories and jokes so that if they laugh, they’re laughing at themselves.

-Embellishing stories to raise the tension.

-Using your voice as an instrument.

-Running shows with the intent of supporting the comics.

-Neko’s writing process.

-The subjectivity of people based on what they take away from hearing a bit or joke.

-The media agitating fear and conflict within people.

And more!!!

Watch Neko's special, Dark Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZJVEEjJ7E0

Buy Neko's album, Marscellus: https://amzn.to/3uQLz3O

Follow Neko on social media:

Instagram: @nekowhite93

Twitter: @neko_white93

Clubhouse: @nekowhite

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

To support our guests, you can buy their albums at watercoolercomedy.org/podcast

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

Maddy Smith is a NYC comedian who is a featured performer on Wild N Out, a Comic To Watch in the New York Comedy Festival, and wrote for The Comedy Central Roast Of Alec Baldwin, but she also has a hilarious act-out bit about role playing with her boyfriend.

And yes, you CAN laugh at that.

Comedy is about creating a connection with an audience, and in a sense, sex is all about connection with a partner, but what happens when it doesn't go according to plan?

In our exploration of the seemingly limited topic of role playing, we dive into the importance of commitment in comedy - especially in act-outs - and connection with your audience. In addition, we also talk about:

-Finding out the Easter Bunny isn’t real.

-Going from roast battles to Wild N Out.

-Roasting the crowd.

-Maddy’s podcast, “That Time Of The Week.”

-Secretly starting comedy, just in case it doesn't go well.

-When trying a new style of joke works and how energizing that can be.

-Maddy’s bit on role playing with her boyfriend.

-Going beyond the obvious joke.

-Spoon-feeding crowds vs. trusting them to put the joke together.

-The mistakes that can come from assessing an audience before getting onstage.

-The common (and lazy) way comics turn the crowd against the performers.

-When act-outs don’t get momentum with the crowd.

-Committing to the bit without over-committing.

-David’s role-playing fantasy.

-Consuming comedy as a comedian.

-The toxicity of social media.

-When it’s okay to read new material onstage.

And more!!!

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

To support our guests, you can buy their albums at watercoolercomedy.org/podcast

Follow Maddy on Social Media:

Twitter: @somaddysmith

Instagram: @somaddysmith

To learn more about Maddy and listen to her podcast, "That Time Of The WEEK," visit her website: maddysmithcomedy.com

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

Everybody has at least one bad habit they resist or feel shame about, and as a result of that shame, don't feel right laughing about.

Not only is it okay to laugh, laughing about our shame can bring about the change we need to put it in the past.

Joining this episode of the podcast is NYC comedian Jay Welch, to share how he found the funny in his fast food habit and the shame he felt in justifying his choices, turning it into a hilarious bit that we break down in this episode. Jay's insights into joke writing really broke down why it's okay to laugh at our shame -- in this case, food shame.

Comics: get out your pens. There's a lot of good joke writing tips in this one.

We also talk about:

-Why Jay quit doing roasts.

-Working local references into a joke.

-Using hunter/gatherer skills while living in a city.

-Adding funny wrinkles into longer setups.

-The psychological edge joking about yourself gives you with an audience.

-Racial power dynamics in comedy.

-Seasonal jokes.

-If eating ice cream in the winter is acceptable.

-Being self-conscious about what you eat and finding the humor in the compulsion.

-Leaving breadcrumbs so the audience shares the powerful experience of everyone getting the joke at the same time.

-Stock lines that get laughs in conversation at parties.

-The art of showing instead of telling.

-Why some people can’t find the funny in their food shame.

-Finding the funny in rationalizing bad habits and lying to ourselves to ease the tension of cognitive dissonance.

-The potential consequences of trying a new joke on Twitter.

And more!!!

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

Follow Jay on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/welchjay

Instagram: https://instagram.com/welchjay

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

Our goal as a podcast has been to prove that anything can be made funny, and sometimes we have to point out the times that DON'T work.

Comedian and host of the Kill Tony Podcast, Tony Hinchcliffe, found himself in hot water after video surfaced of him using a racial slur and several stereotypes when referring to Chinese comedian Peng Dang immediately after taking the mic from Dang onstage at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin. Instead of our scheduled episode, we decided to devote a special episode to consider the situation from multiple angles, and ask:

What didn't work? Why? What could've worked? How could everyone have handled the situation better?

We also talk about:

-Why Tony's jabs at Peng Dang and Chinese culture created an uproar.

-Trying to find the funny in culturally insensitive riffing.

-Playing devil's advocate.

-Poking holes in outrage.

-How words unintentionally empower action.

-If Peng should've reached out to Tony personally before posting the infamous clip.

-Examples of equally cringeworthy and hilarious social commentary from people like Sacha Baron Cohen and Eric Andre.

-How nuance is conditioned out of people and replace by thinking in absolutes.

-Far right comedians profiting off of ignorance.

-And more!

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Support our guests by purchasing their albums and books: https://watercoolercomedy.org/podcast

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

It's a trauma and a whirlwind of emotions that can happen to anybody, but having a miscarriage carries with it a social stigma that must be picked apart and laughed at, and we know just who to bring onto the show to do it.

Genevieve Rice of the Bird City Comedy Festival joins us to share her experiences with miscarriage, how she discovered the funny and laughed to cope with the situation, and how she has made audiences laugh at a situation where most of the time, mum's the word.

It turns out, you CAN laugh at having a miscarriage, and there's more than one way to do it.

In this episode, we talk about:

Genevieve’s Golden Girls podcast, “Thank You For Being A Podcast.”

Having to cancel the 2020 Bird City Comedy Festival.

The blessing and curse of having a good first open mic experience.

Being a woman in comedy in 2008 vs. today.

Why the world needs comedy.

Reasons why people aren’t more open about having miscarriages.

What inspired Genevieve’s miscarriage bit.

Tips and tricks for performing on a virtual show.

Using the English language as a toy onstage.

Pop culture references.

The idea of preferring your child be a certain gender.

Genevieve’s obsession with raccoons.

Elevating the silliness of a bit to soften the impact of the heavier material.

Leaving distance between tragedy and joking about it.

Being attacked for parenting choices by fellow moms on social media.

The parallels between parenting and comedy.

When audience members approach you with unsolicited advice about how you should approach your own experiences.

Performing comedy while pregnant.

Ali Wong’s bit on having a miscarriage.

The psychological side effects of not addressing personal traumas.

And more!

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

Follow Genevieve on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/genevieverice

Instagram: https://instagram.com/genevieverice

Visit Genevieve's website at https://genevieverice.com/

Learn more about The Bird City Comedy Festival at birdcitycomedyfestival.com

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

Today’s guest is Brenda Hines, senior director of professional development for Parks Realty, a Brentwood, TN based company consistently featured on Best Place To Work Lists.

What intrigued me about Brenda was her background in improvisational comedy and how that came to play at work, but what I found was more than just Yes, and… Brenda asks questions that not only connect her to the other person, but help the other person connect their own ideas to solve problems. Fun fact: when we solve a problem, the same parts of our brain light up as when we get a joke.

In this episode, we talk about:

-Brenda’s theatre and improv background.

-Improv’s impact on working in real estate.

-Taking on different roles to adapt to a client’s personality type.

-4 basic personality types: power, party, peace, perfection.

-Teaching her team the power of questions to develop listening skills.

-The fear of going “off-book.”

-Using questions instead of presenting to train and develop new employees.

-How ‘ninja’ is a verb at Parks Realty.

-Helping team members get clear about their goals and their why by asking questions.

-Brenda’s vision for the future of Parks Realty.

-Learning to overcome perfectionism to laugh at herself.

-And more!

Follow Brenda on social media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendahines/

Find out more about Parks Realty: parksathome.com

Follow Parks Realty on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parksrealty

Twitter: https://twitter.com/parksathome

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bob-parks-realty/

About The Podcast:

You Can't Laugh At That is a podcast launched by comedians David Horning and Steve Mers to prove that anything can be funny in a world that often takes itself too seriously. David and Steve are obsessed with the art and science of comedy and why we laugh, so this podcast was started to prove that when approached with the right intent, perspective, and delivery, you CAN laugh at that.

https://you-cant-laugh-at-that.captiv...​

patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

twitter.com/youcantlaughpod

facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Follow David on IG and Twitter: @THEdavidhorning

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/watercoolerdavid

Produced by Water Cooler Comedy - http://watercoolercomedy.org​

Music by Producedbyzip - https://producedbyzip.bandcamp.com

Cristian Duran (New York Comedy Festival) joins the podcast to talk about our formative years of high school: that awkward, sometimes traumatizing period in our lives where we’re trying to figure ourselves out based on what other people think of us.

In many cases, it's easy to look back and laugh at the idiotic things we did to be cool or fit in, but for some people, high school is a memory that's best left in the past.

Of course, we found the funny once we found ourselves, and can prove that you CAN laugh at that.

In this episode, we talk about:

-How Cristian’s high school experience led him to comedy.

-Deciding to start in comedy.

-Cristian’s first bomb ruined the show he was on.

-The importance of doing open mics in front of other comics.

-Getting laughs in high school classes.

-When Steve used to hate talking in front of crowds.

-When high school burnouts become successful.

-People projecting their experience onto others.

-Trusting yourself enough to relax and riff.

-Communicating your feelings about the moment to the audience to level-set.

-Laughing off high school traumas in hindsight.

-What happened to the people who peaked in high school.

-Cristian’s bit about his awkward stage in high school.

-Recording an album.

-One of the few moments in stand-up where it’s good that the audience is ahead of you.

-Prom shows.

-Being held accountable for what you said in high school.

-And more!

Support our podcast and gain access to bonus footage at patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

Follow Cristian on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cduranduran

Instagram: https://instagram.com/cristianduransvp

Visit Cristian's website at cristiandurancomedy.com

Support Cristian - buy his album: https://amzn.to/3xEfeQm

Check out Cristian's podcast with Bret Raybould and Nick Whitmer:

https://anchor.fm/ohdear

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

He's performed in festivals all over the country and he's not in Al Qaeda: comedian and cohost of the Mango Bae podcast Pranav Behari joins us to prove that you CAN laugh at Indian stereotypes, even if the stereotype is misplaced, misinformed, or lazy.

In this episode, we talk about:

-Why nothing is funny on Twitter.

-Tragedy + time = comedy: what are the variables that make laughing at the negative okay?

-Pranav’s start in comedy.

-Being present while delivering a joke for the 9000th time.

-Remembering that comedy is a job.

-The illusion of having fun being drunk onstage.

-The sweeping racial generalizations Pranav has experienced, including his experience with a white supremacist.

-The progression of words in historical spelling bees.

-Pranav’s bit on Indians and spelling bees.

-When an audience wears "comedy Kevlar."

-Making authentic connections across barriers.

-When trying to make a connection goes too far.

-Twitter running things into the ground.

-Why don’t we see a ton of conservative comics?

-And more!

Visit patreon.com/youcantlaughpod for exclusive access to bonus footage.

Follow Pranav on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pranahaha

Instagram https://instagram.com/pranahaha

You can check out Pranav's podcast with Usama Siddiquee, Mango Bae, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6bxCzM7NDY252Ci7QPDkA

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mango-bae/id1457454653

@yourmangobae on Instagram

Follow us on Twitter @Youcantlaughpod

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Brought to you by Water Cooler Comedy - watercoolercomedy.org

Produced by Golden Ox Studio | Music: Producedbyzip

Being an effective leader and being a great comedian, believe it or not, take many of the same skills, and that's why David Horning is setting out to prove that you CAN laugh at work, one leader at a time.

Tammy Rutherford is the managing director of Rustici Software. A Franklin, Tennessee-based eLearning software company that has appeared on Nashville Business Journal's Best Places To Work List for ten years running. How? They work to help their customers and have fun doing it.

But having fun at work when your team is all under one roof is much simpler than translating that fun onto a virtual platform, but Tammy and her team figured it out.

Sure, Tammy is no comedian, but her willingness to pivot based on the environment around her to give her audience (her team) a positive work experience involves some of the same skills that your favorite comics use to connect with the crowd, no matter how messy it may get.

In this episode we talk about:

-Rustici Software’s actual messy 2020.

-Turning a new hire’s first day into an event, and what did (and didn't) work virtually.

-Translating in-person spontaneous fun onto a virtual platform.

-Ideas to keep people engaged and have fun virtually.

-Measuring the success of engagement strategies through feedback.

-Leaning into failing.

-Growth BECAUSE of Covid.

-Learning to adapt to unexpected disruptions.

-The importance of striking up conversations for the sake of striking up conversations.

-The shifts Rustici Software has made to help them achieve their retention goals.

Follow Tammy on social media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-wise-rutherford-932556/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tammyrutherford

Find out more about Rustici Software: rusticisoftware.com

Follow Airship on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusticisoftware

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rusticisoftware

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rustici-software/

About The Podcast:

You Can't Laugh At That is a podcast launched by comedians David Horning and Steve Mers to prove that anything can be funny in a world that often takes itself too seriously. David and Steve are obsessed with the art and science of comedy and why we laugh, so this podcast was started to prove that when approached with the right intent, perspective, and delivery, you CAN laugh at that.

https://you-cant-laugh-at-that.captiv...​

patreon.com/youcantlaughpod

twitter.com/youcantlaughpod

facebook.com/youcantlaughatthat

Follow David on IG and Twitter: @THEdavidhorning

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/watercoolerdavid

Produced by Water Cooler Comedy - http://watercoolercomedy.org​

Music by Producedbyzip - https://producedbyzip.bandcamp.com