Comedy Philosophy

Ted Lasso and Philosophy explores the hidden depths beneath the vibrant veneer of AppleTV's breakout, award-winning sitcom. Blending philosophical sophistication with winsome appreciation of this feel-good comedy, the collection features original essays canvassing the breadth of the series and carefully considering the ideas it presents.

In this essay, Norm Macdonald’s philosophy of life, death, and comedy is sketched out thematically from his original material, as well as from extant interviews with him and profiles of him over the years. Among his fellow comedians, Norm Macdonald was widely hailed as one of the funniest men alive, a DGAF Mark Twain whose unique combination of cadence, persona, material, and delivery left a cultural impact that greatly outsized the limited commercial success he experienced. To his fans, Norm’s everyman persona engendered a sense of relatability and connection. But there were aspects of...

Part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, part sacred quest - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck for the spiritual seeker - a hilarious, profound, and enlightening romp around the fertile mind of standout stand-up comedian, host of the hugely successful podcast You Made It Weird, and star of HBO’s Crashing Pete Holmes.

Well, this was different. Janice seemed to think that I was her blind date. She had my dating profile from a matchmaking service I didn’t even know I was part of. I had never heard about this and she was sure I was the guy she was destined to meet. I did know the person who arranged this, and I trusted them completely, but this was a surprise. But not to Janice. Yeah... the girl and I had a mutual acquaintance. We met each other at his office. He told us to use his private study upstairs to get to know each other and that he’d talk to us in an hour to see how things were going. Things ...

Everyone's favorite houseguest who never left, Leon Black (played by award-winning comedian JB Smoove from HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm), drops his wisdom and good-bad advice for the masses. Learn the secrets Larry David has gleaned from the Falstaff of television. Be forewarned: in opening this audiobook and Leon's mind, you need to be prepared for straight talk. The kind of unfiltered blunt straight talk that pounds on your door, invites itself in, makes itself at home, and helps itself to your food, your security pass code, and your expensive organic beet juice.

Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.

Marjorie Dawe is a librarian and takes her job - and indeed the truth of words - very seriously. She doesn't know it, but her world and ours - Roundworld - is in big trouble. On Discworld, a colossal row is brewing. The Wizards of the Unseen University feel responsible for Roundworld (as one would for a pet gerbil). After all, they brought it into existence by bungling an experiment in Quantum ThaumoDynamics.

Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humor and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humor subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit?

Inside are true stories that happened to a formerly successful American starting with nothing in a new state. Most attempting Florida transplants arrive, get chewed on, and leave. Max wasn’t that smart. It’s difficult being afraid with little to lose. "Discomforts Of (Non) Conformity" then challenges commonly held beliefs about our falling-apart world. As a former nightmare boss taught Max, even a loud irritable elephant fears a modest mouse making obvious statements. Redemption In Florida surprisingly lays groundwork for Discomforts Of (Non) Conformity. The two books are woven together...

An entertaining and insightful examination of the Emmy-award winning American satirical news show, broadcast on Comedy Central in the US, and (in an edited edition) on More4 in the UK and CNN International around the world.

The new book by the best-selling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar is a hilarious take on the philosophy, theology, and psychology of mortality and immortality. That is, Death. The authors pry open the coffin lid on this one, looking at the Big D and also its prequel, Life, and its sequel, the Hereafter.

Uns alle treibt die Suche nach dem Sinn des Lebens um. Dabei ist es leicht, sich im Labyrinth der Realitäten zu verlieren. Fest steht: Das Leben ist eine Reise. Und ein Reiseführer dringend nötig. Auf gewohnt humorvolle Weise stellt sich Dieter Nuhr unerschrocken den Hürden unserer Existenz und liefert alle relevanten Antworten auf die wichtigen Fragen des Lebens: Was ist hier los, wo geht es lang? Wo ist die Lösung? Und wer kennt das Problem?

Learning how easy improv is can be the hard part. There are important lessons in life that can lead to better improv scenes. And there are important lessons in improv that can lead to a better life. By putting improv techniques under an electron microscope of reason, The Tao of Improv: A Philosophy of Creating a Scene can improve the way we function, understand, and interact - on stage and off. Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching are woven into an overall philosophy of scenic improv acting.

Have you ever really considered the psychological effects of the Santa Claus story and Holidays in general? A Holiday Hazing Santa Clause Syndrome is a presentation of one of the most devastating and most commonplace psychological afflictions of the postmodern era; Santa Clause Syndrome. A Holiday Hazing Santa Clause Syndrome dissects the psychological results of the cultural initiation that is celebration of Santa Clause. Moreover no one has elaborated on Christmas and holidays in general like this in 2,000 years! You will laugh, you may cry, and you will forever more question institutions...

Ever tried reading Kant and felt your brain melt into a puddle of transcendental confusion? You're not alone! "Kant You Not" is the hilarious antidote to philosophical pretension that explains Immanuel Kant's revolutionary ideas without inducing narcolepsy. In this irreverent guide to history's most unnecessarily complicated philosopher, author Sophia Blackwell translates Kantian gibberish into actual human language while mercilessly mocking his impenetrable prose, bizarre personal habits, and occasionally absurd conclusions.

How can we live a more ethical life? This question has plagued people for thousands of years, but it's never been tougher to answer than it is now. Plus, being anything close to an 'ethical person' requires daily thought and introspection and hard work. To make it a little less overwhelming, this fascinating, accessible and funny book by one of our generation's best writers and adept minds in television comedy, Michael Schur, boils down the whole confusing morass with real life dilemmas

Comedian-philosophers from Socrates to Sartre have always prodded and provoked us, critiquing our most sacred institutions and urging us to examine ourselves in the process. In Saturday Night Live and Philosophy, a star-studded cast of philosophers takes a close look at the "deep thoughts" beneath the surface of NBC's award-winning late-night variety show and its hosts' zany antics.

The antidote to those cotton-candy platitudes that are all too familiar to anyone who’s ever worn a mortarboard, Wheelan’s 10 head-turning aphorisms - backed up by a PhD in public policy and extensive social science research - set the record straight. Readers everywhere agreed, turning a Dartmouth Class Day speech that had gone viral into a best-selling book.

Who hasn't dreamed of one day ruling your own country? Along with great power comes unlimited influence, control, admiration, and often wealth. How to Be a Dictator will teach you the tricks of the trade - how to rise to the top and stay in power, and how to enjoy the fruits of your excellence.

I Strongly Believe in Incredible Things is a book of poetic prose, musings, short stories and biro drawings detailing a selection of the Earth’s incredible things by award-winning writer, comedian, artist and podcaster Rob Auton. Unique, enchanting and utterly life-affirming, this is a collection that comes together to create the opposite of the news, becoming the tonic for the complicated gin that is the world we find ourselves in today.