{"podcast":{"title":"On Humans","slug":"on-humans-5714769","podcast_index_feed_id":5714769,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://onhumans.substack.com/about","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/30459826/30459826-1759510527619-3882a9600a0e7.jpg","author":"Ilari Mäkelä","episode_count":111,"summary":"Where do we come from? How did we get here? And what kinds of creatures are we? On Humans features conversations with leading scholars about the human story, making new research about humanity more accessible to everyone and more meaningful to the big questions about who we are. In addition to regular episodes, the show now includes longer series on some of the greatest arcs in the journey of our species, covering everything from the evolution of apes to the making of the modern economy. https://onhumans.substack.com/about","last_synced_at":"2026-07-26T20:17:23.337618+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769"},"episode":{"title":"Why Do We Laugh? Philosophers on Jokes, Humor, and the Human Condition ~ Mira Magdalena Sickinger","slug":"why-do-we-laugh-philosophers-on-jokes-humor-and-the-human-condition-mira-magdalena-sickinger","published_at":"2025-12-24T10:31:10+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/why-do-we-laugh-philosophers-on-jokes-humor-and-the-human-condition-mira-magdalena-sickinger","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ilari-makela/episodes/Why-Do-We-Laugh--Philosophers-on-Jokes--Humor--and-the-Human-Condition--Mira-Magdalena-Sickinger-e3co9g0","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/play/113042368/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-24%2F414948124-44100-2-375c41ed793c.m4a","summary":"“The podcast is great, but one thing hasn’t been covered yet: humour. It’s an essential part of our human condition, and would certainly be worth an episode.” This listener feedback was easy to agree with. From standup comedy to nervous laughter, our lives are filled with chuckles and giggles. Why? Why do adults laugh at witty jokes whilst children laugh at the simple pleasures of peek-a-boo? And why should any of us laugh in the first place? My guest is Mira Magdalena Sickinger. a poet and a philosopher of humour from the University of Vienna. We cover a lot in the discussion: from the social roles of humour, to the politics of joking, and the therapeutic effects of a humorous attitude. In the course of the conversation, we cover the views of many intellectual giants, from Sigmund Freud to Immanuel Kant — and while the conversation includes a handful of silly jokes (be warned), it ends with a deeper reflection on how humour can serve as a window into the human condition itself. FACT CHECKING No errors have been found as of now. If you find an error in this or other episodes, get in touch via the form below. LINKS Articles and essays: ⁠⁠⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact Form: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠⁠ MENTIONS Simon Critchley | Ted Cohen | Robin Dunbar | Ágnes Heller | John Morreal | Immanuel Kant | Thomas Wilk & Steven Gimbel | V S Ramachandran | Sigmund Freud | Janet Bing⁠ & ⁠Joanne Scheibman ⁠| Thomas Nagel | Aristotle | Thomas Aquinas | John Dewey | Robin Tyler KEYWORDS Philosophy | Psychology |Anthropology | Incongruence theory | Relief theory | Superiority theory | Play theory | Humor | Blended spaces | Stasi & communism jokes in East Germany | Feminist & queer humor | Jokes | Absurdity | Ir…","meta_description":"“The podcast is great, but one thing hasn’t been covered yet: humour. It’s an essential part of our human condition, and would certainly be worth an episo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3749,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-humans-5714769/episodes/why-do-we-laugh-philosophers-on-jokes-humor-and-the-human-condition-mira-magdalena-sickinger/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/why-do-we-laugh-philosophers-on-jokes-humor-and-the-human-condition-mira-magdalena-sickinger.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}