Comedy
Who doesn't love a good laugh? Humour is uniquely human. We use it for social bonding; the best way to make a new friend is to crack a joke, and most serious situations are made much more fun when someone lets out a giggle. Some people have even managed to make a career out of making people laugh!
It's off to school for you: The Comedy Wildlife Awards finalists 2021
Take a look through some hilarious images courtesy of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021.
Matt Parker, Helen Arney and Steve Mould | What links coffee, snowflakes and frogs?
We speak to the ‘three spoken nerds’ about science comedy, the incredible facts of ice, and their new Podcast of Unnecessary Detail.
Matt Parker, Helen Arney and Steve Mould go into unnecessary detail about ice
Read the full transcript of our Science Focus Podcast interview with the 'three spoken nerds' – listen to the full episode at the bottom of the page.
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Ig Nobel Prize | A knife made of poo and an alligator on helium among 2020 winners
The spoof Nobel prizes were also given to the professor who found many insect scientists are afraid of spiders, and to diplomats from India and Pakistan who rang each other’s doorbells in the middle of the night and then ran away.
Sophie Scott | “Laughter is a completely social phenomenon: we are 30 times more likely to laugh if there is someone else with us”
In the Love and Laughter episode of Sick of It, Karl Pilkington’s character can’t laugh – perhaps he needs to find someone to laugh with…
Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards | Cheeky lion pic tops 40 side-splitting photos from the animal kingdom
Hilarious pictures of animals up to all sorts of silly antics make up this year’s funny photo competition shortlist.
Hey computer, tell me a joke: the problem of teaching AI humour
Artificial intelligence can learn the structure of a knock knock joke easily enough. But will it ever understand what makes us laugh?
Testicles, pizza and wombat poo: Ig Nobel prize winners announced
The spoof Nobel prize celebrates weird, odd and head-scratching scientific discoveries.
Eline van der Velden | “Romantic science comedies are the dream”
Star of BBC Three’s Crazy Science explains why trying to fuse science and comedy is like trying to find a Grand Unified Theory.
Andrew Hunter Murray and Dan Schreiber | Is there really no such thing as a fish?
We get meta and do a science podcast about doing science podcasts with two of the stars of the hugely popular, er, podcast, No Such Thing As A Fish.
Mars exploration | Antarctic explorer's "comedian" might be key to human Red Planet mission
Anthropologist Jeff Johnson thinks an on-board 'court jester' could keep spirits up in the face of the psychological stress during a human mission to Mars.
Who says you can't polish a nerd?
We chat to Festival of the Spoken Nerd - a comedy trio who take a silly spin on science - about their new DVD, destroying diamonds, and how much fun you can have with a calculator.
WIN a copy of the new comedy DVD You Can't Polish a Nerd
We have five copies of the new DVD from science comedy trio Festival of the Spoken Nerd to give away.
Robin Ince: Inside the mind of a comedian
Robin Ince believes comedy is a great platform from which to understand the peculiarities of the human race.
Finding the fun in science – Dara Ó Briain
Comedian Dara Ó Briain has released his second science book for kids, so we’re talking to him about his career, communicating science to children, and what really happened to the Brontosaurus.
"The best thing you can possibly do for your children’s future is to not have any children"
We speak to environmental economist Matt Winning ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe Festival Climate Strange, which focuses on climate change.
Laughter: Some Eminency in Ourselves
Read a chapter from Shapeshifters, the new book by GP and author Gavin Francis, exploring the changes that our bodies constantly go through over the course of our lives.
Make a connection with this year's Christmas lecturer Sophie Scott
Ahead of her Royal Institution Christmas Lecture, Professor Sophie Scott talks to us about how body language, laughing rats and the emoji-filled future of communication.
Comedian Rob Newman on the mysteries of the human brain
In his new book and radio series Neuropolis, comedian Rob Newman offers his own unique take on the science of the brain. We caught up with him to find out why he decided to tackle this most complex of subjects…
Nine of the funniest science songs on the internet
Songs about science – not the most likely genre to trouble to Top 40, but you’d be surprised as to how enthusiastic scientists are at teaching their art through song. Oh yes, and comedians also seem to be on a similar wavelength. Here are some of our favourite science songs.
A serious business: what can comedy do?
After years spent in dark comedy clubs and cramped rooms above pubs, Mary O’Hara knows what makes her laugh. But what else can a good joke do? She meets the performers and researchers who say that comedy can change how we think and even how we act.
Sara Pascoe's inner animal
Comedian Sara Pascoe has been thinking about the essence and origins of female sexuality - we speak to her about her new book, Animal.
Is sense of humour quantifiable?
When we say someone has a great sense of humous, we usually mean they find the same things funny, but is there a way we can measure this objectively?
Why do we get ‘the giggles’?
Laughter is beneficial both physically and socially, but why do some giggles turn infectious?