What’s funny about climate change?

Sometimes it’s just nice to hear someone say the climate is in a death spiral. Dark comedy can give us the resolve to face the realities of climate change.  Today’s guest, Aaron Sachs is the author of a new book that urges us to laugh our way towards solutions.

Stay Cool: Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change gives historical context for the use of dark humor and offers environmentalists a way to use humor to boost moral and engagement.

Examples cited in Stay Cool and referenced on todays show include:

• Chris Rock’s 2016 Oscars Monologue: https://youtu.be/kqhVNZgZGqQ
• The Yes Men Impersonate Shell: https://youtu.be/nkqO-qOHFT8
• Weathergirl Goes Rogue: https://youtu.be/TmfcJP_0eMc

Aaron Sachs is Professor of History and American Studies at Cornell University. He is the author of The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth-Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism and Arcadian America: The Death and Life of an Environmental Tradition. With John Demos, he co-edited Artful History: A Practical Anthology.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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