Benefits of Good-Natured Climate Comedy

Can comedy help prevent climate burnout? Host Kasha Patel speaks with a professor who may have some promising insights. Professor Beth Osnes, a theater and environmental professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, is a director of Inside the Greenhouse and helps creates funny climate change-related projects with students. In a 2019 study, Osnes and colleagues found that students involved in creating comedic sketches felt more hopeful and motivated to act on climate change. Rate us on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Relevant links: Inside the Greenhouse Earth Day comedy show: https://insidethegreenhouse.org/node/5078 Good-natured comedy to enrich climate communication: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610X.2019.1623513 The Emotional Toll of Climate Change on Science Professionals: https://eos.org/features/the-emotional-toll-of-climate-change-on-science-professionals Follow DC Science Comedy on Facebook for upcoming virtual shows and comedy workshops: https://www.facebook.com/DCsciencecomedy/