C.V.

Year: 2011

A policy maker’s dilemma: Public safety or preventing blame?

Recently, one of my papers, co-authored with Alex Todorov and Howard Kunreuther received some (good) press (NPR and Washington Post). The gist of the argument we make is that anti-terror policy in the U.S. (and I suspect elsewhere) is guided not only by a scientific assessment of risk, but also by the potential blame that […]

Are my students prepared for a brave new job market?

I teach an undergraduate Consumer Behavior course at the Leeds School of Business. On the first day of the course, I surveyed the class (mostly Juniors and Seniors) about their social media usage and their basic job market preparation. We are moving to a world where potential employers will type your name into Google after […]

Can – and should – we try to crack the humor code?

With Joel Warner (Cross posted on The Humor Code’s Psychology Today blog) “Trying to define humor is one of the definitions of humor.” So said Saul Steinberg, someone who wielded humor so expertly that he became one of America’s most beloved cartoonists. If Steinberg didn’t need to define humor in order to use it beautifully, […]

Just for Laughs Post Mortem: Podcast Kings Are Ready to Rule Comedy

With Joel Warner (Post on Wired) MONTREAL — At this year’s Just for Laughs festival, podcast poster boy Marc Maron painted a picture of a world in which the old rules of the stand-up circuit are being turned on their head thanks to the web. Maron, a longtime comic who never reached the top of […]

International Society for Humor Studies Conference Post Mortem (Part 2)

Post Mortem Part 2 (See Part 1). With Joel Warner (Full post on Wired.com) . An important goal of all this comedy analysis is to dispel many of the stereotypes and misassumptions long held about humor. Take the notion that women inherently aren’t as funny as men, an idea that’s graced the pages of Vanity […]

International Society for Humor Studies Conference Post Mortem (Part 1)

Post Mortem Part I With Joel Warner (Full post on Wired.com) Do you shun social situations to avoid ridicule? Do you struggle to engage in natural, easygoing conversations? When you hear others laughing, do you tense up and flail about in awkward, stilted mannerisms, practically popping and locking like a break dancer? If so, you […]