NPR LAUGHTER THERAPY Funny for a Living

This radio program offers an audio history of comedians from yesteryear to the present day, through a series of interviews by various NPR reporters. The production is tied together by host Ophira Eisenberg, who creates a smooth transition between each interview. The program is dryly humorous, mainly talking about the inner workings of the comedians' comedy, with a few short sound clips of their acts interspersed. The history begins in the 1950s, with interviews of authors who wrote about such comedians as Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx. The later interviews with actual comedians, such as Carl Reiner and Jim Gaffigan, are more engaging. Some of the comedians listed as being featured actually give only a single comment about another comic. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2014]