This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
On a typical day, Kasha Patel writes content for NASA's website. However, by night, she takes the stage to communicate scientific discovery through stand-up comedy.
Patel, 28, explained her approach to an audience at a recent bar gig near Penn State University, saying, "Part of my job is to help distinguish the difference between fact versus myth for the general public."
She used a humorous example to illustrate her point: "Fact: you can get chlamydia if a koala urinates on you. Myth: your wife will believe you."
Patel's act sits between two seemingly opposing fields: scientific endeavour and comedy. The founder of DC Science Comedy, she is joined by several scientist-comedians from across the US, united in their belief that laughter can be a powerful tool for communicating complex concepts.
Shannon Odell, a neuroscience PhD candidate at the Weill Cornell Medical College, told the audience that science and comedy have a lot in common. "Both are really just making observations about the world and then sharing it with an audience," she said.
Odell uses laughter to communicate science to the public, creating a series of YouTube videos that explore the science of the human brain under various stimuli. In one video, she trades on a bubbly delivery and helpful info graphics as she downs shots and slurs her way through the impact of heavy drinking on the brain's cerebellum.
A recent Pew research poll underscores the importance of finding new ways to reach out to the public, particularly in areas that have become controversial such as climate science. The scientific community is the second most trusted institution in the US after the military, with 44 percent expressing a great deal of confidence in it.
