Mantalks Podcast: Purpose | Legacy | Relationships | Self Mastery | Business

Dr. Peter McGraw is an expert in the interdisciplinary fields of emotion and behavioral economics. His research examines the interrelationship of judgment, emotion, and choice, with a focus on the production and consumption of entertainment. In recent years, McGraw has been a leading force in moving the study of humor from the niche to the mainstream. One advantage that he has over his predecessors is his ability to conduct state-of-the-art experiments with the help of the team he directs at the Humor Research Lab (HuRL), a laboratory dedicated to the experimental study of humor, its antecedents and consequences. Another advantage is his willingness to leave the ivory tower to delve more deeply into research questions – whether trying his hand at stand-up at a dive bar, attending a funeral director convention, posing as a shopper at a gun show, or singing hymns at a fundamentalist Baptist church. In 2014, McGraw co-authored The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny. McGraw is a professor at