Psychology Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Robert Provine recently conducted two interviews with podcast programs to explain his research on neglected human instincts such as laughter, hiccuping, and sneezing.

On WBUR’s “You’re the Expert,” a program that brings together comedians and academics in which panelists learn more about research topics of broad interest, Provine appeared at DC Improv Comedy Club to record the segment in front of a live audience. The podcast addressed a wide range of topics, and Provine talked about his research process in trying to get people to laugh.

“The key ingredient to get people to laugh is not a joke. It’s about having other people around. It’s about relationships,” he noted. Listen to the full segment on WBUR.

In another podcast titled “Here We Are,” which is hosted by comedian Shane Mauss as he interviews science experts to gain a better understanding of human behavior, he talked with Provine about his research and the difference between laughter and humor.

“Historically, humor and laughter have been pretty much treated as the same thing. I separated them out and focused on laughter in part because I didn’t know what to do with humor. As a neuroscientist coming to the study of human behavior, I wanted to have something that I could describe in detail and analyze the neuro-mechanisms involved in it,” Provine said. Listen to the full segment on Here We Are’s website.