The political mind (plus jokes) with James Kotecki

PsychTalk Radio

For James Kotecki, politics is not always funny, but it should be. As both a serious pundit and a humorist, he cares about things like elections and economic policies, but he is committed to communicating in the language of comedy. He joined us to explore the connections between politics, humor and psychology. Kotecki first entered the national spotlight as a YouTube celebrity during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. For example, here is his dorm room chat with Ron Paul:

For more of his most popular videos, check out his website.

Recently, Kotecki brought of his signature blend of serious laughs to the presidential nominating conventions in his ebook, I’m Here All Week: Sex, Drugs and Stand-Up Comedy at the 2012 Conventions. As Kotecki points out, the only event that drew more reporters this summer was the Olympics, and yet barely anything happened at the conventions. That is why, as he explains in the interview, he resorted to visiting strippers, cavorting with potheads and joining a bickering group of Occupy protesters. He reads a sample of the Occupy section for us, which includes a discussion of their high standards for dumpster-diving and leads to this golden zinger:

It occurs to me that there’s literally no fresh story left to write about the dwindling Occupy movement, leaving only easy mockery. Shooting hippies in a barrel, or perhaps a dumpster.

Join us to find out why perception is reality, what it is really like in the mind of a politician and why someone as short and unattractive as Barney Frank made it into office.

Download the podcast here.