Acknowledgments

countless friends and mentors made me feel that this project was worth pursuing and that I was the person to do it: Regina Lawrence, whose tireless mentoring and praise of my ideas convinced me that I know what I’m talking about; Sarah Sobieraj, who thinks and talks and brainstorms like an improviser in the best of all possible ways: “yes anding,” building on offers to help you complete the scene—and the book. Michael Delli Carpini, who was excited about this idea from the start, and generously read a very early first draft, offering suggestions of where to tighten up the narrative. Lance Holbert, who has always been a champion of me and my work, even back when there wasn’t very much work to be a champion of. My supportive colleagues and friends at the University of Delaware, with whom I’ve discussed these ideas (way too much) over the years; especially Scott Caplan, Lindsay Hoffman, Jenny Lambe, Paul Brewer, Steve Mortensen, Lydia Timmins, Tracey Holden, Phil Jones, Joanne Miller, Dave Redlawsk, Nancy Signorielli, John Courtright, Betsy Perse, and Kami Silk. My mentors from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, including MXD, Joe Cappella, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (who gave me invaluable publishing advice) and the brilliant Annenberg crew of the early 2000s, who inspire me every day: especially Kate Kenski, Jenny Stromer-Galley, Matt Carlson, Brooke Duffy, Jeff Gottfried, Talia Stroud, Scott Stroud, and Tresa Undem. The extraordinary women of political communication and political science (#womenalsoknowstuff), who are at once friends and colleagues: Amber Boydstun, Shannon McGregor, Katie Searles, and Jess Feezell.

For their generosity in taking the time to be interviewed, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to The Committee’s Alan Myerson, Ed Greenberg, and Latifah Taormina, comedy writer David Misch, documentary filmmaker Sam Shaw, and comedian Frank Lesser. Thank you especially to Full Frontal’s Ashley Black for entertaining these heady questions while still actively working on a popular political satire show in real time, and to Barry Lank for revisiting his memories of Air America to help fill out the picture of the early days there.

The thoughtful and generous Andy Chadwick introduced me to his editor, Oxford’s Angela Chnapko. From the start, Angela made it clear that she shared the vision for this book and helped me see it through. Angela, thank you for believing in this project from our very first conversation! And to my copyeditor, Martha Ramsey: I would like to have you by my side every day to edit my every word.

Funding for some of the experimental work cited in the book came from two General University Research Grants awarded by the University of Delaware and from the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication. Funding for books and travel to conduct interviews was provided by the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona.

I could not have begun to craft this line of argumentation without the formative work of other scholars and social psychologists, especially the contributions of Jeffrey Berry and Sarah Sobieraj, Nicole Hemmer, Alison Dagnes, John Jost, Jeffrey Jones, Geoff Baym, and Jonathan Haidt.

I should note that my approach is rooted almost exclusively in observations drawn in the context of American media and American electoral politics. The mechanism I propose in the book is rooted in underlying psychological, physiological, and likely even genetic predispositions. As highlighted by my non-American colleagues (Thank you, Cristian Vaccari!), if these underlying mechanisms operate as I propose, scholars should find these patterns in other cultural and geographic contexts as well. My hope is that my colleagues in political psychology, political communication, and humor studies from around the globe will be intrigued by (or reflexively opposed to) the propositions I advance here. I look forward to their explorations of these underlying theoretical mechanisms across diverse samples in various cultural contexts.

Without the experimentation and play of my favorite satirists, I would never have asked these questions in the first place. Thank you especially to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. In 2000, while getting my master’s at the University of Pennsylvania, I worked for 10 days as a production assistant for The Daily Show while they covered the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia (photo Ack.1). When I mentioned that I was deciding whether to continue toward the Ph.D. or move to New York to do improv, Stephen described the rampant rejection and uncertainty that fill the life of a young aspiring comic. He told me that if he had the chance to get a Ph.D. from Penn studying something he loved, he would take it. So I did. I’ve been studying the psychology of satire ever since.

photo ack. 1 Jon Stewart, Madeleine Smithberg, and the author backstage at The Daily Show during their Republican National Convention coverage in Philadelphia, August 2000.

Thank you always to my mom and dad, Andrea and David Goldthwaite, for listening to me talk this stuff to death on the phone for hours. Mom, thank you for your passion for teaching and learning and thinking about things in new ways. Dad, thank you for being the very first reader of my very first draft, offering your keen insights, and being willing to become a part of the story. To my sister Jae Rock, for being my literal rock, who always makes sure my feet are on the ground, I’m taking care of myself, and using my “happy light,” and to Kylee and Stephen for unconditional family love. To Crazy Susan Murphy, for your joy and friendship and for convincing me to write this book for real people. To my dearest Liz, for timeless laughter and affection from across the pond. To Heide for walks and talks and mindfulness. To Gracie for laughs and tea and faith. To David for keeping my head on straight. And to the Gallaghers: Nanny and Pop, Meg and Tom, Shan and Den, Kace and Bry, and Kev and Lara. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a family that doubles as a personal pep rally. Especially you, Bryan Gallagher, for hitting me with the constant refrain “Write the book!” until I did it.

I am especially indebted to my ComedySportz family. You enrich my life and my scholarship through play and experimentation. The insights I have made about the connection between improvisation and a liberal psychology come from our collaborative explorations on stage. Thank you to Don Montrey, who is “featured in experimental stimuli” (i.e., plays the role of the comic) in one of my studies, which was recorded and edited by the talented Kevin Regan. And thank you to Emily Davis, who read early chapters and offered feedback. Indeed: “You guys have my back.”

To my late husband, the brilliant improv comedy director Mike Young, who reminded us all that “There’s always a reason to say no. The beauty is in finding a reason to say yes.”

To Baxter and Edie: One day, I hope you’ll see that your mom wasn’t just a crazy lady who wrote to-do lists, made bad jokes, and limited your screen time. I love you always.

And finally, the greatest of all thanks to my husband, PJ Gallagher, the finest human being I will ever know, for his endless support and humor and intellect, and for putting everything back together.Irony and Outrage