Stand-up Comedians + Scientists = Stand Up Science

Award-winning stand-up comedian and science podcast host Shane Mauss presents Stand Up Science!

Learn and laugh as local scientists, comedians and other special guests join Shane to bring you an unforgettable 2 hour show that is equal parts ahas and hahas

Stand-up comedy and science have a lot in common. They both reveal truth, change our perceptions, and challenge the status quo. So why are they so underappreciated? Admittedly, comedy sometimes underestimates the intelligence of their audience, catering to the lowest common denominator. And science has the stigma of being overly complicated, unrelatable or boring. Until now.

Funnier and more provocative than TED Talks, while smarter than traditional stand-up comedy, Stand Up Science combines the best of both worlds. This thought-provoking night of laughs will leave you a little smarter, a little happier and send you home with plenty of fuel for your own conversations.

What to Expect:

As your host, Shane kicks the evening off with some of his best material on brainy topics, before introducing special guest speakers and performers. Guests range from Ivy League professors presenting groundbreaking academic research to local stand-up comedians delivering their most cerebral material.

At the end of the night, Shane brings all the guests back onstage and opens the floor for a Q&A and interactive discussion with the audience.

About the host and origins of Stand Up Science:

Shane Mauss leads two lives.

In one life, he tours full-time as a stand-up comedian. Shane has brought his unique blend of absurdist humor, thoughtful insights and storytelling to cities all over the world, as well as TV spots on Conan, Kimmel, Comedy Central, Showtime, BBC, Epix and more.

In his other life as the host of the podcast Here We Are, he’s interviewed over 200 of the world’s leading academic experts about our most fascinating traits and behaviors while finding the funny in the innermost workings of life. Each week Shane illuminates a new area of research for the show’s 50,000 loyal listeners, earning a 5-star rating on iTunes.

Shane’s unique background, comedy, and personal philosophies have also made him a popular guest on other top podcasts like Pete Holmes’ You Made It Weird, Marc Maron’s WTF, The Joe Rogan Experience, Duncan Trussell’s Family Hour, Bertcast and more.

Guests

Dr. Elizabeth Pascoe

Elizabeth Pascoe is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Her research focuses on stress as it relates to the possession of a devalued attribute or identity, and how this stress may impact aspects of individual well-being, such as achievement or well-being. Dr. Pascoe is best known for her publication of a long, boring meta-analysis which took on a life of its own after its publication, and still finds it strange to see herself cited in textbooks and quoted in The Atlantic.

Dr. Mike Neelon

Mike Neelon received his PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied auditory perception and the effects of attention on auditory cortical responses using intracranial recordings (ECoG). Since arriving at UNC-Asheville, he has focused on teaching courses covering neuroscience, cognition and statistics. He has also been involved in many research projects with students over the years exploring the brain's and body's responses to faces, colors and sounds.

Myq Kaplan

Myq Kaplan is a comedian named Mike Kaplan. He has performed on the Tonight Show, Conan, the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Late Late Show with James Corden, in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, and in his own one-hour special on Netflix and now Amazon, “Small, Dork, and Handsome.” He has been a finalist on Last Comic Standing and recently appeared on America’s Got Talent. His debut album “Vegan Mind Meld” was one of iTunes’ top 10 comedy albums of the year, and his most recent album "No Kidding" is one of the top billion albums of eternity.

Past reviews:

“Mauss is intelligent, likable and sharp” – VICE Magazine

“Mauss has clearly found a popular niche in his natural fascination with the human mind. However, attendees should be forewarned: The show is still going to kill you with laughter.” – Austin Chronicle

"Experience with a variety of comedic techniques and interactions with renown science experts have molded Mauss into a well-rounded and imaginative performer. Mauss strives to perform thematic, laugh-out-loud comedy, interjecting science in bold, innovative ways." – EU Jacksonville