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Discussion Thread: FUNOLOGY episode is up and live (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-07 19:46:13
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Well well well: an entire episode on FUN is up and published and ready for your ears.

Award-winning journalist Catherine Price wrote the book “The Power of Fun” and is one of the world’s leading experts on fun: what is it? Who has it? How is it different from play or laughter? 

It’s a truly wonderful deep dive into our brains, a deconstruction of how we spend our time, and such an inspiration to live life a little more fully. We also discuss WHY it’s important to have fun for the sake of your fellow humans. 

Did you listen yet? What did you think? 

And tell us: when was the last time you had what Catherine calls .... “True Fun?”

Korndogs,

Your Father of Pod

Files

Funology (YES, FUN) with Catherine Price - alie ward

What exactly is "fun?" How will you know when you're having it? Do introverts have special alone fun? Is it okay to seek fun in bleak times?

Comments

Sarah Meaden

How do I bridge the gap between what my kid thinks is fun and I think is fun so that we can connect and have fun together? (this is for both parents with kids under 10 and parents like me who now are somehow raising teenagers)

Alie Ward

Hey there! This episode is up and live and ready to listen to! We collected questions a week or so ago!

Emily Krieger

omg what funnnnn!!! but seriously!! thank you! in the spirit of your found viagra story, which i delighted in, i will share that once my hub and i found a paper bag full of packaged butt plugs and porn mags in a middle-of-nowhere central coast redwood forest state park lololol. we pulled up to this magnificent stand of trees after a winding drive through the woods, got out of the car, then noticed a paper bag behind a tree near the dirt parking lot, where only one other car was beside ours, and LO AND BEHOLD! we were beside ourselves after peeking in it! so many questions!!! and it was GONE when we came back from our hike. i live for this weird shit in life! thank you universe, for that fun that lives on today in my memories. this happened back when cameras had film, so this unexpected gem has stayed with me a LONG time hahaha

CurtisDawg

This podcast was fun!

Alie Ward

aaaahahah, I mean, a lot of people go into nature to, um, unplug

Alie Ward

It was an actual great time recording it! Catherine's so funny and charming!

Spencer Parks

Hell yes I listened! I'd like to think that I'm fairly fun, but I know I can get very frustrated and irritated in certain situations. I also sometimes get hung up on the idea of "What's the point?" for a lot of "fun" tasks. The point is fun! And it's important! This episode was a really great reminder of that so I'm going to try to be more conscious and mindful of MAKING fun as much as possible. And enjoying purely fun activities more than I do.

Lillian Rolfe

This episode was so thought proving and interesting! My listening was interrupted by the 8th grade councilor who was calling to talk about my 12 year old. They were playing chess in his class and he got very upset. He is highly anxious along with autistic and ADHD and he finds any game very UNFUN. As he says “it’s not fun unless I’m winning.” And when he explore this with him he says it’s a fixed mindset and there’s nothing he can do about it. He does not find social games with any level or score keeping fun. Even mini-golf. Meanwhile his big sister (a 21 year old young adult) with the same diagnosis loves friendly competition and novel experiences but can get overwhelmed with the idea that fun times and time in general is fleeting. Yes. Everyone is in therapy. I have a very fun job as a full time ballet costumer and occasional dresser for traveling Broadway shows. Even my boss noticed how much fun I seem to be having a few months after I was hired. As an aside, my middle kid (18), set my Tesla to fart with each turn signal and we hadn’t laughed so hard in MONTHS. It was almost unsafe driving and we were crying/laughing through the neighborhood. I highly recommend if you need a bit of fun on your drive to Costco.

Robin Stumbo

anyone have any book recs about the chemistry of fun (or emotion in general)? thinking about neurotransmitters makes brain go brrr (literally). 🧠 last time i had fun was making slime with my 3-4th grade chemistry camp: after 4 failed attempts to make slime (so much cleaning 😭) we finally made some that turned out good! \(^ヮ^)/

Lindsay Mixer

This episode got me thinking about what, exactly, “connection” is. Cause I found myself strongly disagreeing with her about reading not being True Fun and it made me realize that for me, reading a book is all about connection. Connection to the author, to other readers, to what past me would have (or did, if I’m rereading) thought, even to the characters because they’re very much real to me. Reading for me is an intimately social experience, even if I’m physically alone. Not sure if that’s an autism thing but now I really wanna look into it.

Cassandra Grafstrom

Loved this episode and such a good reminder (after reading both of her books that were referenced during the episode) to put the phone down and connect! Also, absolutely I have fun with my cats. Watching them run around like crazypantses (alone, with each other, or with a toy that I'm using to interact with them) is SUPER fun. But man, I need to find that journal where I wrote down my fun triggers. I have been so in my head and my life has been so not fun lately, that I need to prioritize that.

Tep-Tep Reed

Ungh, I saw the notification on my phone andwas stoked cuz I thought it was gonna be another linguistics episode :'). Alas, funology, not phonology.

Steve Tenhor

Great episode, and BTW Alie you are the BOMB! Love all of your shows. You are funny and clever and amazing.

Susan G

So apparently an unpopular opinion but I have a lot of fun on social media (on my laptop or phone) because it connects me to some of my very best friends who are all over the world. We talk every day and we laugh a lot and we cheer each other on and sometimes we do things like watch things together even though we are far apart.

Tania Magic Fingers

Oh another great one. I love how you always laugh with your guests. You can hear how both you and they are having fun in nearly all episodes. Yes, you can have fun with cats. When we play at ninjas, it's clear that we are both having lots of fun. I also see the joy other people have when they see me playing/having fun with my dog in the street. Knowing that you are bringing joy to others through your fun is the best. Made me giggle when you paused to say my name. I presume it wasn't due to unsure pronunciation.

Lindsay Malone

I'm so grateful for the timing of this episode(!!!) as I recently set an intention for myself to laugh and play more often and practice delight. This episode also resurfaced some treasured memories of my beloved cat who would ask me to play with her on a regular basis - lots of chase/hide-and-seek and pulling her da mouse toy into a rainbow tutu so she could slide into the floof. Thank you for Alie for this and the fun+joy+laughter you inspire.

choirqueer

On the Autistic Culture podcast they often talk about "family, friends, and fictional characters" being deeply meaningful for autistic people, and that's often why our favorite books/shows/movies/etc are so important to us. It's totally an autism thing and it's something really cool about us! For me, as an avid lifelong bibliophile, I feel like there's certainly some reading that's fun and some reading that I only do if I'm required to, but overall if someone asked me "do you have fun when you read?" I would say yes!

Sarah Meaden

Aw beans. is there an ology that helps you check your email inbox more frequently? Excited to listen!

Alie Ward

We have a 3-parter on ADHD (jkjkjkjk)

Alie Ward

Oh that's great to hear and I fully struggle with the same stuff! But think "I could either have fun or smoke 15 cigarettes today" and the choice is easy

Alie Ward

Aaaah! That's so true how individual things are! And tbh, nothign stresses me out more than chess, so I GET it. Also I really need to explore Fart Mode on the car.

Alie Ward

Oooh, Catherine does have the book "The Power of Fun" in case you want more on the topic!

Alie Ward

This is a great point and I do agree with that sentiment! I remember being in a hard spot and binge watching Community years and years ago and feeling connected to the characters in a way that made me feel more myself and less lonely. So I think that's a very interesting aspect!

Alie Ward

Well, the next one up in Misophonology, so close?

Alie Ward

Awww, thank you so so so much Steve! It's been a blah day and I'm feeling down on myself, and that's really nice to hear.

Alie Ward

I think catching up with ACTUAL friends no matter the app is connection! And fun! The social media use that's more scrolling strangers' feeds is so different....

Alie Ward

What are some of your fun magnets??

Sarah Meaden

I keep meaning to listen but also keep forgetting. ;)

Diane Heise

During intermission scrolling through the comments, I’m having fun singing and dancing to an Earth, Wind and Fire cover band. But I have to be at work at 5 in the morning.

Nick A

Last time I had "true fun"? Probably a curling tournament I went to a couple weeks ago. Four of us learning how to play together in a pretty intense format, improving as a team every game before finally winning our last one. The drive home, on the other hand, was not fun, in the car alone for six hours (I didn't find pills at the charging station, but I did find some apple sauce).

Melissa DeWoskin

I love Ologies, but I saw this title and my left-brained self was thinking it would be kind of hoaky but WOW I feel like I will be way more appreciative and present when I am having fun, which will only increase my quality of life. ❤️ Love ya' Alie.

Blair Henry

First off, Alie Ward, you are an absolute legend! Seriously, you've managed to make the most hilarious, talented, and ridiculously educational podcast out there. I’m in complete awe of your superpowers. So, picture this: last weekend, we hosted a drum circle with 30 people. For most of us, it was our first time, and let me tell you, watching a bunch of strangers from all over the world try to figure out drumming was a blast! At first, it was all awkward fumbling, but by the second hour, we hit our groove—literally. Suddenly, we were this cohesive rhythm machine, and it was like magic watching everyone’s moods shift and connections form. It was a beautiful reminder that sometimes, a little silliness and a lot of fun are the secret ingredients to bringing people together!

Wendy Lockhart

Such a good episode!! I feel invigorated.

Kathryn Daniels

Such a wonderful episode! Thanks as always! Two questions that arose while listening (I know you collected questions ahead of time, so NBD).. Do other cultures that aren't as productivity - obsessed as the US have a tradition of studying fun? And is fun you plan for different than fun that happens by accident? Like serendipitous fun? Oh, I love this topic so much!

Kait

This episode really speaks to the ADHD episodes, in my experience. The flow state that the ologist describes reminded me of what it feels like when I’m being productive or like a sort of euphoric state in ADHD as opposed to stressed, disoriented or distracted.

Saira (‘Sarah’) Manns

I’m not even finished it yet but this is already in my Top 5 episodes of Ologies ever 🤩 I particularly enjoyed poddad’s tangential rabbit hole of Korn being spelt with a K and a backwards R lol

Alie Ward

Ahahaha! Probably better. Is this a Canadian thing -- or did you have to drive 6 hours to an icy place to play?

Alie Ward

I mean, TRUST me when I wished it had a Greek name. Soem -ologies are hokey in name only, ha!

Alie Ward

that is some true fun my friend!! Now I wanna try a drum circle. Where does a person find these?

Alie Ward

Ps: the bigger the betetr because I do not anticipate being good at this

Alie Ward

Right? I've honestly had more fun since making this episode, which is wild

Alie Ward

These are great topics and internationally, research is more focused on "happiness." The UN research we mentioned was implemented in 2012 to track happiness rates to inform policy that would improve quality of live and presumably, lower healthcare costs in places with socialized medicine or a lack of infrastructure for more preventative health measures. But here in the US, we're just instructed to work more to buy more stuff.

Alie Ward

SAME. Like when my hyperfocus is on , I'm like a dog with a toy it won't give up. But when I'm not yet into it, I'm like a cat headed to a bathtub.

Alie Ward

THANK YOU. I love those rabbit holes and I feel like I"ve gotten away from them in the last year or so because I'm afraid people will be mad at them. But this comment from you is making me re-evaluate and strengthen my resolve that if you don't like me at my Korn tangent, you. don't deserve me at my distillation of peer-reviewed studies

Nick A

We drove from Omaha to Minneapolis to play in a regional championship! There are curling groups all over the US now (even in Southern California!), though they’re definitely more popular the closer you get to Canada

Spencer Parks

Easy choice for me too! Although as a never-smoker, I'm REALLY curious to know how 15 cigs would affect me. ;)

mynameisaurien

This episode was so timely! One of my values for my new year is Fun! I'm so excited to find more ways to prioritize fun and play!

Bevearlea

This makes so much sense - I still think about favourite characters from stories and wonder what they’re up to these days! I miss them like I miss IRL friends. Does this mean I’m not crazy? It’s a thing?

ChickenChomper

Alie, while listening to this episode I was asking myself (I'm sure like many people were) what I like to do for fun. And (I'm sure like many people) I realised that Ologies is my fun! :) As a researcher that looks at serious-stuffs all day, thank you and your team for being the FUN in my life. Please keep it coming.

Colin Maydahl

Thank you for such a timely episode. I have had a hard summer health wise (shout out to the UCDavis ICU) and finally got out for a LSD powered hike this past Sunday and listened to this episode. It was so good to be reminded about how much fun I can have if I put in a little effort (with or without the lsd). I’ve already re listened to it and keep sending it to friends. Thank you 🙏

Nathalie Jones

For those wondering, I do enjoy chasing my cat around the house. Pretty sure that she enjoys it too... sometimes.