Groucho Marx once said: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” Did you ever want to see a bunch of serious bookworms analyze jokes? Well, here’s your chance. I have selected seven of the most “serious” lectures on comedy I could find.

Glenn D. Wilson, one of Britain’s best-known psychologists, lectures on why other people have a sense of humor.

Professor John Pick looks in detail at the role of comedy on BBC radio, particularly between the years of 1930 to 1950

The Rt Hon Lord Baker of Dorking CH lectures on the history of british cartoons and caricature

c-span: History of Black Humor Panel

WGBH Forum video debate between CNN political contributors on political humor

C-Span “Political Humor and the 2016 campaign”

Seth Rogan on C-span (1 hour)

If this didn’t paralyze your sense of humor, here is the feature documentary That’s not Funny, found on youtube