You Can't Joke About That by Kat Timpf

You Can't Joke About That

Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We're All in This Together

Kat Timpf

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · April 18, 2023

What happens when we can’t joke about some of the most important stuff in life?

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Who it’s for
A funny, moving case for joking about subjects that make people sad or angry.
Themes
Humor as healing, Free speech and comedy, Censorship around sensitive speech
Genres
Humor Essays, Censorship & Free Speech, Political Humor

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About this book

What happens when we can’t joke about some of the most important stuff in life? In a 2019 study, 40% of people reported censoring themselves out of fear that voicing their views would alienate them from the people they care about most. Those people should probably not read this book in public. In You Can’t Joke About That, Kat Timpf shows why much of the way we talk about sensitive subjects is wrong. We’ve created all the wrong rules.

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We push ourselves into unnecessary conflicts when we should feel like we’re all in this together. When someone says “you can’t joke about that,” what they really mean is “this is a subject that makes people sad or angry.” Hilariously and movingly, Timpf argues that those subjects are actually the most important to joke about. She shows us we can find healing through humor regarding things you probably don't want to bring up in polite conversation, like traumatic break-ups, cancer, being broke, Dave Chappelle, rape jokes, aging, ostomy bags, religion, body image, dead moms, religion, the lab leak theory, transgender swimmers, gushing wounds, campus censorship, and bad Christmas presents. This book is Kat Timpf with her hair down, except since hers is mostly extensions, this book is Kat Timpf with her hair out. Read it because you want to get to know her better. Read it because it’s the best book on free speech and comedy in a generation. Read it because you want to laugh out loud… even at the kind of stuff we’re afraid to say out loud. Just read it, and you’ll be glad you did.

Humor, No Safe List

A funny, moving case for joking about subjects that make people sad or angry.

Come here for

  • Humor around grief, illness, politics, and other uneasy subjects
  • A spirited take on comedy and free speech

Expect

  • Irreverence with room for real feeling
  • Humor framed as a way to find healing

Where it sits

Political Humor43%
Humor Essays38%
Censorship & Free Speech36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Humor
  • Political Humor
  • Adult Humor
  • Men, Women & Relationships
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Literary Theory
  • Politics in Literature
  • How Political Campaigns Work
  • Censorship & Free Speech
Authors
Kat Timpf
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
April 18, 2023
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Humor as healing · Free speech and comedy · Censorship around sensitive speech
Reading lane
Humor