Fresh Ideas, Real Stories, and a Lot of Laughs

June 10, 2026

Knowing We Never Have to Ride Alone

I was lucky enough to have back-to-back Vistage speaking gigs on the East Coast last week. And was able to top that off with some quality time with my sons. Even saw a show, met with friends and had matcha at the oh so hip Cha Cha Matcha.

June 4, 2026

My TED Talk Goes Live June 7: Here's How It Happened

Ten years ago a friend of mine had a birthday party for her husband. Unbeknownst to any of us, it turned out to be a “TED speakers” event in her backyard. TED was a relatively new entity, experts talking concisely and passionately about an idea they cared about. Her husband loved these talks and this was her gift to him, having a handful of these esteemed people show up and dazzle us. Which, frankly, they did. 

May 28, 2026

Major Cuts Plunge Morale!

Sounds like a headline from The Onion doesn’t it? Shocking that if you lay off tens of thousands of people in an industry, those left standing might feel…I don’t know…bereft, anxious, paranoid? Fortunately, I just discovered Blind, a site for employees to share all of these feelings and even a little survivor's guilt, anonymously. 

May 21, 2026

Memorial Day - More Than a Mattress Sale

My father, Victor Klein, gone 30 years last week, was a veteran of two wars. Growing up, my understanding of this came mostly through stories of his war buddies, how grateful he was to leave his mother’s house and the dogtags he held on to from the Korean War.

May 14, 2026

Happy Mental Health Awareness Month: “Fine” is Never Funny

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I’m not exactly sure who makes these designations in our yearly calendars, because I would definitely campaign for Shared Laughter Month, but I’ll take what I can get!

May 7, 2026

Get Out of the House to Laugh Stat

Last night I had the chance to see Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David live talking about all things “Seinfeld.” Fun to witness the same chemistry between these two comedy legends that created this iconic show. Just as compelling were the five “Seinfeld Trivia Experts”-  the producers brought to Los Angeles to stump the two of them on details about episodes they had forgotten. The audience packed with what can only be called “Seinfeldians” hung on every word. 

April 30, 2026

Laughing At Yourself Without Selling Yourself Out

Bit of Dani trivia - because apparently I’m referring to myself in the third person now - yesterday I was on the phone with a director and producer working on a documentary about laughter: why it matters, what motivates

April 23, 2026

What Makes You Smile - and Why it Matters

Yes, that’s an iced matcha latte and yes I am SO LA. To be fair, it’s not just any iced green drink, it's topped with a “*tahini, butterscotch cold foam,*” and was served to me on its own wooden plank.

April 16, 2026

The Comedy Tool that Tears Flesh

Not to be political here, but I’ve been shocked this year and, impossibly, even more shocked last week, by the language and tone of the current leader of the free world. His communication is a study in the negative use o

April 9, 2026

Quiz: Do You Have a Sense of Humor About Yourself?

I understand that this might not be top of mind right now, what with the leader of the free world threatening to blow up civilizations. Nevertheless, here’s a fun diversion that might actually yield an insight or two! Th

April 2, 2026

Scam #2 - This Time It's Personal

Last week an e-mail came in from a comedian friend of mine, “*Please join me for a special celebration dinner.*” It was Thursday and the dinner was Saturday.

March 26, 2026

Women’s History: We’re Going to Need More Than a Month.

It's not too late to recognize Women’s History Month. Phew! I didn’t know it began locally in Sonoma County in 1978, first as Women’s History Week, which included International Women’s Day, March 8, 1911. Seventy six years later, Congress gave us the whole 30 days!

March 19, 2026

Getting Old on the Inside

I get the joy of Botox and the thrill of wearing clothes from college. There’s no reason to look angrier than I am, and it’s definitely cheaper to “vintage shop” from your own closet. Cosmetic intervention, try as it mig

March 12, 2026

Love is Blind…So Why Can’t Stop Watching It?

How do I defend looking forward to reality television the way other people anticipate their “5 o’clock somewhere,” glass of Chardonnay? I guess I don’t. As Sheryl Sandberg would say, just not about this, I lean in, I cla

March 5, 2026

What REALLY Makes Us Laugh?

When I was teaching stand-up at UCLA, people often said, “You can’t teach someone to be funny.” I understand the argument. Many comedians seem born that way. Their outsider status, fearless silliness, or even the sound of their voice makes us laugh more consistently than most. Think Gilda Radner, Lucille Ball, Jack Black, Abbott & Costello, Chris Rock, Atsuko Okatuka, Wanda Sykes, Maria Bamford - the list is long.

February 26, 2026

And Now...a Word About Chocolate

I’m aware there are a lot of other pressing matters right now than my recent epiphanies about chocolate. I understand that Valentine’s Day - the Super Bowl of chocolate eating - has come and gone. And Easter is not yet u

February 20, 2026

Standing O for Caregivers

Today is National Caregivers Day and I want to be sure that it doesn’t go unrecognized. Both of my parents passed from long term illnesses and there is no way my sister and I could have managed without the help of these astoundingly patient and engaged professionals.

February 19, 2026

I Cried Watching American Idol

Granted I’ve been a little sensitive lately. And yes I did just admit that I watch American Idol. I hadn’t for probably a decade but recently I was on a plane with live TV and I was hooked all over again. I can’t help myself. I love a good talent show where the mom gets choked up in the wings and Ryan Seacrest gets thinner every season.

February 12, 2026

Waymo - A Lesson in Letting Go

Maybe this hasn’t happened to you yet - getting trapped by a driverless car in the Trader Joe’s parking lot. Perhaps you’re too preoccupied with the kidnapping of a grandmother, immigration atrocities and the next batch

February 5, 2026

Making Seniors Smile

The Westminster Dog Show, the “pinnacle of canine contests,” happened this week. As you can imagine, this is where elite dogs and their owners from around the world come to preen and compete.

January 29, 2026

Art for Sanity

Last week, LOC comedian Cate Smit had the good fortune to run one of our “Leveraging Levity” workshops for The Count Basie Center for the Arts. That, my friends, is what is known as good timing. Every day the sentence we are hearing most is, “Who couldn’t use a laugh?”

January 22, 2026

Laughter? Now? Seriously?

Let me start by saying, I understand the resistance.

January 15, 2026

More Laughter. Less Isolation. It's What We Do. You Can Help!

For the past 7 years, Laughter On Call has delivered comic relief, human connection, and meaningful cognitive engagement to thousands of people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. From intimate memory care rooms to national conferences, and through partnerships with the Milken Institute, Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, the Alzheimer’s Association, CaringKind, and the Museum of Modern Art, we’ve trained even more care partners and families in how to create moments of joy and connection, even as memory changes.

January 8, 2026

More Sh*t I Need to Learn in 2026

Nothing like taking stock of a year well lived to uncover what else would help my life! So here are this week’s ideas for a quality of life upgrade. Free for the taking.

December 30, 2025

Five Things I’m Going to Do Differently in 2026

I want to start by saying, I don’t have a five year plan. I should, I know. As a small business owner it’s a question that comes up a lot.

December 18, 2025

Finding Joy in Chaos

My son has been home for two days and our house looks completely different. Before I launch into what could sound like complaining, let me call out the obvious. Twenty five years ago I lived alone in Hollywood in a one b

December 11, 2025

5 Gifts That Cost You Nothing

The holiday season has officially launched so I feel justified in sharing a few corny-but-true facts about gift giving. Given the current financial stresses, notably in the Hollywood community, it definitely feels like time for a little  “best things in life are free” reboot. Fortunately, they really are!

December 4, 2025

Holiday Reunions Don’t Have to Suck

I’ll be honest, New York City is mostly an emotional minefield for me. Oh look! Here’s where my mother started to forget what day it was! There’s where my father died of cancer! And, yes, that’s the doorway where that st

November 25, 2025

"Expressing Appreciation" - Thanksgiving All Year!

Thanksgiving has become more complicated in the last decade. Justifiably, its roots can be divisive - a topic I won’t get into here. Then there’s the transformation from breaking bread and sharing gratitude, to a binge-shopping kick off, also known eerily as Black Friday.

November 20, 2025

Creating a Sense of Belonging with Art!

A truly inspiring week at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC! Museum Leaders from around the U.S., Greece, Italy, Spain, Australia and Iceland met to drink coffee and share practices for bringing people in cognitive decline to museums.

November 18, 2025

Art & Science are HOT

I’m in NYC this week for the Art and Alzheimer’s Symposium at MoMa. Honored and excited to be one of a handful of speakers talking about using the creative arts to bring relief and connection facing the disease. Although my fine art talent peaked drawing “Sparky” in the back of a magazine, I have learned quite a bit about how to reach people with shared laughter.

November 13, 2025

The Surprising Impact of Laughter Over the Holidays

Sometimes LinkedIn surprises me! To get the obvious question out of the way, I’m not getting paid to report any of what I am about to say here.

November 6, 2025

Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves - And Each Other!

Some of you may not remember the Eurythmics classic “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” but I do and every time I hear Mika Brezinski, Huma Abedin and Maggie McGrath give their opening remarks at the Forbes 50 over 50 lunches, I’m reminded of it. This week was no different.

October 30, 2025

As If It's Impossible to Fail

Anthony Hopkins of “Silence of The Lambs,” and close to a hundred other movies, has written a memoir that is just out, “We Did Okay, Kid,” At eighty eight he has many stories and wisdom to share. Since I’m a fan of both, I dove into an interview with him from last Sunday in the NY Times. Nestled in with show biz tales and personal revelations there was one line that stopped me.

October 23, 2025

H2H to the Big H - Holidays!

Call me old school, but I like a nice handwritten thank you note. Preferably with a fancy pen that makes me feel like Ben Franklin holding a quill. Given this quirk, after running a few laughter skills workshops for business school students at TUCK, I dashed off a few notes to the people who brought me in. In an update about the impact of the classes, Larissa Pyer, Director of Tuck’s Compass Program, thanked me for my note,”... so thoughtful and personal!! You know I love the H2H connection.”

October 16, 2025

You Too Can be a Super Ager!

Earlier this week I was invited to speak at the International Conference for Active Aging. Emphasis on active! The fabulous comic/actor Nikki Ghisel and I were here a few years ago but this week we were both struck by the change in focus of the conference. The agenda has clearly shifted from managing the ravages of aging to being proactive, pun intended, in keeping our bodies and minds healthy! When we spoke here last, in Halloween costumes, we recalled lots of other presenters in estate planning, break-through drug research and no-button pajamas.

October 9, 2025

Embracing Imperfection - Just Do It!

“Wasn’t that just *great *when Dani was talking about embracing imperfection and then completely lost her script? Wasn’t that just perfect? When our theme is being human?”

September 25, 2025

Failing Publicly & Other Thoughts About Stand-Up

A while back I was hired to do a roast for a West Los Angeles law firm. I was tasked with poking fun at their summer associates. Some ribbing to make them feel part of a team - since I’d be razzing everyone. At my request, the partner sent me brief descriptions of each summer hire. I got to work writing my roast material.

September 18, 2025

When Comedy Writes Itself

One of the reasons I left comedy clubs was because I didn't want to follow what felt like an inexhaustible supply of d*ck jokes. This week I was invited to close a conference in New Jersey where, I kid you not, I followed a "burial expert." Turns out, also not easy!

September 11, 2025

What’s Funny at Work?

In preparing for my TEDx in Cape May, NJ October 5th, I couldn’t help but revisit the talk on vulnerability that launched Brene Brown. Much to her surprise it has garnered over 10 million views. What I didn’t know until recently is how much Brown values humor and laughter as a leadership tool.

September 4, 2025

Is It Too Early To Think About - I mean Plan - for the Holidays?

We think not!

August 28, 2025

Fantastic Four...But Really Just One

I’m writing about The Fantastic Four! More of a surprise to me than anyone - except maybe Tod. I don’t know much about the Marvel Universe but how could I not get swept up in it after all these years? Thinking about the characters and wondering if this set of archetypes is something people pick to identify with - like they do with the houses of Harry Potter. I’ve overheard some very real conversations about whether someone is a Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Not being a Harry Potter connoisseur either, I’ve definitely consulted ChatGPT to determine my “house,” punching in personality traits and hoping it figures it out for me.

August 21, 2025

The Chilled Martini Espresso of Team-Building!

Very little gets me as excited as the concept of the Espresso Martini cocktail. I haven’t had alcohol in eighteen years - but a gal can dream. I’m a very big fan of caffeine and the idea of marrying it with espresso in a fancy glass of gin with a few teaspoons of sugar?! All I can say is, why eat food?

August 14, 2025

Windows to the Soul and Other Stuff

I’ve been doing a lot of walking by myself lately. On the bike path along the L.A. River. It’s not the safest place to wander alone, but there is water and trees nestled in concrete and sometimes there are ducks.

August 7, 2025

608 Million People Can Be Wrong

According to recent stats, approximately 608 million people are victims of scams every year. If you’re a Laughter On Call subscriber, or you came to the webinar last week, recording here, you may feel like I’m beating a dead horse with all the scammer talk. I wish! The deeper I dive into this evil phenomenon the more alive it feels. 

July 31, 2025

When Humor is Used Right in Business

Unless you live off the grid, for which I applaud you, you likely have heard about the CEO caught canoodling with the chief people officer (insert joke here) at the Coldplay concert a few weeks ago. I’m not going to weigh in on morality, entitlement and like, duh, maybe don’t do that. I’m not perfect by a long shot. I mean, I just fell for a phone scam after all. But what I will talk about is Astronomer’s rebound from the crisis!

July 24, 2025

Happy Birthday Laughter On Call!

Laughter on Call is SEVEN!

July 17, 2025

Phone Scam: So Not Funny

I’m going to talk about something here that I have very strong feelings about. Topping that list is shame.

July 10, 2025

Working in the Summer? Send in the Clowns (not exactly!)

It’s summer and highly likely the only team you want to build includes inanimate objects: a beach chair, a frozen drink and a towel. Understood.

July 3, 2025

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Last week I was lucky enough to have work in my home town. New York City. With the recent passing of Sly Stone, I was reminded of this classic song Hot Fun in the Summer Time. For those of us in NY it was VERY HOT! Total heat wave - 96 degrees in the shade - lyrics from another ‘70’s hit!

June 20, 2025

Improv Gets 5 Stars from the Mayo Clinic!

Last week Minnesota Public Radio news reported that doctors at the prestigious Mayo Clinic have been saying “Yes…and” to Improv workshops for their teams.

June 19, 2025

Lessons from Graduation

I’m lucky enough to have been a guest at two graduation ceremonies in the past month. Pretty hard to get Pomp and Circumstance out of my mind. They had to play it for so many hours.

June 12, 2025

The ROI of Workplace Laughter

ROI is not an acronym I would have referenced even five years ago. Not to mention CPL, B2B, EOD or KPI! Back then I even found LOL a little cringe. And who would have thought the word cringe itself would someday be used not only as a verb, but a noun and an adjective too?

June 4, 2025

Is Workplace Etiquette Dead?

It’s been over a hundred years since Emily Post wrote her original guide on proper etiquette.

May 30, 2025

A Dog? Who Me?

“Dani, is that your dog?” I heard from across the street. It was my neighbor, but she wasn’t just any neighbor, she had also been my bridesmaid. We’d known each other for over fifteen years. She hadn’t seen me since we t

May 21, 2025

Another Piece in the Dementia Diagnosis Puzzle Approved!

Something to cheer about! This week the Alzheimer’s Association put out this statement:

May 15, 2025

Celebrating Small Businesses

When I was in high school nurturing my Liza Minelli aspirations, getting cast in the spring musical was everything. Casting would determine the second half of the school year. Playing Townsperson #7 for me and the other theater nerds in class was a surefire way to send us sobbing into pillows. To soften the blow, every year the drama teacher, any drama teacher from grammar school to high school, would always remind us, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” 

May 7, 2025

Connection, Connection, Connection!

Little known fact, I grew up in the restaurant business. After we relocated to Connecticut from New York City, my father turned his avocation as a commercial real estate broker into a full time job. Analyzing and selling restaurants was his passion. He, and by extension our whole family, became very aware of the singular importance of location. Leaving a restaurant with a two hour wait or one with a room of empty tables, one of us would inevitably blurt out,  “Location, location, location!”

April 30, 2025

Laugh It Off: Is This Really an Employee Wellness Tool?

Laughing It Off: Is this really an Employee Wellness tool?

April 24, 2025

How To Talk to A Person with Dementia

I taught my memoir class for Avocet this week. Although I’ve been meeting with this same fourteen people weekly for four years, most of our classes are on ZOOM. I hadn’t seen them IRL for at least four months. I also have a few new students, one of them who is 98, who I had never met in the flesh. Full disclosure, it took me a minute to adjust. It was as if I’d been watching “The Golden Girls,” in my office and suddenly I was sitting at a table with Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty and Betty White!

April 18, 2025

Disconnect to Connect: 5 Ways to Put Down your Phone and Get Present!

I taught my memoir class for Avocet this week. Although I’ve been meeting with this same fourteen people weekly for four years, most of our classes are on ZOOM. I hadn’t seen them IRL for at least four months. I also have a few new students, one of them who is 98, who I had never met in the flesh. Full disclosure, it took me a minute to adjust. It was as if I’d been watching “The Golden Girls,” in my office and suddenly I was sitting at a table with Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty and Betty White!

April 9, 2025

“We’ll get through this as a family."

That line — “We’ll get through it as a family” — is one of the last lines we hear Thomas Ratliff say in the season finale of The White Lotus. Given everything that’s happened up to this point, it really makes you pause and think… Will they?

April 2, 2025

5 Books to Help You Laugh in Stressful Times

Tricky times to try to lighten the mood, am I right? As such, I’ve put together a list of books for managing the headline drama. I don't mean to be hyperbolic but it’s feeling…what’s the word? Rampant.

March 27, 2025

Caregiving Tips You Can Use Now

I’ve been working on a talk I’ll be giving about using comedians' tools to create connection through cognitive decline. The audience there will be a mix of caregivers and people who don’t yet know that they will be.

March 13, 2025

Women Making Alzheimer's History!

I know I’m late to the party on International Women’s Day, but March is still Women’s History Month!! Probably no surprise to many of you, I’m going to give a shout out to those women whose missions are all about bringin

March 6, 2025

Employee Engagement - Do I Have To?

Talking to people at work, on ZOOM or in-person can feel like tiptoeing through a minefield now. Even Mike White can’t resist holding up a mirror to how hard it is to avoid confrontation - among "best friends" in season 3 of White Lotus. If engagement between people with decades of history together is being presented this way, imagine how loaded it can be with people you’ve just been put on a work team with!

February 26, 2025

5 Facts About Laughter that Make a Difference

People often say to me, sure laughter is nice, but why are you such a zealot? I decided to organize some of my reasons here! Feel free to reach out to me with any comments or questions @danikleinmodisett.**‍**

February 19, 2025

Leader Humor

Last week I discovered the catchy phrase “leader humor,” an accepted shorthand for leader who use their sense of humor to lead. I first saw it referenced in a LinkedIn post by my friend and colleague Dr. Belinda Chiu. It’s a thing! I felt so validated reading this distinction about it:

February 10, 2025

Laughter + Sleep = Brain Health!

This just in, sleep matters. Not just for our beauty, as the saying goes. In fact instead of the popular “beauty sleep,” given the sleep statistics on Alzheimer’s prevention, maybe we could rebrand “beauty sleep,” to “br

January 31, 2025

Is It Award Season for Improv Comedy?

‍In the category of “Best Way to Improve Productivity," the nominees are...Mental Health Benefits, Paid Maternity AND Fraternity Leave, Kombucha On Tap, and…INTERACTIVE IMPROV WORKSHOPS!” 

January 22, 2025

Laughter is a Survival Skill

“I’m not sure any of these are really my style,” I say, digging through an old Home Goods bag of someone’s used clothing.

January 9, 2025

FIRES: No Laughing, Take Action

Laughter On Call is based in Los Angeles where, to put it mildly, 2025 has kicked off in a true crisis. A well known equation for comedy, tragedy plus time, means you won’t be getting any jokes here today. Instead, I am

December 31, 2024

Year End Highlights, 2024

I’ve been getting hit with a lot of reflections for 2024. I definitely enjoy a greatest hits newsletter whether it's from a family I don’t see often or a small business that’s forging new ground. I love hearing about per

December 23, 2024

Laugh Lines that Work

It’s HOLIDAY SEASON - all caps! This means it’s likely that the next few weeks may yield some unanticipated “challenges.” A polite way of saying that close proximity to family, spending, alcohol and cookies (maybe just m

December 19, 2024

A Comedian and A Pope Walk Into a Bar…

One of the first Broadway shows I worked on was John Guare’s “House of Blue Leaves.” Directed by Jerry Zaks, it was equal parts manic comedy, heartfelt family drama and social commentary. The play had a crazy cast with Ben Stiller, Stockard Channing, Swoosie Kurtz, Christopher Walken and more.

December 12, 2024

Fa la la la ME TIME!

Maybe because I just drove up and back to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles in eighteen hours, after sleeping on a lumpy bed, but the concept of self-care is really calling out to me tonight. Plus, as we know it’s the holid

December 5, 2024

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

I spent my adolescence in Connecticut where Christmas was born. Or so it felt. At my high school the “Candlelight Concert,” held in December was the highlight of the year for the whole town. We wore white gowns and as pr

December 3, 2024

What's More Satisfying than Black Friday? Giving Tuesday!

Yes, Giving Tuesday! A calendar reminder to express gratitude to those who are pushing the way forward with causes that are close to our hearts. For us, we go back to where LOC all started - fighting Alzheimer's and Deme

November 26, 2024

I’d Like to Thank...

As some of you may know I started out as an actor, back when we were still called actresses. In my acting class days, I have a distinct memory of being assigned to write and deliver an acceptance speech for your hypothetical Oscar. In a “if you build it they will come,” way of thinking.

November 14, 2024

Just Say Yes…to Showing Up! It matters!

There you are, lying on the couch in your son’s girlfriend's Brandi Melville sweatpants that are as comfortable as the owner is sleazy, watching Love is Blind: the Reunion after a week of feeling battered by the news and

November 6, 2024

Don’t Let Disappointment Take You Out!

Stating the obvious, whatever side you come down on in this week’s election, according to the numbers about half of us are disappointed. To put it mildly.

October 30, 2024

Office Zombies: A Cautionary Tale

In the early 90’s when I first moved to LA I worked as a paralegal. This was back when you needed real people to [**redline** ]legal documents to catch errors. The “office” I reported to was a house with very large dinin

October 24, 2024

You Say Facility, We Say Community!

Most of you are probably too young to remember the Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire song called, “ [**Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off**]**.**” It’s a duet about the minute differences in pronunciation of words - like tomato and

October 17, 2024

Self-Deprecation vs. Self-Compassion

Like prizefighters in a ring, it’s time for these two heavyweights to duke it out. I know who I’d bet on for going the distance for mental health, but often, particularly in comedy, I can be alone on this.

October 9, 2024

HAPPY AGEISM AWARENESS DAY

I love a good holiday, any chance to blow up balloons and eat buttercream. However, today is Ageism Awareness Day and it has me a little stumped. Or at least it did at first glance. I mean, I know how old I am, do we nee

October 3, 2024

National Alzheimer's Accountability Act Gets A Pick Up!

I work in comedy, so when my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, naturally I thought to help by making her laugh. Then I set out to help not only people facing the disease, but the people who care for them with comedi

September 27, 2024

Amazon is Making Connection a Priority

The executive who booked us to come in person to AMAZON this week may be psychic. Or maybe they knew that CEO Andy Jassy was going to make his RTO announcement. Love that they wanted to make sure people feel** **good by

September 19, 2024

Laughter Here, Laughter There, Laughter Everywhere!

What a whirlwind few weeks with the LOC crew! Apparently people love to kick off the fall with laughter and connection. First I traveled to San Francisco for the annual **Dartmouth Entrepreneur Forum** to share the Laugh

September 5, 2024

Happy Healthy Aging Month

I’ll kick this one off with a confession. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for almost 30 years and yet I still look forward to reading the Sunday New York Times. There are plenty of reasons to attack any newspaper at this point

August 30, 2024

What Can We Learn from Empty Nesters?

Yesterday a dear friend of mine sent me [**the link to a video of Brooke Shields** ]crying. Not because I feel so connected to her since I also auditioned for [**The Blue Lagoon **]at 14. I didn’t get it. No, my friend s

August 20, 2024

The Elephant - and the Donkey - In the Room

Laughter On Call - to quote my friends in 12 Step programs - “has no opinion on outside issues.” Our laughter is intentionally non-partisan. Given the current political climate my sense is that 75 days before this Presid

August 15, 2024

Keeping A Vacation State of Mind

Eek! Mid-August, how did we get here? For that matter, how did we get to 2024? I still think 1984 was twenty years ago, max. But here we are and as summer wraps up I had some insights about vacation. Something I’m not ve

August 8, 2024

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT FOR GOOD THOUGHTS

“Levity is a mind-set,” said [**Naomi Bagdonas**], a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who advises executives on leading with humor and humanity. “It’s looking for reasons to be delighted rather than d

July 31, 2024

Mental Health & Laughter for the Gold

Simone Biles is probably a little busy, but if ever there was the perfect spokesperson for Laughter On Call, it would be this gymnastics GOAT. Not just for her unmatched talent and skill, but also for being a beaming exa

July 24, 2024

Happy Self-Care Day!

July is a big month for Laughter On Call! Last week we turned six and today is one of our favorite holidays. International Self-Care Day. July 24th! According to the UK based [**Self-Care Foundation (SF)**], the date was

July 10, 2024

6 Years Already?

Newsflash: Timing is big in comedy. Having an instinct for it is pretty key for landing a joke. Understanding timing is also one of the great people skills. It affects all kinds of interactions from marriage, to senior c

July 3, 2024

When the Laughter Stops, Bring in the Humanity

People often ask me to tell them a specific moment with a senior where Laughter On Call really made a difference. The answer I give is never the one they are expecting. It’s never the image of a woman laughing so hard sh

June 27, 2024

The Stages of Life in a Pixar Universe

The combination of the dramatic success of [**Inside Out 2** ]and the [**crushing news of Gena Rowlands’ Alzheimer’s** ]has me thinking about the evolution of feelings as we mature.

June 20, 2024

SOLIDARITY = INCLUSION

It’s Pride Month which is what inspired Laughter On Call to invite a few experts to talk about creating a feeling of belonging for all people at our [**webinar today (Thursday, 6/20).**]

June 13, 2024

From the Tennis Court to Caregiving

When anyone asks me about my tennis game, I often call myself a hack. I’m not being self-deprecating - well maybe I am - but I’m also speaking truth. I have taken a handful of lessons in my life. But I love a good racket

June 6, 2024

Daughter, Caregiver, Worker

Yes, that's a legit fanny pack. And we'll get to that. But first...

May 23, 2024

Comedy Tools in Action!

“We’ve done that exercise already,” the Chanel-chic woman in the front row wearing thick framed glasses said. She readjusted them and smiled.

May 16, 2024

A Sense of Humor for Survival?

“Let’s start with the first scene,” the casting director said. “Sure,” I said. I was sitting across from Jerry Seinfeld who was also holding a script. Having gone through several rounds of auditions for Elaine, we were n

May 8, 2024

Mental Health Awareness Month & Mother’s Day - Coincidence?

It’s Mental Health Month and Mother’s Day - in comedy that’s what we call timing! I’m tickled by the chance to recognize mental health and my mother in the same month! What is it they say? Your parents know where the but

May 1, 2024

Happy National Small Business Week!

If you would have told me ten years ago I’d have a small business hitting its stride five years in, I’d probably have done a frozen yogurt spit-take. Those were the yogurt years - many of my jokes were about new mom stress, the set up for one was a 30-something racing up to a yogurt store counter, “Can I have a taste?” she pleads, panting.

April 22, 2024

Comedians Who Do More than Make Us Laugh

What do Pitbulls, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation and Comedians have in common in 2024? Comedians who care about them! Funny people who have put their talent where their mouths are to generate tremendous support!

April 18, 2024

How do we Care for the Caregiver?

In comedy we talk a lot about timing so I’m very conscious of the recent report released by the Alzheimer’s Association and the fact that I’m heading to San Francisco this week to run two caregiver workshops.

April 10, 2024

International Moment of Laughter Day!

Some holidays feel like they are designed to make me roll my eyes - National Beer Day (missed it! April 7), National Flash Drive Day (went by in flash - ba dum bum - April 5) and one there’s still time to honor, National WAGYU Day - June 21st! PHEW! I understand, picking a special day to recognize something is a positive marketing tool. I likely wouldn’t have thought to eat the most expensive meat in the world in June without a calendar nudge.

April 3, 2024

April Fool's Recap - Keep It Light

You know that feeling when you’re swimming with someone, jumping around and splashing each other in the water? And then to be really funny, they hold your head under the water? Your playmate presses down on your shoulders and just laughs and laughs until, I don’t know, they can make you turn blue? Ha ha ha. Yeah, um, I have never found that funny.

March 28, 2024

We’re baaaack!! Reflections on the WBENC National Conference

Yes! We made it back from our big excursion to Denver to host the closing brunch for WBENC’s All-Time Top Corporations for 25 years! I will not lie I had some butterflies in my stomach leading up to this. The team at WBENC could not have been more organized, supportive, clear and helpful, everything you wish for in a collaboration. My first idea for how to structure the two hours was to anchor the brunch in the letter M. We would recognize motivation, momentum, metamorphosis, and other marvelous M words, including mother.

March 16, 2024

March "Madness" For Women in Business

When you hear March Madness most people think of the NCAA - and yet there's another kind of "madness" going on for women this March. The madness of celebrating diversity and inclusion! According to the Women's History Alliance, celebrating Women's History Month this year means recognizing women "...throughout the country who understand the need to eliminate bias and discrimination from individuals' lives and institutions for a positive future."

March 6, 2024

Laughter Is Blind

I admit it, I’m hooked. After weeks of “will they or won’t they” - or in my case two long nights - tonight we find out who is actually going to marry a person they met after a courtship in pods where neither could see each other.

February 28, 2024

Wellbeing that Works!!

Thursday we had an illuminating conversation about workplace wellbeing initiatives with three wise panelists, Raelynn Douglas, Larissa Bartlett, and David Schneiderman. To kick it off, I was curious how we think about well-being beyond the dictionary definition.

February 14, 2024

Alzheimer's, Tech and Apps, Oh My!

I can’t believe it’s been four years since my mother’s passing. Or that my inability to make her laugh would launch me on a mission to help anyone I could feel less alone with shared laughter. I obviously also didn't know that a month after she died the world would be shut down from COVID and feelings of isolation would be felt on a global scale.

February 7, 2024

5 Reasons the Grammy's Got it Right

To be clear, I don’t like watching awards shows. They often feel like a fabulous party I wasn’t invited to. I enjoy the boundary-pushing outfits though, and am especially entertained by the awkward conversations on the red carpet.

February 2, 2024

A Nobel Prize Winner and a Comedian Walk into a Bar...

“Female musicians, it can be convincingly argued, have historically faced considerable discrimination,” the recent Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldin and fellow researcher Cecilia Rouse wrote in a study in 2000.

January 30, 2024

We Made the Rochester News!

Laughter On Call brought compassion through comedy to Jewish Senior Life in Rochester.

January 26, 2024

5 Reasons Why Laughing When You’re Sick Is No Joke!

I’m down for the count again - darn sneaky COVID - testing negative but it’s the gift that keeps giving. More like a horror movie. Cue V/O: “Just when you thought it was safe to go to spin class again….”

January 19, 2024

Kidding Aside, We Need to F’ing Laugh

Snowstorms, below freezing temperatures, horrifying news stories, the fact is if we’re going to truly make this a “happy” new year, we have to be proactive about our laughter. Fortunately, it’s a very cool time for TV comedy. Here’s a handy list if you want to pop some corn, throw in some Raisinets and escape this weekend.

January 12, 2024

Five Ways You Can Approach Your Resolutions with Joy Instead of Angst

It’s the new year and I don’t want to be tense. I don’t want to already be anxious about my “resolutions.” The ones I forgot to make, or the ones I made at 1 am on the 31st. I’m convinced the first step in finding joy at the start of a new year is taking the word resolution out of the equation.

January 5, 2024

Finding Laughter with Family!

Now I know why those National Lampoon Chevy Chase Vacation movies are so popular. Watching them before, during or after a week with family doing your best to relax and have “fun!” delivers exactly the comic relief you need.

December 29, 2023

Laughter on Call: Igniting Performance through Connection and Joy

Someone recently asked me what the “I” in R.O.I. is for Laughter On Call. I thought they were kidding. But apparently a new definition has been added to the acronym. We all understand the “I” to mean investment, but in an historically challenging atmosphere, it can now also mean impact.

December 22, 2023

Happy Holidays from Laughter On Call!

You know those updates that people send out during the holiday season? Where you get to read about family trips, milestones and engagements? I don’t send those personally, but as 2023 wraps I decided to go back through the LOC calendar to be reminded of the hits, if you will.

December 15, 2023

We’re never gettin’ younger, so I’m gonna have some fun...

This title of this post is a quote from P!nk's latest hit. That is what it’s come down to for me, quoting pop songs. I was on a spin bike in the dark this week, hiding from the news when her new song, “I’m Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” came on.

December 8, 2023

Tis the Season for Self-Care

At Laughter On Call, we focus a lot on employee wellbeing. When we show up to an event or training we always read the room, get a sense of who’s an introvert, who’s game to get out of their comfort zone, and who we’re going to have to pull off their phone.

December 1, 2023

Did Someone Say “Affiliative Humor”?

Probably not you! Unless you’re a comedy scholar. Even though I’ve written about this before, with the holiday season upon us, full of socializing and “partying,” it feels like a great time to review the value of humor that makes people feel good.

November 18, 2023

Giving Thanks for the Chance to Help

Even in challenging times there is much to be grateful for. I don’t talk about gratitude per se in my training, but I do present appreciation as a self-care tool. I suggest getting in the habit of expressing it not just for others but for yourself. Pointing out something you appreciate about a person or something they did is free! And it helps people feel valued.

November 10, 2023

Have You Thanked a Carepartner Today?

November is Alzheimer’s awareness month! Who knew? Not me before my mother was diagnosed 8 years ago. This is the month the Alzheimer's Association recognizes the more than 11 million family members and friends who are currently caring for a person living with Alzheimer's nationwide.

November 3, 2023

Why You Shouldn't Fear Improv

Twenty five years ago when I took a Stand-up class at UCLA, the teacher Shelley Bonus, one of Richard Prior’s ex’s, said to me after the first class, “You’re a comedian. You may never do it, but it’s who you are.”

October 27, 2023

Add Laughter to your "Boo!"

I shut my eyes and plug my ears at scary movies. And I can’t bear those amusement park rides where your stomach drops before the rest of your body. I don’t understand the thrill of terrorizing yourself. Halloween is here with it's ghoulish figures on lawns, pre-recorded screams coming from bushes, and $40 bags of candy.

October 13, 2023

What's there to Laugh About?

What a sh*t week. Tough to write about laughter. Even typing the word on the page seems tone deaf.

October 6, 2023

Have you heard the one about hugs?

Last week as I was leaving a conference, or it may have been a dance class, I overheard someone behind me announce, “Eight hugs a day, that’s what we need to feel good!” I turned toward the voice and saw a woman embracing another woman, squeezing her and smiling before untangling herself and waving good-bye.

September 29, 2023

Have you tapped into Compassionate Candor yet?

“Compassionate Candor” is HOT right now. It’s popping up all over my social media because leaders are scrambling for a fresh take on how to create cultures where people want to come to work.

September 23, 2023

The Loc Pivot!

In November it will be two years since I had the idea to hire a comedian to cheer my mother up. For those of you visiting Laughter On Call for the first time, I had moved her to Los Angeles near me from New York City because Alzheimer’s was getting the better of her. Initially she adjusted well, but after realizing she was not in a glamourous hotel and was not returning to her home, she became depressed.

September 21, 2023

Birthdays and Better Drugs!

I have a big birthday coming. I’m not going to say which one but it’s not hard to figure out. As Jerry Herman wrote and Bea Arthur sang in the song “Bosom Buddies,” in Mame, “somewhere between 40 and death.”

September 15, 2023

Seniors: We’ve Only Just Begun

Last week the NY Times asked in big bold, all-capped letters, “Can we age gracefully?” They shared this piece at a conference I attended at USC “Aging is Now | Aging is the Future hosted by USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in collaboration with USC Marshall School of Business.

September 8, 2023

Back To Our Future

I’ve been out of school too many decades to cop to and yet it never fails when Labor Day hits I get that back to school feeling all over again.

August 31, 2023

We Are What We Do

Some of you may have seen the celebratory video we shot to honor our 5 year anniversary! It was a wonderful way to look back and appreciate our relatively brief history. Recently I had a call with a consultant who said, “Yeah, I saw the video and kinda thought, so what?” Ouch.

August 25, 2023

We're FIVE!!! Happy Birthday to us!

Wait, what? FIVE YEARS? I feel like I do scrolling through pictures of my friends’ offspring springing off to college. I have a vivid memory of the first Laughter On Call meeting, before it even had a name.

August 18, 2023

I Made A Mistake

At the start of every Laughter On Call session we establish two key rules. 1)We are a laughing with company not a laughing at company and 2) There are no mistakes and no wrong answers. We do this to set up a space where all ideas are welcome, where you will feel safe to get out of your comfort zone and take risks. The intention here is to create this level of acceptance in controlled circumstances and set a precedent for future communication.

August 11, 2023

Knowing Your Audience - The Power of Empathy

Why does Laughter On Call include empathy in our laughter training? Because it falls exactly in line with something every comedian relies on to do their best work. Knowing your audience. When you know your audience and can figure out how to relate to them, to empathize with their experience, you are that much more likely to get laughs.

August 4, 2023

Laughing at the Misfortune of Others – Not New, Also Not Good

At Laughter on Call we make a big deal about not laughing at others. We always say we’re a laughing with company not a laughing at company. Recently someone challenged me on this, “What do you mean you don’t make fun of people? How do you make people laugh? Plus, with the egos of leaders, you have to make fun of them. They love it!”

July 28, 2023

Hunter, Farmer, Human!

I had an illuminating call this week with a company. After sharing hello’s, we got to the heart of the matter.

July 21, 2023

Acknowledge, Engage and...?

Who doesn’t love a good acronym? When they work it’s like having a gift in your pocket – with ideas inside you can actually use. One of my favorites is pronounced like the word "air."

July 14, 2023

Therapeutic Lying. Is This Really a Thing?

Spent a few weeks this month bringing laughter tools to a gorgeous senior community in New York City, Coterie Hudson Yards, after reading about it in a profile on the director Paul Shrader in The New Yorker. They don’t pay me to say nice things here, but the luxury and care their residents experience is first rate.

July 6, 2023

My "Story Spine" Summer

This week I taught “Story Spine” to my memoir class. In preparation I wrote this as a how-to example.

June 29, 2023

Smile. Don't Argue.

“As people lose the ability to communicate, they still read us very, very well,” said Allison Lindauer, an associate professor of neurology with the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. NY Times 6/23/23

June 20, 2023

In True New Hampshire spirit - Diversity or Die!

You can definitely argue that the hat is overkill – and a little too enthusiastically announcing that it’s been nearly 40 years since I graduated college. But there is a method to my madness here.

June 15, 2023

Summer's Here and So is Our Reading List

It's summer so of course we need a reading list! Whether you're lying on a beach, spending time with a loved one struggling with cognitive decline, or just want some tools for bringing laughter to all your relationships, these books can help. They are each brimming with heartfelt stories of perseverance, the search for joy and practical ideas for finding it.

June 8, 2023

What is Affiliative Humor and Why Should I Care?

Great question! When I was launching Laughter On Call in the Alzheimer’s space I’d often be asked about where the idea came from of bringing laughter to such a dark situation. The simple truth is, for me creating human connection through shared laughter, even against the toughest odds, is a reflex.

May 26, 2023

In Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month - Trust the Experts!

‍This week in the NY Times featured a story about a moving company for seniors. Hiring a third party to come in so you don’t have to argue with Mom about giving up placemats from 1970. It definitely brought back memories of conversations I had with my mother about her stuff and where it would all go.

Alzheimer’s Silver…moments

The shaky hand, the labored breathing when she sleeps in her wheelchair, her shrinking body nourished mostly by vanilla ice cream: as we move into the eighth year that my mother’s brain is being ravaged by Alzheimer’s disease, none of it seems like a gift. And yet. Sometimes when she looks straight into my eyes now, no longer weighed down by judgment or disappointment or even yes, envy, the gaze is so piercing it cuts right through the haze of grief I walk around in.

Comedy Care Delivered

Laughter On Call started as a way to bring some much needed comic relief to my mother. However, in the year since the idea of hiring a comedian to work one-on-one with her to make her laugh, it has become a company that offers so much more.

Cracking Myself Up – Almost!

“At Laughter On Call, we’re so committed to making you laugh, we’ll crack a rib if we have to!” this was the ad copy running through my mind lying on the cold metal table in a paper dress slit down the back waiting for my torso to be x-rayed.

Land Of The Free, Home Of The Brave

Funny how lyrics can resonate differently depending on where you are in your life.

Laughter In The Time Of Corona

Hello to all our isolated friends. We have arrived at week three of staying safe, social distancing and creating laughter from where ever we are. There is no original way to write this, these are crazy times.

Loc Founder Dani Modisett Talks Laughter and Hope

When I first brought my mother to Los Angeles from New York City where she had lived for most of her life -minus a long decade she spent in suburban Connecticut – she was doing okay. Given how enamored she had always been about Manhattan, in that singular way that native New Yorker’s can be, we anticipated a lot worse, tantrums, sleepless nights and seething looks of contempt.

Loc goes Israel

Loc’s Beginnings

The great aspect of living in a city where everyone comes to realize their dreams, is that it’s full of creative people oozing ideas, good and bad. In no other city in the country are the coffee shops standing room only all day long.

“LUNCHTIME LAUGHTER”? WHAT? AND…WHY?

Some might argue we’re a motley crew. Ranging in age from 30 to 93, in t-shirts, unshaven with unkempt hair, we meet Monday through Friday at noon, following the lead of our in house “comedy care” expert instructing us to breathe deeply, make funny faces and, depending on whatever comedy principal we are taking on that day, tell silly stories.

My Mother, Her Hands

I feel like I’ve always been aware of my mother’s long tapered fingers. Most of the time they were covered in gold rings, catching light as she lit a cigarette or held a glass of wine, always with her pinky extended.

Our Top 3 Laughter on Call Jokes

I was late to altar, so to speak, meaning it took me a long time to settle down and get married. Apparently, my mother no longer remembers that I did.

Q&A With a Loc Comedian

Jackie Monahan is a comedian and writer. She has been working for Laughter On Call a little less than a year. I was lucky enough to catch up with her between her time with Carmen, who she makes laugh between 10-12 hours a week, and the rest of her jam-packed writer/performer schedule.

Send in the Comedians

Not what you’d expect to hear from someone who created a company that hires comedians to use their talent to make people with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers, and their families laugh. And yet, every time I visit my mother, now in the late stage of the disease, I am reminded of just how relentlessly sad it is.

Sundays with Muriel

If you’re old enough to have a parent who is a senior, you may remember the seminal book Tuesdays with Morrie. This memoir, recounting the wise and intimate conversations that the author Mitch Albom had with his former college professor Morrie Schwartz in the last months of his life tugged at the heartstrings of popular culture with surprising vigor.

Training Day!

On Sunday a group of Improv comics met at my house in Atwater Village for some Interactive Storytelling training. As you can see, it was awful. Fortunately we also had snacks!

Washington Post Read: Promoting a Joyful Approach to Alzheimer’s

READ THE ARTICLE

When Losing Keys Makes You Sweat

“A person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every 65 seconds now,” Yael Wyte said to me the other morning over coffee. She’s a geriatric social worker who, among many responsibilities, runs support groups for the Alzheimer’s Association of Los Angeles so she should know.

When There Are No Words. Literally.

“Thank you,” my mother said to me a few weeks ago as I pulled my face away from hers, having just given her kisses, one on each cheek. I didn’t know I’d be blinking back tears, but there they were. Happens to me a lot now.

December 13, 2021

SNORING AND THE PANDEMIC

Let me first acknowledge that families are facing much worse challenges in the pandemic than snoring. When you can’t breathe on your own, snoring could feel like a victory. But when you’re sleeping in the same bed with someone for over 20 years, someone you are now spending 24 hours a day with and have been for 9 months, it can be a little, shall we say, grating.

July 1, 2021

LAUGHTER AT WORK? BUT I DON’T WANT TO LOOK FOOLISH!

Most comedians traffic in foolishness. It’s woven so tightly into the fabric of what we do we don’t think twice about it. When one of the touchstones of your art form is slipping on a banana peel, a body losing control unexpectedly with arms akimbo, looking foolish is part of the job description.

April 1, 2021

NOT SO SILLY SCIENCE – BELINDA CHIU

It’s April 2021. Times like these aren’t very funny. In fact, they can be downright scary and sad. But, April is National Humor Month, and May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

February 1, 2021

“WHAT THE ACTUAL F*&K WAS THAT?!”

Yesterday, at the tail end of our fourth event of the day and our 70th in the last month and a half, with people laughing and dancing to Earth, Wind & Fire, people who the company told us might be too depressed to participate, a young woman’s voice broke the festive mood.