Stand-up Comedians + Scientists + Beers = 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 one-of-a-kind 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.

Stand Up Science will blow your mind and bust your gut, but don’t worry… there is a doctorate in the house.

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.

With Special Guests:

John Hawks
Professor John Hawks is an internationally recognized expert on human evolution and genetics. He has investigated the rapid evolution of modern humans within the past 40,000 years; and has explored the contribution of ancient Neanderthals to the ancestry of people living today. He is a core member of the team that discovered the new species Homo naledi, from the Rising Star cave of South Africa. He has appeared in documentary films from PBS, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

Charlie Kojis
Charlie Kojis has been performing stand-up comedy since 2014, during which time he has been described as “this generation’s Charlie Kojis.” Combining his life experiences and general fears, Charlie blends traditional joke telling with his own personal narrative. His dry delivery leaves audiences both laughing and wondering if he is as okay as he pretends to be. Based in Madison WI, Charlie performs throughout the Midwest and has opened for comedians who include Tig Notaro, Gary Gulman, and Michael Che. He was the winner of Madison’s Funniest Comic Competition at Comedy on State in 2016 and co-hosts the Adam Asks Chuck Podcast.

Percival Matthews
My research is motivated by my interests in how humans come to understand the conventional symbol systems that help us navigate the world of mathematics. I chose to study mathematics for several reasons: First, it is a domain in which we intentionally assign symbols to abstract and complex referents. In this sense, it is arguably different from language more generally and may offer special insights into human symbolic competence. Second, mathematics is deeply tied to number, which is one case in which the meaning of a symbolic system is in part informed by our evolutionary history. Third, mathematics offers ample opportunities to study the limitations of adults’ symbolic understandings alongside those of children. In addition to these theoretical reasons, there is an important practical reason to study symbolic development in the domain: mathematical competency – particularly algebraic competence – is important for determining economic success both of individuals and society more generally.