Episode 119: As computers get smarter and learn more about us, they’re also being built to be funnier. And unlike your friends, who use humor to build stronger relationships, the motives of these digital devices are less clear.

Host Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about the health benefits of laughter, how what's funny has changed over the past several years and why a sense of humor can be an important part of being a leader.

Links to stories discussed during the podcast:

Laughter has the power to turn strangers into friends, by Richard Kyte

The joke’s on us – how big tech is replicating our laughter online, by Benjamin Nickl and Christopher John Muller, The Conversation

Laughing is good for your mind and your body – here’s what the research shows, by Janet Gibson, The Conversation

Should vintage comedy be judged by today's standards, by Joel Morris, The Spectator

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.