Most of us are probably familiar with the old E.B. White chestnut about how analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog, but still, here are some interesting thoughts on comedy I heard recently while catching up on my NPR (and PRI) podcast listening.

1. On 'Fresh Air,' Tamara Jenkins discussed her movie 'The Savages,' an incredibly sad comedy about two siblings putting their father in a nursing home. "The world separates comedies from tragedies, and dramas from farces, but I actually think that if you are paying close attention in life you will see that they are actually operating in stereo most of the time."

2. On 'This American Life,' Tami Sagher, who writes for '30 Rock', told a story about being on a trip through Switzerland. A group of people referred to her as "the professional" and asked her to tell a joke. She told a fairly innocuous joke about a pedophile which was met with complete silence. Then someone else said, "What do you call a cow that can't give milk? A milk dud." Everyone laughed at that one.

"So, this is the joke I tell when people say, 'You're in comedy, tell me a joke,' and this always disappoints. Always. But I still love it. 'What did the snail say on the turtle's back? Wheee!' They're just like, 'Oh, that's... that's what you do for a living?' And I want to be like, 'No. But you can't handle the truth. You can't handle the Jewish pedophile.'"