He’s a Hollywood heavyweight — a comedy writer who has contributed to shows and movies including Mork and Mindy and The Muppets Take Manhattan. Now, he’s taking on the history of comedy in Funny: The Book.

David Misch gets to the bottom of what makes us laugh, and says that along the way, he learned a few lessons himself: the surprise similarities between comedy and drama, the importance of words and language in entertaining people. But don’t be fooled — while Misch is serious about his message, he presents it in a hysterical way (don’t miss his story about what Gary Marshall said about his writing!).

He shares his own favorite comedians, and talks to Growing Bolder about what sets them apart from the hundreds of other who have taken the stage through the years. And he gives us his prediction for the future of comedy (hint: political satire is going to get even bigger!) and comedians.