这期“没有愚蠢的问题”节目探讨了死亡、生命和幽默这个多方面的议题，嘉宾包括斯蒂芬·杜布纳、安吉拉·达克沃斯和喜剧演员尤金·米尔曼。 节目一开始，杜布纳提出了举办“生前葬礼”的想法，特别是为了生前悼词。他表达了希望人们能在活着的时候听到在他们葬礼上分享的故事和赞赏，从而了解他们产生的影响。达克沃斯承认悼词的传统性质，通常是积极的但不够完整，并提出了在生前悼词中提供更诚实、甚至带有修正意义的叙述的可能性。然而，讨论随即变得沉重，因为他们得知了一位共同朋友，也是一位著名的专业知识研究者，安德斯·埃里克森的去世的消息。 谈话转为纪念安德斯·埃里克森以及他对刻意练习的极具影响力的研究。杜布纳和达克沃斯分享了个人轶事，突出了埃里克森的善良、谦逊以及对理解人们如何获得专业知识的奉献。达克沃斯回忆起他建议她找到一位榜样来指导她的职业目标，而杜布纳回忆起埃里克森关于腿部力量的意想不到的高尔夫球技巧。他们共同赞扬他的热情、慷慨、好奇心以及他对科学和学习的承诺。他们回顾了他的工作以及它如何帮助提高专业技能。 谈话转向感恩，达克沃斯建议写“感恩信”作为表达对他人感激之情的方式，并承认了悼词的不足。达克沃斯谈到了祝寿文集的格式，这是一种德国式的庆祝作品的方式。 接下来，尤金·米尔曼加入了谈话，他们讨论了幽默的本质。米尔曼幽默地避开了对幽默的直接定义，引用了E.B.怀特关于剖析幽默的警告，将其比作杀死一只青蛙。他将喜剧描述为一个涉及反复试验的解谜过程，并说他认为这是一种智力形式。他还简要描述了他在大学里创建喜剧专业的过程，以及这如何帮助他成为一名喜剧演员。 他们过渡到纪录片“It Started as a Joke”（一切始于一个玩笑），该片记录了米尔曼的喜剧节以及他的个人生活，包括他的妻子凯蒂与癌症的斗争和最终去世。凯蒂观察到“从来没有人想和我谈论癌症”，这引发了对围绕这种疾病的禁忌的讨论。米尔曼解释说，凯蒂的说法源于人们在面对这个话题时感到的不适，导致他们的反应就像他们自己被诊断出患有癌症一样。 米尔曼强调了仅仅尝试接触这个话题的重要性，即使笨拙也好，而不是完全回避它。他分享说，他们的方法涉及开放的沟通，并在凯蒂的疾病带来的限制中寻找快乐。然后，他们反思了生前悼词这个话题，以及他们如何为彼此制作了一部电影。这部纪录片就是“生前悼词”。 最后，他们讨论了没有凯蒂的生活是怎样的，以及他的儿子的情况。接近尾声时，制片人加入了他们，他们询问了制片人的生活和事业。

This episode of "No Stupid Questions" explores the multifaceted topic of death, life, and humor, featuring Stephen Dubner, Angela Duckworth, and comedian Eugene Merman. The show begins with Dubner proposing the idea of holding "living funerals," particularly for eulogies. He expresses his wish that people could hear the stories and appreciations shared at their funerals while they are still alive to understand the impact they've had. Duckworth acknowledges the traditional, often positive and incomplete nature of eulogies and raises the possibility of more honest, perhaps even corrective, accounts in living eulogies. However, the discussion then turns somber with the news of the passing of a mutual friend, Anders Ericsson, a renowned researcher on expertise. The conversation shifts to honoring Anders Ericsson and his influential work on deliberate practice. Dubner and Duckworth share personal anecdotes, highlighting Ericsson's kindness, humility, and dedication to understanding how people achieve expertise. Duckworth recounts his suggestion to identify a role model to guide her professional goals, while Dubner recalls an unexpected golf tip from Ericsson about leg strength. They collectively celebrate him for his warmth, generosity, curiosity, and his commitment to science and learning. They reflect on his work and how it helps improve expertise. The conversation turns towards gratitude, where Duckworth suggests writing "gratitude letters" as a way of expressing appreciation to people, acknowledging the shortcomings of eulogies. Duckworth talks about the format of a Feshschrift, a German celebration of work. Next Eugene Merman joins the conversation, and they discuss the essence of humor. Merman humorously deflects a direct definition, quoting E.B. White's warning against dissecting humor, likening it to killing a frog. He describes comedy as a puzzle-solving process involving trial and error, and he says he thinks of it as a form of intelligence. He also briefly describes his creation of a comedy major in college and how it helped him become a comedian. They transition to the documentary "It Started as a Joke," which chronicles Merman's comedy festival and his personal life, including his wife Katie's battle with cancer and eventual death. Katie's observation that "nobody ever wants to talk to me about cancer" prompts a discussion about the taboo surrounding the disease. Merman explains that Katie’s statement stems from the discomfort people feel when confronted with the topic, causing them to react as if they themselves were receiving the diagnosis. Merman emphasizes the importance of simply trying to broach the subject, even clumsily, rather than avoiding it altogether. He shares that their approach involved open communication and finding joy within the limitations imposed by Katie's illness. They then reflect on the topic of living eulogies and how they made a movie about each other. The documentary film was the "living eulogy." Finally, they discuss how their lives have been without her, and how his son is doing. Towards the end, they are joined by the producer and they ask him about his life and career.