“Laughter is the best medicine.” Like every cliché, this old adage springs from a kernel of truth. And in these distressing political times, a good dose of laughter may be just what the doctor ordered. 

The Stepping Up podcast is taking laughter very seriously in Episode 3, "Clowning Around." 

“I like to think of it as a lifestyle. Being a prankster activist is a lifestyle choice,” says Larry Bogad, a veteran political prankster. He has spent a lifetime creating spectacles on the street, in the halls of government, and in corporate board rooms. Larry always shows up with his First Amendment tote bag, packed with the costumes and paraphernalia he might need to create a scene. A lot of his foolishness is focused on the climate conundrum.

His Clown Army, dressed in classic red noses and rainbow wigs, shows up at a climate protest to shower the police with flowers and kisses. In a black cassock, Bogad plays the priest, leading a funeral procession for the last ice on Earth. Posing as an officer of the fictitious Oil Enforcement Agency, he slips into an auto tradeshow to wrap gas-guzzling SUVs in police tape. A thrift store suit and a business card serve as entrée into a meeting of oil execs, or a press conference, or a TV talk show where Bogad and his pals have slipped in under the guise of legitimate company VPs to denounce drilling and pronounce the end of oil.

Clowning around, creative pranksterism, collective buffoonery, beautiful trouble, serious play—these are various ways in which Bogad characterizes what he is doing. On the surface, it all looks like fun and games. But the underlying goal is to get our attention and get us to take action. People turn away from a flyer proffered on the street and doze off during a PowerPoint presentation. But Bogad’s wild and crazy antics, which expose the contradictions in American climate policy, can get us to stop, laugh, and join the conversation.

Does this really have an impact? Can clowns create real change? “It’s hard to quantify the number of widgets of social change that we produce with every action,” Bogad muses. “Was this like a 4.3 units of social change action? What did we do?” The answer is complicated. Climate clowning is just one element in the panoply of climate activism: Carrying a sign at the demo, canvasing for a climate candidate, taking a risk with an illegal action, these are also vital. As Bogad says, “It’s important to recognize that we’re part of a greater social movement about climate change.” 

 Listen to Episode 3 of Stepping Up below, and subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss the next one.