Why is comedy so influential? Is it because there is more to it than just laughs? From “silly” court jesters calling out kings to satirists shaping revolutions, comedy, for the most part, has been more than just entertainment. It has been a mirror to society and has made it one of the oldest tools for reality checks.
In this Ar in a Bar event, we lean into this legacy, blending humor with real questions about how we communicate, react, and (maybe) overreact in today’s world. So join us for a night where sarcasm, science, and society collide. In a world addicted to instant outrage and knee-jerk reactions, let us pause, think deeper, and laugh with punchlines grounded in critical thinking, historical hindsight, and linguistic quirks. And it doesn’t end with the last punchline as after Prannay, Xinyi and João give their comedic takes, we will have an open discussion where both the comedians and audience members unpack some of the themes raised on stage—no mic drops, just real talk.
Sometimes, jokes and conversations are just the beginning. We hope these conversations can spark journeys for a deeper understanding of how we got to this point in our society.
Ar in a Bar is one of the offshoots of the Ar family (the others being Ar Events and the online Ar Magazine). We aim to create a cosy, friendly atmosphere to have interesting discussions about many different topics in small groups. Our emphasis is on learning together, as part of a community, so we won’t have long talks by individual speakers, but instead will spend most of our time in discussions and explorations of ideas. No prior knowledge of the topic we’re discussing that day, or any scientific training, is necessary.
Why in a bar?
The students at Champalimaud Research have been performing extensive research on themselves and have concluded that beer is beneficial to thinking about science.
Official website here.
