Ronald Reagan was hysterical. He was many other things too, good and bad, but he was always funny, and he knew the power of a well-timed joke or one-liner. Humor was deeply important to Reagan and he ...

Reagan scoffed at the assertions of his one-time chief of staff Don Regan that the president and his wife, Nancy, had relied on astrological advice in connection with Reagan's stewardship of national ...

Authoritarians hate humor because humor exposes them. Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini — every strongman fears the comic more than the critic. A joke spreads fast. A sharp one can cut through a wall of ...