Rudolph Herzog is a filmmaker and writer who takes his audience on paths far from our everyday experience. He's directed the reality crime series "The Heist" about criminal masterminds and a film about a lost Arctic explorer.

Herzog's newest project originated as a documentary film and evolved into the written form. Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany is a look at how Germans, both oppressed and oppressors, used comedy to deal with the reality of living under The Third Reich.

JESSE THORN: It's The Sound of Young America, I'm Jesse Thorn. My guest on the program is the filmmaker and author Rudolph Herzog. His new book is called Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany. It's an exploration of humor in Germany before, during, and immediately after the Nazi years; including both the humor of the Nazis, of their subjects, and of their targets.

Rudolph, welcome to The Sound of Young America, it's great to have you here.

RUDOLPH HERZOG: Hi, thanks for having me.

Click here for a full transcript of this interview, or click here to stream or download the audio.

Mary Roach is the author of several best-selling books of science journalism, including Stiff (about cadavers) and Bonk (about sex). Her most recent is Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. It's an investigation of the science of human travel in space, from the high-minded (cosmic rays, interpersonal relationships, muscle degeneration) to the less-high-minded (farts, poops, barfs).