How to Make STEM Funny—and Go Viral Doing It

Stop maine if you’ve heard this 1 before. An aspiring chemist goes to college, realizes she’s not bully astatine chemistry, and bombs her dissertation. She takes a people successful standup drama and decides nan champion measurement to talk astir STEM is to make jokes astatine its expense.

This isn’t a punchline. It’s Freya McGhee’s life. Based successful London, nan comedian had a beardown liking successful subject arsenic a kid, but aft attending nan University of Brighton to study chemistry, she realized that she liked learning subject much than she liked applying it. Her thesis dissertation—“Synthesis of Iron Nitroxide extremist type utilizing extremist derivatized ligands and its usage arsenic a single-molecule magnet”—flopped. She evaporated her results successful nan lab.

“I was for illustration ‘I don’t cognize what to do anymore,’” McGhee says. “I consciousness for illustration if personification other did it, they mightiness get further on pinch it, but for maine it decidedly didn’t work. It was a nightmare.”

As she was finishing her grade she started studying stand-up and turned that nightmare into a pretty bully bit. It’s gotten 4.4 cardinal views connected Instagram. McGhee’s stand-up sets regularly get hundreds of thousands aliases millions of views—and tons of nosy comments. WIRED reached McGhee astatine location successful London to talk astir what it takes to make STEM funny.

This question and reply has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

ANGELA WATERCUTTER: Obviously you made a beautiful abrupt move from chemistry to comedy, but erstwhile you first started doing stand-up were you joking astir STEM then, aliases did you find your measurement location complete time?

FREYA MCGHEE: When you’re newer I deliberation it’s easier to get laughs for making love jokes and worldly that’s relatable. But if you’re coming onstage, particularly successful beforehand of a non-science crowd, trying to get them to laughter astatine subject worldly is really hard. You person to explicate nan subject and past show nan joke. You suffer momentum.

Right. There’s excessively overmuch setup.

But past I realized if I did it pinch a PowerPoint, if I conscionable put nan subject up arsenic a PowerPoint, it was overmuch easier for group to understand. When I figured that retired it was endgame really.

Yes, your sets benignant of consciousness for illustration an precocious advanced schoolhouse subject people pinch a very funny instructor.

Yeah, it's very on-brand, isn't it? It conscionable made logical consciousness to me. Like, if I put it into a visual, it cuts retired nan portion of nan joke that’s losing momentum. Or I tin get to nan punchline quicker if I usage a ocular aid. But it does consciousness funny to beryllium doing subject jokes and holding a clicker arsenic well. It's each portion of nan theme, really.

So really did you find your audience?

At nan Edinburgh Fringe Festival location are immoderate subject stand-up showcases. So I started doing much of those and conscionable experimenting. It’s for illustration being backmost successful A-level physics pinch nan six group successful your class, isolated from they’re successful this drama room, which is rather nice.

When did you commencement going to nan Fringe Festival?

In 2023. I did a showcase pinch 2 different comedians wherever we had to audition for it and it was awful. It was truthful bad. We were truthful new. Well, I was really new. I deliberation nan others were really OK, but I was really caller and I conscionable had to do 20 minutes. I don't moreover deliberation I had five, and I conscionable died connected my ass each time for a month. That's erstwhile I started doing nan subject gig.

I’m really benignant of gladsome it was really bad. If those first sets had gone good I wouldn’t person been for illustration oh, I want to do subject jokes instead.

I saw nan flyers for STEM drama nights connected your Instagram. That was portion of nan festival, right?

So nan adjacent year, maine and my friend Alex—she does maths—we brought a show called Comedians successful STEM. I did chemistry jokes; she did mathematics jokes. We’ve since done adjacent nights successful London and Brighton and I deliberation Bristol. We get different comedians who besides person STEM backgrounds and they effort retired jokes. So past they person a subject assemblage that they tin effort retired their STEM jokes on.

I consciousness for illustration you’ve besides recovered that subject assemblage online. The comments connected your posts tin get profoundly nerdy. What’s nan joke aliases spot that you’ve done that’s gone nan astir viral?

There’s this joke I do wherever I put a titration [setup] connected nan surface and opportunity “Want to perceive a joke astir titrations?” Then I flick done and say, “Ope, you missed it” arsenic if to opportunity you ever miss a titration. I deliberation that must’ve gotten 10 cardinal views. Even connected reposts, if I repost it arsenic a reel aliases something, it still goes viral now. And nan comments are nan astir niche comments ever. It’s truthful funny.

I decidedly had to Google that joke. Do you find that you change your jokes depending connected really science-y nan assemblage seems?

I didn’t get awesome grades, truthful thankfully I’m not truthful smart that group won’t get what I’m talking about. But besides if you talk astir thing that’s really niche successful your field, past group successful different fields won’t get it either. It’s amended to support it broad. That worldly gets nan astir laughs.

But it’s besides scary because if you do it successful beforehand of a subject crowd and it’s not right, you don’t get heckled, you get corrected. It’s really intense.

Wait, I saw this. You posted a video of personification successful nan crowd telling you they were a veterinarian and past you said “OK, immoderate of this mightiness not beryllium correct …” and past that sewage a laugh.

Yeah, definitely.

I usually commencement shows by saying I person a grade successful chemistry, and past asking who other does. If there's anyone successful location that has a grade successful chemistry of a higher level aliases from a amended university, I'm cooked.

What's nan worst heckle you've ever gotten?

I did a activity successful advancement show past Sunday, and I was doing a joke astir exothermic reactions.

This is nan joke wherever you inquire if nan assemblage wants to perceive astir exothermic reactions and past opportunity you don’t person nan energy.

Yeah, and successful my head, I committedness it's right. But I conscionable perceive a small sound that goes, “Actually, I deliberation if you alteration that to activation energy, it will activity overmuch better.”

OK, fair, but yours besides works, truthful …

I do 1 joke wherever I tie a line of champion fit. In Edinburgh, I drew it arsenic a consecutive linear statement of champion fresh and past aft nan laughter died personification piped up and was like, “Actually, it’s an exponential curve of champion fit.”

What’s worse is that I’ve done that joke galore times and it wasn’t until personification said that that everyone successful nan assemblage was for illustration “Yeah, they’re right.” It’s for illustration oh no, I’ve done this joke 20 times …

Do you deliberation of your sets arsenic educational? Or astatine slightest informative?

Maybe a bit. But I'd astir apt put that power to different things. Like I'm presently penning a book astir nan periodic table, and it's for illustration a young big kids’ book. So it's ages 10 to 15. That is really genuinely acquisition wherever I've divided nan book into groups of nan periodic table, and past each group is related to their characteristics and their properties arsenic an element, and past I benignant of fictionalized them into personalities that lucifer those properties. So that is educational. But it could lead to maine producing, hopefully, much acquisition contented for illustration nan book.

Do you do drama full-time now? Obviously you're penning a book, but person you been capable to, ironically, leverage your chemistry grade into a profession astatine this point?

I really don't do drama full-time. I person a full-time job, which I do really enjoy. I consciousness for illustration it is simply a difficult one. You could conscionable spell drama afloat time, but you past find yourself doing gigs successful Ipswich connected a Monday night, which I can't really. I don’t mean that successful a bad way. But you do benignant of extremity up having to do immoderate gig that will get you money.

What’s your time job?

I activity successful income for a building company. So I really americium successful those male-dominated fields.

Sheesh, yeah. Science, comedy, construction. That’s a trifecta.

But I do really, really emotion my job. So I consciousness for illustration it’s a bully equilibrium astatine nan moment. Especially pinch societal media, you tin equilibrium your time. I tin do shows astatine nan weekend. Sell tickets, put nan show on. Sunday astatine 4pm? Great, I’ll beryllium successful furniture early. Social media is simply a game-changer successful that way. It puts nan powerfulness successful your hands. You don’t person to discontinue your occupation nan 2nd that you get gigs astir nan country.

Right. You tin do shows adjacent to location and put them online. Because of that, do you find nan heckling online different, aliases moreover worse? Do you get group who get retired of statement successful your comments? Being a funny female connected nan net isn’t ever soft sailing.

You decidedly still person group for illustration that. I don't ever really fto it fuss maine excessively much, really. My reasons why I do comedy, particularly pinch nan subject stuff, are rather strong. I cognize precisely who I’m doing it for and why. So erstwhile I spot comments that are really, really bad, I usually conscionable delete them—not moreover for me. I wouldn’t want a 15-year-old woman to beryllium scrolling Instagram and past spot a remark astir a female comedian aliases female scientist.

So what’s adjacent for you? Obviously you’re moving connected a book, but what’s nan adjacent measurement successful nan logical progression of a STEM stand-up?

I support doing each these work-in-progress shows to build up to a debut hour. So I'd for illustration to get to a definite number of followers wherever past you tin spell connected circuit and it would really waste tickets. Right now it feels for illustration I person a 50-minute thing. But it’s a group that has a batch of jokes and nary done line. Not that it needs to person a done line. I cognize group get a spot artsy astir this benignant of stuff, but I'd rather for illustration to really explicate why I'm doing jokes astir subject and bring immoderate logic to why I'm doing this into it and really beryllium capable to circuit that show.

Right. Have a show astir STEM that’s besides a show astir why you wanted to do STEM drama successful nan first place.

I'd rather for illustration it to beryllium a due show for nan scientists successful a way. I do consciousness it is dense connected dating, which I do for illustration doing jokes about, but I would for illustration a fewer much subject ones and a fewer much mini niche ones that are conscionable for possibly 5 group successful nan crowd.