Brain Games host Chuck Nice brings comedy to science

If you’re wired to think that learning about science is no laughing matter, American stand-up comedian Chuck Nice is here to make you laugh and have fun with the subject.

As host of National Geographic’s revamped fan-favorite series, Brain Games: On The Road, Chuck uses his brand of comedy while pitting two teams of four players against each other in an epic battle of the brains to test their memory, color perception, spatial reasoning and more. Each game is designed for play-along at home and “guaranteed” to increase brain power while watching the show.

Chuck is a 19-year veteran in serving laughs on television and radio. He’s also served as the host of such shows as Buy Like A Mega Millionaire on HGTV, The Juice on Veria Living and The Hot Ten on Centric. He’s seen regularly on the Today show and has co-hosted The View. For 11 years now, he has maintained his radio presence as co-host of StarTalk with astrophysicist and planetary scientist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, where he dishes out humorous commentary on one of his favorite topics — science.

In an exclusive virtual interview with the 46-year-old personality last week, we learned that he neither dreamed of becoming a comedian or a science communicator growing up.

He told The STAR: “Everybody in the family is funny, but they all have other talents. I’m the only one that made it a job, probably because I couldn’t do anything else (laughs). But no, my father was a business owner and my mother was an English teacher. I came from a background of business and education. I’m not the first person involved in educating and I still don’t call myself a science communicator, because I think that’s a disservice to every person who is truly a science communicator. You know, I’m a comedian who happens to like science. I’m passionate about it and I want everybody else to like it, too. If I can be funny and cause someone to like science, then I am doing something I think that’s worthwhile.”

Here are more excerpts from the interview:

What was your first reaction when offered to host Brain Games: On the Road?

“At first, I thought, I hope I’m not the guy that screws up the show because so many people love it. Especially since we’ve changed it so that it’s an actual game show. But I really felt honored I was asked to pilot this very storied franchise. I was excited because I really love neuroscience. It’s like all this stuff came together for me… It’s the only time I’ve ever felt like wow, I really hope I get this job because it’s show business, you normally don’t get the job. That’s just how it is. You just normally don’t. But I felt like, ‘Oh man, I really hope I get this job.’ And then it happened. But I feel like they were made for each other — Brain Games and Chuck Nice.”

What was the most surprising thing you learned from the show?

“The most surprising thing that I think you’ll learn from the show is that your brain is a liar. A lot of what your brain does is a shortcut … so that you can take in lots of information. But, of course, we all know that every shortcut has its shortfall. And the shortfall is sometimes the information that you get isn’t as reliable as you think.

“I think, if everyone knew that, it would cause you to think twice, no pun intended, about pretty much everything. Because you would know that maybe your brain is not seeing what you think it’s seeing, maybe you’re not hearing what you think you’re hearing. And so maybe, you won’t be so rigid in your thinking because you know that your brain isn’t as good as you might want it to be at taking information and processing it.”

Which career did you dream of doing growing up — comedian or science communicator?

“It was neither. The comedy made a lot more sense because I was always getting in trouble because of the way I talked to teachers and I always liked to pull pranks and I would love to make jokes in class. I wasn’t the class clown but I did have a very flippant mouth. The teacher would say something and I immediately have a comeback. Then, I would get sent to the principal’s office, which I liked.

“But I never saw myself being a comedian. Before I did comedy, I had my own import-export business. Then I left that to go bartend so I could do comedy. Then Neil found me. I was a secret science fan my entire life. And that’s what I love about this show. My love of science was sparked by science fiction. It made me want to learn more about science. I’m hoping that the science in this show may make people want to learn more about science. But to answer your question, I never thought I’d be doing any of this.”

Why is it important to combine science, comedy and entertainment?

“I’m so glad you asked that because one, it works. People are far more apt to seek out information, remember what they have learned and then want to come back for more… if they are having a positive experience while they’re learning. If they don’t even know they’re learning, that’s even better. That’s the best when it’s over, and you go, ‘Oh well, I just learned something.’ That’s the best. That’s what learning is — one, most effective and two, most fun. So (melding) comedy and science is a great way to get people to get excited about science, to understand and retain knowledge, and perhaps to return for even more knowledge.”

In the process of doing science-themed shows, is there any related issue that you now feel strongly about?

“I think that the only thing I feel strongly about is our need to think critically, our need to inspire young people to want to think critically. And what Neil calls the cosmic perspective, I’m a big fan of that because I think that when you are able to pull out, not just to your community, not just above your country, not just above your continent, but above your planet, and then above your solar system, and then above your galaxy, I think when you do something like that, it causes you to understand how important you are and at the same time, it humbles you to understand how insignificant you are. And the two together should inform you on how to be a more caring person for your fellow man, a more caring person for your environment, a more caring person for the preservation of the planet on which we live, a more caring person for those who follow you and come behind you. Because all we have is this and all we have is each other. And I know that’s a lot coming from the host of Brain Games: On the Road. But that’s just how I feel.”

(Brain Games: On the Road premiered on Feb. 26 on National Geographic via Skycable Channel 41 SD and Channel 195 HD, with four episodes airing per night over five consecutive Saturdays.)