Ben Miller - Volcano. Credit: Gabriel Miller
This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to the Arts & Parks" Show with the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF) welcomes back scientist-turned-stand-up comedian Ben Miller, the first stand-up comedian ever selected as an NPAF artist in residence, at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park in February 2023.
Listen to the Podcast Episode:
What happens when a comedian walks into a volcano? That month on the Big Island, spent learning from volcanologists, entomologists, archeologists, and local Hawaiians, became Volcano, a science comedy hour that has toured 70+ cities internationally and is now available to watch on YouTube. It was filmed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the first stand-up comedy special ever taped at a science museum, and it carries what may be the longest bibliography in comedy history: 281 sources.
Ben joins Lisa D. Smith to talk about taking Volcano from the Edinburgh Fringe to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and New Zealand. He describes writing an hour of jokes in a single month, performing in national parks and even a cave, and why he cites his sources on stage. He also shares how he writes jokes that are funny without being cruel, and what's next: a new hour of science jokes and a tour for next year.
Along the way, the conversation wanders through ʻōhelo berry pies, a 3 a.m. croissant disaster, silkworms and monarch way stations, lava crickets and invasive earthworms, Pompeii's ancient bread, and the persistent myth that a volcano gave us Frankenstein.
Volcano Special with Ben Miller. Credit Dude, IDK Studios
Conversation Highlights
A first for NPAF: Ben was the first stand-up comedian chosen for an NPAF residency. The foundation takes on painters, poets, and dancers, and then a comedian showed up. Residencies are juried, and Ben talks about what it meant to be chosen and how it changed his life.
An hour of jokes in one month: The residency asked him to write and perform an hour of volcano material in a single month, a feat that usually takes comedians years. He explains how that rough first show at the park became the polished special, and why he brought it back to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes in 2025 and 2026.
Volcano around the world: From the Edinburgh Fringe and the Finland Fringe to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Berlin, Vienna, and a month in New Zealand, plus Lassen Volcanic National Park and a cave in Tennessee.
Science, with sources: Why a comedian cites his sources, where to find them in the YouTube description, and why fact-checking him is welcome.
Bombing, learning, and kindness: What he learns from audiences, how he approaches jokes that celebrate rather than put down, and how he found a respectful angle on Mount St. Helens.
Volcano facts and myths: Hawaiʻi's lava crickets and invasive earthworms, the black basalt that connects Hawaiʻi to Iceland and Pompeii, and the Mary Shelley and volcano story that isn't quite true.
Baking and berries: ʻŌhelo berry pies, lilikoʻi malasadas, the great croissant disaster, and a Reese's lava cake challenge.
Arts in parks: Why storytelling and the arts matter for preservation, conservation, and interpretation, and why Ben says to check out your local volcano.
Watch Volcano on YouTube
Filmed in the Infinity Theater at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, with Ben's comedy PowerPoint projected on a 30-by-64-foot screen, Volcano was produced by Denver filmmakers Dude, IDK. It covers everything from volcanology and entomology to Hawaiian history, space volcanoes, cats, and cakes. Ben describes it as rated R, but not X.
Featured Guest: Ben Miller
Ben Miller is a New York City comedian with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Columbia University. He has worked with electron microscopes, taught on a science bus, and 3D printed cookies. He has performed at top New York clubs including Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Carolines, and The Stand. His debut hour, Stand-Up Science, had a sold-out run at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Website: BenMillerComedy.com
Watch the special: Volcano on YouTube
Tour dates and mailing list: linktr.ee/thisisbenmiller
Instagram: @thisisbenmiller | YouTube: @thisisbenmiller
Ben's first Big Blend interview, from his residency: Comedian Ben Miller in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
NPAF, Podcast & Magazine
National Parks Arts Foundation: NationalParksArtsFoundation.org
"Artists in Parks" Digital Podcast Magazine: online.fliphtml5.com/yhwzg/qryf
🎧 New episodes of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to the Arts & Parks" Show air every 1st Friday.