Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. Listener discretion advised. If you’re struggling, call or text 988 (U.S.).

Comedy and mental health collide in this powerful, heartfelt episode of The Hanley Effect with Frank King, The Mental Health Comedian. Frank shares how a lifelong career in stand-up and joke-writing, including 20 years writing for Jay Leno and The Tonight Show, evolved into a mission: using humor to help people talk about suicide, reduce stigma, and save lives.

Frank speaks candidly about living with major depressive disorder and chronic suicidal ideation, and why naming those experiences can be life-changing for people who have silently carried similar thoughts. With hosts Dr. Rachel Docekal and Dr. John Dyben, the group unpacks why asking directly about suicide doe ...