Podcast Mike Birbiglia

(Recorded April 2021) Mike welcomes one of the most uniquely funny people alive and the two comics go deep on deep dish pizza. Jo explains her controversial take on eating pizza crust first and builds on Mike’s already over the top “onomatopizza” pun. Along the way Jo tells the story of the time she put on a comedy festival at a carwash at 8 o’cloc…

What started as a poem by Sarah Millican about a bad divorce sprouted into one of the most popular comedy careers in England in the last 20 years. Mike and Sarah discuss how hitting rock bottom can lead you to the top and what happened when Sarah’s childhood bully sent her a long letter as an adult. Plus, new bits about Sarah’s husband who may or m…

Mike met Jim Gaffigan in 1997 when he cold-called Jim’s landline. They went out for, of course, pizza and Jim gave him advice that Mike has not only used but also shares with others. The two comics discuss the insanity of charging large pizza prices for mediums size gourmet pies, deciding not to curse on stage, and what happens when a non-political…

Hannah Einbinder received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her breakout performance in HBO’s “Hacks.” Today Hannah and Mike discuss what it means to be yourself in auditions, risking rejection in front of audiences, and the miracle that is crowd work. They kick around new jokes about the time Mike’s Apple Watch called the police and what it me…

You can hear the excitement in Mike's voice as he welcomes legendary author Malcolm Gladwell, host of Revisionist History & author of Outliers as well as his latest The Bomber Mafia. Malcolm brings Gladwellian theory to why the re-telling of jokes is never as funny. They riff on evil golf courses, evil search engines, & where that YMCA pool smell m…

In addition to his new hit book “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” John Green has written several novels that have debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list including “The Fault in Our Stars” which was adapted into an indie blockbuster with Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and featuring Mike in the role of Patrick the youth pastor. Mike and John…

In 2015 Mike filmed “Don’t Think Twice” where Keegan-Michael Key played a guy who got cast on a fictional version of SNL. This year Keegan hosted the *actual* SNL in a delightful case of life imitating art imitating life. Today Keegan and Mike nerd out about live sketches vs. filmed Key and Peele sketches, the wisdom of Robert Deniro, and how Keega…

Rosebud Baker can make anything funny. She has jokes about the tragic death of her sister, her own struggles with addiction, and why nurses seem to be a little too cocky. Mike and Rose kick around jokes about what to do when your Uber is filling up with water, how much urine is in a public pool, and why some of us marry our dads. All that, and a st…

Mike has just announced new tour dates. Tickets at birbigs.com This episode has it all. Bill’s time at SNL. Bill’s time at South Park. Bill’s work at Pixar. Bill’s impression of Mike and Mike’s impression of Bill. Bill’s collaboration with Mulaney and Bill’s discussion of craft in co-creating and writing and acting on the Emmy award-winning HBO hit…

In December Mike presents Alex’s Edelman’s solo show, "Just for Us" off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre. It's an award-winning comedy in which Alex (who is Jewish) tells the story of being accidentally invited to a gathering of white nationalists & then what happened when he…showed up. Mike & Alex crack open that story as well as working out jo…

Mike just announced 22 performances in Berkeley, California. Tickets at birbigs.com. Today we’re re-airing one of our favorites. Mike and Hasan are friends who share a love for the interweaving of jokes and stories. Hasan teases possible stories for his current national tour and next special. The conversation goes from macro to micro to personal to…

Legendary British comedian Jimmy Carr begins his conversation with Mike by saying, “I wrote a book in lock-down because it was that or a podcast and I figured a book would be more dignified.” This begins an hour-long chat between friends that jumps from jokes to roasts to a genuine and vulnerable discussion of how laughter has the power to heal us.…

First, CALIFORNIA TOUR NEWS— Berkeley Repertory Theatre residency goes on sale this week! Also, this week we re-air one of our all time favorite episodes. Mike is a huge admirer of Sarah Silverman and in this episode Sarah brings jokes, stories, and answers to tough questions like, “Why do so many of our comedian friends die young?” Sarah’s also sh…

Fresh off his Emmy win (with stage companion Conan O’Brien) Stephen Colbert joins Mike for a discussion of comedy, anxiety, and why he’ll never run for Senate. He explains that the reason he loves improv is that there’s nothing like failing with someone else and laughing about it with your scene partner, and he explains why Bill O’Reilly was never …

Mike welcomes his comedy idol and former boss Conan O’Brien whose hit podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” prompted Mike to demand that they actually be friends and that Conan come on Mike’s podcast. What results is a magical discussion of Conan’s early political aspirations, why the class clown never becomes a professional clown, and the contagi…

Atsuko Okatsuka makes comedy videos featuring her grandmother & her husband, which Mike is convinced should be a feature film. The two comedians discuss Atsuko’s move from Japan at age 10, her grandmother’s run-in with a praying mantis, and why Mike might end up making a cameo in Atsuko’s feature film singing “Amazing Grace.” Earnestly. https://dow…

Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo co-created the smash comedy hit Reservation Dogs for FX about four Indigenous teenagers growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma. Sterlin tells Mike about the time he accidentally taped over someone's wedding video while applying to the Sundance Film Lab. He also discusses Native representation in film & how his new series ma…

The last time Phoebe Robinson and Mike hung out, they were waiting to be picked up by an Uber on the side of a highway after their tour bus broke down. In this episode, they discuss Phoebe’s third book, "Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes,” the eternal question "to prenup or not to prenup," and why Mike was qualified to be a token w…

Mike welcomes the great Natasha Lyonne, co-creator and star of the hit Netflix series Russian Doll. Natasha opens up about her own process as well as the best advice she’s received. Natasha holds Mike’s feet the fire about his new material—so he scraps his prepared jokes for some personal stories he wasn’t planning to tell. This episode is like pla…

Mike welcomes back one of our most beloved guests, Pete Holmes, to celebrate the paperback release of The New One. Pete has a lot to say about hardcovers, hardbodies, and how his father asks him questions just he so can answer them himself. Mike calls this "an expert's edition" of Working It Out because the slow round and the new material all swirl…

Randall Park has brought his one of a kind comedic approach to Trainwreck, Fresh Off the Boat, Veep, and the Marvel Universe. Randall reveals how he and Ali Wong scored the Keanu Reeves cameo for their film "Always Be My Maybe." Mike shares a dark version of the children’s joke “Why was 6 afraid of 7?” and Randall explains why collecting turtle fig…

Mike met Jim Gaffigan in 1997 when he cold-called Jim’s landline. They went out for, of course, pizza and Jim gave him advice that Mike has not only used but also shares with others. The two comics discuss the insanity of charging large pizza prices for mediums size gourmet pies, deciding not to curse on stage, and what happens when a non-political…

Prolific, raw, and hilarious comic Nikki Glaser shares childhood memories of her mom in the Slow Round that she’s not yet willing to tell on stage but is willing to say on a podcast. Nikki and Mike both admit that their level of honesty with even their own diaries doesn’t hit 100%. Nikki declares herself the Taylor Swift of comedy and Mike declares…

For the 50th episode Mike welcomes Kate Micucci, another member of the “Don’t Think Twice” cast. Kate is one half of the folk comedy duo Garfunkel & Oates and her creative talents stretch from music to acting to visual art. Kate shares some of her latest cartoons-in-progress and the two friends go deep on postpartum depression and its lesser known …

In 2015 Mike filmed “Don’t Think Twice” where Keegan-Michael Key played a guy who got cast on a fictional version of SNL. This year Keegan hosted the *actual* SNL in a delightful case of life imitating art imitating life. Today Keegan and Mike nerd out about live sketches vs. filmed Key and Peele sketches, the wisdom of Robert Deniro, and how Keega…