Podcast Mike Birbiglia

Mike welcomes his longtime collaborator and lifelong brother Joe Birbiglia. They discuss what it’s like to work together as family—from differentiating between work and family phone calls to Joe being mistaken for Mike at the merch table. Joe explains the differences between “Joe Bags” the character and Joe in real life and Joe and tells his story …

This week Mike literally picks up Jimmy Fallon in his car and drives him to the studio for this joke-filled and joyful episode of Working It Out. The two friends share stories about everything from camping out with their daughters to impressions of Rodney Dangerfield to Jimmy’s early days of standup when he shaved his face on stage. Plus, Jimmy exp…

(Recorded May 2021) Mike welcomes Jack Antonoff who, in addition to writing the music for this podcast, is a Grammy Award-winning musician and frontman for the band Bleachers. He has collaborated and co-written songs with Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen, and today he collaborates with Mike on jokes about death and mortality as the two old friend…

(Recorded December 2020) Since Ira Glass was Working It Out’s inaugural guest in June 2020, listeners frequently requested his return. In December of 2020, the podcast welcomed its first return guest and its first *second draft*. We also learn what it takes to get a story on “This American Life” and whether Mike’s new story about learning he had ca…

Jessi Klein is an Emmy-award winning comedian, writer, actor, and author, with a resume that includes Inside Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live, Transparent, Kroll Show, and the voice of Jessi Glaser on Big Mouth. On top of all that, WIO listeners may remember her from Mike’s film Sleepwalk With Me where her character places a pizza pillow around Mik…

(Recorded November 2021) 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…

Comedian Zarna Garg immigrated to the U.S. from India at age 16 and started performing stand-up comedy in her forties. As Zarna’s daughter Zoya explained in her New York Times-published college essay, it was not an easy path. Zarna sits down with Mike to discuss how humor has always been a strategy in her life, from escaping an impending arranged m…

(Recorded December 2021) 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, Laura Dern, and featuring Mike in the role of Patrick the yout…

This week Ben Stiller joins Mike to talk about everything from leaving the SNL cast within weeks of joining to early nerve-racking test screenings for his film “Zoolander.” They also break apart Ben’s genre-bending hit series “Severance” on Apple TV plus. Ben aces the slow round with stories about growing up the child of two comedy greats, not maki…

(Recorded June 2020) Mike discusses Hannah's award winning Netflix specials “Nanette” and “Douglas” and together they dig deep into the solo show process and how her new show may end up including a “spectrum gazelle.” Please consider supporting: https://www.safehorizon.org/Bởi Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast

This week Mike welcomes one of his all time heroes, Michael J. Fox. Not only is Michael a five time Emmy award winning actor who has starred in ‘Family Ties’ and ‘Back to The Future,’ but his foundation has raised over 1 billion dollars to help fund Parkinson’s research programs. This week Mike and Michael work out material about not getting the Hu…

(Recorded December 2021) 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 …

Mike’s first-ever major movie role was in Going the Distance, starring Drew Barrymore. Now, 12 years later, Drew takes Mike through her journey from starring in E.T., to hosting SNL at age 7, to producing and starring in some of the most iconic films of the last 30 years. Drew breaks down her approach to comedy, and discusses how hosting her own ta…

(Recorded September 2020) Last year Jimmy Kimmel cooked Mike meatballs and then Mike dropped them on Jimmy’s front lawn. This interview goes better than that! Join Mike and Jimmy for a candid chat about schoolyard fights, right wing hit jobs, pre-existing conditions, and people who claim to not like pizza. Also, Jimmy has listened to all the episod…

Mike welcomes back Alex Edelman. Since his last appearance on the podcast, Alex has opened his solo show “Just For Us,” received rave reviews, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and has been nominated for an outer critics circle award. He just announced a 3rd extension of his show at the Greenwich House Theater in New York City beginnin…

(Recorded May 2021) The last time Mike and Aisling Bea spoke, Aisling was frantically making pizza from scratch for one of Mike's Worldwide Comedy Pizza Party virtual shows. Now that the dough has settled, they dig in for a conversation about introverts vs. an extroverts, why it's tough to follow an Irish comedian in Ireland, and Mike's wife's misu…

Judd Apatow returns for a record third appearance in support of his latest New York Times-bestselling book Sicker in the Head. He turns the tables and puts Mike in the hot seat for an interview tracing Mike's journey from "funniest person on campus" in college, to doorman at the DC Improv, and beyond. The two friends reminisce about about being pai…

(Recorded March 2021) These two comedy nerds discuss the elements of math, science, art, and music that go into constructing the perfect joke as they trade collected wisdom about writing from Steve Martin, Mary Karr, Robert Lowell, Philip Roth, and Anne Lamott. They also dig into the rule of 3s, growing up in Massachusetts, the difference between “…

When Atsuko was first on the Working It Out podcast, Mike only knew her from her viral Instagram videos and some of her stand-up. Since then, Mike and Atsuko toured together and their "pandemic friendship" became a real friendship. Now Atsuko returns, in person, to discuss what it's like to develop her new hour of comedy, and why it takes 10 years …

(Recorded May 2021) This week Mike welcomes Quinta Brunson, the comedian, actor, and writer who blew up from her “He Got Money” memes and viral videos. She has since pivoted into mainstream success as the creator of the hit show "Abbott Elementary," as one of the stars of HBO’s “Black Lady Sketch Show” along with roles in “Big Mouth” and as the aut…

The last time Taylor Tomlinson was on "Working it Out," she had just released her first Netflix comedy special Quarter-Life Crisis. Now, Taylor returns on the heels of her latest special Look At You. Mike and Taylor discuss why Look At You is even more vulnerable than Quarter-Life Crisis, and how many years it takes it become yourself on stage. Plu…

(Recorded October 2021) 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 …

Last summer, Mike revistied to the classic comedy album "Strategic Grill Locations" by his friend, the late great Mitch Hedberg. The listening experience was so transcendsnt that it inspired Mike to call Mitch's wife Lynn Shawcroft and ask if she would be open to coming on the podcast and discussing Mitch's joke writing process. The two old friends…

(Recorded 2020) On the heels of John Mulaney hosting SNL for the 5th time, we are re-airing one of our favorite (and 2nd ever!) episodes. The two friends discuss the Chicago Bulls, getting beaten up by their brothers, and John’s surreal Gary Busey sighting at the airport. Please consider donating to: NAACP Legal Defense Fund Parole Preparation Proj…

This week Mike welcomes David Cross, who is a legend in comedy and also makes cameos in Mike’s dreams. The two comics discuss the origins of Mr. Show, why Tobias from Arrested Development is so different from David himself, and how sometimes it’s hard to be an optimistic dad when the reality in front of you doesn’t feel so optimistic. Plus Mike and…