Episodes
181. Jo Firestone Returns: The Best Stand-Up (Who Doesn’t Do Stand-Up)
Jo Firestone is a multi-talented writer, actor, and comedian. In her third appearance on Working It Out, Jo explains the thought process behind her experimental live comedy shows, which often involve clay, paper mache, and pi...
180. Kumail Nanjiani: Oh, Mary!, The Big Sick, and a Return to Stand-…
Kumail Nanjiani is a stand-up comedian, a movie star, and an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. Now he’s returning to stand-up comedy after a six year break and co-starring as Abraham Lincoln in the hit Broadway show Oh, M...
Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About AI and Weird Audience Energy
For this all-new Working It Out Q&A, Mike fields listener questions about how and why he cuts jokes that he loves, the impact AI might have on comedy, and how to navigate weird or bad energy from an audience. Plus, how to get...
179. Bob Odenkirk: The Art of Anger in Comedy
Bob Odenkirk was already a comedy legend (SNL, The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show with Bob and David) before he took a left turn into dramatic acting with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Now he’s entered yet another new phase ...
178. Alex Edelman Returns: Boston Sports and Hospital Clowns
With his fifth appearance, comedian Alex Edelman is the most frequent guest on Working It Out. Since his last appearance, Alex won an Emmy for his HBO stand-up special Just For Us, which Mike was a producer on. Now Alex is ba...
177. Chelsea Handler: Why She Must Say It
Chelsea Handler has achieved massive success, from her latest Netflix special The Feeling to her worldwide tours to her Las Vegas residency. But as she discusses with Mike, and details in her new book I’ll Have What She’s Hav...
176. Jane Wickline & Liva Pierce: SNL, Dukes, and Working Out Songs
This week comedy duo Jane Wickline and Liva Pierce (together known as Dukes) join Mike on the podcast. The three discuss how The Graduate brought Jane and Liva together, their unlikely porn preferences, and what happened when...
175. Malik Elassal: One of The Adults
Malik Elassal is a stand-up comic, writer, actor, and one of the stars of Adults on FX. Meeting for the first time, Mike and Malik discuss Malik’s winding road to stand-up, including working as a long haul trucker. Malik talk...
174. Pete Docter: The Inside Out of Pixar’s Process
In 2012, Mike was invited his film Sleepwalk With Me at Pixar and he’s been friends with filmmaker Pete Docter ever since. Known for his directorial feats of greatness with Monsters, Inc., Up, Soul, and Inside Out, Pete Docte...
173. Atsuko Okatsuka Returns: The Dizzy Duo
Atsuko Okatsuka returns for her fourth Working It Out episode. Mike and Atsuko trace their friendship from Atsuko’s first appearance on the podcast, to opening for Mike at the Chicago Theatre, to touring with Mike across the ...
172. Nick Kroll Returns: Neil Digression Tyson
This week, Nick Kroll returns to the podcast to discuss the first season of Adults, the last season of Big Mouth and a movie that Mike cannot seem to remember the name of (I Don’t Understand You). Nick and Mike delve into the...
Mike Reads His New York Times Essay, Plus Best of: Lin-Manuel Miranda
At the top of this Best of WIO episode featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike reads a new piece that he wrote for The New York Times . (Recorded October 2024) In celebration of his album, Warriors, Lin-Manuel Miranda sits down wi...
171. Nikki Glaser Returns: The Team Captain of Comedy (Plus: Mike’s N…
Nikki Glaser returns to the podcast for the first time since her acclaimed performances as the host of the Golden Globes and on the Roast of Tom Brady. Nikki breaks down her approach to the Golden Globes, explains her perspec...
Advice for New-ish Comedians (with Gary Simons and Listener Questions)
Mike welcomes back comedian Gary Simons, who, since his last appearance on the podcast, opened for Mike on his latest tour, had a few of his stand-up bits go viral, and has been performing at the Comedy Cellar. Now, Mike and ...
170. Please Don't Destroy Returns: The Journey of an SNL Sketch from …
This week PDD returns to the podcast a year and a half after originally coming on. Since then, Mike and the boys have started a monthly improv show called “Please Don’t Birbiglia” at UCB. The group talks about what it’s like ...
169. Ira Glass Returns: This American Comedian
Ira Glass has appeared on the Working It Out podcast three times before, and usually it’s Mike asking Ira for advice, whether it’s about podcasting or storytelling. But now the tables have turned: Ira recently listened to a stand-up set he performed years ago, he has the itch to try it again, so he…
168. Zarna Garg Returns: One Follower at a Time, a Million Times
Zarna Garg first appeared on the Working It Out podcast in 2022 and since then her popularity has continued to rise. Zarna explains to Mike how she has built her comedy career like a business, and why performing for an audience of one or two is no different for her than performing for an audience o…
167. Jessica Kirson: She's the Man
After decades of being a beloved comedian’s comedian Jessica Kirson has broken out in the last few years with viral crowd work videos and a brilliant new special on Hulu called “I’m The Man.” Mike and Jessica dig deep into the nuts and bolts and emotional work of being a stand-up comic, including o…
166. Questlove: The Art of Self-Sabotage
This week the legendary Ahmir Thompson (aka Questlove) sits down for his first appearance on Working It Out. Mike and Questlove discuss touring with his father’s band as a kid, every DJ’s worst nightmare, and how jealousy and self-sabotage can affect even a member of a band as iconic as The Roots. …
165: Rachel Feinstein Returns: Everything She Says Could Be a Bit
Rachel Feinstein recently appeared as a surprise guest on one of Mike’s shows at the Beacon Theatre, where Mike observed after the show that everything Rachel said in the green room could be a bit. Now, on the heels of her Netflix special Big Guy, and in her third appearance on Working It Out, Rach…
164. Andrew Schulz: Give Him 10 Seconds
This week Andrew Schulz comes on the podcast and Mike and Andrew break apart why the two of them are unlikely work friends. They discuss Andrew having Donald Trump on his podcast, Andrew’s new deeply personal Netflix special, “Life,” and the politics of free speech in comedy. Plus, Andrew reveals t…
163. Josh Johnson: Reinventing the Modern Comedy Special
Comedian Josh Johnson is a writer and correspondent for The Daily Show and his stand-up sets have millions of views on YouTube. Josh talks with Mike about cultivating a fan base via the YouTube videos, why he thinks chasing success in the comedy industry is sometimes antithetical to the art form, a…
Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About Comedy Advice and Crying Babies at…
For this all-new Working It Out Q&A, Mike fields listener questions about people fainting at his shows, how to write comedy about topics that are painful to you, and balancing a day job and creative life when starting out. If your question didn’t get answered on this week’s Q&A, stay tuned for anot…
162. Pete Holmes Returns: Comedy That’s Clean, Dirty, or PG-13
Pete Holmes returns to help Mike punch up some last minute jokes before the premiere of Mike’s show The Good Life at the Beacon Theatre in New York. What follows is a heated debate about puns, an attempt to define and dissect the nature of “clean” comedy, and, yes, a nuts and bolts joke writing ses…