Episodes

This week Mike answers listener questions. Does improv help your stand-up? What was your most nightmarish stand-up set? How do you convince yourself to keep going when it’s not going well? Plus, Mike reads a piece he wrote about his complicated but ultimately rewarding experience at the Emmys.

11-time Grammy winner, celebrated rock star, and noted Working It Out theme song composer Jack Antonoff returns to the podcast. Mike and Jack discuss Jack’s performing with Taylor Swift and collaborating with Sabrina Carpenter, why cynicism can’t exist in a live performance, and the joys of Tim Rob…

This week Matteo Lane joins Mike for an episode that has something for everyone. From Matteo’s hilariously scorching takes on modern pop stars to tales of secret families to insight about what Matteo did when he hit a wall in his comedy career. Plus, Mike and Matteo work out jokes about Mike meetin…

Comedian Jon Laster returns for his third appearance on Working It Out. Longtime friends from the Comedy Cellar, Mike and Jon catch up on Jon’s app Blapp, which highlights black-owned businesses, Jon’s more personal comedy material about his struggles with alcoholism, and why Jon calls his company …

This week filmmaker and actor Zach Braff joins Mike to talk everything from Garden State to Ted Lasso to what it’s like to direct Morgan Freeman. Zach discusses the story of his ex once following him through Europe and Mike  and Zach discuss the possibility that a story like that could be the start…

Beloved Irish comedian Aisling Bea returns to Working It Out. Mike and Aisling discuss how to find your people, Catholic school health class, and dating app fails. Plus, new jokes about what Mike’s dad was doing while his family went to church and the most obvious and best thing about pregnancy sex.

Mike welcomes fellow comedian and podcaster (Giggly Sqaud, Berner Phone) Hannah Berner to the pod. Known for her “Han on the Street” videos, Hannah discusses her journey from college tennis champ to stand-up sensation. Hannah also teaches Mike the meaning of the term “zaddy.” Plus, an athlete at he…

This week living legend and giant human Stephen Merchant joins Mike for an all-time great episode of Working It Out. Stephen and Mike talk about actionable advice for creatives starting out, the behind-the-scenes politics of co-creating “The Office" and “Extras” with Ricky Gervais, and how Stephen …

Mike welcomes the multi-talented Catherine Cohen to the podcast to discuss making doctors laugh, lessons learned from the Ashley Madison documentary, and the medical ordeal that Cat went through last summer. She and Mike break down the best ways to work out a long story in small increments and how …

Mike welcomes back old friend and Working It Out hall of famer Tig Notaro. They discuss the inevitability of finding your own comedic voice, how Tig had to come out as gay to her own children, and the time her brother fell into her stepfather’s grave. All that, plus tales from Tig’s lesbian party b…

This week Neal Brennan returns to Working It Out in celebration of his new Netflix special, “Crazy Good.” Neal and Mike go deep on what to do when friendship isn’t reciprocated, what all comics have in common with Seinfeld, and the irrelevance of the question “Is Kevin Hart humble?” All that, plus …

Jesse David Fox is one of the definitive voices in comedy history and analysis. He’s written for Vulture and New York Magazine and now he sits down with Mike to discuss his new book Comedy Book, which covers among other things the comedy boom of the past 20 or so years. Mike and Jesse break down wh…

In celebration of his new special “Terrified,” the Impractical Jokers star Sal Vulcano joins Mike for what starts as a normal interview and then turns into a podcast full of stories stranger than the last: Sal’s prank on an overbearing TV executive, how Sal ended up with *multiple* photorealistic t…

Comedian Janine Harouni and Mike have a lot in common. They both survived severe car accidents, they have similar relationships with their parents, and they both value the quality of being vulnerable on stage. Mike and Janine discuss the process of turning a traumatic experience into a comedic stor…

From the studio of Pete’s podcast, You Made It Weird, Pete and Mike record an all new episode of Working It Out. Pete brings new and improved roasts of Mike while retroactively responding to Mike’s roasts of Pete from their previous episode. Plus the two comics have one of the most pure Working It …

Working It Out hall-of-famer Rachel Feinstein returns to the podcast on the heels of her hit Netflix special Big Guy. Rachel explains why her firefighter husband loves being roasted in her special and why he pronounces the word “cash” like “quiche.” Rachel shares an absurd road story featuring Kevi…

For this very special episode of Working It out, Mike welcomes John August, the screenwriter behind Charlie’s Angels with Drew Barrymore, Tim Burton’s Big Fish, and his breakthrough film Go, which is celebrating its 25 year anniversary. John co-hosts the screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with Craig…

This week the legendary Judd Apatow returns to Working It Out for his fourth and best appearance yet. Judd tells behind-the-scenes stories from Bridesmaids and Funny People, as well as the most helpful filmmaking advice he’s gotten from other greats along the way. Judd and Mike also break apart the…

In Chris Fleming’s recent Peacock stand-up special Hell, he calls out some audience members who are married and shouts, “This show is not for people who have wives. You have a wife?! Go see Mike Birbiglia!” Fleming is fearless about dragging the names of other comedians into his bits: from Bo Burha…

Mike welcomes Rory Scovel, whose special made Mike laugh so hard he spit water all over himself. Rory talks about how telling the truth and being vulnerable on stage led him to his best bits, how his taking up abstract painting is similar to comedy, and how a week of fully improvised stand-up shows…

Mike welcomes back the poet J. Hope Stein, aka Jenny, aka Clo, aka Mike’s wife of fifteen years. A frequent collaborator on Mike’s comedy specials and movies, Jenny describes her favorite type of creative feedback and why she’s most impressed by poetry that crosses over to audiences who don’t alway…

Chicago improv performer and teacher Liz Allen taught a workshop for Mike’s college improv group almost 25 years ago. Since then, Mike and Liz have found numerous ways to reunite and collaborate, most notably on Mike’s film Don’t Think Twice. Now Mike sits down for an in-depth chat with one of his …

On the heels of the release of his new special “Just For Us” on Max, Alex Edelman returns to the podcast for the fourth and best time yet. Mike and Alex break apart the story of the time Alex’s bank lost all his money, how a protestor recently disrupted his show, and what it feels like to be releas…

Mike sits down with comedian, actor, and writer Esther Povitsky to discuss her special Hot For My Name. Mike has a lot of questions about the time Esther crashed her fiancée's bachelor party in Vegas. Plus, Esther figures out Mike’s attachment style, and they discuss the differences between the LA …