Episodes

When Mike became obsessed with the series “The Last of Us” on HBO he had questions. And he went straight to the source. This week Mike welcomes the writer/producer/director Craig Mazin, who co-created the" The Last of Us," starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen "…

Ray Romano has an iconic sitcom and a celebrated stand-up career under his belt, so what drives him to keep challenging himself artistically? Mike and Ray, who often follow each other at the Comedy Cellar, ponder the complicated answer to that question. Plus, discussion of comedy craft, joke-writin…

Mike and Bert Kresicher have known each other a little bit for a long time. Now they sit down for an in-depth chat about how to develop a story for standup, why Florida is so strange, and why Bert decided to change the course of his comedy career. Plus, they discuss their shared love for legendary …

Comedian Alex Edelman returns to the podcast for a victorious third visit, as his award-winning solo show Just For Us heads to Broadway. Mike and Alex defend the merits of kids jokes as well as vaudeville-style wordplay. Plus, a heated debate about the Boston accent which stems from a simple questi…

Nick Kroll and Mike met in college and started doing improv and sketch comedy together. Since then, Nick has become a comedy superstar, from his Comedy Central series Kroll Show, to Oh, Hello, to the animated series Big Mouth and Human Resources, to roles in films like Don’t Worry Darling and the H…

Mike and Jorma Taccone are old friends and former next door neighbors. Jorma also just so happens to be an acclaimed screenwriter, director, actor, and member of the legendary comedy team “The Lonely Island” with Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. The Lonely Island made the Saturday Night Live classi…

Comedian Rachel Feinstein is a comic’s comic— the type of original comic who cracks up other comics. In this episode it definitely works. Rachel breaks Mike as she tells stories about her almost-too-supportive parents to her almost-too-unsupportive firefighter husband. Plus, jokes about marrying up…

In an age when many comedians talk about being cancelled, Vir Das was actually very nearly cancelled in a real way. When his YouTube monologue "Two Indias" went viral, a criminal complaint was filed against him in his home country of India. Vir talks to Mike about that experience and how he was abl…

Many people worry about getting hit by a bus. Last year, comedian Ryan Hamilton did get hit by a bus. Ryan talks to Mike about the shocking experience, his long recovery, and Ryan’s process of talking about the accident on stage. The Idaho native and BYU alum also talks about doing stand-up in Idah…

For Mike, filmmaker Marc Forster is a rare example of making a new friend as an adult. Mike and Marc met on the new film A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks, in which Mike plays the antagonist. Since then, they’ve become good friends. Now Marc sits down with Mike to discuss his journey from German…

Mike and Chris Redd first met when they appeared in the movie Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Since then they’ve become friends in the world of stand-up comedy. Today they break down how to express ADHD, depression, and anxiety through comedy and how Chris arrived at the material for his new HB…

Mike welcomes to the podcast his longtime creative collaborator, the director and actor Seth Barrish. Seth directed all five of Mike’s solo shows but that’s just one part of his varied career. Seth discusses his early days as a pianist at The Comedy Store, working with actors like Anne Hathaway, an…

When Atsuko Okatsuka first appeared on Working It Out in 2021, she and Mike were both still developing their new shows. Now Mike’s The Old Man and the Pool is on Broadway and Atsuko’s The Intruder is an HBO comedy special. So Atsuko returns for a third chat with Mike to discuss the development of t…

Wendy MacNaughton is an acclaimed visual artist whose work you’ve probably seen and/or love. Between illustrating the bestselling cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, drawing for the New York Times, and teaching “Draw Together” online art classes for kids, she somehow found the time to design the artwork f…

Iliza Shlesinger is one of the most prolific comedians on the planet, with six specials including her latest, Hot Forever, and a new comedic memoir, All Things Aside. Mike and Iliza bond over their hard-to-pronounce last names, Iliza explains why she doesn’t like being described as “brash,” and we …

Chloe Fineman’s first TV appearance was doing bird calls on Letterman. Now she plays a multitude of beloved characters on SNL and a role in Noah Baumbach’s forthcoming film White Noise. Mike and Chloe discuss how she got noticed with her celebrity impressions on Instagram and what happens when you …

Mike has seen Chris Gethard naked. So has the cast and crew of Mike’s film Don’t Think Twice. Chris shares his memories of being nude on set, as well as why he was reluctant to return to the world of improv for the movie. The two longtime friends tell stories about touring together and brainstormin…

Sam Morril tells well-crafted jokes but sometimes they make people angry. Sam is known for dealing with provocative subject matter but he doesn’t consider himself a provocative comedian. He and Mike dissect the difference. Then, on the heels of Sam’s new hit Netflix special “Same Time Tomorrow,” th…

Mike welcomes his wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, a.k.a. Jen, a.k.a. Clo, on the release day of her new book of poems "Little Astronaut.” Mo and Clo have a deeply candid chat about poetry, creativity, and what it’s like when two artists are married to each other. The couple offer a sampling of their …

Larry Wilmore’s credits are endless. In Living Color, The Bernie Mac Show, The Office, The Daily Show, Insecure, and more. Now the legendary writer and performer sits down with Mike to share some of the wisdom he gained from working on all of those classic shows. Larry explains why writers never ar…

Sarah Sherman a.k.a. Sarah Squirm is the first and only Working It Out guest to show up wearing a t-shirt of the band Cannibal Corpse. The breakout SNL star sits down with Mike and the two comics cover everything from Kaufman-seque performance art to Sarah’s Weekend Update segments where she mercil…

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 standu…

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 characte…

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 w…