Reviews

I’m a new comic in NYC and this show has really helped me understand how comics think. My favorite piece of advice is from the Pete Holmes episode to “tell your secrets”, and I use that to filter all my new material now.

Just caught up with all the episodes. Now have to wait for new ones. Favorite one…hmmm? Gonna start over again. I’ll get back to you. But, thank you for the “working it out” technology. Using that phrase regularly now with family and friends in every day situations that just aren’t fully cooked.

Mike, I’ve been a fan of yours since the early 2000’s when I used to hear you on the Bob and Tom show. I started listening WIO about a month ago, on a long road trip. I decided to start at the beginning and am thru episode 90 now. I decided to stop and write a review now, because my favorite was #90 with Marc Forster…like Marc, I am a Swiss American, my mom is German and my dad Swiss. I totally related to Marc when he said his parents did not say “I love you”!!! It’s a really long story why I live in Salt Lake City, but lost it a few episodes ago with Chris Redd when you said “Mormonism in the only religion you can disprove with a paper trail”😂😂😂

Love the podcast. No notes.

I love love love this podcast. Mike is thoughtful in his content and seems genuinely interested in people. His guests seem glad to be there and have a lot to share with the audience.

Best podcast! Great conversations❤️

I’m a regular listener to comedy writers’ podcasts, and this one is wonderful. The conversations are thoughtful and funny. And honest. Highly recommend!

I am at the pool. I am laughing out loud at this episode with Bill Hader. No one around but me, just laughing uncontrollably… Bill’s laugh only makes me laugh harder. Thanks Mike and crew. I found a great new podcast to make my day for 60 minutes. It will help me become a Buddha.

I always look forward to listening to new episodes of the show, and sometimes even listen to old ones again. I am so entertained by & tickled with the easy-sounding conversations “working it out.” I love being introduced to new-to-me comedians, hearing references (both current and long ago history) to shows and Dayton, Ohio, which is my hometown. Wherever the conversation rambles, I feel uplifted in the end. Thank you, Birbiglias!

I’ve always been a fan of Mike Birbiglia, but this show is really interesting in the way he pulls apart the process of writing and explores the way comedian’s inner lives impact their comedy. I was a little burned out on podcasts lately, but this one has brought me back and has been on almost daily.

This show is so excellent. I'm a writer, not a comedian and i find the process discussion so helpful - it's a show for writers and everyone else too. I have never written a review of a podcast before, i just love this one so here i am to yell at you about it. Also the j hope stein episode - what a sparkling person and depth of relationship - so beautiful!

As someone new to performing standup, I'm getting a lot out of this! I especially enjoyed the episodes with Pete Holmes, and Gary Gulman, but the Maddie Weiner episode made me laugh the hardest. Glad to have found this!

I’ve listened to over 100 of the episodes in a very short time. 1 or 2 a day for a couple months. It’s *incredible* This isn’t a sterile interview podcast, it’s conversations about some of life's best (and worst) things. It has me looking at comedy in a brand new way, and I’m very thankful for that. “This neighborhood is my demographic!” Love ya Birbigs!

Mike, because we have met him 3 times and I have pictures with him I’ll call him Mike, is an amazing comedian, writer and human. I began listening to him early on when he would do the Bob & Tom Show on Q95 in Indianapolis, IN. Watching him grow and develop into the comedian he is today has been amazing. I listen to all of his podcasts, I see him every time he comes to my town. Early on it was Indianapolis but now Houston. We saw him tonight actually and it prompted me to write this. I think this special is maybe his best so far. I don’t know, maybe I’m biased because we knew him when but I’m telling you listen to this man. Go see him live. He is a funny man and my husband and I have been fans from the start. We will still listen to his Two Drink Mike CD because the songs he used to do were always so funny and smart. Love Dawn & Anton some super OG fans!

When are you coming to Alaska!??! Please!!!

Great show. Love the joke making and following your story as you tell it!

What a sweet wonderful funny soul

Ever since I first heard Mike’s work over a decade ago, I have absolutely loved his sense of humor and evolution as a comedian. The format of this show gives a “real life” look at his creative process. His guest interviews run the gamut of raw, hilarious, and/or inspirational. If you ever have the chance to see him perform live, you’d describe his work as a combination of all three. Absolutely love.

Mike has become a career maker for others as well as himself— introducing us to talents we hadn’t known, creating creative employment for dozens-to-hundreds of people with his every project, and adding his “Presented by” to surface talents and shows he develops and believes in. He truly walks the “ride back” talk of an Elder Statesman of comedy, despite being waaaay too young for that title. Keep up the smart work, Team Birbigs!

Love listening to Mike, and his guests, regardless of if I’m familiar with them before the episode. Shows have enough structure, but also feel conversational and free flowing. Mikes’ ability to connect and communicate with all sorts of different individuals is excellent. Love hearing his perspective on things, as it’s always grounded, but also introspective and mature. As of now the only podcast that has made me cry! Fast becoming one of my favorite shows, and excited to work my way through the early ones!

It typically takes me a week to completely paint a room in our imperfect, no-90-degree-angles home from 1940. I’m always thoughtful about what I listen to during the process to get into the right mindset. When I painted our office white, I listened to A Tribe Called Quest and marathoned the Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back podcast. When color drenching our sunroom Pepto Bismol pink, I started with a playlist from the 90s and then made my way through countless episodes of Working It Out. Having the sensory experience of painting at midnight while listening to a conversation with Bill Hader was—for lack of a better word—motivating. I found myself adding the books mentioned to my “want to read” list and borrowing them on Libby. Whether the podcast realizes it or not, many of the episodes read like a love letter to Autistic people. As a late diagnosed Autistic person, I found myself aching in relatability, with stories from folks like Brie Larson, who shared about sensory sensitivities, struggles with eye contact, anxiety attacks, routines, hyperfocus, and a tendency toward rigidity. Thanks for (likely inadvertently) giving a platform to our people and for providing hours and hours of what feels like parallel play to those of us who yearn for it most. I love that I can associate the positive memories of those conversations when I enter our home and I’m met with the confident reflections of pink walls.

The process of developing comedy is fascinating to me and Mike’s ability to open that world keeps me fully engaged through every episode

I just finished the episode with Please Don’t Destroy. It feels like I just spent an hour with some good friends. Flooded with oxytocin and love for humble, funny people doing something that makes the world feel better for a few minutes.

I found this show recently. For the last month I’ve been bingeing it and I’m almost caught up. So many good shows, but episode 115 with Pete Holmes stopped me in tracks. Hilarious how they go back and forth and Pete just slips in deep emotions and philosophy that was truly impactful. Thanks for this show.