Mike Bridenstine

Mike Bridenstine is based in Los Angeles, was raised in Iowa, but it was his time in between in Chicago that helped form him and his friendships as a comedian. Bridenstine has written a book about the rise of the alt-comedy scene in Chicago in the early 2000s, which included his role in starting up a stand-up and video collective called Blerds — among them: Kumail Nanjiani, Kyle Kinane, T.J. Miller, and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Since going Hollywood, Bridenstine's credits have included multiple national TV ad campaigns, Adam DeVine's House Party and The Eric Andre Show. He has just released his second stand-up comedy album, "Hustle," and sat down with me to talk about his career and how pivoting his podcast during the pandemic helped get him back into the game. If you like this conversation, please consider subscribing to my Substack called Piffany at Piffany.Substack.com so you can read bonus commentary on this episode as well as more comedy news and insights. Thanks in advance, and now that that's out of the way, let's get to it!