Episodes
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What a Room Full of Journalism Students Asked Me About Comedy
Hello, Friend! This week on Messed-Up to Set-Ups, the tables get turned, and I’m the one in the hot seat as Dr. Joe Martin and his college journalism class hijack a classroom and grill me with questions. We cover how I, a guy with five degrees, ended up telling jokes on stage, why my wife got to...
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How Much of “You” Belongs in Your Comedy?
Hello, Friend! It’s episode 157 and I’m back with comedian Von Sprecken. This was a spur-of-the-moment chat that we decided to record where we talk about comedy persona, voice(s), and turning the complicated parts of who you are into material that connects. We get into how Von’s curious outsider...
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How To Find Your Next Move When Your Joke Is Stuck
Hello, Friend! It’s episode 156 of the Messed-Up To Set-Ups podcast and Garrett McDonald is back in the lab with me. In this one, we spend our time in a comedy-writing session workshopping jokes. We take a handful of rough ideas and see what they might become: A dad confronting his kids about…
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How To Build A Comedy Career That Fits Your Life
Hello, Friend! In episode 155 of the “Messed-Up To Set-Ups” podcast, I’m back in the lab with comedian Garrett McDonald. He’s actually my first repeat guest! In Part 1 of our chat, we have a real conversation about getting better without getting stuck in somebody else’s version of how comedy is...
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How To Make An Audience Buy Into Your Comedy
Hello, Friend! It’s episode #154 of the “Messed-Up To Set-Ups” podcast and I’m back with “Glacier” Ray Lloyd. In this one, we dig deep into the surprising similarities between pro wrestling and stand-up comedy. We get into persona, backstory, and how performers create an illusion the audience…
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What A Pro Wrestler Learned From Starting Stand-Up Comedy
Hello, Friend! In this first half of my conversation with Glacier Ray Lloyd, we travel from his wrestling-loving childhood in Brunswick, Georgia, through college football, WCW, and the nerve-racking leap into stand-up comedy. Ray shares how a couple of wrestling connections changed his path, why...
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How To Fix A Joke WITHOUT Changing The Words
Hello, Friend! In this solo episode of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I’m digging into the concept of “timing” or, more specifically, “comedic timing.” I talk about why a joke that isn’t landing may just need a different pause, rather than a rewrite. Using a scholarly study, I’ll look at how...
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How To Turn Your Name Into A Full Bit
Hello, Friend! In Episode 151 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back in the lab with comedian and producer Chris Tester. This time, we’re seeing how much comedy we can squeeze out of something as ordinary as a person’s name. We workshop name jokes, experiment with different angles, and explore how a...
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How To Make A Good Joke Even Better
Hello, Friend! I’ve made it to Episode 150 of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast. How cool is that?!?! In this episode, I sit down with comedian Chris Tester for a hilarious and surprisingly practical conversation about turning everyday frustrations into stand-up material, surviving bombing,...
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How to Turn a Good Premise Into a Better Joke
Hello, Friend! In Episode 149 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back in the lab with comedian Casey Peruski. In Part 2 of our chat, we do a live joke-workshopping session. Casey brings in premises about his daughter’s punishment for perfect attendance, his son being asked to provide proof that he was...
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What Comedians Need To Get Booked Besides Being Funny
Hello, Friend! In Episode 148 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m in the lab with Florida-based comedian, producer, and Dry Bar Comedy performer Casey Peruski. Casey talks about how he went from a first terrifying open mic to producing comedy shows at the Sunrise Theatre for fifteen years, working with...
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Is Being Messed-Up Our Advantage Over A.I.?
Hello, Friend! In Episode 146 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back in the lab with comedian and humor researcher Von Sprecken. We dive back into the psychology of comedy, mental health, confidence, failure, and what it really takes to survive and succeed onstage. We also talk about the dark side of...
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The Hidden Psychology of Jokes
Why does a joke actually work? That’s a much more complicated question than it initially appears. I recently sat down with comedian and humor researcher Von Sprecken, and what began as a conversation about stand-up quickly became an exploration of psychology, memory, emotion, trauma, cognitive...
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How Far Can You Push a Joke?
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back with Brad Brauser for a live joke-writing session that gets deep into therapy bits, self-trolling, and the weird little voice in your head that can turn a rough day into a laugh. We also dig into a hilariously overinflated Arby’s…
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Tips For Producing Shows In A Small Market
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m get to hang out with comedian Brad Brauser. This is a super fun, honest, and practical conversation about comedy, joke writing, and the little messes that turn into real laughs. We talk about how Brad got started, why he keeps a daily...
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Emotional Hangovers After A Bad Set
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m joined again by Shannon Sullivan, and we get into some of the most practical and eye-opening conversations I’ve had lately about comedy, mindset, and momentum. Shannon brings her perspective as a nurse and holistic nurse coach to a...
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What Bombing Does to a Comedian's Brain
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m joined by Shannon Sullivan, a nurse and holistic nurse coach. So, why would I have a nurse on my comedy podcast? Well, she’s an aspiring comedian but, even more than that, she’s interested in the psychology of comedy. So, right from the...
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Tips For Finishing Jokes That Feel Stuck
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, Bassil Kamas is back in the lab! This time, we dig into something every joke writer eventually deals with: What do we do when we know there’s something funny in a premise but we just can’t seem to finish the joke? We work through several of...
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The Value of Producing & Performing
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I chat with comedian Bassil Kamas about the value of getting in on both sides of a comedy show: Performing and Producing. We get into what comedians can learn from creating opportunities instead of only waiting for them, how producing…
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Deep Joke Surgery with 2 Comedians
In this episode 139 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, Paula Jane Newman is back in the lab with me for Part 3 of our chat. In this one, we pull back the curtain once again on the joke writing process. We take rough jokes and premises apart, test punchlines, tighten wording, debate tags, and slowly shape...
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Fixing Jokes That Kinda Work
Hello, Friend! In Episode 138 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back with Paula Jane Newman for Part 2 of our conversation, and this one is all about shaping jokes in real time, finding the funny in British-to-American misunderstandings, and turning awkward ideas into stronger punchlines. We workshop...
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Pain, Healing, & Stand-Up Comedy
Hello, Friend! Welcome to Episode 137 of Messed-Up to Set-Ups! In this first part of three (something that’s never happened on the podcast before!), I kick off my conversation with the absolutely hilarious Paula Jane Newman. We start by diving into her comedy origin story which is pretty...
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Comedians Workshopping Jokes Live
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I sit down again with comedian Chris Crawford for a hilarious live joke-workshopping session. In this one, we build, punch up, and reshape ideas in real time. We get into names, wordplay, farts, potlucks, and a nice little bit that keeps...
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Finding Your Voice & Building Your Brand
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I sit down with Texas-based comedian, Chris Crawford, for a funny, thoughtful conversation about clean comedy, finding your voice, and building momentum without compromising who you are. We talk about his military background, how he...
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Behind The Scenes - 2 Comedians Writing Jokes
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up To Set-Ups, comedian Demoine Kinney is back in the lab. This episode feels like something of a masterclass in blending stand-up comedy with real-life grit. We workshop some jokes about Demoine running for office and going up against a local cheesecake...
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Navigating Comedy's Hidden Battles
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I sit down with the one and only Demoine Kinney for a hilarious, honest, and surprisingly inspiring conversation about comedy, creativity, and the wild road that led him from a small town in South Carolina to Atlanta stages, saxophone in…
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We Turned a Disaster Into a Killer Joke
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back in the lab with Queen Aaliyah. In this one, we spend most of our time doing what comedians do best: Turning absurd real-life problems into something hilarious and relatable. Aaliyah brings some true stories about a job interview and…
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Comedy Habits That Actually Matter
Hello, Friend! It’s episode 131 of the Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I sit down with the absolutely brilliant and hilarious Queen Aaliyah Ford. Our conversation is jam-packed with comedy wisdom, clean humor, real-life stories, and shared laughs as we talk about the grind of stand-up, the power of...
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How Good Comedians Actually Get Better
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m back in the lab with Phillip Anthony for a hilarious, insightful, and surprisingly practical conversation about comedy and growth but all as we workshop some jokes together. Along the way Phillip also shares some hard-earned wisdom on...
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Most Comedians Skip This Step
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I sit down with comedian Phillip Anthony for a conversation that’s equal parts hilarious, intelligent, and encouraging as we dig into his journey from the Bronx to Massachusetts, the wild moment that accidentally launched his comedy path…
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Where Good Jokes Come From
Hello, Friend! In this episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups, I’m joined once again by comedian Joel Brill. This is Part 2 of our conversation, and we do what comedians love most: Take messy real-life frustrations and turn them into laughs with live joke-workshopping and quick riffing. We build some...
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The Joke Writer's Lab (Live Stream #6)
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to MichaelHalcomb.Live at www.michaelhalcomb.live/subscribe
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On The Mic After 14 Years
Hello, Friend! In this episode of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I sit down with the “Loveable Curmudgeon,” comedian Joel Brill, and step into his comedy world. We chat about everything from his early inspirations to the art of storytelling. We get into the challenges of balancing family…
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Songwriting In Comedy
Hello, Friend! In this episode of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I chat with the super kind and absolutely hilarious Bonnie Works Gardner. We workshop some jokes in real time, talk about how she creates song parodies to share personal stories, and do some on-the-spot riffing on headlines and...
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Finding Your Comedy Lane
Hello, Friend! Welcome to Episode 125 of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast. In this one, I sit down with the incredibly talented and funny Bonnie Works Gardner. We get into her comedy journey, discuss her unique knack for crafting hilarious song parodies, and the personal stories that fuel her...
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Can You Roast Without Being A Jerk?
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I continue my chat with the hilarious Dr. Terry Lindvall about everything from holy mocking to the humor of Jesus. We get into the art of satire, the great cussing debate, and even share some laugh-out-loud stories from church history.…
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Why Comedians Freeze During Crowd Work
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God Laughs?! And...Roasts?!
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I chat with the hilarious Dr. Terry Lindvall about the surprising humor hidden in the Bible, church history, and the life of Jesus. We also get into Terry’s unique career path, his many books, and his connections to Hollywood. While we...
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The Power of Specificity
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I chat with humorist and economist, Chris Stiffler, about his unique journey from in the world of comedy. We share helpful insights that inspire growth in humor writing and momentum for stand-up. We explore the art of writing long…
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Insights From A Humor Columnist
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I chat with the brilliant and hilarious Christopher Stiffler. We get into just about everything, from the unpredictable weather to the art of teaching economics with humor. We dive into his journey from a high school quipster to a humor...
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Everyday Life Is Your Material
Hello, Friend! It’s episode 120 of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast. In part 2 of my chat with comedian Hal Wilson, we get into his journey from thinking he was a gangster to embracing stand-up comedy. We dive into hilarious stories from the 90s, explore the concept of emotional truth in…
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Starting Comedy At 50
Hello, Friend! It’s episode 119 of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast. In this episode, I chat with the hilarious Hal Wilson about his journey from teaching to tackling the comedy stage. We dive into his first open mic in Hollywood, the art of clean comedy, and the unexpected challenges of crowd...
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Real-Time Joke Writing
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I chat once again with comedian Yoshee So. This episode’s all about the craft of joke writing. We pull back the curtain, show you our process, and share some laugh-out-loud stories about HOA presidency. Plus, we discuss the levels of...
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Clean Comedy = More Opps
Hello, Friend! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups,” I dive into the hilarious world of friendship hierarchies with Atlanta-based comedian, Yoshee So. We get into his comedy journey, his writing process, and some advice for other comedians. We also get into the comedic levels of friendship,...
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Southern Comedy Unleashed
Hello, Friend! In this episode of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I, Michael Halcomb, dive back into the world of Southern humor with the hilarious comedy duo Austin & Leb (although, mostly just Leb, due to Austin’s nuisance of an internet connection - please ignore a couple parts where his...
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Replay: The Joke Writer's Lab Live Stream #4
Hello, Friend. If you missed The Joke Writer’s Lab live stream #4 today, you can watch it again at your leisure. In this session, I take a random, half-formed idea and turn it into a fully structured story bit using what I call “The W Method,” showing in real time how a simple premise about…
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Improv Comedy Duo
Hello, Friend! In this episode of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I, Michael Halcomb, sit down with the hilarious, Tennessee-based comedy duo Austin & Leb. We get into their journey from church skits to tours, to sharing insights on improv, to crowd work, to the art of keeping audiences...
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Using Comedy for Revenge?
NOTE: As of this episode, I’m no longer posting my podcasts on YouTube as I’ll be using that platform only for comedy clips and YT Shorts. Going forward, podcast episodes will be found at MichaelHalcomb.Live/Podcast, but also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and most other dedicated podcast...
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A.I. and Joke Writing
Hello, Friend! It’s Episode #113 of the “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast. In this one, I with NC-based comedian, Herb Kay, who states that AI is revolutionizing his joke writing. Herb also shares his journey from a fifth-grade joke writer to stepping on stage. In addition, we get into the…
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The Art of Escalation
Hello, Friends! In this episode of “Messed-Up to Set-Ups” podcast, I team up once again with comedian Phil “Grampy” Ketron. We explore “The Art of Escalation” and dive headfirst into the comedic chaos of everyday life, from automated 911 calls to FaceTime fiascos. We also reveal how to turn…
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