Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out cover art

All Episodes

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out — 251 episodes

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Title
1

221. Ron Funches: Say What You Want

2

Chloe Troast and Mike Answer Your Questions About Improv and Sketch

3

220. Jo Firestone Returns: You Better Marry My 40-Year-Old Daughter

4

John Mulaney: He's Funny and Here's Why

5

219. Michelle Buteau: From TV News to Her Own TV Series

6

218. Jane Wickline and Liva Pierce Return: Comedy Duo Therapy

7

Fred Armisen: Is He Joking?

8

217. Aaron Chen: High Quality Jokes from a Low Capacity Kind of Guy

9

Jon Rudnitsky and Mike Answer Your Questions About Failure and Jokes

10

216. Wanda Sykes: Mike's Dream Guest

11

215. Phil Lord and Chris Miller: These 2 Dorks Made Every Movie You Love

12

214. Robby Hoffman: It's a New Dawn

13

Jenny Slate: Unafraid of Sadness

14

213. Jack Antonoff Returns: Music’s Biggest Producer Records Mike’s Pizza Song

15

212. Pete Holmes Returns: Selling Crepes at a Junkyard

16

211. Nish Kumar Returns: Dinosaurs Before the Meteor

17

210. Ramy Youssef Returns: He Lit Up The Pyramids

18

209. Jorma Taccone Returns: This Episode Sucks

19

Nikki Glaser: The Team Captain of Comedy

20

208. KevOnStage: How To Make A Comedy Show About Grief

21

207. Chris Fleming Returns: He Is Way More Popular This Time

22

Nathan Lane: The Safest Thing You Can Do Is Take a Risk

23

206. Cazzie David: Spiritually a Boomer

24

205. Taylor Tomlinson: Hope No One Filmed That

25

204. Ali Siddiq: Telling His Own Story

26

203. James Acaster: He Welcomes Hecklers

27

Bob Odenkirk: The Art of Anger in Comedy

28

202. Connor Ratliff: How and Why To Do Improv

29

201. Heidi Gardner: Behind Your Favorite SNL Characters

30

200. John Mulaney: He’s Funny and Here’s Why

31

199. Jordan Jensen: You Can’t Say That (But Actually You Can)

32

198. Sarah Sherman Returns: If Chucky Went to Sarah Lawrence

33

Stephen Colbert: A Gift from the Comedy Gods

34

Josh Johnson: Reinventing the Modern Comedy Special

35

197. Natalie Palamides: Wisdom from a Modern Clown

36

196. Michael Che: An Amateur Therapy Session

37

195. Arthur Brooks: The Science of Happiness and Humor

38

194. Pete Holmes Returns: Vulnerability is Everything

39

193. Vir Das Returns: How to Find Your Voice, Literally

40

192. Leanne Morgan: In The Presence of a Comedy Angel

41

191. Todd Glass: The Ultimate Comic's Comic

42

190. J. Hope Stein: Eavesdropping on the Eavesdropper

43

189. Nick Offerman: The Man Behind the Mustache

44

Caleb Hearon: Improv Saved His Life

45

187. Jenny Slate: Unafraid of Sadness

46

Questlove: The Art of Self-Sabotage

47

186. Sebastian Maniscalco: What Is He Even Doing Here?

48

185. Julio Torres: Off-Broadway, SNL, and Why Barbie Isn’t Pink

49

Announcing Working It Out Premium

50

184. KC Shornima: Get Comfortable With This Darkness

51

183. Ryan Hamilton Returns: You Better Have Some Jokes

52

Ben Stiller and Adam Scott: Working it Innie and Outie

53

182. Fred Armisen Returns: Is He Joking?

54

181. Jo Firestone Returns: The Best Stand-Up (Who Doesn’t Do Stand-Up)

55

180. Kumail Nanjiani: Oh, Mary!, The Big Sick, and a Return to Stand-Up

56

Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About AI and Weird Audience Energy

57

179. Bob Odenkirk: The Art of Anger in Comedy

58

178. Alex Edelman Returns: Boston Sports and Hospital Clowns

59

177. Chelsea Handler: Why She Must Say It

60

176. Jane Wickline & Liva Pierce: SNL, Dukes, and Working Out Songs

61

175. Malik Elassal: One of The Adults

62

174. Pete Docter: The Inside Out of Pixar’s Process

63

173. Atsuko Okatsuka Returns: The Dizzy Duo

64

172. Nick Kroll Returns: Neil Digression Tyson

65

Mike Reads His New York Times Essay, Plus Best of: Lin-Manuel Miranda

66

171. Nikki Glaser Returns: The Team Captain of Comedy (Plus: Mike’s New Special!)

67

Advice for New-ish Comedians (with Gary Simons and Listener Questions)

68

170. Please Don't Destroy Returns: The Journey of an SNL Sketch from Pitch to Air

69

169. Ira Glass Returns: Ira Tries Stand-Up Comedy (For Real)

70

168. Zarna Garg Returns: One Follower at a Time, a Million Times

71

167. Jessica Kirson: She's the Man

72

166. Questlove: The Art of Self-Sabotage

73

165: Rachel Feinstein Returns: Everything She Says Could Be a Bit

74

164. Andrew Schulz: Give Him 10 Seconds

75

163. Josh Johnson: Reinventing the Modern Comedy Special

76

BEST OF WIO: Mike Reads a New Piece of Writing, Plus Elizabeth Gilbert Re-Air

77

Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About Comedy Advice and Crying Babies at Shows

78

162. Pete Holmes Returns: Comedy That’s Clean, Dirty, or PG-13

79

161. Nathan Lane Returns: The Safest Thing You Can Do Is Take a Risk

80

160. Rory Scovel Returns: How To Do 600 Minutes of Improvised Standup

81

159. Hasan Minhaj Returns: Off with His Head, On with His Jokes

82

158. Ben Stiller and Adam Scott: Working it Innie and Outie

83

157. Matt Rogers: Las Culturistas Meets Las Birbiglia-istas

84

156. Stephen Colbert Returns: A Gift from the Comedy Gods

85

155. David Sedaris Returns: A Creative’s Dream and a Fact Checker’s Nightmare

86

Pete Holmes and Mike Make the Definitive Christmas Movie List

87

154. Fortune Feimster: Don't Borrow Trouble

88

153. Maria Bamford Returns: Marketable Mania

89

152. Gary Gulman Returns: Mommy, Look!

90

151. Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Jokes

91

WIO Q&A: 4th NYC Show Added and Mike Answers All of Your Questions About The Good Life

92

150. Michael Ian Black: How to Do Comedy with Your 10 Best Friends

93

149. Bridget Everett: The Star of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere on Risking It All

94

148. Lin-Manuel Miranda: Everything is Basically the School Play

95

147. Hannah Gadsby Returns: Shake the Tree

96

Mike Answers Your Questions About Creativity and Discusses The Emmys

97

146. Jack Antonoff Returns: Working Out the New Theme Song

98

145. Matteo Lane: Working Towards the Masterpiece

99

144. Jon Laster Returns: The Throughline Is Habits

100

143. Zach Braff: Making A Movie is Like Throwing A Wedding

101

142. Aisling Bea Returns: We Like You Here

102

141. Hannah Berner: Zaddy Issues

103

140. Stephen Merchant: 6 Foot 7 and Co-Created The Office

104

139. Catherine Cohen: How to Make Your Doctor Laugh

105

138. Tig Notaro Returns: Clown Cars and Lesbian Party Buses

106

137. Neal Brennan Returns: How to Be 3% Funnier

107

The History of Comedy Since Seinfeld with Jesse David Fox

108

136. Sal Vulcano: A Bonafide Lunatic

109

135. Janine Harouni: But She's Funny

110

134. Pete Holmes Returns: Working It Weird

111

133. Rachel Feinstein Returns: She’s On Fire

112

Screenwriting Advice You’ll Actually Use with John August

113

132. Judd Apatow Returns: Hold On To That Authenticity

114

131. Chris Fleming: He Should Be Way More Popular

115

130. Rory Scovel: Dare to Be Funny

116

129. J. Hope Stein Returns: Earth Day Poetry from Clo

117

The Wisdom of Chicago Improv with Liz Allen

118

128. Alex Edelman Returns: He Did His Best

119

127. Esther Povitsky: What Is Your Comedy Attachment Style?

120

126. Seth Meyers: SNL, Late Night, and a Ton of New Jokes

121

125. Ilana Glazer: Life Lessons from the Broad City Star

122

Mike Answers Your Questions About Comedy

123

124. Chris Distefano: Crowd Work With The Mob

124

123. Please Don't Destroy: SNL’s Three Sad Virgins

125

122. Roy Wood Jr: Perfect Jokes From an Imperfect Messenger

126

121. Maddie Wiener: How to Find the Humor in a Panic Attack

127

120. Ronny Chieng Returns: Classic American Show Business

128

119. Rosebud Baker Returns: Pregnant with Jokes and People

129

118. John Early: A Man With Needs

130

The Very Best Working It Out Moments of 2023

131

117. Beth Stelling Returns: Two Skeletons Telling Jokes

132

116. Jimmy Carr Returns: The World Ordered A Comedian

133

The Old Man and the Pool: Spoilers Only

134

115. Pete Holmes Returns (Again): The Funniest and Longest Episode Yet

135

114. Jo Firestone Returns: Fact Check This Episode

136

113. Todd Barry: The Inventor of Crowd Work

137

112. Ramy Youssef Returns: You Already Love Him

138

111. Gary Simons: A New Comedian Asks Mike 10 Key Questions About Starting Out in Comedy

139

110. Greg Warren: Comedy Lessons From a Salesman

140

109. Gary Gulman Returns: Work Friends or Friend Friends?

141

108. Nimesh Patel: Comedy is Cancer Plus Time

142

107. Hasan Minhaj Returns: Good Boy Syndrome

143

106. Joe Birbiglia Returns: You Think I Give a Care About Christmas Parmesan?

144

105. Kate Berlant: The Comedy Special That Almost Didn’t Come Out

145

104. Jim Gaffigan: Dark Comedy from the Cleanest Comedian

146

103. Liz Kingsman: The London Comedy Exchange Program

147

102. Tom Papa: Conflict Resolution with an Old Friend

148

101. Elyse Myers: Telling Stories Literally Anywhere

149

100. Ira Glass Part 3: The Best Advice

150

6 Tips For Bringing Your Solo Show to Broadway (and the West End!)

151

99. Craig Mazin: The Definitive "The Last of Us" Interview, Sort Of

152

98. Ray Romano: Sometimes the Setup is the Punchline

153

97. Bert Kreischer: Inside A Storytelling Machine

154

96. Alex Edelman Part 3: The Broadway Debut

155

95. Nick Kroll: Old Friends

156

94. Jorma Taccone: The Lonely Island’s Comedy Revolution

157

93. Rachel Feinstein: Don't Call Your Wife "Big Guy"

158

92. Vir Das: Getting Cancelled Except For Real

159

91. Ryan Hamilton: Utah, Idaho, and the Clean Trick

160

90. Marc Forster: A Man Called Marc

161

89. Chris Redd: How to Express Your Mind on Stage

162

88. Seth Barrish: Mike and Seth’s 15 Year Phone Call

163

87. Atsuko Okatsuka: I'm Here to Make Friends

164

86. Wendy MacNaughton: Putting On Your Art Eyes

165

85. Iliza Shlesinger: When You're Hot Forever

166

84. Chloe Fineman: The SNL Star Who Can Literally Do Anything

167

83. Chris Gethard: Don’t Think Twice About Being Naked

168

82. Sam Morril: What Did You Do? My Act.

169

81. J. Hope Stein: Jokes and Poems

170

80. Larry Wilmore: Putting It Out There

171

79. Sarah Sherman: From New Faces to SNL

172

78. Jimmy Fallon: Dip It in Ranch

173

77. Joe Birbiglia: Who Doesn’t Like Free Stuff?

174

76. Jessi Klein: This Is the Reason For Comedy

175

75. Zarna Garg: Humor is a Strategy

176

74. Ben Stiller: Get Some Sleep

177

73. Michael J. Fox: When Your Hero Comes on Your Podcast

178

72. Drew Barrymore: Do What You Love

179

71. Alex Edelman Returns: The 25 Word Pitch

180

70. Judd Apatow Returns (Again): He Has Fettuccine in His Heart

181

69. Atsuko Okatsuka Returns: How to Become Yourself

182

68. Taylor Tomlinson Returns: She's Not Like Us

183

67. Lynn Shawcroft: How Mitch Hedberg Wrote Jokes

184

66. David Cross: Fully Committed Dad

185

65. Jon Laster Returns: Playing Legacy Ball

186

64. Mo Amer: The Creative Savings Account

187

63. Sarah Millican: Put The Email Address In Last

188

62. Hannah Einbinder: The Joke’s on You For Loving a Clown

189

61. John Green: The Fault in Our Birbiglias

190

60. Rosebud Baker: Addicted to Comedy

191

59. Alex Edelman: A Jewish Person Walks Into a Meeting of White Supremacists

192

58. Jimmy Carr: Life Is Better With Laughter

193

57. Stephen Colbert: Laughter As An Act Of Love

194

56. Atsuko Okatsuka: Her Life Should Be a Movie

195

55. Sterlin Harjo: Comedy From Tragedy and Reservation Dogs

196

54. Phoebe Robinson: Is She a Writer? Oh Yes, She Is

197

53. Pete Holmes Returns: Paperback Pete and His Soft Body

198

52. Randall Park: His Superpower is Turtle Figurines

199

51. Jim Gaffigan: We Met in 1997 at a Pizzeria

200

50. Kate Micucci: Don't Think Thrice

201

49. Keegan-Michael Key: Schmigadon't Think Twice

202

48. Judd Apatow Returns: Judd Has Notes

203

47. Malcolm Gladwell: 10,000 Hours of Jokes

204

46. Brie Larson: Captain Marvel Helps Captain Jokes

205

45. Neal Brennan: The Comedy Whisperer

206

44. Sarah Silverman: A Hard Comedy Reset

207

43. Bill Hader: This Episode Has It All

208

42. Quinta Brunson: Flinging Cats, Lovingly

209

41. Jack Antonoff: Jokes Are The Melodies Of Comedy

210

40. Aisling Bea: The Right Amount of a Bit Much

211

39. Nish Kumar: The Sidekick Soliloquy

212

38. Conan O'Brien: It's His Birthday, Celebrate Him

213

37. Jo Firestone: Onomatopizza and the Fyrestone Fest

214

36. Gary Gulman: The Joke Nerd Summit You've Been Waiting For

215

35. Fred Armisen: The Secret Comedy Rules of Portlandia and SNL

216

34. Aubrey Plaza: A Four-Quadrant Superstar

217

33. Nathan Lane: He Deserves Special Treatment

218

32. Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis Meets Mid-Life Crisis

219

31. The Sklar Brothers: How to Say I Love You, Freshly

220

30. Nikki Glaser: The Taylor Swift of Comedy

221

29. Frank Oz: Frank Being Frank

222

28. The Lucas Bros: Losing Their Minds Together

223

27. Rachel Bloom: The Inception of the “Please Stop The Ride” Musical

224

26. All Jokes Considered: The Staff Picks The Best Of 2020

225

25. Ira Glass: The Highly Anticipated Return

226

24. Natasha Lyonne: No F**kin’ Around

227

23. Ramy Youssef: Kicked in the Golden Globes

228

22. Abbi Jacobson: The Broad City Makeout Party

229

21. Bowen Yang: How Do You Write a Sketch For SNL?

230

A Letter From a Comedian To College Students Everywhere

231

20. Jacqueline Novak: 50 Ways To Get Eaten By the Garage Door

232

19. Beth Stelling: Dreaming About Sex With Your Dad

233

18. Jon Favreau & Tommy Vietor: Pod Save Birbiglia

234

17. Pete Holmes: What Podcast Would Jesus Listen To?

235

16. Maria Bamford: Your Comedy Vaccine

236

15. Jimmy Kimmel: This Week He Hosts The Emmys, But First....He Works It Out.

237

14. Tig Notaro: Hot Vegan Lesbian Clickbait

238

13. Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America…and Mike Birbiglia!

239

12. Sam Jay: America’s Next Big Comedy Star

240

11. Judd Apatow: The Cinema Mogul Tries to Ruin Mike’s Podcast

241

10. Roy Wood Jr: From Birmingham to The Daily Show to Broadway?

242

9. Melissa Villaseñor: Mike Writes Jokes with the SNL Star in Real Time!

243

8. Hasan Minhaj: Sometimes Living Through History... Sucks

244

7. Sarah Cooper: America’s Funniest Lip-Syncer-In-Chief— In Her Own Words

245

6. David Sedaris: Mike Trades Funny Stories With His Comedy Hero

246

5. Hannah Gadsby: Solo Shows and Spectrum Gazelles with a Master of the Craft

247

4. Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, & J. Hope Stein: The Poetry of Mike’s favorite band “The National”

248

3. Jon Laster: Lessons from Black Lives Matter. Also, Honey Buns.

249

2. John Mulaney: Shooting Hoops with the Michael Jordan of Comedy

250

1. Ira Glass: A Podcast Legend Teaches Mike How to Make a Podcast

251

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out: Trailer