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Comedian Mike Birbiglia welcomes a different comedian or creator each week and together they work out original, untested material. And, occasionally, uncomfortable topics. Join them as they work it out.
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It's a book club, but funny! Comedian Michael Ian Black is tackling a great work of literature: Wuthering Heights. Join Michael's weekly book club as he reads aloud from a classic and asks people like Jen Kirkman, Mike Birbiglia, Michael Showalter, and even his teenage kids to weigh in with their perspectives. Season 1: Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. The book is bleak, but Michael does a lot of accent work. Season 2: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's alive, and it's just a big buddy. Also, ...
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Welcome to ‘The Last Laugh’: Real conversations with really funny people. Every Wednesday, The Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein interviews some of the biggest names in comedy—as well as the new voices crashing the party—about what it’s like to make people laugh during this current cultural and political moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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143. Zach Braff: Making A Movie is Like Throwing A Wedding
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This week filmmaker and actor Zach Braff joins Mike to talk everything from Garden State to Ted Lasso to what it’s like to direct Morgan Freeman. Zach discusses the story of his ex once following him through Europe and Mike and Zach discuss the possibility that a story like that could be the starting point for a one person show. Plus, the time Zach…
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Michael Ian Black: Trump’s Bad ‘Crowd Work’ vs. Kamala’s Hopeful Joy
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Michael Ian Black began his career performing deeply absurdist comedy with his legendary sketch group The State and the besuited comedy trio Stella. Now, among other things, he’s a weekly columnist covering the 2024 election for the Daily Beast. But Black does not consider himself to be a political commentator “in any way, shape or form, even thoug…
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Some terrific snack talk at the start of today's episode, in which your host expounds on one of the finest confections, the traditional ice cream sandwich. Plus, ice cream makes a cameo in the story itself, as Clyde and Roberta plot their lies and deception. They are as cold-hearted as the desserts they consume! Support Obscure! Read Michael's subs…
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Susie Essman on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ Larry David and More
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Susie Essman made a name for herself cursing out Larry David as her alter-ego Susie Greene on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ But as she reveals in this episode, in the 24 years since the show premiered—and nearly four decades since she met David in the New York comedy clubs—they have never once gotten into an actual fight. Essman opens up about David’s un…
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The love between Clyde and Roberta continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but problems arise as the two lovebirds find themselves struggling to steal away a little time together. How to tryst!?! Such struggles, such raw emotion, such horniness! Plus, your humble host finds himself in a mediocre hotel in Columbus, OH for the purposes of performing a…
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Please Don't Destroy: SNL's Three Sad Virgins (Recorded February 2024) Mike welcomes Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, aka Please Don’t Destroy, known for their wildly popular shorts on SNL. Mike is determined to get Martin to talk more than he did on Pete Holmes’s podcast. The group shares what they like and dislike about each other,…
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Langston Kerman: John Mulaney, Chris Rock and ‘Bad Poetry’
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Before Langston Kerman was one of the most exciting stand-up comedians working right now, he taught poetry to high school students. As he tells the audience in his debut Netflix special ‘Bad Poetry,’ he was desperate to find another path for his life. In this episode, Kerman talks about getting his big break writing for Oscars host Chris Rock (even…
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As Tropical Storm Debby lashes the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library, Clyde and Roberta are drowning... in love! Plus, many references to the Rubicon, whirlpools, splashing around, and the dangers of getting in over your hand. A tryst is in the offing! It's a soaking wet episode of Obscure. Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow Michael on Tw…
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142. Aisling Bea Returns: We Like You Here
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Beloved Irish comedian Aisling Bea returns to Working It Out. Mike and Aisling discuss how to find your people, Catholic school health class, and dating app fails. Plus, new jokes about what Mike’s dad was doing while his family went to church and the most obvious and best thing about pregnancy sex. Please consider donating to City Harvest Click he…
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DNC Special With Kamala Harris Impersonator Allison Reese
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There are few Americans who have had a crazier past month than Kamala Harris—but comedian Allison Reese is among them. Reese’s impression of the vice president was already a hit on social media before Harris picked up the baton from President Joe Biden, but it has blown up in a much bigger way since. In this episode, Reese talks about the wild ride…
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Clyde is desperately trying to escape the borders of his own social strictures as he connives to engage Roberta in conversation and possibly even... CANOODLING! Plus, your host finally reveals his current Taco Bell order! ALSO: He reveals his new job, but says this with all humility: please do not post this information because - to his surprise - i…
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Mike welcomes fellow comedian and podcaster (Giggly Sqaud, Berner Phone) Hannah Berner to the pod. Known for her “Han on the Street” videos, Hannah discusses her journey from college tennis champ to stand-up sensation. Hannah also teaches Mike the meaning of the term “zaddy.” Plus, an athlete at heart, Hannah comes to the notebook section ready to …
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Hannah Einbinder: ‘Hacks,’ Stand-Up and Overconfidence
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Hannah Einbinder had never really acted before she was cast as Ava Daniels opposite Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance on ‘Hacks.’ Now, she’s a three-time Emmy nominee. In this episode, Einbinder opens up about the overconfidence she brings to that role as well the onstage persona she displays in her excellent debut stand-up special ‘Everything Must Go’ on…
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Clyde and Roberta are about to do the deed (share a canoe). After months of distant lustery, the two have found themselves in the same place at the same time, out on the water of a public park. Plus, a memory of the comedian Kevin Meany, as well as a explanation of the military term "pink mist." This episode has it all! Support Obscure! Read Michae…
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140. Stephen Merchant: 6 Foot 7 and Co-Created The Office
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This week living legend and giant human Stephen Merchant joins Mike for an all-time great episode of Working It Out. Stephen and Mike talk about actionable advice for creatives starting out, the behind-the-scenes politics of co-creating “The Office" and “Extras” with Ricky Gervais, and how Stephen could turn his story about interviewing a pornstar …
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Mike Birbiglia: ‘The Old Man and the Pool’
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When a special arrives on Netflix in its finished form, viewers don’t typically get to see all of the excruciating work that went into making it a polished piece. But for anyone who has been listening to Birbiglia’s Working It Out podcast over the past couple of years, it’s all there. “I was doing it privately,” he says on this week’s episode of Th…
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The heat is rising out there in Lycurgus. Nothing to do in the stultifying heat but rent a boat and head on out to Crum Lake and eat some goddamned watermelon, which is how your host has been spending about 40% of his time when not reading classic works of literature and commenting on them out loud. Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow M…
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Gary Gulman Returns: Work Friends or Friend Friends? (Recorded September 2023) Mike and Gary Gulman have been friends for a long time, but what kind of friends? Real friends or just work friends? Gary returns to the podcast and he and Mike evaluate the true level of their friendship. Plus they discuss vulnerability in comedy, unhappiness vs. depres…
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Carmen Christopher: ‘The Bear,’ ‘The Curse’ and Chicago Comedy
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Carmen Christopher is one of those comedians who you’ve definitely seen before but can’t totally be sure how you know his face. Over the past several years, he’s popped up in bit parts on show’s like ‘Shrill,’ ‘I Think You Should Leave,’ and most notably—given his born and bred Chicago roots—all three seasons of ‘The Bear.’ In this episode, Christo…
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A mystery resolved! In last week's episode, we puzzled over the identity of a certain Mrs. Peyton. Friends, that mystery is solved in this tantalizing episode of Obscure. PLUS! Some light bowling commentary AND Clyde is dreaming of love. If you listen to one episode of ANY podcast this year, make it this one. Or not Support Obscure! Read Michael's …
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139. Catherine Cohen: How to Make Your Doctor Laugh
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Mike welcomes the multi-talented Catherine Cohen to the podcast to discuss making doctors laugh, lessons learned from the Ashley Madison documentary, and the medical ordeal that Cat went through last summer. She and Mike break down the best ways to work out a long story in small increments and how to ease an audience to heavy subject matter. Plus, …
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Jon Lovett Returns: Kamala, Biden, Trump and Surviving 2024
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In the weeks between President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance and his decision to step aside, no one in political media was making the case against his candidacy louder than the former Obama staffers and co-hosts of Pod Save America. In his third appearance on The Last Laugh, Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett returns to talk about his …
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Huge episode today as we cross the proverbial Rubicon. There's no going back now, not after we reach the half century mark. As we cross our own point of no return, old Clyde Griffiths and his new flame, Roberta Alden, seem destined to cross their own. A tepid love blossoms apace! Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow Michael on Twitter Fo…
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138. Tig Notaro Returns: Clown Cars and Lesbian Party Buses
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Mike welcomes back old friend and Working It Out hall of famer Tig Notaro. They discuss the inevitability of finding your own comedic voice, how Tig had to come out as gay to her own children, and the time her brother fell into her stepfather’s grave. All that, plus tales from Tig’s lesbian party bus with Sarah Paulson and Allison Janney. Please Co…
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Reggie Watts Is Here for Our 250th Episode!
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In an age of comedy that aims to shock, Reggie Watts is arguably the most unpredictable comedian working today. That’s not to say he’s particularly controversial. And in fact, he decided to “set” his latest stand-up special ‘Never Mind’ in the mid-’90s precisely so he wouldn’t feel any pressure to talk about what is happening in America right now. …
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