Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out
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.
227. Tami Sagher: Inside the Writers Rooms of Your Favorite Shows
226. Gary Simons Returns: Gary Goes to Montreal
The Best of Pete Holmes
Jon Rudnitsky Returns to Answer More of Your Questions About Comedy
Pete Docter: The Inside Out of Pixar's Process
225. Ariel Elias: One Joke Every Day for a Year
224. Stavros Halkias: Stavros Ex Machina
223. Emmy Blotnick: Don’t Take That Deal
The Working It Out Creativity Supercut
222. Joe List: How to Survive a Comedy Panic Attack
Michael Che: An Amateur Therapy Session
221. Ron Funches: Say What You Want
Chloe Troast and Mike Answer Your Questions About Improv and Sketch
220. Jo Firestone Returns: You Better Marry My 40-Year-Old Daughter
John Mulaney: He's Funny and Here's Why
219. Michelle Buteau: From TV News to Her Own TV Series
218. Jane Wickline and Liva Pierce Return: Comedy Duo Therapy
Fred Armisen: Is He Joking?
217. Aaron Chen: High Quality Jokes from a Low Capacity Kind of Guy
Jon Rudnitsky and Mike Answer Your Questions About Failure and Jokes
216. Wanda Sykes: Mike's Dream Guest
215. Phil Lord and Chris Miller: These 2 Dorks Made Every Movie You Love
214. Robby Hoffman: It's a New Dawn
Jenny Slate: Unafraid of Sadness
213. Jack Antonoff Returns: Music’s Biggest Producer Records Mike’s Pizza Song
212. Pete Holmes Returns: Selling Crepes at a Junkyard
211. Nish Kumar Returns: Dinosaurs Before the Meteor
210. Ramy Youssef Returns: He Lit Up The Pyramids
209. Jorma Taccone Returns: This Episode Sucks
Nikki Glaser: The Team Captain of Comedy
208. KevOnStage: How To Make A Comedy Show About Grief
207. Chris Fleming Returns: He Is Way More Popular This Time
Nathan Lane: The Safest Thing You Can Do Is Take a Risk
206. Cazzie David: Spiritually a Boomer
205. Taylor Tomlinson: Hope No One Filmed That
204. Ali Siddiq: Telling His Own Story
203. James Acaster: He Welcomes Hecklers
Bob Odenkirk: The Art of Anger in Comedy
202. Connor Ratliff: How and Why To Do Improv
201. Heidi Gardner: Behind Your Favorite SNL Characters
200. John Mulaney: He’s Funny and Here’s Why
199. Jordan Jensen: You Can’t Say That (But Actually You Can)
198. Sarah Sherman Returns: If Chucky Went to Sarah Lawrence
Stephen Colbert: A Gift from the Comedy Gods
Josh Johnson: Reinventing the Modern Comedy Special
197. Natalie Palamides: Wisdom from a Modern Clown
196. Michael Che: An Amateur Therapy Session
195. Arthur Brooks: The Science of Happiness and Humor
194. Pete Holmes Returns: Vulnerability is Everything
193. Vir Das Returns: How to Find Your Voice, Literally
192. Leanne Morgan: In The Presence of a Comedy Angel
191. Todd Glass: The Ultimate Comic's Comic
190. J. Hope Stein: Eavesdropping on the Eavesdropper
189. Nick Offerman: The Man Behind the Mustache
Caleb Hearon: Improv Saved His Life
187. Jenny Slate: Unafraid of Sadness
Questlove: The Art of Self-Sabotage
186. Sebastian Maniscalco: What Is He Even Doing Here?
185. Julio Torres: Off-Broadway, SNL, and Why Barbie Isn’t Pink
Announcing Working It Out Premium
184. KC Shornima: Get Comfortable With This Darkness
183. Ryan Hamilton Returns: You Better Have Some Jokes
Ben Stiller and Adam Scott: Working it Innie and Outie
182. Fred Armisen Returns: Is He Joking?
181. Jo Firestone Returns: The Best Stand-Up (Who Doesn’t Do Stand-Up)
180. Kumail Nanjiani: Oh, Mary!, The Big Sick, and a Return to Stand-Up
Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About AI and Weird Audience Energy
179. Bob Odenkirk: The Art of Anger in Comedy
178. Alex Edelman Returns: Boston Sports and Hospital Clowns
177. Chelsea Handler: Why She Must Say It
176. Jane Wickline & Liva Pierce: SNL, Dukes, and Working Out Songs
175. Malik Elassal: One of The Adults
174. Pete Docter: The Inside Out of Pixar’s Process
173. Atsuko Okatsuka Returns: The Dizzy Duo
172. Nick Kroll Returns: Neil Digression Tyson
Mike Reads His New York Times Essay, Plus Best of: Lin-Manuel Miranda
171. Nikki Glaser Returns: The Team Captain of Comedy (Plus: Mike’s New Special!)
Advice for New-ish Comedians (with Gary Simons and Listener Questions)
170. Please Don't Destroy Returns: The Journey of an SNL Sketch from Pitch to Air
169. Ira Glass Returns: Ira Tries Stand-Up Comedy (For Real)
168. Zarna Garg Returns: One Follower at a Time, a Million Times
167. Jessica Kirson: She's the Man
166. Questlove: The Art of Self-Sabotage
165: Rachel Feinstein Returns: Everything She Says Could Be a Bit
164. Andrew Schulz: Give Him 10 Seconds
163. Josh Johnson: Reinventing the Modern Comedy Special
BEST OF WIO: Mike Reads a New Piece of Writing, Plus Elizabeth Gilbert Re-Air
Q&A: Mike Answers Voicemails About Comedy Advice and Crying Babies at Shows
162. Pete Holmes Returns: Comedy That’s Clean, Dirty, or PG-13
161. Nathan Lane Returns: The Safest Thing You Can Do Is Take a Risk
160. Rory Scovel Returns: How To Do 600 Minutes of Improvised Standup
159. Hasan Minhaj Returns: Off with His Head, On with His Jokes
158. Ben Stiller and Adam Scott: Working it Innie and Outie
157. Matt Rogers: Las Culturistas Meets Las Birbiglia-istas
156. Stephen Colbert Returns: A Gift from the Comedy Gods
155. David Sedaris Returns: A Creative’s Dream and a Fact Checker’s Nightmare
Pete Holmes and Mike Make the Definitive Christmas Movie List
154. Fortune Feimster: Don't Borrow Trouble
153. Maria Bamford Returns: Marketable Mania
152. Gary Gulman Returns: Mommy, Look!
151. Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Jokes
WIO Q&A: 4th NYC Show Added and Mike Answers All of Your Questions About The Good Life
150. Michael Ian Black: How to Do Comedy with Your 10 Best Friends
149. Bridget Everett: The Star of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere on Risking It All
148. Lin-Manuel Miranda: Everything is Basically the School Play
147. Hannah Gadsby Returns: Shake the Tree
Mike Answers Your Questions About Creativity and Discusses The Emmys
146. Jack Antonoff Returns: Working Out the New Theme Song
145. Matteo Lane: Working Towards the Masterpiece
144. Jon Laster Returns: The Throughline Is Habits
143. Zach Braff: Making A Movie is Like Throwing A Wedding
142. Aisling Bea Returns: We Like You Here
141. Hannah Berner: Zaddy Issues
140. Stephen Merchant: 6 Foot 7 and Co-Created The Office
139. Catherine Cohen: How to Make Your Doctor Laugh
138. Tig Notaro Returns: Clown Cars and Lesbian Party Buses
137. Neal Brennan Returns: How to Be 3% Funnier
The History of Comedy Since Seinfeld with Jesse David Fox
136. Sal Vulcano: A Bonafide Lunatic
135. Janine Harouni: But She's Funny
134. Pete Holmes Returns: Working It Weird
133. Rachel Feinstein Returns: She’s On Fire
Screenwriting Advice You’ll Actually Use with John August
132. Judd Apatow Returns: Hold On To That Authenticity
131. Chris Fleming: He Should Be Way More Popular
130. Rory Scovel: Dare to Be Funny
129. J. Hope Stein Returns: Earth Day Poetry from Clo
The Wisdom of Chicago Improv with Liz Allen
128. Alex Edelman Returns: He Did His Best
127. Esther Povitsky: What Is Your Comedy Attachment Style?
126. Seth Meyers: SNL, Late Night, and a Ton of New Jokes
125. Ilana Glazer: Life Lessons from the Broad City Star
Mike Answers Your Questions About Comedy
124. Chris Distefano: Crowd Work With The Mob
123. Please Don't Destroy: SNL’s Three Sad Virgins
122. Roy Wood Jr: Perfect Jokes From an Imperfect Messenger
121. Maddie Wiener: How to Find the Humor in a Panic Attack
120. Ronny Chieng Returns: Classic American Show Business
119. Rosebud Baker Returns: Pregnant with Jokes and People
118. John Early: A Man With Needs
The Very Best Working It Out Moments of 2023
117. Beth Stelling Returns: Two Skeletons Telling Jokes
116. Jimmy Carr Returns: The World Ordered A Comedian
The Old Man and the Pool: Spoilers Only
115. Pete Holmes Returns (Again): The Funniest and Longest Episode Yet
114. Jo Firestone Returns: Fact Check This Episode
113. Todd Barry: The Inventor of Crowd Work
112. Ramy Youssef Returns: You Already Love Him
111. Gary Simons: A New Comedian Asks Mike 10 Key Questions About Starting Out in Comedy
110. Greg Warren: Comedy Lessons From a Salesman
109. Gary Gulman Returns: Work Friends or Friend Friends?
108. Nimesh Patel: Comedy is Cancer Plus Time
107. Hasan Minhaj Returns: Good Boy Syndrome
106. Joe Birbiglia Returns: You Think I Give a Care About Christmas Parmesan?
105. Kate Berlant: The Comedy Special That Almost Didn’t Come Out
104. Jim Gaffigan: Dark Comedy from the Cleanest Comedian
103. Liz Kingsman: The London Comedy Exchange Program
102. Tom Papa: Conflict Resolution with an Old Friend
101. Elyse Myers: Telling Stories Literally Anywhere
100. Ira Glass Part 3: The Best Advice
6 Tips For Bringing Your Solo Show to Broadway (and the West End!)
99. Craig Mazin: The Definitive "The Last of Us" Interview, Sort Of
98. Ray Romano: Sometimes the Setup is the Punchline
97. Bert Kreischer: Inside A Storytelling Machine
96. Alex Edelman Part 3: The Broadway Debut
95. Nick Kroll: Old Friends
94. Jorma Taccone: The Lonely Island’s Comedy Revolution
93. Rachel Feinstein: Don't Call Your Wife "Big Guy"
92. Vir Das: Getting Cancelled Except For Real
91. Ryan Hamilton: Utah, Idaho, and the Clean Trick
90. Marc Forster: A Man Called Marc
89. Chris Redd: How to Express Your Mind on Stage
88. Seth Barrish: Mike and Seth’s 15 Year Phone Call
87. Atsuko Okatsuka: I'm Here to Make Friends
86. Wendy MacNaughton: Putting On Your Art Eyes
85. Iliza Shlesinger: When You're Hot Forever
84. Chloe Fineman: The SNL Star Who Can Literally Do Anything
83. Chris Gethard: Don’t Think Twice About Being Naked
82. Sam Morril: What Did You Do? My Act.
81. J. Hope Stein: Jokes and Poems
80. Larry Wilmore: Putting It Out There
79. Sarah Sherman: From New Faces to SNL
78. Jimmy Fallon: Dip It in Ranch
77. Joe Birbiglia: Who Doesn’t Like Free Stuff?
76. Jessi Klein: This Is the Reason For Comedy
75. Zarna Garg: Humor is a Strategy
74. Ben Stiller: Get Some Sleep
73. Michael J. Fox: When Your Hero Comes on Your Podcast
72. Drew Barrymore: Do What You Love
71. Alex Edelman Returns: The 25 Word Pitch
70. Judd Apatow Returns (Again): He Has Fettuccine in His Heart
69. Atsuko Okatsuka Returns: How to Become Yourself
68. Taylor Tomlinson Returns: She's Not Like Us
67. Lynn Shawcroft: How Mitch Hedberg Wrote Jokes
66. David Cross: Fully Committed Dad
65. Jon Laster Returns: Playing Legacy Ball
64. Mo Amer: The Creative Savings Account
63. Sarah Millican: Put The Email Address In Last
62. Hannah Einbinder: The Joke’s on You For Loving a Clown
61. John Green: The Fault in Our Birbiglias
60. Rosebud Baker: Addicted to Comedy
59. Alex Edelman: A Jewish Person Walks Into a Meeting of White Supremacists
58. Jimmy Carr: Life Is Better With Laughter
57. Stephen Colbert: Laughter As An Act Of Love
56. Atsuko Okatsuka: Her Life Should Be a Movie
55. Sterlin Harjo: Comedy From Tragedy and Reservation Dogs
54. Phoebe Robinson: Is She a Writer? Oh Yes, She Is
53. Pete Holmes Returns: Paperback Pete and His Soft Body
52. Randall Park: His Superpower is Turtle Figurines
51. Jim Gaffigan: We Met in 1997 at a Pizzeria
50. Kate Micucci: Don't Think Thrice
49. Keegan-Michael Key: Schmigadon't Think Twice
48. Judd Apatow Returns: Judd Has Notes
47. Malcolm Gladwell: 10,000 Hours of Jokes
46. Brie Larson: Captain Marvel Helps Captain Jokes
45. Neal Brennan: The Comedy Whisperer
44. Sarah Silverman: A Hard Comedy Reset
43. Bill Hader: This Episode Has It All
42. Quinta Brunson: Flinging Cats, Lovingly
41. Jack Antonoff: Jokes Are The Melodies Of Comedy
40. Aisling Bea: The Right Amount of a Bit Much
39. Nish Kumar: The Sidekick Soliloquy
38. Conan O'Brien: It's His Birthday, Celebrate Him
37. Jo Firestone: Onomatopizza and the Fyrestone Fest
36. Gary Gulman: The Joke Nerd Summit You've Been Waiting For
35. Fred Armisen: The Secret Comedy Rules of Portlandia and SNL
34. Aubrey Plaza: A Four-Quadrant Superstar
33. Nathan Lane: He Deserves Special Treatment
32. Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis Meets Mid-Life Crisis
31. The Sklar Brothers: How to Say I Love You, Freshly
30. Nikki Glaser: The Taylor Swift of Comedy
29. Frank Oz: Frank Being Frank
28. The Lucas Bros: Losing Their Minds Together
27. Rachel Bloom: The Inception of the “Please Stop The Ride” Musical
26. All Jokes Considered: The Staff Picks The Best Of 2020
25. Ira Glass: The Highly Anticipated Return
24. Natasha Lyonne: No F**kin’ Around
23. Ramy Youssef: Kicked in the Golden Globes
22. Abbi Jacobson: The Broad City Makeout Party
21. Bowen Yang: How Do You Write a Sketch For SNL?
A Letter From a Comedian To College Students Everywhere
20. Jacqueline Novak: 50 Ways To Get Eaten By the Garage Door
19. Beth Stelling: Dreaming About Sex With Your Dad
18. Jon Favreau & Tommy Vietor: Pod Save Birbiglia
17. Pete Holmes: What Podcast Would Jesus Listen To?
16. Maria Bamford: Your Comedy Vaccine
15. Jimmy Kimmel: This Week He Hosts The Emmys, But First....He Works It Out.
14. Tig Notaro: Hot Vegan Lesbian Clickbait
13. Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America…and Mike Birbiglia!
12. Sam Jay: America’s Next Big Comedy Star
11. Judd Apatow: The Cinema Mogul Tries to Ruin Mike’s Podcast
10. Roy Wood Jr: From Birmingham to The Daily Show to Broadway?
9. Melissa Villaseñor: Mike Writes Jokes with the SNL Star in Real Time!
8. Hasan Minhaj: Sometimes Living Through History... Sucks
7. Sarah Cooper: America’s Funniest Lip-Syncer-In-Chief— In Her Own Words
6. David Sedaris: Mike Trades Funny Stories With His Comedy Hero
5. Hannah Gadsby: Solo Shows and Spectrum Gazelles with a Master of the Craft
4. Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, & J. Hope Stein: The Poetry of Mike’s favorite band “The National”
3. Jon Laster: Lessons from Black Lives Matter. Also, Honey Buns.
2. John Mulaney: Shooting Hoops with the Michael Jordan of Comedy
1. Ira Glass: A Podcast Legend Teaches Mike How to Make a Podcast