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

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out

Episode 186: Sebastian Maniscalco – “What Is He Even Doing Here?”
Date: September 29, 2025
Host: Mike Birbiglia
Guest: Sebastian Maniscalco

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Mike Birbiglia welcomes comedian Sebastian Maniscalco for a conversation that blends the comedic process, touring life, family dynamics, and the challenges of sustaining authenticity over a prolific career. Both comedians compare notes on joke writing, performing for differing audiences, navigating nerves, and balancing family with professional demands. The conversation is honest, sometimes vulnerable, and filled with laughter, as both reflect on their journeys and the peculiarities of stand-up life. Sebastian offers stories from his time as a waiter to playing arenas, and together they “work out” unfinished bits and creative anxieties.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Relentless Cycle of Podcasts and Audiences (04:42 – 07:03)

• Repetitiveness of Podcast Questions:
  Sebastian admits to sometimes feeling like he’s repeating himself on various podcasts, questioning the value of retelling the same old stories.

  “How many times do people wanna hear me tell the same story in a different environment?” (05:11 – Sebastian)

• Hoping to Reach New Audiences:
  Sebastian expresses uncertainty about whether podcasts help him reach new demographics, despite his massive established fanbase.

  “I don’t know a lot of the times how much new audiences I’m picking off these things, right?” (06:16 – Sebastian)

• Broader Comedy Demographics:
  Sebastian wants a more diverse audience:

  “When I look in the audience, I feel like there should be more Asians there, more black people, more whatever…” (06:42 – Sebastian)

Structure, Process, and Material Development (07:59 – 15:25)

• Contrasting Creative Methods:
  Mike uses note cards and structured writing, while Sebastian works more organically, recording performances and living his material rather than scripting it.

  “My bits aren’t like written bits. They're almost like I’m living my material.” (08:22 – Sebastian)
  “Should I be doing that?” – On seeing Mike’s wall of note cards (09:59 – Sebastian)

• The Challenge of Real Stories in Comedy:
  Both reflect on how real-life stories rarely resolve neatly, requiring creative embellishment to complete a bit.

  “Almost never do real stories happen with a beginning, middle, and end. And you have to be like, well, what would be the middle of that story?” (13:57 – Mike)

• Balancing Authenticity vs. Artistic License:

  “You could tell what happened and you could tell what didn’t happen based on the commitment and delivery.” (09:08 – Sebastian)

The Pressure of Standup and Evolving as a Comedian (11:39 – 25:14)

• Each Show as a Commercial:
  Sebastian views every show as an advertisement for the next, raising the pressure to consistently exceed expectations.

  “...my shows as a commercial for the next time I come into town.” (11:39 – Sebastian)
  “It’s hard to maintain that.” (11:57 – Sebastian)

• Growing Comfort Onstage:
  Sebastian describes starting out more reserved and angry on stage, only becoming comfortable sharing his true self after 8-9 years.

  “I was very angry... Not letting people in on the joke. So it took me a while to, like, find my feet up there.” (24:11 – Sebastian)

• Masking Vulnerability:

  “I think it was a mask for me. I was kind of just disappointed in human behavior in general.” (25:17 – Sebastian)

Juggling Comedy, Family & Aging (14:23 – 16:39)

• Work-Life Balance:
  Both discuss missing important family moments for work, feeling torn between professional demands and being present fathers.

• Aging, Health Anxieties, and Performing:
  Sebastian details a bicep injury, framing his seemingly fit appearance as deceiving.

  “My biceps might look larger than normal because I detached my bicep... It’s not, my biceps are detaching.” (16:40 – Sebastian)

Comedic Rituals and Nerves (17:45 – 22:17)

• Pre-Show Rituals:
  Mike reveals he meditates by lying down next to the stage, a decades-long grounding ritual that Sebastian finds both odd and intriguing.

  “If I walked in... and you went to go to lie on the floor and look at the ceiling, I’d go, what the—what is this guy doing?” (20:22 – Sebastian)

• On-Stage Energy:
  Once the show starts, the room size becomes irrelevant; it’s all about connecting.

Stories from Waiting Tables in Hollywood (26:56 – 29:47)

• Celebrity Encounters:
  Sebastian reminisces about his time as a waiter at the Four Seasons in LA, sharing run-ins with Julia Roberts, Stallone, Sean Penn, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro.
  Notable anecdote:

  “I waited on De Niro... you were eating the free nuts like we're going out of style.” (29:04 – Sebastian)

• Transition to Working with De Niro:
  He later collaborated with De Niro on “The Irishman” and as co-lead in a film about his own father.

Authenticity Off-Stage (30:19 – 31:02)

• Persona Differences:
  Sebastian is far more subdued and quiet offstage compared to his energetic stage persona, which can surprise fans during meet and greets.

Appearance by Pete Holmes (31:02 – 31:46)

• Unexpected Call:
  Pete Holmes calls in, joking about Sebastian’s influence on Seinfeld’s act, lightening the episode with meta-comedy.

  “Tell him his influence on Seinfeld is palpable.” (31:14 – Pete Holmes)

Roots, Routine, and Emotional Vulnerability (34:13 – 43:24)

• Sicily Pilgrimage:
  Sebastian shares the emotional pilgrimage with his father back to Sicily after 50 years, revealing intergenerational differences in processing emotion.

  “I’m emotional, I’m crying... I’m looking at him: nothing, nothing coming out of this guy.” (35:23 – Sebastian)

• On Parenthood:
  Both discuss being surprised by the joy of fatherhood and confronting fears about not being a good dad.

• Sensitivity in Fatherhood:
  Sebastian describes himself as sensitive, often crying at movies, which contrasts with his less demonstrative wife and connects to his stage vulnerability.

Working Out Unfinished Bits (49:03 – 56:11)

• “Rats in the Ceiling” Routine:
  Mike works through a new bit about a rat infestation and his wife’s pacifistic “catch and release” approach, with Sebastian riffing on his own similar experience and encouraging Mike to “man up.”

  “What are we gonna do, hold their hands out the door?” (51:10 – Sebastian)

• Soccer & ‘80s Parenting Bit:
  Sebastian shares an incomplete bit about his “old school” parenting at his son’s soccer games, creating friction with more modern, hands-off dads.

• Colonoscopy Bit Development:
  Sebastian is developing a routine about colonoscopies and endoscopies, with lots to work out post-procedure.

• Creative Chemistry as Foils:
  They riff that their differences—as more passive vs. assertive dads—could serve as foils in their stand-up, fueling future bits.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Podcast Fatigue and Repetitiveness:
  “How many times do people wanna hear me tell the same story in a different environment?”
  — Sebastian (05:11)

• On Stand-Up Authenticity:
  “You could tell what happened and you could tell what didn’t happen based on the commitment and delivery.”
  — Sebastian (09:08)

• On Parenting Regrets:
  “I just hope that I’m spending enough time with them... you can’t be there 24/7. If you were, you’d probably go nuts.”
  — Sebastian (39:28)

• On Vulnerability:
  “I’m also sensitive, which people—I'm crying at movies. My wife isn’t.”
  — Sebastian (42:46)

• On Celebrity Waiter Encounters:
  “He was eating the free nuts like we're going out of style. Actually got upset at him in my head that he kept like, wanting more almonds.”
  — Sebastian (29:04)

• On Needing a Comedic Foil:
  “You and I need each other as foils in our bits... the contrast of people’s takes on it.”
  — Mike (55:36)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------| | 04:42-07:03 | “What am I doing here?” Podcast fatigue & audience crossover | | 07:59-15:25 | Comedy process: note cards vs. lived experience, storytelling, authenticity | | 16:40-17:12 | Health, bicep injury, and outward appearances | | 17:45-22:17 | Pre-show rituals, performance nerves, audience energy | | 26:56-29:47 | Stories from waiting tables with Hollywood celebrities | | 34:13-36:03 | Journey to Sicily: emotional legacy and family roots | | 37:08-38:53 | Reflections on parenting, jealousy, living in the moment | | 49:03-51:10 | Working out the “rats in the ceiling” and “man up” bits | | 53:12-56:02 | Developing the colonoscopy, soccer dad, parenting bits & comedic chemistry |

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Supporting a Cause

Sebastian’s Charity:
Sebastian spotlights his family’s foundation, Tag You’re It, supporting children’s education, veterans, and Alzheimer’s research.

“We self fund it. It’s not like, you know, we have a board... It’s called Tagg. It’s on my website.” (56:44)

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Conclusion

This episode of Working It Out is a masterclass in comedy process, work ethic, and vulnerability. Birbiglia and Maniscalco blend humor with candor, revealing the discipline behind performance, the struggle to balance work and family, and the humility required to evolve as an artist. The episode is full of laugh-out-loud moments, earnest admissions, and inside glimpses into the shared and solitary paths of stand-up comedians.

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Transcript

[A]

What are you doing? What's the trick?

[B]

What's the trick to what? Looking fit. First of all, it's very deceiving. My biceps might look larger than normal because I detached my bicep. Do you see this hole right here? So one part of my biceps snapped off. So when I have a sleeve on, it looks like, man, this guy's really fit. It's not. My biceps are detaching.

[A]

Why did you have to do that?

[B]

I didn't have to do. It happened. They snapped off. It's not like I snapped off my bicep. I was sitting around the house and going, babe, I just snapped my biceps. No, you thought it was, like a cosmetic thing.

[A]

Yeah, I thought. That is the voice of the great Sebastian Maniscalco. So excited for this episode. It is, I would say, a long time in the making. I've been a fan of Sebastian's for a long time. I've only met him maybe once or twice ever. And I just. I asked him to come on and he said yes. He's doing a whole bunch of tour dates in Atlantic City, and it happened, and I think it went as well as it could have possibly gone. He is, hands down, one of the biggest comedians in the world by some metrics. The biggest comedian in the world, I think on polestar or, you know, through touring comedians or whatever, is maybe the. I don't know, the. The highest grossing comedian on tour. I mean, he's massive. He's huge. And he is hilarious. He has many, many specials. He is on tour at the Wynn in Las Vegas. He is in Durant, Oklahoma. He's in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Windsor, Ontario. I mean, he. He's all over the place. We talk about a lot about starting out in comedy. We talk about performance, touring, how. How he creates jokes. Very different from how I create jokes. He puts my feet to the fire on a bunch of stuff like what. What note cards are on my wall, what. What jokes they correspond to. It's very funny, dynamic, very unique dynamic for the podcast, but it's a. It's a thrilling one. I. I was honestly, I was very intimidated to meet him and talk to him for an hour. I mean, I was. You know, he's a great comic, and I don't know him that well. It's a big month on the podcast. We have a special announcement. We've launched Working It Out Premium. And what this is is it's an ad free version of the podcast available exclusively through Apple Podcasts. It's 4.99amonth. What you get when you get working out, Premium is an ad free version of the podcast. No ads ever. People ask me for this a lot, so it's part of the reason we did it. Two, you get to support the show. We work out really hard on the show. We have producers and sound mixers and all these things that go into making this show for you every week. We're very proud of it and we hope you like it. Number three, bonus content. We will be releasing bonus content for subscribers who I've been calling secret public subscribers. We're talking about longer, more in depth Q and A's, bonus discussions with guests, some essays that I'm gonna share with just you that I'm working on, that I've been working on actually for a while that you can't find anywhere else. And so stay tuned for that. I love this conversation with Sebastian. We go deep into joke writing, how to be yourself on stage. What version of Sebastian is Sebastian on stage? Is he that person who. He's on stage, off stage, kids soccer games. He and I were both waiters starting out. We talk about that celebrity encounters he had when he was a waiter in Los Angeles at the Four Seasons. We talk about how both of us get nervous doing other people's podcasts and why. And pretty honestly, it's pretty honest conversation. We even get a phone call from Pete Holmes in the middle of the episode. So there's a lot going on. Enjoy my conversation with the great Sebastian Maniscalco. I asked you advice over DM in May. Cause I was going on your mom's house in Texas, Tom and Christina's podcast, and I saw your episode and I was like, he did it, right? And I was nervous about it. I was like, what do you. You know? And you were just like, oh, yeah, I was nervous about it and. But I was. They're good, good talkers and it was fun and they're easy and that kind of thing. It was really helpful. But you. But the thing you wrote to me is you go, sometimes you do these podcasts and you're not that one, but other ones, and you think, what the fuck am I doing here right now? So do you have that with this podcast?

[B]

No, this is how I feel about podcasts. I generally go on these and it's like the same thing, just with another person. Sure, right. Unless there's questions that maybe haven't come up. But like, you have a routine. You talk about your career. And I wrote this, I did that. I was at the Just for let. Whatever it is. And then it's like, how many times you're gonna talk about this shit?

[A]

So.

[B]

Sometimes that's why, like, I feel a little bit like, how many times do people wanna hear me tell the same story in a different environment?

[A]

No, I get it.

[B]

I mean, when you get asked to do a podcast, what are you going, oh, fuck, I can't wait to do this. What's the vibe?

[A]

No, same as you.

[B]

Like, you went on Ciguras. What were you hoping came out of that?

[A]

That's a great question. You know, here's what happens when I go on something like Segura. I think Tom and Christina are funny. And then sometimes when I go on stuff like that, people in the comments are like, I thought he was dead. Like, I've been doing comedy so long, I go out of people's algorithms and then they don't even know I exist anymore. And I'm like, no, no, I'm bigger than ever. But just not with you, with these other people. And so, like, weirdly, like, sometimes I'm doing it. And this is probably in some ways like this for. You're bigger than any comedian in the world. But the listeners of this might not know that I know.

[B]

So what I'm sitting over here thinking is, you got people that don't know who I am. All right? Now I gotta do so phenomenal on this thing that they're gonna go, I gotta go to this guy's page and see what he's all about, Right? So I don't know a lot of the times how much new audiences I'm picking off these things, Right?

[A]

Because you. Well, first of all, you couldn't get bigger than you are. You're playing arenas for comics.

[B]

Well, listen, I have my fan base, but it's nice to like, touch other people. I think my comedy is broad enough where other people should know about it, you know, And I don't feel like I've tapped into, you know, when I look in the audience, I feel like there should be more Asians there, more black people, more whatever. Like more diverse group of people.

[A]

We don't have that here. You're not going to get that here. Here's what you're going to get. I wish you got that. Here's what you're going to get. What am I coming out of public radio listeners? You're going to get a lot. You're going to get a lot of middle aged women in funky glasses. You're gonna get.

[B]

I don't have those.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, there you go. I think, like, I mean, it's A lot of people who look like me, to be honest with you, it's a lot of 47 year old dads in Brooklyn.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

A lot of times I look at my audience and I just go, oh my God. It's like a mirror.

[B]

It is crazy. When you look in the audience, sometimes you're like you're seeing yourself or people. Like, it's like a family reunion almost. Yeah, so yes, definitely, I see that.

[A]

But interestingly with you, you do have a universality to your bits. Do you strive for it?

[B]

No, I just think that a lot of the times, you know, and also to compliment you and your team here, you do have a structure to your podcast, which I appreciate. Cause a lot of these times you sit down and like, it's like, so what's going on? You know, like, it's like, I ain't good at, like you gotta ask me shit. I'm not good at like free form conversation.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

So when you said that like, oh, what bits are you working on? And you know, we could hash em out, which I thought was really interesting because my bits aren't like written bits. They're almost like I'm living my material. And sometimes when I'm in the material, when I'm living the material, the story doesn't go further enough for me to get a full bit out of it. So sometimes that's a little bit difficult because like, oh, I wish this experience happened to me was a little bit more fruitful in the sense of comedy. And then I have to all of a sudden now come up with stuff that maybe didn't happen and it doesn't ring true. You could tell what happened and you could tell what didn't happen based on the commitment and delivery.

[A]

100%. I have that all the time. You try a bit where the ending is made up, you can see it in the audience's eyes. They know. They know. You know.

[B]

It's terrible.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, it's terrible. But yeah, that's one of the things I love about your bits is that it doesn't feel like the, the, the joke structure of everybody else. It doesn't feel like setup, punchline, tag, tag, tag. It just feels like it. The illusion of stand up comedy. He's just talking. This is Sebastian, he's just talking. And of course it's not that.

[B]

No, it's not. But yeah, story. It's more storytelling than like, I'm looking at like what you have here on the wall and it's like so foreign to me.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah, like There's a lot. I don't have any of that.

[A]

Like the joke. Note cards. Just being up there.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Which, you know, sometimes I'm like, you see other people's process and you walk in here and the first thing I said to myself as soon as I saw that wall was, should I be doing that? So mine is more like voice I do, like, recording, and then I listen to what I do on stage because a lot of it is, like, on stage type of work. And then I'll go and kind of review that. So that's kind of my note cards. But then, you know, guys like you who write and Seinfeld who, like, got notebooks and cards everywhere, I feel like, wow, that's a totally different muscle. I don't have your bits.

[A]

How do you work them out? Because you. Because you're playing arenas, obviously you can't.

[B]

I go to the comedy club.

[A]

You go to, like, the store.

[B]

The store improv. So during the week, I'll try to go maybe twice a week and like, work out some stuff. So I'm generally not working them out like this. This week in Atlantic City, I have a new bit that I'm kind of toying around with, but it's not landing the way I think I should. So I'm like, oh, should I take this out? Is it not? Because I'm always equating this to, like, these people paid money to come to see this stuff, and I don't think I should be giving them half polished material. But on the same sense, you're a little excited because you want to try it out, you know?

[A]

And also, I agree with you. I have that kind of, in a sense with every show. When I do a show that I feel like isn't a 10, I walk off and I'm angry at myself. I'm just like, what am I doing? Those people paid for. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. You go and do these shows and I don't know if you're feeling this, but, like, my, my. And I don't know if this is the business side of my brain speaking, but I am looking at my shows as a commercial for the next time I come into town. Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I have fun doing standup, don't get me wrong. But there's an added pressure now. It's like you want to do as equal to or greater than the time you. You previously came there. So it's a. It's. It's. It's hard to maintain that. It's hard to maintain.

[A]

You know, that was Like a piece of advice Lewis Black gave me when I was. I opened for him, like, 20 years ago. He goes, always give the audience more than what they expected. It's totally true.

[B]

Yeah. That's a good way to look at it.

[A]

How so? You go. When you go to, like, the store in LA with a new bit, you just have the idea of it. You have the punchlines written out.

[B]

I went to my kid's soccer game. Right. So I'll tell you what I saw at the soccer game.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I knew we were in trouble as soon as I saw the coach. He's speaking Portuguese, you know, it's just. It's all. It's all writing. It's all like, there's.

[A]

I knew we were in trouble.

[B]

Yeah. So it's just a story I came up with. This is kind of written, but kind of not if you're in soccer. If your team has to wear sunscreen. You're losing now.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

That didn't happen. That didn't happen. But I've seen that happen. You know, it didn't happen that day, but I've seen that happen.

[A]

I've never cried laughing in the show. Oh, my God. That's so funny. Oh, my God.

[B]

So these are the stories.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's a story I lived, and then I work it out that night on stage.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now, that story is not complete yet. These are one of the stories that I'm looking for an ending, too. Yeah. I'm pissed that the ending didn't happen.

[A]

While I was there. No, that's so. That is so true. It is that thing where I find, like, almost never do real stories happen with a beginning, middle, and end? And you have to be like, well, what would be the middle of that story? Yeah, you cobble. Do you cobble things together? You go, well, this happened this day at soccer. This happened this day at soccer. This. And that's one day.

[B]

Yeah. Like, I need to maybe go to a few more soccer games to come up with the ending to that. So, yeah, there is a lot of. You're pulling from different parts of your life and feeding that one story. That's why you have to live your life. And you can't always be working to come up with these things. Like, I'm gone for two and a half weeks. I'm missing not only very. I'm missing moments with my kids and my wife that I'll never get back, which also I struggle with. Like, what am I doing? What the hell am I doing in Atlantic City on a Thursday Night when my daughter is doing a recital, you know, devastating. So that's a balance of, like, how much you're going to work, how much you can spend with your family. Always struggling with that. But, yeah, that's, that's what I do. I go up and I tell stories. It's not. Again, it's. No, that's my, that's my process.

[A]

No, it's. It's the same thing for me. I, I, it's funny, I, I related to. You were talking about the thing of doing the math in your head of how old your kids are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How old you'll be. I literally had. I had that same thing and one of my specials, Old man in the Pool, where I, Where I did the math and my dad had a heart attack at 56. His dad had a heart attack at 56. And I realized that when I'm 56, my daughter will be 19. And it's just like, oh, fuck, I gotta figure this out.

[B]

Yeah. You start thinking, you wanna, like, what are you, 47?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I mean, you're younger than I am than. As far as having kids when I'm, what, What'd you say, 59? 56.

[A]

56. Yeah.

[B]

She's gonna be 19 and I'm 56. My son's gonna be 10.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So that's a, It's a whole other thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just trying to stay alive.

[A]

You look fit as hell, though.

[B]

Well, I'm, I'm a huge hypochondriac. Constantly thinking, you look great.

[A]

And then you talk about eating Italian food, cooking Italian food. I'm like, what are you talking about? What are you doing? What's the trick?

[B]

What's the trick to what? Looking.

[A]

You look fit.

[B]

First of all, it's very deceiving. My, My biceps might look larger than normal because I, I detached my bicep. Do you see this hole right here? So the one. One part of my biceps snapped off, so. Oh, my gosh, there's a hole there.

[A]

Jesus.

[B]

So when I have a sleeve on, it looks like, man, this guy's really fit. It's not. My biceps are detaching. So.

[A]

Why. Why'd you have to do that?

[B]

I didn't have to do. It happened. They snapped off.

[A]

They snapped.

[B]

It's not like I snapped off my bicep. I was sitting around the house and going, babe, I snapped my biceps.

[A]

No.

[B]

You thought it was, like a cosmetic thing. Yeah, I felt I.

[A]

People, I don't know. I saw that thing in the movie recently where someone cracked their Bones to get taller. I was like, I don't know.

[B]

No, no, no, no. This is. This is just. This is having kids at 50, lifting them up.

[A]

Oh, wow. So I love that story you tell about how you went on Fallon. You. You forgot your.

[B]

Oh, it's terrible.

[A]

Forgot your. Your jokes for 10 seconds.

[B]

Yeah. And then have you ever, like, blanked out like that?

[A]

I had it. First time I did Letterman, I was, you know, in my 20s, I did Letterman. And right before I went on, they go, do you want note cards with your jokes on? I go, yeah. And then I get on. Completely forgot everything. I mean, I. I said one joke, and then I completely forgot everything. I looked at the notes and realized, you know, so I had them. But if I didn't have them, I would have been sky high. I would have had nothing.

[B]

Yeah, I had them, and I still. I couldn't see them. Oh, I didn't even think I needed them, you know? Like, I don't know if it was five minutes.

[A]

Yeah, I know this five minutes they.

[B]

Were there, but I didn't even pay attention to, like, you know, if I could even see what the hell. Plus, I was going, like. I was. I was like. I don't know. I had such a brain freeze that I never had that happen in my life. I don't know what happened. I shut down. Completely shut down.

[A]

I related to what you were saying so much when you were talking about how you're backstage and you got family and friends and the publicist and all these people, and you're, like, making them happy, and you're not thinking about, like, oh, I have to go on and perform. I have that all the time. Like, I'm doing all these things, and you forget, like, oh, this is the job is to perform the thing.

[B]

But are you getting in, like, to a headspace backstage? You know, I often get asked, is there any preparation prior to you going on stage? Are you?

[A]

I try to. I lie down. You know what I do? I lie next to the stage. Sometimes Gary will be opening up the show. He'll be on stage, and he'll look over and he'll see me lying down, face up, looking at the ceiling of the theater, meditating.

[B]

So, like, when did that start? Like, I think, you know, the first time I came across you, I want to say, was at the Montreal Comedy Festival.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where you were. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know if you remember this. You were sick.

[A]

That rings a bell.

[B]

You had, like, a bad cold and you had to go on. I Think you were doing a one man show at the time.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Is this familiar to you?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where you came in and you, you were like, really under the weather.

[A]

Yeah, I think I was doing my girlfriend's boyfriend or maybe think upper jokes at like the Jesu Theater.

[B]

Yeah. So are you lying on the floor during that point in your career?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So this has been a thing?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Because sometimes I see, like, if I walked in, let's say I came to see you do a show and I was backstage and I was just hanging out and then you went to go lie on the floor and look at the ceiling. I go, what the. What is this guy doing? Like, I would think you were like, showing off. I know this is something so odd. Like, I know, right? Don't you look on the side and.

[A]

Go, okay, no, no. I 100% get the feeling of this guy's pretentious when he's doing his thing, but also, like, I feel the pressure of like, I gotta bring it for the show and I gotta get in the headspace.

[B]

So you've been doing this since you could remember?

[A]

Yeah, Like a decade.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it helps.

[A]

Yeah. Because I think what it does is it reminds me. Sometimes I do this thing where before I walk on, I do this ritual where I touch the floor, I touch the ceiling, or I reach for the ceiling and I would go, you're going to make fun of me so hard for this. I'm going to have to.

[B]

This is what these viral moments are all about.

[A]

I touch the floor, I tell stories from the earth, I get inspiration from the heavens. And I bend down and up and bend down and up. Oh, wow.

[B]

Again, you make me feel like I should be doing this stuff, the cards and around. And then I have it.

[A]

I'm not proud of it, I'm not proud of it. But whatever, it's real.

[B]

Whatever works.

[A]

It's real.

[B]

Whatever you need.

[A]

It gets me out of the headspace of moments ago. I was running to Starbucks and grabbing. You know what I mean? Like, it gets me out of the world and just gets me to like, okay, this is what we're doing.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

Because it's what I mean, you're performing for like 10,000 people sometimes. Often, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then is that like performing for 10 people or is that like performing for 10,000 people?

[B]

You know, I think when you get out there and there's a large group of people, there's an energy in the room that you just don't have when there's 10 people in the room.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So that there's that. But once you start, I feel like if I'm talking to 10,000 or 10, it's the same kind of thing. Yeah. It's like. It's not like I'm adjusting my act. I remember doing a club in New Jersey, Hasbrook Heights, New Jersey, called Bananas. Okay.

[A]

He did a bunch of times.

[B]

Okay, me too. Banquet hall stage was small.

[A]

Yeah, I remember.

[B]

Had bananas hanging.

[A]

Of course it did.

[B]

There's a blow up.

[A]

Did you the authentic to blow up a banana?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So.

[A]

And that's hanging off the wall. Hanging off the wall. It's like. Don't bother.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what? We're good.

[B]

I like.

[A]

We're good with no literal banana. We get it. We get it. Bananas.

[B]

They wanted to make sure you left knowing the club was called Bananas based on the decor.

[A]

The blow up banana cost $5. You don't need to do that.

[B]

Well, it took up. It took up room, too, on the stage. But anyway, performing there, obviously you can't really go over the top big with, you know, your movements just because it doesn't really fit the room. Once you move it into a larger room, you got to be a little bit more exaggerated with the movements. But that's all that really changes, though.

[A]

What is it like when you were starting out because you're. You're. Your style is so specific. What is. What was bombing like when you were starting out? Like.

[B]

Well, I didn't have a lot of the components I have now to my acts where I was very. I don't know if I want to call it shy or not. Maybe not comfortable, like, really expressing myself on stage with personal stories. I wasn't very animated. I was angry. It was like an angry comedian, you know?

[A]

Were you really?

[B]

Yeah. Like, my, My. My first line when I got on stage when I first started was the.

[A]

Week I had today.

[B]

I thought that was so funny, but that was the act. Very, very angry. Not letting people in on the joke. So it took me a while to, like, find my feet up there. So it took a good, I don't know, eight, nine years to really kind of. Okay, now I feel comfortable being myself, talking about my family, my personal experiences, you know, just like, I feel like everything is game up there.

[A]

Yeah. Why'd you go angry when you started?

[B]

I think it was a mask for me. I was kind of just disappointed in human behavior in general. And I was like, oh, I'm angry about this.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

And I didn't know any other way to express it, so I started off very angry about, like, what people were doing. And I don't know if people were buying it because it wasn't me. It was more like a mask I was putting on because I have yet to find who I was as a comedian up there.

[A]

Yeah, I think, like. I think one of the appeals of your act for someone like me is, like, in real life, I would be intimidated by you.

[B]

Yeah, I often get that.

[A]

So then when I watch you on stage being vulnerable, I'm like, I enjoy this distance from this guy.

[B]

I don't know. I don't know. I think I might have created that myself because I get that a lot with. Especially people. You know, my kids are 8 and 6. We go to school functions. A lot of people, like, you know, kind of tiptoe around me because they think I'm some sort of way. I don't know if they're thinking I'm judgmental because my ex seems to be, you know, observing human behavior and commenting on my disappointment with this. That and the other thing I told my wife, I gotta work on my, like, my resting phase seems to be.

[A]

Like, yeah, here, I'll give you a trick. You go, I tell stories from the earth. That's what I gotta say in the heavens. Yeah, yeah. You got relaxed a little bit. You worked at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. What's the strangest thing you ever witnessed there? You worked there for like, eight, seven years. Eight years.

[B]

Seven. Seven years. So I was a waiter in the Windows Lounge, which was kind of where to be as a celebrity back in 19, what, 98 through 2005 when I was there. So it was kind of like the who's who of Hollywood. Cause all the press junkets were upstairs, and then they would all come down for a drink. So you saw the first day working there, I think Julia Roberts was there. And this is a guy coming from northwest suburbs of Chicago. And next thing you know, I'm waiting on Stallone. So it was a big, big change for me. I was like, wow, I'm in Hollywood. It was kind of my introduction to Hollywood. So any crazy. I used to wait on Sean Penn a lot, which was very intense.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, you know, because you just. The stories you heard about him.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you want to make sure he got everything. You know, you used to come in, order tuna rolls, three tuna rolls. It was a big thing back then, tuna rolls, sit outside and smoke a cigarette. So I felt like I was, like, really in the mix. I waited on Al Pacino once. Yes, he was. It just Looked disheveled and he was eating little almonds and he had like his papers and he was like talking to himself. And I was like, this guy in, this guy in character, like, looked like he was studying for a role, you know, and I didn't want to bother him. I didn't want to like, interrupt his sting and, you know. More tea. More tea. I waited on De Niro, who I even told him this when I worked with him. I said, you came in, you sat down outside and you were eating the free nuts. Like, we're going out of style. Actually got upset at him in my head that he kept like, wanting more almonds. I'm like, come on, man, your third refill. But yeah, just little, like, you know, little anecdotes, stories like that. It was just a great job.

[A]

How did De Niro react when you told him that story? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

You don't get much out of him.

[A]

I I Irishman. You were an Irishman?

[B]

Yeah, IR I was with him and then I wrote a movie. Co wrote a movie with, he played my father, about my father. So I did that with him for nine weeks in Alabama. And, you know, he's very kind of, you know, to himself. Great, great guy to work with, to pick up like little acting tidbits.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which I picked up from him. He's always worried about. He calls it business. Like, what am I doing in this scene other than like talking to you?

[A]

Ye.

[B]

Because when you're acting, it's like, when you're not like doing anything, it's weird.

[A]

You know, it's like Brad Pitt eating a sandwich in the middle of scenes. You, if you notice Brad Pitt and almost everything, he's just doing something.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I didn't really pay attention to until I started working with him. But yeah, he would like, you know, they'd yell cut and he'd go back to his chair and open up a nobu. You know, like he, he wasn't like shooting the, you know, he was doing business.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's got a lot going on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you are, when you're off stage, are you ever the character Sebastian Maniscalco?

[B]

No. I think people expect that sometimes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do a meet and greet and they're like, you're like kind of quiet or whatever. It'd be weird to be walking around going, why? You know. No. So I don't generally turn into that over exaggerated form of myself when I'm talking to people. I'm presenting it in a way that's like exaggerated and oh, Jesus Christ. What do you think of that, guys?

[A]

You know why? You know why? Because you were early. You're the only guest to ever be early.

[B]

Let's explain this. I mean, like.

[A]

And it's Pete Holmes, by the way. So let's go. Hey, Pete, I'm here with Sebastian Maniscalco. Really? I am. We're on. We're on the podcast.

[B]

Ah, what fun.

[A]

Tell him his influence on Seinfeld is palpable. What the hell does that mean? It means there's a whole special after Jerry became friends with Sebastian where he got Sebastianized. It's.

[B]

It's a compliment.

[A]

Yeah, I agree with. I agree with you. I never. I never. I don't mean out of bounds. I mean, it's a.

[B]

It's a compliment.

[A]

I get it. He was.

[B]

I'm going to have fun the way he does.

[A]

Yeah. All right, buddy. Love you.

[B]

Jeez. That's it.

[A]

See ya. Support comes from Mint Mobile. You know, I used to have a wireless service that shall remain nameless because I thought it was overpriced and didn't provide coverage that I needed. Then I made the switch to Mint Mobile and I love it. I tour the country, I tour the world. I've been super satisfied with Mint Mobile's coverage. Trust me, I know what it's like to be stranded in a broken down car in the middle of nowhere. I talk about it endlessly. It's not fun. But Mint Mobile runs on The T Mobile 5G network. America's largest 5G network. I love everything about Mint Mobile. I love the coverage, obviously the price. I love the green fox that wears the glasses. This year, skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a [e-mail] perbigs that's mintmobile.com per bigs. Upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Support for working it out comes from Rula. I've talked a lot about therapy on this show before. Big advocate of it. I've been in therapy for over 20 years. Rula is an affordable online therapy platform. Finding a therapist is hard enough, but finding one who actually takes your insurance, that's a whole. That's a whole tricky thing. And it's where most online therapy platforms fall short. Many don't work with insurance at all, which means you're stuck paying the full cost out of pocket or paying for an expensive monthly subscription. Rula does things differently. With Rula, you can find the right therapist for you. Rula partners with a network of over 15,000 therapists and psychiatrists nationwide, enabling you to find your personalized solution and the right therapist for you based on your needs, preferences and state requirements. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered by Insurance. Visit rula.comburbigs to get started. After you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. Please support our podcast and let them know we sent you. That's r u l a.combrbigs you deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. Have you been to Sicily because your roots are from Sicily?

[B]

I have. I took my father there. We did a pilgrimage back to Sicily. This was about, I'd say, 13 years ago. He had never went back since he left. He left at 15 and he went back at 65. So 50 years.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Hadn't gone back. And then I have never been there. So we go back together, father and son. We're in his hometown. He's showing me these things that only that I imagined because when he used to talk about Sicily, he goes, oh, I remember playing soccer and that. We're at the soccer field and I'm seeing it. And then he learned to play ping pong at this recreation center. And we see the rec center and I'm like, oh my God, all the stories are coming to life. I'm emotional, I'm crying. I'm looking at him. Nothing, nothing coming out of this guy. And I'm like, nothing. You know, I'm sitting over here bawling and you're with your son in your hometown. And I think he was numb, he was in shock. Cause when he went back, he went back every year after we went and then became emotional going back. But I think we went to go see his old home.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And people were living there. And this is a thing in, I think the old country where you could just ring somebody's bell and go in, they'll invite you.

[A]

I used to live here. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So they were, you know, welcomed us in. And I'm seeing the kitchen where my grandmother cooked the thing. And then I saw my dad's room, a small room. And then I started to think, oh my God. Like this guy, this guy lived in a box. And he came to the United States for a better life for his family. This and that, and then, yeah, it was kind of over. Overwhelmed me with emotion, and my father was not affected by it whatsoever.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So until later.

[A]

Yeah. I haven't. I have never gone. I want to go because that's where my family's from, too.

[B]

I think you need to go. You'll come back with a.

[A]

A really good perspective and a good five minutes.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Definitely had no cards out of that trip.

[A]

No, I'll definitely go. All right. This is. This is called the slow round. What are people's favorite and least favorite thing about you?

[B]

I think the favorite thing about me that I hope people would say I'm a generous guy. And the least favorite thing is I am a little standoffish.

[A]

Mm. Where does it come from?

[B]

I've just never been the guy to make. Open up and make friends fast. So sometimes I put, like, a. Like a protective shield around me that I don't want to get to know you.

[A]

Who are you jealous of?

[B]

Who am I jealous of? Man, I can't name a person, but I could name, like, a person that has this mentality. I'm jealous of people who live in the moment. Cause I'm always thinking about what's in the future, and sometimes I forget to take in what's around me right now.

[A]

Yeah. What's something you believed 10 years ago that you don't believe now?

[B]

I didn't think 10 years ago that kids would have such a profound effect on my life. I didn't know what I was in for with kids. You know, I didn't want to have kids early on. I just, like, I thought I was never gonna be that guy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But, man, I am so glad that I did, because, I mean, the joy that they bring. I wasn't prepared for that amount of.

[A]

Joy when I didn't want to have kids. I'm like, ah, I'd be a terrible dad. And then. But now that I have a child, I'm like, oh, no, no. I'm good at this. So why. That's crazy.

[B]

How old?

[A]

She's 10.

[B]

So 10 years old. What's the grade you give yourself as a father? What are we talking here?

[A]

I would give the highest grade A. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Here. No, and here's why that's great. Look, I give myself the highest grade for effort. Highest grade for effort. There's nothing I could try harder on. It's. Of course I'm making mistakes. We're all making mistakes. We're all making mistakes. We don't even understand. We'll find out in 10, 20 years. But for effort.

[B]

Hey, you're all in.

[A]

Yeah. How about you? What grade do you give yourself?

[B]

God, you know, I give myself. I give myself an A minus, B plus. The only reason I say that is because what we just talked about, about, like, spending enough time with them at this age, because I feel this shit's gonna go by fast.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I just hope that I'm spending enough time with them that. Listen, you can't be there 24 7.

[A]

Right.

[B]

If you were, you'd probably go nuts.

[A]

It's not helping them.

[B]

Yeah. So it's just finding that balance. So it'd be plus a minus.

[A]

When's the time that you didn't apologize, but now you wish you did?

[B]

Um, just had this conversation with my father coming here, and I was meaning to apologize for the exact thing he brought up. He brought up the fact that he lives in Chicago, and I've been to Chicago with my kids, but every time I've been to Chicago with my kids, it's always been for a show or whatnot. So we stay in the city, and then he comes down to the city. He stays in a hotel with us. My kids have never been to my house growing up.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And I think that is my responsibility, and I own it. And I was meaning to apologize to. To my father for that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he brought it. This is on the way here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he brought it up to me on the way he goes. You know what I was thinking? He'd never been there with the kids, and my dad was waiting for, like, me to, like, have an argument with him about it or make excuses about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I owned it. And I think he was stunned. Like, my dad didn't even know how to. Like, he didn't even know, like, agreement was an option, you know? Like, he comes from, like, he comes from a family that. Constantly argumentative. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, my family too. My dad, I mean, he just, like, argues at fucking every turn. I don't even know how to get out of an argument. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But I.

[A]

He'll take the other side of anything.

[B]

Yeah. That's what he was expecting with me. And I said, you know what, Dad? I just had this conversation with my wife a few weeks ago. It's not right, and I'm gonna make it right. So I'm sorry that that happened. So I'm glad that it actually came up because it's something that we definitely have to do sometimes. Again, you get wrapped up in this, like, work this and that and the other thing. And he's come to LA many, many a times. Not like we don't see my dad. It's just we haven't been back to my home, which is. Some of your listeners are probably going to be like, what a fucking.

[A]

You know, I think they'll be. I don't think they'll get too mad. No.

[B]

But I'm mad at myself that I, that I. That we haven't done that.

[A]

Is there a song that makes you cry?

[B]

You know this, this song, I watched it and I cried. It was, it's called Ordinary by Alex Warren, I think his name is. And they, they paired it up with a Hulk Hogan tribute.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I was watching wrestling with my kid and at the end of the thing, they did a Hulk Hogan tribute with Ordinary on it. Right. And for whatever reason, I welled up. Got you with the imagery of Hogan because I grew up with Hogan in the 80s. And here I am watching with my son, he's dead. And then the Ordinary. And then I was balling.

[A]

That's so funny.

[B]

I'm also sensitive, which people. I'm like, I'm crying at movies. My wife isn't so.

[A]

She isn't?

[B]

No.

[A]

It's interesting. I added, this week I'm watching Gilmore Girls with my daughter. I'm crying every episode and my wife too. We're crying every episode of Gilmore Girls. Una, she's not crying. And it is kind of emotional to watch these really good actors and these really well written scenes play a mother and daughter. And when you have a. A daughter, you know, you're close with, I don't know, it's emotional. It got me. It's like Hogan for you.

[B]

Yeah. Hogan and Gilmore Girl.

[A]

That'S, that's where Sebastian and I are a little bit different from each other. Support for working it out comes from quints. Love quints. I gotta say, didn't know about Quint's before they became a sponsor on the podcast. Now one of my favorite places to shop. And by the way, fall's almost here. I'm headed to Vancouver this fall with John Mulaney, Fred Armorson, Nick Kroll. I'm going to need a sweater. Luckily, Quince has super soft, 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters starting at just $60. I'm gonna wear mine. What makes Quince different, you ask? They partner directly with ethical factories and skip the middlemen. So you get top tier fabrics and craftsmanship at half the price of similar brands. Keep it classic and cool this fall with long lasting staples from quints go to quints.com birbigs B I R B I G S for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com purbigs free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com purbigs working it out is brought to you by Helix. Gotta love Helix, one of our original sponsors. I've had my Helix mattress for five years and counting. Still as comfortable as the very first time I slept on it. As you know, I obsess about sleep. I think about it a lot. I've got a sleepwalking disorder, although pretty pretty good shape these days and I get a great night's sleep on the Helix mattress. It's always exactly the right temperature. Here's a few things I love about my Helix mattress. It shows up in a box. I've talked about this before. Getting a mattress into your house or your apartment is a huge pain. It is a very heavy item. In this case, it shows up in a box. You open the box, boom, you got a mattress. Helix mattresses are affordable, but if that's not in the cards for you right now, they also have mattress toppers. With Helix mattress toppers, you can add luxury, comfort or a personalized feel to any mattress. Here's what I think you should do. Go to helixsleep.comburbigs for 25% off site wide. That's helixsleep.com burbigs for 25% off sitewide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know that we sent you helixsleep.com for Biggs. Support for working it out comes from Hexclad. Hexclad is a new sponsor. I'm thrilled. They sent me a whole bunch of their patented hybrid cookware and it is such an upgrade from what I had in my apartment. I love it. They're heavy duty, toxin free and easy to clean. Here's the thing about cookware and knives. It's very tempting to get something cheap. I've certainly done that. But the cheap stuff, you don't know what it's made of. It's going to rust, it's going to chip. You're going to end up buying more of it, more junk. I say go with the good stuff. Don't cycle through a bunch of cheap things. Buy one good set of pots and pans. Use them forever. It's better for you, better for the environment. Plus, every hexclad Product is backed by a lifetime warranty. Take pride not just in your perfectly grilled steak, but in the exceptional tools you use to create it. For a limited time, get 10% off Hexclad with our exclusive link hexclad.com Burbigs support the show and cook with gear as serious as your passion at h e-x C-L-A-.com burbigs let Hexclad know we sent you and experience the ultimate upgrade in your kitchen with hexclad's superior performance. All right, so this is the material section of the show. This. This I wrote down because it reminded me a little bit of. Of you ranting on things, which is, there are rats in our ceiling right now. And we had the pest control people come over, and the guy comes over and he's like, we're going to put poison in the ceiling. And my wife goes, I don't think we want poison in our ceiling. And it's this bizarre moment where this guy's looking at me going, what are we doing here? Like, all I do is poison in the ceiling. That's. That's what we do. We do traps in the ceiling. We do poison in the ceiling. And I'm just like, I have to take her side and be like, nope, no poison in the ceiling. So I'm taking this crazy stance that makes no sense. And. And so what I wrote down as a possible bit is I wrote, my wife has a very strict catch and release policy with animals and insects. Or I should say, very strict my husband will catch and release policy with insects and animals. If I got eaten by a swarm of rats whom I was trying to catch and release, she would be upset. But I believe she'd have the strength to carry on and marry a new husband who would catch and release the rats who had just eaten my body. But it is like I'm trying to break open a thing right now about, about the rats in our ceiling because my wife somehow is under the delusion that, like, the rats are going to go away without the things that the professional rat away people have recommended.

[B]

Yeah. So she's. She's against poison. Or. I'll give you. I'll give you this. Maybe you could work this in. Cause I had the same problem. So we're having a kitchen remodel, so they had to break open the ceiling. And they go, you got rat droppings up there? And I said, well, what are we doing? He goes, I'm gonna bring out a rat guy. So the rat guy comes Out. And he goes, I found a plate up there. So what the fuck, you know, how long they been up there that they're bringing up fucking utensils and plates and whatnot. So if you could maybe. Maybe you have a discussion with your wife going, they got a whole ecosystem up there.

[A]

Totally.

[B]

Right. They moved in. This is not like you're just passing through.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

There's plates, there's silverware. Well, that.

[A]

Cause that's the thing about rats, though, is the experts say in hundreds of years from now, the planet very well could be rats and cockroaches. And I feel like I can imagine a scene where in the future there's rats in a circle holding hands, giving thanks for all the husbands who agreed with their wives when the wives said they shouldn't put poison in this. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. No, they eradicate these things. Forget the wife, just.

[A]

No, you're right.

[B]

Man up.

[A]

Yeah, Bear.

[B]

And just tell your wife we're getting rid of these. Because if they stay, these things populate. I mean, these. They'll reproduce. Before you know it, they'll. They'll take over the home. So we kill or that's it. I mean, there's no other. What are we gonna do? Hold her hands out the door?

[A]

After we record the podcast, I'm gonna bring you downstairs. I'm gonna have you man up with my wife. She won't be intimidated at all if I bring this intimidating stranger into our home who demands that she kill the rats. No. That seems all right, though. I feel like. No, I think you're right. I think I gotta be tougher.

[B]

Yeah, you gotta lay down the law.

[A]

What is. Do you have any bits that are kind of half formed right now or premises?

[B]

Yeah, I have a bit about. I just got a colonoscopy three weeks ago, and I Working through the bit, it's. I can't come up with the end after the colonoscopy happens. There's a couple of jokes in there leading up to me going under with the anesthesia. One being the fact that I also had an endoscopy, which is down the throat, which I didn't know that was going to happen. I thought everything was up the ass and one went one way and I didn't know I was going down the throat. Something about getting an email prior to this. Like, do you ever get emails and go watch the video so you know how the process goes?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And I never watch the videos.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then I'm often surprised when I get there that that it was in the video.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's really funny of like, you get. You get an email and it's something like, we're gonna put a tube down your throat. Like, I think that that's a funny.

[B]

Yeah. And you don't see it. So when they told me, open your mouth, I said, for what? And then they put like a ball gag in my mouth to keep it open, and they strapped it to my head. And again, this probably was all in the email, but as. As I'm sitting there with my ass open and a ball gag in my mouth, all this happens. And then I don't have a finisher. Like, I wake up and.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think you got to think about, like, what did it feel like when you woke up?

[B]

Well, it felt like I had something up my ass and down my throat and I had no idea that even happened. I mean, there was no, like, you know, I didn't walk out of there going, or I didn't, like, feel sore. There was no, like.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Residual indication that those things occurred.

[A]

Those things had occurred. Yeah. Yeah. The thing that you were saying about soccer earlier is that a bit that.

[B]

You'Re doing, the soccer is a bit that I'm doing that is not completed yet.

[A]

That is so damn funny. Is it that. Do your kids both do soccer?

[B]

No, my son does soccer. And also there's an element there that I'm an older father and the younger fathers. Today, I feel just a week, you know, like early 30s, like a weak guy, you know? Like what I did with my son at the end of the game is I said, we're gonna dribble the ball from the soccer field back to the car.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

On the sidewalk. If it falls off the sidewalk, I want you to give me five pushups.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So that type of like, mentality is very.

[A]

Yeah. You're the only guy doing that, dude. Trust me. You're the only guy doing that. Yeah, I do it with swim practice. It's like, nobody. If some parent were like, you're doing five push ups, if you don't. If you forget your towel. People like you, they. They send you to child service.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. The guy, the guy looked at me like, this is abuse. But I look at it as just, you know, I don't know, it's like 80s style parenting. Right? There's like consequence.

[A]

But you know what's funny is like, I. It's almost like possibly we talk about having these bits where it's like, you Have a thing, but then you don't have a place for it to go. Which happens a lot of times for comics. And I feel like even like talking at that bit. The rats bit with you. And you're like, you gotta man up. It's almost like I need to in the bit be like. So then my friend Sebastian was like, you gotta man up. And then the joke is what my reaction is to that friend who's insane. And yours is like, I'm, you know, in soccer practice. My friend Mike says, blah, blah, blah. Like, that's child services, kind of. And I'm like, you're insane. Like, it's like you and I need each other as foils in our bits.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Because maybe we're surrounded by too many people who are like ourselves. It's what's funny about it is the contrast of people's takes on it. The idea of me saying to my wife, like, I have to man up and we're putting rat poison in the ceiling. That's not gonna fly at all.

[B]

Yeah. But I wonder if I said it.

[A]

If it would fly if you said it would not fly at all. We'll call the cops.

[B]

Okay. Screwed. We got rats.

[A]

Last thing we do is working out for a cause. Is there a non profit that you like to contribute to? We will contribute to them.

[B]

Well, I have my own little charity. It's called Tag Uret. And we support children's education, veterans, and Alzheimer's disease.

[A]

Fantastic.

[B]

So it's three things that are pretty close to my wife and I and what we feel strongly about. So we self fund it. It's not like, you know, we have a board.

[A]

Can people contribute? Can I contribute? Okay, yeah.

[B]

It's called Tagg. It's on my website. That's very sweet of you.

[A]

We will. We will contribute to Tag. You're it. And Sebastian, thank you so much for coming.

[B]

Thanks for reaching out, man.

[A]

We're gonna go down and explain to my wife about the rat poison and the traps right now.

[B]

I want to get that on video. So we could just maybe slice that in here.

[A]

That's gonna do it for another episode of Working It Out. You can follow Sebastian Maniscalco on Instagram. Instagram at Sebastian Comedy. You can watch the full video of this episode on our YouTube channel @Mike Birbiglia. I don't think I'm looking my best today, I'll be totally honest with you. But you can watch it and gloat. Mike is not looking good today, but we got actually, it is a good one. Visually to watch because there because Sebastian physically is very funny when he acts out bits. And he had me laughing also he had me laughing and crying at one point. Like literally I was crying laughing at him, just riffing on a random thing. So that's all on our YouTube channel. Check out brevigs.com to sign up for the mailing list. To be the first to know about my upcoming shows, you know, our producers of Working it out are myself, along with Peter Salomon, Joseph Verbiglia, Mabel Lewis and Gary Simons. Sound mix by Shub Sarah and supervising engineer Kate Balinsky. Special thanks to Jack Angeloff and Bleachers for that music. Special thanks as always to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein and our daughter Oona, who built the original radio fort made of pillows. You know, we did those jokes and poems shows recently at Joe's Pub and we're gonna be posting one soon for November. So join the mailing list to be the first to know about that and follow me on Instagram urbigs. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy the show, rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts and just say which one you like best. That helps people find a starting point through these 180 some odd episodes. Which by the way are all free. No paywall. You can be a premium subscriber, but also you can just be a regular listener who doesn't pay for anything. And it's all free. Thanks most of all you who are listening. Tell your friends, Tell your enemies. Let's say you're at your child's soccer game and you see the other team putting on sunscreen. You can go over and say, hey look, you're probably going to lose this game. I'm sorry to have to inform you you might lose, but when you're driving home, here's something that might pick up your spirits. There's a podcast by a comedian, Mike Birbigli. It's called Working It Out. He works out jokes and talks through premises and ideas with other comedians and creatives. That might smooth things over a little bit with those sunscreen wearing losers. Thanks everybody. We're working it out. We'll see you next.