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

Summary

Podcast Summary: Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out

Episode 192: Leanne Morgan – In The Presence of a Comedy Angel
Original Airdate: November 17, 2025
Host: Mike Birbiglia
Guest: Leanne Morgan

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Overview

In this heartwarming and hilarious episode, Mike Birbiglia sits down with comedian and actor Leanne Morgan, fresh off her hit Netflix special Unspeakable Things and starring/sitcom creator status. The two comedians delve into Leanne’s nontraditional path to comedy—including her roots in Tennessee, her late-blooming success, and balancing a career with family life. Packed with stories, reflections on authenticity, fame, parenting, and the unique fabric of Southern culture, this episode is a celebration of self-discovery, resilience, and humor that “tells everything.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Leanne’s Distinctive Southern Voice—and The Misconceptions About It

• [00:01] Mike opens by asking if people think Leanne exaggerates her accent for comedic effect. Leanne shares that it frustrates her:
  • “If I were gonna fake one, I don't know, this would be it.” (Leanne, 00:09)
• The conversation sets the scene for Leanne’s commitment to authenticity.

2. The Pressure (and Perplexity) of Sudden Fame

• [03:20] Leanne describes how her first Netflix special’s success was a shock, adding pressure but never reducing her anxiety before each release.
  • “Every time something comes out, I'm freaked out.” (Leanne, 03:20)
• Both discuss imposter syndrome and the fear of missing something that might upset audiences.
• [04:06] Leanne reflects on discovering her perfectionism only in her creative work.

3. Southern Upbringing, Family, and Finding Comedy Later in Life

• [06:21] Leanne outlines her journey: UT Knoxville, marriage to “Chuck Morgan,” moving to small-town Tennessee, and the origins of her comedy career in door-to-door jewelry sales—a substitute for traditional comedy clubs.
  • “It was like my own little comedy club. But I had all these women that I could talk to...” (Leanne, 08:05)
• She navigated motherhood, a spouse who traveled for work, and club gigs, often just a few per year, filling in with fundraisers and corporate shows.

4. Outsider Status in Comedy

• [11:04] Leanne admits to feeling like an industry outsider until recently, despite decades in comedy.
  • “I felt completely out of the loop and felt like the uncoolest goober until recently.” (Leanne, 11:23)
• Discusses the isolation of being a mother in Knoxville with little local comedy scene and the difficulty of breaking through despite distinctive material.

5. Parental Influence, Beauty, and Authenticity

• [13:02] Leanne credits her mother with instilling both confidence and quirky beliefs:
  • “You’re going to be a movie star because you've got blonde hair all over your body like Marilyn Monroe. And that makes people photo well.” (Leanne, 13:35)
• Discussion of Steel Magnolias and the authenticity of Hollywood portrayals of the South.
• Southern gossip—Leanne shares family gossip and how the gentle, comedic style of Southern women shaped her.

6. Advice for Aspiring Comedians in Small Towns

• [17:11] Mike asks for advice for would-be comedians without a local scene.
  • Leanne: Stage time is what matters, whether at open mics, club nights, or fundraisers, even if they’re small—“I think that's the best training.” (17:18)

7. Early Jokes & Family as Comedy Fuel

• Shares her first big laugh:
  • “…saw a family drive up in a Gremlin with the wind out and a nine year old smoking a cigarette who said, can I get a light off of you, Meemaw. And I quit that night and went home and got pregnant.” (Leanne, 18:30)
• Her self-deprecating, candid style weaves throughout the conversation.

8. Honesty, Family, and Oversharing in Comedy

• [20:17] Leanne on being open about personal life (e.g., getting her breasts redone for her grandkids): “I tell everything.” (Leanne, 20:17)
• Mike asks if she ever runs material past family; only once did Chuck object, not wanting to appear like a bad provider.

9. Hopes and Realities of Fame

• [26:36] Leanne reflects on the realities of late-in-life success:
  • “Now that I know a little bit about fame, I thought it was going to be different than this. It's fun, don't get me wrong...but it's not everything it's cranked up to be.” (Leanne, 26:36)
• Discusses the loss of private time, constant work, and the new pressure of responsibility for the livelihoods of others on her show.

10. Motherhood, Grandparenting, and Parenting Philosophy

• [41:23] Leanne discusses parental worries being a constant theme:
  • “I always look through that lens, you know, of behavior and all that. But I thought about, what if I wrote about the things I did right and the things I did wrong?” (Leanne, 41:23)
• She describes her parenting style as fun and loving, if sometimes less strict about schoolwork, and honest about her failures to model forgiveness.

11. Plans for New Material

• [40:45] Mike and Leanne discuss writing processes and the possibility of her next special having a theme about “right and wrong” in parenting—potentially even as a book.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On accent authenticity:

  • Leanne: “If I were gonna fake one, I don't know, this would be it.” (00:09)

• On being an outsider:

  • Leanne: “I felt completely out of the loop and felt like the uncoolest goober until recently.” (11:23)

• On honesty in comedy:

  • Leanne: “I tell everything.” (20:17)

• On the realities of fame:

  • Leanne: “Now that I know a little bit about fame, I thought it was going to be different than this… it's not everything it's cranked up to be.” (26:36)

• On parenting and forgiveness:

  • Leanne: “I would be like, can you take her in the bank and twist her arm when nobody's looking?... I should have, because they would forgive… and I'd still hold on to stuff I shouldn't have held on to.” (43:20)

• On the South’s unique gossip culture:

  • Leanne: “Southern women are eccentric… but in a sweet way, you know, like, ‘Well, she can't help it. Her ankles are swollen. Look at her feet. She's retaining fluid.’” (16:13)

• On fame creating responsibility:

  • “I feel like I’m letting people down all the time…And I feel responsible for everybody at the same time.” (Leanne, 28:58)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• Accents and authenticity: 00:01–00:10
• Pressure of a successful special: 03:20–04:11
• Origin story: Jewelry parties to comedy: 06:21–09:04
• Feeling like an outsider in comedy: 11:04–12:50
• Southern family and early material: 13:02–18:30
• Parental influence and Southern culture: 13:02–16:13
• Advice to small-town comics: 17:11–18:18
• Honesty and family boundaries in comedy: 20:17–21:23
• Fame and feeling responsible: 26:36–29:05
• Parenting philosophy and mistakes: 41:23–44:45
• Plans for next special or book: 44:45–45:30

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Working Out for a Cause

([45:43])
Leanne’s chosen non-profit: Food Bank for New York

• Leanne’s daughter works at the Food Bank, and Leanne discusses how much good these organizations do for the community.
• Mike encourages listeners to donate, highlighting how efficiently food banks stretch their funds.

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Tone & Takeaway

Leanne Morgan’s wit, warmth, and candor shine throughout. The tone remains playful and good-natured, with plenty of honest vulnerability (“I tell everything”) and Southern charm. This episode is a must-listen for fans of stand-up, anyone considering a late start in comedy, or those who love stories about overcoming self-doubt and embracing idiosyncrasies.

Memorable closing:

“Being with you makes me wish that I'd paid attention in school.” (Leanne, 46:45)

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For More

• Watch Leanne Morgan’s special “Unspeakable Things” on Netflix.
• Support the Food Bank of New York.
• Follow @LeanneMorganComedy on Instagram.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

Is there anything. Do people ever. Because your accent is strong. Strong's other accent, people ever go like, are you playing this up?

[B]

Oh, they do it all the time. And that frustrates me because I think if I were gonna fake one, I don't know, this would be it.

[A]

That is the voice of the great Leanne Morgan. Yes, Leanne Morgan is here. I was thrilled to have her on. I wanted to have her on forever. She's a great stand up comic and actor. She has a great new Netflix special. It's like number one on Netflix right now. It's called Unspeakable Things. She co created and stars in the sitcom Leanne, which is also on Netflix. She is a Netflix star. She's a fascinating person. Really interesting career path. We really get into that today. I've got some new shows coming up. If you heard my episode with my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, a couple weeks ago, you'll be excited to know that we're doing our show, which we call Jokes and Poems at Joe's Pub in New York City. It is sold out. Sold out right away. But we created a new texting mailing list so that you will be the first to know and it won't go to your spam. You text Birbigs B I R B I G s to the phone number 917-444-7150 and then you will be texted the next time we do Jokes and Poems, which I think we're doing in a couple months. Also, I will be appearing in the Broadway show all out from January 13th through 18th alongside Cecily Strong and Wayne Brady and others. All out is of course written by the great Simon Rich, who wrote for SNL and has written for the New Yorker and has written all kinds of great humorous books. It is a follow up to all in, which was a hit show on Broadway last year with John Mulaney and Nick Kroll and Lynn Miranda and others. I'm thrilled to be a part of it for a week in January. You can get [e-mail] by the way, thanks to everyone who has signed up for Working It Out Premium on Apple Podcasts. If you do that, you get no ads. You get some great bonus episodes. We did one that I love where I punch up people's jokes and listeners jokes. I'm doing another one with Pete Holmes next week. That'll be fun. That'll be on the premium feed. This is a great conversation with Leanne Morgan. We talk about growing up in the South. She's from Tennessee. We talk about her first time on stage at Zany's in Nashville. Great comedy club. She's just had a really unconventional career. She used to sell jewelry door to door. We talk about that and how she found her way to stand up comedy. Very inspiring chat today. Very funny. Enjoy my conversation with the great Leanne Morgan.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you, my angel, for having me.

[A]

Are you kidding me? Thank you. Your special. So good.

[B]

Honest, Mike. I care about what you think. I really do.

[A]

I love it. I called everyone I knew this morning to tell them how much I liked it. I called Sarah at Netflix, who's the publicist there. I was like this special so good. I called Greg Warren, our mutual friend, and said it's so good. He goes, I was on tour with Leanne when she was working on that hour.

[B]

Well, you know, my first one was a shock that even Netflix let me have one. And then when it did so well, now I feel pressure. I mean, I didn't expect that one to do that well. And then now I feel even more pressure, but every time something comes out, I'm freaked out. Do you feel that way?

[A]

Yeah, no, for sure. I get freaked out the last second. What if there's something I'm not thinking of that people are gonna hate? Do you ever have that?

[B]

Uh huh. I do.

[A]

If there's a thing that I missed it and it's terrible and I didn't notice. I feel like that's my recurring nightmare about the specials.

[B]

Yeah, I have that. And I have a million other things that I sit and toil over. I do.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I didn't think of myself as a perfectionist in any other part of my life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But this and that. Freaked out. Yeah.

[A]

No, it's so good. I was surprised at how much you evoke Satan.

[B]

Well, I am a grandmother.

[A]

Yeah. Satan, God, you're like when you talk about you're in Atlanta shooting a movie with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell and then someone asked you to go to a strip club, which is at the. I think the Claremont.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And you were concerned that it was going to feel. Have the presence of Satan.

[B]

The presence of Satan, Mike, doesn't Satan hang out in strip clubs?

[A]

I would think very possibly. I mean, if Satan exists. If Satan exists, that's definitely a hang.

[B]

And I'm already, you know, a prude.

[A]

I mean, when I.

[B]

And when I say that, people ask me all the time, they go, do you mind people cussing? And you're clean. Do you mind people cussing or doing it I love Dave Chappelle. I love. I don't mind all that. I really don't. It doesn't offend me, but. But I'm a mother, you know, I'm a grandmama and a mother.

[A]

How many grandkids do you have?

[B]

Two boys.

[A]

Wow. So you. Okay, so your take on, on cursing is you don't do it, but you don't mind?

[B]

You don't mind it, but I don't mind it. Oh, no. And I think people are so funny and yeah, I don't mind it one bit. I just don't do it, I think because when I started this 25 years ago, I had little bitty children and I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want my little children to say.

[A]

That makes sense.

[B]

I still don't want them to say it. But my baby says God's words.

[A]

She's here with us. Tess. She's here because she's your makeup artist also.

[B]

She's my makeup artist and now she says she's my caregiver and she did not ask for that. I've become kind of sissy. I hope I don't get like Mariah Carey and I can't even walk across the floor.

[A]

Is that right?

[B]

You know, she's got men. Do you notice that? She's got men on each side carrying her. I thought, am I gonna be like Mariah Carey? I can't even open up a bag of pretzels. I'm weak. I think that happens in menopause.

[A]

So when you started, you started in Knoxville, Tennessee?

[B]

I started really in Austin, Texas, at the Cap City Comedy Club.

[A]

Oh, did you really?

[B]

Uh huh. I was piddling. I'd like to say I was piddling before that, but there wasn't a comedy club around. Like, I went to the University of Tennessee and there was a comedy club. I had no idea. I was not. I was too scared to even try something like that at that point. When I was in college and I was lost and I was an idiot, I never knew there was a comedy club. I didn't go to a comedy club. Nothing. But all of my life, from the time I was little, I thought, I'm going into show business.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

And I love comedy. I love standup and I watched Johnny Carson and I watched all the comedians and I loved Richard Lewis and Jay Leno and David Letterman and, you know, anybody. But I don't know, I was just flailing around, not knowing, you know, didn't have the confidence to try something like that, you know, to get in a car and go to LA at 18 with $60 in your pocket like people say I could. I never, it never crossed my mind, right. But I married their daddy, Chuck Morgan. And then I.

[A]

You always say that it's special. Why do you say his full name?

[B]

My little mama has always called my daddy Jimmy Fletcher. And so I just always said Chuck Morgan. But also have a boy, Charlie, my oldest child. And I have a grandbaby that all named. So I just, you know, differentiate all the Chucks and my wife, Chuck Lorre. Say, I got Chuck Lori, he's the.

[A]

Producer of your sitcom.

[B]

So I go, Chuck Morgan. But I also mean it in a, you know, cause he frustrates me. Right. But he gives me a lot of material.

[A]

Yeah, he does, he does. You guys have been together 30 something years?

[B]

Uh huh, yes. And so he moved me to Bean Station, Tennessee, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I had my first baby. And I tell everybody I really feel like I got started in comedy. I started selling jewelry like Mary Kay. I had a degree, I had a college degree, but I wanted to breastfeed and be at home. But I needed a little money, my own side hustle. So I started selling jewelry like women sell Mary Kay in people's homes. And I honest to goodness, it was like my own little comedy club. But I had all these women that I could talk to and some of the first material I had came out of those jewelry parties. But then we moved to San Antonio and I worked that River Center. Did you ever work in the mall? River Center? It wasn't fun.

[A]

No.

[B]

And then I would drive back and forth and do Cap City Comedy Club. But that's where I then I, you know, said, I'm a comedian.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they were 3, 5 and 7 when I started working clubs. And Brian Dorfman, he was one of my best friends in this business and my concert promoter at Outback Concerts. He took me into his office and said, len, I think you got something. He said that to me, but he said, this is going to be hard with a mama with three little children to do clubs. Wow.

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

And he was right.

[A]

He's right, he's right.

[B]

I was mad, but he was right.

[A]

It is hard, right? Must have been like nearly impossible. And I think about how busy you are.

[B]

Oh, and Chuck Morgan has always climbed the corporate ladder and is executive for a company. And so he was gone. It was up to me to raise these children and I wanted to raise them. So I just had to carve out a different path than Most than, you know, people, boys that'll do clubs. I wanted to do clubs, and I did them, but, you know, like five or six a year. That would maybe book me twice a year. And then I would fill in with. I did breast cancer fundraisers.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

I did corporate. Private little corporate things. What anybody would let me do.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you want to quit ever?

[B]

In my early 50s, I just turned 60.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

This month.

[A]

Happy birthday.

[B]

Thank you, my darling. I feel good. I'm glad to be alive and have my health. At first, I thought it was going to kill me. I thought, 60. When did this happen? But I. I'm good. I'm okay.

[A]

60. 60 is new. 50.

[B]

60 is the new 50. 30 something.

[A]

You don't look a day over 50. You don't look a day Over 40. What is this?

[B]

I don't know about that. Thank you. I thought I would have hit it bigger when I was younger and thinner, but that's okay.

[A]

Right back at you over here. Still waiting.

[B]

Oh, my darling. I said you're my Elvis. My girlfriend's boyfriend.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Loved it.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

Loved it.

[A]

Did you have a definitive moment in your career where you thought, I'm on the outside, and then I feel like I'm on the inside, Honey, just recently.

[B]

You let me be on here, and sweet. Neil Brennan let me be on hands. I love him. And Marc Maron had me on. I know.

[A]

Sweet.

[B]

I felt completely out of the loop and felt like the uncoolest goober until recently. And Nate Borgheszzi and I talk about this, and he'll go, I've never been one of the cool kids. I go, well, then you need a therapist, because we think you're a cool kid. But I think being a mama in Knoxville, really, I was isolated because it wasn't a comedy scene there. There were side splitters. Side splitters. There was one in Tampa and one in Knoxville. They shut it down, but I used to work that. And then I do the Bijou and the Tennessee Theater there. But what was I saying? I just lost my being on the.

[A]

Outside versus being on the inside.

[B]

Oh, yes, honey, I'm showing that. I turned 60. Okay. I would. In Austin, Texas. They loved me. They were good to me and believed in me. Margie Cole and Rich Miller, that owned it. Dennis Miller's brother owned it. And they would get me to audition for JFL and Aspen and Comedy Central would come through there all the time, and I never got anything. And I would think, but I'm unique. I got on a Capri with birds on it. And a kitten heel and I'm talking about my stuff.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And weight watchers. Nobody else is.

[A]

Everybody's marijuana.

[B]

Yeah. I thought, I'm so what? Why don't they want me? But they never did.

[A]

I think one of the things when I watch your standup is it's so unique, it's so definitively you. Is there some. Was there someone in your life who encouraged you to be yourself?

[B]

My mom. Lo sale and just always. And this is so Southern women. But everything is also about beauty. And you know, and she didn't put us in pageants or anything, but I've got a beautiful sister who's older than me. And we. It was always like, were you the prettiest one there? I would get back from somewhere where y' all were the prettiest. And then. But she would say, you're so funny. And you. And you can be. She also told me this. You're going to be a movie star because you've got blonde hair all over your body like Marilyn Monroe. And that makes people photo whale. And in my mind, in my little country mind, I thought, oh well, of course I'm going to make it. I've got blonde hair on my body.

[A]

That's ridiculous.

[B]

I took it very seriously. But she always, yeah, you can do anything. You're going to. You can do anything. You're the smartest one.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

I know this is not one of.

[A]

The questions, but it just occurred to me when you. Have you ever seen Steel Magnolias?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Did you, when you saw that, were you like, that feels familiar?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Or does that feel fake?

[B]

No, that one felt very familiar.

[A]

A lot of Hollywood depictions of the south feel fake probably.

[B]

And that one felt right to me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Because there's always a beauty shop. I was raised in a beauty shop where everybody, you know, and they talk about people, Right?

[A]

They talk about people.

[B]

Uh huh.

[A]

A lot of gossip.

[B]

A lot of gossip. And Southern women are eccentric.

[A]

What's the best piece of gossip you heard when you were younger? You don't have to name names, obviously. You look like you're full of gossip right now. Like your face, you don't know which way to go. You have hundreds of gossip.

[B]

But I remember when they told me that my aunt, my aunt and uncle, I won't say their names, they are no longer with us. But they said, oh yeah, they had an affair. They were married to other people, but I'd only known them and they were like, oh yeah, they had an affair.

[A]

And then they were married additionally to Other people, like, at the same time?

[B]

No, not big. Not that, but they were like, oh, yeah, they. And I was little and my grandmother's like, oh, yeah, they had an affair and then they got married, but then my uncle had an accident with another woman.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And got the money from that accident. And they live. They both live. And.

[A]

Wait, what's the accident?

[B]

Somebody ran over them, like, with a tractor trailer. Ran into him.

[A]

I'm sorry, I thought you meant a different type of accident. And then.

[B]

Oh, like somebody we or something.

[A]

No, no, I thought you meant they had a baby. There was an extra baby.

[B]

There's probably like.

[A]

It was an acc. Yeah, you had a lot of babies, but that's what I thought you meant. No, he ran over him with a tractor trailer and he got a lot of money from it. Okay. Wow.

[B]

And I rather. I wish she hadn't told that, but. Oh, yeah, there was always like, you know, so and so.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But in a sweet way, you know, like. Well, she can't help it. Her ankles are swollen. Look at her feet. She's retaining fluid.

[A]

You know, you still gossip. Yeah, who doesn't?

[B]

It's a sin, Mike.

[A]

Is it a sin?

[B]

It is, but I enjoy it.

[A]

No, I know I don't.

[B]

Well, I tell you what, I now what I. What I do, which is terrible, but I with other comedians, like, what do you think about so and so? How do you think they're doing? What do you think? And that's jealousy?

[A]

No, of course. Well, first of all, it's gossip initiation. It's like step one, gossip is what do you think of this person? And then it's like seeing how much the person will engage with the gossip. But you feel it's funny. Going back to the being inside versus outside, you probably felt like for years you were outside of the gossip.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And now you're on the inside of the gossip.

[B]

I am kind of on the inside of the gossip.

[A]

I have to ask a question because you started in Tennessee, in Texas, in places that don't necessarily have huge comedy scenes. And I feel like people who listen to this podcast sometimes are going, I live in a small town. There's not a comedy scene. I want to be a comedian. How do I start? What would you say to that person?

[B]

Well, now I would say I still did open mic. You know, like in Texas, you got to go to a horrible, horrifying open mic and do that.

[A]

They're everywhere.

[B]

Uh huh. And they are. And even in Knoxville, like, I'm not in that anymore. Cause we don't have a club there, but it's all like, you can go to Facebook and, you know, find a little group. And Greg Warren and I were talking about that, that in any little town they've like in Birmingham, Alabama. Somebody was asking us about Birmingham, of course that there's always these little one nighters and these things you could go to. And I think that, I think that's the best training. To me, I would tell. Just because you don't have a big club or something, I don't think that matters. I think it's stage time.

[A]

Did you. What was your first joke that hit with people? Do you remember? Or your first, like couple of jokes where it was like where you're like, oh, this is working.

[B]

I think when I said that, Chuck, if I can remember it, Chuck Morgan bought a used mobile home business and wanted me in sales. And I did that day until I saw a family drive up in a Gremlin with the wind out and a nine year old smoking a cigarette who said, can I get a light off of you? Meemaw. And I quit that night and went home and got pregnant. That was a good one.

[A]

That's a good run.

[B]

Yeah, that was a good little run because we were in a used mobile home business and all that. I saw a nine year old smoking a cigarette and lit it off for Meemaw.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And so there was a sense of like, yeah, I think I want to have a family.

[B]

I think that I was trying to cope.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I tell stuff I probably shouldn't tell.

[A]

Oh, yeah, so do I. I just.

[B]

Said on the Today show yesterday or the day before yesterday that I got my breast redone because I didn't. My breast implants because I didn't want my little grandchildren to see me in a coffin. And thank you. Did grandmama do nasty. I mean like exotic dancing or something because those breasts had gotten so fat through menopause. And People magazine picked it up.

[A]

Oh my God.

[B]

They've never done anything on me.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And then all the.

[A]

You got to give them the good stuff. Yeah, yeah. You got to. You got to give them the real juice. You got to give them the tea. That's what People magazine runs with.

[B]

Oh, Lord, I regret that.

[A]

Yeah. But who cares, right?

[B]

It doesn't mean I did get them done.

[A]

Yeah. Who cares?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It seems like your, your thing is just like, well, what's. Why keep this stuff a secret?

[B]

I tell everything.

[A]

Yeah, so do I. What's the point?

[B]

I know. I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with that? I like to be honest.

[A]

Do you ever have to run stuff by your family because you're like, this is maybe too far?

[B]

Yeah, I do. They do see it. They know what I talk about. And they say, you know, nobody's ever said no.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But one time, Chuck Morgan, early on said something like, I don't want you saying that. And it was when here we are, back with my breasts. But I had nursed three children, I needed my breasts done. And I sat on stage early on, and he's in the mobile home business. I said, I'd like to get my breasts done, but it's been a bad mobile home year.

[A]

And he said, that's bad for business.

[B]

And he said, well, he just said, it's been a bad mobile home year. That goes up and down that business, like real estate. And I said. He said to me, leanne, I've always been able to provide for you and I can write a check for your breasts right now. So he said, I don't want people to think that I'm not a good provider. He values himself as a provider.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I never said that again until now. And now I say it on all kinds of places.

[A]

Is there anything. Do people ever. Because your accent is strong. Strong's other accent. People ever go like, are you playing this?

[B]

Huh? Oh, they do it all the time. And. And that frustrates me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I think if I were going to fake one, I don't know, this would be it.

[A]

Foreign support for working it out comes from Quince. Oh, man, I love Quince. This year I've talked a lot about Quince's summer and fall collections. You must be thinking, that's all they have, right? Surely they don't have a winter and holiday collection. Guess what? They do. They've got my old standby, the 50 Mongolian cashmere sweater. And for the cold weather, they have wool coats that are equal parts stylish and durable. You got a layer, everybody. You're not going to get better layers anywhere else than Quince. Throw on a Mongolian cashmere sweater. Then put the wool coat over that. What's that? It's snowing. Maybe trade the wool coat for Quince's responsible down hooded parka. I've got one of those parkas. They are excellent. So now you've got an outfit that's stylish, high quality, affordable and best of all, ethically made. They don't call it the responsible down hooded parka for nothing. Give and get. Timeless holiday staples that last the whole Season with quint. Go to quint.combrbigs for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada as well. That's Q-U I N C E.com brbigs free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com brbigs working it out is brought to you by Aura Frames. Aura frames are digital picture frames and I have a bunch of these that display a rotating collection of photos that you can upload and manage directly from your phone. We have one in our bedroom and it's got photos of my family. It's got photos from trips over the years. The holiday season is here. These are a great gift. You know how you have people in your life, you don't know what the heck to buy for them because they sort of get the things that they need. And you go, that person has everything. This is the gift. Get some Aura frames, load them up with photos of you and that person. You can upload unlimited free photos and videos. You just download the Aura app, connect it to WI fi. You can also preload photos to your aura frame before it ships. That means when your loved ones open the box, it's already ready for display with the photos. For a limited time, visit auraframes.com and get $45 off Aura's best selling Carver Matte frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code WIO at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code WIO for working it out. This exclusive Black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year, so order now before it ends. Support this show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. This is the slow round. What are people's favorite and least favorite thing about you?

[B]

Oh, goodness, Mike. Least favorite. Maybe this baby ought to answer that. Do you think I can't open a pickle jar anymore? What do you think I'm pitiful? Is this in general? Yeah. You're getting pretty weak mentally and physically. Where, like, she can't drive anymore. I can. I'm just kind of, you know, a big deal.

[A]

Mike, your daughter's pregnant.

[B]

I got a lot on me and.

[A]

I gotta think, okay, your daughter's pointing out in the room here that you don't drive anymore.

[B]

I can drive and I do drive. It's just she drives me on the road in between cities.

[A]

That feels fair, though. That feels fair.

[B]

Cause I've gotta work.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

She said she drives me to my doctor's appointments, but I can't drive okay.

[A]

What are the people saying?

[B]

I do worry. I think I worry a lot. And I make my kids. I'll say, call me when you get there. As I get older. And I think I get that from my dad. I worry and make everybody else worry and I hate. I put that on them.

[A]

No, I get it.

[B]

I think they love about me or like about me that I'm loving clearly. And I can't. I. I'm very affectionate. These children are the best thing that ever happened to me. And I sit and kiss and hug all the time. And these grandbabies were very kissy huggy.

[A]

That's sweet.

[B]

I think so.

[A]

Oh, were your parents like that?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Oh, that's sweet.

[B]

Very loving.

[A]

What is something you believed 10 years ago that you don't believe now?

[B]

You smart thing. I know you went to a smart school. These questions, normally people ask me about nail polish and stuff. Okay, what do I believe? I. What is it I've done that I don't believe in? Nail. That I did back then.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I thought I'm. I. Now that I know a little bit about fame, I don't. I thought it was going to be different than this. It's fun, don't get me wrong. But it's not everything it's cranked up to be.

[A]

Can you. Can you say more about that?

[B]

I don't know. I thought that it would feel. I mean, I had dreamed about this all my life, and I'm so thankful and so grateful and I'm having a ball. But it's like your time is not your own. And you. And you work all the time and you. You know, it's a lot. A lot of pressure, a lot of things. I don't know what I was thinking that it was just this glamorous. This is a lot of work and a lot of mind, you know, a lot of mentally to take on.

[A]

Yeah. I think one of the things that people don't realize when they're. When their goals have to do with sort of fame and success is that they don't realize what they valued in the first place. Like, they don't realize that. Like, actually what brings them joy is walking down the street and getting a cup of coffee on the corner. Like, that's enjoyable.

[B]

And like, I went to the Emmys and I had a. And it was great. I presented at the Emmys and I weigh more than everybody out there. I realized that everybody's tiny.

[A]

Everyone is tiny. Tiny except big heads. Tiny bodies.

[B]

Big heads.

[A]

Tiny bodies. And you're special.

[B]

Yes. And Kristen Johnson said that to me. She goes, lynn, they want men to look like that. It looks better on tv.

[A]

But Liam had tiny legs.

[B]

Yeah. Liam Hemsworth was at Jimmy Fallon last night. Oh, my Lord, what a specimen that child is. And I could have birthed him. But I mean, he. Huge man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And pretty and sweet. Pretty teeth.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I just didn't realize how I thought all that was that glam and all that would be. I would just dreamed of that as a child, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But, you know, I feel downside.

[A]

I feel like it's possible that you don't realize also, like, when. If you're able to someday be in those scenarios, how much you feel like you're letting people down all the time.

[B]

I feel like I'm letting people down all the time.

[A]

It's the worst feeling.

[B]

And I feel responsible for everybody at the same time. Yeah.

[A]

It's.

[B]

Witherspoon said that to me. She goes, have you started feeling responsible for everybody? I was like, what? I get what she says now. And I think Nick Bargy feels responsible for everybody. That doll, he wants to see people do well.

[A]

And he also employs tons of people.

[B]

Tons of people.

[A]

And your show employs tons of people. So you're the fate of your show and Nate's Empire, like, it all, it's hinging on you.

[B]

Yeah. I didn't know all that was going to happen.

[A]

Who knew? Who knew?

[B]

They gave me that big list of all that crew and their darling. And I thought, oh, no, of course. And in Crafty, I would, you know, these darling men that work in lighting and camera and all that work so hard, and they're darling. They would go to eat lunch at Crafty and they would want me to get in front of them. And that was so hard for me, especially as a Southern. We like to see. And I just said, y' all go eat. And I go, no. And it was hard for me. I just said, no, y' all eat. And they. And anyway, we went around and around about that. But also, this has been weird when they've got somebody with a thing going, she is walking to the set. She is walking to the set. And then somebody else goes, she is walking to the set. And I thought if Chuck Morgan was here, he would say, what are you doing here? Yeah, he's efficient. And he would say, this is crazy. But anyway, that's Hollywood.

[A]

What's the time you were caught in a lie?

[B]

I told my kindergarten class and my teacher that I was Native American. Why I wanted to be Native American. And my grandmother was married to a man that was half Arapaho and half Mexican. And he was the only grandfather I knew. My other. My biological granddad had died before I was born who looked like dad. And then she married that little darling man, Granddaddy Frank. And he told me, yes, you were Native American. And he, like, said, you're a fourth, because I'm a half. And then you. You know. And so I went into kindergarten. I told them all. And then she called my mom and said, leah's telling lies. She's telling everybody she's Native American. And Mama said she is, because my mom lies, too. Lucille, honey, can tell some.

[A]

What. What's the biggest lie she's ever told?

[B]

She told people at the senior citizens recently, where she goes and plays cards twice a week, that when I worked a show in Midland, Texas, that President George Bush picked me up in a. In a black SUV and took me to my. Because I got bomb. She plays horns with. Yes. And she.

[A]

That's outrageous.

[B]

Bob said to me.

[A]

She said that the former president picked you up when you showed up in Texas.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And drove you to your show.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

She could be a comedian.

[A]

Is it based on anything? Is that. Have you met George Bush?

[B]

No, just Jenna on today's show. Yeah. I never met little George Bush. I did say to Jenna one time, tell your mom and daddy. I said, hey. But Lucille told this to Bob, who plays canasta with her. And he said, I heard Leanne. I go, what, Bob? He goes, I heard. You know Leanne. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. I go, I don't. What? And he goes, that George dummy. A push. I went, what? Picked you up at the airport and.

[A]

Took you to your gig? This is crazy.

[B]

And then I look at Lucille, my mom, and she just laughs her head off.

[A]

So she thinks it's funny. She thinks it's like one of her moves.

[B]

It's one of her moves, yeah. Oh, she's something. My mom is where I get this from.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But my dad's a good storyteller. But my mom could dazzle.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

All right. My little mama. You and I talked about this. She had a stroke, and she's in a wheelchair and her speech is slurred and she can't walk anymore. And double vision. She loved to read. She can't read, but it's got such a good sense of humor, and it's so positive through this whole thing, and it's precious. And she goes and plays cards. She wants to play, be with people, and she can still sharp as attack can still play anything, do anything, but anyway. Yeah, she lies.

[A]

That's crazy. Support for Working it out comes from AG1. Oh I love AG1. It is a daily foundational nutrition formula designed to support energy, immune defense, gut health and overall wellness. It is almost winter time. The days are getting shorter. There's holiday travel, crowded indoor gatherings. All of this can put a strain on your system. With AG1 you can stay one scoop away from the health challenges of the season. I love AG1 because a good sleep schedule is very important for me and AG1 helps keep my daily rhythm steady with superfoods and B vitamins which give me energy throughout the day. That way I'm not peeking and crashing with just coffee. Antioxidants, probiotics and functional mushrooms support immune resilience. This is important for me year round. When I'm touring, I'm on airplanes, I'm on trains. I'm also in crowded auditoriums with all of you, which I love. Go to the site drinkag1.com for Biggs to get a free welcome kit with an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3 plus K2 when you first subscribe. That's drinkag1.com for Biggs. Support for Working it out comes from Rula. I'm a huge advocate of therapy. I've said this on the show a lot before. I've been in therapy for 20 plus years. We just talked about it in the Jenny Slade episode. We talked about it on the Gary Goleman episode. Anyway, Rula is great for providing better access to therapy. No wait lists, no frustrating back and forth. Rula makes it easy to find a mental health provider who's accepting new patients and appointments are available as soon as tomorrow. Plus, Rula sticks with you throughout your journey, checking in to make sure your care is helping you move forward, making sure their providers are carefully screened and vetted, monitoring the quality of their care, and helping you monitor your progress in therapy. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered by Insurance. Visit rula.com for bigs to get started. After you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them that we sent you by using code Burbigs r u l a.com burbigs. You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. Support for working it out comes from Mint Mobile. If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no bs. Your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. Mint Mobile runs on the T Mobile 5G network, America's largest 5G network. 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 love everything about Mint Mobile. I love the coverage, obviously, the price. I love the green fox that wears the glasses, ready to say yes to saying no. Make the [e-mail] for Biggs. That's mintmobile.com Burbigs upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to 15amonth. Limited time. New customer offer for three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. So I was trying to think today. Well, first of all, my producers were asking, do I have any memories from Nashville or Tennessee? I didn't have any from Knoxville, although I like Knoxville a lot. And I'm gonna go back.

[B]

What did you do? Tennessee Theater in Bijou.

[A]

Yep. I loved it. Loved it. One of the prettiest theaters I've ever seen.

[B]

I know they both are beautiful theaters.

[A]

But I said, but I wrote. I. I wrote this. And I go. One time, I was in Nashville, Tennessee, in my 20s, and I went to a strip club, and I got carded at the door, and the guy looked at my license. He goes, oh, my God, it's Mike Birbiglia. That's when I realized I'm never going to go to a strip club again. It was like. I really was like, oh, this is. I guess this period of my life is over.

[B]

And you can't go to nasty places.

[A]

I don't think so. I really don't. I don't think I can because it's. Because think about the implications of it. It's not like it's a secret from my wife or something, but it's like, I don't know. And then I. I've been talking about this lately, which is that when I fell in love with Jen, I was seeing somebody else, and I had to go back to that person. I mean, that's the murkiness of life. This is the gossip of it, all right? Which is I had to go back to that person and be like, hey, remember I said, like, I wasn't gonna be in Fall in Love with anyone? Well, there's Good news and bad news on that front. I did fall in love. So if you're rooting for my journey, this is a big day for the team. But it's good that we met. Cause if I didn't meet you, I wouldn't know I was in love with her. I have to go now. I don't know if I could make this any worse, but I feel like I've never seen that cracked into on stage. This idea of, like, that people tell love stories. It's always like, we met and blah, blah, blah, and we fell in love. And I'm always like, but were there other people? Because I feel like the overlap is never discussed.

[B]

No.

[A]

I don't think I've ever had a relationship in my life that didn't have a little bit of overlap.

[B]

I've never heard anybody do a bit on that.

[A]

Yeah, it feels like you gotta do that. It feels like that should be something.

[B]

I. Were you a player? I think you must be a player.

[A]

I wasn't a player. I wasn't a player. But I wasn't without interest in dating many people. Fair question. Fair question. But I also. I definitively didn't want to fall in love. Because honestly, like, I. I had. I had fallen love in college, my college sweetheart, and we lived together, and we were gonna get married, and then we didn't. Kind of called it off. And it was. Killed me. It just wrecked me. I mean, I talk about it was in my Sleepwalk With Me special and my movie, but it just killed me. And then I was like, oh, I'm not doing that again. Are you kidding me? I'm never doing that again. And then you end up. But I don't know. And that's therein lies the complicated overlap because I fell in love with Jenny, and I was in the middle of telling essentially, someone else. Not gonna do that. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I think you were a player.

[A]

Well, hard to say.

[B]

Look how pretty you are in that sweater. And funny.

[A]

This is an outrage, really turning it on me. What do you. So your next hour, it's just stuff in the notebook right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just like collections of. You jot down collections. Yeah. You just jot down what you're thinking of.

[B]

Yes. But then I think, Mike, do I need to do like. I've always loved Jim Gaffigan.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I love my Nate. He's a good friend of mine. And, you know, like, there might be a theme.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, like, now people do like a theme. And I would think that that would be easier to write for.

[A]

I guess my question would be, like, what's thing you obsess about? Like, what's the thing that you think about all the time, but it's not necessarily in your bits. Like, it seems like the worrying thing is. Is significant to you.

[B]

I have. I. I do. I worry about these children, and I think about these children all the time. And grandbabies and. Because I got my degree in child family studies, crisis intervention counseling, so if I was not going to be a comedian, I wanted to be a family therapist. So I always look through that lens, you know, of behavior and all that. But I thought about, what if I wrote about the things I did right and the things I did wrong?

[A]

Yeah, that's fine.

[B]

Because I feel like I.

[A]

Perspective.

[B]

I was good at parenting, but I made some mistakes.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And I see these young girls and, you know, they come to my shows and, you know, when I say, you know, 30s, 40s, they'll come with their mom and their grandmother or whatever, and I think I do have some wisdom about some things. And it was funny. I mean, there's funny things.

[A]

What's the best thing you did as a parent? What's the worst thing you did as a parent?

[B]

The best thing, I think, looking back now, I had fun with my kids, and we went. We had a ball. And I probably should have pushed them more in school. And I always say, if Chuck Morgan had been at home, he would have pushed them and they'd end up in Harvard. But with a nervous tick. I made them. I mean, they went to a. I wanted them to go to a good school. They went to a private school, and I did not. I wanted them to do well. I did. But I would say, hey, do y' all want to go to the zoo?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, Dollywood was near. We didn't go all the time, but, like, if there was parent teacher conference and I went to their conferences, I was like, we're going to Dollywood. I got season passes. But I. And I would lay in the band with them and watch a television show, and they want to be with me now.

[A]

Aww.

[B]

As adults, you know, I think they think I'm a fun mom. I love that they want to be with me now. I get to be with them.

[A]

I love that. So then what's the thing that you think you didn't do right?

[B]

If somebody did something to them, if they were bullied or any of that, which any mama would get torn up and be upset, but I would really get torn up and be upset. And instead of Saying to my children, turn the other cheek. Forgive. Which is what my parents said to me in that Methodist house. I would be like, can you take her in the bank and twist her arm when nobody's looking? Like, I wish that I had had more integrity. Like, I would. I wouldn't mean the child that did something to mine, but I would harbor a grudge. I would harbor. And I shouldn't have done that in front of my children. I should have, because they would forgive.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

They would act like, you know, and I'd still hold on to stuff I shouldn't have held on to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But when you're in parenting, I think, you know, it is your baby, and you want to whip somebody if they hurt your baby, but you're also having to teach these lessons to these children. And I wish I was a better example.

[A]

I could see a special called, called Right and Wrong, where you talk about what's right and what's wrong. These are kids. Because that's, I think, unique and funny and. And, you know, totally different from the way I look at things. But all. But the raising kids thing, I think that's a really good idea. I think that's a good thing to free. Write on. Just to be like, what are. What are examples of. What are stories where I did the right thing? What are the things. Stories where I did the wrong thing?

[B]

And I thought about, maybe that is a little book. Maybe I could do a little book. But I've. I just. At my age now, as a grandmother, I just feel like I've got wisdom that I wish somebody had told me.

[A]

Yeah. You know, it's funny, but I've said this on the podcast before, but there's a. There's a nun in my school, and she ran the school, Sister Margaret. And she said she. I've never forgotten this. She. She always used to say, you do what's right because it is right. I'm like, it always stuck with me. Like, right. It's so. It's redundant, but it's true. It's like, you know, basic. But I don't know I would continue down that road. I think there's a lot there.

[B]

Oh, my. I don't know, honey. You would know. You smart thing.

[A]

The last thing we do is working out for a cause. Is there a nonprofit that you like to contribute to? You said that your daughter works for a food bank in New York for.

[B]

The Food bank of New York, and she loves it. That would be wonderful. The Food bank of New York.

[A]

We will contribute to the food bank.

[B]

She just moved here and she loves it. And she tells me, mom, there are elderly people that will start lining up at 6am to get food and then little children are with their parents and she loves it and thinks that they're doing a wonderful job.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's great. And I think we always try to contribute to food banks because I've said this on the podcast before, the way they stretch a dollar is unbelievable because I get all the letters explaining sort of how they spend money and it's like it's the way that food bank stretch a dollar is unbelievable. So we'll contribute to them. We will link to them in the show notes and encourage people to contribute as well. And Leanne Morgan, such a joy having you here. Thank you so much, angel.

[B]

Being with you makes me wish that I'd paid attention in school.

[A]

Oh God, I did not pay attention in school. Working it out because it's not done. Working it out because there's no that's gonna do it. For another episode of Working it out, you can follow Leanne Morgan on Instagram at Leanne Morgan Comedy. You can watch her special Unspeakable Things on Netflix as well as her series on Netflix. You can watch the full video of this episode on our YouTube channel ikebirbiglia. Make sure you subscribe. We are posting more and more videos. Our producers of Working it out are myself, along with Peter Salamone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis and Gary Simons. Sound mix by Ben Cruz supervising engineer Kate Balinsky. Special thanks to Jack Antonoff and Bleachers for their music. They just released a fantastic recording of the show that I saw them do at Madison Square Garden. Special thanks as always to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio fort made of pillows. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy the show, please rate it and review it on Apple Podcast while you're signing up for our premium feed. It really helps us out. We've recorded almost 200 episodes, all free. No paywall. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. Tell your friends, tell your enemies. If someone's gossiping at your local beauty shop, you can say, hey, that's not a productive way to communicate about this other person who's our friend. Here's what you can do. You can listen to Mike Birbiglia's Working it out podcast and find out gossip about people who we don't know and thus it won't break apart our friendship with a person who we love. Thanks everybody. We're working it out. We'll see you next time.