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

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out
Episode: #207 – Chris Fleming Returns: He Is Way More Popular This Time
Date: March 30, 2026
Guests: Mike Birbiglia (host), Chris Fleming (guest)
Main Theme/Purpose:
A lively, candid conversation between Mike Birbiglia and comedian Chris Fleming, focusing on Chris’s recent surge in popularity, the perils and joys of comedic success, behind-the-scenes stories from both their careers, the art and mechanics of standup, and working through new, untested material—plus some loving mutual roasting.

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Episode Overview

This episode marks Chris Fleming’s return to "Working It Out." Since his previous appearance, Fleming’s star has risen sharply, especially following his acclaimed HBO special "Live at the Palace." The comedians discuss fame, the creative process, challenges of growing an audience, working out new jokes, and maintaining authenticity in comedy. The conversation is infused with playful roasts, insights into writing and performing standup, touching on handling pressure, and staying grounded as success grows.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Joy and Terror of Recognition

Topic: Chris Fleming’s newfound popularity and its impact

• Fleming reflects on how his audience has changed—from mostly art therapists to now getting more male fans ("more men yell 'Chris!' at me on the street"), noting both amusement and a sense of being startled by it.
• Birbiglia points out how quickly Chris went from being labeled “underrated” to headlining major venues.

Notable Quote:
"[Now] it just means I’m gonna have to play Jake Shane’s grandma in something in a Euphoria reboot about elder abuse. That’s all it means." – Chris Fleming (15:00)

2. The Mechanics and Philosophy of Comedy

Topic: How bits and standup are constructed and the emotional risks

• The two analyze why some bits succeed famously while others bomb, even with the same material.
• Fleming references his method—rarely mapping out a full hour, preferring a “spilling out” approach, and comparing set-crafting to sleepover giggles and hypnosis.
• Both stress the importance of clarity ("let them in and be really clear") and the audience's desire for something unexpected.

Notable Quote:
"Sometimes the best analogy is just a very… Like Tom Waits will do something so highfalutin and then talk about, like, you know, like a hammer." – Chris Fleming (51:28)

Timestamps:

• [19:28] Birbiglia admires how Chris’s special, despite not being narrative, keeps audiences hooked.
• [24:00] Discussing “freshness” in live performance—the vital energy of first-time joke delivery.

3. The Perils of Press and Mechanization of Success

Topic: Downsides of achieving mainstream recognition

• Fleming misses the days of “scheming in the shadows” where art is made without pressure.
• He describes press obligations as feeling like being "mechanized," which can make it hard to find creative quiet.

Notable Quote:
"When you feel like you are being mechanized, how do you ever… when am I going to be able to go back under my rock and do the thing that gets me the thing you guys are all liking?" – Chris Fleming (17:10)

Timestamps:

• [16:51] Chris on the worst part of success: "The press. You can scheme in the shadows, that’s where the art happens."

4. Support, Roasts, & Mutual Influences

Topic: Comedians roasting each other and their creative community

• Chris lovingly skewers Birbiglia in his special, and Mike fires back with a series of “light burns.”
• Roasting is discussed as distinct from harsh comedy roasts—more akin to “light marshmallow toasting.”
• Deep mutual respect surfaces (“I talk about you in every special,” Fleming admits to Birbiglia.)

Notable Roasts:

• “Chris Fleming is like if Big Bird went to Wesleyan.” – Birbiglia (08:35)
• “Chris Fleming. Or as I like to call him, gender-fluid Dane Cook.” – Birbiglia (08:50)

5. Handling Bombs and the Comedy Rollercoaster

Topic: Recent and past failures

• Both recount “bombing” in front of difficult crowds (Birbiglia at the Ally Coalition, Fleming at a Grammys party with Lorde in attendance).
• They emphasize that bombing is unavoidable, and sometimes connects you to the rawness of performing.

Notable Quote:
"I had to bomb in front of Lorde recently… I was like, Lorde, do not watch this. And she was sidestage…" – Chris Fleming (13:57)

6. The Alchemy of Audience and Material

Topic: Why material is sometimes “alive,” and sometimes not

• Both reflect on how jokes can kill one night and die the next, regardless of content.
• They talk about filming first versions of bits for spontaneity (“first time I’m doing a bit and put it out”).
• The chemistry with an audience is unpredictable, akin to “animal” sensing.

Timestamps:

• [24:43] The unpredictability of audience reaction and why freshness can’t be replicated.

7. Practical Comedy Wisdom & Advice

Topic: Mentor advice and the value of clarity

• Fleming’s mentor Rick Jenkins advises: “You can get as crazy as you want… but if they don’t know what you’re talking about, let them in and be really clear.”
• Birbiglia recalls similar advice: “You’re not conveying the thing that’s in your head… you just need to explain it better.”

Notable Quote:
"People are willing to go with you, even if it’s weird, which is a term I resent." – Chris Fleming (45:29)

Timestamps:

• [43:56] On the importance of letting the audience in and being clear even with the weirdest material.

8. Working Out Untested Material

Topic: Live workshopping of new jokes

• Both share notebook bits in-progress, giving each other feedback.
• Fleming works through a bit about friends going from drum-circles to “espresso martini” brides.
• Birbiglia tests a joke about acquiring a hotel-room smell, and another about horrifyingly dull swim meets.
• They discuss the difficulty of setting up complicated contemporary references for an audience.

Notable Quotes:
"[You] used to free bleed on your enemies' couches, and now you’re little Miss Espresso Martini walking down the aisle…" – Chris Fleming (47:56)
"…I wake up in the morning and the smell is gone. And then I realized the smell isn’t gone. I just am the smell now." – Mike Birbiglia (49:47)

9. The Value of Small Rooms and Local Comedy Scenes

Topic: Growth in smaller, more intimate venues

• Both encourage seeking out and performing in small, local comedy spaces.
• Emphasize real growth and creativity often happen there, before the expectations of big venues.

Notable Quotes:
"All good things start in little rooms." – Chris Fleming (31:44)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Terry Gross as “Theresa Disgusting”
  "I saw a photo of her accepting an award at iHeartRadio… She’s dressed like Mad Max… steampunk goggles, Falconer's glove. She’s badass." – Fleming (05:36)

• On the anxiety of headlining:
  "You can very quickly dip into overrated… There’s something cozy about being considered underrated." – Fleming (33:44)

• On comic narrative:
  "It really is like a sleepover… There does feel… almost every show feels giddy sleepover energy." – Fleming (23:00)

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Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 00:18: Cold open—Chris’s heckler (“Let’s go, Weird Al”)
• 05:17 – 08:10: Terry Gross anecdote; mutual roasts begin
• 13:49 – 14:35: Bombing at star-studded events (Lorde at Grammys party)
• 16:51 – 17:26: Fleming on the downsides of mainstream success and missing creative quiet
• 19:28 – 22:49: Birbiglia and Fleming dissect how non-narrative comedy keeps audiences invested
• 24:00 – 26:19: The “freshness” and ephemeral magic of live performance
• 31:22 – 34:00: The primacy of small rooms for creative growth
• 47:16 – 49:40: Working out new jokes (drum circle friends, “espresso martini” bit, hotel room smell)
• 53:13 – 54:17: Hazards of being a vegetarian comic, “Food Inc. wears off after six years"
• 56:05 – 56:24: New idea—“the legendary 1970s chihuahua” in LA canine DNA
• 60:18 – 61:00: Charity selection—Planned Parenthood

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Additional Noteworthy Sections

Chris Fleming’s Approach to Comedy

• Works best when communicating with audiences as if they were friends at a "middle-school sleepover."
• Values disarmingly honest, clear communication and being willing to bomb in service of new material.

Handling Fame and Remaining Authentic

• Fleming is “thrilled” by wider popularity but guarded about losing the privacy and “scheming in the shadows” that fostered his art.
• Acknowledges more “random numbers” reaching out (old acquaintances resurfacing).

Owning the “Weird” Label

• Discusses discomfort with being pigeonholed as “weird,” and how mainstream press sometimes mischaracterizes his persona.

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Closing Thoughts

Mike and Chris’s dynamic is equal parts camaraderie, affectionate ribbing, and genuine creative exchange. The episode is a testament to comedy’s focus on connection—both with the audience and within the comedy community. Chris celebrates his hard-earned success with humility, holding onto the process that underpins his work rather than chasing new trends. Both comics underscore the essential, ongoing vulnerability of standup: "letting it spill out," doubling down, and returning to the joy of the small room, even after hitting the big time.

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Charity Highlight

Working It Out for a Cause:

• Chris Fleming chooses Planned Parenthood as his nonprofit.
• Mike Birbiglia commits to contributing and linking to them in the show notes.
  (60:18–60:54)

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Transcript

[Chris Fleming]

I went out on stage opening for somebody, and it was silent except for one guy who just said, let's go, Weird Al.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God. Let's go. Let's go, Weird Al.

[Chris Fleming]

And then it's like, why am I. Why am I even bothering?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Why is that heckle so good?

[Chris Fleming]

It's so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Let's go weird out.

[Chris Fleming]

Let's go weird out.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That is the voice of the great Chris Fleming. Let's go, Weird Al. Chris Fleming is one of my favorite comics. He is on fire. He was on. He was on this podcast a year or two ago. He makes me laugh so hard. He has a new special out on HBO called Live at the Palace. You know that I really, truly love this special because I recommend it in addition to on this podcast to everyone I know. It is just silly and ridiculous. And he is silly and ridiculous and very talented. It's no fluke how silly and ridiculous he is. He's worked at it and we talk about that today. We have a really good chat. By the way, he also has a special that's really funny on Peacock, streaming on Peacock called Hell. I want to mention something fun, by the way, the audio of my show, the Old man in the Pool is now on Spotify. That was like a whole thing. I know. It wouldn't seem like that would be a whole thing. You're probably thinking, of course it is. Nope, it's a whole thing. So now on a Spotify, you can listen to the Old man in the Pool. Thank God for Jokes. My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, My Secret Public Journal Live and to Drink. Mike, if you want to reference all of the jokes that Jack Antonoff references over and over again when he comes on this podcast. Hopefully he's coming on again soon because there's a new Bleachers album coming out. So bug him online about that. By the way, thanks to everyone who signed up for Working It Out Premium on Apple Podcasts. We love our little familia over on Premium. On Apple Podcasts, what you do is you go to the podcast app Apple Podcasts and then you click on Mike Birbigli is Working It Out. There's a thing underneath where it says latest episode, where it says working out premium 4.99amonth. And if you subscribe, what happens is you get these bonus episodes, which we think are really funny and interesting and actually even more behind the scenes than the show itself is. And every other episode, like there's 200 and something episodes of the podcast, you get no ads. So we think it's a great Deal. You support the show. We're an independent production. We really appreciate it. And you get these bonus episodes. One of them is where I work out new jokes entirely. I share audio from my comedy seller set recently. Like an all new story. There's one with Pete Holmes where we work out listeners jokes. Anyway, I think they're really good and we're making more and more. Also, I will officially be in Los Angeles at the Netflix Is a joke festival May 6 at the Wilshire E Bowl. Mike Birbiglia working it out with friends. I already know who one of the friends is and it's really cool comedian who's been on this podcast before, so it's gonna be great. Hope to see you there then. Oh, actually in the month of May, I will be supporting John Mulaney on tour along with Fred Armisen in Colorado Springs, Eugene, Oregon and Bend, Oregon. Oh, I'm excited about those. Also August 23rd in Moorhead, Minnesota, a bunch of dates with John Mulaney. Really excited about those. Those shows are awesome. His touring set right now is, I think, as I said it on this podcast with him, I think it's as funny or funnier than anything he's ever done. So go get tickets to that [e-mail] thanks to everyone who signed up for the text message alerts. If you're on the mailing list and you want to make sure you get alerts about shows in your area, text BURBIGS to 917-444-7150 to be the first to know about my upcoming shows and tours. This is a great one with Chris Fleming. He roast me in his new special. So I roasted him back. I got my chance to roast him back. Like I said, um, he's had a big run in the last couple years and we talk about the perils that come with that. Artistically, we both work out new jokes. I was really pleasantly surprised he came with some new jokes. We also break news about Chris Fleming playing a role in the new Judd Apatow film. And I do too, apparently. It's a great one. Join my conversation with the great Chris Fleming. Working it. This is a great one. At one point in this special, you refer to Terry Gross as Theresa Disgusting. Like, where did that come from? And have you heard from Ms. Gross?

[Chris Fleming]

No, I'm keep. I mean, I'm throwing rocks at her window. She doesn't. You negotiate with terrorists? Terry doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.

[Chris Fleming]

I've got. I got your attention. But Terry Vulture communicated to her through email about it, and she wrote something cryptic.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, really?

[Chris Fleming]

In favor. She liked it. But I don't think she said she liked it. She said something like, how does he know that I'm disgusting? Violent? Yeah, like, because she's so punk. I saw a photo of her accepting an award at the iHeartRadio, and she's. She's dressed like Mad Max.

[Mike Birbiglia]

She's.

[Chris Fleming]

She's in like a full leather, steampunk goggles, Falconer's glove. She's badass.

[Mike Birbiglia]

She's completely badass. But I made a short film with her.

[Chris Fleming]

What?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Fresh Air. Too. Too fresh. Too furious. I wrote and directed a short film. I swear to God.

[Chris Fleming]

Wait, that's like, exactly what I'm. So you're picking up on the same thing I'm talking about?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

You called it too fresh.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Too furious. Too fresh, Too furious. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Wait, so why are we both thinking that about Terry? I'm literally doing the bit where she's totally, totally.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. Fresh Air. Too Fresh too. For years. I produced it with. For this American Life live event in 2012.

[Chris Fleming]

When they had you on retainer,

[Mike Birbiglia]

when

[Chris Fleming]

Ira Glass had you chained to the radiator like Black snake moan.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What else happened? Mike. Then what?

[Chris Fleming]

What else are you sad about?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Mike?

[Chris Fleming]

Any other injuries I should be aware of?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God. I was like a doctor meets a dramaturg.

[Chris Fleming]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Ye. Wait, in your special, you suggest that I look like a guy in a Freaky Friday movie who plays both parts and also a guy who sells wordle spoilers to the FBI.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, a Freaky Friday. You look like a father and son Freaky Friday in the same body. I thought this while I was looking at my little cousin, my cousin's child. I was like, this guy, he's six. Why am I getting a familiar vibe? This guy looks like Mike and then. Yeah, that you sell wordle spoilers to the FBI.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's pretty close. It's pretty close. It's not so far off.

[Chris Fleming]

I like that someone would tip off the FBI to wordle Spoilers.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Wordle got me into crossroad. Now I'm fully into crossword.

[Chris Fleming]

That's crossroad. That's cause you're more intellectually curious than me. I like the slam dunk of the wordle. And then I'm done. For intellectual curiosity. I learned this morning that narcissism is coming because I typed my own name. My own name was my first guess in Wordle.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, wow.

[Chris Fleming]

I wrote Chris. Not good. Not good.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Here's what I Wrote for Burns for you. If I ever do a comedy special where I just make fun of other comedians like you did, you make fun of me? First of all, you make fun of me. You make fun of Seth Meyers, make fun of Terry Gross. I'm trying to think of who else you go after.

[Chris Fleming]

I look at.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Have you heard from everybody?

[Chris Fleming]

You're in my paint box is what it is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay?

[Chris Fleming]

It's. You are. You are a color in my. You are. You know, it's. I talk about you in every special. Why? Why? Why did Monet keep painting water lilies? Why did the Black Eyed Peas keep singing about an imminent party?

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's right. Why do they keep writing about this imminent spoiler.

[Chris Fleming]

They fall out in these lines from time to time. As Joni Mitchell says, it gives me hope.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It gives me hope. Here's what I wrote. Chris Fleming is like if the movie Janet Planet was a comedian. Chris Fleming is like if Big Bird went to Wesleyan. Chris Fleming is like if Harry Styles publicist was like this, but ugly.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, my God.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Chris Fleming. Or as I like to call him, gender fluid Dane Cook.

[Chris Fleming]

You whispered that my ear after that benefit as you stormed out.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Chris Fleming is like if Conan o' Brien gave up.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, my God.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Chris Fleming is like if Kermit the Frog fucked one of the rats from Muppet Stick Manhattan.

[Chris Fleming]

You mean Rizzo, One of the rats.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, Rizzo.

[Chris Fleming]

That's the king rat.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. Yeah, that's the king rat.

[Chris Fleming]

And. And which one. Which one was impregnated, Kermit or the frogs? Frogs. Frogs can do anything, you know, they can will themselves to pregnancy the frogs.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Is that true?

[Chris Fleming]

I think so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Wow.

[Chris Fleming]

I mean, I'm starting this rumor.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, here's what.

[Chris Fleming]

I'm still stuck on Janet Planet.

[Mike Birbiglia]

If Janet Planet was a comedian.

[Chris Fleming]

If Harry Styles was ugly.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, God. This is all we have. Just light burns, light toasting. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Light marshmallow toastings.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. Netflix has the roasts, and we have light, light burns.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, my God. Roasts. Have you done one?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I would never.

[Chris Fleming]

Here's what I do. You throw them all tough cocktail.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, I know. And then that's what you do.

[Chris Fleming]

That's what. And then I go back to the show. You.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. You go after people. You're. You said this last time you're on the podcast because I brought up the Bo Burnham thing. And you go.

[Chris Fleming]

I'm like, now every video is like, what's the boat in the sewers? And the Bo Burnham thing was like one throwaway line. And now everyone's hunting for that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, interesting.

[Chris Fleming]

You. You set the bloodhounds on me.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I know.

[Chris Fleming]

Well, because it wasn't even that. It wasn't even that crazy, what I said. It was pretty innocuous.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Do you feel like now that you are. First of all, last time you were on the podcast, we titled it why Isn't this Person more Famous? I think that was the title. How is. How is this comedian not more famous?

[Chris Fleming]

That's how it is in the Dewey decimal system.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. And now. But now you're huge. I think your special is huge. The New York Times is the best comedy special of the year so far.

[Chris Fleming]

They said that, like, January.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, January. Early January. They said it was the best so far.

[Chris Fleming]

So far.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, but it's. It's on hbo, and it's fantastic. It's a phenomenal special, and I do think it's the best comedy special so far. And honestly, like, funniest comedy special I can remember.

[Chris Fleming]

Thanks, man.

[Mike Birbiglia]

In the last few years, I mean, even Mark, I'm not agreeing with.

[Chris Fleming]

I said. Yeah, even Mark. No, you guys have been so sweet. I mean, you called me the morning after.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Marin said it gave him hope for comedy or something. And. And then his. His heart grew four sizes.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, well, he was wandering his. His house in that video. Did you see? Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, is he.

[Chris Fleming]

How many sizes did the Grinches grow? It was 12. Yeah, the Grinch went from a ten and a half to a 12.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, is that what it is?

[Chris Fleming]

I think anthropologists studied it, and that's. That's what it was.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But Mark doesn't like anything other than people who are older than him. He likes older, older people than him.

[Chris Fleming]

I loved talking to Mark on his podcast.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's good.

[Chris Fleming]

He's got a really, really nice giggle occasionally.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah,

[Chris Fleming]

it was like. I was, like, very. I was ready. I thought he was gonna, like, slam me over a railing and just, like, absolutely tar and feather me. And he was. He didn't. And I was like. I felt like I dodged a bullet.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, I think, you know, I think you're appealing to him for. I would say similar reasons that you're appealing to me, which is, like, the body. That your body is tight and also curvaceous, and you've got great flexibility. You took the words right out of my mouth. No, it's. No, I think, like. I think what. It's. What's appealing is that you are an alt comic who work. Who works with audiences, and it's hard

[Chris Fleming]

to come by that work. Oh, man.

[Mike Birbiglia]

With audiences, Real people.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. I Try to, you know, I mean, you should have seen me at Esther's Follies. I wasn't working with it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, really?

[Chris Fleming]

No, no, that was bad.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I followed you at the Ally Coalition. It was impossible.

[Chris Fleming]

No, you did great.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It was impossible.

[Chris Fleming]

You, like, slayed.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I went home in pure depression.

[Chris Fleming]

You were. You did leave in a rage.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I was not in a great mood.

[Chris Fleming]

If you had more testosterone, it would have been a fist of the drywall situation. If you were Marshall Mathers, it would have been a fist of the drywall. But instead, it was putting the pee coat on.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I know. Threw the peacoat on and got it.

[Chris Fleming]

And then sending me a lot of all caps texts.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I will.

[Chris Fleming]

You wrote. No, I didn't. You wrote something like, always be afraid of someone who says they're about to bomb at a benefit. And then.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Like, I was sure I was going.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's what you said to me.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. Sometimes, you know, you ever go, like, okay, I can't. I just can't bomb right now.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And then I do, and so have I. But sometimes you're like, I need to. Like, in front of family.

[Mike Birbiglia]

He needs to go. Okay. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

I had to bomb in front of Lorde recently.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, really?

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. I had never met Lorde. It was. It was like a Grammys party. It was all these music execs talking in the audience. Like, we were, like, doing ambient standup. Truly, like. Like a jazz trio.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, brutal.

[Chris Fleming]

And Lord was sidestage, and I had never met Lord. And I was like, lor, do not watch this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God.

[Chris Fleming]

And she's like, no, it's going to be excellent.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God.

[Chris Fleming]

And she was bombing in front of. No, you can't.

[Mike Birbiglia]

She said anything afterwards.

[Chris Fleming]

She said something like, oh, my audience is gonna like that too. Like, people were just talking.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, okay.

[Chris Fleming]

So I think it was like, shit, I didn't think about that. In stadiums, people are talking. I don't know.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What do you. Now that you're. Now that you are successful, what does it feel like? What's the. What's the worst part? What's the best part of having. I mean, because you can. You can be humble all you want, but the truth is, like, you're packing theaters nationwide. You know, you're really popular. People love the special.

[Chris Fleming]

It's a grim reality. I mean, now it just means I'm gonna have to play Jake Shane's grandma in something in a euphoria reboot about elder abuse. That's all. That's all. That's all it means.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You know that you're in Judd Apatow's movie?

[Chris Fleming]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm in it too.

[Chris Fleming]

Are we gonna do it together?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I don't think we're in the same scenes.

[Chris Fleming]

Are we gonna be in Savannah at the same time?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yes, I think so.

[Chris Fleming]

Wanna go hunting?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm there in June. Yeah, let's go hunting. I'm there in June. I don't know what I'm allowed to say.

[Chris Fleming]

I don't know anything.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You just know they asked you to do it, you said yes. Yes. You read your lines. Your lines are funny.

[Chris Fleming]

Are they? I haven't read it yet. I skimmed it. And I was like, yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I was just like, sure. But.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh. But the reason I didn't study it was they were like, we're going to be really loose on the day.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right, right. Understood.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. What was the question? It was something about. I mean, I. Okay. I'm very grateful. I feel like I'm a major relief. I am definitely getting a lot more dudes on the street now. It used to be just like art therapists.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Chris Fleming]

And now it's. Now it's like, more men say, hi. I.

[Mike Birbiglia]

More men. More men say, more men yellow.

[Chris Fleming]

More men are yell. More men are yelling, Chris. And I easily. I spook easy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right?

[Chris Fleming]

You know, like a wild.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So that's good.

[Chris Fleming]

It's fine.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, sure.

[Chris Fleming]

It's fine. I don't know. I'm getting a lot more people reaching out of numbers I don't have. Saved.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

You know. Hey, Chris.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Chris Fleming]

We met in 2011.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Okay. Where have you been? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I've been dumpster diving. You know, there's. Yeah, I think there's a little bit of, like, resentment of, like, where have you all been? In the people that are reaching out. Yeah. I'm thrilled to have to be augmenting the. The base.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What's the worst part about it?

[Chris Fleming]

The press. Okay. You know what it feels like? It's like when you can scheme in the shadows. That's where the art happens.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

[Chris Fleming]

And then all of a sudden, you feel yourself on this track. It's like machinery. And when you feel like you are being mechanized, it's like, how do you ever. In a way, you get better at the press stuff, I think. But it's also like, I'm like, when am I going to be able to go back under my rock.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Totally.

[Chris Fleming]

And do the thing that gets me? The thing that you guys are all liking.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Because that. That does, I think, involve, like, a lot of quiet. Whoops.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And then a lot of peace. Not like full recluse style, but, like, I don't know. You must feel that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Being part, like, part of that machine.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. If you're talking to Lord, how can you talk about Lord on stage?

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, no, easily. I mean, I talk about you. I talk about you, like, every night.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Am I still in the mix?

[Chris Fleming]

Well, this is tonight on Seth Meyer.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, that's hilarious. Yeah. At Union hall, you said the eyes of the woman in the portrait that hangs on the back wall of the venue connect to a direct feed in Mike Birbiglia's office, where he sits waiting to ruin some young comedian's life. Who. Who is that in reference to Whose life have I ruined?

[Chris Fleming]

No, no, no, no. I think I said a new. Like, a comedian. Something about ruining the comedy, like, making it one man show.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, God.

[Chris Fleming]

You were there. That's how this got back to stage.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Producer Mabel was here. Yeah. She came to the office one day and goes, you're not gonna believe what Chris Fleming said on stage. He goes, the woman's in the painting's eyes.

[Chris Fleming]

I also was talking about you. Instead of getting the light in Brooklyn.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

You have attached Hitachis to us. And if we run our time,

[Mike Birbiglia]

you

[Chris Fleming]

set the Hitachi off.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God. Well, which comedian's lives have I ruined?

[Chris Fleming]

No, no, you haven't ruined. No, no, you haven't ruined any lives. You've definitely made. I mean, I'm sure you have ruined lives, but I mean, in terms of. I was speaking about the IRA Glassification of comedy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right, right. I get it. Oh, I get it.

[Chris Fleming]

Which you are very good at yourself.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But I have to say, like, I. What I like about narrative comedy is that it keeps me one to the next, to the next, to the next. Like most comedy specials, I don't make it through.

[Chris Fleming]

No.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I get 20 minutes in and I go like, it's the same. The repetition of the joke style is the same.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I will say you're special. It's not narrative, and yet I didn't turn it off at 20 minutes. It just. There's something about the causality that's baked in that I don't understand. So maybe explain it to me.

[Chris Fleming]

No, I don't. I mean, it's all. I mean, I. I think less about an hour. I'm never trying to build an hour. Yeah, it's just like, spilling out desperately, and then there's like two moments where I'm like, oh, that actually really flows really well. But I Do think. I mean, I learned a lot from Kellyanne. Kellyanne Conway.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Kellyanne Conway. We've all learned a lot from Kellyanne Conway.

[Chris Fleming]

But if you answer a question a certain way, you can make things seem like they're. Like things are related. The way I'm thinking about her is you could ask her a question and she could say whatever the fuck she wanted if you match the tone of the way the question was being asked. So it's like, not that I'm saying that she's my muse, but in terms of the way that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Does she know this? You mentioned this before.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, we zoom all the time. We zoom this morning. No, I think it's like since it's always coming from my perspective and I'm feeling this need to. This desperate need to communicate it, I think it feels connected. I've never been like, what's the theme here? I couldn't do that. I don't understand myself and I don't care to understand myself enough like that, so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But it's funny because if you look at. If you look at your career, it was like, for a long time it was all spilling out of you and you were bombing, and now it's all spilling out of you and you're killing. So it's like, how do you get from A to B?

[Chris Fleming]

I'm still bombing sometimes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You are not. I refuse to even believe that. I like, how do you get from A to B? Because, like, if you listen to this podcast and you're a comedian, you create things and you're like, wait, Chris Fleming, I don't get it. How did he go from being. Struggling, doing what he's doing to being successful at what he's doing. Especially when you're saying there's no method

[Chris Fleming]

to the madness doubling down, I think. And I think just tuning out other trends also, I think is really good.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Keeping your head down and kind of just really, really being like, I need to say this. And also doing things that are really frightening and really feel like pushing yourself and counterintuitive, destructive, sometimes self destructive.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, sure.

[Chris Fleming]

Hard drugs. No, no, I mean in terms of saying, you know, things where people are like, whoa, you know, talking shit in certain ways, just kind of, I don't know, just letting it, letting it out and truly trying to get honest with and you know what? And not like getting the closer that you can talk to your audience the way that you talk to, like, your high school friends.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Chris Fleming]

I think is kind of what I've been trying to do.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right, you're trying to Connect to your, like, middle school sleepover self, dude.

[Chris Fleming]

Exactly. The giggly.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I think that's sort of the ball game in some ways.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's like these shows, these comedy shows, it really is like a sleepover.

[Chris Fleming]

It feels like a few hundred friends after 45 minutes. Like, there does feel. Almost every show feels giddy sleepover energy where people don't even know what they're. I mean, I think there's a hypnosis, like their hypnotic quality of comedy. Or sometimes people come.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I completely agree.

[Chris Fleming]

Sometimes you're like, why are people laughing at this?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yes.

[Chris Fleming]

Like, some you surprise. Like, I'll keep. I'll get closer and closer, like, to truly entertaining myself on stage and being amazed that people are with me on something.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

It's always shocking. And I think that after enough time, it's like. I think that comedy often like it. Language is really limiting and things that don't make sense. But I think if there's a feeling behind it or if it represents something, then the words aren't even as important as the feeling.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I had a run years ago at Cherry Lane where I was, like, working on material, and what I found was the more insane the show went, the more off the rails it went, the more the audience was locked in.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But there's a diminishing return at a certain point because you're like, you have that audience, and then you're like, I'm gonna do this insane thing that makes no sense the next night with another. And you can't do it. You can't recreate it. I remember I had a joke that made no sense where I. Where I go. You know this from my comedy special, thank God for Joaquin Phoenix. And the audience would laugh so hard, not because it made any fucking sense, but because I took one word that they know, thank God for jokes, and subbed out another insane word. And I just said it with confidence, you know, And I said the next night in nothing.

[Chris Fleming]

Right.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like. And it's the funniest thing the night before because.

[Chris Fleming]

Because they. There's something so animal about an audience. And that's what's terrifying is they're like. It's like they're like smelling the freshness.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Totally.

[Chris Fleming]

And if you try to. That's why, you know, I mean, we've talked about this. The first time you do something. That's why at Largo, I filmed the first bit.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

First time I'm doing a bit and put it out. Because sometimes, like, the second through seventh time, it's, like, terrible.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. You're one of the rare people who films first versions of jokes and then you post them on Instagram and don't actually release them.

[Chris Fleming]

Sometimes I. Oh, no. If I do it, I try not to ever do it again. And so, like, there's somewhat like my best. The best. I love this bit about snacks at Trader Joe's that only women can see. And I only did that once because. Because I just.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's a huge bit.

[Chris Fleming]

It's like people send that around.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, no, no. It's a. It's a popular as hell bit.

[Chris Fleming]

The crazy thing about if you have two shows in one night, it's like having to kind of sage yourself from a good. The first. When you connect with a crowd, there's almost a resentment about like, oh, we had a really good time and having to do another thing. You have to like totally Men in Black memory. Erase your experience otherwise. Because if you chase that connection again, they're like, what do you. What do you. We don't have that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm pretty much not doing second shows for that reason anymore.

[Chris Fleming]

I'm doing it for stamina reasons.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But because you want to.

[Chris Fleming]

I don't have the stam. I mean, I was doing two. So I would do two hours sometimes I would do two hour shows this summer. That's how I got in such good shape for the special. I was just doing like overexerting myself for sometimes three and a half, four hours a night.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Wow.

[Chris Fleming]

And it was just.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, it's brutal.

[Chris Fleming]

It's crazy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We got through the first page of questions. How'd you.

[Chris Fleming]

Is there a treat?

[Mike Birbiglia]

How did your bones get so long?

[Chris Fleming]

They're long. I don't know.

[Mike Birbiglia]

These are the questions we've prepared.

[Chris Fleming]

How did your bones get so long? I've never heard a phrase like that. I mean, I assume it's through good nutrition as a child. Even though I don't care to eat too much now I'm post food. I've probably talked to you about this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Are you post food?

[Chris Fleming]

Emotionally, I get. I feel. I feel like really bored by food.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, interesting. Are you post sex? Because also those things are tied. Like some people on the Ozempic and the wegovies. They don't like sex or food. Like, that's one of the things.

[Chris Fleming]

Have you thought about. I mean, imagine if

[Mike Birbiglia]

in your special you reference Seth Meyers, Adam Driver, Terry Gross.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, we had to do so much for the Adam Driver thing. We had to. The night before, I was using him singing Being Alive and so. And marriage story in the theater and Then they were like, oh, we can't do this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, I'm sure. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

But I was crazy and thinking we could.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. Because you can't sing the song because you need the rights to the song.

[Chris Fleming]

And Sondheim and Adam, all these people are like, really difficult, litigious people. And so we had to re record. My friend Brian had to come over and riff a little piano thing. And I sang as Adam Driver. And I'm singing. I'm doing like a. I'm Adam Driver. I'm just, like, singing about I'm tall. Yeah, that's so funny. Yeah. Something about him.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Used to actually do an impersonation of him doing it in the movie.

[Chris Fleming]

I'm trying to encapsulate the feeling of the Sondheim song. And he's saying something like, I want. Like he wants to be around. Keep me around. I'll sit in. I'll sit in the car. I'll sit in the back. It was. If you listen to the lyrics, it's, like, really sad. It's really desperate.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I didn't realize that. Yeah. He's a great example, though, of, like, limitations being funnier. Funnier.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, it's kind of good.

[Chris Fleming]

I know. It was a fun exercise we had. Like, it was the night before. We had to turn in the whole thing. So we just. Brian is this musical genius, and he just riffed the piano and I just sang it, and we just sent that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, you know, Adam Driver, he has a whole thing where he won't watch his own performances.

[Chris Fleming]

Right.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And he also won't watch your performances. That's on my. It's on my burn list.

[Chris Fleming]

He has a phobia of his own and mine personally.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I wonder if he'll see it. Do you think people sent it to him? Maybe?

[Chris Fleming]

I. I don't. I don't even want to think about that. Cuz I couldn't handle being on his bad side. Cuz.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Cuz he'll give you a glare.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, Gosling gave me a glare in a pizza shop.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Gosling gave me.

[Chris Fleming]

It was. It was a. Do not even think.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Really?

[Chris Fleming]

This was like 2019. It was 2019. It's what you have to do. Christian Bale gave it to me, too. It's a. Just walking by. And he was like, if you really.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Wow. Even think, you know, you should have

[Chris Fleming]

said it looks like a Swedish extremist.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You know, you should have said to Ryan Gosling, where's Ken?

[Chris Fleming]

Tell me where this was.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Pre can tell me where Ken is.

[Chris Fleming]

This is Pre can we. If this was post Ken, I wouldn't even look at him.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Do the James Lipton.

[Chris Fleming]

The James Lipton.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Can we talk to Ken inside the actor studio? Can we talk?

[Chris Fleming]

Starts weeping.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Can we talk to Ken?

[Chris Fleming]

He talks because it can smooth.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Were you an actor studio guy? Do you ever watch those?

[Chris Fleming]

All the time, yeah. Oh, it's amazing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm a Lipton head.

[Chris Fleming]

It's. It's some.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I watch them all.

[Chris Fleming]

The. The camera quality, it's like 420p.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

It's some of the worst. It's like. It's like pre mini DV. It's like. And this was well into the 2010s.

[Mike Birbiglia]

They're pencil sketches, basically.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. It's like Peppa Pig animation.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And.

[Chris Fleming]

And it's so good. Who's your favorite?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, obviously Bradley Cooper.

[Chris Fleming]

Well, he's in the audience a lot, right? Isn't he?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, he's in the audience for, I think De Niro.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Sweeping my hair.

[Mike Birbiglia]

The one I always think of is. Is Phil Hoffman.

[Chris Fleming]

I don't think I've seen.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That one's really powerful.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

He says something that always stuck with me. Not that this interview is about me, but let's be honest.

[Chris Fleming]

It is. This is about you.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, I always think. I always think of this line. He goes, when you get an audition, it is an opportunity to perform. Whoa. And it really changed the way I think about almost everything.

[Chris Fleming]

I think it's an opportunity to disgrace myself.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That too. That makes you better, though.

[Chris Fleming]

And waste casting director's time.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But it is like. Like the small shows. The show at Largo, the show the Cellar, it's the same as a 3,000 seater in Milwaukee. I mean, it's all of a piece. It's all the same.

[Chris Fleming]

Well, you grow more in the small shows. We've talked about this. The theater presentational, the small, smaller rooms. That's when you're kind of really growing and writing. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I think I also recommend that people, wherever you are, try to go see small comedy shows locally.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's really interesting to see someone in a room with 50 people.

[Chris Fleming]

You ever think about local art scenes, how many there are?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

It takes your breath away. It's crazy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, it's kind of like where it's happening.

[Chris Fleming]

Of course. I mean, I think outkast talks about this, that all good things start in little rooms. I think I have an actual quote about that. Of course. Of course they do. Because you're not going to start out,

[Mike Birbiglia]

get to the small room.

[Chris Fleming]

Madison's work Already.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, I know.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. Well, some people. Then that's a problem. But. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But it's like, wherever you are, go to the small rooms. It's interesting. That's where the good stuff is, I think.

[Chris Fleming]

Of course.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Especially, by the way, even if you. Even if you go to a lineup and 10 people and they all stink except one, do you freak out if

[Chris Fleming]

other people are laughing at the other comics and you're like, I'm so different from that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I think about it a lot.

[Chris Fleming]

Me, too. Showcase shows have haunted me, always. They're laughing at that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

If they're laughing at that, they're gonna kill me. Which is totally illogical.

[Chris Fleming]

It is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

But I still feel it. I mean, you.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

It's a terrible feeling.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No. I remember, like, so many acts where, like, it's so dirty or it's so loud, and I'm like, I don't. They're not gonna like this. They're not gonna like my story about high school wrestling.

[Chris Fleming]

But that is really. But that is, like, a really good lesson. Someone told me something like, people are always ready to be, like, amazed by. They're always open to a new. Like, to show them something that they don't even know that they like. And that's crazy to have that confidence.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But that's. But that gets me back to complimenting you, which is that you're not like anybody, which is part of the reason it's so satisfying that you're having a cultural moment right now, because it's like, oh, it's such a relief when someone gets popular and you're like, and I like them.

[Chris Fleming]

But that also. That's intimidating because then, you know, there's something very cozy about being considered underrated. And then you can very quickly dip into overrated.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. Yeah. You can quickly dip into overrated.

[Chris Fleming]

You don't want to. I don't want to dip into overrated.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's what. I've always remained underrated. I've remained underrated for years.

[Chris Fleming]

I think being. Being a performer that, like, everyone thinks they're the only one that gets it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

If, like, millions of people feel that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Magical.

[Chris Fleming]

That's good. That's good.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You make a lot of faces in your special. What's your favorite face to make?

[Chris Fleming]

See, I do the rule that Helen Mirren says in her masterclass, which you don't look at yourself in the mirror when you're acting. I don't think about the face.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay.

[Chris Fleming]

I. What I do. I. I try to embody. I try to remember a Fearful thing. If I'm afraid, if I'm trying to. Like, this is like. Like, it's like a Stanislavski method.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Sure.

[Chris Fleming]

I just do that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And so I'm not even thinking about what the face is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Nice. How come none of the faces are attractive?

[Chris Fleming]

I could tell. I could tell you were pulling that sling shot.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm just saying, try just one of them.

[Chris Fleming]

I could try to be prettier. I could try.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Are you gonna. Are you gonna become so famous for this hair that when you someday, like, lose your hair, you have the wig. You have the Chris Fleming mid-30s wig.

[Chris Fleming]

You know, my mom's biggest fear is I'm gonna have a ponytail in my 50s. Doesn't care what I do in terms of crime, in terms of anything.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Just.

[Chris Fleming]

Chris, promise me you won't.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, don't be. Don't be that.

[Chris Fleming]

Don't be like one of the guys at Berkeley.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Chris Fleming]

At the Ben and Jerry factory. I do. I do fantasize about a short haircut.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

I fantasize about.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I could see that. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

When I think of myself, I think of. I remember my. I don't think of myself with long hair because I had a Mary Martin Bob forever.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I get that. And I also get that, like, I don't think it would actually hold you back because you, You. Your physicality, I think, is more pronounced than your hair.

[Chris Fleming]

Part of the. Part of the thing about the hair was there was this crazy thing that I had as a young person. I still. I know when I'm in a conservative area, when I walk into a restaurant, and, like, families are all like, like, like, like parents and children.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, oh, interesting.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, yeah. Like, how do I.

[Mike Birbiglia]

They're, like, looking over at you. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Like father and sons. Really? If I see them in golf clothes, I'm, like, about to get roasted. Like, father son bonding.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And there's something that I think I remember as a younger person being, like, wanting to be like, no, no, no, here. Like, I'm in on it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And so I think leaning into this kind of. I, I. I think that was part of the look.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Did you have any. Were there any lines when you were preparing the special that just didn't work? During the taping you cut.

[Chris Fleming]

There was one line that didn't work, and I got mad at the crowd for not laughing at it. And so I kept. And I repeated it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah. No, I love that.

[Chris Fleming]

And I was like, let's keep. Everyone agreed. We got to keep that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, that's great.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. I Think that's kind of humiliating. Did anything not work? I mean, I. Okay, look. Yeah. When you're doing the special, this was. I got so much great advice, and you gave me good advice. Ali Wong gave me great advice. She told me to look to the exit signs. I do that one because it's like, otherwise, you're telling scary stories.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's right. No exit signs is good.

[Chris Fleming]

It's really helpful. And there was something.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Because to look above people, they see all your eyes, and if you look below them, they're seeing your closed eyes. Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

It's crazy. And she also told me it's for the cameras, it's not for the crowd.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's right.

[Chris Fleming]

And I love that. And also, Bill, my director, was like, it's not gonna be your best show. Like, you have to, like, let go of the idea of the special being your best. You're just treated like a road date.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Chris Fleming]

And that's so much of, like, people that are successful are, like, operating at, like, what, 70% of their capacity, I imagine, or of what they're used to in terms of a crowd. Like, we're not seeing. The camera's never around for the best shows.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I know.

[Chris Fleming]

Which is part of the magic of it. Like, I was like, oh, why didn't we shoot it in Nashville? No, no. Chicago was, like. It was incredible. It was perfect for me. But, like, as you're doing it, you're like, ah, shit, this would have been great. Or, thank God we didn't do it in Philly. Thank God we didn't. Or.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No. But I thought it was. I thought it was incredible.

[Chris Fleming]

I loved electric.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Electric performance.

[Chris Fleming]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Great.

[Chris Fleming]

The outfit's doing a lot of heavy lifting.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, the outfit's doing a lot of heavy lifting, but I feel like that crowd just, like, was in on the joke in the best way.

[Chris Fleming]

Chicago is so willing to get silly.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yes. I think what you're doing is, like, risky in the best possible way, which is that, like, it might not work.

[Chris Fleming]

It shouldn't. No. I'm always surprised when it does.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, it might not work. Like, like, actually this whole thing of ranting and kind of, like, pirouetting across the stage and, like, over emphasizing, like, you might hit a crowd where it's like, yeah, well, I don't know what you're talking about.

[Chris Fleming]

Totally. No, no. I mean, that's. That's why it's so great when it does, like, for my crowds, because then I perform for not my crowds, and they're. They have that experience a Lot of the time like, what are you doing? Like, Like, I went out on stage opening for somebody and there was. It was silent except for one guy who just said, let's go, weirdo.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God, let's go. And then, let's go, weirdo.

[Chris Fleming]

And then it's like, why am I. Why am I even bothering?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Why is that heckle so good?

[Chris Fleming]

It's so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Let's go, weirdo.

[Chris Fleming]

Let's go, weirdo. It's so. It's so damning. It's so damning because you know, okay, you learn okay immediately. They're not gonna be on board with that. They don't care.

[Mike Birbiglia]

He goes, let's go, Weird Al. What did you say? Did you get them?

[Chris Fleming]

I think I went, yeah, okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Did you get them though?

[Chris Fleming]

No.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay, so you literally didn't get them?

[Chris Fleming]

No. It was like 3,000 people. It was a civic center. Multiple guys got kicked out.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Support for Working it out comes from Article. Article offers a curated range of mid century, modern, coastal and Scandinavian inspired pieces that not only shine on their own, but also pair seamlessly with nearly any other Article product. I love this article furniture. They have a thoughtful design approach that makes it incredibly easy to mix and match, helping you create a space that feels cohesive and as well as stylish. I feel like if you went on the Article website, you could spend hours there. I was on the site and I got this little bookcase and a little rug. They all sort of have a nice matching color palette. With Article's 30 day satisfaction guarantee, you can shop with confidence, knowing that if you're not completely in love with your new furniture, you can easily return it. The peace of mind ensures that you can invest in your home without hesitation. Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Name that. Visit article.comwio for working it out and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. That's article.com wio for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Support for working out comes from Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all E commerce in the US 10% of all E commerce from household names like Allbirds and Momofuku, two brands just getting started. Are you a new business owner looking to expand into E commerce? If so, you might be a little nervous about taking the plunge. Is this really the right decision for me? What if I fail? That's something I think about all the time. What if no one buys Anything. I think about that too. Shopify helps you find your customers with easy to run email and social media campaigns. And what if I get stuck? Shopify is always around to share advice with their award winning 24. 7 customer support. Shopify is here to help you move confidently into the e commerce space. It's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com wio go to shopify.com wio that's shopify.com wio. Okay, this is a slow round. Oh, last time you didn't answer this question. What are people's favorite and least favorite thing about you?

[Chris Fleming]

Okay. Least favorite. Yeah, I can be flaky.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay. Yeah. I think you didn't show up like two or three times to this podcast.

[Chris Fleming]

I'm sorry,

[Mike Birbiglia]

I wasn't gonna bring it up. And then you were late today. I wasn't gonna bring that up either. But it's true as you're saying it. I'm like, right, that's true.

[Chris Fleming]

So people resent me for that, right? Always have.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Freud would say, you just don't want to be there. Whoa. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Whoa.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

No, I want it. No, I wanna. I want to be here. I told you how soft your towel is in the bathroom.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, yeah. That's a sign of someone.

[Chris Fleming]

I said it was. It's lovely to be back here.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So flaky.

[Chris Fleming]

Flaky. And what was people's favorite thing about me? Loyalty.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Loyalty. Yeah, I buy that.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, definitely.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What's the best piece of advice someone's given you that you used

[Chris Fleming]

in terms of craft or in terms of life?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Or life.

[Chris Fleming]

I mean, when I was driving out to la, as I was leaving the driveway, my mom said, don't forget who you are. And I think that's really, really good. Then why did you forget blunt head trauma? Well, an overindulgence in mimosas and mojitos from 2012 to 2020.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Know where you went wrong? And then so then what?

[Chris Fleming]

And then craft wise, it's gotta be Jenkins talking about, like, he was like, well, yeah, you can get as crazy as you want up there, Chris, but you know what you're talking about. But if they don't know what you're talking about, he was like, all you gotta do is let. Let them in and be really clear. And then you can get as crazy as you want. And that combination about clarity, that's super smart.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's Rick Jenkins who started the comedy studio. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In Boston. He's Super. Yeah. Super smart.

[Chris Fleming]

I got the best comedy mentor. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I got a similar piece of advice when I was starting out, opening for Jake Johansson, where he goes, a lot of times you're not conveying the thing that's in your head.

[Chris Fleming]

Exactly.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And that's why they're not laughing. And you just need to explain it better.

[Chris Fleming]

Right, Right. It's the same thing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Sometimes you do a bit. You're like, I guess it's not funny. It's just funny to me. It's like, no, no.

[Chris Fleming]

They simply don't understand what you're talking about.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

No. And I. Do you ever do this thing where I write so frantically and then I look back and I'm sure we talked about this, and then I look back and I'm like, oh, the whole juice of the thing, I completely forgot to include in the bit 100. That's. It's so weird sometimes when something stops

[Mike Birbiglia]

working, I have to look, listen to the words and be like. Like, wait, what are. What are the words? Used to be. Yeah. What are the words now?

[Chris Fleming]

Like, what happened?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Where'd the comedy go?

[Chris Fleming]

Because some of it, there's. You write it, and then it's like you are trying to explain to them what you were writing. So it's like, there's like another. There's a rewriting. There's like a lot of steps, and then a lot can get lost in that. Translating 100. Because you. You write something and you're like. And then you can't say that. I don't know. It's all crazy. But so much of it is just clear communication. And they often are willing to go with you, even if it's, like, weird, which is a term I resent.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

People go, you're weird. I'm like, what are you talking about?

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, you're pretty straightforward, I think.

[Chris Fleming]

Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You're doing a lot of bits about

[Chris Fleming]

pop culture, and I'm talking about all food.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Being a goofball. Yeah, yeah. Being. Living everyday life. Thank you.

[Chris Fleming]

They make. They make me out to be like a girl interrupted all the time. You read the profile, man. It's not like girl interrupted.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Wait, who said that? Did someone say that?

[Chris Fleming]

No, it's. That's. That's. That's. That's how I'm described.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. I sound like.

[Chris Fleming]

I sound like a maniac.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, you're more like girl in polite conversation.

[Chris Fleming]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. People don't talk about. Yeah. The New England politeness.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You're more like girl Social. Socially adept. Girl.

[Chris Fleming]

Girl, comma, socially adapt. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Girl, comma, socially.

[Chris Fleming]

Why would we see that? That sounds nice. This sounds totally. Yeah, totally manageable. Girl, socially adept.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We went to see girls Socially adept and they're boring. It was just smooth jazz over five female cast members who were getting along well. Yeah, they all seem fine.

[Chris Fleming]

No conflict.

[Mike Birbiglia]

They were at a bookstore.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

All right, I think we'll go to jokes. I don't know.

[Chris Fleming]

You're gonna edit on other people's jokes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Here's what I. I took this out for you.

[Chris Fleming]

Put some rookie Gervais material in here.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, wait. What? Do you have any new jokes? Hit me with new jokes. Oh, anything in your notebook? Anything half developed?

[Chris Fleming]

I'm trying to do this thing that. That again, exactly what we're talking about. I don't think. I don't think it's. I don't think I'm clarifying it enough, but about how, like, my social circle is pretty drum circle y. And so there's that people are very tethered to those characters this whole time until. And then the second they get engaged, how quickly they're willing to jump off the anti establishment. And it's like to go from crosspunk to Hailey Bieber as soon as the ring shows up. And it's like there's something like you used to free bleed on your enemies couches, and now you're little miss espresso Martini walking down the aisle to a cello cover of Happy by Pharrell.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God, that's so funny.

[Chris Fleming]

Which again. And then if. Yeah, and then it's something like. Yeah, it's just talking about freakin's.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Does it work? I feel like that would work. It has so funny. Okay, like, which part of it doesn't work?

[Chris Fleming]

I think I freak out. I freak out a lot in the beginning of a show. I'm like. I'm like, so energetic and that I can't control myself. And so I think I just need to set it up clearly.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, that's interesting. No, I didn't get it at the beginning.

[Chris Fleming]

Okay. Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And I think, like, I was kind of lost.

[Chris Fleming]

Yes, that's the problem. Audiences are lost.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. And then because. And then also the references are like, too much like Haley Bieber. I'm like. I don't quite get it.

[Chris Fleming]

I. I mean, Kim Kardashian's too easy. But, like.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right, right, right. You know what I mean? Thread that needle. Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

I don't. Maybe needs to be a better person than Haley B. You know, Ashley Tisdale. I don't know, but I. But the Hillary Duff.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What is it the martinis? Is that. What's the line again?

[Chris Fleming]

I love talking about espresso martinis.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Espresso martinis, right?

[Chris Fleming]

Anyone having espresso martini? It's like, you should be put on. It's like when you get Sudafed. It's like, you know how you get. Have to give your license, you know, because you might be making meth. You got espresso martini. That's a bridezilla waiting to happen right there.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That is. That is. You're basically. I'm going to paraphrase this back to you. The bit is fundamentally about, like, your friends, like, caving to. To just like the establishment being. Being, you know, conventional.

[Chris Fleming]

Cupping the balls of the man. It's like people who retweet snl.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I used to do that, and I

[Chris Fleming]

got grassroots organizing for Lauren Michaels.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Burned for someone.

[Chris Fleming]

What about you?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I checked into my hotel room, and the room had this smell that's like cigarettes meets mildew meets maple syrup. And I wake up in the morning and the smell is gone. And then I realized the smell isn't gone. I just am the smell now. I'm like, I like it. Let's go get some pancakes and a pack of Marlboro Reds. It's like a zombie movie. I'm like, hey, where'd the zombies go?

[Chris Fleming]

You know? Totally, totally. I like that. I like that. Maple syrup is in it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. Because that's nice. And that makes me know that you're telling the truth.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, totally.

[Chris Fleming]

Because you wouldn't. You couldn't.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That was from Morning pages. That was literally from morning pages. I mean, I was doing the morning.

[Chris Fleming]

Wow.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That was me, like, waking up at a hotel room and, like, saying, yeah,

[Chris Fleming]

we do afternoon pages. Those are. Those are painful.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Those are less funny.

[Chris Fleming]

Those are. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, my theory about morning pages is if you write down your stream of consciousness before you're, like, afraid of the world, you end up with, like, a childlike wonder, guttural. Kind of like what you're actually thinking. You're sensory, which is literally where that came from. But I think it's funny. Like that thing of, like. Of, like, youth. You think some. The smell is gone. The smell ain't gone, my friend. The smell is with us.

[Chris Fleming]

You are.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You are the smell.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, I really like that. I really, like, also go back to outkast. Big Boy does this a lot like, talking about, like, the sound of aluminum cans in a bag. You know, that thing talking about just, like, Basic feel like talking about the olfactory. When you tap into sensory stuff like that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, yeah. Then the audience can get kind of sense. You know, it's kind of.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Big Boy talks about that in terms of instrumentation.

[Chris Fleming]

Sorry. He just has. They often have lines. It made me want to be like. Sometimes the best analogy is just like a very. Like Tom Waits will. Will do something so highfalutin and then talk about, like, you know, like a hammer. I don't know. Totally, like, very. I don't know. I just. I like that kind.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. The simple. The simplicity.

[Chris Fleming]

I don't know.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah. And then I wrote a. I have a serious question about swim meets. If you kill yourself when the other kids are swimming, do you still get credit for seeing your own kids swimming?

[Chris Fleming]

Wait, wait, wait, wait. So you are at the swim meet?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a little disorienting.

[Chris Fleming]

And you're talking about how you're getting. It's so arduous. You were getting ideations.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

[Chris Fleming]

I do. I feel like you also had a similar bit about the Adventure Zone.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

So there is a really nice theme.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

Of you being at these.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Urban air. Urban air. And then Urgent Care. Yes, That's. The sequence is beautiful. No, it's true. And I. Yeah. Because my joke about swim meets is that it's two. It's. It's two and a half minutes of watching your daughter swim and then four and a half hours of watching other

[Chris Fleming]

kids swim, which you shouldn't be doing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah. And all. And which is the exact amount of time it takes to. To brainstorm every way to kill yourself.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. That is funny.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Devastating.

[Chris Fleming]

You could. Oh, you know what? Hey, hey, hey. You know what you could throw in there? A little Virginia wolf rocks in the pockets because you're by the body of water.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's good there.

[Chris Fleming]

You throw it. End a little. End with a little.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's nice.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

My. I think my best dance move is nodding my head as if to say yes. This is music.

[Chris Fleming]

I've been mean, asking your best dance

[Mike Birbiglia]

move, how do you dance? I was meaning to ask if you'd. How you dance.

[Chris Fleming]

You should also say that and doing the worm in your head.

[Mike Birbiglia]

All right. There's so many problems in the world, it can be overwhelming.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So whenever I meet a vegetarian, I'm like, well, it's a start. You know what I mean? Like, somehow I can't respect an activist eating a hamburger. I'm not saying that I'm right I'm just saying it's not my vibe. Like, my wife and daughter are both vegetarians, so when I bring meat into the house, I feel like a murderer. I'm like, twas I who killed the chickens.

[Chris Fleming]

That's great.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, it's cute.

[Chris Fleming]

And you should bring up Food Inc. Be like, yeah, Food Inc. Yeah. Meaning that people, if they've seen it within five.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Food Inc.

[Chris Fleming]

Within five years.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Devastating.

[Chris Fleming]

That's usually what a vegetarian is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Chris Fleming]

And then after six years, it wears off. Yeah, it's like the Polar Express belt.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. It's the wegovy of vegetarianism.

[Chris Fleming]

You have a lot of bits.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Mike, remember earlier when I asked you whether sex is gone for you too? Because everyone's wondering.

[Chris Fleming]

You're. Being here is like being at the gynecologist. This is my. This is my yearly. This is my annual Birbiglia upskirt.

[Mike Birbiglia]

God, Jesus. Can't we all agree that religions are just hunches? We should rename religions hunches. As in which hunch do you belong to? I'm of the Catholic. Catholic hunch. We have this hunch that the son of God came to Earth and died for our sins so he could open the gates of heaven.

[Chris Fleming]

You know my favorite part of that?

[Mike Birbiglia]

What?

[Chris Fleming]

There's something very cute about you going, wait, read the first two sentences. Religions are just hunches.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Can't we agree that all religions are just hunches?

[Chris Fleming]

I like you. And I like you repeating.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We should just rename religions, period.

[Chris Fleming]

Something cute about that. I like that a lot. Remember, Remember after you did. Right before you were going to tape, you did the Hour at Largo, and me and Mulaney were backstage, and Mulaney gave you a beautiful tag. And then you asked me if I had anything, and I said that I would find it really satisfying if at some point in the special. I don't care when you say, it's a me, Mike Birbiglia. And you were like, all right, Fleming.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, that's good. Oh, that's good.

[Chris Fleming]

I like that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You have any more bets? That one bit's great.

[Chris Fleming]

I do want to. I do want to talk about. This is just like a little line, but when you. 23andMe dogs in California, in LA, like, I have pit bulls, but, like, every dog in LA has a little bit of Chihuahua in them. And so I want to in, like. I imagine there was like, a chihuahua in the 70s who was just like

[Mike Birbiglia]

a. Yeah, tearing it up.

[Chris Fleming]

Sexual.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And I feel like 23 and Ming. They're dogs.

[Chris Fleming]

And people, that's a real thing. People who want to know. People who want to know what's happening. Because then you can be like, oh, I thought this was an American bulldog. When in fact it is a staffy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh wow.

[Chris Fleming]

Which is what I ran into. But anyway, I want to, I definitely want to explore the, the Chihuahua who's getting around in the 70s. And I feel like the safdies are probably going to make a documentary about.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Support for working it out comes from a Warby Parker prescription glasses start at just $95. That's for the frame and the lenses. Warby Parker has an amazing virtual try on. It's convenient. You can do it any time of day. Let's say it's 3am you can't sleep because you're stressed out about getting new glasses. Try them on right at 3am right in your apartment. I'll tell you the best part about Warby Parker. For every pair of glasses they sell, they also give a pair to someone in need. Warby Parker has distributed over 20 million pairs of glasses to people in need through its Buy a pair, give a pair program. Warby Parker gives you quality and better looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of the going price. Our listeners get 15% off plus free shipping when they buy two or more pairs of prescription glasses at warbyparker.com Perbix that's 15% off when you buy two pairs of glasses at W A R B Y parker.com Birbi IGS after you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Tell them we sent you. Working it out is supported by Rula. Let's talk about therapy for a second. We talk about therapy all the time on this show. I've talked about it with Gary Gulman, with Sarah Sherman. That was a good episode where we talk about therapy. I've been in therapy. I know firsthand. Sometimes navigating mental health care can be challenging. Here's the thing about Rula. Rula helps to make that part easier. Rula works with major insurance plans. Sessions can cost as little as $15 and in some cases, $0, depending on what your benefits are. Rula isn't just a directory. They help book appointments. They stay on top of your schedule and keep track of progress so you actually can get somewhere with therapy. Whether it's therapy or medication management, Rula makes it simple to get the full scope of care you need. No time wasted navigating between platforms or offices. Thousands of people have already used Rula to finally get the care they needed. Go to rula.com burbigs and get started today. That's R U L A.com Burbigs take the first step. Get connected. Take control of your mental health. Working it out is supported by Helix. Helix makes award winning sleep products tested and reviewed by experts like Forbes and Wired. Helix offers a 120 night sleep trial and limited lifetime warranty. 120 nights. I've been a Helix customer myself for many years, since the beginning of this podcast almost six years ago. Everyone on the staff here at Working it Out has a Helix mattress. We all really love them. I know a thing or two about sleep and Helix makes the best mattress I've ever slept on. And I've slept on a lot of mattresses. I travel quite a bit, stay in a lot of hotels. Traveling actually can be hard. If I could bring my Helix mattress with me on tour, I would go to helixleep.com and you will get. This is a really good deal. 27% off site wide. Exclusive for listeners of Mike Birbiglia is Working it out. That's helixsleep.com birb I G S for 27% off site wide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you. Helixsleep.com Burbigs. I feel like we're good.

[Chris Fleming]

We're done.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, we have to do a working out for a cause, a non profit that you like to contribute to.

[Chris Fleming]

Okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And then I will link to them and contribute to them.

[Chris Fleming]

Okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's what we do.

[Chris Fleming]

Planned Parenthood, man.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Planned Parenthood, yeah. They always need help.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah. What about you?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I do. I, I do.

[Chris Fleming]

I saw you, I saw you protesting outside one recently.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I was protesting non entertaining comedy. I was like, we're done with him. We're done with him. It was about you.

[Chris Fleming]

Yeah, I did a benefit for them And I bombed 2024.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I don't know. I don't believe you. I think you're starting to strain credibility with these bombing stories.

[Chris Fleming]

Strain credibility.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I think you are because you're you,

[Chris Fleming]

you're doing, you're you speak beautifully sometimes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You're doing very well.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh, thank you.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We're going to contribute to Planned Parenthood. Bring a link to them in the show notes. Chris Fleming, I'm thrilled at your success. I think that we should take partial credit here at the podcast. Oh, 95 round floor on Chris Fleming. Or maybe like third floor.

[Chris Fleming]

Maybe like maybe 35th.

[Mike Birbiglia]

35th of, of 70 of a high rise.

[Chris Fleming]

Yes, but are you predicting my, my death at 70? No.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But I, I think it's, I, I, I'm thrilled it, I mean, as a, as a friend, I consider you a friend. Like, I, like, I'm thrilled for your success, personally, as a, as a fan of comedy, I am thrilled that people get what the hell you're doing.

[Chris Fleming]

Thank you. Thank you, Mike. And I really appreciate everything that you've said and, and your support. You're the best.

[Mike Birbiglia]

All right.

[Chris Fleming]

This has been really fun. Good night.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Good night. Working it Out. Cause it's not done. We're working it out because there's no. That's gonna do it. For another episode of Working it out, you can follow Chris Fleming on Instagram at Chris Fleming Fleming. His new special Live from the palace is on HBO Max. Check out Burbigs.com to sign up for my mailing list. Get the text message alerts to be the first to know about my upcoming shows. You know, the full video of this one, and, man, are you gonna want to watch the video because he, Chris Fleming is a, is a spectacle. He is a, he's a physical specimen unparalleled. I believe in, in comedy. Right now, it's all on our YouTube channel at Mike Birbiglia. Subscribe because we're going to be posting more and more videos. Our producers of Working it out are myself, along with Peter Salomon, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis, and Gary Simons. Sound mixed by Shub Sarin. Supervising engineer, Kate Belinsky. Special thanks to Jack Antonov and Bleachers for their music an album coming your way. Special thanks to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio for Maida Pillows. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy the show, please rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts. I just noticed the other day we're chasing 5,000 user reviews. That's good, people. Go. Oh, oh, that's a real podcast that. There's thousands of thousands of podcasts, but this one has 5,000 user reviews. We should try it because that's, that's really what makes us excited, is when new people find the podcast. Which is why we, we encourage you to tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell Adam Driver. You know, next time you run into Adam Driver, go, hey, I know you don't watch your own work, but check out this podcast Mike Birbigli's working out. It's where Mike Birbigli talks about creative process with other creatives. Maybe skip the Chris Fleming episode. Thanks, everybody. We're working it out. We'll see you next time.