John Mulaney: He's Funny and Here's Why

Summary

Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out

Episode: “John Mulaney: He’s Funny and Here’s Why”

Release Date: July 27, 2026
Guest: John Mulaney
Host: Mike Birbiglia

---

Overview

In this standout episode of Working It Out, Mike Birbiglia welcomes longtime friend and comedy superstar John Mulaney for a freewheeling, insightful, and deeply funny conversation. The pair riff on comedy obsessions, uncomfortable truths, and the realities of show business. They “work out” material, swap stories (including the soon-to-be-classic Frank Sinatra bit), and reflect with honesty on their careers, the writing process, showbiz neuroses, and personal growth. The tone is loose, quick-witted, and warm—a showcase of two comics at the top of their craft, making each other (and us) laugh while pulling the curtain back on their process.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Performing for an Audience vs. Private Conversation

• John and Mike open by wondering how much their rapport would change without an audience.
  • “If we were talking not for them, it would be a hundred thousand times funnier... ’cause we’d talk so much shit about people.” — Mulaney [02:08]
  • They dissect how comedians study and “devote a talmudic level of study” to their peers and contemporaries [04:20].
  • Noted affection for the “mean” but deeply considered ways comedians talk about each other behind the scenes.

Comedy Hangouts & The Scene

• Recollections of early shows, bar gigs, and the evolution of the NYC comedy landscape.
  • Brief nostalgia for Greenwich Village’s “Moonwork” and the current abundance of bar shows [05:36].
  • “Are there bar shows still?” — Birbiglia quoting Michael Che [05:26].

John’s Intellectual Curiosities

• Mulaney’s habit of attending Supreme Court hearings for fun
  • Shares his admiration for lawyers as orators:
    “He’s got to get [the judges] fast. It’s like doing nine pieces of local material in ten seconds.” — Mulaney [07:14]
  • Host and guest riff on the overlap between legal arguments and writing punchy, persuasive stand-up.

Comedic Obsessions: Monkeys, Murder & SNL

• Comedy as analysis, recurring themes
  • Mulaney’s fascination with monkeys in space, murder trial tropes, and why odd or macabre details stick with comedians [08:05-09:30].
  • On SNL: Hosting five times in three years, nerves, and the ever-present fear of a live misstep:
    “If you walk out there and faint and as you’re fainting, say a racial slur... it’s so over. And it’s so bad right away. Be a cultural moment.” — Mulaney [10:41]

Success, Gratitude, and Self-Doubt

• Both discuss career highs and the strange dissatisfactions of success.
  • “Like, I faced almost no hurdles in life that weren’t self-imposed.” — Mulaney [12:07]
  • Mike: “Millions of people look at your career and say, ‘I want that.’”
  • They explore imposter syndrome, envy (“how come he gets that?” — referencing Nicolas Cage’s reaction to Tom Cruise), and learning to be grateful but restless for growth [14:05-15:53].

Family Life, Ethnicity, and Money

• Candid (and hilarious) talk about John’s Vietnamese extended family by marriage and blunt financial conversations.
  • “For the first 39 years of my life, I supported I think zero Vietnamese... Now I have 10 on the books.” — Mulaney [20:43]
  • “Olivia’s family says, how much money you have? I tell them. They love it.” — Mulaney [21:28]
  • Comparison with WASPs never talking about money.

Artistic Risk and Self-Expression

• Post-recovery shift in Mulaney’s comedy
  • Mike observes: “I think you’re more yourself than you’ve ever been.” [22:04]
  • John: “I just want my kids to be okay... so, I don’t care about anything [else].” [23:40]
  • Audience discomfort, post-scandal resilience, and how fatherhood changes craving for applause vs. real purpose [23:53].

Working With and Championing Other Comics

• Robbie Hoffman’s Netflix special, “Wake Up Robbie Hoffman,” directed by Mulaney.**
  • “First line of her set when she opens for me... I’ll tell you, every audience is better for having been pushed around.” — Mulaney [28:02]
  • Both praise comics like Nick Griffin, Jessica Kirson, and Cat Williams (“Jacksonville bits”) for their originality and fearless humor [29:48-31:30].

Writing Rooms, Collaboration, and Generosity

• Inside SNL writing culture:
  • “Another writer might just give you [a] tag at the rewrite table. It’s wild.” — Mulaney [32:37]
  • “We’re not all these auteurs that bring our things on Wednesday and take them back and then put them up Saturday... someone’s gonna give you the tag that’s gonna change [it].” [33:03]

Marketing Honesty & Comedians Talking ‘Real’

• Imagining “Talking Shit”—the Midnight Montreal Show, $10,000 a head:
  • “No comps. Absolutely no comps... The second something leaks, the show’s over.” — Mulaney [35:26]
  • Dream of unfiltered comic banter as a festival highlight.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Frank Sinatra and the Art of the Bit

[46:20]
Mike: “I have relatives in Buffalo... they went to see Frank Sinatra. He comes out, we go, ‘Frankie, Frankie, we love you!’ And he gets in his car and goes, ‘Get out of the way, you fat pigs.’ That’s the whole thing. And they still love Frank Sinatra.”
John: “I think about that story a thousand times a day.” [47:38]

On Family and Money

[20:56]
Mulaney: “Now I have 10 [Vietnamese relatives] on the books... A couple take Zell.”

[21:25]
Mike: “How refreshing, by the way, to be in a goddamn white family—never talk about money at all...”

On Hosting SNL

[10:41]
Mulaney: “If you walk out and faint and as you’re fainting, say a racial slur—it’s over... Be a cultural moment.”

On Jealousy in Showbiz

[14:44]
Birbiglia: “Nick Cage being like, how come he gets that?”

On Having a “Frustrating Day” Despite Success

[15:55]
Mulaney: “Oh, if I only had a bit like I did before... chasing the high, chasing the quality of work...”

On Robbie Hoffman

[28:31]
Mulaney: “She goes, ‘The dyke has to do the parenting. Get out of here, lady. Take your kid and bring him back for John.’”

On Writing for SNL

[32:37]
Mulaney: “Another writer might just give you [a] tag at the rewrite table... someone’s gonna give you the tag that’s gonna change the whole sketch.”

On Audiences and Being Yourself

[22:04]
Birbiglia: “You’re more yourself than you’ve ever been.” Mulaney: “I like that in the best way. Yeah, it feels that way. Then I go: Is this too mean? Too nihilistic? Am I letting the cat out of the bag?”

---

Important Segments (Timestamps)

• Why comics riff like Talmudic scholars about contemporaries: [04:14–04:36]
• Supreme Court arguments as performance: [06:29–07:38]
• SNL nerves and the high-stakes of live performance: [10:40–11:17]
• On being grateful, driven, and never quite satisfied: [12:00–15:53]
• On family, ethnicity, and talking bluntly about money: [20:03–21:33]
• Self-acceptance post-rehab and fatherhood: [22:04–24:32]
• The ‘Jacksonville’ test for obscure but hilarious bits: [30:02–31:30]
• Comedy writing generosity at SNL: [32:23–33:40]
• The power and danger of honesty—Midnight Show concept: [35:26–36:01]
• Frank Sinatra Story (‘out of my way you fat pigs’): [46:20–47:59]
• Encouraging honest comedy, poking at platitudes: [33:04–34:28]
• Robbie Hoffman’s influence and fearless style: [28:01–28:33]
• Unexpected trivia—Edison electrocuting an elephant: [67:10–68:53]
• Innocence Project shoutout (Working It Out for a Cause): [71:18–72:16]

---

Flow & Tone

• Conversational, playful, a little anarchic and full of inside-baseball honesty.
• Mutual respect comes through in teasing, memory-sharing, and critique.
• Unfiltered talk about the grind, envy, material anxieties—offset by joy and overwhelming gratitude for their careers.

---

Additional Highlights

• Writing “tricks”: How to shoehorn great bits into longform shows even when causality is weak [48:30].
• Neuroses about being “ripped off” in comedy: Both joke about younger comics “doing their voice” but are mostly unbothered [36:23].
• Childhood and school stories: Substitute teacher and fake names, the epic Michael Jordan retirement homeroom freakout [56:16–59:36].
• Bit brainstorming: Over-naming things (“Feminist Bookstore”) vs. things that are under-named (like suicide as a topic) [62:46–65:17].
• Artistry and support: Mulaney reads from Stephen King’s National Book Award speech about family support [54:12].
• Comics knowing when to push audiences and embrace discomfort: [22:26; 28:01]
• Closing with nonprofit highlight: Innocence Project [71:18].

---

For Listeners: Why This Episode Stands Out

• A masterclass in the anatomy of a joke and the creative process—with two of the best working comics dissecting what works, what excites them, and what worries them.
• Major laughs and rare candor about envy, self-doubt, artistic insecurity, and the strange grind of show business.
• Memorable stories (Sinatra, SNL, monkeys in space, writing rooms), delivered with affection for the absurdity of their shared world.

---

Listen if you want…

• To hear two comics “work out” bits in real time and poke fun at each other with affection.
• An honest, unfiltered take on the comedy writing process, touring, and dealing with fame.
• To find out why comedians can’t stop obsessing over each other—and why that’s not a bad thing at all.
• Heartfelt advice on sticking with your voice, finding humor in the weirdness of life, and respecting the craft.

---

Recommended Segment:
The Frank Sinatra Story [46:20–48:12]—a perfect example of comedy as storytelling, and the joy of a simple, punchy anecdote that comics wish they’d written (or could shoehorn into their own set).

---

Support this episode’s cause:
Innocence Project

---

Transcript

[A]

So the thing with doing the podcast is I'm very. We have to talk for the audience.

[B]

I know.

[A]

And I'm a little fr. I'm not frustrated with it.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

But you know how much better of a conversation we'd be having if they weren't. If they weren't here and how much Just more. I mean, if we were talking not for them, it would be a hundred thousand times funnier.

[B]

That is the voice of the great John Mulaney. John Mulaney just played Wrigley Field. Take that in. He just performed like a baseball team. Wait, make that like two baseball teams. That's how much comedy he is able to give to the world. This is a re. Air of our 200th episode from earlier this year. One of our most popular episodes of all time, I think. Possibly our most popular episode of all time. It was an honor to have him on. He's been my friend for many, many, many years. I recently did some dates in support of Jon's new hour, which is fantastic. We were with Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll. Those shows were so much fun. I think you're gonna love this episode with John. We talk about Robbie Hoffman's Netflix special, which John directed. That's on Netflix. We talk about John's comedic obsessions, such as monkeys and murder. We also talk about jokes that I wished he did and he wished I did. He brings up this Frank Sinatra story that I've been resisting telling on stage for years, but ended up being like, a viral clip on Instagram from this episode. And actually, people bring up to me all the time. Literally, someone repeated the words to this bit to me just on the street the other day. I won't give away what it is I say, but when you hear the Frank Sinatra bit, just imagine someone doing that to me. A complete stranger saying it to me in the street. Enjoy my conversation with the great John Mulaney.

[A]

If we were talking not for them, it would be a hundred thousand times

[B]

funny, I think, because we'd talk so much shit about people and stuff.

[A]

Also, that's not wrong, you know, like,

[B]

yeah, it's what you do with your friends.

[A]

No, no, no. And also, it's not wrong to the people.

[B]

No, I don't think it is wrong to the people.

[A]

What? Like, if I've been talking shit about you, think about that. Like, I've been thinking about you and thinking, I'm not. Don't be grateful. But, like, think about it that way. Like, I've really thought about you and I thought about you In a way that, like your significant other might not have your family 100%. I've really thought about you and you've brought me a lot of happiness, which we're literally making fun out of you.

[B]

You're in my life and you're being

[A]

used, like, for fun. And like I was about to go, and we don't hate you, but that's not always true. But like, truly, like, that's, it's. You could, you know, like take. Think about that. You and I, like Mike and me, thought about you.

[B]

Yeah. We thought about you a lot and

[A]

compared notes and egged each other on to go further and darker.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Not flattering in its own way.

[B]

The other day I took Oona, who's 10 now, to the Comedy Cellar for the first time. Really Just New Year's Eve. It was the daytime and we just took her in for lunch. It was me. Yeah, it was me and Jenny and Oona. We were in the daytime. We had lunch. It was nice and like she met Esti and Liz and I said, and it was special. She saw where I work, basically, of course. And I go, I go, that's the comedy comedian's table. I go, When I moved here in my twenties, the other comedians would really say mean stuff to me. And now they're, they're pretty nice to me. I say this to my daughter.

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

And Liz goes, to your face.

[A]

That's great. That's really great. Yeah.

[B]

And I liked it, of course, for

[A]

the exact reason you're saying, imagine these are really interesting minds.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Really interesting people who are. Are very discerning about what they spend their time thinking about and analyzing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, so many things. We go, no, no, I'm not going to have a take on that. Don't have a take on that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you go, and how about that Son of a bitch. You get. You just focus in on someone in our field, a contemporary.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And we devote a talmudic level of study to them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's a wonderful thing.

[B]

Yeah. So I saw your. I took the train down to D.C. and I saw your new. What was an hour and 40 minutes. Yeah. the anthem. No, but it wasn't. I watched every second of it, completely enthralled.

[A]

You were so great. What a fun show that was.

[B]

Thanks. I was honored to pop on.

[A]

My God.

[B]

It was one of those things that I feel like I don't really do anymore or. But I want to start doing, which is just do something for fun.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where it's like, this isn't my job. This is just my friend. He's doing a show. I'm going to just take the train and show up. Yeah. And it's not an obligation.

[A]

I'm always looking for something like Moonwork, Tom Shoulders.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Which we were working on our stuff there, but it was like, it had this other feel to it.

[B]

This was a Show in the 2000s in the Greenwich Village. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it's funny, Michael Che said that in this podcast last week. He was just like, are there bar shows still?

[A]

That's. I don't mean to be elderly, but I do wonder that as well. Yeah. Like, there might be. And I don't know about them, but.

[B]

Well, that's the thing. Mabel and Gary were saying, like, there definitely are so many.

[A]

So many. That's interesting. More than there used to be. More than there used to be.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. But worse. I don't know.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Remember that Seinfeld, where he goes, me and Rock are always talking about, where are the next guys? We were all like, 25 when that interview came out.

[B]

Like, what? We're right here.

[A]

Where are they? What?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

So funny.

[B]

Oh, my God. Now there's.

[A]

Now we're doing that.

[B]

Now there's so many of them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

One of the things that I marvel at when you're on, like, when I meet up with you on the road, is you actually fill your days with real things. Like, I was in D.C. with you and you, like, go to museums and you, like, went to the Supreme Court a bunch of times recently. Were they significant cases?

[A]

I went to see our mutual friend Neil Katyal argue the Trump Tariffs case.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That was the first oral argument I've seen. I listened to them on YouTube. You can listen to the whole three hour oral argument of any case.

[B]

And you do this.

[A]

Yeah, often.

[B]

I mean, this is. This is astonishing.

[A]

They're great. They're very easy to follow. They're very good to listen to for comedy in terms of like. Or rather in, like, broadcasting and communicating.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Neil, Mike or John has about 15 seconds to get the listener. Oh, interesting. His listeners are the nine Supreme Court justices.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Truly them. He's not giving a speech that he hopes the outside world likes.

[B]

Right.

[A]

He's got to convince.

[B]

He knows. He knows who those two people are.

[A]

He knows who those two people are who could be on the fence. Who could he get and who could he get the right way? By citing one of their mentors or talking about a past decision they wrote using the vocabulary they like, and he's got to get them fast. It's like doing nine pieces of local material in 10 seconds. It's amazing.

[B]

When you were a kid, did you want to be a lawyer?

[A]

I wanted to be a lawyer that appeared on television. You remember Jerry Spence? He was some sort of a western type guy. He wore a cowboy hat and he wore a fringe jacket. I believe he was a criminal defense attorney. But he would appear on TV all the time.

[B]

Yeah, I remember that.

[A]

Yeah, I liked lawyers on television. I knew I'd like the closing argument.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I wanted to be right, self righteous and give long closing arguments.

[B]

Well, you talk about murder so much.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In your act that it's clearly. It's clearly on your mind.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, right, yeah.

[B]

Like there's a bunch of stuff like that. Like murder monkeys.

[A]

Is it monkeys?

[B]

Well, like Beppo, for example. You did stuff on your talk show.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, we did. You're right. I think about them a lot. Fair amount. I think about the monkey that went into space.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

We sent a monkey into space.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Whose name escapes me. But, you know, we sent him up after Laika, the dog. Our monkey lived, the dog, Laika died. So they send him up, he goes, you know, the capsule drops into the water. Yeah, the flight went fine for us. I don't know how it was for him. Drops into the water. We can't find the capsule for a while.

[B]

Huh.

[A]

So he's stuck drowning in this capsule. They finally find him, they get him, they rescue him, they bring him on and then they go, wait, we didn't get a photo of him in the capsule in his uniform. So this poor bastard monkey, they have to put him back. So he just went to sleep. They had to recreate the photo. And he's like, the last time I was in this, I was drowning. And they're like, oh, you're back. You know, and then they put the helmet back. They put the helmet back on and put them back in the capsule to get a photo, which I totally agree was the right thing to do.

[B]

Do you think about.

[A]

You can't do that and not have a picture. Can you imagine NASA going, we sent a monkey into space and he's fine and he wore a little helmet and he's back and he's really good. And yes, he had a little spacesuit. No, we don't have a picture. We don't have a picture. That was not what we're about. Yes, it was a tiny helmet. Yes, his name was on the uniform. No. Yeah, he peeked out of the capsule with his helmet on. What do you want? We don't have a photo.

[B]

I love that Beppo sketch on snl.

[A]

Yeah, that was great.

[B]

That was a great one. Whenever you host snl, it's phenomenal.

[A]

Oh, that's nice of you to say, but it's.

[B]

And it's. I feel like it's seminal for the show even. Like it's an event that you are hosting because you do a musical and your mom. Yeah, no, not for you, for us.

[A]

Oh, that's nice to hear. I obviously look at them as the biggest event of the year, but. Yeah, right.

[B]

Is it like the last like six years in a row or something?

[A]

No, I hosted five times in three years.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Yeah, like. Yeah, it was five times in three years.

[B]

That is wild.

[A]

Yeah, it was.

[B]

Do you get nervous?

[A]

Yeah, I do get.

[B]

You do get nervous.

[A]

But I get grandly nervous. Which is then hilarious. Cause you go, this is no joke. If you walk out there and faint and as you're fainting, say a racial slur like, it's over. Like, this is not like, oh, no one saw it. It's so over.

[B]

You can't tell yourself. Yeah, no, they did. They. No, everybody has their bad days. Yeah.

[A]

Like, as you're coming to, you say something racist from a dream, you know, that you've been having while out. There's no, like, oh, that's okay. You know, come back next week. And it's so bad. And it's so bad right away. Be a cultural moment.

[B]

Is there some degree where, because you're in the David Russell movie, you're in, you're hosting SNL six times. Like, at any point do you just go, well, I don't need anything else.

[A]

Yeah, but I felt that way the first time I did theaters.

[B]

Did you really?

[A]

Yeah, I was like, this is as far as I saw this going.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which was good and bad.

[B]

That's interesting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like people. I would venture to say millions of people look at your career and say, I want that. Exactly what he has.

[A]

That's very.

[B]

I want. And I. But I want to know. Convince those people they're wrong.

[A]

No, I can't.

[B]

You can't.

[A]

Okay, I can't.

[B]

Or tell them challenging. Tell them what's challenging. But how?

[A]

Like, I faced almost no hurdles in life that weren't self imposed. Listen, I won the fucking lottery. I'm so fulfilled and happy.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I love being a stand up comic. The idea that some 13 year old listens to me doing comedy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To even meet people now in their 20s being like, I grew up watching you. That would make some people feel old or something. I like it so much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, to think that, like, when I was listening to albums by two famously canceled men and then Chris Rock and Other People. Two unmentionables. But so, like, to think someone's watching my specials when they're like 13 and loving them. It's crazy. Let alone the fact that I get to perform in nice theaters, like, let alone that I'm really, like, what people come up to me about on the street, I'm really proud of. Like, I'm not. I didn't play Salami on the White Shadow or something. Nothing wrong with Tim Van Patten. But someone told me today, did you know Tim Van Patten played Salami on the White Shadow? And I thought that was such a funny credit. Anyway, so. Right.

[B]

So when people come up to you, it's.

[A]

They're talking about a special or they're talking about Big Mouth or they're talking about snl. Snl. Yeah. I go, so it's. I'm extremely happy. I have lots of problems having all that being said. Gratitude and self confidence in the world of comedy is not one of my problems. I have others.

[B]

Well, that'd be all that being said.

[A]

Go ahead.

[B]

All that being said, what is your frustrating day that the people, the millions of people who want your car don't know about?

[A]

Well, what is my frustrating day?

[B]

I know you don't want to say.

[A]

Well, I don't mean to be Mr. Well Adjusted.

[B]

Okay, here's my example.

[A]

Pitch what you think it is and I will confirm or do it, because I'm not trying to not. I would love to go here.

[B]

I think I want to say it was like a screenwriter once I was listening to. Talk about working with. Oh, it was someone you worked with working with Nick Cage.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And the story was like, Nick Cage had won an Oscar and from Leaving Las Vegas. And he had been, you know, in, you know, everything and Moonstruck. And they were with his trailer at a movie. The screenwriter was with him at his trailer at a movie. And it was like a TV commercial for Tom Cruise in like a huge movie. And it was like. And it was like Nick Cage being like, how come he gets that?

[A]

Sure, sure, sure.

[B]

And it's like, what's that for?

[A]

You let me think. There's definitely that. I don't mean to.

[B]

When have I thought that Recently?

[A]

I used to think it more. I used to be like, why aren't I on one of these shows?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. Well, let me think about it. I don't like dodging the question. I don't mean to.

[B]

Right. Like, you'd see the bear, let's say, not that specifically. And you'd be like, a little bit. What if I was on that?

[A]

And then you're like, more like. I just aren't. I'm not. I sometimes go. But I sometimes go. I'm not thought of for that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But also, like, I don't want to do it either. With some exceptions.

[B]

Right. Well, the bear.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But like, most things you don't want to do.

[A]

I feel good about what I've turned down, and I. Okay, but I'm dodging a really interesting question of what's hard. I am often frustrated with what I'm doing now. Maybe there's a bit. Oh, if I only had a bit like I did before.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

So I have that feeling.

[B]

Right. Which is a little of a drug thing. Right. It's like chasing the high.

[A]

Well, chasing the quality of work or being inspired by yourself or drugs. Or a drug thing. Yeah. Famous drug guy. Dumb idiot. Has one lens to see everything. Yeah. So there's that. There's that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know. I will keep thinking as we talk and something will come to me, but I guess I also had those in the past. And then I had to go, you dummy. You're like, we talked about this recently. Like, you and I will sometimes have someone come to our show and go, I love that. I've watched all your specials. And this person will be a director in charge of movies we'd like to be in.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Sure. And this guy's telling us how great we are and never uses us. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Most 99% of the time, not hired by the people, being like, I've seen all your specials. Most of the time. Because they're doing their own thing and they love your thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you walked. If you met Lou Reed on the street, you wouldn't go, do you want to join my band?

[B]

That's right. Yeah, that's exactly right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I went home and told Jen. That's that you had that analogy recently.

[A]

You'd be like, well, I have a band. You could come play in it. Do less than you normally do.

[B]

Of course.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No, the Lou Reed example, I think, is actually kind of brilliant. If someone does something that's so specific to them, you don't think, how could that be in my thing?

[A]

But also, they could put us in their movies a little bit. But also, what do we Want. Are you want to be up at 6am on set?

[B]

Maybe.

[A]

Really? You like it? You direct movies. You like it so much when you direct them. You do.

[B]

Yeah. When you worked with Nic Cage, you worked on the David Russell movies. Like Nic Cage, Christian Bale.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's like I feel like I'm the Chris Farley show now. I'm like, was that awesome?

[A]

I'll just tell you one moment because I. It was a fantastic experience. I'm sure I was standing on. I won't say too much. I won't say much of anything. I'm standing on a lawn with several of the main stars of the movie and we're having a heated scene and I go, oh my God. I'm in one of those David Russell scenes. Yes, we all have a lot. We're all going. I was like, oh my God, I'm in one of those scenes. We're just at each other, everyone talking. Once. It was great.

[B]

It's really, really amazing. And I was in a band called Otto and with Tom Hanks. And it was this whole tracking shot where I drive into the shot and the camera comes in and it's Tom Hanks and I fucking sky high. I don't know my lines because I'm like, what am I doing here? I'm driving a car and there Tom Hyings.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

What am I doing here?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The fuck's going on?

[A]

How do you feel about having to operate the car yourself? I had to on this last film. Yeah. Hard. It's a little bit like. Guys. Yeah,

[B]

yeah.

[A]

You want me to stop at a certain moment? Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Never done it before.

[B]

And there's people around and I could hit them.

[A]

I can't park going inward, but I'll roll you. And I understand we have limited time to get this shot and then I

[B]

have to reset the car.

[A]

Right. And it's an old car driving back in. Yeah, yeah, Go in reverse.

[B]

Yeah, go in reverse.

[A]

Yeah, in a car.

[B]

You know that I. When I used to go to Chicago for years I would sleep in your parents house.

[A]

Yeah, I remember that.

[B]

When you weren't even there.

[A]

No. Yeah. You'd go back and stay with them.

[B]

Yeah. It was really pleasant.

[A]

How come you liked it?

[B]

I liked it because it. This is so like almost weird in a friendship. I liked that you grew up there.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

It was nice. I was like, oh, this is homey. This is like where John used to like hang with his siblings and stuff. This is fun.

[A]

And there's a bit of like, you do your Thing. We'll do our thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everyone just goes into different rooms and reads a lot.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, that's right. When you go to Chicago, like when you go to Chicago this summer, we're

[A]

together, but apart a lot.

[B]

Your family. Yeah. Yeah. And now you have a whole other family, Olivia's family, which you talk about on stage. And there's a whole riot.

[A]

Yeah. So that's a thing where. That's how regular ass of a day it is when I'm with nine Vietnamese people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That take them to the store, her aunts and uncle's mom. That only a couple days later someone say, what did you do Monday? And I said, I took, you know, six of her relatives to CVS to get child flip flops for themselves.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then they wore them to a restaurant and that. I'll go, oh, that's out of the ordinary. A little. From.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah. I love.

[A]

So Olivia has a large. She's Vietnamese.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And she has a large Vietnamese family in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Of which I am one of the significant financial.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Contributors.

[B]

I understand that for the first 39

[A]

years of my life, I supported, I think zero Vietnamese. None. Not probably none.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And Now I have 10 on the books.

[B]

10 or so.

[A]

A couple. Take Zell.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Are you thinking that when you are having a nice relationship with them, they're in the back of their mind, they're thinking, I wonder if he'll send me a thousand dollars.

[A]

There's no wonder in the back of the mind. Do you mean the front of the

[B]

voice of their mind?

[A]

The front of the voice, the words coming out of their mouth. Yeah.

[B]

One of my favorite things you talk about with them.

[A]

How refreshing, by the way, to be in a goddamn white family. Never talk about money at all.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

How much money you have?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Olivia's family says, how much money you have? Yeah, I like. I actually like that.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

How much money you have.

[A]

I tell them they love it. They couldn't like it more.

[B]

Did they say how much money they have?

[A]

Do you remember Todd Berry's joke that if he bought his parents a house, they'd have a worse house. That's a great joke. Yeah. So, you know, you have parents of some success, you know, you can't really do anything for them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it brings me great joy to help out. Help and. And do fun things with Olivia's family.

[B]

Here's what I observe about your live touring show right now. I think you're more yourself than you've ever been.

[A]

Okay. I like that in the best way. Yeah, it feels that way. Then I go, is this too. Is this too mean? Not about the family jokes. I mean, just in general. I go, like, yeah, like, you know, there's a bit of a. Or is this too nihilistic? Am I let. Am I letting the cat out of the bag?

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But I don't. I don't think so at all. I. I find it to be. And I think it's probably not unrelated to you being in recovery and all that stuff. And basically, I would pro. I would say probably facing down, feeling like, oh, this is. Might end my career, and all this kind of stuff. And then you became bigger, I think. I mean, I don't know how to track this thing.

[A]

Seems like I know how to track it. And yes,

[B]

so it seems a lot.

[A]

Some markers. And, yes, it seems a lot bigger. Yeah.

[B]

And so then I think, in some ways, do you think that you were just going, well, I. I faced what could have been the end of my career, and I'm bigger, so of course I can talk about maybe anything.

[A]

I don't know if I've articulated that, because I can't talk about anything. Like, I don't mean. I can't talk about some things. I mean, I'm not, like, I'll say whatever the fuck I want because I was once embarrassed and it was turned out okay, you know?

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I think I just. I don't. I want. Because I was once embarrassed, want my kids to be okay. I just. I mean, I just want my kids to be okay. I just want my kids to be okay. I just want Olivia to be okay. I just want my kids to be okay.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So, like, I don't give a f. Like, I don't care about anything. Yeah.

[B]

But it's. I don't know. It does seem like you. You. You're comfortable with your audiences being in uncomfortable space.

[A]

Did you find, after having, though, a child that looks at you the way your child looks at you? You're like, I don't. I need those people's total adoration and approval a little less.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's accurate.

[A]

But I still like them a lot. A lot. In fact, I'll do shows for them from this day forward.

[B]

From this day forward. Yeah. It's interesting, though, because, like, even when I.

[A]

And therefore, you break through to the better stuff.

[B]

I think so.

[A]

I don't mean, like, I don't care. And, no, I still desperately love performing, but you just go like this is

[B]

not,

[A]

this is not life or death. And so I'm going to be far better at it without these weird stakes of I'm a good, I am of value if this goes well and I'm not if it doesn't.

[B]

Support for working it out comes from Mint Mobile There are things in life that you don't want to be transparent, like your swimsuit or your search history. But when it comes to your wireless bill, transparency is everything. That's why Mint Mobile wireless plans have no gimmicks, no gotchas, just high speed data and reliable coverage on the T Mobile 5G network. Right now, all plans are $15 per month, even unlimited. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. Choose from 3, 6 or 12 month plans and say goodbye to the monthly bill. To get your new wireless Plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com perbigs that's mintmobile.com perbigs Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com that's it. There's no catch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for $180 for 12 months Plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees Extra initial plan term Only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Includes up to 20 gigabyte hotspot capable device required. Availability, speed and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com how about that voiceover work I did the fast voice and everything. 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. 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. A lot of online therapy doesn't accept insurance at all. Rula does things completely differently. They partner with over 120 insurance plans, making the average co pay just $15 per session. Rula isn't just a directory. They help book appointments, they stay on top of your schedule and Rula sticks with you throughout your journey, checking in to make sure your care is actually helping you move forward. Thousands of people have already used Rula to finally get the care they needed. Don't keep putting it off. Visit rula.combrbigs to get started. That's R U L A.combrbigs you deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. You talk about Olivia's family and then you're like, I'm gonna do the voice. And it's like, I enjoy. I've earned it because you support them. But it's like, it's so enjoyable to watch that.

[A]

That's nice from you. Yeah.

[B]

Because you're not one of these. You can't say anything anymore.

[A]

No. I've always said whatever I wanted.

[B]

Yeah, you say whatever you want, always.

[A]

But somehow I've had no again, other than self imposed hurdles. Almost no problems in life ever.

[B]

Right. But it's sort of fun to watch that. You're you, You. You don't even. Like I said, I'm going to do a guess on your show. Do you mind if I talk about, like, these three topics that are tricky and sometimes even my audience is like, not okay with me up. And you were like, yeah, I like it when people mix it up.

[A]

100%. Yeah, 100%. Robbie Hoffman opens for me, joins me for these shows. I just directed a special for Netflix called Wake Up, Robbie Hoffman.

[B]

Robbie's so funny.

[A]

She's so funny. First line of her special. Check it out. First line of her set when she opens for me. And I'll tell you, every audience is better for having been pushed around.

[B]

You're not gonna say the line. You're just gonna say it's a. I'm

[A]

not gonna say it.

[B]

Right. Okay. I was trying to translate it for people watching.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, I'm not gonna say what her first line is.

[B]

It's an explosive line.

[A]

It's an explosive line.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But it's also a greeting, so. But all I mean is doing shows with Robbie, I'm like, people are smart. Audiences are fun.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They get poked. They get shoved around a little. She told a 12 year old to leave.

[B]

Why?

[A]

She goes, the dyke has to do the parenting. Get out of here, lady. Take your kid and bring him back for John. Go to the lobby. I'm serious. Get out of here.

[B]

That's great.

[A]

And they left. They could hear her act in the lobby, though. It was great.

[B]

Yeah, Robbie's fantastic. Robbie's like a quintessential example of a comedian who you're like, oh, you just have no filter.

[A]

This is just someone. I think it's just that thing of, like, the mind, the personality and the creativity operating at its highest level right now where they're all one. You know, there is a filter. There's a quality control. Because everything she says is funny.

[B]

That's Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. No, it's the. It's. Sorry. It's the sleight of hand, of no filter.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

It's. It's like, oh, my God. I guess. I guess this person's just gonna say all this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they.

[A]

Also, it's no filter. Yeah. Also, it's an inability to keep some things muddled in.

[B]

Who are the people who. Who were the comics who make you laugh the most?

[A]

You know who really makes me laugh all the time? Nick Griffin.

[B]

Oh, Nick Griffin's great.

[A]

I mean, every time I see him at the Cellar.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Jessica Kson,

[B]

you love Cat Williams.

[A]

I know. I love.

[B]

We've talked at length about the Florida run, that Jacksonville. Yeah, the Jacksonville run. He does.

[A]

Jacksonville is now a term I know. I use for the way they say, like, forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. Jacksonville is when A bit. I don't understand what the bit is about. I don't know the facts of the bit. I don't know what you're talking about.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But this is so funny. So when you see someone do a bit and you're like, I have actually no point of connection with what you're saying. I don't know that these are true examples you're giving. The audience loves them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm gonna trust that this makes sense to someone.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

But it's so clearly funny that I'm laughing so hard. That's called Jacksonville now. Because he does. I believe.

[B]

I think it's 18. Maybe it's like 18 minutes.

[A]

Minutes on the city of Jacksonville.

[B]

It becomes a comedy touch point.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where comedians will talk about how cat Williams does 15 minutes of the beginning of a special about local references in Jacksonville, Florida.

[A]

And it's so funny that the neighborhoods sound like soap operas. And then he gives examples. And they don't to me, but, like. And they don't. And I don't know if those are real neighbors. It's like. It's perfect. It's a perfectly closed system that is somehow you go, I know that. I have total trust that this is hilarious, and therefore I'm laughing as if I know all of these.

[B]

When you were a writer at snl, what was your favorite type of person in the writers room?

[A]

James Anderson.

[B]

Okay, okay. But what type of person. Like, what's the quality of a collaborator that you were drawn to when you were at the show?

[A]

Rewrite table. Fun.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

Very generous. At rewrite table. The first year I was there, there were nine writers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

There's a lot more now. We Were at one table on Thursdays for rewrite. Seth Meyers, Paul Lepel, Emily Spivey, Simon Rich, America Sawyer, Rob Klein, Colin Jost, James Anderson, Kent Sublette, Brian Tucker. And if I'm leaving anyone out from that one season, they're update writers as well. And everyone sat at one table. Jim Downey occasionally. And everyone kind of cross pollinated. I wrote with Paula. I wrote with James.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Simon and Paula would bright sign together. Everyone worked together. And everyone really was quite generous with like someone giving you a joke on Thursday. I mean, what are these sketches? They're 2 minutes, 53 seconds.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They're often good for one. They often get one take home joke from the whole episode. Another writer might just give you that at the rewrite table. Yeah, it's wild. You know, we're not all these like auteurs that bring our things on Wednesday and then take them back and then put them up Saturday for dress. It's like someone's going to give you the tag that's going to change. Seth Meyers is just going to effortlessly give you a tag that changes the whole sketch from, you know, a car to an airplane.

[B]

I'm going to do the slow round.

[A]

Unless you know what this was for.

[B]

Oh, yeah, what's that for?

[A]

But now I think it's stupid. I'm not going to.

[B]

No, no, let's do it.

[A]

This was originally for. And what happened was I had a bell ding.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I left it in Chicago. I flew in this morning. So I got this on Instacart from obviously I don't even need to say what store that's from. It's famous. Famous product of theirs, staples. If you complimented something or someone that I knew you didn't respect, I was gonna hit the buzzer only to say, I do it too. We both do it.

[B]

Okay. But you think I do it on

[A]

this show or if something came up. We both do it publicly. It's not picking on you.

[B]

No, I get it. You can't pick up me.

[A]

I like it if someone came up and we went, mmm.

[B]

And then you hit the button.

[A]

And if you were too diplomatic, it was gonna.

[B]

That was easy.

[A]

A little too slow, too. The timing's almost funny. It's so bad.

[B]

That was easy.

[A]

Yeah. I really thought it was gonna have a buzzer sound. I was very disappointed.

[B]

And that's. If I'm complimenting someone who I don't respect.

[A]

If you drifted into something that I go, nah, we've talked about this and we know this isn't good. You know, I think sometimes we both will fall into certain polite, diplomatic platitudes. I do it as well.

[B]

Okay, I respect that.

[A]

But I didn't bring the bell, and the button's not. The timing of the button isn't good. Why are you confused by the idea that we would say something polite?

[B]

I'm trying to think of who I've said it about.

[A]

There's people you will talk about positively. That if I leaned into it, you'd say a lot more interesting stuff about them. Maybe that's what the bell is for. As would I.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

How do we market that?

[B]

If you. If you poked at it.

[A]

If I went, but what?

[B]

But would be more there.

[A]

I'm gonna come on. And then you go, yeah. No, they're terrible. But, I mean, this one thing worked out well.

[B]

No, I know what you mean.

[A]

How do we market that, by the way?

[B]

You know? You know, it's like that. I'll take this out. But it's like, how do you market what.

[A]

How do we sell what we do privately?

[B]

Oh, no. Unsellable.

[A]

I always thought there should be, like, a $10,000 ahead ticket at the Montreal Comedy Festival midnight show. No one under the influence allowed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, like, you gotta. That's hard for a lot of industry people at Montreal.

[B]

No, I know.

[A]

$10,000 ahead. No comps. Absolutely no comps.

[B]

That's interesting.

[A]

The second something leaks, the show's over.

[B]

That's a great idea.

[A]

We would do it every year. Donate the money to something really important.

[B]

Right.

[A]

If you make anything.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And you're taking money out of someone's pocket. A charity.

[B]

Yeah. That's smart.

[A]

Yeah, I think so.

[B]

What do we call it, though?

[A]

Talking shit.

[B]

Talking shit.

[A]

That's a great idea. I've always thought that that would be the highlight of any festival.

[B]

Shit.

[A]

Because these comedy festivals again, though. Interesting, too. It's an interesting exercise. We care about our goddamn craft a lot. Craft? I never said that before. We care about the biz and the other people we have to run into. We care a lot about them. We think about them a lot.

[B]

What do you think when people, like, rip off your voice and your style?

[A]

Dude, I. I've heard they do, but I don't. I can't think of anyone that does.

[B]

We know who did.

[A]

I don't, actually. You want to write it down? Write the first letter. Oh, I'm not that familiar with that person.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But I. I'll check it out.

[B]

I just watched it the other day. I was like, come on.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

Okay. What are we doing that's cool, though, I guess.

[A]

Of course it's cool. Okay. How'd you feel about people that ripped you off?

[B]

Well, there's two or three.

[A]

Do you like it?

[B]

It's fine. Yeah, it's fine.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, certainly, like. Yeah.

[A]

I mean, look, how do you feel about the one person show thing that you started being a thing now?

[B]

I feel like, net positive.

[A]

Yeah, I think so.

[B]

Net positive with caveats.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But some of. Sometimes people think that there's no jokes in the shows and I'm like, no, there's jokes.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Like someone invite me to the show and I'm like, okay, this is fine. But like, there's no jokes.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I don't, I don't know.

[A]

I mean, you can, you can do each of those shows at Go Bananas in Cincinnati and you do have.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. That's where I develop these things is in clubs. But yeah.

[A]

Do you remember that time when, when you start comedy and like, you want. You almost want to seem high?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. Because like, then you're like. Then they'll just think I'm this crazy person.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird. There's a guy, there's a. There's a white gentleman who hangs out with the African American characters in the book. And so he always has a bottle in a paper bag so that other white southerners just think he's a drunk and don't judge him. Really. But they say that in the bag is soda. Because he's not actually drunk.

[B]

Right? Yeah, no, I think that that is

[A]

kind of cowardly, now that I think about it. But I, I just remember going, like, right, you can get, you can move in the world. If you're like, yeah, but that guy's a drunk, you know?

[B]

No, I think that, that, that's.

[A]

That guy's high. That comedian's so high that he can't expect a laugh for each of these sentences.

[B]

That's certainly what I thought when I was starting out was. Was.

[A]

Yeah, I was really stilted. Like, I, I liked the way David Byrne talked and stopped making sense, you know? Like, anyone have any questions? Like, very, like, stilted, childlike, whatever that was. Do you remember you gave me this note once, A lot of my premises, I would say the premise and then I'd say something and I go, that's funny to me. And here's why. Remember, I'd always say, and here's why, here's why. And then I'd explain. You were like, you don't need. Here's why.

[B]

Here's why.

[A]

That's ridiculous. And here's why.

[B]

Here's why. When you wrestled the kids.

[A]

Yeah, it was hard.

[B]

I was there and you came off and you were like. You were like, Adarsh grabbed my hand. I didn't know that was. And then I was like, oh, shit, John really cares about this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I don't know if people realize that it's. It was a bit, but it was also. Not a bit.

[A]

No, it was not a bit in that. It was. It was produced chaos. Yeah, quite produced. There was a ref rules.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Language rule. I mean really. We took off our rings and watches like it was. But then, like no one knew what would happen, including myself. I just was like, what if everyone was like, you're so afraid of getting your ass kicked. I was like, no, I'm afraid of just like dislocating one of their collarbones in the melee of.

[B]

Right then.

[A]

It's a 13 year old, of course. That would have been so bad, I think.

[B]

Right? Did you.

[A]

Did you know. I began a little bit. That would be unfair to the boys.

[B]

Okay, so you did.

[A]

No, there was a moment.

[B]

I mean, I can say it. You can't say it. You did.

[A]

There was a moment that I think I could have gone for Adarsh and I didn't. But I say that though, knowing the other two were on my legs. So could I have. There was a moment where I possibly could have thrown Adarsh. Okay, but Adarsh. And this is interesting, right before the fight, I never talked about this.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

We're taking off the rings and watches the camera moves over to Richard. He looks at me, goes, how's the family? And I went, what the fuck did you say? And then we got to get in the ring, just. I was like, what do you mean? What do you mean? You know where my fucking kids live. Like, I didn't know what it meant and it really threw. It was really smart.

[B]

How's it fan head games?

[A]

Seriously.

[B]

Support for working it out comes from forkfull. Forkful is the first 100% seed oil free meal delivery service built for health conscious people who refuse to compromise on ingredients. Forkful meals are chef cooked fresh, never frozen, ready to eat meals made with high quality premium proteins, ingredients like fresh vegetables, grass fed bison, wild caught salmon. I asked them if I could help them catch some of the salmon. They said no, we have professionals who do that. That's how committed to quality they are. Other meal delivery services might say, sure, podcast host, come on over and catch Some fish cook some of the meals. None of that nonsense with Forkful. No meal prep, cooking or cleanup. Just clean flavors and ready in under three minutes. Delivered right to your door within 24 to 48 hours. And use code BURBIGS to get 50% off your first order. That's Forkfulmeals.com BURBIGS and use promo code BURBIGS for 50% off. My thanks to Forkful for sponsoring this episode. Support for working it out comes from Warby Parker. If you listen to this podcast, you know how much we love Warby Parker. The glasses are great, the prices are great. The virtual try on is a game changer. But let me talk to you about something else. We got this Warby Parker discount just for you. Why not use it to get a backup pair of glasses? Ooh, so smart. Backup glasses. How often have you just skated by on one single pair of glasses? With Warby Parker? There's no reason to do that because the glasses are affordable. You know, one of our producers, Peter, recently got new glasses from Warby Parker and the price was so good he got his first ever backup pair of glasses. True story everybody. He tells that at parties. Now he doesn't need to worry if someone breaks his glasses while editing this ad. He's got a backup pair right there. Thanks to Warby Parker. Right now buy one pair of glasses glasses and get 20% off any additional [e-mail] forbigs that's 20% off any additional pairs when you purchase one pair at w a r b y parker.com forbigs I know one person who's going to use this code, Peter. Support for working it out comes from Helix. We talk a lot about Helix mattresses on this show. It's a huge topic over here. Helix is offering discounts on their Lux and Elite mattresses. What's the difference, you ask? Well, the Luxe is their best selling signature mattress crafted with deluxe lumbar support and premium comfort to relieve back pain and enhance your sleep. And the Elite is the ultimate investment in your sleep, designed to deliver exceptional comfort, advanced cooling and unparalleled support for years to come. Let's talk about Helix mattress toppers. Helix has five different mattress toppers to choose from. So even if you're not in the market for an entire mattress, you can upgrade your current mattress with a Helix mattress topper. They even have one called Dual Comfort. It's very cool. It's a mattress topper where one side is plush and one side is firm. It's like two mattresses in one. Go to helixsleep.com burbigs for 20% off site wide. 25% off luxe mattresses, 30% off elite mattresses. That's a great deal. That's helixsleep.com burbigS for 20% off sitewide. 25% off luxe mattress, 30% off elite mattresses. Helixsleep.com Britbigs. On the subject of, like, talking trash about people, what's the thing that you

[A]

would say or things or not just people about movies or shows about me

[B]

that, like, you tell me now. You go like, oh, yeah, I could take that as a note.

[A]

What. What's the thing I would tell you?

[B]

No, no. What's the thing you wouldn't tell me? What's the thing you'd say to Dan Levy backstage in D.C. when I'm in the other room?

[A]

There's not really any. But I'm gonna tell you.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That's what this. That's how the whole world stays together. I don't want to know what you've said about me.

[B]

Oh, okay, so there is something, but you don't wanna say it.

[A]

I'm sure I've known you for 26 years. Yeah, but nothing like, no character assassination.

[B]

Okay. Is there follow up? Is there something that I could do comedically that you think I might be resisting doing comedically?

[A]

I wish you'd do Uncle Dreesh. I wish you'd do Uncle Dreesh.

[B]

I was gonna bring out Uncle Dreesh today. I was gonna also bring out the Frank Sinatra story.

[A]

Oh, my God. That's my. That's one of the biggest artistic critiques I'd ever had. I almost considered buying it from you. Okay, they're beyond. First off, let me say Dreesh and Sinatra listener are very different. Dreesh is strange slice of life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Frank Sinatra is a perfect story.

[B]

Okay, I'll start with Sinatra.

[A]

I'm so jealous. There's two bits I'm really jealous of. Joe Zimmerman has this long thing on Andrew Jackson that I really loved. I've watched it. I watched him do it in a couple different youtubes and then it was on one of his CDs, and I have versions I like more. Like, I really love the bit. Then you have the Frank Sinatra story, which.

[B]

Well, think, John, it's really simple.

[A]

Why haven't you fit it into something? Well, Cause it doesn't have.

[B]

It doesn't have punchlines like.

[A]

It just has the Sinatra story.

[B]

The Sinatra story is this.

[A]

Hold on. If you're listening to this, like, really, like, yeah. Okay, get ready.

[B]

Okay. So the gist of it is, like, so I have relatives in Buffalo, New York, and. And they're, you know, they're not in show business at all. But one time I'm talking to my aunt and I go, like, have you ever seen like a. Gone to a concert or live show? She goes, well, we're teenagers. We were teenagers and we went to see Frank Sinatra. And I was like, oh, wow. And she was like, yeah, he came to Buffalo and we were, we were huge fans.

[A]

And.

[B]

And even afterwards, we went into the alley to see him at the stage door and it was a bunch of us. And he came out and we couldn't believe it's Frank Sinatra. And we go, frankie, Frankie, we love you. And he gets into his car and he pushes us out of the way and goes, get out of the way, you fat pigs. That's the whole thing. And then what's amazing about it is that they still love Frank Sinatra. Like, there's nothing this man can do to make them not.

[A]

Out of my way, you fat pigs.

[B]

Out of my way, you fat pigs.

[A]

I think that. I think about that story a thousand times a day.

[B]

It's a crazy story. It's like, Frankie, Frankie.

[A]

He saw teen girls excited to see him in Buffalo. And if they're teens, this is like the 60s. He's not like 20. He's a man of like 45.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Out of my way, you fat pigs.

[B]

And she fully did the voice and everything. You know what I mean? She had it. And you go, that's not a made up story. That is fully what happened.

[A]

Oh, I've never in my life doubted the story. Oh, my God.

[B]

Get out of my way, you. Yes, someday. Someday I'll figure out.

[A]

I mean, how do you think that has no punch? It is a punchline.

[B]

It is a punchline. It is a punchline. It's just like, usually I just have to find a causality. So then in that.

[A]

I know, but you can always make it up. Shoehorn it, right? Trick is sometimes you got. There's gotta be tricks for getting jokes. You want into these one person shows where you wedge them in and you go, that doesn't really make sense.

[B]

And then Uncle Dreesh is less.

[A]

Uncle Dreesh outrageous, which is less outrageous.

[B]

And it's a simple, true truth, which is. I go, I. I got a landline recently. And, and, and I. And it's, you know, I, I. No one knows the phone number. And so when people when the phone rings, it's a mistake.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And so one day it was ringing, and I pick it up and I go, hello? And the person goes, hey. And I. Hey. I adjusted my tone. And then they go, who's this? And the voice goes, you don't know? I go, no. And he goes, you better get to know. And I go, no, I don't know who this is. He goes, uncle Dreesh. I go, uncle Drish, I do not know you. And he goes, sorry about that. Made me hung up.

[A]

And. No, but you missed that. In the middle of the call, you looked out the.

[B]

Look out the window. Yeah, yeah. Like in the movie Scream.

[A]

At the beginning, you're about to. Yeah, you better get to know.

[B]

You better get to know.

[A]

Then he reveals the name. Every part of it is funny because he. He seems like he's not going to reveal his name. And then his name couldn't be just slightly stranger, is Uncle Dreesh. You don't know. Well, you better get to know. No, really, who is it? It's Uncle Dreesh.

[B]

The other joke I do that is in the universe of you, which is, I don't even know if you've seen me do this. I go sometimes in a. You're. If you're married long enough, you don't even have to express an idea through words. You know, like my friend John said to me, because I want to go skydiving for my birthday, I'd love for you to come. And I go, that sounds amazing. I went home to my wife. I relayed this conversation. She goes, you gonna do that? And that's when I realized I wasn't gonna do that. That's so good. I go, no way. Why would I wanna do an activity that seems so dangerous, yet so fun?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Because ultimately, I'm more afraid of my wife's judgment of me than I am of jumping out of an airplane at 9,000ft. It's. Both activities are somewhat dangerous, but at the end of one of them, you get to die.

[A]

Yeah. And it's.

[B]

It's a fun bit, but it was. Do you remember saying that to me?

[A]

Yeah. I had planned to go skydiving. No, I never went. I was gonna go on my 30th birthday. I was gonna go on my 35th birthday. I had lots of plans to go skydiving.

[B]

You ever gonna do it?

[A]

Maybe. Yeah.

[B]

When I brought it up with Natalie Palamini, she pointed out that it's one person deciding whether you live or die.

[A]

But that's everything.

[B]

That's everything.

[A]

That's driving.

[B]

Yes, that's true. You're right. Driving.

[A]

Is that owning a knife.

[B]

Owning a knife is a good example.

[A]

You got one downstairs. What do you mean?

[B]

I don't.

[A]

A knife. I put my life in your hands coming here. You have a knife downstairs. You have a deadly weapon. Right?

[B]

That's fair.

[A]

It's not. Barely makes sense.

[B]

Well, you said it in your John Mulaney voice.

[A]

I said it works.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I said it definitively. It would work for like, a few dates. And then I'd be like, yeah.

[B]

You ever show up at gigs, people go, when are you going to do the John Mulaney voice?

[A]

I do. You think impressions of me sound like me?

[B]

They're in the universe. Like, it's funny. Like, Pete Holmes was on. He did it recently. Like, it's not the nuance.

[A]

There was a. There was a young man on YouTube who did it once, but he did. It was. He went, my. My mother woke me up at 4 o' clock in the goddamn morning to tell me I was adopted. It was like that. And I was like, that's what I think. It wasn't like, hello, you know that's John Lovitz, but maybe I sound like that, but I know I don't.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I just want to read you something. You can cut this or not, but talking about that. Have you ever read Stephen King's National Book Award speech?

[B]

I don't know if I have.

[A]

When he won the National Book Award. I'll read one part of it. Let me see here. So it was very controversial, Stephen King winning it to some people, people like Harold Bloom. And he gave this speech, basically thanking his wife, saying the entire award was hers. So I read this. There were some hard, dark years before Carrie. We had two kids and no money. Carrie being the novel that broke him. We rotated the bills, paying on different ones each month. I kept our car, an old Buick, going with duct tape and baling wire. It was a time when my wife might have Ben expected to say, why don't you quit spending three hours a night in the laundry room, Steve smoking cigarettes and drinking beer we can't afford. He would write in the laundry room every night, why don't you get an actual job? Okay? This is the real stuff. If she'd asked, I almost certainly would have done it. And then I'm standing up here tonight, making a speech, accepting the award, wearing a radar dish around my neck. Maybe more likely not. In fact, the subject of Moonlighting did come up once. The head of the English Department where I taught, told me that the debate club was going to need a new faculty advisor, and he put me up for the job if I wanted. It would pay 300 per. Per school year, which doesn't sound like much, but my yearly take in 1973 was only 6,600. 300 equaled 10 weeks worth of groceries. The English department head told me he'd need my decision by the end of the week. When I told Tabby about the opening, she'd asked if I'd still have time to write. I told her not as much. Her response to that was unequivocal. Well, then you can't take it. Isn't that great?

[B]

Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, that's beautiful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You just come upon that today?

[A]

I've been thinking about it for a few days. Yeah, I was talking to a friend about it.

[B]

Do you. Do you have bits you're working on? Do you want to share any?

[A]

Yeah, sure. You go first.

[B]

No, no, I said Uncle Dreesh.

[A]

And that's not who you're working on. That's not. Those are stories that I've told you for years to do.

[B]

Fair. It's more interesting when you start.

[A]

Do you remember when, like, 10, 11 years ago, suddenly people were like, hey, don't ever draw the Prophet Muhammad.

[B]

Yes, of course.

[A]

That was weird, right?

[B]

Yeah, it's. We.

[A]

That was. It was interesting. Not trying to make it tense, but it was a went. Oh, okay. I never thought. I was like. I never in my life thought about doing that. I don't even draw. I've never drawn a person. If I made a list of a thousand people, not in the top thousand, I'll do you one better. I've never thought about the guy. Peace be upon him. I've never thought about him.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But strange as it seems, now that you tell me, I can't draw him. I've never wanted to do anything more.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And what is the penalty for doing this? Death. Well, immediate death. You have no idea how much that sweetens the pot. For an addict like me, it's a strange. It's of note. I want to be respectful.

[B]

Yeah, it's of note.

[A]

It's of note. Don't draw me. Okay. Do you want us to. You brought it up, right?

[B]

I'm surprised no one's walked it back a little. Been like, hey, we're okay with the drawing stuff. You know what I mean?

[A]

Like, I think it's fair to say it wasn't walked back yet, but I don't know. Also, the. I Don't know what's happened since that moment in time.

[B]

No, I think it's not walked back is my sense. Yeah.

[A]

I would never do it.

[B]

Oh, I have no plans. No.

[A]

Even with a group where we couldn't all get in trouble.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I once had this substitute teacher. She came in one day of third grade. Never saw her before. Never saw her since. She comes in, she goes, I'm gonna go around the room. And no fake names, right? And we were like,

[B]

oh, my God.

[A]

I remember. I was Gus. I was like, oh, then fake names you shall get.

[B]

Oh, fake names later.

[A]

And she was teaching us American history. And we get to Muhammad Ali. This page on Muhammad Ali. And she goes, boo. I liked when he was named Cassius. So funny. So funny. I missed it when he changed that name. Cassius. It was great. This was just a woman.

[B]

I love the. The move into substitute teachers. Essentially inventing the idea of saying fake names.

[A]

One when you said, I love the idea of substitute teachers. I know it's somewhat trodden territory, but I also just love the idea of it. Like, how about we just don't do it today then? A totally unqualified.

[B]

Maybe no class.

[A]

Yeah, maybe no class. Or you could be like, I'm sure there's something you're reading. You could continue doing that. As opposed to like, here's a lady I never liked when he changed his name from Muhammad Ali. Cassius. Such a cool name. It was so great.

[B]

Middle school is endlessly, like, amazing. When you think back on memories of middle school. Like, I have my scrambler bit. I have different bits, but even, like I have things that I've never even put on stage that are so crazy. Like, I remember my 8th grade scientist teacher. I'll just call him Mr. Loman. It was not his name.

[A]

Okay. Compare him to the most sad sack character in history.

[B]

Mr.

[A]

Lo. I'll just call him. I'll call him Willie Loman.

[B]

I'll come Willy Lo. But Mr. Let's just say Mr. Lowman would. Would get up in front of the class. And when he turned around, the kids in my class, not me, made a concerted effort. They decided that they would throw pen pennies at his head. Wow. And it's so crazy now as a grown up to imagine some. A group of people throwing pennies at a science teacher. An eighth grade science teacher. But at the time, it was so funny.

[A]

Wow. That is. That's extreme. Whipping them at his head.

[B]

No, Ayn's brutal.

[A]

Yeah. We had a teach. I remember the day, the morning after Michael Jordan announced he was retiring the first time. Okay, we've won the three, Pete. He tragically loses his father. He retires before the season begins. I'm in sixth grade. We're in homeroom. That morning, the hubbub. You can't imagine a bigger hubbub. Just, oh, my God. Every kid going nuts. Going nuts. So upset. We were so upset. How can he retire? How can he do this? He went, all right, we gotta start. People, everyone, people, people. Mr. Shaw's going, people, people, settle down. People. This is. How can he do this to us? I can't believe this. What's gonna happen? He goes, people, people, people. His father didn't just die.

[B]

He was murdered.

[A]

He was murdered.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

But it was like. It was as if he was also like. We knew he'd been murdered, but the way he said it was almost like he was revealing it. Don't you see? His father didn't just die. He was murdered.

[B]

Oh, my God, he was murdered. I sure did.

[A]

People would scream at you with that. That's. Why have you been yelled at as an adult, like, hard.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

It's so disorienting because you go like, it's not like this never happened before. You're like, oh, this is. This used to happen a lot, but I just knew how to deal with it back then.

[B]

I had it happen on my first

[A]

movie, get out of here. With.

[B]

When I made Sleepwalk with me. This. There was this company that was going to make it, and. And they decided they weren't going to make it. It was the first company. And I called the guy, hey, we're not going to do it. I'm just going to go off and do it on my own. Really low budget. And he goes, where are you? And so I'm like, on the. He's like, I'll meet you at such and such a pub. I was like, okay. I go. And he. He goes. He goes, mike, it's like we're having beers at a pub. And I was like, if you make

[A]

this movie, you will fail. Wow.

[B]

And I went home and Jen always talks about this. I had, like a. I buckled over and I had, like, a stomach ache for three days.

[A]

But it was just the.

[B]

Being yelled at as a grownup is so devastating.

[A]

It's so funny.

[B]

It's. It's.

[A]

But you also go like, oh, I used to. The same way sunburns have gotten easier. I was like, this used to be just part of my deal. What are you doing? Tuck your shirt in.

[B]

Huh?

[A]

Like, that was like, every day. Was that the new style to have your shoes unlaced, someone scream at you? The craziest people. I've talked so much about lower school, middle school and lower school. Like, I'm an English and I have a whole bit on assemblies and. But like, I still. I still can't get over that people would just come speak to us as a school about things like kidnapping and murder. Oh, yeah, it was so funny. They would just. Not just that, they'd come in and talk about self esteem. They'd have some like this. I don't know where the school found these people. They had some like. It was almost like a NACA where we would go entice colleges to book us. There must have been some sort of NACA for, like, I come in and I have a whole weird presentation about self esteem and I leave each of them with a button. But, like, I tell weird stories from my life as a positions coach on the Bears. And you told.

[B]

I saw there was some news clipping or news article about the bitten binder bit that you did. The guy being mad about it.

[A]

Detective Bitten by the. Was mad. He said that I mixed it all up to be funny. It was truly like a definition. He goes, no, he mixed up the details real good. I never wore cowboy hats to the schools, which I. And he has passed on. So I will be respectful. That is not true.

[B]

He did.

[A]

He did wear a cowboy hat, but that was. He's like. So you can tell he's lying because I never wore the cowboy hat to the schools, but he did.

[B]

This is something I've been doing lately, which I think is kind of fun. Is like, I was in a bookstore on the road, and I realized about an hour into it that it's a feminist bookstore. And I'm like, you can just call it a bookstore.

[A]

I heard you do that. It made me laugh a lot.

[B]

It's funny, right?

[A]

It made me laugh a lot, and I didn't quite get it.

[B]

Well, it's funny.

[A]

Do you mean that if you're selling books, you're probably.

[B]

If you're selling books, you're buying books, you're consuming books. You're probably a feminist.

[A]

But there was a little Jacksonville in it where I was like, I like it. And I don't. I just laughed when you said it on stage.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

I just liked it. And I was like, I just like it. I think he means that, but if he doesn't, I'm also. Okay.

[B]

That's fine, too.

[A]

That's Jacksonville.

[B]

Yeah. And then I Just go like. I just go like, I think if you're a feminist, I think the last thing you should be telling non feminists is like, oh, yeah, you don't think men and women should be treated equally? Well, also, I don't think you should read. You know what I mean?

[A]

I don't get that part.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

You're saying if you're a feminist, don't own a bookstore.

[B]

No, it's like, it's like if you name something like a feminist, you're like, this is a feminist book. It's like, what are you. Don't you want people to read?

[A]

Oh, you mean, why put. Reading's already really hard. Why put anything in the title of your store?

[B]

Yeah, and also like, yeah, exactly.

[A]

And also like, call it party books.

[B]

Yeah. And chances are like, the more you read, the more likely you'll think men and women should be treated. Yeah, yeah. And then like, and then I go like, like I was thinking about feminist booksters and I was like, I think sometimes people over name things like, or overstate them. Like I was at a. A bed and breakfast and you open up the welcome booklet and it's like, this is a gay friendly bed and breakfast. I know, that's really funny. Like, like a bed and breakfast that isn't gay friendly is a haunted house. Like, it's. It's not a good business model. So I've been doing that run lately. I think it's fun. I think like, I want to do like a larger piece about the over naming of things like the under naming and the overnight.

[A]

What do you think's under named?

[B]

Under named is like, I mean, honestly, like. And you saw me do a little piece of. It's like under discussed. I think is suicide. And I do like a whole chunk about it. I won't do it on this podcast yet because I think people will get mad. But I'm like, I think it's such an epidemic, it's such a problem that I think people should talk about it more. And that's part of the reason I've been talking about on stage lately. This is crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We shouldn't be like avoiding this as a topic.

[A]

The active encouragement. No, no. Which I also thought was really funny.

[B]

No, no. The epidemic coming.

[A]

This is crazy. Knock it off. Under no circumstances.

[B]

Knock it off.

[A]

Fred and I used to talk about going to like a, like landing in like South Sudan, like war torn ass, like sectarian civil war violence of which we have no understanding going, everybody knock it off. Multiple guys hanging off A truck with machetes. No way. Stop it right now. Guys, this is crazy.

[B]

You gotta do that as a bit.

[A]

Fred had a sketch that didn't make it to air where it's his first. It's his and Josh Brolin's first day in jail. And Fred makes an announcement to the whole mess hall, like. And you know what? Don't even try it. So it's sort of like, I speak for both of us. And Brolin's like, no, he doesn't. And he's like, yeah, and I'm not joining any gangs. Okay. I say, like, really, like, laying it out. It's very funny, but we always talk about the. Guys, enough. Get out of the truck. Put them down right now.

[B]

What? You have other bits, you know, in

[A]

King Kong or like Frankenstein or. Or the Elephant man, when they bring out King Kong. Frankenstein or the Elephant Man. And there's like a black tie audience assembled to see this thing. What was that?

[B]

Yeah, right. What was that?

[A]

Can you imagine telling your wife you're going to that? What are we going to again? This guy is gonna unveil something.

[B]

That's very funny.

[A]

How long is it? I don't know. It could be a minute and a half. It could be an hour. He's a scientist. He's been in the jungle for a year. And he's back and we're going. Do I have to dress up the most you've ever dressed up?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Full. Full gala.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Full black tie. Yeah.

[B]

No, I.

[A]

And then when it freaks and it charges the audience. Except for the Elephant man, who didn't. What was that? It's funny when people talk about show business has only gotten less grimy.

[B]

No, I mean, Jen. Jen wrote a poem about this once. Topsy the elephant people would go to town as a demonstration for either Tesla or Edison, and they would fucking electrocute an elephant. Really? Yeah. Wow. And it. And that was entertainment, you know, it was just like bananas.

[A]

Wow. Because it was like. Can you imagine anything bigger? Getting electric?

[B]

No.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Electrocuting. Sorry. Oh, it was a documentary. It's a documentary from 1903 that's one minute long.

[A]

That's not a documentary. That's so funny.

[B]

By the way. IMDb rates it 2.7 stars. Okay.

[A]

Really love.

[B]

Electrocuting an elephant is a 1903American black and white, silent actuality, short actuality.

[A]

I like that. It's an actuality.

[B]

Depicting the killing of elephant Topsy by electrocution at Coney Island Amusement Park. It was produced by the Edison Film Company, part of Edison Manufacturing. It Was an. It was a Thomas Edison demonstration of electricity.

[A]

Yeah. So I remember hearing that he got pretty weird. Like he.

[B]

You think?

[A]

Well, no, like for a while. Like, he got really into the electric chair as well. Now I sound like someone who doesn't know history but is sort of spouting off. I've never taken a good photo of the moon.

[B]

That's funny.

[A]

It's just a. That's an actuality.

[B]

Yeah, I like that.

[A]

I have a lot of those.

[B]

I guess I had one that I did with Julio on here. And I think it is funny, but I don't know what to do with it, which is I was at breakfast at my hotel and I was inadvertently like, dancing in my seat, like, to the music.

[A]

Huh.

[B]

And then the waitress caught my eye and I realized I had to make a split second decision. Do I stop dancing or do I continue dancing?

[A]

That's really funny.

[B]

Like, am I a dancer?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Or was I a dancer?

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

Like, at this point, it's too late.

[A]

Yeah. I do that with talking to myself a lot.

[B]

Oh, you do?

[A]

Like, don't act caught.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're a great thinker.

[B]

Right, right. No, I think that's good.

[A]

Do you know, you know, in a foreign currency, when like, like they'll be like, is 22 million yen, but that's actually only like a thousand dollars. I'm always like, can we make these? Some of these got to be a little closer. I'm like, what? I get that it's different, but do you understand how million. Like how I would be like, oh, that sounds like a lot at first. And then you always have to go like, that's only like a thousand dollars.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

600 million lira is about 500American. You'd be like, can we bring it one of them down a little or one of them up? Good. I like that. I tried that. I've been thinking about that for a long time and it got nothing.

[B]

Wait, which one?

[A]

Just now. I know now to just put that away.

[B]

I think it's funny. I just don't. I don't know where to go. I wouldn't know where to go with.

[A]

I don't know where to go with most of my favorite things. I don't know where to go with.

[B]

Well, one of the things I love about your shows is like. Like, I feel like that might make it in as a tag to something else.

[A]

I think it might. Yeah.

[B]

Like, I find a lot of times with your show, it's like, you're over here. I find that, like, when you talk about the trampoline parks.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's like you're talking about trampoline parks, and then you're way over here and then you're back in the trampoline parks.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's hilarious.

[A]

Oh, look, looky again. I figured out a way to get the thing that doesn't work in.

[B]

All right, I think we'll go to Working out for a Cause. Is there a nonprofit you like to support?

[A]

Innocence Project. Yeah.

[B]

I know you support the Innocence Project a lot. We've. I've done benefits with, with you over the years to support them. It's a great organization. It. They use DNA evidence and, and to try to prove the innocence.

[A]

Yeah. They've got hundreds of people exonerated off of death row. They have other projects as well, taking on the problem of plea bargains and other problems in our justice system. Innocence project.org it is a great organization. It is a great organization.

[B]

And if you think about the idea of it, that being. Treating justice as a sacred thing in our country is a real thing.

[A]

Absolutely. And I, I sort of talked to them once about some sort of rock the jury thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In that sitting on a jury is as much your responsibility as voting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And if you are continually watching true crime documentaries and appalled by verdicts where the obviously innocent person and the jury ignored this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then don't skip jury duty.

[B]

Yeah. We're going to contribute to them. We're going to link to them in the show. Notes. John, I continue to be in awe of all of your work.

[A]

What were your favorite parts of the podcast of this?

[B]

Yeah, we could talk about it.

[A]

It was really fun working it out. Cause it's not done

[B]

working it out. That's gonna do it. For another episode of Working it out, you can follow John Mulaney on Instagram. On Mulaney, you already do. You can find his tour [e-mail] check out birdbigs.com to sign up for the mailing list. To be the first to know about my upcoming shows, you can watch the full video of this episode on our YouTube channel, ikebirbiglia. If you've never watched the shows before, this would be a good one to go watch. Anyway, if you're. If you're willing to subscribe, we appreciate it. It helps us out a lot. Our producers of Working it out are myself, along with Peter Salamone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis and Gary Simons. Sound mixed by Shub Saran. Supervising engineer, Kate Belinsky. Special thanks as always to Jack Antonoff and Bleachers for their music. They've been with us since the very beginning. Special thanks to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio fort made of pillows in 2020. Thanks most of all to you who are listening and have stuck with us for five and a half years. If you enjoy the show, now would be the time to rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps us out. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell the monkey you're about to shoot into space. Right before that hatch closes. Just say, hey, little fella, here's an old iPhone preloaded with 200 episodes of Mike Birbigli is Working It Out. It's a podcast where Mike Birbiglia talks to other comedians and other creatives about the process. No, he doesn't talk to monkeys, but I think you'll like it just the same. Why 200 episodes? Well, you might be up there for a while. Thanks everybody. We're working it out. We'll see you next time. Sam.