The Gist — "T.J. Miller: You'll Do Better in Toledo"

Podcast: The Gist
Host: Mike Pesca
Guest: T.J. Miller
Episode Date: December 29, 2025
Duration: ~30 minutes

Episode Overview

On this episode of The Gist, host Mike Pesca sits down with comedian and actor T.J. Miller for a freewheeling, hilarious, and at times candid conversation. The two riff on city mottos, the psychology of comedy, T.J.'s ongoing experiences with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and the philosophical connections between brain, personality, and creativity. They digress into city slogans, regional oddities, and the economics of midwestern life, all while matching wits in Miller’s trademark style of improvisational, high-octane banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. City Mottos and Regional Humor

[06:29–18:28]

• Comparing Toledo and New York's Mottos:
  • NY: "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere."
  • Toledo: "Toledo, you'll do better here."
  • T.J. riffed, "New York is like, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. And Toledo is like, if you can't make it anywhere, you'll do better here." (07:35)
• On City Branding:
  • Smaller or “less cool” towns often adopt self-effacing mottos.
  • Jim Thorpe, PA: "The Switzerland of America."
  • Auburn, WA: "More than you imagined."
  • Miller: "That's the greatest motto. Because I did. I've never imagined anything." (17:32)
• Economic Realities of the Midwest:
  • In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the cost of living is so low, Miller jokes you could work Uber for a week and buy drinks for everyone at all six bars.
  • Quote: "If you actually work, like a real person, with a salary and stuff ... you're just rich." (21:20)

2. Comedy Styles and The Art of Improvisation

[46:29–53:51]

• Embracing Chaos on Stage:
  • TJ discusses different comedic preferences: some comedians control every aspect, others thrive on crowd work and improvisation.
  • He admires Norm MacDonald for being able to leave prepared jokes to riff with the audience:
    • "I think that's like one of the best tests of a great comedian is to allow the audience to be ... in charge of where you go, but you're still in charge of them." (51:23)
  • TJ’s own style starts and ends with improvisation: “Everything starts from improvisation, and eventually everything will end with improvisation.” (53:51)
  • Quote: "I'm really an improviser at my heart. ... I'm much more likely to do well by going on stage and just working the material on stage." (52:44)

3. Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

[25:55–49:02]

• T.J. Opens Up About His Brain Injury:
  • Miller suffered an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) hemorrhage and underwent brain surgery in 2010 during movie filming.
  • Brain injury has led to unique effects on his mood, sleep, and cognition.
  • "I have a brain injury. Traumatic brain injury. Yeah. And one of the effects ... is that I don't feel tired." (25:57)
• Unique Relationship with Sleep & Mania:
  • TJ’s TBI leaves him unable to feel fatigue; he only sleeps when he notices physical signs (yawning, itchy eyes).
  • "I've never really been at, like, a party and been like, ugh, I'm tired. ... When people do cocaine when they're drinking... they're trying to do the thing that's just my neutral gear." (28:22)
• Invisible Disability & Social Perception:
  • TJ discusses the challenges of having an invisible disability:
    • "It is the equivalent of seeing somebody in a wheelchair and being like, stand up and come over here." (34:11)
  • He shares that TBI survivors can hide their disability, often leading to misunderstanding or expectations that they “should be normal.”
• Decision to Undergo Surgery:
  • Doctors told him without surgery he'd likely not live beyond his mid-30s, but the surgery itself had a 10% fatality rate.
  • TJ’s major concern pre-surgery: "If I get the surgery, will I still be funny?" (37:20)
    • The surgeon reassured him: "I don't think we're really using that part of your brain before, so, yeah, I guess you'll still be funny."

4. Neuropsychology, Personality, and Comedy

[39:41–45:51, 48:15–50:00]

• Side Effects of TBI & the Frontal Lobe:
  • Pesca reads from the neurological literature: injures to the right frontal lobe can affect attention, memory, impulse control, planning, emotional expression.
  • TJ’s reflection: struggles to connect with emotions, often “reverse engineers” them by watching movies to cue feelings.
  • “I sometimes have trouble connecting with it. So ... more effective is watching movies ... and I think that's maybe why I was always so connected to that, is I had trouble connecting with emotions.” (45:48)
• Comedy as Left Brain Work:
  • Pesca notes Miller's acumen with language and improvisation aligns with strong left-brain function — possibly compensating for his right-sided deficits.
  • "I basically aced the ... English part of my SATs. Yeah, I'm really fast with language, for sure." (49:37)
  • TJ wonders aloud if his style is, neurologically, a result of the brain rewiring — “maybe part of my parietal lobe picked up like language stuff.”

5. The Burden and Freedom of Not Caring

• Social Adaptation:
  • TJ connects his difficulty empathizing with a certain freedom:
    • “I think that can come off, though, as, wow, he really doesn't give a fuck. Which is true. ... If you truly don't give a fuck, that's really freeing and allows you to care.” (45:58)
• Professional Support Structures:
  • TJ describes his “battery of psychological professionals” who keep him within social, emotional, and psychological guardrails (47:38)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On City Mottos:
  • "If you can't make it anywhere, you'll do better here. And that's basically the opposite [of New York]." – T.J. Miller (07:45)
• On Taking Risks with Brain Surgery:
  • "If I get the surgery, will I still be funny? ... That's what gives me purpose ... He was like, 'I don't think we're really using that part of your brain before, so, yeah, I guess you'll still be funny.'" – T.J. Miller and his surgeon (37:20–37:45)
• On Invisible Disabilities:
  • "That is the equivalent ... of seeing somebody in a wheelchair and being like, stand up and come over here... It's very strange and ... traumatic brain injury survivors ... can hide our disability because I look like anybody else." – T.J. Miller (34:11)
• On Comedy Origins:
  • "Everything starts from improvisation, and eventually everything will end with improvisation." – T.J. Miller (53:51)
• On the Nature of His Mind:
  • "When people do cocaine when they're drinking ... they're trying to do the thing that's just my neutral gear." – T.J. Miller (28:22)
  • "I'm much more likely to do well by going on stage and just working the material on stage." – T.J. Miller (52:44)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [06:24-11:12] — Riffing on city mottos: New York vs. Toledo, Jim Thorpe PA, Appleton WI
• [18:28-23:13] — Fort Wayne, Indiana: Economics, cost of living, small town life
• [25:55-34:55] — T.J. on his brain injury, sleep, hyperactivity, and invisible disabilities
• [37:20] — The decision to get surgery and fear of losing his comedic edge
• [39:41-45:51] — Effects of right frontal lobe damage and strategies for emotional connection
• [46:29-53:51] — Comedy and improvisation; crowd work vs. control on stage; origins of his comedic material

Tone & Style

The episode is easygoing, candid, and quick-witted. Pesca keeps up with Miller’s rapid-fire improvisation, creating a sense of “playful combat” as they trade references and metacommentaries about language, comedy, and the mind. The conversation swings between deeply personal reflections and absurdist humor, all wrapped in a spirit of improvisational joy.

Summary for the Uninitiated

In this episode, T.J. Miller brings his signature blend of chaotic, improvisational comedy to discuss not just his career and style, but also the profound personal impact of his brain injury—how it influences his daily life, his stage presence, and his very sense of self. The interplay with Mike Pesca is both insightful and hilarious, making for a thought-provoking look at what happens to creativity, comedy, and personality when one's brain is literally rewired. The discussion about city slogans serves as both a recurring comedic riff and a metaphor for finding meaning—and humor—in unexpected places.