We Might Be Drunk Ep. 262: Jerry Seinfeld

Date: December 15, 2025
Hosts: Mark Normand & Sam Morril
Guest: Jerry Seinfeld

Overview

This episode features legendary stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a deep, freewheeling, and often hilarious conversation with New York comics Mark Normand and Sam Morril. The trio performs an insider’s tour through the world of stand-up: physicality on stage, the grueling process of writing and editing material, generational shifts in comedy, legendary comedians, the agony and ecstasy of the grind, and the mystery of what makes people laugh. Seasoned with memorable anecdotes, candid advice, and killer lines, this is a masterclass in how comedians work, survive, and thrive.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Physicality & Movement in Stand-Up

• Seinfeld on Stage Presence:

  • Jerry laments that podcast setups can be confining compared to the "free" movement of stand-up:

    "In comedy... it's about freedom." (00:22)

  • Movement is crucial for engagement:

    "It really. It keeps. It does keep them awake... I didn’t at the beginning... And then I realized, why am I not using this whole thing? I got to use it." (00:44)

  • Chris Rock’s constant pacing is admired as effective “cardio.” (00:56)

• Zoom Comedy & Lost Energy:

  • Mark rants about the limitations of Zoom gigs for comics:

    "You can't move. You're stuck." (01:29)

  • Brian: “We were so sick that we convinced ourself it wasn’t that bad during that time.” (01:32)

2. Shifting Norms: Bumper Stickers, Tipping, and The Never-Going-Back Principle

• Classic Car & Bumper Stickers:

  • Jerry shares about his vintage car’s “Nixon’s the One” bumper sticker, reminiscing about old-school humor.
  • Mark: “No fat chicks… Boob inspector…”—an era of bumper sticker jokes that’s now cringey nostalgia. (03:19)

• Modern Annoyances – Tipping Culture & Subtle Inflation:

  • They commiserate about digital tipping everywhere, declining free snacks at restaurants, and “deluxe” burgers costing extra for basics:

    Jerry: "Anything, any goddamn thing where they get in, you cannot get them out... They're not going back." (04:37)
    Mark: “Chips and salsa at every Mexican restaurant… Now it’s five bucks… Used to be free.” (05:12)

  • Observation: minor customer perks that vanish, never to return.

3. Process of Joke Writing & Audiences as Editors

• The Role of the Audience:

  • Seinfeld:

    “I don’t think people understand how much audiences write the act. You know, the act that you’re seeing is what the last hundred crowds liked.” (10:24)

  • The thrill (and frustration) of failing with new jokes, and how the crowd’s reaction is like “getting a report card.”

• Comedy as Translation of the Unknowable:

  • Mark: “Why is it so hard for us to write down funny ideas... then the audience goes, ‘no’?” (10:40)
  • Jerry points out: “No one really knows what’s funny... You cut kind of a cross filter. If you can get by both of us [Larry David and Jerry], we thought, okay, that’s probably got a chance.” (11:22)

• Collaborating and Bouncing Bits:

  • Comics used to bounce bits around in coffee shops; it’s rarer now with the splintered scene.
  • “Never met a comedian who didn’t like to bounce stuff around.” (11:42)

4. Stand-Up as Physical & Mental Challenge

• The Longevity & Physicality of Comedy:

  • Jerry muses on stamina:

    “Comedy is a concentration of energy...a punchline is like a punch... It takes energy to do it.” (53:41)

  • As comics age, physical decline can dull comedic delivery.

• The Psychological Toll:

  • Stand-up as masochism:

    “It hardens you mentally, physically, emotionally. You’re just getting beat up.” (18:58)

5. Failure, Bombing, and Resilience

• Bombing as a Recalibration Tool:

  • Jerry compares bombing to bowling alley bumpers:

    “You can’t go too far. It’s going to knock you back the other way.” (22:38)

  • Both the vulnerability and necessity of enduring public failure.

• Post-Special Funk:

  • Discussion on the emotional crash after releasing a stand-up special and the struggle to build new material:

    “It sucks to end on the bad one that night. If you do a couple...” (22:12) "You're in a little postpartum funk afterwards." (25:26)

6. Generational Shifts: Craft & Output

• Production Line Comedy:
  • Seinfeld notes his generation’s focus on quality and detail, contrasting with the current high-output, annual-special culture:

    "I'm talking about detail, quality, flow, rhythm. Things that are just not important, honestly." (64:09)

• Mark: “But think about how much more you’d have if you were efficient.” (64:03)

7. Comedic Heroes, Legends, and the Evolution of the Craft

• Legends Discussed:

  • Carlin (his perfectionism, political edge, and late-career self-indulgence), Rodney Dangerfield, Jim Gaffigan’s clean material, Richard Pryor’s willingness to bomb as a form of artistic courage, and the difference between comedians who needed stand-up and those who didn’t.

• Admiration for Physical Comics:

  • Shoutouts to legends like Sinbad, Michael Richards, Will Ferrell, and Sebastian Maniscalco for their physicality and risk-taking.

8. "Clean" Comedy as Style

• Jerry resists being pigeonholed as judgmental for clean comedy:

  "It's just like, it forces me to be elegant and interesting in a way that I like to be." (77:48)

• Prefers cleverness over shock for its own sake.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Comedy as Suffering:

  “I want to be that guy that can suffer for a long period of time. I want to be that guy.”
  — Jerry Seinfeld (100:11)

• On Joke Evolution:

  "You know, the act that you’re seeing is what the last hundred crowds liked."
  — Jerry Seinfeld (10:24)

• On the Podcast Medium vs. Stand-Up:

  "This is the worst part of the podcast world... it's just that you're… set in a spot… In comedy, we… it’s about freedom.”
  — Jerry Seinfeld (00:06–00:22)

• On Audience Collaboration:

  “Isn’t it amazing what they can communicate? It’s kind of like a dog. Audiences do the same thing… weird sounds that just say: 'yeah, but that idea, but different.’”
  — Jerry Seinfeld (09:19–09:37)

• On Writing Bits About Love:

  "Do a bit about how much you love something and make it funny. Ooh, I’ve done a couple of those and that’s really fun..."
  — Jerry Seinfeld (56:10)

Detailed Segments & Timestamps

Physicality & Stagecraft

• 00:06–01:00: Podcast setups vs. stage movement, Seinfeld's advice for younger comics, Chris Rock as a mover onstage.

The Pandemic, Zoom Gigs, & Comedy Lockdown

• 01:02–01:55: Disdain for Zoom gigs; reminiscing on post-lockdown, first shows.

Social Changes & Comedy Annoyances

• 03:04–06:10: Bumper sticker nostalgia, tipping invasiveness, commoditization of previous "freebies."

The Audience Writes the Act

• 09:49–11:22: How crowds shape, edit, and essentially co-write the act every night.

The Art of Joke Writing

• 10:51–11:22: On the unpredictability of what lands, and the need for multiple perspectives in the writing process.

Comedy as a Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Grind

• 18:58–20:03: Resilience, masochism, baseball analogies, and the bruising life of the comic.

Bombing, Failure, and the Comedy Ego

• 22:00–23:03: Seinfeld, Mark, and Brian swap stories about bombing, why it's necessary, and how it's the most honest editorial process.

Stand-Up Generations: Then and Now

• 24:03–26:26: The contemporary pace for new hours and specials versus the careful crafting of material in the past.

Legends and the Stand-Up Canon

• 30:44–34:41: Carlin’s legacy, changing audience sophistication, classic specials and recurring premises.

Marriage, Family, and the Comedic Lifestyle

• 58:30–84:41: Navigating marriage, vices, the complexity of relationships for a touring stand-up.

The Rituals and Work Ethic of a Legend

• 85:59–87:14: Jerry’s daily writing routine (pen and pad, coffee as ritual), and exercise as both physical outlet and replacement vice.

Jerry’s Advice Highlights

• On Endurance: “The only thing that matters is that struggle that you have adapted yourself to the struggle and you’re comfortable with it. It’s very Zen.” (99:46)
• On Clean Comedy: “It forces me to be elegant and interesting in a way that I like to be.” (77:48)
• On Productivity: “I do not want to be an efficient producer of comedy. I want it to look like… he must have spent so much time on that.” (63:53)

Closing Reflections

Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Normand, and Sam Morril deliver a brisk, old-school deep-dive for comedy nerds and creators alike. The major themes: the physicality necessary for stand-up, the vital but punishing role of bombing and failure, the ever-shifting standards of jokes and professionalism, and the necessity of loving the struggle rather than just the result. All three ultimately reveal a profound affection for their craft and for the winding, uncertain journey in search of laughs.

Essential Episode Timestamps

• Movement in Stand-up: 00:22–01:00
• Zoom Gigs & Pandemic: 01:29–01:55
• Tipping Culture: 04:18–05:16
• On Bombing & Recovery: 22:00–23:00
• Jerry’s Writing Process: 85:59–87:14
• Comedy as Suffering (Zen): 99:46–100:32
• Defining Stand-up vs. Daily Show: 95:24–95:40

For comedy fans and creators, this episode is a well of insight, affirmation, and raw honesty, all shaded with the unmatched observational wit of Jerry Seinfeld.