Comedian Mike Birbiglia welcomes a different comedian or creator each week and together they work out original, untested material. And, occasionally, uncomfortable topics. Join them as they work it out.
Jon Rudnitsky Returns to Answer More of Your Questions About Comedy
Comedian Jon Rudnitsky returns for another round of questions from listeners, this time about when to give up on a joke, what are the most underrated comedy towns in America, and a question from Meghan Trainor (yes, *the* Meghan Trainor). Mike and Jon talk about Jon’s upcoming special/tour documentary Special Boy, and they share stories from the gig in Nantucket they did together as a result of Jon’s last appearance on the podcast.
Please consider donating to the Last Prisoner Project (https://www.lastprisonerproject.org)Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updatesFind Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/ (https://birbigs.com/)
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/ (https://instagram.com/birbigs/)
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans (https://facebook.com/birbigfans)
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia (https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia)Find Jon:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonrudnitsky (https://www.instagram.com/jonrudnitsky)Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis, Gary Simons
Sound Mixed by Shubh Saran
Supervising Engineer: Kate Bilinski
Video Consultant: Graham Willoughby
Special Thanks: Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, Oona
Music: Jack Antonoff and Bleachers
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5 Oct 2026
Pete Docter: The Inside Out of Pixar's Process
(Recorded June 2025) In 2012, Mike was invited his film Sleepwalk With Me at Pixar and he’s been friends with filmmaker Pete Docter ever since. Known for his directorial feats of greatness with Monsters, Inc., Up, Soul, and Inside Out, Pete Docter is now the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. Pete walks Mike through the Pixar “draft” process for developing a story, and reveals the ups and downs of being a Pixar director. Pete shares stories of his time spent with Steve Jobs, George Lucas, and some of the original Disney animators. Plus, advice on giving (and receiving) creative notes, and the story of Pete’s Star Wars fan film he made when he was a kid.Please Consider Donating To: International Justice Mission (https://www.ijm.org/)
Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates
Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/ (https://birbigs.com/)
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/ (https://instagram.com/birbigs/)
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans (https://facebook.com/birbigfans)
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia (https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia)
Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis, Gary Simons
Sound Mixed by Shubh Saran
Supervising Engineer: Kate Bilinski
Video Consultant: Graham Willoughby
Special Thanks: Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, Oona
Music: Jack Antonoff and Bleachers
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
28 Sept 2026
225. Ariel Elias: One Joke Every Day for a Year
Comedian Ariel Elias rose to prominence after a video of her chugging a beer that an angry heckler threw at her went viral. But the real story is more interesting, notably how Ariel drew on the incident for her act. Mike and Ariel talk about how to write jokes about upsetting experiences, and Ariel shares the highs and lows of her experiment writing one joke every day for a whole year.
Please consider donating to God's Pantry Food Bank (https://www.godspantry.org)
Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates
Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/ (https://birbigs.com/)
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/ (https://instagram.com/birbigs/)
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans (https://facebook.com/birbigfans)
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia (https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia)
Find Ariel:
Website: https://www.arieleliascomedy.com (https://www.arieleliascomedy.com)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariel_comedy/ (https://www.instagram.com/ariel_comedy/?hl=en)
Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis, Gary Simons
Sound Mixed by Shubh Saran
Supervising Engineer: Kate Bilinski
Video Consultant: Graham Willoughby
Special Thanks: Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, Oona
Music: Jack Antonoff and Bleachers
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Inside a recent episode
195. Arthur Brooks: The Science of Happiness and Humor
Published 8 Dec 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Cracked the code on how to be happy and famous at the same time. And here's how you do it. Okay. You recognize that the reason for your fame is to serve others. You recognize that this is not about you, that you are here to refract the attention of others to things that matter the most, that can actually improve their lives. Maybe it's religion, maybe it's goodness, maybe it's generosity, maybe it's justice. But if it's about you and you take the rays of a thousand suns into yourself, you burn to a crisp. If you refract them to other people and create warmth in their lives, you can accommodate that. […]
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