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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.
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It's a book club, but funny! Comedian Michael Ian Black is tackling a great work of literature: Wuthering Heights. Join Michael's weekly book club as he reads aloud from a classic and asks people like Jen Kirkman, Mike Birbiglia, Michael Showalter, and even his teenage kids to weigh in with their perspectives. Season 1: Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. The book is bleak, but Michael does a lot of accent work. Season 2: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's alive, and it's just a big buddy. Also, ...
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Author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote one of Mike’s favorite books about creativity, Big Magic. She also wrote a book that, to her surprise, become a cultural phenomenon: Eat, Pray, Love. Mike and Liz discuss the unexpected impact of Eat, Pray, Love, and what it was like for Liz to watch Julia Roberts portray her on the big screen. Liz gets candid about t…
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S4 Episode 67 - Your Last "Obscure" Episode of Normalcy
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As your host anticipates the US election, he acknowledges the Harris/Walz campaign for their excellence. Of course, your host had no idea at the time of this recording what the results of the election were going to be and so careful listeners will probably sense some optimism, which will soon be punished. As for Clyde, who cares? Support Obscure! R…
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As your host contemplates his upcoming dinner, one might detect a misbegotten lightness of being. Misbegotten because he does not what's about to happen in the US elections. NO SPOILERS, PLEASE!!! In Lycurgus, Clyde and Sondra are arm-in-arm as they make their way into the dinner portion of the upper-crust dinner party to which he has been invited.…
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WIO Q&A: 4th NYC Show Added and Mike Answers All of Your Questions About The Good Life
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In this Working It Out Q&A Mike breaks down the development of the New York City finale of his show The Good Life. He explains the evolution from Please Stop The Ride to The Good Life. Plus, he answers your questions about embarrassment, fear, jealousy, and inspiration. Get tickets to The Good Life at the Beacon Theatre…
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Clyde is out there living it up while Roberta sits at home and cries. Well, we don't know that Roberta is home crying while Clyde is out among the Lycurgus jet set (despite the fact that jets have not yet been invented) because Dreiser doesn't even care enough about Roberta to check in with her on this, the moment of her greatest betrayal. Even so,…
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150. Michael Ian Black: How to Do Comedy with Your 10 Best Friends
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In the 90s, Michael Ian Black’s college sketch group The State got a show on MTV, spawned another iconic group, Stella, and led to the classic movie Wet Hot American Summer. Now Michael sits down with Mike to talk about how all 11 members of The State have remained friends through the ups and downs of show business. Michael shares his advice on how…
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S4 Episode 64 - Will You Still Love Me...
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It's our 64th episode of Season 4, your host is sleepy, and it's the fault of Martha. Clyde is partying hearty, with the potential of betrayal! Lots of terrible behavior from everybody! Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow Michael on Twitter Follow Michael on Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privac…
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149. Bridget Everett: The Star of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere on Risking It All
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Bridget Everett, star of the hit HBO series “Somebody Somewhere,” joins Mike on the podcast this week to discuss creative risks and processing grief and loss through their work. Plus, that time Bridget and Patti LuPone performed together at Carnegie Hall. Also, Bridget describes the most outrageous audience reactions she has received in response to…
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Well, Michael and his wife are in a tiff for reasons that are ENTIRELY HIS FAULT. Even so, that doesn't mean he is in the wrong! (He is in the wrong.) Plus, all kinds of angst regarding the weather, dinner, and the misery of his life. Meanwhile, a love triangle is developing there in Lycurgus, NY like a goddamned hurricane - one of which is brewing…
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148. Lin-Manuel Miranda: Everything is Basically the School Play
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In celebration of his new album, Warriors, Lin-Manuel Miranda sits down with Mike for a wide ranging talk about writing musicals, riding the subway, and taking big creative risks. Lin explains why you need so many ideas to write a musical, and he shares the important lessons he learns from writing and performing in school plays as a student. Plus, …
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Roberta and Clyde have given themselves over to their most lascivious desires. While Dreiser does not spell out the exact nature of these desires, it's safe to assume they are of the most disgusting, immoral, and degrading activities imaginable. Meanwhile, your humble host indulges in his own disgusting, immoral, and degrading activities up in the …
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147. Hannah Gadsby Returns: Shake the Tree
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Hannah Gadsby joins Mike in the studio for the first time. The two talk Hannah’s new solo show “Woof!”, a painful celebrity encounter with Anna Kendrick, and how to keep track of multiple contradictory ideas in the creative process. Plus, a robust Working it Out session solves the mystery of if that dingo ate a baby. Please consider donating to: Th…
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It seems like sin is in the wind as Clyde and Roberta have commenced their intimacies. Both parties find themselves conflicted over this new turn of events. The kids are doing the nasty at night and brooding over it during the day. Is it paradise... or HELL?!? Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow Michael on Twitter Follow Michael on Inst…
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Mike Answers Your Questions About Creativity and Discusses The Emmys
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This week Mike answers listener questions. Does improv help your stand-up? What was your most nightmarish stand-up set? How do you convince yourself to keep going when it’s not going well? Plus, Mike reads a piece he wrote about his complicated but ultimately rewarding experience at the Emmys.By Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast
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Danger abounds as Clyde and Roberta dance along a pinhead! How do they navigate this treacherous impasse at which they've found themselves? It's well-nigh impossible. Impossible! Desire is the streetcar upon which they find themselves riding, and you know what happens when Tennessee Williams writes a play about it. These two poor kids want each oth…
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146. Jack Antonoff Returns: Working Out the New Theme Song
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11-time Grammy winner, celebrated rock star, and noted Working It Out theme song composer Jack Antonoff returns to the podcast. Mike and Jack discuss Jack’s performing with Taylor Swift and collaborating with Sabrina Carpenter, why cynicism can’t exist in a live performance, and the joys of Tim Robinson’s sketch show “I Think You Should Leave.” Plu…
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S4 Episode 59 - Why Must We Endure This Agony?
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A true American tragedy occurred right before the taping of this episode of Obscure. How wilI your host continue in light of such awfulness of the dungarees variety? Clyde and Roberta are on the precipice of a break-up as they try to navigate the uncertain boundary waters of sexual adventuring? We know not! Yet they, like your humble host, endure. …
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145. Matteo Lane: Working Towards the Masterpiece
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This week Matteo Lane joins Mike for an episode that has something for everyone. From Matteo’s hilariously scorching takes on modern pop stars to tales of secret families to insight about what Matteo did when he hit a wall in his comedy career. Plus, Mike and Matteo work out jokes about Mike meeting the Pope in Rome and Matteo gets serious about hi…
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A little too much guacamole on today's episode of "Obscure." Sometimes even delicious things can leave one feeling overstuffed: guacamole and, yes, even YOUNG LOVE! Clyde and Roberta are at a real crossroads. How are they possibly going to keep their trysting without a new location in which to tryst? Roberta is movin' out! Support Obscure! Read Mic…
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144. Jon Laster Returns: The Throughline Is Habits
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Comedian Jon Laster returns for his third appearance on Working It Out. Longtime friends from the Comedy Cellar, Mike and Jon catch up on Jon’s app Blapp, which highlights black-owned businesses, Jon’s more personal comedy material about his struggles with alcoholism, and why Jon calls his company “Thanks Mom.” Plus, Mike and Jon ponder how it is t…
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Some terrific snack talk at the start of today's episode, in which your host expounds on one of the finest confections, the traditional ice cream sandwich. Plus, ice cream makes a cameo in the story itself, as Clyde and Roberta plot their lies and deception. They are as cold-hearted as the desserts they consume! Support Obscure! Read Michael's subs…
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143. Zach Braff: Making A Movie is Like Throwing A Wedding
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This week filmmaker and actor Zach Braff joins Mike to talk everything from Garden State to Ted Lasso to what it’s like to direct Morgan Freeman. Zach discusses the story of his ex once following him through Europe and Mike and Zach discuss the possibility that a story like that could be the starting point for a one person show. Plus, the time Zach…
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The love between Clyde and Roberta continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but problems arise as the two lovebirds find themselves struggling to steal away a little time together. How to tryst!?! Such struggles, such raw emotion, such horniness! Plus, your humble host finds himself in a mediocre hotel in Columbus, OH for the purposes of performing a…
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Please Don't Destroy: SNL's Three Sad Virgins (Recorded February 2024) Mike welcomes Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, aka Please Don’t Destroy, known for their wildly popular shorts on SNL. Mike is determined to get Martin to talk more than he did on Pete Holmes’s podcast. The group shares what they like and dislike about each other,…
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As Tropical Storm Debby lashes the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library, Clyde and Roberta are drowning... in love! Plus, many references to the Rubicon, whirlpools, splashing around, and the dangers of getting in over your hand. A tryst is in the offing! It's a soaking wet episode of Obscure. Support Obscure! Read Michael's substack Follow Michael on Tw…
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