Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out

Comedian and Working It Out producer Gary Simons is back for his third episode. Mike and Gary discuss Gary's wild year, from performing in the New Faces lineup at Just For Laughs Montreal to recently making his TV debut on The Tonight Show. The two friends also work out new jokes just like they do on the road, and they break down how to jump from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to 1 hour of material. Plus, Gary explains how he's able to project calm energy despite the gears always turning in his head.

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Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia
Find Gary:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyfromconnecticut/
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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A collection of the best jokes, wisdom, advice, stories, and burns from frequent Working It Out guest Pete Holmes.

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Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates

Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia

Find Pete:
Website: https://peteholmes.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peteholmes/

Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis, Gary Simons
Sound Mixed by Ben Kruse and 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.

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Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates
Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia
Find Jon:
Instagram: 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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(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.
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Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates

Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans
TikTok: 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.

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Text BIRBIGS to 917-444-7150 for updates

Find Mike:
Website: https://birbigs.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/birbigs/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/birbigfans
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikebirbiglia

Find Ariel:
Website: https://www.arieleliascomedy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariel_comedy/

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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.