Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out - 14. Tig Notaro: Hot Vegan Lesbian Clickbait

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Mike trades jokes with the great Tig Notaro. They discuss winning back ex-girlfriends in your favorite shirt, washing food during the pandemic, Billie Eilish's parents, and perhaps the most unlikely comedic run that involves both the Kiss and Indigo Girls. Do they also mention Ani DiFranco? Yes, they do. Please consider donating to Support + Feed: https://www.supportandfeed.com/

Hey everybody, it's Mike. Once again, our presenting sponsor is Samuel Adams. It is summer. I'm enjoying their summer ale, which somehow, in a way that I don't know how, just tastes like summer. Samuel Adams is doing a great thing right now, which I've mentioned before. There are so many industries devastated by COVID-19, but perhaps none as severely as the restaurant industry. industry is devastated by COVID-19, but perhaps none as severely as the restaurant industry. So they have teamed up with the nonprofit Greg Hill Foundation to create the Restaurant Strong Fund to support restaurant workers. You can support their effort over at SamuelAdams.com. And now the show. Welcome back to Working It Out. Our guest today is a comedian I've known and admired for so many years, Tig Notaro. There is no one better.

There's no one funnier. We've been on This American Life together. She has a lot of comedy specials. She recently launched a podcast called Don't Ask Tig. No spoilers, but I laugh pretty hard in this episode, and I think you will too. Enjoy. One of the things I'm so impressed about by you, in addition to your comedy, is your vegetarian discipline.

Vegan. is phenomenal. I'm sorry. Your vegan discipline is phenomenal. And are you able to stick the landing in quarantine? Oh my gosh. I could do it anywhere, anyhow, no matter what's going on in the world. I haven't mentioned this publicly yet,

but I'm going to tell you this and you can go ahead and put this out there. Oh, clickbait. Give me the clickbait. The clickbait nobody will care about. This is the vegan clickbait that people are waiting for. This is the for sure thing everyone will avoid clicking on. This is called click avoidance material. Good.

Whatever you want to call it, you're getting it first. Okay. it first. I'm currently reading a book about hormones and cancer and health and diet. And while I was reading the book, I thought, because my pipe dream is to be a nutritionist. Oh, wow. Cool. nutritionist. And so while I was reading this book, I thought, okay, what would it take to become a nutritionist? And so I put the book down and I looked up all the different options, all the different levels of education you can get. And I don't know if you know this about me, but I failed three grades, dropped out of high school. I got my GED. My cat ate my GED. I don't have a tremendous amount of education. I have a seventh grade education and

a half-eaten GED that's framed in my office. And so when I saw that I could get certified, I put my book down and I signed up to become a certified plant-based nutritionist. And that's what I'm currently working on at home. So that's a dream to put a certificate that has not been eaten by my cat next to my GED. This is great, actually, cat clickbait also. This is lesbian clickbait. Ooh, that's the angle. Oh, that's the angle.

That's the angle. It's hot lesbian conversation. And it's me talking about veganism and my cat. I think that that's really hot. And I think the thing to think about also think that that's really hot. And I think like the thing to think about also is that it's vegan clickbait, which means that you can't even

bait a fish. You can't even catch a fish. No, sir. No, sir. No fish, no meat, no eggs. No problem. No eggs, no problem. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. None of it. No eggs, no problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah. None of it.

But I'm going to be certified in a couple of months, and I truly might start consulting people. I'm all in. You and I have talked about this before, and you've told me all about your vegan principles, and I'm all in, in theory. And I want to take the next step. Are you interested? Yeah, I'm interested. If you're interested, because this isn't just nutritionists that I'm

going to be offering. I will offer meal planning. I will offer plant-based coaching. It's truly my big dream. I can't even, I mean, you believe me, but it's my passion. I do. I know you well. Yeah. So if you have any interest, I'm here to help. And that's the lesbian clickbait

you're here for that's the hot that's the hot lesbian clickbait you're here for Tig Notaro is available for plant based nutrition meow there's the cap

oh I know so we did a thing we do a thing on the podcast called the slow round and it's all based on memories and, uh, prompts and things that I use in my own writing. And one of them, this is my favorite one is, uh, do you have a memory that's on a loop in your brain that it doesn't really, it's not a story you'd tell on stage, but it's just the thing that you sort of like have in your head that just pops in your head every now and then. I feel like I have several. And I think that people, I think that's how the brain is wired,

is that you just have stories on loops. And, you know, when you're living your life and somebody from your past texts you or calls you and you say, oh my gosh, I was just thinking about you. It's because your brain is on so many loops and you just think about the same thoughts over and over and over again. That is fascinating. So like when I emailed you about coming on to this the podcast did you have a memory loop of me? yeah I always think about

being at that dinner with you at Sasquatch that's so sweet I do I can't remember what other festival you and I were performing at at the same time, but I remember watching you there.

And I think, you know what it is? I saw you at a festival, and I remember just being like, God, how does he do it? And then we were at Sasquatch, and then that's when I took a chance and asked you out. Oh my gosh. It's so romantic. It's hard for me.

It's hard for me to put myself out there. And that was me really putting myself out there. Maybe that's the clickbait. The time Tig Notaro asked Mike Birbiglia out on a date at a rock and roll festival. But you can also spin it into a lesbian thing again and say the time that the lesbian, I can't remember how I was going to spin it,

but the lesbian date or something. Right. Lesbian first date. Yes. Lesbian first date and then parentheses with a man. But you don't see the parentheses until you click. And then at that point, you're already just, you're a number. What about lesbian, the lesbian hot hetero date?

I wouldn't say hot. Dick, why would you take me down like that on my own podcast? Okay. So did you have any neighbors growing up that are particularly memorable? Yeah, I have several and I'm in touch with several. But one is particularly memorable because this was when I lived in Texas. She lived diagonally across the street from me. Yeah.

And she was on the phone. This is somebody that I grew up with. She was on the phone with Kato Kaelin when he heard the big thump behind. Yeah. Yeah. And she was. Wait, wait, wait. Heard the big thump behind finish the sentence?

Remember when he was on the phone and he heard a thump? And that's supposed to be when OJ was throwing the glove, I think, behind the house or something. I can't remember the details. And she was the person on the phone with Kato Kaelin? Yes. And she was in the entire trial. And the way I found that out, I haven't been in touch with her family. Her name's Danielle Ferrara. But I haven't been in touch with her family in decades. But I was at the grocery store and I saw her on the cover of The Inquirer. And I was like, what? And so I looked into it and that is my childhood neighbor. Her mother used to tutor me when I was in seventh grade. It obviously didn't go well. playing in the front yard, her mother saw me and came running out of the house with the local paper.

And I mean local, local paper. Right. Our version was the Shrewsbury Gazette in Massachusetts. Yeah. Basically that. I was on the cover of it. I was at camp and I was on a tire swing with my hat backwards and nobody in my family saw that paper and had Danielle's mother not run out, I wouldn't have that. So you were just at camp and it was a candid photo of you at camp. Well, yeah. And I'm adorable and I'm having a good time. They're not going to take that picture and not put it on the cover of the... So you're saying it was a lifestyle feature? Yeah. It was like, look at this cute kid.

No, it was look at this little lesbian, which is another clickbait opportunity for your show here. Oh, that's huge. That's going to be huge. That's going to be huge. Do you have a memory where you cringe when you think about it? You're like, oh. One of my, I'll tell you an embarrassing thing. Please. It's so embarrassing and it's me trying to make a relationship continue. And it's also embarrassing because this person was in the comedy world,

or she's in the comedy world, a writer, a standup, an author, and we had this secret thing. We had a secret affair. Not like we were cheating on anyone, but just nobody knew that we had this thing going on. People speculated, but there was nothing out there. Sure. And she really pursued me.

And I just kind of was like, yeah, she's cool. And yeah, she's attractive and she's funny. But I didn't fully get in there. Sure. But we had our secret thing. Well, guess what? One day she dropped me like a hot potato. Okay.

And I was like, I'm sorry, what? I thought you were crazy about me. And it really like messed with me because, I mean, she really came on strong. Okay? Yeah, yeah. Well, guess what I did? What? It's so embarrassing.

Please. She lives in Santa Monica, or she did at the time. And she always told me that I looked adorable in this one shirt. I called her one day and I told her that I happened to be in her neighborhood. This makes me cringe i told and she was like oh okay and i was like can i swing by and just say hi guys and she said um yeah sure and i swung by wearing the shirt that she told me I looked adorable in. She did not let me in her house. Oh, my gosh. She came out and sat on the front steps while I sat there in my stupid shirt.

Oh, my gosh. And she did not want anything to do with me. And then she needed to go back in. And I mean, she went from like crazy about me, pursuing me, involvement to nothing. And we are still friends to this day. And I need to tell her or I need to tell her to listen to this episode. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God.

It's so embarrassing. I just told Stephanie that story a couple of months ago and she really felt for me. Oh, the stoop. I so relate. Isn't that embarrassing? I so relate to the stoop. Oh, it's, it's the worst. It's the worst, but I think I'll, it'll it'll help me get over it to put that story out there.

Were you ever a bully or bullied or neither or both? Um, well, I mean, I think that I've, I think I've certainly gone in different directions, um, and learn how to use my comedy more positively over the years. I feel exactly the same way. Yeah, and I feel like even down to sarcasm and one of the biggest lessons that I learned, and actually it's an example of being bullied, that I worked at a coffee shop years ago and because I don't have a lot of education, I do get insecure when I'm put on the spot about things that are really basic. And so I worked at a coffee shop and I messed up in calculating the money. And there was a long line of people and this woman that I had messed up her order, I said, I'm sorry,

hold on one second, let me go get my boss. And she said, you know, it's not too late to go to college. Oh, my gosh. And I was like, I was paralyzed in that moment. Wow. And when she walked away, I told my boss, I said, oh, I would love to go to her table and just be like, hey, you know what? Thanks a lot. Because of you, I just signed up for college classes, and I'm moving away to go to college now. And my boss said, and this really changed my life. She said, um, you know, you can't fight fire with fire. And, um, I don't, I I'm on your side.

I, um, do not support you going up and saying that to somebody that's, um, not support you going up and saying that to somebody that's in my establishment. She said, however, if you want to walk up to her table and say, I just want to let you know that what you said to me really was inappropriate and it hurt my feelings, then my boss said, I will stand behind you 100%. And I was like, oh my gosh, that has since changed my life. It made me shift the way that I deal with interactions and conflict. And I try to be direct and not lead with something mean or sarcastic or aggressive and just kind of try and face the conflict as, you know, just directly as possible. It's so cathartic to hear you say that because I think I was, when I was younger, like eighth, ninth grade, I feel like I was bullied physically quite a bit. And then I think that I sharpened my sword of kind of what you're talking about of like sarcasm or jabbing people verbally.

And then I think, you know, accidentally for a period of time became the bully. you know, accidentally for a period of time became the bully that, you know, and then I think I've had a similar evolution over the years of trying to, trying to reverse that, uh, and, and try to, uh, and like you're saying, try to deal with people coming at me in a bullying way with some modicum of sincerity. Well, yeah. And it's, you know, I think that if I try to be direct, because even as an adult or in the comedy world, I've been flat out bullied. I have been treated terribly and I have confronted these particular people in a direct manner. And if it's not welcome and it's not handled, if they can't meet me there, then there's nothing to work with. And I mean, it's anywhere else as well. But I mean, from childhood, I just didn't have that tool as a kid. And now I just, I feel really, really thankful for it. And I can't say I'm always perfect with handling things.

Even in a relationship that I had after my boss said that to me, I remember I was so upset about something that was happening in my life. And my girlfriend at the time was just simply trying to comfort me. She was just simply trying to comfort me. And it was about something that she had no way of having experience in. Sure. And it frustrated me. Yeah. And I said something, I snapped or I was sarcastic. And I think about this all the time. She said, I would never speak to you like that.

Yeah. And I just went, oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. Yeah, yeah. And so it's just good to keep trying to practice it. But I think it comes more naturally to me because I do feel like it's something I really do feel like I learned but can, you know, slip up as a human here and there. It reminds me of things in my relationship where I have to think about, in hindsight, maybe what I was conveying with my body language or my tone without realizing it, you know, especially in the pandemic. It's like, it's like, we're all quarantined. We're all living together. We're all in close quarters. And I just think sometimes,

you know, Jen and I speak, speak, you know, in, in 99% of ways, we speak the same language. And then in that 1% of ways that we don't, I think sometimes she and I both think we're right about what we're conveying to the other person. Absolutely. I mean, Stephanie and I are similar in that way, in that we live together so well. We make each other laugh till we cry every day, and I'm not exaggerating. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're collaborators. We're all of those things. Same, same.

Same in general. Yeah, and it's just I can't believe that I found this person in the world. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And it's really interesting to go through all these different experiences and years together and becoming new people together and trying to bend to who the other person is becoming. Sure. And I remember, and I don't know if I can fully convey this, but we were having an argument one day,

and she made some comment, and I said, wow, you're not the person I thought you were. And then she made a comment like she agreed, meaning she knows she has changed. She's not who she thought she was either. Meaning people change. That's really powerful. And it was very eye-opening and interesting. And it just kind of speaks to people and relationships evolving.

And do you go together as things evolve and change? Or do you get off the ride? So this is the part of the show where we work out new bits in process, new ideas, thoughts. Is there anything you've been working on or thinking about? I think about when the pandemic started. Before the pandemic, we used to go to the farmer's market. We'd go to the grocery store. It was a whole thing around food. And then the pandemic started, we would have our groceries delivered to our house and our doorbell would ring and the kids would run to the door so excited

that a delivery came. And Stephanie and I turned into lunatics. And we would be like, stand back, stand back. And they'd be trying to touch the bags of food. And we'd be like, stand back, stand back. And they'd be trying to touch the bags of food. And we'd be like, you have to, do not, nobody can pass this point in the kitchen. We have to get the food to the garage. We started putting the food in the garage for purgatory. And we'd let it sit there for three days. And they'd be like, why is it, you know,

I wanted a graham cracker. It has to sit in the garage for three days and they'd be like, why is it? I wanted a graham cracker. It has to sit in the garage for three days. Please step away. And then they'd pick up a carrot and we'd be like, get over here. You have to wash your hands or we're scrubbing their hands. And we were just on such high alert. And after we started to get used to everything, we started to really, And after we started to get used to everything, we started to really, once we learned that you can't get it through eating food and that you don't really have to be bleaching all of your food. Right. And so, but we now still have our front closet as purgatory. Yeah, yeah. The food quarantine.

Yeah, the food gets quarantined. And so we just tell our sons that the packages showed up dirty again. So we have to put them in here. Oh my gosh, no way. Yeah. And so, and we always say, you know what? When the food got delivered, the guy got some dirt on it. So guys, we're going to wash everything and then we can have it.

Oh my gosh. And they're four and they just are so cute about everything. And they're like, that silly guy got our food dirty again. You know, just that kind of thing. But there was a while there where it was, you know, arms open wide of like, stand back! Everybody back away from the potatoes! It's funny because it made me think of you talking about your sons made me think of you talking about your sons made me think of my daughter and one of the heartening things

in all of the darkness and horror of the last three and a half years in this country one of the bright spots has been that Una is in preschool and she'll come home and she'll say stuff like, if you get a boo-boo, you're supposed to tell your teacher or your mom and your dad or

your mom and your mom or your dad and your dad, you know, and it's like, and it's astonishing to me how much progress there's been with that in my lifetime when I think about it. And it makes me and Jen so happy. Yeah, it's really incredible. We probably have more teaching our sons because we realized recently that they didn't know who I was in the family exactly. Oh, my gosh. Who I was in the family. Because Stephanie is mommy and I'm mère, which is French for mother. Yes, of course.

And so our kids watch Peppa Pig. Yes. And one day, one of our kids said, is Mare like Daddy Pig? Oh, my gosh. Yeah. So that's when we realized that, oh, we just assumed they thought that we were both the parents. And it turns out as much as I joke about them being my roommates, in their minds, they're the family unit and I'm this roommate that's living with them.

roommate that's living with them. And we just, we laughed so hard when we realized that, oh my gosh, they, what, what do they think? But now, now they, now they get it. And we did have more of a conversation, but. So what do you, what do you exactly? Yeah. when are you going to get your own place and maybe a job or something? You know, you could go to college. Yeah, it's not too late to go to college. I wrote this down because we live in a neighborhood that has a ton of kids, and I write down a lot of overheards. And I was at a coffee shop

and a six-year-old kid was grabbing his mom. And so she goes, she like snaps at him and she goes, Arrow, if I don't get my coffee soon, I am literally going to die. And I wanted to be like, excuse me, ma'am. I'm not sure your son knows that literally means figuratively. And if he doesn't, he might think he is an actual arrow.

And if he is an actual arrow, you might not want to hug him because you might literally die. That's hilarious. So stupid. That's great I was just going to say I write down stuff that our kids say all the time and one of the things that was in my new hour that was kind of what I was working

it was my hour before I left to go be in a pandemic or pee doodle. And so one of the things that I talk about in my new set is about how I preface it with not claiming it's the funniest thing, but I do think it's one of the greatest sentences I've ever heard. And it was from my son, Max. He and I were sitting on the couch and out of nowhere, unprompted, we weren't even talking to one another. He got up and he looked at me and put his finger in the air and he said, it could be tricky to touch a bird.

I was so overwhelmed by that statement. And I just said, oh my gosh, you are so, so correct. You're so right. It can be so tricky to touch a bird. So tricky. Oh, it can be so tricky. And I just thought, okay. Wise beyond his years.

Yes. And obviously there's been attempts. And clearly so many. And that it occupied his brain so, so fully that he was just sitting on the couch. And I think about that sentence all the time and how I just imagine him walking up and trying to sneak up on a bird to touch it and just being like, that is so tricky. Oh, my gosh. There's a lot of cussing in our house too. Oh, really?

Yeah, when my stepfather came for the holidays, I just warned him that they cuss like sailors. And he said, is it because they've started preschool? And I said, no, it's because of Stephanie. And that's really the only one to blame but we don't ever correct them we don't stop them

which words we can say it here this is a grown up podcast well there's a lot of discussion about how you're not supposed to say fucking shit and so they will tell each other you're not supposed to say fucking shit. And so they will tell each other, you're not supposed to say fucking shit.

Max said fucking shit, and I told him you shouldn't say fucking shit. Oh, my gosh. And then hell is all day long as though they're 40 and 50-year-olds. Max will walk to the... He orders, in quotes, packages on his,

he has a calculator he carries around and it's like his laptop. And he orders a lot of toys on his computer. And he'll walk over to the front window of the house and he'll be like, where the hell is my package? Oh my gosh. Where the hell is my delivery? And then Finn will build...

It's like a tiny middle-aged man cursing and demanding his packages. Yeah, and he ordered that damn thing like a week ago. And then Finn will build something with Legos and Max will walk in the room and he'll see it. He'll be like, Finn, what the hell is that? So it's very casual around here. And we laugh really hard and don't correct them.

Yeah, of course. I don't, I have to say like maybe this is, maybe people will object to this and say like, it's bad parenting, but Jen and I are not so strict on language. Like, I feel like I was, I was, my parents were very strict on language. Don't say this word, don't say that. And I feel like, who cares? Like just, I guess just, I would say use a variety of words would be my instruction to children. Well, that's how I feel.

And we try and teach them. Just to amuse myself, I try and teach them words that will amuse me coming out of a four-year-old's mouth. Stephanie, it started to get hot out. And so she popped open a beer in the middle of the day. And it's not a common occurrence. And they asked what it was. And I whispered to her and I said, say it's not a common occurrence and they asked what it was and I whispered to her and I said, say it's a brewski. And so that's what they call beer now. They'll be like, you're having a brewski. And so, and I try and teach them bigger words because it's adorable to hear that come out

because they naturally pick up the typical word. No, no, same. Like one day I said optional in a conversation and Una goes, what's optional? And I go, well, it means you can do it, but you don't have to do it. And then it's like, the opposite of that is mandatory. She was like, what's mandatory? And then by the end of the day, she had learned the words optional and mandatory. And I'm like, I am doing this wrong. No, that is the way to do it. And as an aspiring nutritionist, I teach my kids about nutrition all the time. I don't know if you'll be able to hear this.

This is me and my first clients. Why do we have to drink a lot of water every day? Because you have to stay hydrated. That's right. And what is in popcorn?

That's right. And what do we sprinkle on our broccoli? Nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast. That's all. That's amazing. That is so adorable. Nutritional use. That's all. That's amazing. That is so adorable. So you're forcing your children to be your first,

to be your guinea pig nutrition clients? Yes. Yes. They're very inquisitive. They're very inquisitive. Can I run another bit by you? Please do. So Jen, Jen really wanted me to turn on this yoga video that she's been doing. And the instructor says, this is my best impression. She goes, this is an anti-aging technique. And I just thought like, is that a realistic goal?

Like anti-aging, like, is that a real thing? Like, I feel like that's like saying, this is a denial of existence technique. This is an exercise where we pretend we are not living, breathing creatures who die. And like, and to be clear, I'm against aging as an idea. I don't believe aging should exist, but I'm not an aging truther. I'm not one of these people who's like, no one has to age and no one has to die. Because that's's a cult that's what cults are you know like i watched

i don't know if you saw the the bikram yoga documentary on netflix no it's this guy and he's like i am bikram and i'm the answer hot yoga and and all i'm thinking is like, you look terrible. Like, how are these people falling for this? He's not in shape at all. He is definitely aging. Since you're not familiar with the Bikram yoga guy, I'll tell you, Tig, he came to America in the 80s. Uh-huh. With someone else.

This is all you need to know. You don't have to watch the documentary. With someone else's idea in India to do yoga in high temperatures. He's like a yoga hack. And it is so like Americans to not check any of his references whatsoever. We're like, oh yeah, India is really far away. I'm sure he's a man of his word, even though he is completely sketchy and trying to sleep with my teenage daughter. Maybe that's a thing they do in India. Again, we will not check his references

for the next 20 years until the Netflix documentary. Oh, my God. Yeah, so that's sort of a bit I'm working on about Bikram Yoga. It's actually a really good... I'm making a Bikram Yoga. It's actually a really good, I'm actually, I'm making a joke about it, but it's actually a really good documentary.

And because it's an interesting phenomenon to witness all of these people just like drinking the Kool-Aid of this guy. And he's like completely corrupt and he's like, you know, sleeping with all these people and assaulting people i mean this is awful stuff and you just go like wow like people can really fool themselves into believing anything if they if they if they want to a million percent yeah i mean there's so many uh

i think instructors that get cut not to like put a bad name around yoga, but I feel like I hear that kind of regularly where a yoga instructor will come up and inappropriately touch people in certain positions. And I've never been a yoga person. I feel like it's the comedian in me where I want to look around, I want to make a joke about, you know, I can't focus and be centered. I've found that on long walks or long cycling trips. But when there's other people around in weird outfits or weird positions, making weird noises with a weird instructor, I just, I can't take it seriously.

It's funny. It brings back this memory I have from when I was on tour with the new one and Chris Laker and Jacqueline Novak were opening up for me. We were driving around Florida and I did a yoga instruction in, I think like West Palm, which is where one of the dates was. And then we were driving to the next location,

which was, I wanna say like Fort Lauderdale or something. It was like a four or five hour drive. And I was driving and they were in the car and we got out of the car and I, my whole body was in complete and total pain, particularly my back. And, and I was sort of like limping. Like I was like, I don't know what's going to happen. And then we went inside and I sort of, we went to the sound check and I sort of buckled over in pain on the floor of the stage.

Oh, you know where it was? I think it was in Coral Springs because I'm remembering the stage now. Give us the right place, Mike. We were in Coral Springs, Florida and I was buckled over in pain on the stage now. Yeah. Give us the right place, Mike. We were in Coral Springs, Florida, and I was buckled over in pain on the stage. And I didn't know what was going to happen. I was saying to these guys, like, I don't know what we're going to do because people are going to walk in here in two hours and I'm going to have to do an 80-minute show. And so we called like a massage therapist near Coral Springs to come backstage and essentially like break this paralysis.

Oh, my God. He did. He saved the day. I mean, like I got out there, did the show. Whoa. Until now, until talking about it with you, I forgot that even happened. That was a masseuse? It was a massage therapist came and fixed me, like cured me of this paralysis.

I have never had that happen with a massage therapist. It's always, you know, they never get the knot out that needed to get out. It's always just like, oh, yeah, that feels good. But I'm not fixed, you know? I'm just impressed to hear that that happened. No, he completely saved me. I didn't know what the hell it was going to do. I have a very opposite medical thing that happened

where I had gotten off stage in Philadelphia. And it had been decades since I had seen a childhood friend who lived in Philadelphia and he wanted to go out for a drink with, Stephanie happened to be with me. And so I was standing there after, in the front entrance of the theater because I had gone out to meet him there after people were kind of heading out. And I started to get this pain in my stomach, and I just thought, I'm sure it's nothing. And as I crippled over and started to look for some place to fall, I was out on the floor in the entrance of this theater.

And I was having trouble breathing. And the guy, this was after I shook his wife's hand. I was like, oh, nice to see you after decades. And nice to meet your wife. And then I was like, I'm not feeling well. Boom. Oh, my gosh. And then I was down.

And a security guy had to pick me up and put me in a car. And there were still people from the show in front of the theater watching. Oh, my gosh. Huge man carried me out and put me in a car and Stephanie drove me to the hospital around the corner. What was the diagnosis at the hospital? After I had cancer, I was put on this medication that causes a lot,

for me, not for everyone, but for me, the medication really caused a lot of cysts. And one had burst on a blood vessel and I was immediately bleeding profusely internally. Oh my gosh, wow. And I was immediately bleeding profusely internally. Oh my gosh, wow. And I was going into shock. I was having trouble breathing. It was so bad.

And it was really, really bad. We were stuck in Philadelphia for quite a while while I was recovering from surgery and all sorts of things. But I really had said, thank you and good night. And then the audience members saw me being carried out. Oh my gosh. It was maybe a half hour after thank you and good night. So anyway, but that was...

Yeah, yeah. That's like yeah yeah that's like if you went I was reading today that you're a fan of Kiss but that's like if you went to a Kiss concert and then like you're walking out and then Gene Simmons is like taken away in an ambulance

well and to be fair when it says that I'm a fan of Kiss as a kid growing up it's not like I'm still, you know, listen to, no, no, no. We know you have the outfit, you have the outfits, you have the makeup. We know your level of fandom. Let's be honest. We got to keep this lesbian. I'm a fan of the Indigo Girls.

That's more clickbait for you. We gotta stay on our clickbait talking points. We gotta stay on brand and on clickbait. Oh my gosh. But I do. I love KISS. But I'm not up on all the KISS concerts in

recent years. Or albums. It's like if you went to an Indigo Girls concert, which I have, by the way. I haven't missed a single one, but go ahead. And I've been to multiple Ani DiFranco concerts alone. Alone, Tig. Alone. No part of me doubts you. You want to know why I'm a comedian?

I've gone to multiple Ani DiFranco concerts alone. But that's like if you went to an Indigo Girls show and afterwards one of the Indigo Girls was being taken away in an ambulance. No, it's like if you went to an Indigo Girls show and both Indigo Girls are being carried out after the show. No, Kig. It's like if you went to an Indigo Girls concert

and after the show, one of the Indigo Girls is being flown away in a helicopter and one of them is being driven away on the back of a motorcycle. No, no, no. It's like if you went to an Indigo Girls concert and Kiss is being carried out at the theater. No, it's like if you went to an Indigo Girls concert and Mike Verbiglia has to leave early

because Ani DiFranco is performing across town at 9.30. Okay, it is exactly like that. early because Ani DiFranco is performing across town at 9.30. Okay. It is exactly like that. Okay, good. That's the perfect example. So the final thing that we do in the show is we try to shine a light on and contribute to

nonprofits that are doing good work right now. And is there anyone that you wanted to shine a light on this week? No. Nope. Okay. Well, that does it. Tig Notaro. She's got a lot of specials.

She's got her own TV series and she doesn't like charity. Oh, of course, of course. And can you even imagine what I would possibly care about? Something with vegan stuff, probably? Support and feed. Food. Support and feed, yeah.

Support and feed, yeah. And you know who started this is Billie Eilish's family. No kidding. No kidding. know who started this is billy eilish's family no kidding no kidding they um they have actually speaking of philadelphia i believe it's new york la and philadelphia um plant-based restaurants uh feed people in need during covid and that's homeless and um yeah it's really really something and um we are going to link to them in the show notes and contribute to them. And that is so cool to hear that someone's doing that work. That's phenomenal.

You know what's even cooler? What? Stephanie told me recently that Billie Eilish's parents are groundlings. Oh, they're improv comedians or former improv comedians in Los Angeles. No, they still hang out. No, really? No way. Really?

And put on wigs and do shows. No way. This is what my wife has told me, and I believe her. She's from that world. Wow. That's what my wife has told me, and I believe her. She's from that world. She's from the sketch and improv world, and she said that Billie Eilish lives with her parents, and her parents still put on wigs and drive down and do sketches and improvs and all that kind of stuff.

Wow. So nothing cooler than that. That's clickbait. That sounds like clickbait to me. Nothing cooler than that. That's clickbait. That sounds like clickbait to me. And Billie Eilish.

I don't know what Billie Eilish's gender sexuality is, but I was going to try and bring it back to clickbait. Well, I remember so well that time that you and I and Billie Eilish went on that first date together. To the Indigo Girls and saw Kiss. And then left early. Hemorrhaging internally. Tig, I feel so lucky to call you a friend. And I you, sir.

And I'm in awe of your work. And if people haven't seen all your specials and listened to all your albums and watched all the episodes of your show, they should because you're one of the greats. I really, really appreciate it. And I feel the exact same, if not more, about you. Working it out, cause it's not done Working it out, cause there's no hope

That's going to do it for another episode of Working It Out with Tig Notaro. Our producers are Peter Salamone and Joseph Birbiglia. Consulting producers, Seth Barish. Sound mix by Kate Belinsky. Assistant editor, Mabel Lewis. Thank you to my consigliere, Mike Berkowitz, as well as Marissa Hurwitz.

Special thanks to Jack Antonoff for our music, as always. A very special thanks to my wife, Jay Hopestein. Our new book, the new one is Curbside. Support your local bookstore.

We are doing a few more virtual bookstore events at Books Are Magic, which is our neighborhood bookstore that we love, at Greenlight our neighborhood bookstore that we love, at Greenlight Books in Brooklyn that we love, and Powell's Books in Portland that we love. All of that is on burbiggs.com.

And for all the updates about everything, because I did a virtual show last week, and it was so fun, so fun. And you can find out about it by signing up for the mailing list on Burbiggs.com. That is where all the good stuff is. Once again, our thanks to Sam Adams for presenting the Restaurant Strong Fund. Join them today at SamuelAdams.com.

As always, a special thanks to my daughter, Una, who created a secret radio fort made of pillows. Thanks most of all to you who listened. Tell your friends. That's listened. Tell your friends. That's easy. Tell your enemies. More challenging. We are working it out!