Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out - 159. Hasan Minhaj Returns: Off with His Head, On with His Jokes

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

Working It Out fan favorite Hasan Minhaj returns for a third episode. Mike and Hasan discuss the enduring memories of childhood crushes, an obsession with who was the fastest in elementary school, and why comedy and politics move in cycles. Plus, Hasan keeps Google Image searching Mike, and Mike invites himself along on a hangout with Hasan’s high school friend group The Hit Squad.Please consider donating to UNICEF

I'm down to jump off the high dive. Like if we're on like a trip with the boys, and we like climb up, like we go to a lake and we climb up on the rock, and you're like, let's jump off of it. I'll jump off. Me too. I'll jump off.

Same. So like that, that's probably like my, but in a weird way it was good for comedy. How come I'm never on the trip with you with the boys? Cause we didn't go to high school together. I know, but- These are like my middle school- Put me on the group chain, drop me in.

You know what I mean? You don't need to. No, I think like- You have zero interest in hanging out with Hit Squad. Those are my, you have no interest in hanging out. You have zero interest. You have zero interest in hanging out with Hit Squad. I would be, I think I would slide right in with Hit Squad.

What do you think about me doesn't qualify for me for Hit Squad? Do you play basketball? Yeah, I'll play basketball. Alright. Hahaha. That is the voice of the great Hassan Minaj. Man, I love it when Hassan comes on. It's his third time on the podcast. He's a fan favorite. Hassan Minaj. Man, I love it when Hassan comes on.

It's his third time on the podcast. He's a fan favorite. He's actually, he's one of the people, he's one of our first guests on the show. Whenever people ask, where is a good place to start with the podcast? Because, you know, we're well over 150 episodes now. I always say the first Hassan Minaj episode,

and after that, the second, and after that, this one today. His latest Netflix special is fantastic. It's called Off With His Head. I love talking to him on this show. By the way, thanks to everyone who's been coming out to my shows. I just added four small shows in March in Largo in LA, which sold out immediately. I sent the email to the mailing list.

I always say on this show, sign up for the mailing list to be the first to know. We may add more, I don't know, but if we do again, you will be the first to know. I will be donating a portion of the proceeds from those shows to people affected by the fires I also added a sixth show in New York City at the Beacon Theatre March 18th tickets are going fast grab those while you can I was just in Toronto this week

I'm in Baltimore, which is sold out Palm Beach sold out Northampton and Burlington Vermont sold out Again check on burbigs.com for the details. I'm so excited to share the new show, The Good Life with you all. Love talking to Hasan today. We talk a little politics rare for me. We dive deep into childhood memories. Who was the fastest kid at your school?

Who were your first childhood crushes? Why are those memories so important, so funny? Names have been bleeped to protect the innocent. We talk a lot about how to develop a stand-up bit from scratch, how to use crowd work strategically to find what's funny about a story, and it's just a nerdy episode. Enjoy my conversation with the great Hasan Minhaj. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh to a point where I feel like I'm overdoing it. I feel like it's Carlin-esque. It's George Carlin-esque. And you have to take this compliment. Mike, this is insane.

You know some of the best living comedians. Yeah, of course. They're your friends. This is the biggest compliment. This is an insane thing to say. No, but this is how I felt about the special. And I urge people to watch the special. George Carlin was a very liberal person,

very liberal, if you were gonna categorize him. But the way he did comedy refused to be categorized. He was cynical about everything. About all parties, all groups, blah, blah, blah. And I was just like, my hat is off to you. I mean, I think it's prophetic of the election. I think you called out, because you filmed before the election,

and you basically said, I don't think people realize like most people are just thinking about money. Yeah, money. Yeah. And how, how it's going to affect their pocketbook. And it's like, that's what all the exit polls show. Yeah. We filmed it the day Donald Trump got shot.

Jesus Christ. So crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Early show and Matt Richards was, by the way, Matt Richards, one of the funniest, one of the funniest fucking comics in the city, Matt Richards.

Love him. Matt was the one who came into my dressing room and was like, dude, fucking Donald Trump got shot. Oh, that's crazy. Oh my God. Yeah. And of course you can't put that in the special because it's like, God knows how it ends. And I remember being like,

this 11 more crazy things are gonna happen. We're not gonna talk about it. And people legitimately in the green room were like like we should, maybe you talk about it. Right, no way. You know what I'm saying? There's 80 crazier things that are gonna happen. And they did happen. Were you dead set on having the special

speak to a moment in time? To me, I wanted it to come out right before the election. I just felt like there was people who know my comedy would maybe be like, what's his take on it? Yeah. And I wanted, there were particular things that I think were happening in the culture that I think only maybe my POV could speak to.

Yeah. And a lot of the kind of the intellectualization of like, who are black men going to vote for? What do Latino men want or whatever? What do Indian men want? Yeah, all that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, I don't think you've spoken to any is my first critique. And yeah, do you know any immigrant families? Do you know the way we talk? And so it was just an articulation of that POV, of like, here are the issues that actually matter.

And you create a grouping that you call Bejistan. Bejistan, yes. Is that your term? Yes. I mean, I hadn't heard the premise. I mean, there's 10 other comics I can check if they have the premise. No, of course.

But I think Bejistan's gonna be used. But race in America. I think it's gonna be used by people in politics. We're gonna talk about that behind the scenes in the next election. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Because I think people are gonna go, it's like what Hassan said, we gotta speak to Bejistan.

Yes. You're talking about in the special how every election you get called. Yeah, oh, I get the, yeah. As the brown whisperer. I get the call, yeah, yeah, totally. Because people are like, we need Indian voters, et cetera. But don't you know we have to save democracy.

We have to save democracy. We have to save democracy. And Hassan's going to do it. Yeah. I wonder after you've called them out in the special, whether they call for the next election. They will call. They won't change a thing.

That's interesting. Is that your take? That is my take, yeah. So you feel like these people who lost this election are not taking notes on why they lost the election? Not at all. That's interesting. Yeah. I don't think.

I hope they try to change. I don't think the power structures that be, the incumbent entrenched power system that is, whatever you want wanna call it. Yeah. DC, Wall Street, the DNC, the RNC, they're pretty set in their ways. Right. I think the only things that upend that are new phenomenons

that exist outside of that. By the way, that exists in show business as well. Oh, that's interesting. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's just, I think, a general concept with anything that involves any sort of entrenched power. That it exists as is until one day some Black Swan event kind of changes it.

No, I think you're right. How many times have we heard this thing of like, oh musicals in Hollywood just don't work. Right. You know what I mean? And then they do. No, I think you're right. Do you see what I'm saying?

It's that sort of thing. I think you're absolutely right. I think like that's why, you know, as it relates to creativity or, you know, the show working it out, it's like if you're doing something that's unique, keep doing the thing if you're passionate about it. Because eventually in the cycle,

at some point it gets to you. Yeah, yeah. I feel like we've seen this. Like when I started telling stories in the early 2000s, like it wasn't very popular. Not at all. No, everyone's telling stories. Sure, sure.

Everyone has long stories, the most mainstream pop specials. I'm seeing people open with a 15 minute story. Did you do that, like you made the conscious choice to or was it also in many ways an act of desperation? I feel like that's what- How dare you? No, but that is comedy. That is like standup comedy.

I know what you mean. There are levels to this. No, you're right. So, but to circle back to like, so when I started telling stories, it wasn't a popular thing to do. And then in the last like 15 years, it became like the thing that people do.

And then it'll cycle back. But you just do, you gotta do what you do. I completely agree. So you talk in the special about how, essentially politicians are too old, you bring up Pelosi. I mean, I do the whole thing about Mitch McConnell and my thing right now, he's like freezing.

He's like freezing, we're fine with it somehow, people are fine with it. But then I'm like, you know, I bring up Diane Feinstein, who I point out went full dead, she was a thousand years old. And everyone's like, you're maybe a thousand. He's like, that's sexist, and then she's full dad. Yeah. And, but like-

Average age of Senate at 65. Is that what it is? Yeah, the retirement age. I mean, it's crazy, but it's madness. Yeah, yeah. I mean, a lot of my perspective in the special is just kind of understanding the world will not change as fast as you would like it to.

Oh yeah, exactly. That's actually, I mean, that's like the real punchline. So what do I like you have been dealt to this hand? Yeah, and the world will not change as fast as uber eats delivers So like that's right. What do you want? How do you want to navigate that reality? And in like that's where I think a lot of the comedy is for me. Do you think you'll do? And that's where I think a lot of the comedy is for me. Do you think you'll do more political comedy for your next special? I think it's just where the bits hit me.

Right. Like I texted you last night about... It's where you go. Yeah, it's where I am. Right, so you texted me last night. It was really funny because it is a thing that I think about a lot. Yes.

You texted me last night, do you remember the fastest kid in your elementary school? Yeah. Do you remember the fastest kid in your elementary school? Yeah. Do you remember the fastest kid in your elementary school? By the way, if you want to know what comedians text each other, that is in a nutshell. You know the fastest kid in your elementary school. Know like, hey, what's up? How are things?

Do you know the fastest kid in your elementary school? Why was that so valuable? Being fast in third grade was a huge deal. It was the most important thing. I remember the full government name of the fastest kid at Pioneer Elementary School, and we'll bleep them out. *** Yes. So it was a huge deal.

Like, I remember they're like, *** is going to race. Oh, yeah. *** is is gonna race. Oh yeah. **** is gonna race **** at recess. Huge deal. It's a huge deal. The internet existed, by the way. Okay? So it sounds like I'm telling a story from the 1930s.

No, this is, first of all, you're absolutely right. But don't you think this is a great bit? This is a great bit. No, it's a great bit. All right, now the question is, Because people are watching this at home or listening to it and they're and they're Immediately thinking the fast right right so we believe the names we believe the names. Yeah, but in the comment section Write down the full government name. Oh, yes of the fast in your school. Come on. Okay. I'll tell you mine will believe it

Was the fastest to the same area school the fastest was the fastest to the school. And now he's a Supreme Court judge, look at that. Look at that, look at that. It was like, no, so, but I'll tell you my story, I'm sure you have your story. So, this immediately made me think of this. Yeah. 50 yard dash, 100 yard dash, I think those were the dashes.

Yes. Were those yours? Those were the dashes. Okay, okay. 50 yard dash, 100 yard dash. Every year Michael Cav the dashes. Okay, okay. If you're a dash, I'm gonna be a dash. Every year, Michael Gavina would, we actually don't have to believe Michael because he's been like one of my close friends.

Oh, that's so funny. Yeah, yeah. We're good with him. And the other guy's a great guy too, but he wouldn't care, but we'll be good anyway. So Michael Gavina would win the 50 and the 100 at St. Mary's. But the rule was that you had to send two different people

for two different events, running events, to the town track meet. Yes, where you compete with other kids. The other kids from the other town. Were you number two? Yeah, so I got... Holy shit! Yeah, so I went, I think it was 50. Why the fuck are you a comedian?

You were second fastest at your school? I'm a good sprinter, I'm a bad long distance runner. Oh. I'm a good sprinter, bad long distance runner. I can only dunk, but I can't shoot. What, Mike? By the way, you want to have fun on Google Images? Google Image Mike Brabiglia Young, go to Images.

There are some, my brother, you were a smoke show when you were younger. No I wasn't. You're stud! What are you talking about? What are you talking about? You're gonna Google image me as a child? No, no, no, not as a child, as a young man.

There's like these Georgetown photos of you. I was like, hey, can we go to series on this pilot? Like, you have number one on the call sheet looks. Like, it is Michael Bialy young. I remember, yeah, there's some photos of you. I'm like, you're quite the... Yeah, man. Even here, man, your jawline's, I mean it's...

Oh yeah, that was my first Comedy Central premium blend. We're firing on all cylinders. There's one, there's one of you in a t-shirt, and I was like, my man. One of you in a t-shirt? Yeah, yeah, it's like a Smedium, like there's kind of like... Kind of a Smedium. All right, we don't have to dwell on this.

No, we don't have to dwell on this. But the point is, anyway, I went to the town drag meet. Yes. And I raced. Yeah. And I'm not kidding. The gun went off or whatever the hell indicated it. Yes.

I must have been 13 yards into the 50 yard dash. He was done. Holy shit. I mean, he was so far away from me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I faked a toe injury. Like, what a difference half a school. Oh, my toe. Oh, my toe. I just took a dive. Because I was so embarrassed.

I was like, you can't show up at the town track meet and lose by three quarters of the race. Yes, yes. But that's the case of small school, St. Mary's school, compared to the larger town. Large public school, yeah. But what a difference one exit takes, you know, on your athleticism.

No. It's probably less than like eight miles. Okay, so you know your grade school racer. Yes, and it was, I was just, I'm thinking about this for a bit because I was like, why did that have the highest currency? It quickly holds no value. What, jogging?

Jogging, sprinting, running as just an idea. It was the shit, I think up until like fourth grade. It's like crypto. Yeah, can you run for some arbitrary distance in the field during recess? So that's cool up until like fourth grade. Then you get to adulthood and they're like, never move and stare at the screen for 10 hours a day.

That's great. Okay, okay. So now the question is what direction, what does mypobiglia do with that? I think you have to. Just go to the seller and vomit? I would go to the seller and talk about it, yeah, yeah. And I would, and actually, honestly, I would probably do crowd work

and go, who's the fastest? Yeah. Is there anyone fastest in their town? And just see what you get. Yes. Because you do get... I did write this down. I was like, start with a...

Just do it as crowd work. That's the thing about crowd work is a lot of times people will... They'll make fun of the phenomenon of crowd work and Instagram or whatever. But actually, I've been doing a bit lately. But to shock in a bit is pretty cool. Yeah, I've been doing a bit lately where I say to the audience, I go, I said to my wife, she seemed upset,

I go, what's going on? She goes, nothing. And it's that fork in the road. Do you probe or do you let it lie? And I go, I've been married 16 years, I don't know. Who's been married the longest? And I go to the audience, someone says 50 years, someone says 40 years, blah, blah, blah, whatever it is,

whatever the longest is, what do you do? I swear to God, gold, every time. All their answers are gold, because it's totally real, it's totally spontaneous, and by the way, they're never even the same answers. You would think it would be all the same. Yeah, between the early show and the late show, yeah. One of them goes, I let it lie.

I asked the wife, she goes, I let it lie. And then I said to the guy, what do you do, Sam, or whatever? He goes, I pro-brilliant-lessly. And I'm just like, the crowd goes nuts. It's like, I can't do something as funny as Sam, the 75 year old man saying, I pro-brillant-lessly, who didn't think he was gonna speak at the comedy show.

Yes. I think crowd work is so much about like, what's the question? And yours is perfect for crowd work. Cause it's, yeah, who's the fastest? Yeah, and then- Who's the fastest? Yeah, and then- Who's the fastest in their town? I've already, I've tested it out with like seven

or eight people and they say the full government name. And I'm like, oh, this is gonna be, yeah, you're right. This will be great. Here's a Joe Brubiglia add to that. Because this is a inside joke that Joe and I always have. Whenever you go to any kind of like town track meet, town anything that's like multi-city, you always have the one guy who goes,

I'm the best in my town. You're like, I have no way to substantiate this. Right, right. So Joe and I, whenever we're trying to brag about something, we just go, I'm the best in my town. And it basically means, there's nothing you can do. Yeah, yeah, there's nothing. There's nothing you can say. I can just say I'm best in my town. And it basically means there's nothing you can do. There's nothing you can say. I can just say I'm best in my town.

Yeah, I'm the best in my town. That's so funny. We jumped straight into the working it out section, which I enjoy. You've been on the podcast so much that like, you and I, I think have a better rhythm than most. And also there's a trust fall element of it, which is like, well, yeah, let's talk it through.

Like we know that this isn't done. We know we're trying to figure it out. And it's like, some people do that a lot. You and I are two people who obsess over this. If we're not doing it here on the air, we're doing it on the phone. But here's my quandary on my tour right now. I have bits that are good and I like,

but I can't figure out what to open with. I know what the main story is, but I can't figure out what to open with. I know what the main story is, but I can't figure out what to open with. So this week I started opening with, I don't know if it'll stay, is this story, it's a true story, which is one day I went, like I dropped my daughter off at a musical camp or something, whatever the hell it was.

I make this joke sometimes where I go, it could have just been like a bin for nine year olds and I would have dropped her in and been like, enjoy bin class. Yeah, yeah. Go to the coffee shop, go to the coffee shop early in the morning. Tupperware workshop, sure.

Exactly. So they go in the Tupperware and they go outside. Inside, okay, airtight, airtight? Breathe? Oh, it's for tactile. Can't breathe, okay. Well, you know, we'll do it again, they go inside. Oh, okay, airtight, airtight? Breathe? Oh, it's for tactile. Oh, can't breathe, okay. Well, you know, we'll do it again. Do it again. Everyone does their best, best efforts.

So then I go to the coffee shop with one of the other dads and then it's early in the morning. I look up, true story, a bird 25 feet in the air shits in my eye and it hurt so much. It hurt so much more than I thought it would hurtits in my eye. And it hurt so much, it hurt so much more than I thought it would hurt. Oh my God. And I have to say, like the reason I think it,

I didn't think it was gonna hurt was that it's liquid, technically, but it's a complicated cocktail because it's fecal matter and urine in one mixture. Yes. And it feels like a solid. And there's also kind of almost a spiritual pain of your inner monologue being like, there's also kind of almost a spiritual pain

of your inner monologue being like, there's bird shit in my eye. Moments ago, there was that bird shit in my eye. Currently, there's bird shit in my eye. And then my friend Rob, who's with me, he looks over, he notes from a comedian, he goes, well, it's good material. And I go, comedy is tragedy plus time.

Rob, the bird shit is still in my eye. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And- Still warm. Right. And then I go, you Rob, the bird shit is still in my eye. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And- Still warm. Right, and then I go, you know, the tragedy's ongoing. And then- It's like the bit they do, you're the joke. You're the joke later. Later. From Thank God for Jokes, yeah.

And then I go, which is all to say, because I tell a story that is very dramatic for my life in the show about my dad, and it was just all to say, when I tell you the story that I'm gonna tell you tonight, the bird shit is still in my eye. I'll tell you the quandary of this, of this comedically. It's a fun story up top that a bird shit in my eye,

but it's not a banger. Right. Like it's not, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like people are like, cool, it's a fun story. And they're like, where's the escalation? Where's the twist? Where's the escalation?

Where's this going? And that is the tease of it. It's like, there's Birdshit still in my eye. What does that mean? And then we go and do the thing. And that might end up in the special. That might be where it starts. No way.

Yeah, that might be the beginning of the special. I don't know. But it is right now, like on tour right now. That's how I start. My question is, do you think I should be looking for more punchlines in the Birdshit story, or do you think I should just try other things at the top of the show?

Because you've been in this situation before. You've heard the version of, you've heard the do your closer as your opener, right? I've heard that concept, yeah. Yeah, so just to be for people who haven't heard that, some comedians say when you go out on tour, do your closer from your last special as your opener so that the rest of the show has to follow

the best thing you've ever written or done. Yes. It's a smart piece of wisdom. Yeah, another thing that I felt has totally worked is do the bit up until it's still in my eye, there hasn't been enough time. Like you do the bit up until where you feel like, okay, we're maxed out.

This is the joke as is. The peak. This is the peak. You ever do this with a tag where you just continue to kind of freestyle slash flail on stage? Yeah. But your subconscious will try to find it or escalate it. Yeah. That's what I found is that you naturally sometimes

find an escalation. Oh, in other words, so I should go on stage, maybe the cellar in a small show and just be like, I'm gonna free associate and riff on this. As soon as the bit's done, yeah. Right. And to be like, can I heighten the laugh? You're absolutely right.

Because really what you're looking for, but when we're like, this bit's not working, there's no escalation or there's no twist. That's a great tip and by the way, people are listening or you know, our comics, I think this is a great piece of wisdom and I do try to do that a lot of times. I'll take something that I'm like,

I think the idea is funny, but at a certain point, the peak is like a seven or an eight, but I want it to be a 10. Yes. But I think that's a good way to do it, which is just go there and be like, I have no parachute. Or the parachute's the next bit. Yeah. And I'm gonna go ahead and play it.

Speaking of the bit that I was talking to you about, about the fastest, the fastest, there's also, I was riffing this out, the idea of your first crush. Yeah, yeah. And what's so, we all remember our first crush, but what's, but I was- Talk about we're going to bleep stuff out. I mean, I'll sell real off four names

and we'll bleep them all. Yeah, these people are on LinkedIn. They're paying mortgages, don't do this. You're in your head forever. Forever. But here's your head forever. Forever. But here's what's beautiful about it. I was riffing this out with a buddy of mine, and I was like, oh, that's beautiful.

He's like, what's really beautiful about your first childhood crush is, it's like, I don't want to have sex with you. I just want to look at you. That's gold. And maybe hold your hand. That's gold. And maybe hold your hand. That's gold. Like there's nothing, I literally, there is-

I'm in a fit. There aren't enough hormones in me to make this an actionable offense. I just- Well, not only that. It's almost like a roomy poem. It is simply me gazing upon you that moves me. Like just the idea of you.

I think that bit's done. Have you done that on stage? I haven't done it on stage. Oh, I think that's a riot. But I go, maybe I like, do you know what I mean? Maybe I do it after the, I try to figure out. Fastest, fastest at school, third grade. Fastest one thing and then.

No, I think those two together are fantastic. No, your first crush, because also, you don't know necessarily what sex is or even almost anything. And so you're just like, I just wanna be in the mix around here. I want to be with him, yeah. You know how AirDrop works on your phone?

I just wanna be with an AirDrop distance of you. I You know how AirDrop works on your phone? I just want to be within AirDrop distance of you. Look how AirDrop works on your phone. I want to be on the same Wi-Fi network as you. I just want to be within Bluetooth range of you. Yeah, there's something about the first crush. How surreal would it be at your age to call some random 9-1-7 number and be like, where are we at? To that name. I didn't grow up on a 9-1-7 number and be like, where are we at?

To that name. I didn't grow up on a 9-1-7 number, 508. 508, sorry, yeah. 9-1-7 would be truly bananas. Major. You know what I mean, major? If I called a 508. Yeah, and go, hey, it's Mike Pabigliet, I just wanted it to go.

So it would be, we'll bleep them out. Yeah. It'd be. Of course. It'd be. Yeah. Why are these names so good? These names are so good. And It'd be. Of course. It'd be. Yeah. Why are these names so good? These names are so good. We, we could have done a whole writer's room and we're never going to be.

These names. Name yours. We'll bleep them. You got to bleep them. There's only one. She's fire. She's, I mean, I'm happily married with Tusha Brun. But yeah, I remember, yeah, fourth grade. I remember Ms. C-class vividly. Yeah. Do we have to bleep Ms. C-?

Okay. I think it's still working, yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. So there's something in that idea of like, and I think the bit works because it is so pure. You've taken out like all the ickiness of love that comes later.

And it's, yeah. Well, I remember chasing around the St. Mary's school, like courtyard at recess. Just chasing her. What a metaphor for the feeling. Yeah, of course, right? The feeling, the fluttering of your heart. I was in third grade.

I had no plan. Yeah. I was just like, let's just. What were you thinking if you caught her? What if I caught her? I'm just gonna chase her, I don't know. What are you thinking if you caught her? What if I caught her? I'm just gonna chase her, I don't know. I don't know what's gonna happen. And then, you know, my daughter's nine,

I witnessed the same thing in their school, you know, someone's chasing her or whatever. And- Oh no. Yeah, but then they, you know, they think, they're like, ah, that kid hates me, he's chasing me. I'm like, no, no, no. And you have no idea. No, that kid's in love with you. Right. I'm sorry, I hate to break it to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah., he's chasing me. No, no, no. And you have no idea. No, that kid's in love with you.

Right. I'm sorry, I hate to break it here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's pretty deep. Yeah, the very memory of you haunts them in their sleep. The very memory of you will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Right now he's sleeping under Lightning McQueen sheets.

But just the very essence of you at recess, that 15 minute break. I love this direction you're going in. I love Fastest at Your School and the crush, your first crush. Neil Brennan texted me this tag. I texted you and Neil Brennan at the same time. And funny enough, Mike Lawrence. Those are some of my favorite comedians.

Mike Lawrence is great too. Mike Lawrence is fucking amazing. But he goes, Neil goes, so funny, he goes, the presidential fitness test. Oh yeah. Do you remember that? Of like, you have to do this many. Yeah, it's like pull-ups and some other stuff. But the tag he had on it is like,

I remember at that age, I would have thought you would have gotten to meet the president. That's funny. If you like. If you placed first. You're like, you've done 14 pull-ups. Right. You get to meet Bill Clinton. That's funny.

Surely you do. I love though that you're going into these perception things of grade school. Yeah, what does this feel like? Yeah. How do I articulate this? No, but I think you're onto it. I think like also even like CrowdWork

asked people who their crushes were. Shout out your crushes. Yes. Because the names are priceless. Yes. Okay, here's a CrowdWork thing. I'm not saying I would do it, but it's an articulation of,

we were talking about politics earlier, about like what do people actually care about? And the bit that I kind of roughly had is like, things that people care about are kind of primal in two syllables or less. Like money, me, food, sex, God, Jesus. House. House. Apartment.

Yeah, type vibes, Yeah. Mortgage. The idea that I had in my head is like, say I'm eight minutes into my set and I go, here's what I mean by that. And I just pull out like $10, like a $5 bill and then five ones. Yeah. And just hand it to a person in the front row.

Yeah, yeah. And watch them, watch an adult light up. That's funny. That's the idea of just holding cash USD in their hand. I think that's a good idea. It couldn't buy a Chipotle burrito, but it's so visceral in its nature. If it was like a five on the top and then a bunch of ones,

everyone at the table, like picture the VU, everyone would be like, how much is it? What is it? Like they would, it is a very visceral, and it is a divisive thing. I think three things that are very titillating, God, money, sex. Everybody I think looks at those three things like very differently.

I think about this constantly with God. You go like, you and I are sitting across the table from each other and you could go, I believe in God. And I go, I don't believe in God. And we're very good friends. That's crazy. That's completely insane. We're somehow able to transcend the idea

that one of us believes this whole fucking thing was created by some kind of entity and one of us thinks, nah. Yeah, I completely disagree with that premise. I think there's something there as a bit. Just the idea that every day we're walking around with people who have 100% different worldviews. And it sort of works. Yeah, I did think about this.

I was like, we talk about how crazy the world is, but I'm also like, it still is, the F train is kind of still functioning. I think you're right. No, I think you're right. Like it's not, but it is working. It comes every seven minutes, and if it doesn't come in seven minutes, it comes you're right. Like it's not, but it is for a... No, it comes every seven minutes, and if it doesn't come in seven minutes,

it comes in 12 minutes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, not bad for some of us not believing in God. That's really funny. You don't believe? No, I don't know. Oh, God. I'm truly agnostic.

Gotcha. I actually, this is a bit that I told you the other day. I respect people who pray. I don't know if I believe, blah, blah, blah, but I respect, and I go, I respect my mom, she prays. My Muslim friends pray five times a day. I can't get myself to drink water five times a day. You're talking to a fake person.

And I go, and I say to the audience, I go, don't groan, because I'm not saying God is a fake person. I'm saying, if you pray five times a day, the odds are one of those five times you're thinking, this is bullshit. I go, that's not anti-religion, that's pro-statistics. Oh, interesting. I read it by Rami the other day,

he was like, yeah, that totally works. It's a religious joke that challenges the notion of God, but also respects it. You know what's so funny? Is the only thing, and this is where evangelical Muslims and Christians are kind of exactly the same, you could still do that bit. The biggest thing that the crowd might take offense to

is just the fact that you said bullshit. Oh, that's interesting. Alt that part of it. I played in the South last week, and it's very religious there. But you'd you were like I'm not quite so sure like you could literally just do instead of BS Say it that way. Yeah. Yeah, like into the no sometimes I go this isn't true Yeah, like I can say without bullshit. Yeah, but that actually is a good note But to me that's like that is also and by the way, I think that's Nate Bergasi's brilliance and

And by the way, I think that's Nate Bergazzi's brilliance. And Gaffigan's brilliance. Their ability to do like, I can do my full set in front of your parents. That I would do in front of all of the comedians and friends that I respect. And it will resonate as deeply with both. I love both of those guys for that reason. But I think that's a bit, I think the idea,

I think that the F train still runs or whatever, still happens, even though some people believe, some people don't. And that's a very big chasm. Yes. We're talking about like a major 100% worldview difference. I used to work at Office Max, and so people lose their minds during Black Friday.

Like the idea that a printer is 15% off, people will. Again, an inkjet 5960. Yeah, I mean, it's like you're saving $30 on the printer. And people are like, it's 440 AM, do not cut me in line. Savings are huge. People go nuts for savings. And so sometimes like fights would break out over, you know, we would only have a limited supply.

And there was a part of me that's like, why doesn't this happen every day? Like it's a miracle because these are the same people, but just something in the air, savings, whatever, like is bringing this out of them in this moment. But this type of violence could pop off at any point. And it doesn't. No, it's interesting.

Are you religious? Really? I'm not, but I'm open. And you got to meet the Pope? I'm open. I got to meet the Pope, yeah. You're not religious. I almost, I almost.

This is in the show, right? This is for sure in the show. I'll keep this in. Okay. Meaning, are we burning material for your new show? No, no, I don't think so. So you're not that religious and you got to meet the Pope? By the way, I almost converted to Islam

when I was in high school. Amazing. Yeah, a friend of mine converted like three or four of my friends to my high school. Yeah. And I was like, all right, I'm listening. Okay. I thought I had a lot of merits.

I decided, I opted out. You got close. I just, I actually just saw him, I shouldn't say his name because of whatever. Sure. No, I can say it. My friend Nabilah saw recently on my show in Canada. Yeah.

And yeah, he conferred a bunch of our friends. I almost went there. But I kind of like... He made a compelling case. He was like, hey, we got a lot to offer. Very strong case. Oh, that's awesome. All of my Muslim friends in my life, I've found to have compelling cases.

More so than my Christian friends, but also I've heard some good atheism cases too. Oh really? I don't know. Dawkins and all that. I think I'm fascinated by all of it. I'm a curious person. Did you feel the aura when you were in the Vatican, when you were around the Pope?

Did you feel a certain spiritual? I felt, I will say, I felt something. I think a lot of it had to do with, he gave us rosary beads in like a green satchel that he had blessed. And I brought them to my parents. And it meant so much to them. And it made me feel more in touch with my own personal history. That's what's meaningful to my parents.

I enjoy performing stand-up comedy. They like green satchel of rosary beans. We're into different stuff. But nobody, it attached me to this idea of like, I think about my dad's life. It's like, my dad grew up in Bushwick, like not far from here. His family didn't have money. He ended up with a scholarship to a Catholic high school,

Xavier High School in Manhattan. Then he ended up with a scholarship to a Catholic college, Holy Cross in Worcester. And that's how we ended up growing up in central Massachusetts. And it's like, so for him, Catholicism was all good. It was all positive. It led him to this great education

with Jesuits and all this stuff. And so I think as you age, you do somewhat get more connected to the idea of your own past. Yeah, and I think for me, at least it's been the powerlessness that you have. Completely. And that's part of what I respect about it. Yeah. To surrender to the idea, like you don't know.

I certainly don't. And to just be like, okay, I need some guidance in the chaos. No, of course. And that's why I think sometimes AA and religion is hard to differentiate. Some people with AA, they're like, ah, I can't get into the religious stuff.

And it's like, well, it's the same principle. Sort of. It's like we're all powerless. Got it. So Ronnie Chang made fun of you. You and him do shows sometimes where you roast each other. Where we scream at each other, yes. And he was like, you were talking about Chappelle

and how you didn't get invited to Chappelle's camp or whatever. And he was like, yeah, he doesn't like comedians doing PowerPoints or whatever. And he was like, yeah, he doesn't like people, comedians doing PowerPoints or whatever. Yeah, it's hilarious, yeah. But then in fairness to Ronnie, in your new special, you don't do PowerPoints? I'm like, did you?

Trying to get the invite. Did you cave? Oh, did I cave to Ronnie? Yeah, did you cave to Ronnie? Did you take it to heart? Never, I would never cave to Ronnie. Okay, all right. No, I also wanted to, I want every special to feel like,

what is he gonna do? Oh, I think that's true. That's, I love that, I love that that's your impulse. That feeling, to me, is like the exciting part of it. Right. And it was honoring, like that. I like that. I remember when we were shooting it,

the cinematographer was, we basically put the stage in the middle of the venue. The venue is the San Jose Civic. Yeah, I love that. It isn't made for comedy. Like they do Japanese wrestling there, and they do other kind of like live sports where you put the ring in the middle of the...

Yeah, like Madison Square Garden. Yeah. And so the cinematographer is like, there's people in every shot. I like that. And I said, I think that's, I want it to feel that way. That's one of my favorite things about it. I don't want it to be a presentation.

I want it to be like this, and we took one show. We're gonna take one show. And that feeling felt right. And like even including like, I wipe my sweat, I take a sip, I move the mic stand, we're not like, oh, cut to the tight, so we'll just cut around that. Yeah. Oh, lift that, like, no.

I loved it. So slow round. What's your superpower that people wouldn't know? They're just like, oh, he's funny. But actually, maybe your superpower is something else. I'm pretty good at drawing. I'm a pretty good drawer. Okay, you're blowing my mind. But I'm not Mateo Langgood. Right, I get that. But I'm pretty good at drawing and I'm down to jump off the high dive.

Yeah. Like when, if we're on like a trip with the boys and like we like climb up, like we go to a lake and we climb up on the rock and you're like, let's jump off of it. I'll jump off. Me too. I'll jump off.

Same. So that's probably my... But in a weird way, it was good for comedy. How come I'm never on the trip with you with the boys? Because we didn't go to high school together. I know but... These are my middle school... Put me on the group chain, drop me in, you know what I mean?

No, I think like... You have zero interest in hanging out with Hit Squad. Those are my... You have no interest in hanging out with... You have zero interest. You have zero interest in hanging out with Hit Squad. I would be... I think I would slide right in with Hit Squad.

What do you think about me doesn't qualify for me for Hit Squad? Do you play basketball? Yeah, I'll play basketball. All right. I'm not very good, I'm not very good. Yeah. But I'm fast. You're fast?

I'm fast, I get up the court fast, but I'm not great in the third quarter. But dare I say you're the fastest, one of the fastest in my school? I'm one of the fastest, biggest fastest in my town. In your town. Yeah, but not faster than. No, fuck.

He's a great name too. It's like, oh, so he's cornerback for the 49ers now. Like, doesn't it sound like such a. I know, he's a great guy. Yeah, he's a great guy too. Okay, what are people's favorite and least favorite thing about you? I mean, I know people's least favorite thing about me is probably like my intensity or, you know, my energy.

People can be like, you're a lot. I've heard that by myself. Which they are right. They are right. I am. I can be a lot. I understand that. And both and the sad part is, is both parties are right.

Right. My, my spouse, family and hit squad are like, you're a lot. Yeah. And the worst parts of the comment section are like, this dude is a lot. So, you know. I like your a lotness. I think I'm team a lot. I think, I think, I think being passionate is important. Yes. Agreed. Yeah.

But also, but also in a weird way, if you've been in, if you've ever been in a comedy writer's room, it is about idea generation. Like you kind of do have to, like what are we doing? Right. Even if like a friend of yours is doing, and I've had to help friends that are prepping for-

Working on a special. Working on a special, prepping a monologue for SNL. Like it is a momentum and volume thing. No, you're absolutely right. You need a lot of ideas. And then- And you also need people who, the thing you're saying of like you're absolutely right. You need a lot of ideas. And then, and then. And you also need people who, the thing you're saying of like you're being a lot,

it's like you also need people who are willing to fail a lot. Like, and that is like someone, something that's, that people who are a lot have, which is they're just willing to be like, yeah, I'll fall on my face again. Then I'll fall on my face again. Then I'll fall on my face again. And then eventually we'll figure out an idea.

And then what it makes it perhaps strange in social situations is, do you have to have an opinion on everything? Oh, right. And I totally get why that is, it can be annoying, but for our career, when people are like, you should talk about who, Luigi. Okay, what about, yeah, what's the take?

You should talk about the president. Yeah, what about the president? I know, but that's what's funny. It's all like, what is your POV? But that's what's funny about when you talk about when someone we adore culturally says some kind of crazy-ass shit, you're like, yeah, but that's why he's the other thing.

Oh, interesting. He's a lot. Yeah. Like you don't have to be married to that person, but like, you're right. And respectfully, everyone you love is a lot. Yeah. Anyone that you're a fan of,

you're a fan of their flavor. Yeah. A lot of their flavor. Agreed. That's what you're a fan of, you're a fan of their flavor. Yeah. A lot of their flavor. Agreed. That's what you're a fan of. So agreed. That's my... Okay, and then what's people's favorite thing about you? This is how self-deprecating, I don't even know. I know my chief critique.

I think I'm a, I think... I would say a compliment of you is you're deeply loyal. Yes, I was about to say that. And I think you're also, I think you're also very open-minded. Yes. I feel like you're willing to engage with anyone on anything in a pretty open-minded way.

Yeah, that's probably my best quality. Like I will call and I will show up. I'll be like, I'll come to your spot and be like, hey, what's up? What's a song that makes you cry? Frank Sinatra has this performance at Madison Square Garden in the 70s where he sings, I Did It My Way.

Oh, that's nice. And it's very, very, very moving. And I did the Kennedy Center years ago and Mateo Lane opened and I asked him personally, I was like, will you sing, I Did It My Way. Oh, that's nice. To close it. And he like brought the house down.

Mateo's incredible. He's spectacular. He's got a killer voice. Him doing comedy is one of nine things he could be doing. I know, it's so fascinating. He brought the house down, it was truly beautiful. Wow, that's interesting that Sinatra. Have you had Matteo on the show?

Yeah, and he's great. He's incredible. There's clamoring for more. People want more Matteo. He's great. But like, why do you think it's emotional that I did it my way? Because you did it your way?

Of course it is. There's a verse in it about taking your licks in life and to just keep going. And I think the older I get, and especially watching it in my children, the thing that I hope for them the most is no matter what happens, I can't protect you or save you from what the world will do to you

or what destiny has in store for you. But how you play your hand is really all that matters. Yeah, it's beautiful. Like that's the whole thing. Yeah, I completely agree. This is the hand I was dealt, like how do we play this hand? This is all working out her cause.

Is there a nonprofit that you like to contribute to? This is working out her cause. Is there a nonprofit that you'd like to contribute to? We will contribute and link to them in the show notes. Unicef. Unicef. Unicef. We will contribute to them. We will link to them in the show notes. Hasan Manhaj, congratulations.

Thank you, man. On your special, which is so funny. Dude, thank you, man. Thank you for calling me when you watched it. It means a lot. Yeah. It's great. And thanks for coming on the show.

Working it out, cause it's not done. Working it out, cause there's no... That's going to do it for another episode of Working It Out. You can follow Hasan on Instagram at Hasan Minhaj. You can watch his latest comedy special off with his head on Netflix again I recommend I've recommended this special personally to a bunch of people. I just think it's really really fascinating Really funny and yeah, so anyway Can't say enough about it. You can watch the full video of this episode on our YouTube channel at Mike Birbiglia

We just went over the 50,000 subscribers mark this week we were excited about because we just started posting these videos about a year and a half ago. We're going to be posting more and more so subscribe. Check out birbigs.com, sign up for the mailing list and of course our producers of Working It Out are myself along with Peter Salomon, Joseph Birbiglia, and Mabel Lewis, associate producer Gary Simon, sound mix by Ben Cruz, supervising engineer Kate Bolinski, special thanks to Jack Antonoff and Bleachers for their music, special thanks as always to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio fort made of pillows. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy

this podcast, please rate us and review us on Apple Podcast. It just takes a moment. If you write down which is your favorite episode, people will know where to start, which is fun. We've had over 150 guests since the start. Ben Stiller and Adam Scott, Tig Notaro, Joe Firestone. Check out our back catalog. It is all free. Tell your friends. tell your enemies.

I was at the Comedy Cellar recently. I'm working on like, if you don't realize what I'm doing when I'm at, I pop in at the Comedy Cellar sometimes. I'll do these little segments of the larger show that I'm developing. So I'll do like 10 or 15 minutes. And I usually pop in, not under my own name, it's another name. that I'm developing, so I'll do like 10 or 15 minutes.

And I usually pop in, not under my own name, it's another name. And then the other day they said, please welcome Mike Bromiglia. Someone shouted out, tell your friends, tell your enemies. I couldn't believe it. I said, yes, that is the thing I say on my podcast, that is true. It's catching on slowly. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell the fastest kid at your school, give them a call. Call them up and say, hey, I know it's been a while, I remember you were the fastest kid in school.

I don't know if you're still running, but if you are, here's something for your earbuds. Check out this podcast, Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out, where Mike Birbiglia talks to other creatives about the creative process. See, you may be the fastest, but I have the best taste. Thanks, everybody. We're Working It Out. We'll see you next time.