Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out - 178. Alex Edelman Returns: Boston Sports and Hospital Clowns

Episode Date: July 21, 2025

With his fifth appearance, comedian Alex Edelman is the most frequent guest on Working It Out. Since his last appearance, Alex won an Emmy for his HBO stand-up special Just For Us, which Mike was a producer on. Now Alex is back on the road with a new hour of comedy, including a just-announced visit to Carnegie Hall. Alex discusses Boston sports memories, whether AI will replace comedians, and grieving the death of his creative collaborator Adam Brace. Plus, Alex’s rocky stint as a hospital clown, and his new job as a writer and actor on Greg Daniels’ highly anticipated follow up to The Office: The Paper.See Alex at Carnegie HallPlease consider donating to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

the show, Just For Us, you know, it came out a year and a half ago. Yeah. Having performed this show so many times, seeing the reaction to it being on HBO, what would be the most surprising reaction you've received about the show? It's on airplanes now.

Oh, that's cool. So I'm getting random messages. When I see random messages, they're truly random messages. We're going down. Yeah. Call the police. Your show is the last thing I saw in...

Before landing in Newark? I bought Wi-Fi to tell you that if this is the last thing I see in Turbulence, I hate it. That is the voice of the great Alex Edelman. This is Alex's fifth time on the show. I think this is the most that anyone's ever been on the show. Alex is, of course, a great stand-up comic. You know him from his Emmy award-winning solo show, Just For Us, which I helped produce.

It's on HBO Max. He is currently touring with an all new show called What What are you gonna do? I think it's hilarious I love his new material. We have a great chat today. I've got a few live shows coming up this summer Jamalaney is on tour and so Nick Kroll and Fred Armisen and I are Opening up a bunch of those shows. It's a it's gonna be a blast. It's kind of a kind of a dream come true We're gonna be in New Haven, Connecticut as well as Bethel, New York, Portland, Maine, and Halifax. That's all in August. And then in September, we'll be at Stanley Park in Vancouver tickets at birbigs.com. And thanks everybody for everyone checking out The Good Life on

Netflix. I really appreciate all of the notes and messages and Instagram DMs. It means the world to me. I love talking to Alex Edelman. We talk about Boston Sports. We talk about Alex's new show that he's touring with. He's also a writer and performer on the reboot slash follow-up to The Office by Greg Daniels. It's called The Paper. That comes out in September. Enjoy my chat with the great Alex Edelman. Ooh. Ooh, working it.

You're in the reboot of The Office, which comes out. September. In September. Yeah. You're a writer and performer on that. You wrote a movie, I don't know if it's announced, but I know you wrote a movie. That'll probably get made sometime soon. And you're touring a new hour

and you're doing God knows what else. And it's like, how do you prioritize all these projects? Stand Up is like, Stand up gets discrete moments in my life where it's like the break from everything else. And sometimes it's as big as like, I don't know where this analogy comes from, but there's like a glass and you fill it with rocks, and then you fill it with pebbles,

and then you fill it with sand. And so like sometimes stand up is the rock, and sometimes it's the pebbles, and in really bad times it it with sand. And so like sometimes stand up is the rock and sometimes it's the pebbles and in really bad times it's the sand. But like I'll always be a standup comic and like to get to comedy clubs or theaters a couple of hours early because the deadline of a show that you have to do

means that I'm definitely putting in time on it. But like I really prioritize my standup when I don't have a full-time job. So when I was on the office, that was time away from standup pretty much, which is hard actually, because I've been doing it for so long, but I also wanted a break

to think maybe I could incubate something. And same with a movie, When I was writing the movie, I went away to like a very rural area where there's no stand-up. So I could like focus on the movie. Terre Haute, Indiana. Yeah, of course. You got Larry Bird on the brain, don't you?

I can see the, I am not Larry Bird index card over there. And I'm like, oh, French look too niche, you know? I'm all about that Celtic city documentary. Oh, I haven't seen all of it, but I love it. It's a beauty. But yeah, stand-up's a thing. I work on each thing discreetly.

And also sometimes I don't really have like an approach or a practice. Like I spent two and a half weeks in Japan last month. And I was just walking in this rural area and I'm not working on anything there. Wait, hold on. In Japan, did anyone know Just For Us? No. Okay.

No, it was devastating. Imagine they're like, I'm like, Sumi Masson, do you know, sorry, comedian, big Jew? You know, but like, it was so rural, but it was really, really cool to be away from everything. And when I was there, standup was still in my brain. I was still like writing little notes down and thinking when something would happen,

I'm like, oh, that'll make a good joke, or that could be the basis for a good joke, or like a good story. Like I had lots of like sublime experiences and maybe that will make its way into standup at some point. So like, I guess to answer your question, when I take something on, I really go away for a distinct period of time to work on it

and stand up sort of occupies the rest of the time. Someday when you have children, what will you do? I think about that all the time. I'm not kidding. I think about that all the time. It's a full-time job. It's 24 hours a day. It seems really difficult.

Yeah. So like- Unless you're my dad. Yeah. Someone asked me the other day, they went, well, there ever, I was moderating a panel on AI for a friend of mine. And someone was like, question for the moderator,

will there ever be an AI standup comedian? I'm like, well, how is AI gonna be neglected by their parents? Like how is that? You know what's funny is I was on Marin recently, he pointed out his dad was a doctor, your dad's dad was a doctor, my dad was a doctor, my dad was a doctor, Conan's dad was a doctor.

Oh my God. Yeah. I told, have I ever told you? There's a lot of doctor parents in this comedy space. But it's so funny because they think of like, my dad, when I did Conan, he called me, he's like, you did Dr. O'Brien's son's show. And I was like, what? And he's like, yeah, the epidemiologist, Tom O'Brien.

I was like, do you know him? He's like, not well, but he's a really good doctor. Oh wow. And I was like, what? And he's like, yeah, the epidemiologist, Tom O'Brien. I was like, do you know him? He's like, not well, but he's a really good doctor. And I was like, his son is Conan O'Brien. He was like, yeah, no, his dad's like an amazing epidemiologist. Like it was so funny because he was like, yeah, but a thousand percent. He's so serious about it.

You're like, dad, what do you think of the masturbating bear? He's like, well, what does it have to do with the epidemiology, a lot. Well, it's actually good for you. Exactly. Yeah, a really amazing way to distract bears. Right, absolutely. But it's hysterical,

because he does see things sometimes through the, he'll be like, oh, Alex, you know this comedian? I'm like, yeah, why? He's like, well, his father's a cardiologist at a hospital in Seattle. They genuinely, their field is so important to them and the world. It's almost like they care about medicine.

Yeah, it's nice of them to save lives when we ruin them, you know? I don't think we ruin them. No, no, it helps. We're doing all right. Yeah. So you prioritize things by like breaking off, going away, coming back, et cetera.

How do you feel since your your director Adam Brace died in relation to art, not just as a friend, but artistically? Like, where are you with that? Some days it's like the only thing I want to talk about. Which is weird. Also, some days I think I'm like past it and then something will happen and I'll just like Not be able to get anything done or it's all I think about or I'll get angry Honestly, I'll be like, oh my god. I need him more than ever. He's not here being like

You know, so it's not easy to like audition replacements cuz you know my oldest friend too, so it's not easy to audition replacements because he was my oldest friend too. So it was like not an easy thing to get into. And also the truth is I don't own his death, which is like he worked with lots of comedians. He worked with a really brilliant performance artist who is also his long-term girlfriend, Becca Fuller. And they're touring a show which I haven't been able

to see yet, because they've only done in the UK about Adam passing away. And it's made its way into a good work by Aher Shah and Ivo Graham and Alfie Brown or three comics that he worked with in Janine Haruni, who I really love. And it's like, it's hard, because on one hand there's a craft element

that I miss so much, and the other hand there's a friendship element that I miss so much. And then there's the blending of the two, which is, you know, the best thing in the world is getting to be creative with someone you really like being in a room with, where the thing you're working on is kind of an excuse

to like, obviously you and Timbers were really big parts of my show, but also like part of the show was kind of an excuse to spend a lot of time with Mike Prabiglia and Alex Timbers cause like two people I really like. And like that's a good way to spend your life, which is being collaborative with people that you really enjoy.

It's like a really good time. And so I miss so much the result of that work, but even more, I miss the process of it. Like it's just not, I miss the fun of like playing ping pong creatively with Adam. Sure. And so that's difficult. I'm sort of like, I'm picking myself up though a little bit

and like it's not as hard now as it was like a year ago. Yeah. But I'm slower out of the blocks than I would have been. And I'm trying really hard not to like punish myself for that. What is, like through that lens, what is your big picture goal? What's the thing where you go, yes, it's enough, but what I really want is this very big, broad thing. I'd like to be more...

To be more ambitious aesthetically in my comedy. I'd also love to create work that I'm like, okay, I really did the most with that. 700 Sundays, you know, Billy Crystal's show. Oh yeah, for sure. You're like, oh, that's a full meal. That's a full thing. That's like done.

And some of the Spalding Gray shows and your shows, you're like, that can't have any more. But like, when I look at Just For Us, if I'm being honest, I'm happy, so happy with what it got to be, but like, it still feels a little sophomoric to me. There's still a very specific narrative exoskeleton, like something happens and the thing progresses and there are some offshoots,

but like I'd really love to make stuff that's like, that's a little more like you or like Kitson-esque. Do you know Daniel Kitson, the great? Of course, yeah. Of course. So like, I'd love to be making really great stuff that is a clear, huge artistic leap from where I was. And some days I can't see that happening. And also it'd be nice to do things in different mediums.

Like I'd really love to write a musical at some point. I'd really love to like write a television show. I'd really love to like make a movie and have that same feeling, which is like, oh my God, I've artistically progressed in every way from one to the other. That would be like a huge thing, because all the other stuff, like the career stuff,

that'll all be like good byproducts of those things. And like, if everyone can watch a thing and go, oh, that guy was really thorough with that, that feels like a really, you know, that's how you make a like pretty, that's how you continue to make a pretty decent living and grow your fan base, I think. This is the slow round.

What is the most embarrassing video that gets served in your algorithm? I somehow watch a lot of baseball highlights. That's not embarrassing, but I get what you mean. But it's like too many. Like, it's like too many. It's like every second video on TikTok will also be like the top 10 no hitter saving outfield plays of all time.

And I'm like, well, why do I do this? And then I watch all the way through and I'm like, I can't believe I keep getting served these. It's crazy because you and I both grew up Boston sports fans. When you live in Massachusetts, you have, I feel like no conception of that there are other players on other teams. Oh yeah, totally.

Like I grew up in the 80s and 90s on the Red Sox, just going like, Mike Greenwell is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Dwight Evans. And then you get older, and you're like, oh no one knows who Mike Greenwell is. He was a backup. He was like a bridge shortstop

before they got Garcia Parra. It wasn't a good. I remember when, but I remember when he won a pickup truck. Oh, that's right. Yeah, he won a pickup truck because there was a Toyota event and then they were like,

if this person hits a home run tonight, we're gonna give him a pickup truck. And then I always heard the story that like you'd see Mike Greenwell drive away from the game every night in the fucking pickup truck. I was like, that's a great story. What a happy ending.

It's like, how many baseball players? They don't get their real money? It's like, like I got the truck. That's so funny. That's so funny. I also love when they give the Super Bowl MVP a car and you're like, it's Tom Brady It's like when Tom Brady won the Super Bowl MVP the year they played the Seahawks they and they gave him the truck He's like I'm gonna give it to the rookie that made the interception in the end of the game that really won the game

He's like I have my Lamborghini Bentley hybrid. I don't need it. All right. I want someone put in the comments if anyone knows whether Mike Greenwell still drives the truck. Does he still drive the pickup truck? But like, but like, yeah, in that era, I'm like Marty Barrett is one of the best players on the planet. My God, Wade Boggs. Yeah, yeah.

Wade Boggs, who was legitimately, I think, a Hall of Famergs who was legitimately I think a Hall of Famer Oh, well, you know a Hall of Famer went in but he went in as a Tampa Bay, right for the I think the first ever one Okay. Yeah, sorry. That's your algorithm Who are you jealous of? Bo Burnham is like a peerless genius to me. I don't know him well, and I don't think I know many people that know him well but like I don't think I know many people that know him well, but like, I don't know him. I've met him a handful of times,

but to me, that guy is really like... Who are you jealous of that you thought of but didn't say? Who am I jealous of that I thought of and didn't say? I won't say his name because he's not an entertainment figure, but he's a friend from childhood, and he lives in Boston, has a couple of kids, goes to the Patriots every Sunday, is Orthodox Jewish,

loves going to a shul, and every time I see him, he's like, you still doing comedy? And this guy is like the happiest person I know. Oh wow. And he's just like totally opted out of everything. Like totally, and he's so happy. And it's such a sliding doors thing for me where sometimes I'm like, man, if I could just be

this guy I went to high school with and like not be on like Amerigo round trying to like meet some imaginary goalpost. Yeah. To like, like heal myself, like. Well, that's your problem. You're supposed to kick it through the goalpost. You don't have to meet it. I meet it helmet first.

And keep going into. I don't think you understand the game. Oh no. No. You gotta kick it through the goalpost. Yeah, yeah. So I bite the goalpost. No, no, no, you don't bite the goalpost.

No, you're supposed to bite the goalpost. Oh, that's a real thing? Okay. No, no, no, no,'t bite the goalpost. No, you're supposed to bite the goalpost. Oh, that's a real thing? Okay. No, no, no, no, no, no, you're right. What else in the slow round? All right, who's someone from your childhood who you haven't forgiven? Oh my God. There was a bully whose name I also won't say,

but he was really, really. What'd he do to you? I was working at the Red Sox, I had a job at the Red Sox. And this guy would literally, like, if he passed me in the hallway, he would push me. And I was always like, what are you, you know, what? And he went to Harvard, this guy. He would push you at the Red Sox?

He would push me at work. Oh, wow. He was a guy, he was like a child. I was like 15 years old. This guy was like 19 or 20. And he would push me to the ground. It was like a really... Which, by the way, when you're 15, feels like an age.

It feels like that person's like 40 years old. It was crazy. When they're 19. He had facial hair and I was like, oh my God. I wasn't growing facial hair until like my mid 20s. Five days ago. Yeah, I still can do it. It comes in patchy.

But yeah, that guy I can never forgive and I Google him occasionally. Oh wow. I don't know what he's up to. He's very, not a huge internet footprint, but you know. Have you ever been punched in the face? Yeah, but never hard enough. That's what someone said about me, they've been punched in the face a lot,

but never hard enough. Not since my, not in a long time, but when I played ice hockey as a kid, I got punched all the time. Do they do full punches in hockey? Oh yeah, full punches. But it's not legal, right? It's only in the fights.

No, it's not legal, but it's forgiven in the fights. But I would get punched a lot. I also like occasionally do boxing. Yeah, oh do you really? Yeah, but I have this thing on, but it's like, there's this gym I go to sometimes in Chicago whenever I'm there. And there's a guy named Jimmy Mango, real name I think.

And Jimmy Mango, who's an amazing, amazing boxing coach. Sometimes I'll like, he'll be like, hook, hook, and I'll do it. And if I'm dropping my other hand, he'll go, and I'm like, Jimmy, stop! Could you, and if someone came at you, would you be able to hold your own in a fist fight? I would say like, yes, but the funny thing is

it's not even knowing techniques, it's the presence of mind. It'd be like, all right, keep your elbows here, keep your elbows here, but because like, if someone comes at you, you're just like. Yes, yes. Like exactly.

It's all your like training and thought goes, like you ever see a video, if you ever get served this in your algorithm of like a street fight, there are people there and they're like set and stuff like that. And I'm like, how do they remember? Cause as soon as someone starts yelling at me and comes at me, I'm just like.

I think that those people who are, what you're saying is like they're the more professional fighters in those situations. I think they're thinking about the fights all the time. Oh, that's really smart. They're imagining the world is a fight at all times. Oh, they're so excited. And it isn't, of course, but when it happens, they're fucking ready.

They're condition red immediately. They're at DEF CON 5, just walking around the mall. By the way, I wanna do it. I wanna, like, particularly like jujitsu, a few of those ones where it's really tactical and you can like take people who are bigger than you technically. Yeah.

That's what I wanna get involved with. One of the people that I'm in the office spin-off with, Ramona Young, she is a martial artist. And so every day on set, I'd be like, can you show me one move? And she was always like, okay, you put this here, you put one hand here, and then one hand here, and then you do this.

And then it would be the worst painting I've ever felt. Like, this, this, this, you know, petite lady. Or she'd be like, she put one hand here, and then one hand here, and then somehow turn it in a very natural direction. I'd be like. And she's probably smaller than you. Much, a foot. Like tiny.

Oh my God, no way. And it was like. That's what I want. I want what Ramona has. I need Ramona to give me lessons. Ramona Young, who is a really great actor, it's like, it was really astounding. And it is not available for lessons.

No, maybe. She's absolutely not available for lessons. Depends how well our show goes, you know? Well, tell me, can you say anything about the show? Sure, Donald Gleason is sort of- Just read me the talking points from the internet. Okay, I mean, I could. That's what people want!

No, no, no, no. I'll try to give you something that's not, without violating an ironclad NDA. We want a headline on Vulture. Yeah, I mean, Donal's like a big, you know, like he's a really amazing and dramatic actor. And I've done some acting in movies,

but it's all with like comedians or television. And it's always with like, and Donal's like a big, heavy anchoring presence. And sometimes you're sat in room with him and you can feel the reality of him doing his job. And you're just like, okay, well, I guess I have to contend as best I can, but also Tim Key, who's a stand-up comic from England that I worship,

who is in the show. And when they were talking about him joining the show, it was like, oh God, please, you know, like, he's so good. It was so hard to be in scenes with him because he would always talk his lines closer and closer to me. Oh yeah? So I was trying hard to not break because like,

you know, you're saying your lines back and forth and they're funny. And then like, it's, you know, like you can feel the heat of his breath or something like that. And you're just like, man, or he would, sorry, he'd reach out to touch you and then almost touch you. And it's just so hysterical and jarring that like I would sometimes have to like pinch my hand

to stop from laughing. Like he's so good. So yeah, like we had some really big, Sabrina Impastori who's on White Lotus. She tells Jennifer Coolidge, she looks like Peppa Pig if you remember that. Sure. some really big Sabrina Impassitore who's on White Lotus. She tells Jennifer Coolidge she looks like Peppa Pig, if you remember that. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.

And is like, she is really funny and this big well-kept secret that is now no longer a secret at all, Oscar Nunez from the previous office. Oh yeah, I love Oscar. He's on the show. And Oscar was very good about never being like, well, in the previous office we did XYZ. Because if I was on the previous office, I'd be like we did XYZ, but it was really

In depth we wrote a lot of drafts of episodes. It was really difficult It was fantastic and like I think it's I think it came out pretty well. That's great. I haven't seen like Greg Daniels and Michael Coleman the guys that are running it. And Greg's like a legend who's done a... Greg did The Office. He did The Office, Parks and Rec, Beavis and Butthead. King of the Hill, like he is a genius. He was like a, he wrote with Conan O'Brien

on SNL in the 80s I think. I think it was his roommate. I think it was Conan's roommate when he moved to New York and like was a lampoon guy I think. It's like Greg is a really, really thorough. And if something doesn't work, he's like, no, no. And it doesn't matter what stage of the process it's in. He's like, this doesn't work.

Or it doesn't work anymore. Let's start from like, and it was really like, I love thorough. The best people are thorough. So like, let's hope it gets received well. I really hope it does. I would guess it'll be great. Let's see, can you remember a roommate you've had

in your life who was particularly good or bad? Oh yeah, Natana L'Oreal Jeffrey is my roommate in rabbinical seminary in Israel. You were in rabbinical seminary? So you take a year, so it's common for modern Orthodox Jews to take a year off between high school and college and go and study Torah in Israel. I'd say like 80% of my high school class did it.

Could you please say it the American way? Oh, what'd I say, yeshiva? Torah? You said torah. Torah. You guys say it like me. Torah. Torah.

Yeah, we studied Torah. Or I say it the Boston me. Torah. Torah. Yeah, we studied Torah. Or I say it the Boston way. Torah. Torah. Yeah, yeah, oh my God. Dude, don't forget your Torah. Torah. Oh my God, it sounds like door by the end. Keep going, it's either your biblical school.

But yeah, Jeff or Netanel as he went by then. I remember there was, not to be serious, there was like a terrorist attack at another school and we went to the funeral together. And it was really intense, obviously, because like it was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in like a microcosm because, or an aspect of the conflict in a microcosm.

And that like, we're at this funeral and the mayor of Jerusalem gets up, there are eight kids who have been killed and he talks about like the need for like calm and the need for like figuring out a productive way forward and then someone got up and started screaming about like revenge and I was like, oh, this is why, this is why it keeps happening.

This is the cycle of violence. And I just remember being there with Jeff. They were killed while you were there? Not at the school, but we were, maybe a 20 minute walk away. It was a really crazy, we were out the night before when the attack happened, cause Jews bury so quick, so quick.

Like they were killed Thursday night, the funeral was Friday morning. It was like a really, it was nuts. It was between the funeral and the incident, 12 hours, maybe. And so going with Jeff to this thing on a Friday and us feeling really, really a certain way afterwards and processing, I remember a lot of, you know,

walking, getting on the bus, the song that was playing on the bus, people on the bus in a certain mood, you know? And yeah, Jeff was there with me and we went to, we went to this thing together and I just like, maybe it's just because of that one memory, because I had a bunch of really great roommates. Do you even remember? Sorry, so heavy.

Sorry, I said Jeff. No, no, it's okay. It's sad though. Yeah. What a sad story. I didn't know, I've never, I've known you for so many years, I've never heard that story. Don't talk about it much, but it was a really sobering,

really sobering like event. And the funny thing is, it didn't, this is really wading into tricky waters, but like, it didn't make me more like Zionist-y. Like it made me more thoughtful about the way the conflict works. Cause like imagine that happens on the, imagine that happens to the other side too.

And it was a really, really, it just like, I think it actually just changed my, it made it much realer for me in a way that was really, really difficult and complicated. And like I've never, I don't think I've ever written. Would you ever talk about it in a show? I've talked about, I have a recurring dream that stems from that, that I talk about in the show,

but I've never found a way to make that part funny. And I don't think I've ever tried. I wrote about it in a college essay and I got a B on the essay. I wrote about it in a college essay, and I got a B on the essay. And I was like, maybe I'm not ready to talk about this because I'm getting a B on the essay. It's not that well written. I respect the person who gave me the B

because I looked, I'm sure I checked it a couple of years ago and was like, this is pretty sophomoric. And I was a freshman and it's still sophomoric. But yeah, it's one of those things like, when I say my ambitions are to like get to a place artistically, like some comics can talk about almost anything on stage and it works. And then there are some comics who think they can talk about

almost anything on stage and it's horrible. So like getting to a point where you actually can talk about like grief, loss, huge geopolitical issues, shrunk down to a traumatizing memory, like those are really high skill things. Do you have any new joke jokes? I've got a bunch of new joke jokes. I love joke jokes. But how about you go first?

No, no, joke jokes. Remember last time you had kids jokes? Oh my God. Because you're one of my only guests who has good joke jokes. Oh my God. So this guy's walking, I've embellished it slightly with jokes and with other details.

This guy's walking down the side of a highway and he sees a tent and outside the tent's a sign that says, come see the amazing Walter. And he's like, oh boy. And he goes in and it's dimly lit. There are like a couple of people there and Walter comes out in a bathrobe and he takes the bathrobe off

and he puts 10 chestnuts on the table and he pulls out his penis and he smashes each of the chestnuts. And then he bows and he leaves. And the guy goes like, that was weirdly like one of the best things I've ever seen. And he goes back the next day and there's no tent and there's no sign.

And he like 15, 20 years go by and he can never find, he goes on the internet, he looks for it, he asks people about it. He was sort of in like the live space, no one's heard of this. And then one day he's walking through like Pier 31 in San Francisco and he sees a sign that says, come see the amazing Walter.

And he's like, oh my God, it's like the same guy, maybe. And he goes into the tent, same lighting, same setup, table, dimly lit. And like, Walter comes out and it's definitely the same guy. But it's 20 years later. So his hair is like a little thin and he's got a bit of a punch and he takes off the bathrobe.

This time he puts 10 coconuts on the table and then he pulls out his penis and he smashes each one of the coconuts and he bows and he leaves. And the guy's like, I'm not letting him get away this time. So he waits outside the tent and Walter comes out like a hoodie, backpack

and a baseball hat. He's like, Walter. He's like, yeah. And he's like, I saw you by the side of a highway in like Mississippi, like 20 years ago. And the guy's like, oh yeah, those are good shows. And he's like, but you by the side of a highway in like Mississippi at the 20 years ago And the guys like oh, yeah, those are good shows and he's like but but back then you were using walnuts and now using coconuts So what what's that and Walter goes listen?

My eyesight's not what it used to be I don't even know if I get it. I don't even know if I get it. My eyesight's not what it used to be. My eyesight's not what it used to be. Because it used to be walnuts. And now it's coconuts. And it's not the capability. That's really funny.

Oh, that's good. It's a swing and a miss. The internet will eat me alive for this, but I love the joke so much I said it's not what it used to be Listen my eyesight. It's not what it used to be funny people on the internet. It's like this motherfuckers unfunny Sorry hit me with some jokes you working on new jokes. Yeah, you first okay. This is really quick one After a really bad breakup and by 20s I called my mom and she goes,

you're not going to find another one like her. And I go, mom, how about this week? We root for the home team. I just dug that up from the notebook. That's really funny. I wrote that in my 20s. That's really funny. I didn't do anything. And I was like, that actually is a pretty fun little vignette. How about this week? How about this week we root for the home team.

That's really, That's really funny. Listen, with allies like these. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Or with fans like these. I know. That's really good, hold on. That is like my mom in a nutshell. Even though she's a gray mom,

her inclination is always like hesitant. Maybe it's like an Irish thing or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Her inclination is always like, well, might not be great. You know? Which is, you know, as a comedian, it's a hard thing,

because there's a lot to say that about. Also. When you're starting out as a comic. The truth is, you wanna be like, really? Are you in the dating scene right now? Yeah, yeah.'re starting out as a comic. The truth is, you want to be like, really? Are you in the dating scene right now? Yeah, yeah. Are you out there? You out there meeting everyone?

Yeah, yeah. And then I had this, which is in my 20s, I had a temp job at a fashion magazine where I typed statistics into a spreadsheet. That was the whole job. And when I started asking my boss questions about it, she goes, it doesn't matter. You can just make up the statistics.

True story. And that's when I decided to become a comedian. I was like, if we're just gonna all go rogue with creative license, I'd rather get some laughs than sit in this cubicle and be, by far, the ugliest person in the office. That's really funny. Where else could you go from there?

I might be a chunk of things about temping. What else was working in that era? Because I worked at Fashion Magazine. I worked at Pfizer. I worked at, yeah, like a whole bunch of, I worked at BlackRock. No way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I had this whole year where I worked at these really high-end New York City places, and I would be the receptionist, I'd be the switchboard operator, I would be the data entry person. And what was amazing about that experience of just temping in these places, like I remember one job at Pfizer where I did nothing all day, literally nothing. And at the end of the day, this guy who I worked for goes, can we get you next week?

You're the best guy we've had. I've literally done nothing. I mean, what they wanted was par. Apparently. Yeah, they wanted to do no harm. I know, they look at me as harmless and just kind of like, he'll be around. Maybe it was your vibe, maybe they were like.

They liked my vibe. Yeah. Apparently. I think that's fantastic. I was a copywriter at an ad agency, but I remember I wrote something about it a couple of years ago where it was like everything they wanted that was like, was crazy derivative. I'd be like, have milk.

And they'd be like, it's perfect. That's funny. Yeah. It was like the exact opposite of like. I'm thinking back to that job where they were like, you're doing a good job and I didn't do anything. I think sometimes at jobs, they don't want you to do anything.

No. It's like, they just don't want you to talk. They know they need somebody, but they would prefer that person didn't talk. Also, I hate to be serious, but the truth is, sometimes they just need you there in case something happens. And they're like, if we need something, we'll come to you. Other than that, we don't want you

showing any sort of initiative or ambition. Exactly. We don't want you coming for our job. Exactly, and I bet you previous people at Pfizer, they were like, can we help with anything? And they're like, shut the fuck up. That's right. We make the cold medication

the way we wanna make the cold medication. That's right. You know? We make the cold medication the way we wanna make the cold medication. That's right. I think I've got, just cause we were talking about this earlier, people are like, oh, your parents, do they wish you were a doctor or a lawyer? And I say to the audience, you guys know me for 10 minutes.

Do you wish I was a doctor or a lawyer? That's funny. I was like, do you wish I was your doctor or lawyer? That's funny. I was like, do you wish I was your doctor or lawyer? Yeah. Do you want me looking at your x-rays or being like, I had a client who like got caught for littering, he'd face the death bouncing. Like I did really.

You could put it in relation to like how tangential you are as a comedian. Like, so like my doctor was looking at my x-ray and then in the middle of it, he talked about paper towels for 15 minutes. Where I had this idea though, it was like, where if me as a doctor, where it's like after surgery, the patient wakes up, I'm like,

hey, I decided to like riff a little bit once I got in there. I was like, so here's your liver. Like it looked weird, so I got in there. I was like, so here's your liver. It looked weird, so I took it out. Or also this x-ray, you have a glioblastoma, but it kind of looks like a seahorse. You see how, isn't that kind of interesting? If you draw an eye here and a thing here,

it's a little seahorsy. And someone asked my dad, do you wish he was a doctor? And instead of saying no, we're proud of him, my dad went He did the best he could with what he had which is so even-handed and also kind of nice, but really like Roof of the home team. Yeah roof for the habit. We will move for this week. We're for the home team So funny you could have been a doctor though

You know, the funny thing is I don't think so because trial and error is such a big part of my job. Yeah. I'm like okay this doesn't work. Also like even in my personal life I'm still like figuring out who I am. That self discovery can't happen as a doctor. I can't be like what kind of doctor am I? You know like. Right.

Am I still growing into medicine you know? Yeah. I follow what you're saying but I think you could have done it probably. Maybe. I feel like the term outside the box has been hijacked by people definitively inside the box. Great.

Great, no seriously, keep going. These people who are shaped like boxes keep telling me think outside the box. I'm like, I'm not the one with pointy edges and flat sides. That's really good. That's really good. It's really, really like metaphorical. Like people ask you to think outside the box.

They're always yelling it at you from inside their boxes. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, yeah, they're always yelling at you from inside their box. Thinking outside the box, you're like, please, you're 90% corrugated. Yeah, I can barely hear you. You're in the bottom corner of that box.

Yeah. Can I tell you one more thing? Oh yeah. I was a hospital clown for a while. That's a good story. It was my first comedy job, I was 18, and I walked into the hospital and I'm dressed completely as a clown.

And the guy behind the desk went, are you the clown? That's really funny. Swear to God. And he was smoking a cigarette, it was in Israel, it was community service. And he went, are you the clown? And I was like, yeah. But how great would it have been if I was like,

no, there was a car accident with some of my compatriots and 75 of them are here. Jesus. That's a crazy story that you were a clown. I was a clown in a hospital called Aileen. Was it rewarding? Yeah, there were some rewarding moments but also I just remember them saying like,

don't touch any of the buttons in the rooms. And I was like, yeah, no, I know. There's no episode of Mr. Bean where he takes a kid off dialysis. Like I'm aware that I'm not supposed to be like, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Well, I think it's like an, it's an incredible service, the clowns of the hospital.

It's a really difficult job though, cause when you're bombing in front of a kid. Yeah, there's a special, a special type of pain that you're both experiencing. Yeah, you're like, hey, I know this is extreme, but I would really rather be where you are than I am. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. But they- I know you're going experienced. Yeah, you're like, hey, I know this is extreme, but I would really rather be where you are than I am. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

I know you're going through some stuff, but I am too. Once I went into the kid's room and he burst into tears and the mom went, sorry, clowns are his biggest fear. Oh God. And I'm like, the kid had like one arm. And I was like, arm and I was like, part of me was like, give me a try. Like, let me try my best.

But the truth is like, the ward was mostly an amputee ward. And I just remember kids were missing things and there was one clown who was like in the hallway because there were like five or six of us. And I'm like, Helene, what's going on? And she's like, most of the tricks I know are like it got your nose. And she's like, I can't be taking more body parts

off these kids. Even the joke like got your nose and the kids are like, oh God. I mean, that's a good joke. Yeah, I just don't know a ton about where it goes, but I'm working on this thing. And also- I think honestly, if you did it as a bit,

you would have to find a series of jokes and then you'd have to, I think, land somewhere that's somewhat redemptive. I think you'd have to, because kids in the hospital is as dark as can be, so it has to be somewhere. Maybe it's about like everyone, not everyone, but it's a more common premise about laughter

being the best medicine. Yeah. And like, I feel like it's everyone's premise in a way that I don't wanna get into where it's like, that's not true. Right. But like, I've seen laughter in a hospital ward. It's pretty good.

Yeah. It's like palliative. It like, it helps. It's not the best medicine. No, it's pretty significant, I think. This is one I want to put on stage, which is I saw this lady pushing a baby in my neighborhood, and then she looks at her phone and she goes play itsy bitsy spider and it played the wrong song and then she goes play itsy bitsy spider walk up the water spout and I'm like just sing the fucking song you have the ingredients it's like you know what

I should put in this soup? A laptop. That's my favorite new one. I wanna try that on stage. It's really, really funny. Just sing the song. Sing the song. You know the words. Or just go, Siri, what is the itsy bitsy spider come down from?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't remember. People, people just don't wanna sing, I guess. Yeah, it's good that we've outsourced all the good artistic fun stuff to the machines. Yeah, exactly. So we can still do the pushing of the strollers, but not any of the singing.

That's right. Push the stroller. A little bit about Clippy being AI in the past, and we hated him. That's so funny. Remember, we had AI. Clippy the paperclip from Microsoft. We had AI in. Remember we had AI. The Clippy the Paperclip from Microsoft. We had AI in 1995.

That's right. And Clippy was like, you look like you're writing a letter, do you need help? And we're like, shut the fuck up, I've got it. I think that's a great way to... And he would like, no, it's like, you've made a grammatical mistake. We're like, get the fuck, can we shut him off?

How do we shut this guy off? And now we just absolutely, and now we're like, if Clippy was like, are we shut him off? How do we shut this guy off? And now we just absolutely, and now we're like, if Clubby was like, are you writing a letter? We'd be like, write it for me. Yeah. How do I format it? You know how to format it.

Fucking format it. It's like, sorry, I didn't know. I've got one about horse cops. Okay. I've been doing this bit about service dogs. I go, the level of service dog fraudery has got to be addressed now. Like we can no longer just like let it go.

I used to be like one in 10 service dogs used to be fake and now the ratio has flipped. To what? Nine in 10 service dogs used to be fake and now the ratio has flipped. To what? Nine in 10. Okay. It's crazy. We're living in this like insane time. And you can tell,

because the real service dogs are like the Marines. Like they're at the gate, they're waiting with their arms crossed. They're so annoyed they can't vape. And then the desk attendant is like group four is boarding and the dog is like, that's us. And like there's an ending to it that I'm still trying to figure out, but he goes,

I go, I respect any animal with a job. Even cops, which everyone has complicated feelings about. I respect horse cops so much. And I was telling Ben, I was telling my friend, a lot of horse cops in Central Park today. And he went, what do you mean? Horse cops? And I said, what do you mean? What do you mean? Horse cops? A cop on a horse because there's no like centaur situation where stopping frisk is even more problematic where the guy's like, Hey, hey,

get over here. Oh shit. Let's sprinkle some sugar cubes on him and gallop the fuck out of here. That's how I'm still like, I'm still working it out, but it's like, so the point at which he goes, what do you mean horse cops? Yeah. You're basically, you're saying like, no, the horse, the cop who's on the horse, not the horse. But I think, I don't know what he meant, but I just love being able to say, what do you mean, what do you mean? What do you mean, what do you mean? What do you mean, what do you mean? He's like, what do you mean, horse cops?

I'm like, what do you mean, what do you mean, horse cops? Genuinely, and I think it's a really funny joke, but genuinely, I'm curious what he thought. He thought, he told me he thought it was cops who were there to police the horse in carriages in Central Park carriages and come on bench And that is like way off. No, but well, that's way off. It's he was like and then what did you mean? Precisely I meant cops on horses on horses the whole unit, you know the whole but yeah, but then

Then there's the horse itself the horse itself. What is the horse itself? It's a horse cop in a certain way, right? You're right. The logic of my argument is crazy fun. You know what I mean? You're correct. Like the horse is a cop The horse is a cop. The horse cop is a cop also. How do you differentiate between the two parts of the unit? I don't know. But it is a centaur. You're correct that it's a centaur. The top half and the bottom half. Yeah. But you can also always tell who's equipped to be what. You never see the top half as, you never see the horse riding the cop. I wonder if, cause I think there's a lot here by the way.

I think like, horse cops as a topic I think you should go deep on because it's an outrage that there are horse cops. But also- It makes no sense. You say that. It's like from the 1800s. You say that, but I remember I was in college

and I was part of like, there was a protest that I was at on the southern end of Washington Square Park and they lined up, there was like one horse cop and I was like hysterical horse cop and then there were two horse cops and then there were three horse cops and then I was like, okay, now I'm scared. Like they were all lined up and I'm like, okay, now I'm scared. Like, they were all lined up, and I'm like,

if they charge us, we're done. Yeah, but if you blow in the horse's ear, you've got the advantage. Yeah, we all had carrots, that's the. I just think like, I think horse cops all day for this, I would just go off on that. It's so funny. It feels like, of such a different era.

I'm trying to think of another thing from a different era that you could bring in as an example. Yeah, you know the NYPD catapults that they use for children at home? That's what I'm saying. It's so anachronistic, you're right. Yeah, catapapults motes, you know Yeah, how about when the horse the horses have the little eye blinders on the side?

Because if if that horse could see the whole world they would flip the fuck out also be like we're doing what but they also need Maybe like this is unethical. The one inside, yeah, they have them there for plausible deniability. Yeah, that's right. So when the horse is called to testify, it's like, I only saw half of the story. That's right, that's right.

Even the horses know some of the policing is questionable. They got blinders on the side, because the cops are like, he can't see all of this. Yeah, yeah, but they also don't know certain facts about the world, like they're in, and they're like, I swear to God, Columbus is a circle. No, no, it's just one. Yeah. It's like no No, you look this way this way this way that you see it's a big circle Bridey's not gonna be able to handle it if he sees how we're treating people

That's the horse cop thing all day. Oh my god, I would just go all day on that. The pension, the pensions that they get. You ever go to a horse cop bar out there in Siosset? They're you know, just full of like retired horse cops. Also can we just talk about like the salary for the horses? Are the horses receiving any salary? And when I say salary I don't mean currency, but I just mean like anything. Treats? Are they getting treats? And when I say salary, I don't mean currency, but I just mean like anything. Treats?

Are they getting treats? I'm not convinced based on some of the ethics of the cops that the horses are getting treats. I think there are tips that are slid in there to make them look the other way. Yeah, yeah, no bribes. The crew, yeah, the bribes. Hey, if you want out of this parking ticket,

a couple of apples might really make a difference, you know? Yeah. I'm sure though someone's gotta have a bit about like a horse getting a parking ticket, a couple of apples might really make a difference, you know? Yeah. I'm sure though someone's gotta have a bit about like a horse getting a parking ticket from a horse, or not getting a parking ticket, getting a speeding ticket from a horse, got like, hey, didn't you see me back there? Here's my last one.

When I was in Edinburgh, I got up at 5.30 a.m. to catch a flight back to America, and this Scottish taxi driver asked us whether we went to the festival and We go yeah and he goes my wife and I went to see a show and there were five comedians and three of them were good and Two of them were rubbish and then he goes and they knew they were rubbish And then it just made me think like am I rubbish? Oh And if I were rubbish, would I know I were rubbish? You're not rubbish.

Yeah, but there's something about how mean-spirited that is, that the guy didn't just hate the comedians. He hated their self-knowledge? Yeah. I appreciate a comic that knows they're rubbish, because that's going to be a good comic one day. Yeah, totally. There's something about that that really stuck with me.

They knew they were rubbish. Only job where that works though, by the way. And also the only city where taxi drivers kind of are comedy connoisseurs. I was in Dublin and I went to see Coldplay while I was in Dublin. And the guy's driving me to the Coldplay show and he went, oh, you've seen Coldplay?

I went, yeah, he's taking me to the Coldplay show and he went, oh, you've seen Coldplay? I went, yeah, he's taking me to the, yeah, he goes, ugh, they're shit, aren't they? I'm like, I'm about to see Coldplay. I'm wearing my Coldplay t-shirt. You know where I'm going. I've got the Chris Martin friendship bands or whatever the hell. Ugh, aren't they shit?

That is hilarious. Oh my God. I will say that is one of the charming things about the UK is the frankness of people. It's astonishing. Can I do a last one? Oh yeah, please. There's an ambulance unit for Orthodox Jews called Hatzalah,

but they'll respond to anyone. But it's a bit of a- Here? Yeah, it's in Brooklyn. They'll respond to any call if they're the closest emergency unit. But like, I remember seeing this happen once. And it was like, there was a car accident and it was this, you know,

two people who were not Orthodox Jews. And one of them had had a heart attack while he was driving and he was on the sidewalk and they were like, and he was taking, they were trying to coach him through deep breaths and the paramedic was there. And I was like, if I had a heart attack and I was by the side of the road and ambulance pulled up

and five ultra-orthodox Jews piled out of the ambulance, I'd have a second heart attack. I'd be like, I'm hallucinating. This can't be, it's nothing. It's a beautiful service, but it's so crazy as a concept where there is a Orthodox Jewish only ambulance service. And they have like payas and beards and yarmulkes. And they're wearing scrubs and like ambulance EMT uniforms.

But maybe you've written this out, but it's like, what makes it stressful? It's just a question you really have to answer, but can't ask. Just like, if you don't know this exists, you're like, why are they all Hasidic Jews? Why are, why is it like, does every Hasidic Jew do this? Is this a thing? I don't know Jews, they have to be this. And the last thing is I went to Japan for this long walk and it wasn't silent, but you were supposed to only speak if it was a revelation for yourself or a gift you were offering someone else.

So it was silent. Because I'm like, what am I doing? And there was one person on this thing who was both confidently wrong about everything and a little bit conservative. And it felt very RFK Jr. too, because they were very big into auras. And at one point, the place we were in

was called the Key Peninsula. It got more rain than the Amazon. And we were discussing it, and someone went, it's a shame the Amazon's disappearing. And very confidently, she went, it's not disappearing. And I went, what do you mean? And she went, it's the biggest company in the world. And then I struggled to think of a gift or a revelation.

Right. The last thing we do is working out for a cause. Is there a nonprofit that you like to contribute to? How about Sloan Kettering? Oh yeah, Sloan Kettering is a great, great organization that does cancer research and we've given to them in the past. I've done benefits for them in the past

through Nick Kroll and his family. And I think they're fantastic. We will give to Sloan Kettering and we will link to them in the show notes. And Alex Edelman, crushing. Thank you for having me on. Doing having me on doing great work. I really love working jokes out with you and Yeah excited to see your office show in the fall I'm really hoping it works and is it received with as much enjoyment as it was made with so I'm and I'm always so psyched to be on this. I can't believe I get to do it again

And no, it's really phenomenal. Please cut out the parts that didn't work. I'm gonna cut out all of my street jokes. All of the parts where you said really disparaging things about Jesus, which I really don't appreciate, but we'll keep this part in, we'll take that part out. Thank you very much. Thanks, man.

Working it out, cause it's not done. Working it out, cause it's not done Working it out, cause there's no That's gonna do it for another episode of Working It Out. You can follow Alex on Instagram, at Alex Edelman. You can get tickets to his show at alexedelmancomedy.com You can watch the full video of this episode on our YouTube channel at Mike Birbiglia. And subscribe, we're posting more and more videos. I'm actually working on a video just for that YouTube channel at Mike Berbiglia and subscribe we're posting more and more videos I'm actually working on a video just for that YouTube

channel so subscribe click subscribe today over on YouTube check out Berbigs.com to sign up for the mailing list to be the first to know about my upcoming shows our producers of working it out are myself along with Peter Salomon Joseph Berbiglia and Mabel Lewis associate producer Gary Simons Mix by Ben Cruz, supervising engineer Kate Belinsky, special thanks to Jack Antonoff and Bleachers for their music, special thanks to my wife The Poet, J-Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio for Made of Pillows to make it sound real nice. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy this show, go over to Apple Podcasts and just like write a little review.

I enjoy it. This is my favorite episode, you know, cause there's like 170 episodes all free. No paywall, we've been doing this for five years. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell former boss in Red Sox left fielder, Mike Greenwell. You see him tooling around in his pickup truck that he won, and I'm sure is still driving today. Hey, Greenwell, while you're out in your pickup,

plug this podcast into your stereo. It's where comedian and one-time Red Sox fan Mike Verbigli talks to comedians and other creatives about comedy and the creative process. about comedy and the creative process. I hear it's a home run. Woo! Thanks everybody, we're working it out. I'll see you next time.