204. Ali Siddiq: Telling His Own Story

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast

Interviews, Iraglass, Dontthinktwice, Mygirlfriendsboyfriend, Sleepwalkwithme, Mikebirbiglia, Comedy Interviews, Thankgodforjokes, Comedy, Birbiglia, Thenewone

4.8 • 4.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ali Siddiq is one of the most prolific storytellers in comedy. Although they work in a similar format, Ali and Mike’s paths have never crossed until now. Now they sit down to discuss the nuances of comedic storytelling, including how to make specific topics relatable to audiences, and Ali explains how he made his own path in comedy after serving six years in prison on drug charges. Plus, Ali and Mike, both parents of swimmers, share war stories from swim meets.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you feel like you're in the mainstream or not in the mainstream?
0:04.0	I feel like I'm not in either space, man.
0:07.4	It's like I'm in my own lane.
0:09.2	Well, I think so, too.
0:10.5	You know, but that's a, it's a gift and a curse.
0:15.2	Yeah, it's a gift and a curse.
0:16.1	And, like, I don't get invited to a lot of stuff.
0:19.5	Yeah.
0:22.6	You know, but it's one of them things when people see me,
0:25.1	oh, I'm happy year.
0:26.3	But you didn't invite me, though.
0:31.0	That is the voice of the great Ali Sadiq.
0:34.0	Ali Sadiq is a comedian who I've been a fan of for a while. He is a brilliant storyteller,
0:41.1	absolutely fascinating life story. He's extraordinarily prolific. If you search him on YouTube,
0:48.3	you'll find days worth of comedy, Nine comedy specials.
0:56.0	Fascinating life story.
0:57.5	He actually went to prison for six years.
1:00.5	We talk about it in the show today.
1:02.0	He's from Houston.
1:03.2	He lives in Houston still today.
1:05.4	He produces pretty much all of his specials independently,
1:09.5	which we talk about a lot on this podcast, and he's a really
	...

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