Humor in the Time of Corona (with Mike Birbiglia)

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, Politics, Government, News

4.8 • 32.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2020

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week's episode of Stay Tuned, "Humor in the Time of Corona," Preet answers listener questions about: The impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 Census (and how to fill it out online!) Whether Trump’s suggestion that he would not provide emergency assistance to “unappreciative” governors could be criminal conduct If cable news networks should stop broadcasting Trump’s press conferences on COVID-19 Changing the name of the podcast to something more topical Then, he’s joined by Mike Birbiglia, who is a comedian, writer, director, and an actor. Birbiglia does not shy away from the tough topics in his work and he shares how comedy has been a tool to help him work through personal struggles with health complications. In this sad and stressful time, Birbiglia reveals how the process of crafting and sharing jokes can be healing and cathartic. His most recent one-man show, The New One, is about the turbulent, and ultimately heartwarming, experience of becoming a parent. [Parental discretion for language and content is advised for this episode.] To listen to Stay Tuned bonus content, become a member of CAFE Insider. And if you haven’t already, listen to this week’s full episode of the CAFE Insider podcast for free. Sign up to receive a link to the episode at cafe.com/preet. As always, tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #askpreet, email us at [email protected], or call 669-247-7338 to leave a voicemail. REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS THE Q&A Fill out the 2020 census online here 2020 Census Operational Adjustments Due to COVID-19 “Why Does the Census Matter?,” Council on Foreign Relations, 12/16/19 “Trump: Federal Government Doing ‘Hell Of A Job’ And ‘Governors Should Appreciate It,’” Real Clear Politics, 3/27/20 THE INTERVIEW Get updates from Mike at Birgbigs.com Tip Your Waitstaff BIRBIGLIA SPECIALS & MOVIES “The New One,” Netflix (2019), and the upcoming book in May 2020 “Thank God For Jokes,” Netflix (2017) Don’t Think Twice, Netflix (2016) Sleepwalk With Me, Amazon Prime Video (2012) “Sleepwalk with Me Live,” Spotify (2011) “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing,” Netflix (2008) JOKES & JOKESTERS “Humor in Hard Times,” New York Times, 9/19/09 Watch: “Jon Stewart on Comedy in Times of Tragedy,” Bill Moyers Journal (2007) “Where does canned laughter come from – and where did it go?,” BBC, 9/26/16 “Please Chuckle Here, New York Magazine, 11/23/11 Steven Wright: Watch: “Comic Relief ‘Steven Wright’ Stand Up Comedy 1987” Stephen Wright, Spotify “The Mosaic View Of Comedian Steven Wright,” Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/7/20 “Headwaters for a River of Stand-Up,” New York Times, 4/30/14 Mitch Hedberg: Mitch Hedberg: “Strategic Grill Locations,” Spotify (2003) “Mitch Hedberg: The Best Pre-Twitter Twitter Comedian,” GQ, 6/4/13 “Mitch Hedberg, a Comedian Who Performed Surreal Routines, Dies at 37,” New York Times, 4/1/05 Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian, Netflix (2002) Watch: “Seinfeld - Night Guy” Roy Wood Jr: Roy Wood Jr.: “Father Figure,” Amazon Prime Video (2017) LOCKDOWN ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS The Money Pit, Netflix (1986) The Larry Sanders Show, HBO (1992) The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, HBO (2018) Extras, Netflix (2006) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Slack. With Slack, you can bring all your people and
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0:20.9	inside and outside of your company. Slack, where the future works. Get started at
0:26.9	Slack.com slash DHQ.
0:55.9	From Cafe, welcome to Stay Tune. I'm Pete Barara. Your job as a comedian is to analyze
1:04.2	and really zero in on the human condition. And the human condition is the full spectrum.
1:11.2	It's happy, it's sad, it's funny, it's devastating, it's tragic.
1:16.5	That's Mike Bribiglia. He's a comedian, director, writer and an actor. He joined me for a special
1:22.1	episode of Stay Tune to try and help raise our spirits. And to talk about the role the
1:26.0	humor can play in times of great stress and sadness, which I think we're all feeling
1:30.3	at the moment. I first met Mike almost three years ago at the Just For Labs Montreal
1:34.4	Comedy Festival, where he received the 2017 Standup Comedian of the Year Award. At the
1:39.7	time, Mike was on tour performing his latest show, The New One, which documents his turbulent
1:44.2	experience becoming a dad. I saw it on Broadway not once, but twice. Mike's comedic material
1:50.4	largely derives from his own life. His first one-man show, Sleepwalk with me, is about
1:55.3	a rare sleepwalking disorder he developed in his 20s, and his other solo specials, Thank
1:59.6	God for Jokes and my girlfriend's boyfriend, are based on personal stories he confronts
2:03.6	head on with a lot of humility and honesty. That's why this week, as we face a new reality
2:09.3	and manage to have some laughs despite the hardships, he's the perfect guest. I hope you
2:14.0	agree. That's coming up. Stay tuned. Hey stay tuned listeners, I hope you and your
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