Shows / The Funny Muscle Podcast
The Funny Muscle Podcast
Guided by the belief that anyone can learn to become funnier once they understand what to practice, the Funny Muscle Podcast aims to break down how pro comics get their best laughs. Comedian turned author Mike Lukas and cohost Chris Stiffler, an economics professor and open mic-er, use the game plan and concepts outlined in the Funny Muscle Book series to give listeners a better idea of how original (and funny) jokes are crafted.
Episodes
The Funny Muscle PodcastPump Up Your Punchlines: Comedy Coaching
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, Chris brings five new joke and bit ideas, and Mike goes full coach mode, dissecting each one to reveal the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastAdd the Emotion to Your Bits
“It sucks.” “I’m frustrated by…” “Isn’t it stupid that…?” In this episode of Funny Muscle Pod, Mike and Chris explore how adding emotion can transform a…
The Funny Muscle PodcastGoing to the Tape
Comedy coaching is on full display in this episode as Mike goes to the tape to break down a recent open mic set from Chris. Like a football analyst studying…
The Funny Muscle PodcastOld-School Jokes vs. Modern Bits
What changed between old-school stand-up and the way comics write today? In this episode, we compare Henny Youngman to Mark Normand, Rodney Dangerfield to…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMike Fixes Chris’s Five Minutes
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, Mike goes full comedy coach on Chris’s five-minute set. Over the course of an hour, they take the set apart joke…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMick Napier: Improv Hacks for Stand-Up Comics
Why is it that the harder you try to be funny, the less funny you become? Like your analytical brain hijacks your comedy brain? That voice that starts judging…
The Funny Muscle PodcastBe Likable Then They'll Laugh with Michael Palascak
On this episode of Funny Muscle Pod, we're joined by comedian Michael Palascak, whose credits include Conan, The Tonight Show, Last Comic Standing, and his hit…
The Funny Muscle PodcastA Post-Bomb Recovery Plan
What do you do after a bomb? This week, Mike breaks down the difference between a joke bombing, an open mic bombing, and a full-scale set meltdown in front of…
The Funny Muscle PodcastSo You Want to be a Comedy Club Host?
Fresh off a weekend hosting at the Dallas Comedy Club, Mike breaks down the hidden skills required to become a great comedy club host. Surprisingly, being…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWe Serve Only Bait and Switch
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, Mike and Chris break down the comedy of Anthony Jeselnik—a comic who, on paper, “shouldn’t work” by our own rules…
The Funny Muscle PodcastBlue Printing One Comic's Multiple Humor Heightening Devices
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, Mike and Chris break down the deceptively simple comedy of Nate Bargatze by Humor Blue-Printing several of Nate’s…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy Coaching and Bit Blueprinting
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, Mike jumps into comedy teacher mode and workshops several of Chris’s developing bits, helping tighten setups…
The Funny Muscle PodcastProducing a Comedy Special with Michael Pasvar
Dallas comedian Michael Pasvar joins the fellows to break down his new comedy special Blended Feathers (now on YouTube). The special is a perfect case study in…
The Funny Muscle PodcastHumor Blueprint Homework
In this episode of Funny Muscle Pod, Mike assigns Chris a deceptively simple task: break down five professional stand-up bits using the full Humor…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMisdirection (Improving Your Set-Ups)
On this episode of FMP, we break down how professional comedians use misdirection to make punchlines hit harder: like highlighting a safe, obvious detail so…
The Funny Muscle PodcastTraditional Stand-up vs Straight Act Out Comedy
On this episode of Funny Muscle Pod, we break down how professional comedians build laughs using the Funny Muscle Humor Blueprint and why the structure of…
The Funny Muscle PodcastEnhance Your Bits with Emotion (How the Pros Do It)
In this episode, Mike goes into full Comedy Teacher Mode, the kind of mode where you half expect a pop quiz. We break down how to transform a topic into a real…
The Funny Muscle PodcastDiagramming Humor Heightening Devices
In this episode of The Funny Muscle Pod, we diagram pro comics’ bits by circling the underlying structure, then highlighting the specific techniques—what we…
The Funny Muscle PodcastThe Road to Headlining with CAIN
Dallas comedian CAIN, fresh off winning the 2025 Pervis Wilson Funniest Stand-Up in Dallas Competition, returns to the FMP to discuss the mysterious and…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWhat Comics can Borrow from Improv with Brittany Taylor
Brittany Taylor---Improv Guru and Instructor---- joins Mike and Chris to yes-and their brains into shape with a crash course in all things improv: the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMoving the Pen with Sean O’Brien
We sit down with St. Louis comic Sean O’Brien who has opened for legends like Bill Burr, Norm Macdonald, and Nikki Glaser. Sean got his start bartending at the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastCrowd Work with Michael Halcomb
This pod’s guest is Michael Halcomb — a professor, pastor, comedian, and podcaster from North Carolina, proving once and for all that the best way to handle…
The Funny Muscle PodcastTwo Hours of Funny, Every. Single. Day. With Pete Schwaba
In this episode of The Funny Muscle Podcast, we welcome Pete Schwaba — veteran comedian, screenwriter, actor, and radio host — to prove that comedy isn’t just…
The Funny Muscle PodcastHow Comics Think While You Laugh (Inside the Comic's Brain)
Ever wonder what a stand-up is really doing onstage while you’re laughing? This episode breaks down the invisible gears turning inside a comic’s brain — the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWhat Makes an ‘Unlikely Scenario’ Funny? (And Why Comics Love It)
“You never see…” — it’s one of comedy’s favorite springboards into the ridiculous. In this episode of The Funny Muscle Podcast, Mike and Chris grab the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComic Timing with Tim Alexander
You’d think comedians would be the ones giving lessons on timing. But this week, we flipped the snare. Our guest is Tim Alexander, the legendary drummer for…
The Funny Muscle PodcastHook, Line, and Punchline: The Science of Bait and Switch
Think you saw the punchline coming? Good comics make sure you don’t. In this Funny Muscle Pod, Mike and Chris break down bait and switch — the move where…
The Funny Muscle PodcastHacking a Small Crowd
Not every room will be packed—sometimes you’re on stage for fewer people than your car’s backseat can handle. In the latest episode of the Funny Muscle Pod…
The Funny Muscle PodcastThe "Excellent Choice" Effect: Stand-up Techniques for Public Speaking
Why do we feel so good when a waiter says “excellent choice” after we order the salmon instead of the flank steak? Mike and Chris break down the psychology…
The Funny Muscle PodcastFeel Something, Say Something: Turning Topics Into Premises Using Emotions
On this episode of Funny Muscle, the team tackles one of the most important — and often overlooked by new comics — steps in joke creation: assigning an emotion…
The Funny Muscle PodcastHour A Day to Write Comedy? 12 Comics' Advice (part 2)
In this episode, we cornered a dozen comedians—some voluntarily—and asked: “If you had one hour a day to train your comedy off-stage, what would you do?”…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWork to the Top of Your Intelligence with Jimmy Shubert
Nationally touring comedian, actor, and verbal hurricane Jimmy Shubert stops by the Funny Muscle Pod to talk about his legendary career, offer some top-shelf…
The Funny Muscle PodcastThe Business Side of Stand-Up
Here at the Funny Muscle Pod, we chat a lot about the skills in crafting jokes, but in this episode, we take a hard turn to the business side of comedy. And…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMarketing Your Comedy Brand with David Uribe
How do you market your comedy brand? How do you get more likes, shares, and followers without resorting to bribery or adopting an emotional support ferret for…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy Competitions with Kenny Lee
Join us on the Funny Muscle Pod as we sit down with Kenny Lee, winner of the 2024 Purvis Wilson Funniest Stand-Up in Dallas Competition. Known for his sharp…
The Funny Muscle PodcastNot Giving Up on a Bit with CAIN
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Pod, we sit down with rising Dallas comic CAIN (@funnycain_) to talk comedy, persistence, and the art of refining bits. He…
The Funny Muscle PodcastPunch Lines and Cruise Ships with Brad Tassell
Comedian and author Brad Tassell joins the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about joke writing, performing comedy on cruise ships, and how the comedy scene today…
The Funny Muscle PodcastFind the Funny and Never be Annoyed: Payton Payne
What better person to teach us how to do your first year of comedy more efficiently than someone who recently did her first year of comedy very efficiently…
The Funny Muscle PodcastGet Better at Comedy Faster with Paul Varghese
Paul Varghese is a comedian and actor who appeared on the reality show Last Comic Standing 2. He’s toured with Joan Rivers and Gabriel Iglesias. He has been…
The Funny Muscle PodcastBeing Yourself on Stage with Dwayne Kennedy
In this episode we chat with Dwayne Kennedy, a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. Dwayne has also written for The Arsenio Hall Show and The Orlando Jones…
The Funny Muscle PodcastBlue Man Comedy with Jeffrey Nicholas Brown
The Funny Muscle Podcast welcomes our first Blue Man in this episode. Which is challenging since the Blue Man Group doesn't talk. Fortunately, this Blue Man is…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMillion Words Writing Challenge
Chris travels to Dallas for this one. He joins Mike's comedy office hours on Wednesday at the Dallas Comedy Club to workshop material with students. They talk…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy as a Booker, Teacher, Mom and Comic: Magen King
The Funny Muscle Podcast chats with a comedian, a storyteller, an award-winning radio host, a mom and a comedy teacher in this episode. And they are all the…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy Song Writing with Tim Cavanagh
The Funny Muscle welcomes to the podcast its first guitar. And accompanying that guitar is comedian and songwriter Tim Cavanagh, who has been in the comedy…
The Funny Muscle PodcastCreating Distinct Voices with Darren McStay
To improve their character voices, Mike and Chris chat with actor, musician, filmmaker and voice coach Darren McStay whose Youtube channel “Improve Your Voice”…
The Funny Muscle PodcastTurning Topics into Premises
"Cats" is a topic, but it's not until you say something like "Cats bother me as an economist." have you transformed your material into a premise. In this…
The Funny Muscle PodcastAn Hour a Day to Write Jokes? Here's What the Pros Do (Advice from 12 Comedians)
We asked each of our last 12 comedy pro guests what they'd tell new comedians to do if they had an hour a day to write jokes. Here's a compilation of their…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy Drills and Comedy Specials with Jake Vevera
New York comedian and co-host of the podcast “Idiots on Parade” Jake Vevera (@jakevevera) stops by the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about his upcoming comedy…
The Funny Muscle PodcastComedy on Cruises with Lenny Schmidt
Lenny Schmidt stops by the Funny Muscle Podcast to teach us about the logistics of planning comedy material for 5 nights in a row on a cruise ship (hint: you…
The Funny Muscle PodcastCorporate Gigs and Comedy for the Troops with Nathan Timmel
Headlining comedian, author, and host of the podcast “Idiots on Parade” Nathan Timmel invades the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about the current state of…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWriting Comedy Monologues with Ben Alper
We learn about writing monologue jokes with Ben Alper who has written jokes for several decades and has seen them performed by the likes of Jay Leno and Dave…
The Funny Muscle PodcastMike's first set in 10 years and Book 3 Flexing Your Funny Muscle
On the same week that Mike released the third book in the Funny Muscle series, he did something he hasn’t done in 10 years: he strolled on stage and performed…
The Funny Muscle PodcastBooking Talent with Dan Carlson
Comedian, Director of the Chicago Comedy Festival, and former General Manager of Zanies Comedy Club in Rosemont, Dan Carlson, stops by the Funny Muscle…
The Funny Muscle PodcastAn Academic Look at Why Things are Funny: Benign Violation Theory with Dr. Caleb Warren
Dr. Caleb Warren joins the podcast to give Mike and Chris an academic and research-based look at why things are funny using a framework known as the “Benign…
The Funny Muscle PodcastThe Comic and Booker's Advice with Steph Clark
We chat with comedian Steph Clark who is also the owner of Funny Girl Events. So, we get advice from a comic's perspective as well as a booker. We learn some…
The Funny Muscle PodcastRestarting Stand-up; Copywriting and Comedy with Kevin Rogers
New comics will appreciate the advice from touring comedian Kevin Rogers, who took 12 years off to build a family and business, who then had to turn his comedy…
The Funny Muscle PodcastImprov in Acting with Dan Bakkedahl (aka Congressman Roger Furlong)
Actor and improvisational comedian Dan Bakkedahl stops by the podcast to chat about acting, improv, auditioning for roles, starting out in Chicago, and…
The Funny Muscle PodcastDeveloping bits, Doing the small things, and Dry Bar Specials with "The Dented Can" Dobie Maxwell
Stopping by the Funny Muscle Podcast is “The Dented Can” Dobie Maxwell. He is a comedian, actor, radio personality, comedy instructor, comedy writer and…
The Funny Muscle PodcastChatting with the "Bad" Boy of Comedy: Tom Clark
The "Bad" Boy of Comedy from Wisconsin Tom Clark joins the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about: * What’s it like to do a set on Conan *Tips of doing clean…
The Funny Muscle PodcastWhat a Weak Premise Lacks
A comedian starts a joke by making an interesting assertion. The audience wonders, “How will they ever prove that to us with their unique take?" Mike and Chris…