CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:00
Todd Glass’s new Netflix special: being proud of the finished product
Joe and Todd open by talking about Todd’s new Netflix special and the rare feeling of still being happy with it after it’s shot. Todd credits the directors and production team for nailing the look, lighting, and vibe he envisioned.
- •Todd confirms he has a new Netflix special and says he’s still proud of it
- •The common post-taping ‘ugh’ feeling and how road work can sharpen material after filming
- •Shout-out to Jeff Rowe and Scott Moran for executing Todd’s vision
- •Emphasis on aesthetic choices: lighting, set design, overall feel
- 1:00 – 2:00
Designing comedy spaces: The Lyric set makeover and what makes a room feel ‘real’
Todd explains where the special was filmed (The Lyric in LA) and how they transformed it into a place people wish existed. The conversation expands into what makes an intimate venue feel premium rather than ‘kitsch’ or thrown together.
- •Special filmed at The Lyric (Melrose/La Brea area)
- •They used the venue as a ‘shell’ and rebuilt the atmosphere
- •Todd aimed for a high-end NYC jazz-club feel (small but luxe)
- •Difference between charming ‘raw’ small rooms vs intentionally upscale intimacy
- 2:00 – 3:50
Great clubs and great layouts: Helium Philly, small rooms, and audience proximity
Joe praises Helium in Philadelphia and Todd describes giving early design input when it was just a warehouse. They discuss how intimate rooms change performance dynamics compared to theaters and why some comics struggle with projecting to larger crowds.
- •Todd advised Helium Philly’s build-out via detailed notes; owner implemented much of it
- •Joe contrasts theaters vs clubs: projection, feedback, and ‘feeling’ the crowd
- •Belly Room/Icehouse annex style rooms as ideal for certain comedic styles
- •Why intimacy pairs well with Todd’s loose, hangout-oriented stage presence
- 3:50 – 6:19
Engineering the vibe: bands, lighting gels, and getting every chair to face the stage
Todd shares tactics for making ‘secondary’ rooms feel like an event, including live jazz, blue-gelled lighting, and tablecloths. He also explains a pre-show method for getting audiences to turn chairs forward in awkward club layouts.
- •Todd adds production touches (music, lighting, tablecloths) to make a room feel intentional
- •‘Something’s going on’ effect when audiences enter a small room
- •Pre-show announcement strategy to get chairs turned toward the stage
- •Critique of club layouts where people sit sideways like a restaurant
- 6:19 – 8:50
Phone addiction at shows: Yondr bags, etiquette, and why it changes the experience
Joe and Todd discuss phone distraction during live comedy and the shift since smartphones became ubiquitous. Joe advocates for Yondr pouches; Todd describes how seeing someone texting in the audience changed his own pre-show announcement approach.
- •Joe uses Yondr bags to stop recording/calling during shows
- •Smartphone behavior is ‘new’ (roughly the last decade) and reshaped attention
- •Todd’s Brian Regan audience experience: even dim texting can feel disrespectful
- •Todd’s announcement: pulling out your phone makes you ‘look like a dick’
- 8:50 – 12:58
Technology creep and self-control: from phone habits to implants and discipline tradeoffs
The conversation broadens into dependence on artificial stimuli and fears about deeper human-tech integration. Todd connects the theme to self-control in daily life, while Joe notes how extreme rigidity can also harm comedy (turning people ‘dicky’).
- •Joe worries about escalating tech integration (eventually implants) and ‘movie-like’ normalization
- •Todd rates his progress at unplugging (C-minus) and tries small experiments (leaving phone in car)
- •Practical compromises: airplane mode, using the phone only for notes
- •Discipline’s downside in comedy: too rigid/ambitious can kill likability
- 12:58 – 16:47
Weed, joints vs vapes, and ‘moon spray’: health, highs, and ritual
Todd asks about smoking marijuana nightly and whether it compares to cigarettes. Joe distinguishes the risks, suggests vaporizers for irritation, and riffs on the different ‘alien vs natural’ feeling of vaping; they also sample a potent THC spray.
- •Todd’s nightly use (about one joint) vs past cigarette habit; health concerns
- •Joe: no evidence marijuana smoke causes cancer, but irritation/voice issues are possible
- •Vaporizers reduce smoke-related problems but feel like a different high
- •They try a high-dose edible spray (careful, small amount)
- 16:47 – 19:25
Food, impulse, and creativity: why discipline is harder for certain personalities
Todd describes feeling exhausted by struggling with eating and portion control, framing it as a self-control issue rather than diet knowledge. Joe reframes Todd’s impulsiveness as tied to his comedic gift and discusses how ‘too disciplined’ can become off-putting.
- •Todd: ‘I know portions, I just want more’—self-control as the core challenge
- •Joe links impulsivity and freedom to comedic creativity
- •The ‘fuck it’ impulse as both strength and liability
- •Comic persona vs personal habits: channeling impulses without letting them run everything
- 19:25 – 22:18
Can sober people be great comics? Yoga as a ‘psychedelic’ reset and mind-cleansing
Todd wonders whether comics who never drink or smoke can still be great; Joe argues talent is independent of substance use. Joe then describes hot yoga as a drug-like mental reset and frames physical exertion as essential to mental health.
- •Joe: great comics come from all backgrounds; sobriety doesn’t limit comedic ability
- •Some people avoid substances because losing control feels bad, not fun
- •Joe’s hot-yoga argument: physical challenge ‘cleans’ the mind
- •Exercise as a built-in human requirement; modern life ignores it
- 22:18 – 25:43
Todd’s ‘hot washcloth’ ritual: a simple group practice to force stillness
Todd shares a ritual involving scorching hot washcloths and silence—turning off music, checking the room’s ‘pulse,’ and letting the heat trigger deep breathing. Joe connects it to awe in nature and the psychological power of ‘reset’ moments.
- •Hot washcloth on the face as a fast pathway to calm and presence
- •Rules: radio off, silence, let everyone finish before talking resumes
- •Physical sensation naturally prompts deep breathing and mental shutdown
- •Reset rituals parallel the awe response to nature and vistas
- 25:43 – 37:44
Learning the craft: starting over, Taekwondo teaching, and the open-mic attrition rate
They pivot to what it would mean to restart a career from scratch and how experience changes that hypothetical. Joe recounts starting standup in 1988 and teaching martial arts at 19, then they discuss how few open-micers become working professionals.
- •Joe started standup in ’88 at 21; earlier taught Taekwondo and even at Boston University
- •Teaching philosophy: effort-based grading, enthusiasm, and focus
- •Todd’s early fears about ever ‘getting a weekend’ and the long grind
- •Estimate: maybe ~1 in 100 open-micers become professional working comics
- 37:44 – 46:24
Roast battles, bombing, and recording sets: where the ‘juice’ in standup comes from
Joe and Todd compare roast battles to sports and explore why some comics shine in combat but feel flat in their own act. They discuss the necessity of bombing for growth, ‘new stuff’ rules, and the importance (and Todd’s avoidance) of recording performances.
- •Roast Battle as a competitive writing exercise; mean jokes as ‘verbal shanks’
- •Some comics have a spark in battle but lack it in solo standup
- •Bombing is essential to develop new premises; temptation to retreat to ‘proven stuff’
- •Recording audio/video and using voice notes/speech-to-text to catch ideas
- 46:24 – 55:48
Mitch Hedberg and Rodney Dangerfield: silliness, timing, and legendary freedom
They riff on Mitch Hedberg’s phrasing and Todd’s impressions, then dig into what made Mitch’s non-sequiturs cohesive. The discussion expands to Rodney Dangerfield’s late-blooming refinement, impeccable timing, and wild bathrobe-era stories.
- •Todd’s Rodney-doing-Mitch bit; playing with Hedberg’s ‘used to’ structure
- •Mitch’s non-sequiturs still conveyed a consistent persona and ‘silly’ energy
- •Rodney’s evolution: cutting fat, finding the distilled voice later in life
- •Backstage/arena stories: bathrobe act, band interplay, and comedic timing mastery
- 55:48 – 1:08:17
Relationships and communication: checking in, avoiding gender generalizations, and college exposure
Todd explains how he preemptively addressed imbalance in a relationship by naming it calmly. Joe agrees and condemns broad ‘men/women are crazy’ generalizations, then they discuss how being around diverse people (often via college) reduces prejudice and expands perspective.
- •Todd’s strategy: directly but kindly saying ‘I like you more than you like me’
- •Joe on masculinity norms: emotions were treated as weakness; ‘stoic’ posturing
- •Rejection of sexist generalizations; same issues exist in same-sex relationships too
- •College as forced exposure to diversity (social learning more than academics)
- 1:08:17 – 1:21:20
Political discourse traps: outrage, ‘March for Our Lives,’ and the costs of dunking on people
Joe criticizes attacks on Parkland-era student activists and argues their visibility forces necessary public conversation. They discuss why relentless online mockery escalates conflict, bring up deradicalization themes (Sam Harris guest Picciolini), and debate civility vs cathartic anger.
- •Joe: mocking teens who survived shootings is defensive and counterproductive
- •Special interests and political gridlock as a reason young people mobilize
- •Outrage cycles and ‘nuclear weapon’ rhetoric—when mockery backfires
- •Todd: learning to say things softer to bring people along, while still honoring righteous anger
- 1:21:20 – 1:35:28
Trump, environment, North Korea, and Henry Rollins: from policy fears to extreme travel as perspective
Todd asks for positives about Trump; Joe struggles to name policy wins and focuses on environmental fears (drilling, public lands). The conversation veers into North Korea’s authoritarian control, Michael Malice’s book, and Henry Rollins’ intense travel habits as a worldview reset.
- •Joe’s major concerns: offshore drilling, shrinking public lands, resource exploitation
- •Kim Jong Un diplomacy as ‘absurd but maybe useful’; Dennis Rodman as a comedic ‘emissary’ idea
- •North Korea: surveillance, forced mourning, punishments; Malice’s ‘Dear Reader’
- •Henry Rollins’ travel/ writing ethos; discomfort as a perspective-altering practice
- 1:35:28 – 2:33:30
Comedy ecosystems: club owners, scenes, and comedian–club tension (plus road rage as ‘ramped-up’ stress)
They return to comedy infrastructure—historic clubs, scene-building owners, and the fragile dependence between artists and venues. The final stretch moves into everyday aggression: why driving triggers conflict, how to avoid it, and Joe’s story of a road-rage guy taking off his shirt to show tattoos.
- •Scenes depend on key operators (Comedy Works/Denver, Mitzi at The Store) who shape culture
- •Club/comic conflicts: money, booking, mistrust, and the need for mutual respect
- •Why Todd wouldn’t want to own a club: not wanting to learn ugly personal details about comics
- •Road rage psychology: heightened vigilance in cars, avoiding pointless conflicts, and Joe’s tattoo-shirt incident
