David Sedaris | A Creative’s Dream and a Fact Checker’s Nightmare | Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- This week Mike has all-timer David Sedaris back on the podcast. Sedaris, of course, wrote Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Holidays on Ice, among other classics. The two discuss where the truth lies in autobiographical non-fiction, fact-checking comedy at The New Yorker, and how to navigate storytelling when it's all too personal. Plus, David plays F**k, Marry, Kill, with his own published works and Mike Birbiglia can’t accept the answer.
Please consider giving money to a stranger in need.
Find Mike:
Website: birbigs.com/
Instagram: / birbigs
Facebook: / birbigfans
TikTok: / mikebirbiglia
Find David Sedaris:
Website: www.davidsedar...
Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone and Joseph Birbiglia
Associate Producer: Mabel Lewis
Consulting Producer: Seth Barrish
Assistant Producer: Gary Simons
Video Consultant: Graham Willoughby
Special Thanks: Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, Oona
Music: Jack Antonoff and Bleachers
David and his sister Amy have got to be the best sibling comedy duo of all time.
They are both true originals and two of the funniest people ever.
I used to enjoy seeing Amy when she was on with David Letterman. Haven't heard of her in many years.
@@CherylAnderson-qs4iqLook around! Strangers With Candy is dated now, but she’s been quite active….
That is 100% true
Last thing I heard about Amy was something to do with home making
@@elizabethmaddock4 At Home With Amy Sedaris. It's transcendent.
Way Too Short of an Interview. Beyond a treat! Thank you both for ending 2024 on a high note!
I happened to be listening to the radio when David did the elf story for the first time and literally pissed my pants. I've since read almost every one of his books and loved all of them. I wish I'd known his mother. I lost my own mother when I was 8 so I hardly knew her. I'd like to imagine my mother would've been like Mrs. Sedaris. And I remember the nudist colony story. I thought it was funny. I'm glad David and Hugh are solid and David is a genuine success because I was worried after reading about the drugs and the housecleaning part of his life. Thank you David Sedaris for giving me something to look forward to reading every single time.
I was at work in a small custom fabrication shop when I first heard it on NPR many years ago. The three of us were dying with laughter. I later bought a book of his that was equally brilliant and funny.His work is a lot of fun.
I heard it in the prime run also, and was on the verge, but when he sang in a Billie Holiday voice, I too peed my pants.
Same. Read the book in a hotel lobby and laughed like a moron so that everyone was looking at me. Showed the book to the people around me and several said that they would read it just because of how I reacted to it.
Same!!
I don't know Mr. Sedaris personally, but I'm quite confident he would hate that you said "literally pissed my pants" when you meant it figuratively.
I love that when asked what non-profits Sedaris supports, he just jumps into a rant slamming charities. One of our greatest.
I’m a journalist, but the idea that somebody is fact-checking comedy essays pisses me off. I think we’re all smart enough to understand that not everything is 100% accurate.
Me too! Seems like they are fact-checking the wrong group of people. Dont fact-check artists fact-check politicians and others who are supposed to be telling the truth!
And at the same time not fact-checking the orange 💩 🤮
Exactly. Who among us funny people hasn’t embellished every”true story” we’ve ever told?! Ridiculous.
I think this is a direct result of having an ex and soon to be again president who lies all the time. Remember when Kelly Anne Conway said to a journalist that Trump wasn’t lying, he was just communicating “alternative facts..”
Your right especially David's work. They keep fact checking the bible but that goes nowhere for 2000 years. Its just a fun story.
This conversation is a gift. Thank you, Mike!
The world is a happier place because of David Sedaris and his sister, Amy.
I love that David is on your excellent show! He's a sure fire cure for the blues.
Brilliant human. One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE authors… Happy New Year!
I have had the fun, the joy and honor of attending many of David Sedaris readings. And to talk to him as he signs my books. I come from a large family 7 siblings. So the first time with David , 3 of us with our spouses, attended his reading. It was great and we stood in line to get our books signed. We were at the end of the line. I was on muscle relaxers. Injury. We had a great time talking. Thank you, David.
David's narration is a huge part of why I find his books and stories so funny. His intonation, pauses and sometimes self-deprecating tone make the stories feel so real. He seems like a friend sharing his experiences, confiding all the intimate details that only a close friend would disclose.
Mike summed up my feelings about David's work; whenever I need a shift in perspective and some humor in the midst of difficulty, I turn to Sedaris. It has never let me down and I always come away better for having given my time to listening to his voice reading his own essays. He is a treasure in this world...
So thankful for this today! Xmas was awful, work after Xmas was awful, but today on my first day off to myself, watching this, magnificent! Have loved Sedaris for years, he and his sister Amy always make me laugh my ass off
I hope things feel better very soon❤
Great conversation, Thanks. I love the way David takes a sip from the coffee mug, mid sentence and very gently sets it on the table.
David's take on charities hounding people is hilarious and 100% accurate 😂
Especially when it was a smallish donation and you get enough mail that the donation must have just covered postage
It’s such a bad take.
The idea that people with money shouldn’t be contacted by non-profits they have previously donated to because that’s annoying, is incredibly privileged. It’s the same as people complaining about an unhoused population in their city because they don’t like having to see them.
Problems exist, and it shouldn’t be okay to just go through the world, especially as a wealthy person, and interact with them only when you want to.
@@cepetterson Um, save it for Elon? 🤣
@ i don't have big money. See my comment above. Makes me think these places aren't using the contributions wisely
@@judydoyle1124 I hear that, and my comment wasn't directed to you specifically. (Although, I will say that putting a name into an email list isn't a significant expense, so that criticism doesn't have much weight).
My comment was criticizing Sedaris's take on charities. He does have money, so complaining about non-profit's asking for his money is annoying.
The way I clicked as fast as possible…
My favorite writer and one of my favorite comedians :)
Yup!! almost peed my pants lol
David's a wonderful humour writer, but he’s not a comedian! I listen to his books and I’ve read them all. His voice carries a lot of laughter ❤️🇨🇦🎄❤️
@ oh I know it. I was referring to Mike as one of my favorite comedians. I should have added a comma. ;)
I am so old that I'm blessed with listening to David at the start of his career on radio when he talked about being a cleaner (and a nosy one). He was always hilarious, but hearing him as an unknown and seeing him get discovered was special. I mean Santa Land Diaries, come on!!
I saw him live and remember thinking my husband was on the brink of a heart attack and he was. But he loved David so to give him some joy was nice.
Wait ... so David Sedaris killed your husband?!?
@@MisterRlGHTthat was also my take away from this comment
Dream Interview!!!! Discovered (as if he were hiding from me) early 20's, in the early 2000's. Mr. Sedaris's books were anchors of myself while I was beginning my career in the service. It was a world of compromise and putting away my creativity and curiosity for an indefinite time. Picking up his books were like reading a part of myself and gave me a place of my own to quietly be with myself. Also, the first books I laughed out loud - I'm a person who says "that's funny" vs. laughter.
I will always have gratitude for what Mr. Sedaris has vulnerably shared - with me and I suppose others.
P.S. thank you Mr. Birbiglia (in the voice of a child)
He slayed me with his opinions of the experience he had with the Pope. David is one of the best enigmatic goofballs of our time
I love you two. I experience such joy from each of you. Having you together is heavenly. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️❤️❤️
Sedaris is one of the all-time GOATS!! Thank you, Mike.
All-time GOATs is redundant
I agree 100% with David's philosophy of giving.
David’s essay on meeting the pope was the one that FINALLY got my spazzass boyfriend to realize why literally all of our friends love him and everyone reads all his books.
He's such a gem, what a treat ❤
Pure gold. So many outstanding moments. So many laughs. Yes, pure gold.
I read Naked after reading most of David's other books. It was so damn funny that I was laughing too hard to notice the word count. Since he doesn't do social media, I try to remember to search for interviews. This was great - thanks!
What a fun episode, Mike!! David Sedaris is so funny and I agree that NAKED is a great work of art. Thank you for this final episode of 2024.
I am 3 minutes in and completely captivated - and already glowing in inspired excitement to not just finish listening but to get back to my own writing! Thank you both of you!
David is an absolute treasure! I’ve been a fan since the 90’s and look forward to each new book. Thank you, and thank you Mike for this interview! (I appreciate you too! Thank you!)
David ( and his sister Amy ) are two of my all time favorite people when I want to experience some joy. I started reading David’s books in 2013,and reread them. I was late to discovering David .Watching Amy’s apartment tour on TH-cam is a delectable experience. Both are on my bucket list to be creatively involved in the very real long developing life story of my parents. Stay tuned . Thanks for doing this interview.
Loved this! Thank you Mike & David!!!😂❤😅
Please, please have him back to chat ~ you two were such wonderful energy together.
A wonderful conversation with one of America's greatest humorists. Thank you for this end-of-year gift! Very best wishes for the New Year!🌿🎉🥂❤️🕊️
David Sedaris!!!!❤
oh my goodness, mike! Soooo glad to see you have this channel! Why I was not 'fed' this by youtube's algorithms is beyond me. Thank you FATE for me stumbling upon it. I will now watch them all. So excited. You're the best!
Well . . . My friend read NAKED aloud while we were canoeing. We loved it.
I remember hearing David Sedaris' voice coming out of the tape player in my Mother's car. He captivated my young mind and I became a lifelong fan. Anyone else running for the ATM to send him $50?
Love David Sedaris, great conversation.
Sedaris, your philanthropic theory is brilliant!
What a fantastic interview with this fascinating, funny-as-hell writer and human. I so enjoy hearing him read his works in person, editing on the fly as he hears his own drafts and gauges the reaction in the auditorium. Who does this??!! He’s a master of the form, and an inspiration to fellow writers. I took a few notes from the teacher today…
Omg. 😅 I absolutely adore him. He’s a real treasure. ❤
Throw it away is amazing advice!
I am really pissed at the New Yorker's fact checker now. It was great listening to the real David Sedaris. I've been a fan of his since 1992 on NPR.
So enjoyable, gents! An aside; Cossack is an Eastern European people originating in Ukraine and Russia. Wiki their full history. It's big. Anyway, the religious garment is called a 'cassock'. Those of us who wear them religiously (every day at the beach. Their ability to block UV rays is miraculous) tend to hear the a/o reversal. ✌️🙂
Don't wear them but something sounded funny to me about shopping for a Cossack. Like I pictured one on horseback with a saber and tall fur hat.
Thank you both. Thank you David Sedaris for sharing your irritation at charities that accept your donation and then pause not at all before launching a multi-front campaign to get your every available dollar. Yes - out of touch. And thank you for writing about everything else, and talking about it, too.
Love this interview with two of my most favorite funny guys. I love that I feel like I am just sitting listening to two friends talk. Take it easy with the criticism, folks. Nobody is forcing you to watch this. Shut up and move on.
David Sedaris is literally the Mark Twain of our time. The first book of his I read was Me Talk PRetty One Day right when it came out. Love this guy.
I'm with Mike, I loved Naked.
Outstanding interview. Great chemistry and really fun and insightful answers. I really enjoyed this!!❤
Great interview.
Love David and Amy 🌻
What was in that yellow mug? David was really enjoying it! 🤣 PS - that wasn't my only takeaway, enjoyed the interview.
I read David’s short story about a party w.c. Incident, still the funniest page I ever read. That funny & deep, what a treasure,
When I was a young woman, I was in New York City with my ex-inlaws to get ice cream. It was a sultry summer night so the doors to the shop were open. I was in line chatting away and felt something under my shoe. I looked down and I had stepped on and squished a frog. I couldn't believe it. In New York City. I was appalled and never forgot about it fifty years later. 😂
Great interview - thanks. So true about the charities. I started including a note that says "This is a one time gift. Please do not add me to your contact list." I guess it's a little rude, but it seems to work.
Hadn't seen it was Mike Birbiglia interviewing , what a treat these two!❤
Fantastic interview. Thanks for sharing the visuals.
David Sedaris is a national treasure
Such a great episode!
❤ David’s charity
The funny thing about this interview that stood out for me was Mike's mis pronunciation of the word cassock with the word Cossack. one being a priest's vestments and the other being a member of the Tsar's Imperial Army. Having David getting fitted for a Cossack created imagery too funny to contemplate. Mike's dyslexic vowels has him in Daniel.
Me too! And he said it several times, just cementing the image into my brain.
Thank you, b/c i had no idea that a cassock existed, but i was curious how he went shopping for a Cossack.
To Mike B: ( pronunciation -- speaking of fact checking)
"COssAck" is the late 15th century semi-nomadic warrior people who lived in Ukraie, Southern Russia, Caucasius Mtns, & Siberia.
"cAssOck" is the black garment worn by clergy with 33 buttons that Sedaris wore, primartily in the Catholic & Anglican church.
Mike blowing David Sedaris mind about naked comedy and Bert taking shirtless photos. Lol
Enjoying this. Thank you both.
So happy for this!
Such a great interview! Wow I actually guessed Naked and then he said it (Kill). But I adore all his work ❤❤
Love you both. But it’s *cassock*, dear Mike, not *Cossack*. :)
Thank you what a great way to end 2024 and begin 2025.
My favorite people!!!!
Honestly an honest guy.
omg that "crucified at 8" punchline LMAO
Cassock a priest's garment is a cassock.
Cossack is an east Slavic nomadic person.
37:38 I don't understand this fact-checking. If you're being held to the standard of a journalist or reporter, then you should be allowed to protect anonymous sources in the same way. Besides, essays aren't inherently non-fiction, especially comedic essays!
Fact-checking thing is just weird. Like if a portrait doesn't look like a passport photo. Really tone-deaf.
For any creative endeavor: Enjoy the creation. Love the work. Then whatever happens with it, happens with it. My friend and I wrote and recorded music togther, with our little Tascam 4-track. We had a blast. We had no ambitions. No expectations. And we still talk about those times with great satisfaction. You're not a failure in your art, if the art exists, and you enjoyed creating it.
David, I love you for picking up trash for a hobby. That’s my hobby too! ❤
Me, too. It's doing wonders for my mental health 🌻🌻🌻 Fuming all day, because of all the trash (the one that leaves the trash in its wake), opposed to the feeling of making a difference: 🤗
Please don’t kill Naked! My best memory is of going for a walk with my Dad and he was paraphrasing the whole book! We laughed and laughed! That is a pivotal memory in my life!
One of my favorite writers! I was fortunate to see him live twice at the Stifel Thester in St. Louis. This is the best answer to the question at the end - and I work at an animal nonprofit in marketing and development. We are irritating as fuck. 😂
I know what he means about preferring to make something out of nothing, but I also remember laughing so hard while reading Naked.
Love Mr Sedaris
I think of pick-a-pock-a-toney once a week and I laugh to myself and feel happy.
I’ve learned gun laws for the blind by state. Texas and Michigan allow blind individuals to hunt with a rifle. Texas requires a sighted guide…Michigan does not. I googled it….true.
Toad demise and Uzbek barber bit.
I agree with Mike at being boggled that Sedaris would choose the book "Naked" to be "killed" in the game of FMK. It's a great book, it really is literature, that's extremely funny and also moving and heartbreaking. The story "Ashes" about David's mother is so incredibly amusing, affecting, and heartbreaking. Thankfully, FMK is just a game.
Fantastic 🎉
It is absolutely hilarious that David elected to kill Naked, the book that made Bert Kreischer fall in love with him
Damn, where have I been. I nominate Sedaris for dean of comedy.
46:04 Every single thing in the Vatican was put there by someone in a guild or a union. Miss!
I commented that had Rock said that before or after he had been slapped! Is he in the Screen Actor’s Guild?
Me Talk Pretty One Day😅
44:10 in the video : David Sedaris fits the very definition of what is known as "A good person"
Wow. I appreciate the desire for journalistic integrity at The New Yorker, but can we get that discipline in place for impactful, objective reporting at ALL media outlets, and not just insightful humorous pieces at high-end periodicals?
I listen to SantaLand Diaries every Christmas.
Best ever!!!
I absolutely love David. But I do prefer hearing his works read by him. I need to hear his voice and hear HOW it should be delivered.
David is like I don’t know Bert!
David is like Bert does have the body to go shirtless
One of my best claimed to fame is I told David Sedaris a joke and I made him laugh😂 this story can be fact checked 😅
Keep it up
Cassock. Not Cossack. You're not allowed to take Cossacks into the Vatican. It's all the pogroms and such.
"Cassock" not "Cossack"
Me watching this as an annual giving fundraiser 😬
I can’t picture how watching a TH-cam video = an annual giving fundraiser
@@jbre7233 The end of the podcast always features a section about giving to a cause, and this episode had a very unique and thought-provoking side chat on fundraising and charity, that I'm still thinking about.
What a fuckin utter delight🌟