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.
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 53 minutes
- Episodes
- 50
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
Comic 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 Blue Man Group and Primus, who joins the F…
Hook, 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 you’re sure you know the joke’s ending, then …
Hacking 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, Mike shares battle-tested tips for how to …
The "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 behind that little dopamine hit and show yo…
Feel 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 to a topic. Because “air travel” isn’t…
Hour 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?” There’s a wide range of answers. One practice…
Work 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 joke-writing advice, and reveal his secre…
The 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 although the business of stand-up is as gl…
Marketing 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 viral content?
The biggest comics know t…
Comedy 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, cunning comedy, Kenny (@KennyLee270) take…
Not 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 shares valuable advice on not giving up …
Punch 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 compares to the 90s. As the creator and c…
Find 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. Payton Payne, a Dallas comic, joins the Fu…
Get 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 doing stand-up since 2001 and lives in Da…
Being 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 Show. He has played roles in such classic s…
Blue 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 also Nickelodeon Famous. Jeffrey Nichol…
Million 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 about crafting comedy bits in a group se…
Comedy 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 same person: Magen King. She was a finali…
Comedy 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 business for almost four decades. His firs…
Creating 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” has millions of downloads.
Darren teac…