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 St. Louis Funny Bone, where he met Mike Lukas — and, in true full-circle fashion, Mike’s show ended up becoming Sean’s very first paid gig.

In this episode, Sean breaks down his writing process, including his daily habit of “moving the pen” for 30 minutes and then teasing out the small interactions and weird moments that become great material. It’s a masterclass in finding the funny in the ordinary — and trusting the muscle. You can find his recent 15-minute show case on Youtube under Nateland Presents.

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 hecklers is with a sermon, a syllabus, and a punchline.

Chris asks Michael and Mike about their jointly-authored article “10 Ways to Upgrade Your Crowd Work” — covering how to turn audience chaos into comedy, why professors secretly make great MCs, and when it’s okay to recycle a drunk guy named Tony from last weekend’s show. They also give adaptable advice like "repeat whatever they say" and "embrace the silence."

See more of Michael’s work at MichaelHalcomb.Live and on Substack.

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 about punchlines; it’s about endurance, caffeine, and creative chaos. Pete shares war stories from the road, how writing a two-hour daily radio show feels like prepping a stand-up set that never ends, and why curveballs and misdirection are his favorite tools for building jokes. He even drops a heckler-handling trick that uses just two words — and no, it’s not the two you’re thinking of. Tune in to find them out.

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 quick rewrites, subtle pauses, and instinctive callbacks that make a joke feel alive in the room. Mike and Chris explore how great comics read an audience in real time and adjust every beat to create something unrepeatable — a shared moment that feels spontaneous but is secretly engineered like a Rube Goldberg machine that dispenses laughter instead of marbles.

“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 metaphorical coach’s playbook and diagram how pros turn that setup into laugh-out-loud gold. Along the way, they break down three humor heightening devices — Uncommon Worlds, Unlikely Scenarios, and Incongruity — showing how comics bend reality, collide worlds, and twist expectations to squeeze every laugh from a premise.

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 Funny Muscle Pod to teach us about timing. Turns out, drummers and comedians share the same secret weapon: the pause. The space between the beats, or between the setups and punchlines, is where the tension builds and where the audience leans in before the payoff.

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 wind up face-down in a completely different punchline. We analyze the tape of the Naked Gun’s deadpan reveals, Dave Barry’s elegant sentence swerves, and stand-up jokes from comedians Tom Cotter, Jon Stewart and Jim Jeffries. We show how great comics bait the hook before yanking the rug. Plus, we share tips for crafting setups that make the “switch” land every time.

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 turn a modest crowd into a memorable performance, like boost your pace and go local. We also learn how to say what they’re thinking—lightly. If your audience is thinking, “Is this crowd supposed to be this small?”, Mike teaches how to nudge that thought without making anyone feel self-conscious.