Stand-up comedy craft

Rogan argues handwriting notes helps memory because physically forming the characters imprints them more deeply.

“I think there's something about it gets imprinted in your brain better because you're physically writing the characters down with your hand”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2559 - Sam Morril (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 10:27

Rogan says he focuses on process rather than results in everything he does.

“Everybody is results-oriented. I try to be process-oriented. With everything I do, I'm process-oriented”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2523 - Ali Siddiq (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 25:59

Rogan thinks wildness is returning to comedy because the decline of TV rewards what is actually effective live.

“I think it's coming back because TV's going away. So it's like it gets down to the root of what is really effective in comedy”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2493 - Protect Our Parks 16 (May 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:24:50

Rogan argues that restrictive language norms have made comedies difficult to produce.

“everybody had to be careful about what they joked around about. That's right. Fucking death of comedy”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2481 - Duncan Trussell (Apr 9, 2026) · Listen from 1:42:41

Sherman suspected Hernández writes much of his material on stage because he is energized by audiences.

“I have a feeling he writes a lot on stage because he's so like physical and like gets really energized by an audience”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Marcello Hernández (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 9:10

Sherman said most stand-up comedians hope others don't get stage time, unlike Hernández, who encourages peers.

“I feel like most stand-ups are such fucking bloodsuckers that they, like, hope nobody else is getting up”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Marcello Hernández (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:33

Sherman says she bombed often opening for Adam Sandler because audiences had come specifically to see him.

“They are there to see Adam Sandler. Not Long Island Presents, Sarah Sherman, someone they don't know who's sweating up there”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Sarah Sherman (Jun 16, 2026) · Listen from 56:56

Sherman attributes her apparent confidence to having bombed so often that nothing worse can happen on stage.

“I think I am so used to bombing, even though it sounds like I crushed my first time at bat”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Sarah Sherman (Jun 16, 2026) · Listen from 29:50

Bargatze says he always goes on stage with prepared material and cannot really do crowd work.

“I go up prepared. I mean, I can't do the other. I can't really do like crowd work”

SmartLess: "RE-RELEASE: Nate Bargatze" (May 21, 2026) · Listen from 16:33

Bargatze argues that staying close to the laugh reduces pressure, since a long setup demands a bigger payoff.

“I try to never be too far from the laugh because the farther you are from the laugh, the bigger the laugh has to be”

SmartLess: "RE-RELEASE: Nate Bargatze" (May 21, 2026) · Listen from 18:30

Bargatze describes writing a stand-up hour as a movie in which he is the main character, with each joke leading into the next.

“The way I've looked at writing, it's a movie. So I'm the main character of this movie”

SmartLess: "RE-RELEASE: Nate Bargatze" (May 21, 2026) · Listen from 17:17

Bargatze says that because he talks slowly and is Southern, he had to learn to pull audiences into his rhythm quickly, especially after high-energy acts.

“I had to learn to get people into my rhythm very quickly. So since I talk slower and I was from the South”

SmartLess: "RE-RELEASE: Nate Bargatze" (May 21, 2026) · Listen from 15:24

Soder predicted his Netflix special, taping in June, would be released in early 2027.

“I want to say probably January, February 2027”

Pardon My Take: Dan Soder, Knicks Whomp The Sixers, The Hungover Episode, Hot Seat/Cool Throne + FAQ’s (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 2:29:48

Soder called his upcoming Netflix special his best hour.

“But I love it. I love, I think it's my best hour easily”

Pardon My Take: Dan Soder, Knicks Whomp The Sixers, The Hungover Episode, Hot Seat/Cool Throne + FAQ’s (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 2:09:03

Soder argued that a New York comic moving to Los Angeles is effectively retiring or pivoting to the industry.

“if you're a New York comic and you move here, you're kind of retiring”

Pardon My Take: Dan Soder, Knicks Whomp The Sixers, The Hungover Episode, Hot Seat/Cool Throne + FAQ’s (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:44:40

Soder credited Los Angeles comics as strong performers even though New York comics disparage them.

“New York comics love to shit on L.A. comics, but the props I'm going to give to L.A. comics, they perform their ass off”

Pardon My Take: Dan Soder, Knicks Whomp The Sixers, The Hungover Episode, Hot Seat/Cool Throne + FAQ’s (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:43:27

Anwar says he gets the biggest rush from making a new or mediocre idea work rather than performing proven jokes.

“But if I can get something that's mediocre or a brand new thought to work, that's when I get all the like dopamine and stuff”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #656 - Fahim Anwar (Apr 30, 2026) · Listen from 1:40:14

Anwar says his childhood dancing makes physical act-outs second nature and that much of comedy is nonverbal.

“And then you realize how much of comedy is nonverbal even. It's really cool to have a great joke and people are laughing”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #656 - Fahim Anwar (Apr 30, 2026) · Listen from 48:54

Anwar argues digital platforms have democratized comedy so a comic anywhere has as much of a shot as one in LA or New York.

“Before you had to be in New York and LA, now you just got to be on phones. So it's kind of cool how it's democratized comedy”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #656 - Fahim Anwar (Apr 30, 2026) · Listen from 54:59

Anwar says top comics going on the road naturally clears stage time for the next tier to develop.

“that just naturally clears up stage time for this top tier at the comedy store. Cause like you're on the road”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #656 - Fahim Anwar (Apr 30, 2026) · Listen from 53:48

Morril credits Chris Rock's album Roll With the New with getting him into stand-up.

“Yeah, that's the first album that got me into stand-up was... Roll With The New, his album”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2559 - Sam Morril (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 1:57:16

Morril explains he improves jokes by doing many sets in quick succession.

“I just have to keep talking until I hate myself to make this joke better”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2559 - Sam Morril (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 8:26

Morril says he dreads the period after a special is released because he must rebuild material from scratch.

“I never enjoy when a special comes out. I'm miserable. It's scary. I can't enjoy it”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2559 - Sam Morril (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 5:39

Diaz says he plans to go all out in comedy until he turns 65 and then reevaluate.

“I have an 18-month window until I turn 65, and that goal is to give it all out, balls out”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #685 - Joey Diaz (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 1:43:27

Diaz says he has abandoned corporate comedy and no longer cares about being canceled, focusing only on being funny.

“I decided I'm going to do comedy, but it's not corporate comedy. It's 63, I don't give a fuck if I get canceled”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #685 - Joey Diaz (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 1:40:37

Diaz says that despite hardships including jail, he would repeat his entire comedy career.

“including my jail sentence, the first 10 years of comedy and everything else that's happened the last 40 years, I would do it all over again”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #685 - Joey Diaz (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:37

Siddiq explains that his production company requires unanimous approval from all five team members before producing a special, including his own.

“If we're doing a special with you, you have to get the approval of all five of us”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2523 - Ali Siddiq (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:28:29

Siddiq recounts that Comedy Central gave him specials in 2017 and 2018 despite a tiny social media following, based on his performance.

“They picked me because I came and I did what I did”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2523 - Ali Siddiq (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 15:32

Siddiq says he avoids political and current-affairs material because he wants to unite audiences.

“This is why in comedy I choose not to go the current affair or the political route”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2523 - Ali Siddiq (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 11:17

Rock says the ability to laugh at oneself is probably the highest form of intelligence.

“And the ability to laugh at oneself is probably the highest form of intelligence”

The Daily: Chris Rock Has Been Thinking About Forgiveness (Oct 3, 2026) · Listen from 58:57

Rock argues that jokes work better when they contain truth and that audiences can detect fakery.

“I mean jokes tend to work better when there's some truth in them”

The Daily: Chris Rock Has Been Thinking About Forgiveness (Oct 3, 2026) · Listen from 45:27

Slay says a comedy contact advised him that moving to Nashville would let him learn the road and become full-time faster than New York.

“Nashville is very centrally located to the country. So you could start working all these other clubs, learning to work the road”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #344 Dusty Slay - Moon Landing Conspiracies, Flat Earth, Aliens and the Nephilim (Oct 1, 2026) · Listen from 40:45

Slay says he keeps his comedy inoffensive because he wants audiences to leave feeling good about themselves.

“I want people to feel good that come to my show. I want them to feel good about themselves, which is kind of why my comedy's never been offensive”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #344 Dusty Slay - Moon Landing Conspiracies, Flat Earth, Aliens and the Nephilim (Oct 1, 2026) · Listen from 4:43

White says he learned performing by watching his Baptist preacher uncle.

“And you know what? That's where I learned this art form was watching my uncle preach”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2555 - Ron White (Sep 16, 2026) · Listen from 2:25:14

White says he always regarded crowd work as a way to kill time when he lacked enough material.

“i always looked at it as a time killer back when i had 41 minutes but i was supposed to do 45 minutes”

The Joe Rogan Experience: #2555 - Ron White (Sep 16, 2026) · Listen from 0:31

Poehler said she values performers seeming relaxed and having a good time more than having the best jokes.

“Like I always say like I always want people to seem relaxed I don't really care if they have the best jokes or if they're the funniest”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Marcello Hernández (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 47:02