The True Self Emerges in Community with Mike Brunlieb

This Is Your Afterlife

Mike Brunlieb (Joe Pera Talks With You, South Side) is one of the greatest improvisers of his and my generation of Chicago comedians. We dig into the reasons behind his love for playing both bullies and cucks. But performance is just the tip of this conversational iceberg.

This is a particularly intimate conversation for 2 reasons: 1) Mike's a close friend, and this was the first time we'd seen each other since pre-COVID, and 2) his daughter Nina slept against his chest for the duration of the interview.

Content warning: crying, having a daughter, pressure to say something smart in college, Nietzsche, heaven, forcing funeral attendees to play improvisational theater games, trying to isolate to find yourself.

If you think This Is Your Afterlife is worth the price of a nice coffee or a cheap meal, please consider joining my Patreon for $5 or $15/month at patreon.com/davemaher. Subscribers get my full convos with guests, the companion podcast This Is Your Aftershow, and shoutouts in future episodes.

Leave a voicemail, and I'll play it on the show: (313) MIST-URA (647-8872).

Subscribe to my newsletter, Definitive Answers, for weekly personal and cultural essays, plus music recs ! And follow me @thisisdavemaher on Twitter and Instagram.

---

Transcript: This Is Your Afterlife on Podscribe

Music = Future: "Use Me" / James Blackshaw: "The Cloud of Unknowing" / Johnnie Frierson: "Miracles"