Tom Segura — A renowned stand-up comedian, writer, and director known for Netflix specials and the 2 Bears 1 Cave podcast. He also created the Netflix series Bad Thoughts. He and Huberman are distant cousins through shared Basque ancestry.
The gist
Huberman and Segura explore the creative process behind comedy and the neuroscience of why things are funny. They discuss how Segura captures and develops bits (often improvising on stage rather than writing them out), the element of surprise as the root of humor, and how a joke's magic can fade with repetition. The conversation digs into emotional contagion, reading and 'riding the wave' of a crowd, vulnerability on stage, and why darkness must be channeled into art. They close on substance abuse in comedy, cynicism, and how childhood insecurity ('please like me') fuels the obsession to make people laugh.
Big reveals
- Huberman names the OMORPHO weight vest as a product he loves while pointedly noting it is NOT a sponsor.
- Segura reveals he doesn't write bits out in full form; he takes the 'kernel' of an idea on stage and builds it in real time.
- Segura explains that when he stops enjoying a bit, he naturally drops it, which frees his brain to create new material.
- The most elite comics are willing to bomb at low-stakes 'workout' shows because you have to eat shit to come up with something great.
- Segura's six-year-old son curses constantly and they nickname him 'Little Joe Pesci.'
- Segura claims the darkest comedians on stage are often the best people, while the 'super clean' comics are the most terrifying.
- Segura admits comedians fall under the banner of 'please like me,' rooted in childhood insecurity that never fully goes away.
- Segura nearly tears up discussing how the inner friction of being a perpetual 'new kid' fuels his comedy.
Things worth remembering
- A morning workout triggers an adrenaline release that wakes up the brain and body for about six hours via the vagus nerve and dopamine/norepinephrine.
- People in REM sleep are paralyzed but can answer simple math problems by blinking, showing the brain tracks the environment during sleep.
- Students perform worse on tests when their phone is in the room versus another room, even if it's in a bag.
- The most basic necessity for comedy is the element of surprise, the narrative going somewhere unexpected.
- Patient 'HM' with a hippocampal lesion laughs less at a repeated joke each time despite having no conscious memory of hearing it before.
- Comics prefer to follow a comedian who killed, not one who bombed, because the crowd is primed to laugh, you 'ride their wave.'
- Segura's largest crowd was over 17,000 people at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
- Hearing an original 'great' comic (even Richard Pryor) can fall flat once you've heard everyone who copied them.
- The longtime goal for every comedian is to be who you are offstage, onstage.
- Segura says complaining is part of being a stand-up; if you never complain about anything, you're probably not funny.
Recommended in this episode
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OMORPHO Weight Vest
OMORPHO
“They're not a sponsor, which is fun to always mention things that aren't a sponsor too, because I love this weight vest.” — Andrew Huberman 00:08:18Find it on Amazon
Bad Thoughts
Tom Segura
“I had the great benefit of getting a sneak peek at Bad Thoughts... it's amazing. People should definitely check it out.” — Tom Segura 00:53:46Find it on Amazon