Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Beginnings


We all know the stories of how creative people get into the business of creating for a living, but how did they start using their imaginations in the first place? On the Beginnings podcast, writer and performer Andy Beckerman asks well-known and up-and-coming comedians, musicians, writers and artists about their earliest creative acts and about other formative childhood experiences.

Nov 10, 2023

On today's episode, I talk to Emmy-winning comedy writer Mike Sweeney. Since childhood, Mike wanted to be in showbiz, but family issues prevented him from pursuing stand-up until his late 20s. Stand-up led to writing on shows like Short Attention Span Theater and Politically Incorrect, and in 1995, he joined the writing staff of the then two-year-old Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In 2002, Mike became the head writer for Conan and stayed with the show through its transition to the Tonight Show in 2009 and then after that, to the TBS version, which ended in 2020. Since then, Mike has stayed busy doing many things, among them working as the head writer for That's My Time with David Letterman and as a producer on Conan Without Borders.

This is the website for Beginningssubscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!