“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.