How To Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black

Superstar chef Tom Colicchio went from flipping grilled cheese in his barefeet at a concession stand to overseeing a restaurant empire. When he’s not busy in his own kitchens he can be found judging the hit Bravos show, Top Chef, working to fund food banks and testifying before Congress on behalf of the 50 million Americans struggling with hunger.

King of the nerds, Chris Harwick, sits down with Michael to explain how he figured out his life. The talk show host and CEO of Nerdist Industries got his start on the MTV game show Singled Out. After several years of abusing alcohol and not being able to pay his rent, Chris quit booze, stopped acting and decided to make a world out of the things he’s passionate about which organically led to a build-it-and-they-will-come multi million-dollar business.

After barely paying her rent for years trying to make it as an actress, Megan Mullally hit the big time playing the wealthy, alcoholic socialite Karen Walker on the Emmy Award winning TV sitcom Will & Grace. Only a handful of actors get to experience what she has and her funny, warm thoughtful take on fame is inspirational.

In this episode, Michael talks with Nate Silver, the founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight.com, who is a statistical celebrity. His take on data is not only accessible and fascinating to those of us who flunked algebra, but it's correct and has garnered him a huge following and a shout out from President Obama.

In this episode, Michael hears about the fascinating life of Frank Rich whose career includes stints as the Chief Theater Critic for The New York Times, then moving departments to become their Op-Ed columnist and now being the Executive Producer of one of the best shows on TV, Veep with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Award-winning filmmaker, writer and multimedia artist, Miranda July seems to have dreams of conquering the world. Unlike most of us, she has wicked follow-through that demands the world's attention in the best way. Her unusual childhood has left her with a unique, and very funny, outlook on the world.

In this episode, Michael takes listeners into the world of the theoretical physicist and string theorist, Brian Greene, who has the unusual gift for not only understanding some of the world's most difficult mathematical equations, but being able to explain them and make them fascinating to the rest of the population.

Operatic tenor, Carl Tanner, spent years hiding his voice, first as a truck driver and then bounty hunter until he finally decided to put the guns down and pursue his incredible talent. Today he sings on the biggest opera stages in the world. His fascinating story is not to be missed.

Michael sits down with his friend and fellow comedian, Amy Schumer

Michael takes us into the world of the fascinating, profane, indie movie director, Kevin Smith, who helped change the world of movie-making with his first film, Clerks. For anyone who has had a dream and failed, and failed again...and again, this guy will make you want to get up and keep trying.