The Owen Gifford Show

24 - Sean Connolly | The World Is Inherently Funny Owen sits down with Denver comedian and host of the Intallerable podcast, Sean Connolly, for a conversation about stand-up comedy, podcasting, creative freedom, and why chasing success can sometimes get in the way of enjoying what you do. Sean shares what he's learned from producing nearly 250 podcast episodes, why connecting with guests matte...

23 - Jake Tupitza | Kissing Babies and Shaking Hands Owen sits down with Denver comedian Jake Tupitza for a conversation about stand-up comedy, creative freedom, the struggles of making money as a comedian, and whether being funny actually makes someone interesting. Jake talks about getting his start in comedy after moving to Denver, his early days performing in a rock band, and how he became invo...

22 - Jackson Omilian | All Roads Lead to Beer League Owen sits down with comedian Jackson Omilian for a conversation about stand-up comedy, sports, growing up in small towns, and why bombing on stage might be the best way to keep your ego in check. The two break down the controversy surrounding Shane Gillis' SNL monologue and why Saturday Night Live might no longer be the path to becoming a gr...

21 - Owen Gifford | I’m So Tired of Impending Doom Owen sits down for a solo episode about chasing your dreams, moving goalposts, and why more people need to measure success as moving towards something rather than achieving it. Twenty-one episodes into the podcast and four years into stand-up, Owen reflects on performing at Comedy Works, why success never seems to feel like enough, and how quickly...

20 - Jacob Humphries | The World Is Absurd, Bring a Rotisserie Chicken to the Movies Owen sits down with comedian Jacob Humphries for a conversation about marijuana, movies, comedy, and trying to stay sane in a rapidly changing world. Jacob talks about accidentally becoming a part-time marijuana influencer, and growing up in South Carolina after being born in England. The two break down their obse...

19 - Max Madorsky | Living in Thailand as a Professional Muay Thai Fighter Owen sits down with comedian and professional Muay Thai fighter Max Madorsky for a conversation about fighting, comedy, Thailand, and what happens when you spend most of your life training to throw the perfect kick. Max talks about growing up at nearly 300 pounds, getting bullied as a kid, and discovering Muay Thai at 14 af...

18 - Zach Hopkins | The Waymos Train While You Sleep Owen sits down with comedian Zach Hopkins for a conversation quickly spirals into true crime, artificial intelligence, scams, and whether anyone can actually tell what’s real on the internet anymore. They talk about the allegations surrounding comedian Reggie Watts, the Lindsay Clancy case, and a fake 49ers player who allegedly scammed women by...

17 - Luke Cole | Live Life Like You’re Collecting Stories Owen sits down with comedian Luke Cole, known as The Dive Bar Shaman, just weeks after Luke made the big leap from Montana to Denver to pursue stand-up more seriously. Luke talks about leaving Missoula, driving hours across Montana just to get five minutes of stage time, and why moving to a bigger comedy scene felt like the necessary next s...

16 - Dave Neering | Behind the Scenes of Managing a Comedy Club Owen sits down with Denver comedian and comedy-club manager Dave Neering for a conversation about the work that happens behind the scenes of stand-up. Dave shares how he moved from Florida to Denver before ever performing comedy, started at Comedy Works running food and seating customers, and eventually became Wendy Curtis’s executive...

15 - Cam Leids | Moving to Peru for Sacred Plant Medicine Owen sits down with comedian, podcaster, and content creator Cam Leids for a conversation about leaving the tech world behind and moving to Peru for plant medicine. Cam shares what led him from Chicago’s tech scene to Denver and eventually Pisac, Peru, where he spent a year slowing down, exploring Peruvian culture, and going deeper into aya...

14 - Garrett Nygren | There’s No Avoiding Repetition Owen sits down with Denver comedian, producer, and teacher Garrett Nygren for a conversation about what it actually takes to get good at stand-up comedy. Garrett shares his journey from starting comedy in New Jersey to becoming one of the most active producers in Denver, running hundreds of comedy events and helping build rooms like the Monkey B...

13 - Jared Chandler | Don’t Work at an Alaskan Fish Factory Owen sits down with Denver comedian, filmmaker, and producer Jared Chandler for a conversation that bounces between stand-up, podcasting, filmmaking, and the complexities that come from chasing creative work. They compare notes on growing a podcast from scratch, why thumbnails and clipping matter more than most creators realize, and the r...

12 - How To Move Somewhere That You Don’t Know Anyone (I’ve Done It 3x Times) Owen goes solo for a conversation about leaving your hometown, starting over, and why moving somewhere new can completely change who you become. Drawing from his own moves from small-town Idaho to Maine, Montana, and eventually Denver, he breaks down the realities of chasing opportunity, navigating culture shock, and the...

11 - Paul Garcia, Denver Comedian and Producer Owen sits down with Denver comedian and producer Paul Garcia. The conversation turns into a masterclass on the invisible mechanics of a good set: why comedy is similar to hypnosis, the infamous rule of three, and advice on pausing right before the punchline to squeeze out a bigger laugh. They trade war stories on reading a room — sober crowds turning...

10 – Obsession Dominates Disclosure Day : Why the Next Great Directors Are Coming from YouTube and TikTok Owen is back for episode ten after a brief, tech-disaster-induced hiatus. Owen drops a raw update on traveling for his brother’s wedding, where a family member accidentally nuked his laptop screen, proving why past-Owen buying Apple Care was the greatest financial decision of his life. The con...

9 – Exploring Consciousness: My Trek Into the Mexican Jungle for the Ancient “God Molecule” Medicine Owen is back for episode nine. Owen drops a raw, unfiltered opening rant on what it actually takes to build a craft from ground zero. He pulls back the curtain on the "alone period" of chasing a dream, proving why you have to do the work for yourself long before anyone else starts to care...

8 - Tapping into Jester Energy to Navigate an Absurd World, and How Simplicity Reconnects You with Your Roots Owen is back for episode eight, checking in from Denver and getting real about the steep learning curve of the podcast game. This week, Owen pulls back the curtain on the creative process, from the humility of making worse YouTube thumbnails than 12 year olds to the realization that findin...

7 - Find Your Muse, Why Every Creator Needs to Walk in the Woods, and The History of Cinco de Drinko Owen is back for the seventh week in a row, diving into the mental game of stand-up comedy and the bizarre direction of modern tech. The episode opens with a look behind the curtain of the Denver comedy scene, the magic of the Comedy Works basement, and how a long walk in the woods can get the crea...

6 - Zach Hopkins, Denver/Montana Comedian Owen is joined by Denver comic Zach Hopkins for a Summer Shandy-fueled journey from the cosmos to the weirdest corners of history. The episode kicks off with a riff on Carl Sagan and the inevitability of Elon Musk’s brain chips , debating whether we’ll all eventually be forced to become "wrinkle-brains." The guys pivot into a global tour, questio...

5 - How the Chili’s Triple Dipper Is Going to Save American Politics Welcome back to The Owen Gifford Show . In episode five, Owen goes solo for a wild, free-flowing ride that starts with NHL playoff chaos and somehow ends in the UFO conspiracies of the 11 missing scientists. The episode opens with a breakdown of a viral NHL moment—two captains dropping the gloves just seconds into a playoff game—...

4 - Ryan Ergo, Denver Comedian and Producer Welcome back to The Owen Gifford Show . In episode four, Owen brings on his first guest—Denver-based comedian and producer Ryan Ergo—for a wide-ranging conversation on comedy, creativity, and figuring things out in real time. The conversation dives into the realities of stand-up comedy—from bombing at open mics to chasing stage time and learning that suc...

3 - Space Travel, The Inevitability of the Moon Boys Podcast Welcome back to The Owen Gifford Show. In episode three, Owen breaks down a simple but powerful idea: you don’t need to be great to start—you just need to keep showing up. With the statical fact that only 1% of podcasts make it to 20 episodes, this journey is about consistency and pushing through the early stages when nobody is watching....

2 - Moab, Our Dopamine is Cooked, and Bill Nye the Science Guy is the GOAT "Doing is better than thinking." Host Owen Gifford is back for episode two, reporting from Denver, Colorado. In this episode, Owen reflects on the steep learning curve of starting a podcast—from discovering he’s an "extremely loud breather" (he edits it out of the pod don’t worry) to the realization that...

1 - The Importance of Taking Risk. You'll Probably Fail, but It'll Be Awesome, and That's Actually Success. Welcome to the very first episode of The Owen Gifford Show . At 26 years old, Owen is done pretending he has it all figured out, but he’s learned enough to know one thing: the universe rewards bravery, even when that bravery ends in failure from the original goal.  In this debut episode, Owe...