What happens when honesty becomes risky, and how do we care for ourselves and others when we tell the truth?

In this episode of The Bardo Podcast, comedian Marc Salmon is joined by writer, performer, and comedian Abby Wambaugh for a wide-ranging conversation about vulnerability, creativity, and honesty in performance.

They discuss comedy, sincerity, trauma, and responsibility, with Abby reflecting on making work that risks truth without causing harm. The conversation explores humour and social change, contemporary clowning, audience care, and Abby’s acclaimed show The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows, produced by Hannah Gadsby.

A thoughtful and often funny episode about comedy, ethics, imagination, and what it means to make honest work while staying connected to ourselves and others.

In this episode we explore:

• Bodies, illness, embarrassment, and telling the truth
• Vulnerability on stage and the risks of sincerity
• When openness becomes unsafe, and how to care for audiences
• Creativity as compulsion rather than performance
• Metaphor, repetition, and “rats in the wall”
• Comedy, compassion, and responsibility
• Imagination, hope, and the idea that another world is possible
• Writing, practice, and learning to stay with what we resist

Guest

Abby Wambaugh is a multi award-winning American comedian, writer, and improviser based in Copenhagen who regularly performs in the UK. Their debut show The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows won Best Newcomer at the Jones ISH Comedy Awards, Best Show at the European Comedy Awards, and Best Comedy at the Theatre Weekly Fringe Awards.

🔗 Follow what Abby’s up to:
https://www.abbywambaugh.com/

Support the show

If you’re enjoying The Bardo Podcast, subscribing, rating, or sharing genuinely helps.

You can also support the show financially on Patreon:
👉 https://www.patreon.com/TheBardoPodcast

About the podcast

The Bardo Podcast explores alternative ways of thinking, inner and outer change, and what happens in the space between.

Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon, the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers, and other curious minds, not about certainty or expertise, but about questioning assumptions and sitting with ambiguity together.

New episodes explore comedy, philosophy, Buddhism, creativity, and alternative ways of living.

Find updates and more information at:
https://www.marcsalmoncomedy.com/

Music by Marc Salmon and Robert Fuller
Artwork by Zoe Brownstone - Check out her special on YouTube