Welcome back to Church & State! This week, Brian Bogart and Yuna Pahk are joined by comedian Austen Silver, Brian’s longtime friend and comedy mentor, to talk about their years coming up together in stand-up. Austen looks back on first meeting Brian through his old Banter open mic, why he initially hated the concept, and how Brian eventually won him over. From there, the group gets into how comedians develop over time, testing new material, finding a comedic voice, and Austen’s self-described “playfully negative” approach to stand-up. Yuna also shares a recent interaction with another comedian that brought out her competitive side, leading into a conversation about ambition and using other comics as motivation. Brian and Austen revisit years of touring together, including Brian taking sales calls from the road, disappointing shows, difficult crowds, and the times one of them had to follow the other after a particularly strong or particularly bad set. Along the way, they discuss the differences between the Austin and Los Angeles comedy scenes, what bombing feels like after years of doing stand-up, and why Austen still prefers comedy with a clear point of view. Another week of stand-up, old stories, competition, and friends being slightly too comfortable criticizing each other.