Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Derrick Stroup is a clean comic. That doesn’t mean he’s a clean person.
In this episode of the Funny You Should Mention podcast, Stroup — who has opened for Nate Bargatze and released his special Nostalgic — explains why working clean wasn’t about identity. It was about access. Certain rooms, certain audiences, certain opportunities — they reward a style that can play anywhere.
But offstage, Stroup is less interested in labels. The gap between persona and person becomes part of the act.
A Southerner now living in New York, Stroup leans into being out of place. The accent, the assumptions, the small cultural misreads — they all feed the material. He’s also not trying to smooth out the edges. Being the guy who spills on his shirt, who looks a little offbeat, who doesn’t quite fit the polished mold — that’s part of the point.
The conversation moves through growing up in the ’90s, the rise of clean comedy in a post–Bargatze landscape, and how expectations shape what audiences hear before the joke even lands.
Stroup’s comedy isn’t about shock. It’s about control — of tone, of timing, and of how much of himself he chooses to show.
#funnyyoushouldmention #comedypodcast
#mikepesca #standupcomedy
Listen to Funny You Should Mention
🎧Here👉mikepesca.com/fysm
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:46 Derrick Stroup on using his Southern accent to disarm New York crowds
3:05 The Times Square “Amish people” joke and earning the room’s trust
6:27 Why Nostalgic works beyond just 90s kids
8:04 Kick the Can, Denver, and writing only what he can “touch and see”
9:08 Why Derrick is a tactile comic: stains, snow, and physical comedy
10:11 New York snow on cars and the city’s heart-attack PSA
12:14 Air Jordans and Street Cred for White Dudes
16:24 “Mad About Nothing”: tater tots, crosswalk buttons, and minor annoyances
20:38 Holding the door, saying “you’re welcome,” and New York manners
22:17 The stain-on-your-shirt bit and how audience judgment changes with body size
26:08 Why Derrick uses real first names like Bill and Alyssa in his act
27:44 What “Nostalgic” means and why 90s games were basically violence
30:01 “Kill the carrier,” “smear,” and how old playground games get reframed today
33:54 Real Pickup Football Doesn't Exist
35:09 Growing up in Huntsville: rocket scientists, lifted trucks, and public school
38:01 Church, testimony, and wanting to be a preacher before comedy
40:38 Nate Bargatze’s influence and the business of clean stand-up
46:08 Gravy, traffic cones, and turning accents into punchlines
48:15 Southern and Italian accents are the last two you can still joke about
50:10 The school bus as the internet and the back row as the dark web
_______________________
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
Join the "Gist List" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter with Mike's daily insights and things you missed in the news:
mikepesca.substack.com
Follow us:
instagram.com/pescagist
youtube.com/@pescagist
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
Video Editor:
Geoff Craig
Derrick Stroup is a clean comic. That doesn’t mean he’s a clean person.
In this episode of the Funny You Should Mention podcast, Stroup — who has opened for Nate Bargatze and released his special Nostalgic — explains why working clean wasn’t about identity. It was about access. Certain rooms, certain audiences, certain opportunities — they reward a style that can play anywhere.
But offstage, Stroup is less interested in labels. The gap between persona and person becomes part of the act.
A Southerner now living in New York, Stroup leans into being out of place. The accent, the assumptions, the small cultural misreads — they all feed the material. He’s also not trying to smooth out the edges. Being the guy who spills on his shirt, who looks a little offbeat, who doesn’t quite fit the polished mold — that’s part of the point.
The conversation moves through growing up in the ’90s, the rise of clean comedy in a post–Bargatze landscape, and how expectations shape what audiences hear before the joke even lands.
Stroup’s comedy isn’t about shock. It’s about control — of tone, of timing, and of how much of himself he chooses to show.
#funnyyoushouldmention #comedypodcast
#mikepesca #standupcomedy
Listen to Funny You Should Mention
🎧Here👉mikepesca.com/fysm
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:46 Derrick Stroup on using his Southern accent to disarm New York crowds
3:05 The Times Square “Amish people” joke and earning the room’s trust
6:27 Why Nostalgic works beyond just 90s kids
8:04 Kick the Can, Denver, and writing only what he can “touch and see”
9:08 Why Derrick is a tactile comic: stains, snow, and physical comedy
10:11 New York snow on cars and the city’s heart-attack PSA
12:14 Air Jordans and Street Cred for White Dudes
16:24 “Mad About Nothing”: tater tots, crosswalk buttons, and minor annoyances
20:38 Holding the door, saying “you’re welcome,” and New York manners
22:17 The stain-on-your-shirt bit and how audience judgment changes with body size
26:08 Why Derrick uses real first names like Bill and Alyssa in his act
27:44 What “Nostalgic” means and why 90s games were basically violence
30:01 “Kill the carrier,” “smear,” and how old playground games get reframed today
33:54 Real Pickup Football Doesn't Exist
35:09 Growing up in Huntsville: rocket scientists, lifted trucks, and public school
38:01 Church, testimony, and wanting to be a preacher before comedy
40:38 Nate Bargatze’s influence and the business of clean stand-up
46:08 Gravy, traffic cones, and turning accents into punchlines
48:15 Southern and Italian accents are the last two you can still joke about
50:10 The school bus as the internet and the back row as the dark web
_______________________
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
Join the "Gist List" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter with Mike's daily insights and things you missed in the news:
mikepesca.substack.com
Follow us:
instagram.com/pescagist
youtube.com/@pescagist
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
Video Editor:
Geoff Craig
