0:00

I did six straight nights in Atlanta,

0:02

fully improvised each night, an hour, six

0:04

nights in a row. By Saturday, I

0:07

was so comfortable on stage with

0:09

nothing. And just going up with

0:12

the idea that I was like, I'm funny, I

0:14

wouldn't be in this job. I

0:16

wouldn't be able to buy groceries if I wasn't

0:18

funny. So I'm now able to get past the

0:21

idea, but am I funny? Where

0:23

do I stand in this business? I put out a

0:25

special, but only so many people saw it and it

0:27

didn't move the needle the way I thought it would. And

0:29

I've acted in stuff and I thought that would make

0:31

me, America's darling, here's this

0:33

new guy. All of the things that

0:35

we sort of fantasize about in

0:38

our head, this moment in time

0:40

in Atlanta doing this made me

0:42

go, fuck all

0:44

of your hopes and dreams about what

0:46

you think this is and

0:48

have the most joy in

0:50

your life knowing you are

0:52

funny. Why can't that be

0:55

enough? It's brought me paychecks. So why

0:57

don't we just be grateful for that?

1:00

That is the voice of the great Rory

1:03

Scoville. This

1:08

is an episode that is a long time in

1:10

the making. And it's one of my favorites we've

1:13

ever done. It's an episode that

1:15

since we recorded it, I

1:17

think about all the time. Like I think

1:19

about things that he said about improvising

1:23

on stage and kind of letting

1:25

your mind wander and

1:27

trying different art forms. It

1:29

really is, it's a special episode. This

1:32

episode actually has one of my favorite working it out

1:34

sections where we work out material and then literally, like

1:36

if you're seeing me on tour right now, part

1:39

of my dare about drugs section

1:42

in my show is from me riffing with

1:44

Rory in this session, which is sometimes people like

1:46

Jimmy Kimmel gave me a hard time and he's

1:48

like, you don't really work out jokes on your

1:51

show when he's on the podcast, but actually like

1:53

I do. So

1:55

we work out that, it's really fun. If

1:57

you're able to see Rory

1:59

live on stage, you? absolutely.

2:01

we should on this as

2:03

we can. I was actually

2:05

I live on stage in

2:07

Chicago at the Chicago Theater.

2:10

Thank you so much everyone

2:12

who came out. I have

2:14

upcoming shows we as one

2:16

in Toronto, Atlanta, I, Connecticut,

2:18

Charlotte and then my fall

2:20

dates are now on sale.

2:22

Ah Sim, Cisco, Oakland, Philadelphia,

2:24

Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Champagne, Indianapolis,

2:27

Ann. Arbor, Detroit, Dayton, Pittsburgh lieu of

2:29

all Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, and Charleston's

2:31

all of number big.com as you're

2:33

not on the mailing lists, do

2:35

so. That is where it's as

2:37

we get all the presale codes

2:39

and all of the inside information.

2:41

I'm so excited for you to

2:43

hear his episode was Rory. I

2:45

can recommend his specials more highly.

2:47

Ah, you can find Rory Scovel.

2:49

Try cent of the for some

2:51

on Netflix religious As and few

2:53

things in between on Max. Enjoy

2:55

my conversation with a great. Verse.

3:12

It's this thing that you have

3:14

with your comedy that I've where.

3:18

I. Studied jokes. I'm obsessed with jokes.

3:20

His whole shows, right jokes. I don't

3:22

know where the jokes beginning and in

3:24

a special and I wrote in i

3:27

love that yeah yeah and kind of

3:29

like this thing where. I. Don't

3:31

even understand them Magic of it offers

3:34

of i breezy saying that because that

3:36

is kind of the target I'm aiming

3:38

for be as that's what I when

3:40

I'm in the audience I like being

3:43

at the the confusion. I like being

3:45

a not knowing where it's going. I

3:47

think it's why I like jam bands

3:49

and like jazz know like been beaten

3:51

that not knowing this take of the

3:54

song you now and I just I'm

3:56

drawn to that's good for me it's

3:58

it's literally just finding. The thing

4:00

that makes me laugh, and for

4:02

better or worse, I don't see

4:05

myself as a writer, writes see

4:07

myself as I think I am

4:09

just naturally a performer. Yeah, and

4:11

I think because of that performance,

4:13

I. Tend Cel. I feel like

4:15

something in a different way and if I

4:18

tried to specific the downright it and sometimes

4:20

I do something that works and sometimes doesn't.

4:22

Yeah, but I'd I don't think that's my

4:24

strength of thing when I played of my

4:27

the thing that is my strength is I

4:29

didn't. I like to work with them. I

4:31

like that and just go. I will stand

4:34

here and I will fail. and from so

4:36

many audio until that one time that I'm

4:38

like they're. Much. More people got

4:40

that and I did. The words that I

4:42

used to get us to that point where

4:44

this and so that's what I'll do. Every.

4:47

Time Sir A My writing comes

4:49

from. The. Moment

4:52

of seeing what makes the audience twitch as

4:54

opposed to me sitting down and trying to

4:56

find it when it's just my brain. I

4:58

kind of. I'm already I know this what

5:00

we do with jokes anyways. we sir for

5:02

taste testing them all the time. but. Mine

5:04

start at. I don't

5:07

have a lot to work with. Yeah, so

5:09

in front of you I'm gonna try to

5:11

find it. and because that's how I find

5:13

a job I then just go with or

5:15

two hundred people here night and I'm pretty

5:17

sure one hundred and fifty really like that

5:19

joke else it's gotta be in the ballpark,

5:21

I've gotta be close. know? Absolutely. I think

5:23

that that weirdly like that's what I love

5:25

about it. It's just what's happening in the

5:27

room and I feel you go to that

5:30

to the hilt. Is as you

5:32

go to art. As far this the extent

5:34

of that I said. That's what I enjoy

5:36

the most. I enjoy. The.

5:39

Not looking. Were way

5:41

how we got here are looking where the gonna

5:43

go but on any given night. Whether

5:46

it's like a coffee shop and

5:48

I'm just. Trying. To get

5:50

some repetition and and them do and

5:52

fifteen or something or in like a

5:54

club that may be holds two hundred

5:56

and three hundred people. I really. Like.

6:00

Being like this is the room

6:02

we're in right now and we

6:04

are the team that is on

6:06

the field. Is it? This is

6:08

right now? and yeah my be

6:10

hoping that this act is coming

6:12

together and sculpting something. but. If

6:14

anything happens in this room that

6:16

is even slightly something that we

6:19

can play with or do, I

6:21

will invest everything. Into

6:23

it to explore and go

6:26

off. On it and and

6:28

see if there's any comedy. They're.

6:31

Almost approved to the crowd like I'm

6:33

here, I'm not, I'm not absence and

6:35

that's why. It's

6:37

funny because I think sometimes is gets

6:39

lost in translation. This discussion of like

6:42

hey could you not video my performance

6:44

and yeah yeah and enough in it's

6:46

the reason is not because I wanna

6:48

police you from doing but as I

6:50

say no literally what you for your

6:52

version on your phone. Can.

6:54

Never capture what we are all experience.

6:56

and yeah right now yes it can

6:58

get the whole set, you kick it,

7:00

the whole thing. yeah and as result

7:02

you're you're missing out on like. You.

7:05

Know for. Of for

7:07

out of five senses yeah and even

7:09

a six cents which be like magic

7:11

right? and a transcendent yeah and it's

7:14

not going to come through on the

7:16

move. The camera of the phone know

7:18

in and we're second people. I have

7:20

the ability like watch that and just

7:22

be judgmental of the other people experience

7:24

yeah thing at the thing they weren't

7:26

even apps and also doesn't. It doesn't

7:28

give us the space to I mean

7:30

that spaces so sacred but to me

7:32

it's like you're now allowing outside of

7:34

shooting a special which is just gonna

7:37

be naturally. The space that you that

7:39

the finish line and away. but like then

7:41

if someone puts it on on their phone

7:43

and then decides to put it out it's

7:45

like you've let someone into the club house

7:48

that the rest of us did not approve

7:50

and you thought you were so important that

7:52

you should be allowed to do. And how

7:55

were. If. i walked out with

7:57

my cell phones and i just put it

7:59

over your the and I go, guys, I know

8:01

I didn't announce this, but I'm gonna live stream this.

8:04

And audience would go, well, I mean,

8:06

all right. I thought we've, I could

8:08

have stayed at home and just got

8:10

on Instagram and paid nothing and kind

8:12

of seen that angle. And you're like,

8:15

yeah, like this isn't for, this is for this

8:17

moment in time. And we are the ones that

8:19

are here to experience it.

8:21

So why don't we say, oh, the

8:23

ticket price is the ticket price and the seats are

8:25

the seat and the venue is the venue because

8:28

this is the special hour and a half that we're

8:30

gonna spend together and make it an

8:32

event as opposed to something

8:35

that can live digitally. I

8:37

did a show the other night at the Bell House

8:39

in Brooklyn, which I love, and it was like someone

8:42

was videoing. I could see, you know, you

8:44

could see the lenses. They just stick right

8:46

out. Hey, could you not video

8:49

this? There's a little reflection off the light. There's a little

8:51

reflection on the light. It's like, could you not video this?

8:53

And then I literally explained, I'm actually

8:55

talking right now, I'm making jokes about a

8:57

thing that I'll probably never make jokes about

8:59

again. Yeah, because it's personal in

9:01

my life. And it's like, I don't want to

9:03

share with everybody. I wanna share with you. With

9:05

you, yeah. I wanna share with you right now,

9:08

but like probably no one ever again. Yeah. And

9:10

like that's special. Yeah. And

9:12

I feel like also like one of the things about

9:15

the new special that I feel like

9:18

does, and is part of what people

9:20

love about stand-up and live performance is

9:22

like, it feels dangerous. Like when you're

9:25

talking about like hypotheticals of you cheating

9:27

on your wife. And I think the

9:29

reason it feels dangerous is because like

9:32

you probably do 10 minutes on it. It's dangerous.

9:34

Right, right, yeah. Like if I was gonna cheat

9:36

on my wife after the show, someone

9:39

might come up to me or whatever. You go to

9:41

all these, it's super funny, but it's like, of

9:44

course, I think the subtext of that whole

9:46

thing is like, oh,

9:48

he's talking about like the taboo of

9:50

his life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That would

9:52

be the thing that would be like

9:55

explosive and incendiary probably. Yeah. Did

9:57

You, when you wrote that bit for you

9:59

like mentioning. You're right. So I wrote

10:01

this bet. It's kind of crazy. Yeah,

10:03

we're We're beyond that beard amused time,

10:06

I, you know man, I imagine you're

10:08

in the same position where like every.

10:11

Now and again the why service have to

10:13

be like all watch the show us the

10:15

it system but it's not rights you know

10:17

that that that the period of our lives

10:19

where they were there all the time is

10:21

like will naturally you're gonna read our a

10:23

lot into got let me know when you

10:26

want me to come back a I'm not

10:28

gonna like i'm never stop sign it dig

10:30

into a point where it as working on

10:32

it and then minute all was really coming

10:34

together knows opening up about sex staff and

10:36

even that like that she's he thinks i

10:38

was like ah. I. Went home and

10:40

i was like you're a really big part

10:42

of the show It wasn't planned and I

10:45

go but it's just kind of where it

10:47

ended up and she goes was it like

10:49

bad as a d i think seemingly me

10:51

that like would you buy a my in

10:53

the business of my wife and i was

10:55

like not really I go it's a guy

10:58

think it's pretty fair as like that it

11:00

is also jokes and also a she was

11:02

her friends came with her to the show

11:04

and she was like everything we do the

11:06

job very kind of look at me if

11:08

I was lavender go. Get your improve. Our

11:11

better friends are also likely to sooner. Your

11:13

wife laughed at all of the jokes. Yeah,

11:15

and I go. I think it's because as.

11:18

It's not so fun to go on

11:20

stage. Maybe it can be

11:22

to go on stage and disco. I let

11:25

you guys now I I got really lucky.

11:27

Things are great and my wife is super

11:29

supportive and as she has been all time.

11:31

Yeah, Anyways, here's what else is going on.

11:34

He said it's like well why don't we

11:36

talk about the things that are more taboo

11:38

and hat there is a vulnerability to were

11:40

No matter how good our relationship is going,

11:43

sex is always going to exist in the

11:45

space of a discussion of what we both

11:47

think it is or what we want out

11:49

of it, even when around the same page.

11:52

Yeah, be a different place. so it's like. That's.

11:54

The kind of stuff I think the audience

11:56

relates to more, so than more, yeah, I've

11:58

been of is going gray, what tell me

12:01

things that? There. You know where? How

12:03

are you an asshole in your marriage? How are

12:05

you a good guy and your marriage south's yeah.

12:07

I always think it's like the audience wants to

12:10

know what's wrong much more than they want to

12:12

know what's wrong. Yeah because they because I think

12:14

that's what they relate to and then they go

12:16

oh get a right I feel that way to

12:18

now. I can kind of see through that lens

12:21

and makes me feel better about my own and

12:23

insecurity and found that it's it's the easiest place

12:25

to get to. If you really just say the

12:27

truth about your vulnerabilities in your insecurities and audience

12:30

immediately will be like yeah, know me too. I

12:32

know you think that your life is so bizarre

12:34

and your secrets or your own but the moment

12:36

you say a secret that you think no one

12:39

else has you realize the whole theaters like know

12:41

all of us do that no conclusive and I

12:43

think like I think that there's. This.

12:45

Is something I think you and adding this

12:47

is something you and I share in common

12:49

which is like neither of us are as

12:52

the. Quintessential. Edgy

12:54

comedian, a disciplinarian f f ing right

12:56

or as a whole spy. oh yeah,

12:58

don't odds for that down the hall

13:01

not a good of comedians is is

13:03

like they say that say no one

13:05

set of the does he like. Is

13:07

it really hard to say that hey

13:09

or is it just you're saying it

13:12

because you're yeah technically non supposed to

13:14

say it that hard if your persona

13:16

is the iconic on yeah person's yeah

13:18

But. But then you have

13:20

the other version which is like. And

13:23

seals were a d which is

13:26

like the. Person. Who never

13:28

offend Any wonder Adverse says anything

13:30

that might be objectionable in any

13:32

way, shape or form. Yeah and

13:34

it's kinda it's a little bit

13:36

boring and until in it's in,

13:38

until of is not vulnerable and

13:40

is not. Risky. In any

13:42

way yeah a villa you and I

13:44

fall is in answer is similar bucket

13:47

which is like. People.

13:49

might not realize that there's risk

13:52

to over same with there actually

13:54

is considerable risk in in our

13:56

in our lives yeah and also

13:58

just telling the the sort

14:01

of truth of an

14:03

opinion or a situation. And also know

14:05

that that opinion doesn't have to, the

14:08

content and the opinion don't have to exist

14:10

in some way where the audience feels like

14:12

we're trying to push them away

14:14

to see if we can get

14:16

them back. We're all fully capable

14:19

of trying to do that. But

14:21

instead of, you know, even my religious

14:23

jokes in this special, people

14:26

were like, oh, that's, you know, that can

14:28

be a tough topic. And I go, I

14:30

guess if you see it as a tough

14:32

topic, I don't because if you're deeply religious,

14:35

I feel like you should still be able to laugh at

14:37

my opinion. I shouldn't have affected you in any way.

14:39

Right, like you have, you're gonna

14:42

make me laugh out loud alone,

14:44

which is just like, like

14:47

you're like about people going to church. Like you

14:49

do that for real? You still do that, yes.

14:52

It's so like patronizing, but

14:54

like, but also like what

14:57

you're saying, which is like, yeah, if

14:59

you go to church and your faith

15:01

is strong, you're not gonna be affected

15:03

by Rory Scoville. Like a random thing

15:05

that you're throwing off, making fun of

15:07

people going to church. If

15:09

that shakes you, that's your problem. Exactly,

15:11

yes. And I think that's why we go, oh, it's

15:13

a risque kind of thing. I'm like, I don't know.

15:15

I think the people that don't go will be like,

15:17

oh, that's funny. And then the people that do go

15:19

will be like, there

15:22

are people that leave comments or message me

15:24

to say, I am, I am a devout

15:26

Catholic. And I laughed at

15:28

the whole thing. And I go, and that's kind of what I

15:30

hope. I'm not trying

15:32

to tell you to stop. I just,

15:35

I can't tell you the jokes from

15:38

a perspective of a guy who goes to church

15:40

and thinks that I should. I can only tell

15:43

you the jokes from a guy who doesn't go

15:45

to church and maybe wants people

15:47

to maybe stop telling me I should. And the

15:49

only way I can fight fire

15:51

in this situation is with a little

15:53

bit of fire back at you to

15:55

go, yeah, you're aggressive towards me with

15:57

the religion, but not all of you

15:59

are. So let me make a point, but

16:01

I'll do it in a way where it's like, oh,

16:03

if you're aggressive, I think I made my point. And

16:05

if you're not that aggressive, you'll go, I don't know.

16:07

He wasn't that preachy. Yeah. Do

16:10

you have it with like, because

16:12

you're from South Carolina, South

16:15

Carolinians? South Carolinians. Is that what it

16:18

is? Yeah. Do your

16:20

fellow South Carolinians get

16:23

upset when you visit home or whatever about

16:25

religious stuff like that? The last show of

16:27

this tour was in my hometown. And I

16:29

did. In Charleston. I did. In Greenville. Oh,

16:32

Greenville. But I did Charleston, and then I

16:34

went to Greenville. So in both, back-to-back

16:37

nights, I did the special as it's

16:39

out there. And

16:43

they were into it. The

16:45

laughs were exactly what I would get

16:47

anywhere else. And I

16:50

think it's because it could

16:53

be because I'm at a point now where

16:55

people maybe aren't shocked by that being my

16:57

content. We know what he'll

16:59

talk about, whether we agree or disagree. So we

17:01

bought the ticket. So if he goes into a

17:03

sex joke or talks about drugs or even a

17:05

little bit of politics, it's not

17:07

out of left field. He's been doing that the whole 20

17:09

years kind of thing. So.

17:12

You were with kids you grew

17:15

up with, for example. I'm sure

17:17

some of them go to church. Oh, I think

17:19

a lot of the people that are

17:21

in the, especially in Greenville, that were in that audience, I'm

17:23

pretty sure a lot of them go to church. And

17:25

they just laugh off that idea. I think they

17:28

laugh it off. They're like, yeah, that's Rory. That's

17:30

what he's like. That's how he uses what

17:32

we do. How we view

17:34

what he does is kind of ridiculous too. Yeah. Working

17:50

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19:08

you start painting. Yeah. You

19:10

paint professionally now. Yeah. Paintings

19:13

are gorgeous. Thanks. And you're there for

19:15

selling your site. I

19:18

was curious, was that a pandemic

19:20

baby? Was that a thing that you- A little bit, yeah.

19:22

Yeah, I kind of started it before because

19:24

of my kid at the time she was

19:26

four years old and preschool and like-

19:28

You were like, you think you're good? Step

19:31

aside. Yeah, watch this. Watch this. But

19:34

she's finger painting, crayons, the

19:36

whole nine yards and it's like, you're gonna

19:38

do that with your kid. And then in

19:40

the process of doing that with my kid,

19:42

I was like, my brain just went

19:44

to that space of like, why do we ever stop doing

19:47

this? And also why do we perceive

19:50

this as childish? This is like kind of

19:52

the first thing that you really do in

19:54

school is like, enjoy

19:56

your creativity and relish it

19:58

and showcase it. and we

20:00

all support it massively with

20:03

kids. And I was just like, this doesn't seem like

20:05

a childish thing. This feels like

20:07

a therapeutic thing. Like when a kid is

20:09

having a tantrum, sometimes you'll, oh, what if

20:11

we get out some crayons? And like, it's

20:14

literally an activity that kind

20:16

of settles the mind and

20:19

allows this sort of right brain

20:21

release in a way. And so

20:23

doing that with her, I was like, oh, we should be doing

20:25

this all the time. And then I just kind of advanced that

20:27

to going, yeah, it just

20:30

occurred to me, I'm an adult and I can

20:32

go buy a canvas and I can go buy

20:34

paint and paint brushes and I can attempt

20:36

to just participate in this

20:39

activity. And I don't think

20:41

we look at an art supply store that way.

20:43

I think we look at it, that's where teachers

20:45

going by their things that they need for the

20:47

class. And I did that

20:49

and it wasn't good for a long

20:51

time. And then I kind of had

20:53

stopped and then COVID happened and my

20:55

dad passed away and I came

20:58

back from the funeral and it was

21:00

during COVID. So in LA, we were

21:03

extreme about the precautions. And so

21:05

I felt like, hey, I don't

21:07

wanna like immediately come

21:09

back and be around my family, even

21:11

though this devastating moment has occurred. I'm

21:14

too concerned even just because it was

21:17

early in the COVID, we didn't know

21:19

enough. So I was sort

21:21

of isolated for like nine days. And in

21:23

that space, my

21:25

friend Brian had set out a canvas

21:28

and like some paint, like almost like,

21:31

hey, he's a professional artist. And he's like,

21:33

hey, I set this up and maybe there's

21:35

a space where that's something you

21:37

do. And I loved it. And also

21:39

someone had already set it up where I was like,

21:41

oh, this is so convenient too. It's already like here

21:43

and then just grew from there. And I mean, I

21:45

enjoy it anyways. So it's

21:47

just become, I think

21:50

anyone could do it. I think it's, I

21:52

think, yeah, maybe there's a little artistic

21:55

eye to things, but there's a lot

21:57

of jobs that repetition if

21:59

you're focused. You're going to improve at

22:01

it and learn how to

22:03

do it. It just is, that's just

22:05

how things are. Yeah, do

22:08

you feel like you found

22:10

there to be similarities between

22:13

the art of stand-up comedy and painting?

22:15

Yes, 100%. It's

22:17

changed my mental perception of

22:21

stand-up and acting as well. Because

22:25

with a painting, you can

22:27

map out where you want it to go and you can do

22:29

all that thing. I think that's what keeps a lot of people

22:31

from even trying it. Because they're like, do you paint? I don't

22:33

even know what I would paint. Instead

22:35

of letting that question be answered once

22:38

you've already taken five steps forward,

22:40

then go, I think I'm making

22:42

this. Like

22:45

in a joke where you go, oh, actually I think

22:47

I'm saying this and I

22:49

didn't realize it. And I think I'm going

22:51

to focus on the point that I now

22:53

realize I'm making. Or the funny thing that,

22:56

I know that you and I have both experienced this. You've

22:59

said something on stage that you didn't think twice

23:01

about and it got this massive laugh and your

23:03

brain was like, wait, I didn't even think

23:05

that was a joke. But then of course we act like, of course,

23:08

of course, I'm a genius. I said, this is

23:10

a funny thing. Exactly. Once again. And

23:12

then we go back and we go, well now that's in the

23:14

show. That's a permanent thing in the show. But then it also

23:16

makes you go, oh wait, because that

23:18

thing I thought wasn't a thing ended

23:21

up being a thing, this is a

23:23

tag for that thing that I would never

23:25

noticed had people not laughed at it. But

23:27

what had to happen was you saying it.

23:29

Well therein lies the type, callback

23:32

to jazz. Yeah.

23:35

We were talking about earlier. Which is like,

23:37

you have to play the notes in that

23:39

sequence for whatever reason on that night. Yeah.

23:42

And know, oh that's an interesting sequence. Yeah,

23:44

right. You've got to make, the painting's got

23:46

to make a change. Yeah. Yeah.

23:49

I tell people that say, I try to

23:51

really push people to like go by like

23:53

a 30 by 30 canvas and like just

23:55

some random paint brushes and know

23:57

that you feel like you're, you're the the

24:00

idiot at the store because they're like, I

24:02

don't even know what things are. And I'm

24:04

always telling people like, go find acrylics, pick

24:06

out five colors, even if it's like, these

24:08

are all just primary. There's nothing exciting about

24:10

it. Just do that, grab primary colors, grab

24:13

three different types of brushes, ones that just

24:15

that you think are interesting. Don't even worry

24:17

if it's like what you should actually have. And

24:20

then go home. And

24:22

instead of thinking about what you should paint, out

24:25

of those five colors, just quickly think of

24:27

the one that you're most drawn to. And

24:31

with your hands, smear that color

24:33

on the canvas and now accept that a

24:36

choice has been made and we can only

24:38

move forward from here. This hand,

24:40

like I say it's red, that

24:43

might not be visible in the

24:45

final piece, but you've got to

24:47

like get going.

24:49

And to answer your question,

24:52

with the longest version of an answer possible, that

24:55

to me is stand up. It's like,

24:58

I want to talk about something serious.

25:00

I wanna talk about the things I'm scared

25:02

about, but I don't know if that's funny.

25:05

And I'll never get there if I don't just

25:07

go up on stage and say, I

25:11

am terrified of

25:13

this election. And now you

25:15

go, everyone's gonna go, and you know it.

25:17

Everyone's gonna go, all right,

25:19

go on. You're probably gonna say exactly what I'm

25:21

thinking and feeling. And you go, maybe, but

25:24

now that I've said I'm terrified of this election, as

25:27

you and I both know, the nature of our

25:29

brains is going to go tell them why you're

25:31

scared. And then you go, and now here's

25:33

why. And you might get to your

25:35

fifth sentence that becomes that

25:37

thing that gets that huge laugh. And then you

25:39

just go, I think I got a new

25:41

bit. And it came from the truth. It came

25:43

from me just telling straight up the truth. And also if you

25:46

get to the end of it and

25:48

you don't get a laugh, you

25:50

haven't lost anyone in that audience because everyone at the audience would

25:52

be like, I didn't laugh at the end, but I gotta tell

25:54

you what, it's fucking engaging. I was

25:56

interested. It really goes back

25:58

to... The thing

26:00

that you and I came up in which

26:03

is improv right? Yeah, which is the same

26:05

idea which is I did college improv and

26:07

and it's just If

26:09

people aren't familiar with improv But it's like

26:11

the premise of improv of the theatrical improv

26:13

is you say yes and to whatever your

26:16

scene partner is saying Yes so

26:19

the you know, so it's So

26:21

it says so I'm I'm riding this boat and

26:23

then you say yes and also the boat can fly

26:26

Yeah, next thing you know, you're in a flying boat.

26:28

Yeah, and then you find a scene from there

26:30

Yeah, it's like that is True

26:32

in painting and it's true

26:34

in stand-up and it's true and in provenance

26:36

true in like almost any art form Yeah,

26:39

and I think so for me is a guiding

26:41

principle. Everything I do may we're making movies whatever

26:43

it is It's you have to like a decision

26:45

and a choice has to get made. Yeah, if

26:47

it doesn't get made then nothing can happen Yeah,

26:50

you can't hold yourself back

26:52

because you're so afraid that that choice

26:55

is going to be Wrong

26:57

it when do you and when did you

26:59

know right through that threshold though? Because like

27:01

that's a really hard point to get to

27:04

like it took me years before I was

27:06

comfortable being like yes and

27:08

this I I did a docu

27:11

special in 2018

27:15

that came out in 2021 and it

27:17

was I did six straight nights in Atlanta

27:19

fully improvised Yes night an hour six nights

27:21

in row and it came out

27:23

of that everything that I had I've just

27:25

said about the vulnerability and the truth and

27:27

all that like that that was a revelation

27:29

for me You know, I was

27:31

wildly nervous the whole time. I initially booked

27:33

these shows and said tickets are five bucks

27:36

Because I want it to be an amount I can give back

27:39

to the audience and I'm not here to make money I

27:41

am legitimately here to more than

27:43

likely fail I assumed

27:45

I would but I Wanted

27:48

to just see if I could do it because I

27:50

knew that I improvised I knew that I played I

27:52

knew that if I could Find a wave I knew

27:54

I could surface. I don't know how to generate The

27:57

waves if I aren't if I'm not coming in

27:59

to it with the preconceived topics

28:02

and the conversation. So I

28:04

booked those shows and

28:06

I didn't intend to film it.

28:09

I just told Jay Larson about

28:11

it and he goes, well, you have to get a

28:13

camera crew and film that. And then,

28:15

you know, Abso Productions, they, you know, Dave Niebohn

28:17

was like, ah, yeah, we'll give you a little

28:19

bit of money to get cameras and pay for

28:21

it. And, you know, it wasn't wildly expensive. And

28:23

so then Scott Moran and

28:25

my buddy John, we just went and

28:28

did it and shat it. And

28:30

that week was this revelation of,

28:33

to what I just said before of, oh, just

28:35

tell the truth. Tell them you're vulnerable. You won't

28:37

lose them. If you can't think of something funny, it's like,

28:39

well, then tell them a secret you don't, you kind of

28:41

don't want to tell them. What embarrasses you? Just say it

28:43

and see if it's funny. See if it can be funny.

28:46

And I got to say by, over

28:48

the week, the very first night, I

28:50

was like, oh, this is really fun.

28:53

My intention that week truly was,

28:56

I'm gonna improvise on Monday. If there's

28:58

bits I like, I'm allowed to bring them

29:00

in on Tuesday and try to get them

29:03

together. Thinking by Saturday, let's see if I

29:05

have something that's kind of 60 minutes

29:07

and be like, in one week, did I

29:09

come up with a special that like is

29:12

passable? I think it'd be great, but it will be passable. And

29:14

people go, oh, that's kind of interesting. And then be like, yeah,

29:17

I mean, if I go two more months, I can maybe really,

29:19

if I really try it like this, I can maybe hammer it

29:21

together. Monday night was so much fun

29:23

of making all of it up that

29:26

we would interview me after shows and the

29:28

next day. And the next day I said,

29:30

I gotta be honest. I go, everything that

29:32

worked last night, I don't care. I wanna

29:34

make it all up again. It was such

29:36

a high. And that

29:40

thing that we do, Monday night, crushed

29:42

it. Tuesday, let's do that again. Tuesday,

29:44

okay, show. Wednesday,

29:48

being funny, but then couldn't

29:50

think of what to say next and just

29:52

told the crowd that I've watched gay porn

29:55

before. And people

29:57

laughed, but then also were like, in

30:00

what context? context.

30:03

This is actually this is a topic and then

30:05

I kind of was like oh well we're talking

30:07

about sex stuff let's keep going and a lot

30:09

of the sex stuff that's in that special is

30:12

filmed the birth of the joke is like

30:14

on tape like this is where I just

30:16

said the thing about

30:18

a gangbang it's just like here here

30:21

I had a thing that is a

30:23

real thought but if you're telling me

30:25

there's traction there sure I'll try to

30:27

make that a bigger joke later on

30:30

by Saturday I was so comfortable

30:32

on stage with nothing

30:35

and just going up with the idea

30:37

that I was like I'm funny I wouldn't be

30:40

in this job I wouldn't be able to

30:42

buy groceries if I wasn't funny right so

30:44

I can get past to answer your question

30:47

I am now able to get past the idea but

30:50

am I funny where do I stand

30:52

in this business in the lineup of

30:54

all of the comics that are currently

30:56

working today where do I think I

30:59

fall am I have I done the tonight show

31:01

yet I done this yet if I

31:03

put out a special but only so many people saw it

31:05

and it didn't move the needle the way I thought it

31:07

would and I've acted in stuff and I thought that would

31:09

make me America's darling here's this

31:11

new guy you know all of the things

31:13

that we sort of fantasize about

31:15

in our head this moment in

31:18

time in Atlanta doing this

31:20

made me go fuck all

31:23

of your hopes and

31:25

dreams about what you think this is

31:27

and have the most joy

31:29

in your life knowing you

31:31

are funny so just go

31:33

do that and quit trying

31:35

to force a career

31:38

and just go not everybody

31:40

gets to be funny and know how

31:42

good that feels yeah why can't that

31:45

be enough it's brought me paychecks yeah

31:47

so why don't we just be grateful

31:50

for that and it really it's not like the it's

31:53

not that the hopes

31:55

and the dreams and the that little bit of

31:57

like you know healthy jealousy it doesn't that doesn't

31:59

go go away, but it did

32:01

make me go, that's just fucking calm down

32:03

about what we want our career to be

32:05

and be fun and funny. And by

32:08

that last show of that week, I just

32:10

went up and was like, you're here, I'm here. Literally

32:13

the way you open that show, you're like, you guys are

32:15

here, we're all here. But literally that

32:17

is the moment you say that. I go, of

32:19

everything he might talk about tonight, I

32:22

relate to that in such a way because that's how

32:24

I like feeling at a show. And

32:26

he just said the same thing that I fully agree

32:28

with. We're all

32:31

here, so let's not worry about what's beyond

32:33

these walls just for the next 60 to

32:35

90 minutes. Let's just be

32:38

in this. And it just felt very comforting. It felt like

32:40

I was finally becoming an artist as opposed to

32:42

just a comic. I love that. Are

32:46

my answers too long? I ask this in every

32:48

interview I ever do. We have to ask you

32:50

to leave now because the answers are too long.

32:52

We didn't ask for a dissertation. This

33:00

is a slow round. What are people's

33:02

favorite and least favorite things about you?

33:07

That's a great question. And you just mean any people.

33:10

Any people at all? Yeah, and also

33:12

just friends, family. Maybe

33:15

people's favorite thing, something that they like

33:17

about me is maybe the levity. I

33:20

don't like to take things too serious.

33:22

Not that I don't, but I don't

33:24

like that to be, you know, I

33:29

don't like to lead with that. We all

33:31

know the world's heavy no matter what you do. Probably

33:33

the levity and then also the

33:36

levity. I think it's actually

33:38

for both. So people are like, you know what? You're a little bit of a clown.

33:40

Right. You know, you could

33:43

take things a little more serious. Right. Let's

33:45

rein it in a little bit. I

33:47

think both of those are probably my wife. My wife

33:49

has to exist in both those spaces. Can you think

33:51

of a time where you were bringing too much levity

33:53

and it's like, it actually was not appropriate for the

33:56

situation? I think

33:59

this relates. but as a kid, I was an alter, we

34:01

were an alter server. Yeah, so I was an alter server

34:03

and we got to get out of school whenever there was

34:05

like the funeral. You

34:07

got 15 bucks. Oh yeah. I'll

34:09

never forget me. That funeral money. Me and my

34:12

buddy Archie Gallivan, we're in the church

34:14

and we're out of class to get to

34:16

do it. And there's a funeral happening. I don't

34:18

think I've ever even been to a funeral by this point in my

34:20

life. Yeah. And I think I'm like 12 years old.

34:23

And there's two stained glass windows

34:26

above us. And one

34:29

of them is Mary holding Jesus. And

34:31

then the stained glass next to it is

34:34

Mary sort of presenting to the world like arms

34:37

open. And Archie leans over to me

34:39

and he goes, doesn't it look

34:41

like she just dropped Jesus? And

34:43

cause you saw this and then the next

34:45

panelist. Her arms are open

34:48

like she dropped Jesus. And I am crying,

34:50

laughing. And

34:53

you know when you try to conceal your laugh, it makes it almost

34:55

become louder than if you would have just laughed. Everyone

34:58

in the funeral to my right is

35:00

noticing. The priest is beat red, just

35:02

like hating us. I know this isn't

35:04

totally in the ballpark of when you're

35:06

being read. But I could not, the

35:09

weight of this moment, it didn't matter. I

35:11

was like, I've looked at that. He is

35:14

absolutely right. And I cannot stop laughing to

35:16

the point where he goes, Jesus dude, you

35:18

gotta stop. Yeah,

35:21

it's such a strange thing. But it's

35:24

like you were laughing because

35:26

you're dealing with this really large

35:28

topic, which is you're an alter

35:31

server at a darn

35:33

funeral. Yeah, 12.

35:35

And you're like, you're sad. You

35:37

don't understand. Yeah. Like I

35:39

didn't understand what they're going through. I haven't been to a

35:41

funeral yet. And I, you know, my mother passed away when

35:43

I was very young, but not in

35:45

a way where I like remember it or

35:48

like, you know, I was so young. So

35:50

seeing everyone's grieving was something I couldn't,

35:53

I couldn't relate to that version of

35:55

grieving yet. I hadn't lost a

35:58

grandparent at that point. or

36:01

anyone of that familial

36:03

significance to where even

36:05

if he would have said that joke, I would have been like, oh man,

36:07

these people are crushed. What do we, we can't

36:09

be laughing. Instead of like, cares. Do

36:12

you have a time you remember feeling pure joy? Joy

36:17

and fear the moment I became a dad.

36:19

Wow. Pure joy

36:24

realizing the relationship that my daughter and

36:27

I could work towards once I felt like she

36:29

registered me as a dad, you know, around two

36:31

years old. And I'm like, you are here all

36:33

the time. You don't seem to leave. You're just

36:35

being a mom. But you keep

36:37

showing up that moment of like,

36:40

I like that you're here. You

36:42

know what I mean? You finally go like, oh,

36:44

I think I understand my place now. I'm now

36:46

being recognized. I have that

36:48

sometimes within a where, where

36:50

we'll be spending time together and I'll

36:53

realize she's enjoying the time and I'll

36:55

just literally start crying. And she'll just

36:57

be like, why are you crying? Yeah.

37:01

And if you tell her, it's like, you might be like,

37:03

oh, I'm not enjoying it. And

37:05

you're like, oh God, you know. You can't tell why

37:07

you're crying. Like, oh, dust,

37:09

there's dust in here. Yeah, that

37:12

probably, and these sounds so

37:15

cliche and sappy, but they are real. Like realizing my

37:17

wife was also falling in love with me the way

37:19

that I was like falling in love with her. Oh,

37:21

this feels good. This is like, this is joy to

37:23

know that someone

37:25

is naturally and organically reciprocating that

37:27

love and emotion that you're putting

37:30

on them. So probably both

37:32

of those with my wife and my. What was

37:34

that moment with your wife? I

37:36

don't know if it was specific. I think it was just

37:39

in a phase of our relationship. I said,

37:41

I love you so fast

37:43

in our relationship that I kind of

37:46

was like, oh, I

37:48

know that I feel that way, but am I

37:51

the guy that people always talk about like, oh,

37:53

you're too, you're too clingy, or you said it

37:55

too quick. And you, how could you possibly know?

37:58

But I didn't know that I felt that way. and

38:00

maybe I shouldn't have voiced it, but I did. And

38:03

she even said, she's like, well,

38:05

I'm not gonna say it back to you right now

38:07

if that's what you're looking for. And I kind of

38:10

was looking for that, but then I started to really

38:13

respect that she didn't, and it almost made

38:15

me be like, you're right, I should earn

38:17

it. I should, if you're gonna get, we're

38:19

gonna get there. You're right, I shouldn't

38:21

just, just because I'm saying it doesn't mean that

38:24

you should say it. And I don't

38:26

know that there's a specific moment, even the

38:28

moment of her like finally saying, I

38:30

love you was sort of like not even necessary because

38:32

you could just feel that we're already there.

38:35

So I think when

38:37

you feel like you've found that

38:39

person, whether it lasts or

38:41

not, whether you're gonna get separated or have

38:43

a divorce or whatever feelings you might have,

38:47

I think there's something that when you do feel

38:49

it, that's when you start to go

38:51

like, oh, these are the

38:53

things you can't buy. These are the

38:55

things you have to just hope you

38:58

fall into and hope that right place,

39:00

right time. Also, you have to hope

39:02

that you've evolved enough as

39:05

a person to maybe attract someone

39:07

who might want to like, feel

39:10

that way with you. And I think

39:12

that's joy when you realize that you

39:14

might be doing life right

39:17

a little bit. I've

39:29

been working on material about drugs, like

39:43

partly the thing I was telling you about walking

39:46

by a smoke shop within the good

39:48

life is being like, what's that? And

39:53

like thinking about how, I

39:57

don't even have the joke on this, but it's like an observation

39:59

I have, which is like. Like every time I tried

40:01

to talk to Una about big

40:03

topics, whether it's life,

40:06

death, drugs, love, whatever

40:09

the thing is, she's

40:12

just like, she does not wanna

40:14

know. And then it's just like, what? And then

40:16

like gets her attention to something else, which just

40:18

makes sense. That's the reason. Like if my parents

40:20

brought up like sensitive subjects with me, I would

40:23

be like, whatever. So then inevitably,

40:25

like she'll find out about all these

40:27

things from like the other kids at

40:29

school. And like those kids are idiots.

40:31

Yeah. You know what I mean? Like,

40:33

I feel like there's gotta be some joke in that. I

40:35

think there is. And my immediate

40:37

instinct is what if

40:40

you, cause

40:43

in a way she is

40:45

living the good life by not even knowing

40:47

what it is. Oh, that's true. So if

40:50

you're like, what is that? What is

40:52

this smoke shop? And like, wait, what's

40:54

murder? What's joy? You're like, if

40:57

I don't tell you what any of them are,

40:59

and you can just stay in this just sort

41:01

of fog of life where

41:03

almost like a dog, you just need to

41:05

be stimulated and not have to think about

41:07

the future or the past or death or

41:10

even being alive at all. Maybe your whole

41:12

life will be just this purely blissful

41:16

thing. No, I was like, so

41:18

anyways, we're not telling her anything, but then you get

41:20

to the point, but you know who is going to

41:22

tell her. You know who is, yeah, yeah, yeah. These

41:24

jerks, these kids her age and they don't know shit.

41:27

Yeah. They don't know anything.

41:30

And then for me growing up, it was

41:32

like the dare program, right?

41:37

Which is an acronym that people aren't familiar in the

41:39

80s for like drug abuse

41:42

resistance education, which feels like it was

41:44

written by someone on drugs. Yeah. Drug

41:47

abuse. Here's the reason.

41:50

Resistance. All right, look, it's gotta be four

41:52

words. We know that much, but we

41:54

do know it has to be four. It

41:57

doesn't have to be completely

41:59

relevant. It should have

42:01

the word drug in it.

42:04

Drug? It should start with drugs.

42:06

It could be drugs. It

42:08

should be something with drugs and then... Yeah.

42:11

ARE. What do we got? I

42:13

want to see Show of Hands. And

42:16

then to add insult to injury like they

42:19

come to class and then it's a

42:22

police officer going we dare you not.

42:24

And you're like what? Yeah. You're like

42:26

what? Yeah. Like dare us

42:29

not to do drugs. We shouldn't do them. You're saying

42:31

don't do it. And also like

42:34

when have you ever been dared not

42:36

to do something? Yeah. You

42:38

know what I mean? Like that doesn't exist. Yeah. Like

42:41

so it's like we're wildly confused as kids

42:43

and then and by the way like I

42:46

hadn't considered

42:49

using drugs before that point. You know what I

42:51

mean? So I'm like maybe I should. You

42:54

know you have never been dared to do something. Like

42:57

truth or dare? Dare. Alright I dare

42:59

you to never tell the truth. Like

43:04

oh that's great that seems way easier. That's

43:07

really funny. You mean lie all the time?

43:09

Like yeah it seems great. Truth or dare? Dare. I

43:12

dare you not to use drugs.

43:15

Yeah. Oh alright. I'm not. Wait

43:17

do you have a moment? Like a challenge? Yeah.

43:20

Like here's a slice of pizza. I know you're hungry. Well

43:24

it's such a completely ridiculous concept and

43:26

then yeah and then like and then

43:28

I yeah as a kid it's like it

43:31

was the first time I had even considered using drugs. Or

43:33

even knew what they were. Or even knew what they were.

43:35

Yeah and then they were like you

43:37

know and they were like you know people might

43:39

come up to you and be like you

43:42

know you should try crank or

43:44

boomers or angel dust and I

43:46

was like angel dust. I

43:49

was like angel dust you say. Like I was like

43:51

a sixth grade altar boy. Yeah. I

43:53

was just like that sounds perfect. Yeah. Like I

43:55

shall take the angels. Angel dust. And soar to the

43:57

heavens. It's got a great name. It's got a great

43:59

name. Jesus Christ! No, it does. It

44:02

literally like, I was thinking about the

44:04

name, clearly was written, created

44:06

by someone on Angel Dust. Yeah. Because

44:08

it's too good. It's not like some

44:11

Pfizer raps. We're just like, what

44:13

about Angel Dust? You know what I mean? Yeah. What

44:15

about Pixie Dust? No. No.

44:18

It's been used. Angel

44:21

Dust, similar. But real. But

44:23

we know angels are

44:25

real. Pixies are not real. Angels

44:28

are real. The logic of

44:30

that DARE program is so

44:38

utterly confusing what the logic was

44:40

there. We had it at our

44:42

school. Yeah. And it was Officer

44:44

Butler. And you know, she taught

44:46

us stuff. She would play

44:49

kickball with us at recess. Nice.

44:51

And I later found out she

44:53

was no longer a police officer

44:55

because she murdered her husband.

44:59

And that woman... This interview's over.

45:02

That woman, that officer,

45:04

just didn't think

45:09

we should do drugs. And I got to say,

45:11

the moment I found out, I really

45:13

went, I bet some of the

45:15

drugs... I bet she was wrong

45:17

about some of the drugs. Or

45:21

I bet she was wrong about some of

45:23

the drugs. It made me

45:25

second guess everything I had been

45:27

taught. I bet pot's okay. Oh my

45:29

God. She can't be 100% right and a

45:31

murderer. And also like was she

45:40

on drugs when she murdered her husband? Yeah.

45:42

That's another good thing. Yeah. Will we ever

45:45

get to know that part of it? Yeah.

45:47

Pretty bizarre. Pretty bizarre. That's a

45:49

wild one. When did you murder her

45:51

husband after you were out of school?

45:53

Well, yeah. Well, here's my inner... I

45:56

ran into someone from school and they're like, this

45:58

is what her life does. became

46:00

holy shit. That's insane. Oh, you know what

46:02

programs you should have been in. We dare

46:05

you not to murder your husband. We dare

46:07

you not to be a murderer. Oh

46:10

yeah. Keep it. You dare to

46:12

keep kids off murder. You

46:14

can try. You can

46:16

try to keep me off it. Yeah. They're

46:19

going to offer you a street murders. They're

46:21

going to offer you house murders. Yeah. They

46:23

know. All right. Look, it's there.

46:25

It's forward and it's about murder.

46:28

And I know there's already no

46:30

M in there to even play with.

46:37

This will be murder.

46:40

Yeah. Demurder is

46:42

opposite murder. Demurder

46:46

about remittance

46:49

every time about the murder about remittance

46:52

every time. No, no, no, no, no.

46:55

We got all right. Everyone really push.

46:57

We got the weekend by Monday. Everyone

47:00

needs to have five Monday. We need a

47:02

draft. We need

47:05

a track. We dare you not

47:07

to try murder. Don't murder anybody

47:09

and go get out there in

47:11

the world, but don't murder people.

47:13

Oh my God. Do you

47:16

have new bits you're working on? There's her premises

47:19

observation. I'm in that

47:22

new space of

47:24

trying to figure out what I am

47:26

going to do. Yeah. So

47:28

I do

47:31

have some ideas, but I've

47:33

gone on stage and just

47:36

played with them a little

47:39

bit. One I have

47:42

is people who always want you to know

47:44

they're good at history in a way where

47:49

they just feel the need to drop it. And I

47:51

don't have it's like literally I just go on stage

47:53

and try it and I all the, the. Doesn't

47:56

make sense. The variables of it. I'm like, this

47:58

could be fun here if I really sat. and thought about

48:00

it. But it's like

48:02

when someone says, hey, do you

48:04

remember where grandma and grandpa

48:07

lived back in Iowa? And they're like,

48:09

well, let me see, Kennedy died in 63. And

48:12

it hasn't died, but they just need

48:15

you to know I'm informed of things.

48:17

There's probably better examples into it, but that when

48:20

I- World War II started in 39. Yeah,

48:23

so it would have to be- Late

48:25

40s, probably. The axis of

48:27

evil is this. And

48:30

I think what happened, yeah. America

48:33

entered in 42. So

48:36

I think it was Westford Road.

48:38

I think Cedar Rapids. It was Cedar

48:40

Rapids. And so by then they would have been in

48:42

Cedar Rapids. So that's

48:44

right. Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's a great bit.

48:47

I think that's a great premise. One

48:49

that's really fun is, thank you.

48:51

One that's really fun is I get the crowd singing.

48:54

I'm like, do you guys know that song? I'm like, oh,

48:56

what a night. Late December back-

48:58

And I get the whole, back in 63.

49:02

What a very special topic everyone's

49:04

singing. And what a lady,

49:07

what a night. Kennedy was just assassinated

49:09

less than a month ago. Oh my

49:11

God. This guy's out living it up,

49:13

finding the love of his life. And

49:16

the world just changed drastically

49:20

less than a month ago. He

49:23

says late December. It's

49:25

pre-Christmas. This

49:28

isn't New Year's Eve. He would have said that. Right,

49:31

he's time stamping. He's

49:33

time stamping precisely when this

49:35

late December, back in 63,

49:37

I feel like it's more

49:39

mid-December. It

49:42

hasn't even been four

49:44

weeks since a brutal

49:46

assassination. And people wondering,

49:49

who did it? Like who was

49:51

there a plot? But also, what's

49:53

up? That's so funny, was

49:56

there a plot, what's up? And also you're the history

49:58

guy in this story. Become

50:00

the guy you've been your first bit.

50:02

Yes, exactly. Yes. Yes Yeah

50:09

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're exactly right because you

50:12

could start reeling off Potentially

50:14

like different songs and

50:16

historical events that coincided,

50:19

you know summer 69 is like that you

50:21

could do Brian Adams. Yeah Right,

50:26

I'm sure some horrific thing happened You're

50:30

just like Robert Kennedy So

50:38

funny I was just trying to like sprinkle in

50:41

like in the latest ever bang like Kennedy just

50:43

died like could you imagine it's You

50:45

know October of 2001 and

50:48

people are like they think bin Laden did

50:50

it and they're like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah I

50:52

think I've met the one You're

50:56

out and about like what do you mean? What

50:58

do you mean you met the one I've been going

51:00

on some dates like really right now Right

51:04

now you're out there meet

51:06

people And

51:08

also like you have to imagine like the

51:10

Kennedy family just like in the car

51:13

being like, oh What a night and then it's

51:15

like it late It

51:19

quite right well it was

51:21

just before Thanksgiving change

51:23

the station Am

51:26

for a little bit This

51:29

is usually the starting point for a

51:31

lot of my stuff where I'm I'll

51:34

do these things now and play with them

51:36

more and more and it

51:38

really will sometimes take three to

51:41

five years Yes before it's really

51:43

like and that goes right there

51:45

and now it's a two-minute Thing,

51:48

you know what? I mean already just linking the

51:50

those Kennedy 63 history buff Yeah,

51:53

already that's like. All right. Now. There's

51:55

a little bit of meat to

51:57

it to like extend a little bit Yeah,

52:00

I love that. I always say to people in my live

52:02

shows. I'm like you might come see me in six months

52:04

or a year You go that got better. That's funnier Definitely.

52:07

You'll see something tonight that you'll be

52:10

like what happened to that We

52:12

ended up that joke that story and the answer

52:14

is gone and it's gone and the reason it's

52:16

gone is because of you Yeah, I want you

52:18

to consider that as you and your idea wants

52:20

to laugh at you and your peers decided it

52:22

wasn't going to Hollywood that's right. You voted it

52:25

off the show. Yeah The

52:33

Finally we do is go work it out for

52:35

cause and we contribute to nonprofit that you think

52:37

is doing a good job All

52:40

right. I have always been

52:42

a fan of St.

52:44

Jude Children's Hospital. I've toured it

52:47

in Memphis, Tennessee I've

52:49

played in their golf events to raise money and

52:51

I've always loved the idea that all

52:54

of these children and their families Will

52:57

never be faced with some catastrophic bill

52:59

When they find out, you know horrific

53:02

news about what their child may have to go

53:04

through and then they themselves And

53:06

I just love that I wish More

53:10

things existed that way but something I loved

53:12

the most about that hospital Was that all

53:14

of the desks and chairs and everything were

53:17

kid level so that when kids

53:19

came in They didn't feel like they

53:21

were entering into a space that was for adults They

53:23

came into a space where they felt like oh,

53:26

this is like for me like anything to make

53:28

them feel comfortable and when

53:30

someone shows you that and teaches you that

53:32

and explains the Stories of

53:34

these families and these kids like it.

53:37

It makes you go. All right, you guys are

53:39

doing Great. I can

53:41

get behind this pretty easily. I was a

53:43

tough customer on this place I

53:45

gotta tell you won me over. I gotta tell you

53:47

I was skeptical. I'm

53:49

still of this children's hospital But

53:53

y'all are doing can I tell you

53:55

something I thought it was

53:57

a hospital run by children So

54:01

now I like it. Thank

54:04

you. We're contributing. We'll link

54:06

to them in the show

54:08

notes. Rory, thanks for

54:10

coming by. It's such an honor. Yeah, I

54:12

love your comedy so much. Thanks, man. Same.

54:14

I appreciate it. All right. Looking

54:16

it up, it looks more

54:18

clever. Looking

54:21

it up, it does look

54:23

better. That's gonna do it for

54:25

another episode of Working It Out. You can find Rory's

54:27

new special religion sex and a few things in between on

54:29

a Max, which used to be HBO, and now it's

54:31

Max. Check out verbiggs.com to sign

54:33

up for the mailing list. Our producers are working

54:35

it out for myself, along with Peter Salamo, Joseph

54:38

Verbigly, and Mabel Lewis, associate producer Gary Simons. Sound

54:40

mix by Ben Cruz is supervising engineer Kate

54:43

Balinski. Special thanks to Jack Anzoff and Bleachers

54:45

for their music. They have

54:47

a new album, which is fantastic.

54:50

Taylor Swift has a new album that Jack was a

54:52

producer on. That's fantastic.

54:55

Special thanks, as always, to my wife,

54:57

the poet, J. Hope Stein. Special thanks,

55:00

as always, to our daughter, Una, who built the

55:02

original radio fort made of pillows. Thanks

55:04

most of all to you who are listening. If you enjoy

55:07

the show, rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts. Tell

55:10

your friends, tell your enemies, maybe your

55:12

coworker needs to think of a catchy

55:14

acronym by Monday, and they're stressed because

55:16

they only have one of the letters.

55:18

In an attempt to calm them down,

55:20

you recommend this podcast by saying, hey,

55:22

why don't you listen to Working It

55:24

Out, and maybe the podcast could sort

55:26

of stoke the fire of

55:28

your own artistic process. And then before you

55:30

know it, they've thought of

55:33

the acronym. WIO.

55:37

Try it. See how that goes

55:39

over. Thanks, everybody. We'll see you next time.