The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Best of 2021

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

Andy Richter shares some of his favorite moments of 2021 featuring Chelsea Peretti, Bowen Yang, Aisha Tyler, Jason Mantzoukas, Nikki Glaser and Tim Meadows.

hi everyone this is andy richter and this is a special edition of the three questions uh it is the best of 2021 which is kind of of like saying the best formed turd because 2021, well, actually 2021 wasn't that bad. You compare it to 2020 where we were really stuck indoors and really isolated. At least we got out a little bit in 2021. You know, we're back home now. a little bit in 2021. You know, we're back home now. We're living with the ongoing consequences of multiple, multiple stupidities. But, you know, you got this podcast to listen to.

If you don't know, The Three Questions is a podcast that's basically meant to sort of, you know, get people to sort of examine where they're from and why they are the way they are. The three questions are, where do you come from? Where are you going? And what have you learned? And for me, one of the best things about this show is that I don't talk to anybody that I don't want to talk to. You know, like, I was on a talk show for years. And frequently, we had guests that we weren't want to talk to. You know, like I was on a talk show for years and frequently we had guests that we weren't that interested in, to be honest. I mean, I didn't have to talk to

them mostly. I mean, you know, just sat and looked at the back of their heads. But, you know, when you got a show, it's a volume business. You got to make the donuts. You get a lot of people in that you're kind of iffy about. None of people especially these the people that are on this edition none of them are iffy they're all they're all top draw top draw folks uh and we're going to be hearing from uh chelsea peretti bowen yang aisha tyler jason manzoukas nikki glazer and tim meadows uh what do they have in common they're all really fucking funny like that's part of it um but also they're just great people they gave a great interview they were generous with their time with me and uh and with you frankly um because this is all for you people

I don't have any stake in this I mean mean, I'm barely, the medication barely makes me even aware of where I am most of the time. So the first clip we have is with Chelsea Peretti. Chelsea Peretti, who years ago named one of her specials, One of the Greats, which I will always love her for doing that. She's a very, very funny stand-up comedian been around for a while uh is now a mother um and is has a hilarious instagram uh which is mostly just her watching videos uh but she was on the show and she talked a little bit about growing up in northern california she was a the show, and she talked a little bit about growing up in Northern California.

She was a funny, weird kid. She ended up having a lot of comedian friends come out of her childhood with her, and crushes on a few of them. And she also talked very sort of knowingly about having clarity about your passions. So here she is, Chelsea Peretti. Were you a funny kid in school? I ask that a lot. Yeah, I feel like I was weird.

I was called weird, which is now to this day a word I really despise. Until junior high, in which point my survival instincts kicked in and I had to become extremely funny. Well, weird and funny often say there's a lot of overlap. The weird was a training camp for the funny that was later to emerge. What did weird mean? What did weird mean? Like me and my friend were kind of like dorks.

And I found this play we had written called Gertrude's Revenge. And the subtitle was All Popular Kids Beware. So that's what I was up to. It's like, couldn't be more of a textbook fucking dork. And, um, and you know, I don't know, there was a really pretty hot girl there and her mom was heavily involved in the PTA. And I always came to school and like, she was like my friend, then she wasn't speaking to me and no one else was speaking to me. Like elementary school was horrible for me and like kind of emo and painful. And then junior high, I don't know, it just kicked in. I was, I was under constant attack. The junior high school that I went to,

everyone was always like, just, I mean, first of all, people were hilarious and they were always attacking each other. So you had to be ready because you were always vulnerable. And I can still look in that yearbook and be like, this is what this person was made fun of for. This is what that person. I could look at every picture and be like, it comes back clear as day. It's like a trauma memory. But then on the other hand, that's when I became like crazy and funny. Yeah.

Now, it's interesting because like you knew Andy Samberg and Moshe Kasher when you were like other comedians. Like what is it about where you guys grew up that makes it so funny? Is it like a super liberal area? It is. Yeah. Berkeley, Bay Area. I think that Moshe actually went to the school I was just talking about. I think he was like a year younger than me or two.

And so he was like really tiny at the time and always had red cheeks. That's all I really remember. And he was always wearing a starter jacket as were most of the kids at that time. And Nike Cortez and whatnot. But and then Andy went to Berkeley High. Well, I knew Andy from elementary school. And he was in that time where I was considered weird and I had a crush on him. And he didn't really care. And that was

Andy. But then he went Was he at least kind about it? I don't even really remember. I mean, I just remember a lot of like. That means no. No, I mean, he wasn't mean. I don't remember him being mean. Yeah, fuck Andy. Fuck you, Sandberg. Oh, high and mighty. Fucking prick. of like that means no no i mean he wasn't mean i don't remember him being mean yeah fuck andy fuck you sandberg oh high and mighty fucking prick um no i i think it was you know when you're that age your crush is so completely in isolation it's like you're living in an entire world about

yourself yeah you know i just remember it was like calling his house and I feel like hanging up and just thinking he was cute. And what also, too, is weird is like the seemingly arbitrariness of it. Like, why this person? Why? Like, you know, like you have a detector in your brain and they have a chip in theirs and it's like, yeah, I'm obsessed with you. It's especially weird with like little kids, you know, like when you get like, I have some younger kids in my family and they're starting to be in the age of crushes. And you're like, it's so weird. Who are they going to like and why? Like, it feels weird that kids have crushes, you know, young people.

Yeah. I was just thinking the other day when my daughter was, i think she was it was you know maybe middle school but uh my son is gay and has been out for a long time and so she you know being gay has been a very you know like normal thing in our household and i was just thinking about she got in the car after school my ex-wife was driving and she got in and the first thing she said is like well i guess i'm straight she was disappointed and it was yeah she was disappointed and then would not explain like why what are you talking about never mind just trust me i'm straight oh my so is it like she liked someone and he didn't like her back or like she tried to make out with the girl

still to this day don't know yeah i don't know i can't wait heard some heard some indigo girls yeah i don't know nothing you know felt nothing yeah um that's so funny i honestly don't know but uh but yeah it is it is weird i mean well and also too like having kids that go through those ages and stuff, you just realize like, oh my God, you're just like a cloud. Like you're not even like a set thing. You're just like a cloud of hormones and emotions and feelings and a bombardment of information. Yeah. I always think that because it's like, you know, you ask tiny kids what they want to be when they grow up. It's like, yeah, cool. You'll be a vet, I'm sure, you know?

And then like, even when someone's in college, it's totally unclear like what they're actually going to be, you know, like, or. Oh, I know. Yeah. Or what they're going to look like. Tell they've gone through puberty. You don't even know what a kid's really going to look like. Like there's a lot of reveals.

That's what keeps it exciting. Yes. And also different parts grow at different rates. You know, like. That's what keeps it exciting yes and also different parts grow at different rates you know like that's what he said oh you know what i mean like like kids like just like get giant ears all of a sudden yeah and then their skull catches up to the ears you know yeah i think probably seventh grade was the ugliest i've ever been in my life. I was just like kneecaps and nose. And I had braces and a perm and I straightened my bangs with a curling iron and curled them under.

It was just a mess. A mess. Wow. Yeah. It was like, that's the cool part about being like super ugly when you're like in your teens and puberty is that no matter what you have nowhere to go, but a better look. Yeah. Yeah. Um, did, uh, were you, were you interested in performing? Like, were you in plays and things? Yeah. Yeah. I did. Uh, I did theater and stuff since I was really little. I started doing classes at the American conservatory theater, their young

conservatory in San Francisco. So I was like, really? Oh, wow. Yeah, I was really into theater. And I did like their main stage in ACT in San Francisco. I did two productions there and missed a bunch of school. That's why I think I don't know anything about states and geography and things like that. states and geography and things like that.

And so was that in your head? Like, you know, speaking of like asking a little kid what they want to do, was that kind of in your mind? Well, what's funny is someone just found in my family something I had written like about how I wanted to be. I think I posted it to Instagram. I have to find it. But it was like about how I wanted to be rich and famous for acting or something. And I was like, well, two out of three, but no, I mean, it was kind of cool to see like a dream that I had for so long, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I, I found, uh, years later I found,

you know, like one of those baby books that you're supposed to update, you know, first, second, third. Yeah. And you do the first couple months and then you never touch it again. Well, my family, or I think my mom did, or my grandma did like the first two or three years. And then there was like a four-year gap. And then I found it and started filling it in myself. Oh my God. It's so sad. And there was a point where, like when I was five, I said, I want to be a fireman.

Well, wait, how many years commitment was this book? It's like up through 15. It was like, yeah, like exactly. Yeah. That's too much. It was like, you know, like something you buy at like a Hallmark store. Yeah. But still, I mean, it should end at a year like it's it's wild that it would go anywhere i mean that's a huge undertaking for any parent yeah i know but it's also you know there would be it's like 48 andy just tried a matcha latte 32 first gray hair at 40 40, doctors were right.

He needs reading glasses. It's like who, and also it's like who will eventually read this? This is a lot of details. Yeah. It's your biographer, obviously. Yeah, absolutely. But I remember, like at five, I think I said fireman for some reason, which I feel like I probably didn't really.

I just was like, I felt like I got to put something. Yeah. But then like at six or seven, I actually, I went from actor to then the next year comedian, like I'd obviously learned the word comedian. So there again, it was kind of the same thing. So that's when you first became aware of how hot actors are. Oh yeah. Yeah.

And I knew I couldn could never hold it up i was like actor and then i looked at myself in the mirror i was like comedian i'm gonna have this toddler body the rest of my life fuck that i'm a comedian people are gonna laugh at this um when i take my clothes off it's a different thing um but yeah so i mean i i do feel like yeah it's it is kind of neat that you knew this thing it is i always think that that's like one of the biggest gifts i've ever you know i have in my life is a clarity of what i'm passionate about and what what drives me because when people don't have that, I literally have no idea what to tell them. Like if someone's like, I don't really know what I want to do and da-da-da,

it's just so hard for me to, I just feel so thankful that I have a passion that drives my life because I can't imagine what life would be without that, you know? Yeah. It's akin to a religion, you know and what what i feel like some people get from religion can't you tell my loves are growing this next uh clip is from bowen yang uh who has taken the world by storm um i knew bowen he used to do these hilarious kind of lip sync videos and it's just like who's this guy doing these hilarious lip sync videos to old campy clips and not so old campy clips uh but snl took note of him too and

they hired him and he is one of the funniest people on that show right now and when he talked to me he talked a little bit about the ups and downs of that job, because there are plenty of both. He got advice from some former castmates. He gets into the hiring process, which is pretty interesting. And he also tells us something about those viral lip sync videos videos that he does. I love Bonier. I think with SNL, too, it, you know, with the exception of, like, Eddie Murphy or something, it takes a while. Oh, yeah. You know, and it takes a while.

And it's so strange because there's, like, so many shows, so many episodes of SNL where it only occurs to me afterwards, like, oh, I only saw Melissa Villasenor once in that episode. Sure, sure, sure. You know, I mean, there's just, you know, the way that it all, the cards get kind of dealt. You can go through a few weeks of not having much to do.

Oh, I've had those stretches. And I anticipate having those stretches going forward. But, but yeah, it's, it's a, it's a job where it only gets clear in hindsight, which I, which might be true for any job.

But for me, it's like, but this is just the way that like people like build out legacies there. I think is that like, when you think of a cast member that you love, maybe with the exception of Eddie Murphy, you go, you're only really thinking of the highlight reels you're not thinking about oh they were dead like that was a sketch where

they didn't really deliver or whatever you know like i don't i don't think we think of like snl cast members in those terms but but i think any cast member will tell you i mean not that i've like surveyed them but like i think most cast members will tell you that like oh yeah like there are dark desolate times when you feel like you're not part of the thing um but i was even talking to like um kristin wigg when she hosted over christmas where she was like and she was very encouraging and she was like you know you should just appreciate this job even in the bad times it's the you should just remember that it's the funnest job in the world because when you're gone you'll miss it and i was like oh my god like to have her say it is like one thing because it's

her but then to have her to have her also acknowledge that there are bad hard times which means that she's had those times is like kind of crazy to me because I'm like, yeah, I thought, I thought you had like as desirable and ideal of a tenure here as anyone would, would want. But even she probably experienced those moments of like, God, I, I can't hack it or whatever.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, it, I mean, I don't know how it is now, but I, I mean,

a yes, it is now, but I mean, A, yes, it is. A, you're working in Rockefeller Center, which, I mean, I still can't believe that I got to work for seven years in Rockefeller Center and I had an office. But working in that building, and also, too, I mean, because I used to, on Thursdays when there would be the musical guests would rehearse, On Thursdays when there would be, the musical guests would rehearse. Mm-hmm. We would just go down the stairwell, one floor, and then pop in the back door of the stage and then stand and watch, fill in the blank. Right, right. Watch Prince, you know. Right, oh my God.

Like from 20 feet away with 30 other people. And just that feeling of, you know,'s like wow this is tv like i'm really i am in tv now and it still you know is thrilling it's still like can't kind of believe it that's that's great because i'm like well i'm like well i will this ever go away? I mean, will this feeling, will I ever be so, like, I don't know, numb to that reality? Because I still wake up and I'm like, oh, my God, I can't believe this is it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you're not. If that goes away, that means you're an asshole, basically.

Maybe I'm an asshole. Give it time. I could become one. When you started, you kind of, you first crossed my radar by doing lip sync videos. Oh, sure. On the internet. Yeah. And that was so, what spurred that on?

Just fucking around and in your apartment? Basically, yeah. What spurred that on? We just like just fucking around and in your apartment and. Basically, yeah. I mean, there was a live show that happens every year in Brooklyn called The Inner Beauty Pageant. And it's run by this fantastic comedian, Joe Firestone. And you needed, there was like, you had to design your own swimsuit. And then you also had to come up with a talent. It's like a traditional beauty pageant structure. And so I couldn't figure anything out.

And so I was like, you know what? I'll lip sync to this clip of Tyra Banks yelling at this poor girl. Oh, right. We're rooting for you. We're all rooting for you. And I did that at the show. Was kind of truly shocked at people liking it. Because I was like, this is such a gimmicky, like party tricky thing.

But OK, people like it. And then I remember just being sick one day. I was home, bored, fucking around with my camera and just did it and posted it to Twitter. And I was like, OK, people. Oh, this is that same like weirdly scaled response where I'm like, oh, people like this more than I thought they would, which I know sounds like really, whatever, dumb, but I was just like, oh, this is interesting. And then I just kind of like, kept it going. And then after a certain point, I was like, you know what, there's something about this. There's something about this that I thought I started to get very

insecure about it, because I was like, it was for for a while i like wasn't really like writing well comedy wise and i was like you know i should maybe rest this thing because it's not generative in the sense of like it's an idea coming from my head and i'm like executing it on the page the stage whatever so i was like i should like maybe just phase this out because it feels like it's contingent on what another person says or does which i know sounds again very abstract um but that's when i was like you know i'll let me just like rest this and so i haven't really done it since but now uh when you got the job writing on snl um was that did you come to their attention because of those videos i don't think it was because of those videos i i went the pretty traditional route of submitting the tape um with my characters fully thinking they would never they

would never hire me i am like fully i do not fit into that i like i don't have there there is no lane for me there yeah um do you think that's just not because because you're asian because it was that it was my sort of sensibility probably being a little too like not family friendly not family friendly but like truly like not compatible with yes what they do there um do you mean gayer gayer and also just like which is not the same thing but also probably just like i don't know looter and just like yeah dirtier yeah at the time i remember just being very into by the time i got to college i like discovered she'd already been very established at the time but i like discovered sarah silverman and it was

just like oh my god like that's like that's sort of like her wheelhouse and is like let me try that on for size and yeah and she's a genius at it too like that was kind of like the the little neighborhood i was in. Yeah. At the time when I first auditioned, but I was like, all right, well,

let me put together this tape. I did like this, like my soul, my soul cycle instructor guy. I did like, I did a Michiko Kakutani impression. She like writes reviews for the New York times. Yeah.

Okay, great. We're mutuals on Twitter. Oh, you are? Yeah, yeah. Wow, you and Michiko. Is her avatar still that little egg or something? I think she has... I can't remember. Yeah. Oh, that's a big one.

That's a good follow. I know. Like, I'm impressed. I'm still impressed. With yourself? Yeah. Because she's smart. So smart. When smarty people, when smart people follow me, I'm like, oh, well. I know, I know. But I just loved that she's only had her picture taken twice in her life,

and no one knows what she sounds like. And so I was like, great, this is perfect for me to do an impression of her, quote-unquote, where I get to just make it whatever I want. Has that been on the show? Because I i get to just make it whatever i want has that been on the show because i don't know that it has not it has not been on the show i don't think there's a place for it but they could i mean you know that that whatever the impression is could be anybody you know i mean if it you know sure yeah yeah sure it could be it could be i just feel like it was maybe it was a little mean spirited because I was in a scarf and a wig. But like, but the voice was butch like this and it's Michiko Kakutani and I'm gonna go,

I'm gonna go punch Juno Diaz in the face. It was like that. That was the impression. And so I don't, I don't know if that there's, I don't know that there's a place for it, but I, but,

but, but this, but like, I like, I like did this cause I was truly like, I was treating the tape as a bit. I was like, there's no way.

Yeah. Ever going to like move past the first stage gate or whatever. And so, but I mean, I thank goodness for it because I think I, it was a very true to me tape. And so it made it to them. And then,

then I got the showcase and then I got the screen test. And so it happened through that route. And then kept coming back in and kept being asked to do new stuff. And then they put me on hold for a year. Came back the next year. Did it again. Then they were like, hmm, not cast, but maybe writer. I was like so happy to do it.

And then, yeah. And then just kind of started there there was the the year that you got hired as a writer was that the first time that you had made your complete living in show business yeah it was um i had just left my day job as um just doing like graphic marketing design like a few months before because at that point i had already done the audition twice and i already i didn't but then i kept my day job for a year. Yeah. But like at that,

but I spent that whole year being like, well, if I got to that, if I, if I got that far in the SNL audition process, hopefully that means I can strike out on my own and not have to worry about this and just see. Yeah.

But then it timed out very, just very well where I left my job and then three months later got hired to do SNL. Can't you tell my love's a-growing? Next up is Aisha Tyler. Aisha's just, I've known Aisha for a long, long time and she just has really evolved into kind of doing everything she you know she's a stand-up comedian she was a sketch comedian then she was on a talk show you know an opinion

driven talk show for a long time and now uh she's fighting zombies on tv uh she talks a little bit about growing up as a hippie as she's another northern californian she talks about being a lapsed vegetarian and sort of what her after-death plans are and talking about and she's the as far as i know the only guest we've had so far who grew up on an ashram or ashram i don't know i'm from illinois so it's ashram enjoy asia tyler i am a secret hippie i'm a are you are you i'm a closet hippie yeah i am um a lot of fish playing at your house all the time oh god not that kind of hippie but um uh the lyric uh the the the license plate on my car is the lyric of a pink floyd song

oh wow yeah um off of uh i'm not gonna say what it is unless people follow me around right exactly but um but i do i i am an old school hippie and i have uh i like you know my some of my first well the first album i bought was metallica's kill Them All. That's not hippie music, but I was really into like, you know, uh, Zap and The Doors. And I have been to a few Grateful Dead concerts. Yeah. Um, oh God, who was that? Now their name is not even in my head. And I loved them.

Uh, the band that were the lead guy was also this incredible flautist. Oh, Jethro Tull. Jethro Tull. I was apparently not such a fan that i remember their names but i was huge it's been a while yeah i'm very old i'm just i'm i'm vintage um but yeah and also my parents were like um they grew up on the east coast but they moved to california specifically because they were big hippies so like oh really i lived in an ashram when i was growing up i was vegetarian i was raised a vegetarian wow meditating all that stuff so yes are you still are you still a vegetarian have you managed oh no no no no no well here's what's interesting um and you were talking about how like

experiences when your kid kind of becomes seminal in your life right so i was raised a vegetarian but like not in a vegetarian community really like but the ashram was vegetarian but school everybody had like bologna and shit and so like that's not fucking cool when like right not only but like not in a vegetarian community really. Like the ashton was vegetarian, but school, everybody had like bologna and shit. And so like, that's not fucking cool. When like, not only do you not have meat, but like you have like literally inedible hunks of like carbon based matter

for lunch. Like that kid's got pizza and you've got like a date or so. Oh God. Yeah. I mean, spelt would have been elevated. It was like dates and these like kind of big newtons that were made out of like bark. And so I was just like a beggar when I was a kid.

Cause like, you know, typically the currency of childhood is like, I'll give you half of the bologna for like your jello cup. And I was like, I will eat whatever rejecta you choose to fling into the garbage can. So it was a little isolating. And I wonder, I think when I was older, I found that to be, I mean, not in any kind of like deep trauma way because I'm a pretty bouncy personality. But I did kind of like kind of have a PTSD and then just want to eat like everything, like meat and offal and uni and clams that look like penises and vaginas. I'll do anything now. But now I kind of am a little bit of a flex just because I feel like it's probably better for me.

It's probably better for the planet not to be eating a steak every day for breakfast. So I'm pretty much vegetarian at home. And then I'll go out and eat a steak. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm well aware of how much red meat hurts the planet. I don't have a lot of stuff about the actual eating of animals because I do feel like look at nature.

Animals eat animals. Everything's eating everything, you know. I have some really hardcore vegan friends that I adore, by the way, if they're listening. You're so nice. But they're like it's cruel. And I do think factory farming is cruel and probably not good for people either because it's very dirty. is cruel and probably not good for people either because it's very dirty. But eating an animal is no less cruel than like a cheetah just snapping up a gazelle and eating it from the ass and forward while the gazelle is still aware and watching itself

be devoured. There goes my other hunch. Okay, great. This is going terribly. Oh, my liver. There we go. So yeah. So I don't, I think eating less meat is just kind of like a good idea, but I agree.

I don't really have like a moral thing about eating animals. If I was like one of those people, I'd like hunt. Like I have a buddy who was vegan for a while, but he's like, I'll catch my own meat. And we were like, yeah, I love that shit. Let's see how long that lasts. Yeah. Yeah. I, he, he didn't, it didn't last long.

It didn't last long. Yeah. I love, like, I love, I love, I love to fish, but I only like to fish if I can eat them because then me harassing this fish has a purpose. Whereas if you just catch a fish and then pull it into the boat and take the hook out and throw it back, I just feel like that's just mean. Now he's got like a gaping injury in his mouth that's never going to heal right. It's like somebody throwing you into the back of a van and driving you halfway across town and then dumping you off.

What was the purpose of any of this? Yeah. Way to go. I wanted a photo. Yeah. I took a picture holding your foot up in the air. I agree with you. I agree. But I think I would hunt. I would too if I lived somewhere. I have friends that live upstate New York and like they can't

grow a garden because there's so many deer and I feel like, well, hell yeah. If I had, you know, venison showing up in my backyard, I might take a pop at it just to, you know, turn it into protein. I feel the same way about me. Like I'd be happy to be turned into protein for somebody. I think it would be a nice legacy, a way to move on. You know, now you're no longer Andy, you're a gazelle or whatever. Well, I'd be happy to just, you know, dog food.

That'd be fine. I honestly don't care. That'd be fine. I actually, that's so interesting because I'm kind of in the same boat. Like once I'm out of this vessel, I'm not really that invested in what happens to it next. I definitely want to donate all my organs and stuff. And then, you know, like the scraps, you know, like buried in the backyard. Right, right, right. No, my directives are just cremated and toss me in water. I don't even, it could be a puddle. I don't care. Stir

Andy into water like a scoop of Metamucil. I just don't want to take up any real estate. I think that's silly that every dead person needs a place to lay down and can't do something else with. There's not enough real estate, quite honestly, to bury everybody in a six by three foot grave. It's just not going to work. So yes. Well, now I want to go back to ashram. You're the first guest I've had. Well, maybe the first person I've known raised in an ashram. Now, is that when your parents are together? Cause I know they split kind of young. They split when I was 10.

So it was before, it was before then. Yeah. And yeah, we were together, but it was, it was, and it's interesting cause I have really positive memories about it. You know, I, people like watch wild, wild country and they think everybody was like trying to poison each other and have groups. Yeah. Yeah. It was very, it was very, very anodyne experience, but, um, but you, men and women couldn't live together in this ashram, even if you were married.

So, uh, I, it was kind of like dormitory living. So I lived with some other like adult women, like, you know, I mean, like just kind of like nice ladies. And, uh, my parents were around and, um, and it was really fun because it was kind of a compound. So like you had a lot of autonomy as a kid in there because you, it was, it was super safe. So you could run around everywhere and play and you could hide. There were all these really cool places to hide in this thing and like spy

on people and then yell at them and scare them. And I mean, it was, and then you had some kind of, you know, I went to school and I did my homework and I had some responsibilities. I did some chores, but it was rad.

Like one of the things that was really common was that people would bring offerings into the ashram. I went to school and I did my homework and I had some responsibilities. I did some chores, but it was rad. One of the things that was really common was that people would bring offerings into the ashram, like flowers, and they would bring a lot of candy. And so the candy situation in this joint was just premium, A1 abundance. And they wouldn't just bring chocolate bars. They'd bring boxes of See's candy, like chewy nuts. And is that just meant as an offering to yeah like you know like people yeah like exactly to like the gods or you know people knew that it would end up it would end up in the community so it was kind of a way to like make an offering and then they knew that it would get eaten um and yeah i just it was just rad i was just like just like chopping down on like cordial cherries on a regular basis. Cordial

cherries. All the grandma candies. Yeah. All the Werther's, the chewy caramels, the cordials. The ribbon candies in a tin that they may have been there for 10 years. Forever. No one, what is the flavor of ribbon candy other than like, you know, red? Just sugar.

Yeah, totally. But I just had a great at uh a spinster aunt classics and she always had like just the i don't know where she got them the weirdest tins of strange like ukrainian hard candies oh i love it oh so strange inexplicable katie my grandmother loved worthers and she would eat like a full bag of or there's a day and it really fucked with her continence guys so just watch out as you get older that you don't slide into some kind of a caramel k-hole where you're just worthering and pooping just stay on the toilet get that nice high soft seat so you can just kind of go right through you

i'm like this doesn't seem as fun as it seems to you, grandma. Right, right. Yeah. Now, the one thing I was going to say about the Ashram thing was that I think like people kind of find it to be very odd, but it just felt like I was at summer camp for most of the time. How long was it? I think we lived there a couple of years. Yeah. We lived in Ethiopia for a while and kind of a meditative, we'd went to like a meditative retreat. Uh, and then my mom lived in India for a while. So we were, they were,

my family was really into it. Um, and, uh, and then, and then we moved back into like normal, like regular American people housing. Yeah. And did they, did that, now were they Hindu or were they Buddhists or? No, that's a good question. So this was like a, this was like a Hindu, like influenced group. Like a Hare Krishna knockoff kind of thing? Not as exciting as the Hare Krishnas, thank God. Well, yeah, no, it sounds, it sounds mild. My tolerance for symbols is very low.

I can't be dancing. And head shaving, yeah. No, not for me. No, the sect was Siddha Yoga, Dham. So it was a very meditation-based sect. symbols is very low i can't be dead and head shaving yeah no not for me no um the the the sect was siddha yoga dom so it was a very meditation based sect and it was based on kind of hindu practices and it just involved like you know meditating and chanting and doing some public service you know you were required to do like to do service um and uh you know eating a lot of vegetables and shit my My mom is not into it. Both of my parents have left that group.

And my mom is now a Buddhist and she has been for about 25 years. Oh, wow. And your dad, is he practicing anything? My dad's just looking cool. My dad's just spending time being the neighborhood action Jackson. Can't you tell my loves are growing? Next up is Jason Mansoukas. Such a funny, funny, just sensitive, talented man. If you don't think you know Jason Mansoukas, you do.

You've seen him in something because he's been in so much stuff and he's so good. He talks a little bit about having cable TV and how that's sort of an old person thing now. He talks a little bit about dad TV, which is one of my favorite genres of television. And then we talk about listening to old timey radio and how superhero movies are sort of the westerns of today. Here's Jason Mantzoukas. of today. Here's Jason Mantzoukas. People like us should be, like older people, should be the people that are like, of course I still watch

Colbert, of course I still watch The Tonight Show, or whatever is your show. Of course, that's how, you know, like, somebody laughed at me recently because I told them I have cable. And they were like, wait, you actually still pay for cable? Yeah, yeah. And I was like, wait, you actually still pay for cable? Yeah, yeah. And I was like, wait a minute.

Have things tipped now so hard that to still have cable is preposterous? And the answer was yes. It is perceived of as something only for old people. Well, sorry. I know. It's over. That ship has sailed. And I still watch TV and it kind of bugs my kids.

I put on the TV and then i put on the guide and flip around and see what's on and that's and you know you discover great stuff yeah or just whatever honestly there's there is still and it still matters to me it someone else is playing that somewhere yes i am making a connection to someone in real time, like whether it's just somebody put on a, you know, pushed a button on a computer that made, you know,

House Hunters International play at this particular moment. But this is happening right now. Well, yes, to speak to that exact point, it feels like you are living present tense. Yes. You know, like I'm discovering this other thing that's happening right now as well. We both, me and this show are living in at this moment in time, not like me calling up anything I want to watch because I can.

That seems like a closed circuit. You know, it's just me deciding right now I want to watch Letter Kenny on Hulu or whatever, you know, so I'm going to watch it and I'm going to love every episode because it's absolutely genius and hilarious. But there is something wonderful about flipping through channels and catching on Nat Geo, some show about a guy who's like, you know, I'm going to using only primitive tools. I'm going to survive in the pre-Saharan desert for a week. And I'm like, I want to watch this. Yeah, sure, okay.

I wouldn't have known this, but let me see. Yeah. Or like, you know, the giant monster fish that roamed early, you know, prehistoric waters. Like, okay. This is just dad TV talk. Oh, it's all dad stuff. Dad TV talk. You with your ancient monsters and me with my survival shows. waters like okay this is just dad this is just dad oh it's all bad stuff dad tv talk you you with your ancient monsters and me with my survival shows my daughter my daughter insult she's like

she there was oh she was talking about it was some like kind of domestic drama movie you know like some sort of you know poignant family story that touched on truths. And I was like, no, thanks. And she's like, she's like, well, I'm sorry that it isn't Braveheart 2. And I'm like, what is that? And she's like, she goes, that's all you watch is stuff like that. And I'm like, that is, that is not true. It is not true.

But Braveheart 2 is a great pitch. But I'm the same way with radio. I flip through. I listen to MSNBC. I listen to Howard. I listen to one of my favorites on SiriusXM is the old timey radio shows. Sure. Like I love listening to these old radio mysteries, you know, with the old commercials.

It's like, talk about old man shit. I was just going to say, this just went to a whole other level. You know what I love? I love the old radio dramas where you can really hear the foley work. I mean, this is very sad. I just like, to me, it's like, I like stories. Like I like if I got to drive at night

and it's like, I don't want to listen to a whole audio book. You want to turn on the radio and have it be like, woo-hoo, woo-hoo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's enough, Lorraine. I've had enough from you. Precisely. What are you doing with that gun?

Oh, no. I love that shit. I love that shit because, and also, too, I just love there's things like whenever I've noticed in them, like whenever anybody says like, you know, Wilbur, I want a divorce. Like, that woman's going to die. Like, once you say, like, I want a divorce. Like, that woman's going to die. Like, once you say, like, I want a divorce,

or Wilbur's going to die. Like, one or the other of them. You can't mention divorce on an old-timey radio show. Divorce in the olden days is not allowed. Somebody or both have to die. They have to be punished for that transgression. I actually had an idea. I had an idea i had an

idea for a movie script that was set and it was like it was a bigger than just this but it just happened to be set in like the old time radio world and i told it to my agent and he's like i don't think anybody wants to see that okay it's so true thank you that is so true yeah because well it's like it's like Westerns. Nobody wants to see Westerns. There's fucking great Westerns that get made, and no one sees them. Nobody's interested in Westerns. Well, to be fair, I think our version of Westerns now is superhero movies.

Yes. You know, like superhero movies are are for all intents and purposes because westerns in that for the previous generation from the tv westerns like rawhide and bonanza the pulpy kind of westerns to like the you know john ford yeah you know you know incredible beautiful you know yes like like tremendous cinema uh john houstonon, John Ford, like those Westerns, Nicholas Ray. And then you get into like the Sergio Leone. There's so many different versions of Westerns, all the spaghetti Westerns, all that stuff. That's kind of, you know, this is maybe going to sound ridiculous, but that's kind of what's happening now with superhero movies.

No, absolutely. It's their formulaic escapes. You know, it's the same thing. Like I love samurai movies and I like, and it's, they're all the same sort of elements. You know, it's the same thing like i love samurai movies and i like and it's they're all the same sort of elements you know it's like mexican food there's about eight things and you mix them up in different ways and you get 12 different dishes you know i mean it's yeah and and i and there's something satisfying about that on a very like biological level. We obviously like that. We like coming back to slightly different versions of something we've seen before. Well, there's also like, I mean, I think there's also a finite number of stories and how we tell them is what's interesting. Yes.

You know, and so, and I think the same thing with songs. Yeah. interesting yes you know and so and and i think the same thing with songs yeah you know it's not that i think that um some it's it's that like they're you know like everybody does does a love song i just happen to love the love songs from the artists i love the most because they speak to me yeah that doesn't mean all those other bands and love songs like people who like the Eagles, a band that I legitimately despise. I'm like, I'm like, great. I like that you like the Eagles because they resonate with you. They do not with me, but that's fine. And that's kind of what it is. I think is everybody kind of has a different in, I think everybody's taking inspiration from the same kinds

of stories and then putting them out into the world and everybody we especially live now in a world where so much stuff is being pushed at us like an overwhelming amount of content yeah between music and tv and film and like you know and then also not to mention social media and like stuff that is now on our screens whether it's tiktok or snapchat or in the past Vine or things, small platforms that were also places where creative people could kind of put stuff up that was whatever, funny, informative, whatever version of it. They're now people are able to curate a playlist of all of these elements that hits their sweet spot. Yeah. You know, there is no longer or very little is there. Every single person watched MASH last night.

Yeah. You know, or whatever, you know, whatever. Or like Happy Days. Sure. The number one show on TV. Try and watch a fucking Happy Days. Oh, my God. And when you think about the fact that like, you know, on a weekly basis, like 50 million people watched Happy Days every week.

Yeah. Compared to like an episode of Parks and Rec that, you know, or 30 Rock where they got like a million people to watch it. Yeah. And that is such a wide gap. Yeah. You know, we're just in an environment now where it's like, so the audiences for everything are so small so that when something does break through, like a Game of Thrones or something that feels like it has some stab at creating a monocultural experience that everybody is like around the water cooler kind of talking about it. Those are now what used to be very

ordinary parts of our week kind of sharing our thoughts about the show we all watch has now turned into like we're all watching different everybody's trying to instead of everybody being like did you see blank last night everybody's trying to turn each other on to the shows they like yeah that they assume nobody else knows about can't you tell my loves are growing nikki glazer is another person that i have known for quite a while and have kind of just seen her explode she's one of the biggest best stand-ups out there today and she's just so so so funny and always, always has been. She's also, well, the thing that I love most about her is just how frank and open and unafraid she is to talk about herself and why she is the way she is. And if she has questions about things, she's not afraid to ask them in a public way.

She's a beautiful open book and uh we talked a little bit about how your parents might have fucked you up and and sort of how you got to end up forgiving them and and how your parental relationship changes and we talked a little bit uh she's not a parent, at least as far as I know. I mean, you know, these people, these celebrities all have secret lives that are an absolute mystery to me. But we talked a little bit about what it means to make the right choices as a parent. Here is the hilarious Nikki Glaser.

You know, I've had a long journey with my parents being, like, fun and partying a lot and my mom and them drinking and then me stopping drinking and wanting to be removed from them because of that. And and resenting like working on all these resentments in therapy. I mean, therapy is pretty much you just go and learn how your parents fucked you up and then you learn to like hate them for it. And then you learn to forgive them for it and accept them as they are. And it's a long process. So I'm at that point, especially living with them this past year where I just know,

no matter what ways they fucked me up, it has served me. And I can see that now. And they only, they're not evil. They only meant well, they actually, that,

that I did my best shit. I always was like, really, you did your, that's, I don't really buy that, but they, they love me. And that's, and I've accepted that the things they're not great at is just a product of how they were raised. And I do get frustrated sometimes though. And once, and I think I try to, with my standup and going on podcasts and being so honest is I want them to hear that

and learn to be as honest with their feelings as I am. Cause I think it would free them from some of the things that they struggle with that I, you know, but you can't make your, your parents go to therapy or, or talk about their feelings, but, um, I love them so much. I really am grateful that, uh, yeah, I'm just, in the end, I'm so thankful that for the parents I have, they really are, are awesome and so fun. And, and I just like did a reality show with them over pandemic. I was living with my parents and I go, this is a reality show. And that's all the shows I watch as reality is like, that's what I like to watch. And I feel like if I was a producer on it, I could control it in a way where I wouldn't look like a housewife, you know, like

flipping tables. So I was like, we should do this show. So I pitched it. And then, you know, by the time I moved out is when they're ready to film it. And I'm like, oh God, I got to go back and do this. So we just shot a pilot and they were hilarious. And it was in now I realize I did that because they're going to be gone someday. And I want to look back and be able to see footage of them and really remember them. So it's, uh, and I want to look back and be able to see footage of them and really remember them. And I want to spend more time with them and have a reason to stay in St. Louis and not have to go back to New York or L.A. I saw a lot of videos online of you guys on Instagram throughout the pandemic. And you can tell that there's a lot of love there.

And that it's. And like. I would watch them. Like you know. Like excited or not. You know I don't know. I looked forward to your videos. With your folks.

Because A it's a weird situation. Like to have to go back home. Jesus Christ I would. I know. I don't know. I think I'd sleep in the garage back home. Jesus Christ. I would, I know, I don't know. I think I'd sleep in the garage or something. I just, uh, but I, but there did seem, there's just warmth and love and, you know, and, and you can see that they love you and they are very proud of you.

Yeah, they, they are. And, you know, I, I mean, they're assholes, but yeah they yeah they they are so proud of me and they like i i realize now like i pursued this because of them like my dad's sense of humor you know my dad was the first one to turn me on to to conan when i was fairly young and was like you got to check out the show and and i always tell the story but the first time i saw the show like the stuff you guys were doing i just felt finally like understood like's some, there's weirdos like me that laugh, that think like people are doing this stuff. You know, it just, it just, it blew my mind. I just remember the moment in like that I saw the show and then I became obsessed. And so the things he exposed me

to shaped who I am comedically. And I want their, I'm constantly trying to get their love and attention and approval. And they love famous people. So like that, and the reality show thing, my mom loves reality. And I hear Howard Stern talk about how he got into radio because his dad only liked listening to the radio

and he wanted his dad's attention. And I realized, oh, that's why I want a reality show. My mom is much more interested in the housewives personal lives than she is mine. And it almost bothers me that my mom doesn't care that I am not married yet and don't have kids like they're totally fine with it. And I would almost rather her be like, so to meet anyone like there's never that push, which is is actually a very nice thing because I don't feel any pressure. And also, I that push, which is, is, is actually a very nice thing. Cause I don't feel any pressure. And also I want to say like, my parents are my like kids to me,

like they inspire me to work because I want to be able to get them into a really good nursing home someday. Like I'm not even joking. Like I don't want to, I want them to be able to be taken care of and not get, you know, festering bed sores. So I take gigs. And you sure as shit don't want to be sponge bathing them. Exactly. I don't want to be, you know, whenever they buy new shit in their house, I go, I don't, I'm not going to like, look at that and go, Lauren, do you want this?

Do I, I'm going to hire someone to go through all of this shit. Like I cleaned it out now, but the stuff you want me to keep, because I'm going to hire someone to go through all this shit. Like I cleaned it out now, the stuff you want me to keep because I'm going to have someone else do it. And that's why I work hard is I want money to be able to pay people to do the things I don't want to do. Cause I, you know, but that is, you know,

it's not about fame anymore. It's really about being able to take care of my parents. And until I have kids, I just, and I was hearing you talk about to Zach Galifianakis in your podcast with him about having kids and, and, and how it motivates you and gives you just a new reason for living. And I really feel like living with my parents and seeing them getting more dependent on me and just, you know, uh, my eyesight and my ability to lift chairs. It really was like, okay, I'm going to, I got to

work harder. I'm going to accept this, this commercial that I don't want to do, or I'm going to go, you know, I got to think, I got to think about how to earn more money so I can afford that bunker. Cause the, the world's ending soon, you know? Well, I can, I can understand like for me, when I hear you say like, my mom's more interested in the housewives live than your life, it's because the housewives lives are easy. Like to be worried about your life is like that's real. And she's not responsible for the countess having being bad with men, where maybe she has a role for me. Yeah. Or and yeah. And if the countess really fucks up who it's like it's good it's it's it whereas if you really fuck up it's terrible it's awful it's

the end of her life in a way you know you're so right i never even thought about that honestly yeah and it's it's having kids i thought of it when you were talking about it earlier too that you know the thing about your well when you were talking about it earlier, too, that, you know, the thing about your. Well, when you were saying, you know, your parents, they did the best they can. Like, yeah, I see what you mean. Like, you got to aim high and like you got to you know, you can't just phone it in when you're a parent. But also the fact is, it's terrifying. You don't know what you're doing a lot of the time.

And I you know, I had it was wasn't until a couple of years ago that I admitted to my doing a lot of the time. And I, you know, I had, it was, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I admitted to my son, cause he's the oldest, everything we went through with you, you were the first one that we went through that. Like you were the first kid that went to kindergarten. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So it's kind of like, you know, and there's times even to this day where I make choices as a parent and go, oh, my God, I hope this is the right choice. Like, I hope I'm not making it worse because and if you're making it worse, like if you make a choice where you hire the wrong roofing guy, your roof will leak and you'll get it fixed. But if you fuck up with your kids. Well, you know, Elizabeth Smart's dad hired a roofing guy who later kidnapped his daughter and took her to the woods.

So I was giving you that segue. The decision on a roofer could be can be a fraud. But no, I know what you mean. Like, it's I can't. And that is why I don't think I can have kids. I mean, the number one thing I always say about kids is like, how can you sign up for something that if something happens to them, your life is over? Like you will not be able to recover from that. I mean, that is the biggest risk and it's so could happen. I mean, kids are stupid and there's so many, there's so many ways

now that they can be harmed. You're signing yourself, you're taking such a risk. And I think being a parent is honestly like more brave than anything i've you know me getting up in front of people and talking or whatever like those things people are like you're so brave you talked about your vagina on your netflix special but loving something that much that could that something could happen and your life would be over and you'd have to live it's just i think it's the bravest thing. And I don't think I could do it. You know, I mean, I think generally it just becomes a thing where. You know, you're with somebody and that and it and it just kind of comes on you, this feeling of like it's time for us to have a child. Yeah.

And I honestly don't think that you think about it that much until later. Yeah. Until later. Until you you don't make it with someone yeah yeah and and it is like you know and i mean there's plenty of people that have kids solo and that's yeah totally normal too you know yeah i um everyone got into chess after uh the queen's gambit everyone was like oh i'm buying i learned that i really want to get into chess and i was like i think i want to adopt an adult child who can just take me on luxurious trips i was like that was the first time i was like oh you could adopt like a 16 year old like that sounds great to me um because at that point they're less likely to like you know walk

into traffic and stuff like that and and so yeah there is a part of me that like wants to adopt and And I actually, when I was getting ready to talk to you, I called my dad to be like, Oh, you know, he might ask about my ancestry, where I've been, where I'm from. And so I asked my dad about like my roots and my dad was so excited to talk about all this stuff, but he, I go, you know what? The Glazer name is, is, is going to end with us because we have no male, uh, males to like keep the name going unless i become a single mother so i have now i have even more incentive because now the game could keep going possibly tim meadows is truly one of my dearest oldest friends we have known each other 30 plus years now, and he is one of the kindest, sweetest, gentlest souls you will ever meet. And I was really, really happy to have him on the show because he does not like to publicly share.

It's funny. We had we had Nikki. It was the previous clip, Nikki Glaser, and she's a bit of an overshare one might say I mean for me there's no such thing as oversharing if you want to tell me I'll hear it but Tim is a little more he's a little more shy he's a little more reticent so it meant a lot

to me that he was willing to come on this show and be frank and honest and it's one of the most beautiful interviews I've ever done he talked about Chris Farley it was a very emotional And be frank and honest. And it's one of the most beautiful interviews I've ever done. He talked about Chris Farley. It was a very emotional conversation. And again, I just appreciate how open he was.

And he also talks a little bit about how Jane Lynch stole his girlfriend. Here's Tim Meadows. Now, were you hired at the same time as chris farley were you guys like he went he went out before me yeah actually yeah he got hired at the beginning of that season and then i came out in february yeah the halfway point yeah and because you got you guys had been friends before that pretty close friends yeah yeah yeah yeah because we both got hired on main stage of second city at the same time yeah and we were we were both in touring companies you know yeah yeah and so to do that jump together was kind of scary because we were like holy shit people hated us um because we got jumped we got promoted over everybody right it wasn't like we deserved it

even though i think he did but it was dale close who was you know he was like i'm picking who i wanted in my show for main stage yeah and so he picked us that was it well yeah yeah then you deserve it i mean you know i mean you guys are very different performers though i mean you know yes yeah you're an excellent actor you know you're funny but you're but you play things real and he does the exact top you know he's a goddamn traveling circus all in one person yeah yeah he was he was amazing i mean i got to see him a little bit live at different improv shows uh but he but when i was getting there he had already been to snl but then he came back to chicago and was living on well street you know near second city and yeah and uh

living quite unhealthfully unfortunately unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. I have really great memories of him. And sometimes things will flash in my mind. I'll go, oh, yeah, I got to start writing things down so I don't forget. Yeah. But I have these memories like when we were writing at Second City, he and I, we were just nervous during the day, you know? And so our schedule would be like, we'd get up in the morning or an afternoon, whatever.

We'd go eat breakfast. We'd walk and go see a movie downtown somewhere. No matter what, we'd just go see a movie. Yeah. Go back home to my place. I would fall asleep on my couch. to my place, I would fall asleep on my couch. He would fall asleep on the floor in the living room of me and Richard Label's apartment.

And he would wake up at about six o'clock, shake me, wake me up and say he was leaving. He'd go home, shower, and I'd meet him at the theater. So he didn't have time to drink or get high before the show. And so we had that schedule going for for a while and i just remember these moments of like napping on the couch and waking up and looking over and seeing him just all just passed out on the floor yeah yeah sleeping soundly like a baby yeah not drunk or anything yeah no and i just you know it's those

kind of memories of him and i'm just like that were really special yeah you know um yeah we had this moment once at saturday night life once at saturday night life i'm sorry i'm sorry it's okay man i'm sorry now i get choked up talking about it sometimes yeah and also i feel like i'm just on the phone with you yeah yeah yeah yeah well that's good yeah i guess i tricked you we were at the it was the last show of that first season, and he and I were getting ready to go to the party, which was downstairs, remember, like at the ring.

Yeah, yeah. And so we were at that elevator bank on 17, just like in the back, you know. And so we were waiting, and he looks over at me, and he goes, Timmy, can you believe this? And I was like, no. Yeah. I can't believe it.

And he goes, we're on Saturday Night Live. Yeah. I was like, yeah, I know. I know. And then he goes, let's just do this one time. So he hugs me, like, really tight. And it's just like, I don't want to forget this moment you know he's like our first year on saturday night live yeah and he it was so so great he's such a great guy man i miss him think about him every day yeah every day every day and when i do comedy i

think of things that like gonna make him laugh i think that'll get it you know yeah yeah sorry if i got it that's all right i didn't and i didn't this is what i didn't want to do to you is make you make you cry i didn't think about making you cry but i mean you wanted it i'd be a terrible bar you want to get your podcast awards yeah I was under the table I'm like doing a fist pump I like my arm hurts I'm all the fist bumps I'm doing yeah no he was I don't know anybody that didn't like him you know what I mean yeah and I think and you know what honestly that's something I could say about you too I don't know anybody that doesn't like you you are one of the most loved comedy people that's sweet and i mean and everybody you know everybody's got

wrinkles and warts and you know yeah foibles and stuff but you you know you're a very well-loved person you know thank you yeah i gotta tell you i was listening to your podcast once. It was funny. It was Jane Lynch. Yeah. And she was telling this story about Faith Soloway. Yeah. Where she, I was dating Faith at the time. And Faith was a piano player. I don't know. People listening can look it up or whatever. Faith Soloway is now Joey Soloway's sister and was with her, with Joey in the early days creating

the Real Life Brady Bunch. And she also, Faith was possibly the best improv pianist in Chicago at the time. She was amazing. Fire. But yeah,

she and I were dating and then she had not come out and then so we were on the road and i guess as i remember it she just didn't come home like she was supposed to come back and like come to my apartment or whatever she just didn't come back and i was like what's up where is she where is she and then she when she did come back and we talked about it, she came out to me. But she never told me who it was with. Yeah. So when I was listening to your podcast, I heard that it was Jane Lynch.

Oh, really? She said it during the podcast. And then what was funny about it was that you both, she goes, she was like, because he was dating Tim Meadows. She was dating Tim Meadows at the time and you go oh i love timmy and she goes i do too i love timmy he's such a sweet person you guys were both going like he's the nicest guy yeah yeah she just told the story about stealing my girlfriend yeah yeah oh well he's such a nice guy yeah i fucked his girlfriend i think you were dating faith when i first met you and i i mean i'd met i'd kind of met you at like some improv thing and then you were in a i don't like a circuit city commercial it was like yeah and and i was a pa on it and you were like, you know, a guy in a red vest selling TVs. Yeah.

But yeah, that was like when we first started getting to know each other. Yeah. Yeah. That's another thing like that I, like the moment you had that you had with Chris, you know, that like just the appreciation is so so it's so important to keep that and it it's and it it can take extra effort you know it's like a lot of what happens to you in show business takes extra effort to remain humble to remain grateful to and to remain normal and to not be a fucking prick it takes work to stay that way. And I, like, Jane is a perfect example

of someone who's definitely stayed that way. And, you know, the other side of that being, feeling lucky is also being like so amazed at how many people that I knew back then are now household names. There's not, you know, like everybody them and it's it's amazing to me to think about it because i didn't think that i didn't have any plan you know it's like you said you just like this and follow this and i wasn't like oh i'm gonna be on tv a bunch i just was

like yeah this is fun let's see you know it's like pasquazy david pasquazy says it's like when we were doing improv it was it led to a road to nowhere basically yeah exactly you had no guarantee that anything was going to come from it yeah we're doing it because we were trying to learn how to do this art form and you know how to entertain people for an hour with one off of one word yeah yeah yeah and i mean it and it is fun with one off of one word yeah yeah yeah and i mean it and it is fun there's definitely like an adrenaline charge from being able to do it and when i was doing it on a regular basis i felt like my brain was a muscle you know like it just yeah it was there was a high from just that feeling of like knowing like i can get on front i can get in front of people for an hour and a half without any idea and and really entertain them you know can't you tell my loves are growing

well that's it for the best of 2021 uh it's only going to get better in 2022 i swear to god people get off that ledge uh you know Get your head out of the oven. It's going to be fine. We're going to do this. And again, I also, I said this last time we did a sort of recap episode. It really means a lot to me that you people are listening to this show and that it matters to you and that you let me know it matters. I, you know, podcasts, you know, everyone jokes about how everyone has a podcast and, you know, and yeah, I'm one of those people. Yeah, that guy's got a podcast too.

And at times you wonder like, yeah, is anybody even listening? But I know that you are because you let me know that you are. And it is very impactful and very meaningful to me that you do and i just want to thank you for your loyalty thank you for your time and i will see you next week with more three questions bye-bye the three questions with andy richter is a team coco and your wolf production it is produced by lane gerbig engineered by marina pice and talent produced by Galitza Hayek. The associate producer is Jen Samples, supervising producer Aaron Blair,

and executive producers Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson and Cody Fisher at Yearwolf. Make sure to rate and review The Three Questions with Andy Richter on Apple Podcasts.