Better Offline - Radio Better Offline: Andy Richter

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

Welcome to Radio Better Offline, a tech talk radio show recorded out of iHeartRadio's studio in Los Angeles. In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by comedian Andy Richter to talk about how comedy and broadcast have evolved thanks to the internet.  Follow Andy: https://bsky.app/profile/andyrichter.coThe Three Questions: https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/the-three-questions-with-andy-richterThe Andy Richter Call-in Show: https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/andy-richter-call-in-showSixteenth Minute (of Fame): https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-sixteenth-minute-of-fame-172216473/ --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron https://www.instagram.com/edzitron https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com https://www.threads.net/@edzitronSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you. you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage

the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Why are we all so obsessed with romance? On the Radio 831 podcast, join us. Sanjana Basker and Tyler.

McCall as we unpack all the trending tropes, fuzzy adaptations, book talk drama, and celebrity love stories with hot takes and sharp guests. Each episode digs into what these stories reveal about desire, fantasy, identity, and how we love now. Listen to the Radio 831 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The future is bulletproof. The aftermath is secondary. Welcome to Better Offline. I'm your host, Ted Zetron. Today, we're joined in beautiful Los Angeles, Nevada, and I'm joined by Andy Richter, the comedian.

Andy, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for being here. On the way to the studio, I got to see a man smoking crack. It did. Which I haven't seen that in a long time. That's kind of, that's nostalgic. Sure, it is. People are still doing crack.

People are still doing crack in this town. That's what they're saying. So, Andy, you've been... So 90s. So 90s, I know. We're bringing the 90s. he's back. I was listening to a system of a down. Sorry, I've been down this rabbit hole,

and this is a tech podcast, we'll talk about stuff eventually. I've been down this rabbit hole of listening to this band called O2 that does covers of bands in the style of other bands. And there was a system of a down, in the style of system of down cover of the Scatman song. Wow. It was truly amazing.

Wow. They nailed both the Scatman rap and the system of a down time. And the comments on these things are amazing because it's like 50% people like me saying, this is really great. And 50% people being like, no, it's not anything like the fucking scatman. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The scatman fans are all out there.

Anyway, you've been fairly online for a while. I've noticed you on social media. Yes. When did you first get online? Well, first online, like on the internet, would have been in the early 90s when I started working on late night with Conan O'Brien. That was when sort of, you know, there was AOL. Right.

And in fact, yeah, we were, I was the first. first time online it was aOL you know i've got one of those discs in the mail or some you know out of a magazine or whatever um and it was dial up and i had these clunky old mac uh power books um and and and at work there was the internet and it because at first the internet i was like wait is it just like catalogs you know right yeah yeah yeah like Pepsi would have a website and be like, well, I kind of know what Pepsi is. And there was that initial period when I remember when I got online when it was like 10. Yeah.

Just like looking up companies. Right. Yeah, exactly. But everything you went to because it was dial-up was very much a commitment. Yes. You had to be so sure. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah.

And to go from one thing to the other took so long. Oh, yeah. But then email was pretty fun. Facebook was fun for five seconds. And then I immediately got off of there. Right. And of course then, you know, like at the Conan show, it was, you know, everybody was experiencing this new thing altogether. Right.

And as usual, with every new technology, one of the first primary uses is pornography. Of course. So it was, you know, plenty of, and because it's a comedy show, it wasn't just like people fucking. It was like people filling up plastic pants with diarrhea. Okay. You know, stuff like that. And then that's what we'd be swapping around the office. Wait, so you were on dial-up doing this.

Yes. Well, we were at work doing that. So I don't know what our internet connection was at work. So it's like the late nights T-1 connection. Something like that. Bring up the clown pornography. It was better than home, but I don't think I had to log on with the work computer, you know. So you were just looking up various kinds of pornos.

Would people send... Everybody was... I just remember there being... People crowd around? I don't... And I don't remember exactly how we would find them. And... But I just...

There'd be like files of, oh, 300, you know, weird sex photos, you know? Sex photos. Of course, it would have been JPEGs back then. Yes. You wouldn't have the speed to get in. I don't know, you know. Well, just... Were people crowding around one screen, or was it just a...

And like an FTP server? There was some crowding around one screen. Nice. There was one guy in the office who would, his desk faced the door. So you'd see the back of his computer screen. And he would, he would, I fell for it like three times. Like, hey, come here, I want to show you something. And you come around and it's just the most horrific.

Right. Yeah. The most like not at all sexual sex thing. And so after a while he'd say like, hey, come here. And I'd, fuck you. No, I'm not, I'm not falling for that again. So I am cursed with two brothers and Matthew and William. Are they older or?

Both older, my sister Anna, older as well. Matthew is a grotesque fellow and has shown me terrible things. So I've become kind of desensitized to the whole thing. And I remember one of the first days working at a Piafah, I got to, all the guys are like, hey, Ed, come check this. You should come check, type this into you, and it was Meat Spin. Do not look this up. Okay. But I remember them being like Checkout Meetspin, and it is a man's Willie going in a circle.

Sure. I sat there in complete silence for several minutes. My fingers just steepled. And could see out the corner of my eye their deep discomfort. Right, right. Because... That you were soaking it in. No, just like Genda Wikari from Evangelion, just sitting there just like staring at it.

And after that, I never got to send anything gross again. They wouldn't send me anything because they knew that just... Also, I think they kind of knew that I might retaliate one day. Yeah. And I really, this entire episode doesn't have to be about gross stuff. but I come from a darker place of the internet. Like I was on like early forums and like bulletin boards and newsnet. They're not the worst part of news.

Buying and selling foreign babies, things like that. Okay. And so the people were doing that around me. And so that was fun. But I also got to see so many horrible things. Yeah. And like there's pain four. Any listeners who remember pain four, do not look up any of the things we're talking about.

It is funny, though, because that used to be a lot of the early. the internet was just like, hey, I found something gross. Look at this shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's gone now because there's now entire Reddit's for it. Yes, yes. And I don't, yeah, and also it's just like the novelty sort of. Yeah.

You know, it's like, too quick. Yeah, that was like, oh, that was because it's like, oh, can you get like the worst kind of, you know, the worst kind of pornography? Oh, yeah, you can. And then, you know, it's like, okay. Now you can get it immediately. Yeah, yeah. It's not my, and because if it's not your. thing, which is like not my, you know, like my pornography, I like it.

Like I said, like if there was a search on, on a porn website for people being nice to each other. Yeah. Like that would be my, I'm very boring. For me, it's a man and a woman. They walk into a room. They shake hands and they sit in complete silence for an hour. Rock hard every time. And then they start fucking.

Yeah, but the video ends before that. Oh, okay. I'm not interested. The implication's enough for me. Right. But I think, and I will say there's nothing wrong with having your particular proclivities. Yes. Sex Positive show and all that.

But nevertheless, it is funny watching the internet move away from pornography and towards being insane now. Yes. Yes, exactly. We just had Geita Jackson and Nathan Grayson from Aftermath, a gaming website on it. And it's just talking about how games used to be like, when I start on the internet, it was like, oh, you could look at like forums, video games and we'd all talk about which characters were cool. Now it's like, oh, you don't like Cloudstripe and Final Fantasy 7. I will kill you. Yeah.

I will snipe you. Yeah, yeah. Do you get involved in any internet communities? I know you're quite active in Instagram. Yeah, I, well, Twitter was my main one. You know, which Twitter, Twitter was a new, like the real step of being online. Right. For me.

And I got on Twitter, you know, this was social media was a new thing, you know, a couple years old. And like I say, I got on Facebook for a minute. And then I just was like, there's too many people going. You know, it just felt like having an open door in your house that just people could come and go, hey, want to talk? And like, no, I do not want to talk to you. Hey, yeah, the sandwich. What are you fucking? Yeah, yeah.

Actually, that is how Twitter is now. Anyway, continue. But so I actually, it was right before I went back to work for Conan on the Tonight Show, I believe, I think the time. because it was like 2010. Yeah. Twitter would have been, that would, yeah,

I can't remember. I can't remember. That would make sense, though, because that was a few years into Twitter when it had become more than just digital perverts.

Yes, yes. And I had friends, like my friend Steve Agee, comedian, Steve Agee actor, he told me, oh,

Twitter's really fun. Like, it's like, it's like jokes. Yeah. And I was like, oh, okay,

because, you know, and, And I had already quit Facebook. I was playing in the Major League Baseball All-Star game was down in Anaheim. Cool. And I played, and I did this a couple times. I played in the celebrities and old-time baseball guys' charity softball event.

Very cool. It's like a couple days before the actual All-Star game. So I was going down there, and the production coordinator for Conan called me and said, we got an offer, they know you're playing there. If you would get on Twitter and tweet about the game, you might get a new iPhone. And I was like, oh, all right, sure, no problem. So in the car on the drive to Anaheim, I signed up for Twitter. And then it was like, I very quickly did see, like, and as I ever referred to it, for me in those early days, it was like the joke, Jim.

Yeah. It was like where we all went to be funny. You run material. Yeah, just think up silly stuff. And it wasn't, and I never, and it's, I think the reason I liked it so much is that I wasn't, it was just for pure enjoyment. Yeah. You know, I mean, I think, you know, I'm saying funny, smart-ass shit all the time. Right.

And so, you know, something funny will occur to me. I don't have an act. I mean. And there's no pressure. And I'm not going to, you know, and it's like if I see something funny on the street, I'm not going to, like, take it. like take it to the TV show and say, here's this funny, you know, Chinatown sign I saw. You know, so I just would do it for fun. And it was fun.

And it was also just fun to give away happiness and funniness. And I started to meet like comedians who are like, why are you on there? Like, why would you waste your material? That's so funny. Oh, my God, waste. What are you talking about? It's, you know, there was very little sort of professional. urge or, you know, motive behind anything I did on Twitter.

I mean, I would promo things when I had things to promo, but it was mostly just fun. And I met people, you know, people who are now my IRL friends, you know, like, and, you know. Same here. Yeah. And it was certainly in those early days, it was what was great about it just in comedy terms. And it probably holds in poetry terms and in, you know, technical writing terms. there's no gatekeeper. Which is why there were so many women that, you know, funny comedy women that came up and got their start with Twitter.

Right. Because they, you know, there were gatekeepers that kept women from being funny in front of people. And I think the, and Twitter is the other problem of women, female comedians being like corrected for their jokes. And you still see that on blue sky. And it was kind of a more democratic force, I think. for any kind of joke telling. The thing that, the only thing that really bothered me with it

was this, you ever see Fave Star? Fave Star? Yes, yes. So there was this. I mean, I don't even, does it still exist? It doesn't,

but the soul lives on to watch Soul Calibur. And it's, what it was, explain for the listeners. So there was this thing called FavStar and around it, this growing clique of deeply

unfunny people that we all repost each other's shit. And it created this kind of noxious version of what you're talking about where what you're talking about is like, as I, as a funny person, I've found a thing that made me laugh

I posted it. These people, you see them on blue sky now and you can tell they're on blue sky because they have a list in their profile, auto block. If I'll see someone with a list of their posts and their blue sky, I'm a very petty person. Wait, I don't understand what you mean. So what it is, is that you can do a search on blue sky and you could do this on Twitter where it's just your posts with no replies. And what they're doing is like, oh, my funniest bits. It's like, if you have to do a list of your funniest post, they're not funny.

Right, exactly. And it is interesting and very, actually heartening to hear that there is also the honest comedy side on Twitter. Yeah, yeah. Do you think it's going off to Blue Sky at all, or is it different? Yes, I mean, and that's why I mostly do Blue Sky now is because it feels the most like, like the joke gym, you know, whereas, and I'll look sometimes at threads, which has a, I mean, and I'm not very technical. So I don't understand, I don't understand, like, you know, like I likened it once. I actually was on a conference call once with just like kind of different people. that like from somebody that I'd done political organizing with was also doing sort of like social media.

Social media. Like how do we make social media work for us? And there was this big call about, you know, different formats and what's next now that Twitter sucks. And I just said like I'm, I feel like I'm with auto executives and I just want to drive the thing. Like I don't I don't care about how it works or the different sort of programming behind. I just want to, I want a particular experience. I want to point it in a direction and go in that direction. And so I don't know what threads is, but I just know that like the way that it shows me shit is out of order and, you know, and just irritating.

And lots of let me tell you a four-part story about this old man that, you know, gave me advice. And you changed my life. Yeah, and it's just sort of, okay, that's nice and all, but, you know, where's the jokes? Where's the weirdos? Exactly. And where's the chaos? Yeah. I described it is it reminds me specifically of a mall in Dallas called the Galeria Mall in Dallas.

It's a luxury mall. Galleria. Galleria. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's right. I don't, and I'm not being a wise ass. I just, you know. Oh, no, no, no.

It's good. I would want to know if I was. That's also a Threads asked reply. But it's very luxurious. It's really nice. There's tons of stuff there. No reason to be there. You just go there and you feel your soul.

Wilt. Yes. Threads is just weird. I went on there earlier and there was just a post where a guy said, yeah, I had a conversation with a guy. And it was just a completely made up conversation with a person about using Mac products. And there were like 11 replies of people like, yeah. And it's like, did you all just get in the same car crash?

Yeah, yeah. And it's bizarre. And I think what it is is tech companies don't seem to understand how human beings interact. Yeah. And the more that they wield that power. to that conference call you're on. The moment you try and systematize this stuff, the joy exits immediately.

Yeah, yeah. So have you felt like social media change how you do comedy, though? Hmm. Like the feedback loop even. Well, I mean, I shouldn't even have paused because, yes, for sure, a big reason, a big thing, a big effect was learning what's not funny anymore. You know, and you might call it wokeness or, you know. How do you mean?

I mean, like, learning things, the one that I've always, that I, is just one of the most forefront ones is the M word for little people. Right. And that used to be like, you know, comedy MSG. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. If there was a gap, just throw in the M, you know. Yeah, yeah. You know, like, or tossing in, you know, somebody, you know. and and that like I say and I think when the Conan show started I think we used that word and then and I don't know you know with words that you don't you know what words are hurtful right I mean some of them are quite obvious you know the ones yeah yeah but then there are some that's like oh that's hurtful to somebody okay yeah I can you know work around that I don't I don't if anything that's a challenge yeah exactly and then

were other, and there were just other things too. There were, there's some that like, that where it gets to be a verbiage thing or there's just scolds that want to scold you for, and, you know, and also comedy, sometimes comedy is really messy and dark and sort of like, wait, you know, it's sort of like, you're hinting at violence, like, yeah, that's a joke, you know what I mean, it's just made up. And I have learned also, too, not just from a sense of, you know, sort of, you know, sort of gracious goodness wanting to not hurt people's feelings. There's also like, oh, I could say that,

but then a bunch of fucking people will go crazy and I don't need that shit, you know. I don't need people wasting my time with scolding me because, you know. And I think that there is this vast division. I know where you land on the, there's the division between what you're talking about, which is like, yeah, there's things that, like social media is kind of a good barometer for societal acceptance.

Yeah, yeah. We look at society right now, and perhaps more things are up for questions, I like. But then there's, I feel like a, with Blue Sky especially, there is a sensitivity on certain subjects writ large and Blue Sky kind of, you can get enveloped if you say the wrong thing. Yes. Or even something that's inspired. And to be clear, I am not, this is not some a bleak way in which I'm saying, I was racist the other day and people got mad. That's not what I'm talking about. Even like there's a guy called Mike Masnick, who's on the board of Blue Sky and he

does tech dirt, great guy. He posted about using AI the other day. And, And people went completely fucking nuts on him. Just reading stuff he didn't say. And I do think that that is a problem and gets into comedy where people just don't want certain subjects to be up for discussion. And I think some of the most interesting stuff in comedy can come from the more challenging stuff. Again, not talking about race, not talking about sexism. This is not an approval of that. And I'm just thinking of a dear friend Chloe Radcliffe, great comedian.

She has this show called Cheat, which is about her propensity in the past to cheat. It's a dark show, very funny. I think that comedy can go in some incredible directions, and the internet and just digital production can actually take it in so many different directions. And my problem really is, is that social media is right now elevating some of the shittiest comedy I've ever seen, some great comedy, but just some of the most,

just base level, just, oh, slop, because, and it's not even people being safe. More often than not, it's people being deeply rude, center right going like oh you can't say this anymore yeah yeah seem to say a slur and it's it's frustrating because

there are more comedians than ever and more doing really interesting shit and I feel like they get drowned out sometimes well yes they do and I mean a big reason for that is there was a calculated drive to and I mean

I just I know this from my producer on my podcast telling me that there's actual data about these sort of like bro-y stand-up kind of run-of-the-mill bro-y stand-up podcast that is just you know like I mean and I can't I'm not saying because it's like there's a revolving door in my world of like I go on their podcast and they come on my podcast excuse me and there's a there's the broie comedy version of that where it's like oh they're always just kind of in a circular thing and the amount

of political content has gone through the roof on those because they were all sent talking points. And they all would have the same talking points like, you know, Kamala Harris can't lead a wartime nation. So kind of like an enormous like a propaganda poisoning. Absolutely. In the same way. And it's somehow in the same way, I don't, because I've always been amazed. And, you know, on blue sky, you don't see it as much. But like the right wing trolls, like they get marching orders.

because they all start saying the exact same thing at the exact same time. And I'm like, are they on like a fax list? Like how, where do these come from? Is it Fox News? Where are they hearing this shit, you know? It's when you believe in nothing. You just go, you all can just agree to the same thing at the same time. You can be like, we're mad at bathrooms, I guess.

Right, right. Well, and also, too, it's like, I, I believe it. You know, people say it's a cult and stuff. I'm like, yeah, all right. I mean, if that's what you're. want to call it. I mean, nobody's living in a compound and shaving their heads. You know, they're, you know, if it's a cult, it's a, it's a very loose and free cult that's wandering around free form. But it is kind of a thing like, no, I've decided that this is where I'm at. So this is,

this is like, there's a very particular kind of person that's a right wing troll that just, like there's just different sort of character choices that sort of boil it down to its essence. And for me it's things like, I don't follow the rules. I make the rules. Yeah. You know, and that's like, so then Donald Trump is like, oh, my, he's the new plu ultra of, of I don't, you know, the rules aren't for me. I make the rules. And that's so it's like, if you say, well, wait, that's racist.

They're like, no, it isn't. You know, or that's, you know, or that's, you know. I'm just the one brave enough to say it. Or tariffs are terrible. They are not, you know. And it's just they don't, it's like the actual. And it's why you can. can't win. It's why it's, you know, you just tread water until you drown because they don't, you know,

the facts and figures and things and the data don't matter. It's just I'm always going to be entrenched on my side until their grandmother stops, stops getting their checks. And that's around the corner. Yes. And until, you know, the government just ceases. Right, right. And they don't, and they don't get their tax returns, you know, because the mail's broken and the IRS is broken or their Social security payments stop because it's all fucked up. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman,

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group. The worst? Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because,

you're from Harvard. You only got in because your parents made a huge donation. The group. The yard birds, right? That's the name. The Harvard Yard's, but they're open.

Do you have a name suggestion? We're open. Since you guys are middle-aged. One erection. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

You love me. I need to. Some jokes to make me seem funny. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio.

Think podcasting can help your business. Think IHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Call 844-844-I-Hart to get to. started. That's 844-844-I-Hart. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Fordell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by

our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you, I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay

to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, hoo, ha, ha, ooh. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live.

This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast, and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we're dedicating a series to understanding the mind when it struggles. I'm joined by doctors, researchers, and those with lived experience. We'll talk with singer-songwriter Jewel about anxiety. I started living in my car, and then my car got stolen. I was shoplifting. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic.

and making it through hardship. To be present is a learned skill, and it's hard to be present. We'll talk with John Nelson about clinical depression and the brain implant that saved his life. What I learned is that procedure made me happy because I'm disease-free. And we'll talk with leading experts

like Judd Brewer about anxiety and John Hirschfield about obsessive-compulsive disorder and the science of how the brain can change. This is a month of, deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course and what we can do about it. Listen to Inner Cosmos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So it's a fun story for you.

So twice on the show I've talked about just another instruction for any anti-trans people listening, just another update on my instructions. You should be in the garage. The door should be closed. The car may not be started yet. Rev that engine, baby. read the engine. Now if you're not getting sleepy, get the tube, go to the exhaust and then put that bad boy in the window. That's the sleepy juice. You need more of that. Now, I got several emails from people saying, you can't say that. You can't suggest anti-trans people kill themselves. And the answer is, watch me. Yeah. And I think the whole fucking who's the Joe Rogan of the left thing doesn't make sense. And I think if you break it down into what it is, it's everything you're talking about, which is there is no, like, insane propaganda unity. Yeah, yeah. across the left and also the left.

I fucking hate the term as well because it's like the left, depending on who you talk to, it refers to like CBS News. Or Marxists. Or Marxists. Yeah, yeah. It's complete milieu of different things. But ultimately it's because people actually have beliefs that they stick to and those can change within distinct groups versus the right way.

Yeah. And they also, too, don't walk in lockstep on every single issue. Yes. You know, people have like, you know, you can think that socialized medicine is a, wonderful thing, but you also are, you know, because you're Catholic or for whatever reason, you know, you're, you know, anti-abortion. And that, you know, so there's like, there's too many varying issues within the liberal, whatever you want to call it, the not right world, um, that it's never, you don't get locks. Which is, why don't you know, which is, which is

inconvenient. And also the right, the right wing are really on lockstep with what they hate. Yes. And the thing is you can hate them. Like, I just feel like there is a certain degree of meekness with it. And also when Pod Save America is one of the largest, that's also never a great start. Also, another really simple thing is, and I think it's been into this as well, and others have as well, where it's like, there's also not multi-billionaires backing every single leftist podcast. Right, right. Which would be really funny. That would be really funny.

If there was just like billions of dollars going into guys just doing like 18-hour seasons of podcasts about why. made a care for all is necessary. Sadly, we don't have that kind of unity in any way. And it sucks. And it sucks as well because I think that there is this, getting back to comedy as well, there's this assumption with comedy as well. It's like, it has to be rude to be funny. Yeah.

It can be tragic. There can be, there were, and one of my favorite thing, one of my favorite things that made me laugh and I'm not laughing at the event, you're going to know where I'm going with this in the second. A guy did a wonderful stand-up thing, not funny, describing like post-9-11 how, he was a Muslim was horribly mistreated and he was to I'm going to look this up and get the length he's like talking about how people hated him hate other people of color anyone who was brown was treated horribly and how it really pushed him towards his faith in unity in this community and he stops at the end of about

a minute and a half he goes did 9-11 work and it's just like fucking amazing just like perfectly done because someone could scold him if he was not describing his actual experience right and it's just I feel like the future of comedy is going to be so fucking weird because both the subject matter and the speed at which things work and happen

is so different to how it used to be used to. Actually, here's a question. How did you prepare for the show? Just a very basic, like, for the show, how much work did you have to do? Oh, like day to day? Day to day. Well, I was,

earlier on, you know, like back in the late night days, I was a writer on the show and was expected to do for the first few years as much as any other rider. Like, you know, we had a board that had five, you know, five columns, which were the days. And then act one, act two, act three, act four, at five, X, X, six. And you had to fill them. And, you know, some of them were filled with guests or a guest band and stuff. But you had to fill those spots with bits that you came up.

So they'd put a card in there that would be like, you know, whatever, you know, zoo detective. Right. And it would be up there with your initials, you know, down on the corner. So I was expected to do that. And then there were also like just different bits that kind of were handed to me that, that I would, that we, they'd come up with a new one. They'd be like, here, you write this because you're good at writing this particular kind of thing. And then there was also, too, I started, I was the first one to do remotes because Robert Smigel, who was running the show, didn't want to send Conan out on remotes because that was very.

much a David Letterman thing. Like the host going out and being the host out in the world, whereas I was kind of going out and being this naif, you know, this kind of, you know, boy, man boy out in the world. And so I was doing remote. And I would have to edit those. You know, I'd come back from the Arkansas State Fair and, you know, get off the, you know, go to bed and then go into the work the next day and start cutting that piece. And working sometimes, you know, three, four o'clock in the morning getting that ready. Was this physical media or was this?

It was video. Okay. Yeah, it was video. It was all on big three quarter inch tapes. That was kind of what. Yeah. So that's because that's, it was not digital back in those days in the 90s.

Because that's the thing, the speed of iteration there and the speed of things happening, like it sounds like several days, it's not more. Yes. What's fascinated me, and have you ever seen Josh Johnson? Incredible stand-up comedian.

The name's for me. I may be. Lots of jays in comedy, though. He's on the daily show. He's fantastic. African-American guy. One of the funniest guys has this amazing kind of like slow drawl to everything he does. But I think he might be the future of comedy for one reason.

He's, I can write really, I've never seen anyone who writes that fast other than me, and I write newsletters and they swear and all. He will have a new bit about something that just happened immediately. Yeah. He will have like our 10 minutes of fucking material. Yeah, yeah. And it will be about Elon Musk or something he did. He had this amazing thing. about, there was a lawsuit with a rapper and I can't remember the name now with just this insane

long thing where like a lawyer nearly got censured or like sanctioned, I mean, by the judge because he would not reveal something that he shouldn't by law. Nevertheless, it's insane watching these comedians have to go from this thing where they, I don't know, I'm not a stand-up, I know a few of them, it would go up and prepare material and they'd workshop a bit in open-mic nights and they'd try it and then they have a real show where they do it. Now it's just, you have to just fucking burn material all the time. You have to keep it relevant. Yeah, yeah.

And it almost feels like it's going to breed in a different kind of comedian, one that can respond just way faster. Well, yes, absolutely. And also, too, there is the real thing with comedians, and I'm, you know, it's one of the reasons that I'm not a stand-up comedian, and I'm glad I'm not a stand-up comedian, is that because you can't, well, it's just kind of part of me that's like, really, can't you? Like if you tell a joke on it.

What I was going to say is if you say, if you're, there's a bit on Instagram, you can't go into your hour. Why not? Because that joke has already been heard and been seen. Is this like industry? Yeah. It's just sort of a, you know, what do they call it? Common wisdom or whatever you call it, conventional wisdom.

That's the phrase I'm looking for. And I've always kind of been like, really? You know? And it's the same reason that they're so protective about people. filming them while they're working on stuff, you know, in a club, somebody releasing, because then the jokes will be out there, which it's kind of, I mean, there's a, yes, I understand it, but on the other hand, I also think, like, I mean, I'm just probably more casual with material and, you know, and because I come from more of an improv background and never had to, like, guard, you know,

like, you know, guard my words, my precious, precious, precious. words. But they, so they can't do that. That's why you see so much crowd work. Because crowdwork is disposable. And that's why, and you do find, like, there's some really fantastic crowdwork comedians, you know, that you do see. And they will also sort of, I mean, the best ones, the funniest ones, and this is the main point that I want to make about this whole thing. The best ones, the funniest ones, you'll see them doing crowd work, but you'll also see a little bit of their act. Like, they're not afraid to give you a little bit of their act. Right. And the reason is, is because they're artists. Right. And the difference between the people that are bitching about,

like, I can't say difficult things anymore is because they don't know how to do it artfully. And the people that are good at it are artists and they do it artfully. And you can hear the most uncomfortable shit from an artist because they will know how to tell you it in a way that resolves itself. And it's not inherently exploitative or mocking. Yes. Because that's the thing with all of these comedians are like, oh, you can't say this anymore, then find something fucking else funny. Isn't this your goddamn job? The notion that you can't do comedy is just demonstrably false.

There's comedy fucking everywhere. What are you talking about? And life is more absurd than it's ever been. I mean, doing this show, I'm not a comedian. I'm funny in the other way. But even within the tech industry, it's just like, Right now, and you're not a techie guy, you've got just like multiple multi-billion dollar companies, trillion dollar companies chasing AI in this direction where like they all lose money and no one really wants it. Right, right. It's inherently fucking hilarious. It's also very grim to watch. But watching these kind of like damn little weirdos and freaks walk around and say stuff that no human being should believe about making calls. It is funny. And there's so much, I don't want to say joy because there's a lot of misery right now, but there's so much different things.

There's so many different things that you can make material from. I choose Josh Johnson because he's even moved into some tech stuff. Because guess what? Everything is approachable from a human position. Even if you don't know it well. And it's just like, oh, if I can't be racist or sexist anymore, I'm out of things. What do you fucking do with your day, man? You just go around just like dropping slurs and insulting one.

I mean, now that I think about it, probably that's what those guys do. And it's also just like it's people that want to recycle old trope. You know, like about fucking women, you know, or in a, these cross dressers or whatever, you know, like they just want to, they're not coming up with anything new. They're just regurgitating this sort of zeitgeist that guys with backward baseball caps are going to go woo at, you know. And it's inherently also kind of regressive because it's not really, all it says about them is, man, you know what would be funny? If I said something hurtful. Yeah. And I'm not meant to do that.

which is what makes it funny. What was weird, though, is you wanted to have a really horrible experience. Try watching Family Guy. It is insane that that show aired. Just to any listeners, I don't really recommend watching it. But Family Guy was insanely sexist, racist. Like, they say actual slurs on there. It's crazy what used to be.

And I have to wonder if some of these right-wing comedians, or even just kind of like people wouldn't say that that was their identity, are just like watching Family Guy and things like, We used to be able to just do entire episodes about Peter Griffin being Mexican. And that is an actual episode of Family Guy, by the way. There is an entire plot where he's an illegal immigrant. It's fucking insane. Yeah, yeah.

It is insane what used to be considered funny and aired on TV. Yeah. In fact, there is a show called Black White. Have you heard of this? There was a show on Fox in like 2005 where a white family got blacked up, like full blackface. It's insane. And then a black family got. white it up and it was called black white the world is insane the world is actually insane

yeah when you look like we have it it may not feel like we've come for but we have yeah on that s and l that 50th thing you know they did sort of what i found to be a very interesting little segment and also sort of um you know sort of they didn't have to like air their dirty laundry right but it was just a little montage of their incredibly rate past racist things against like Asians and, you know, Latinos and just really crazy, and sexist stuff, you know. I get why they did that, but I personally wouldn't have. I would have probably not not put that. I mean, I liked it because I thought like, like I said, it seemed, it's like.

It acknowledged the past. Yeah, it was like somebody saying, I used to make mistakes and I learned from them and I don't do them anymore, which I always, you know. I don't accept that. And also, too. Is that what they said, though? I think so. I hope so. I think that's what they meant.

I haven't watched this in a while. I don't think they were saying like, we can't get away with this anymore. But even. Because it's so, these bits are so shitty. I think more what I'm suggesting is what frustrates me with things like that. And I have not watched it. So I'm sure someone will email me saying I'm wrong. It happens.

Even when I'm right. If it's just them showing it without making any commentary, that pisses me off because it's just like, oh, we shouldn't do this again. Well, they did. The preface it is like, can you believe we used to do this kind of stuff? That's kind of cool. Yeah, yeah. I like that.

So, somewhat subject change. So, AI, have you used any of this? I have not. I keep thinking like, oh, because I'll hear people, you know, because there are aspects to, say, chat GPT that are interesting to me. Right. Like, I have spaghetti, a green pepper, you know, tamarin sauce. what do I do with it? And it'll give you a recipe.

And, you know, that's like, that's pretty neat, you know. And then, like, I was just listening. I'm a Howard Stern listener. And he was messing around with it. And he asked Chat GPT because he's learning guitar. And he had some new guitar and it was, the strings are making his fingers black. So he asked Chat, Chat, Chat, GPT, why is my new guitar making my fingers black? And Chat, GPT says, there's,

it, you know, an oil that's on there from the factory that's a protective oil to keep the strings from rusting. And so, you know, if you wipe it with a dry cloth, it should be good. And I thought, okay, that's pretty cool, you know, like to ask a question like that. I don't want it to write your

fucking papers. That's the thing. I don't want it to, yeah, I don't want to watch a movie that just was made up out of a machine mind. And I don't, I just have to believe that it, it won't be like that.

Like, and if it, if that is, if it is like that, that is a long, long, long way away, you know. And that's the thing. I am very anti, and as part of the show, I have dug into Open AI a great deal and bad company and all that. I think what's funny about all of these descriptions is I try and ask people who are not super technical about this all time. Yeah.

What do you use it for? And every single person describes Google search if it worked. Yeah. It's like, what if Google search answered? Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. What if there was a website where you could. could ask it something.

Right. Or maybe if Siri wasn't stupid. Yes. Yeah. And what's funny is they've added that I, have you, you've got an iPhone. Yeah. So you've seen Apple intelligence then. I mean, I have not, I have not attempted it because I've heard so much bad stuff. Oh, you've turned it off?

I don't know if I've turned it off or not. But it, well, I do get a thing where it makes that sort of like purple glow around it, like wanting to do something AI. And I just ignore it, you know. That's the thing though. It's when they're suggesting me texts, which are not good responses. No, they're not. They're almost never.

I had a friend telling me about a really bad relationship thing and it said, that's disappointing. It's like, I don't think that would have helped him. You fucked that up. You more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's, it does feel like they're just selling us back something that works because the Siri does not work better. It works worse now. Yeah.

I used to be able to. I think so too. My big thing I use this for with Siri was just reminders. And I use them constantly. It'll be like, I will think of something at 11.30 p.m. And I'll mutter it and it'll work. Now it works like 80% of the time. Oh, really?

It used to work 90% of the time. But everything we're describing has been here for 10 years other than maybe the, no, no, the string thing. I'm sure if he Googled that, it would have worked too. Yeah. It's just, it's very depressing because. Oh, yeah, absolutely. If you Googled black residue on guitar strings, it would come up. Yeah, yeah.

And the things I've found it useful for, and my listener is going to beat my ass for this. I don't even use chat GPT because fuck that shit. But large language models when I've used them have been like, break down this complex paragraph of financial crap. Explain it in plain English. I will then have to go and verify that independently. Right, of course, because I do not trust this shit. But it's interesting how the long and short of it is, is what if Google says? search was slightly bad. Why if Google's, why if we had a website for questions? And it, and it worked.

And then Google's idea is they're doing AI overviews now and they just added a new kind. And now Google's idea is, what if we worked, kind of? And it was way more expensive. Would you like that? Oh, you hate it. We don't care. We don't care. Yeah. Profits up. Yeah. And what if it used all the energy on earth? Yes. What if it boiled small lakes and required us to steal from every person forever? It's just, See, this is, and that's the thing. It's frustrating to watch because the whole thing with the show that's doing this show has been like, hoping things would get better and watching them get worse and putting aside Doge and all that crap happening in the real world. Yeah.

It doesn't feel like the tech is doing stuff to help us anymore. Like it doesn't feel fun. You're not a technical person, but you like gadgets, I assume. You still dick around with computers and such on something? A little bit, yeah, yeah. I mean, not so much as I used to. When did that stop? Um, just as I got older and I, and I, you know, and I, I got divorced and then got remarried and I have a five-year-old now. I have a 24-year-old, a 19-year-old, and a five-year-old.

Nice. Five-year-old takes up a lot of time, you know. So, I mean, and also, too, I'm 58 now. And I, you know, it's like, nobody wants to watch my shows, you know, and my shows are very dad show, like the CIA spy shit. Right. Not Reacher. Reacher is just basically about, like I've heard it describes it like, what if a guy was really big? What if a giant was Sherlock Holmes? But the new season they have a bigger guy.

I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I saw that. But I mean, you know, like the agency and paradise and those kind of shows. And then also two things like traders, but traders I'll watch with my wife. But she won't watch these other ones. They're too stressful. So once everybody goes to bed, they go upstairs about like 8, 30, 9 o'clock. I'm good for maybe an hour of watching something.

So I'm not going to be on a, I'm not going to be playing video games. Right. Because A, I'm a little too old. And this isn't exactly right. I just had, I never got good at them. Right. And so, and I don't know whether I just didn't have a facility for them. And I did have an experience because I was given.

And I don't even remember. I think it was an early Xbox, possibly, maybe a PlayStation. And it was early in my time in New York City, a couple of years after I've been living there. And there was a game called Road Rash. Oh, yeah. Do you remember that? I remember the original, yeah. A motorcycle race where you could hit each other with stuff.

Nice. And so, and this is, we're probably talking to 1995, 96. Oh, no, okay. So that was the original. in the original one. So that would have been like a probably a Sega Genesis or Snez. Maybe, I don't remember. But it was something, it was swag.

Right. I don't think I'm there. And I don't mean to be a dick. It's just like, when you're on TV, people just give you free shit. And when it's like, and when you're not on TV and when you really need free shit, nobody's there to give it to you. Right. But that's, you know. So I had this game system, played Roadrash, and my sister-in-law, my ex-wife's younger sister-in-law, my ex-wife's younger sister. was living with us at the time. And she and I would play Roadrash.

And I would think like, well, we've been playing for about an hour. And it would be five hours. Hell yeah. Four or five hours. The magic of gaming. And I just was like, this is not good. Oh, so you felt you're not good. Yeah, yeah.

This is just like that much loss of time for me. Because I already, my, you know, one of my lifelong self critiques is, is, is, you're not doing enough. Like, why the fuck don't you do more? Same here. You lazy fucker, get off your ass and do something. Your life would be better if you had more initiative. So to introduce a, like, just an amazing time suck.

Yeah. I was like, no, no, this, I cannot do this. I mean, and I, you know, I, you know, I haven't, I quit now, but, you know, I throughout my life have smoked weed too, and that was enough, you know, that was like enough. It's like, to me it felt like, like weed crack. That's what the game, like what gaming felt to me. It's like, this is, because weed is such kind of like a little vacation from yourself. At least that's what it was for me.

Oh, yeah, yeah. And the game was just like, this is a vacation. I don't, I don't exist. And Road Rush absolutely ruled. Yeah, yeah. It was really fun. Because when you said PlayStation Xbox, they did remake it at some point. The game, you get given free shit.

I get given emails, emails from people correcting me about when Road Rush came out. No, I love my list. Right. I deeply love them. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group. The worst? Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, uh,

you only got in because your parents. made a huge donation. The group. The yard herds, right? That's the name. The Harvard Yard, but they're open. Do you have a name suggestion? We're open.

Since you guys are middle aged, one erection. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Humor me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting,

Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHearts twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think IHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Call 844-844-I-Hart to get started. That's 844-844-I-Hart. There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast, and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we're dedicating a series to understanding the mind when it struggles. I'm joined by doctors, researchers, and those with lived experience. We'll talk with singer-songwriter Jewel about anxiety. I started living in my car, and then my car got stolen.

I was shoplifting. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic. And making it through hardship. To be present is a learned skill, and it's hard to be present. We'll talk with John Nelson about clinical depression and the brain implant that saved his life. What I learned is that procedure made me happy because I'm disease-free. And we'll talk with leading experts like Judd Brewer about anxiety,

and John Hirschfield about obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the science of how the brain can change. This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course and what we can do about it. Listen to Inner Cosmos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of

survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we Yeah. Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha who. Again, we are. our experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Podmeets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Actually, that's an interesting thing. It's a slight different thing. So I was having a conversation with someone. Eric Silver, he's over at Multitude Productions. He used to be a client of mine's production

podcast student. He brought up a thing about podcast and I'm actually quite curious to run by you. How do you feel about, with podcasts, especially? You seem like a more positive guy. It feels like What is this weird thing within podcasts of just hating the audience, like a derision for them? Is there? Yeah. Okay, so maybe not. No, I mean, I am not a very good podcast consumer. And as I already mentioned, I listen to Howard Stern and that takes up a lot of my podcast.

And that's, you know, that's since the early 90s. Right, right. I've been listening to Howard Stern. So it's my ongoing soap opera comedy show, you know, peeping Tom. Boyeristics, look at all these weirdos. So it takes up a lot of my time. And so I don't listen to a lot of podcasts. And again, I think that's kind of like I'm kind of older and I just, and I will listen to some.

You know, there's some that I do listen to occasionally and enjoy. But it's usually like I just recently was. listening to Jamie Loftus is doing something called the 16th minute. We're on Cool Zone Media. She's a co-worker. Oh, wow. Oh, cool. Yeah.

And, you know, because it was just, well, she's really great. Yes. You know, and she's an incredibly talented person. And it is really interesting, like, it's an interesting topic. Yeah. And almost all of them are of interest to me. Whereas there's lots of other podcasts where it's like, oh, that's, you know, sort of like the old Hollywood kind of one.

there will be one that I'm like, that is fascinating. And then another one, like, I don't give a shit about that one, you know, so it's, you know. And that does actually lead to somewhere far more interesting than my original question, which is it feels like the format of podcasts has kind of, it's actually growing into something far more interesting. Because 16th minutes started a few months after better offline, I think. And what Jamie does for the listeners who haven't heard, and I assume you had, because she's advertised on here and so on and so forth, is Jamie will find like an internet celebrity of the day like something.

dress or like Ken Bone. Yes, she got Ken Bone on the show. Yeah. And then she'll do kind of an episode, kind of like better off line listeners, when I get extremely pissed off at Open AI. Imagine if that was about something that mattered. Oh, was fun, neither of which. And it's interesting watching this format because it's changed comedy in the sense that now

Instagram is basically you have to constantly hit them with the highlight reels. With podcasts, it's people feel trapped in these different formats that really do them at disadvantage. Because Jamie does great things in her show. Molly Congra as well with weird little guys. Cool zone has got this cool format of kind of just talking through a script and a story with a guest, sometimes not with a guest. But I almost feel like podcasting could return to something like Howard Stern. I think like having you in studio is so much better.

Oh, yeah. As a pro-remote work guy, I feel bad saying this. It almost feels like we do need to get back to perhaps not exactly what Howard Stern does. Perhaps not exactly. But getting back to what made broadcast actually good, which is narrative style shows or in studio fucking actual conversations that are well produced that have guests that know and like each other and actually are ready to do an interesting show. It's the only reason Howard Stern's, he's actually a good broadcast to however you feel about him. Oh, no. Well, there's no question.

Yeah. I mean, the proof is in the fact that he's like. He's still here somehow. He is still the most, the biggest. broadcaster there is really you know yeah the more things change the world they stay the same yeah do you how are you finding podcasting though because how is it different to what you've been used to well for me uh it it's and i don't i don't mean to be like whiny uh about my career like i'm not acting enough like i you know like i'm not there's just not a lot of work out right you know and when the when the

Conan show went off the air. You know, there's things here and there, but there's just not enough stuff. And especially, and again, I'm not like, I'm not complaining about like the state of woke Hollywood. I'm a 58-year-old white man in comedy. Yeah, there's a few of them. Yeah, there's a few of us, you know, so it's like, you just, you know, I don't, I don't doubt that I am going to be working. for the rest of, you know, until I want to stop, basically. And I, and I do believe that, like, I always believe that somebody hires me.

They're, that's a good thing. Like, I mean, for them, for them, yeah. For them, no, I mean, I will, I will, I will give them value for whatever they're paying. Right. And, but I started doing podcasting sort of cuss, you know, like just because. Have material out there or? Well, just, you know, Conan, well, Honestly, the way that it happened, I had had people on my team, which I love saying, because my team, yeah, it's quite a team.

We haven't met in years, but they still exist, I guess. But I've had people say, you should do a podcast, you should do a podcast. Right. And there is something to it because I am, when I think about. you know, the fact I am in comedy. That's my main thing. And one of the ways that I am funny is in conversation. Right.

And that's hard to, you kind of saw it on Conan, but in just like sort of little pieces. But like in a longer conversation, I can be funny. Right. And I, you know, know, know how to keep a conversation going. So they were telling me, you should, you should do a podcast. And I felt just sheepish about it because I had. have friends like Scott Ockerman who does comedy bang bang and Jimmy Pardo who does never not funny and those guys are real like I did their podcast and I was like what is a podcast

when I was doing their podcast they were you know very early pioneers of whatever this thing is so I had felt like I would just be like the dilettantish fucking you know TV boy coming in with it you know sort of fancy TV man like built like I can do it too kind of thing So I just was kind of embarrassed to do it. But then, you know, it was... The first white boy to be embarrassed by podcasting. But I just thought there was a certain point where I thought, you know what, it would be good. And also, too, it was like a point in my life when I just was trying, just try.

I just, I had a big moment where I was like, I need to say yes to things. I need to try things. And so I thought, yeah, let's do a podcast. And I came up with the concept for my, the three questions podcast. and I started to do it and I, you know, I listened to it and made, you know, sort of corrected and studied myself and thought about the things that I didn't like what I was, that I was doing, and the things that I did like that I was doing. And eventually over the six years I've been doing it, I got better at it.

Right. And now I feel very confident in my ability to do an hour-long interview that is very much listenable, funny, interesting, thought-provoking sometimes even, and very much worth people's time. And it's not always comedy. It's not always comedy. Yeah, it's not always comedy. And there's part of me, and this is just because my old TV brain, there's part of me it's like, wow, I'm. I've gotten good at this one thing. I'm not going to be Charlie Rose.

What the fuck is it? Like, you know, like, yeah. I'm, I'm, I know how to interview people. Well, I mean, it's probably good. You're not Charlie Rose. Well, no, I know. But I mean, but it's like, you know, I know how to interview people. Yeah.

And but it's at the same time that like literally thousands of other people have learned how to interview people. And I mean, I'm not, and I'm not, and I'm, it's just like it's not. And I don't mean to, I enjoy it. It's a fun thing. But I, if, if I, if I, if I, got a busy, if I got busy acting, I would put podcasting aside. And that's just the way it is. Yeah. I mean, and that's just my preferences, you know. That makes sense. And it's interesting, though, because it's like you moved into this little broadcast career because there was space. Yeah.

And it's what the internet is about doing to do. And I'm doing a radio show now. Yeah. Actually, I was going to ask, the radio show, do you go into studio every time? I do. And it was originally sort of like the conception was, And also because doing something live in the serious studios is, like, technically, it's a much more complicated thing than just going in and recording something. So when we first came, well, they came to me and they were like, we want to do more. We want the Conan Channel to have some actual sort of radio content rather than just be old clips of the show and podcasts. And radio content being like interviews and stuff. Like a call-in show. Right.

That was, they said, do you want to do a call-in show? and I was like, fuck, yeah, that sounds fun. That sounds like, you know, I get to play radio, you know? Sounds amazing. And then so they came to me and like, we want you to do something. I was like, and they said, you know, like, they were like, maybe more of the three questions. And I was like, I don't want to do more. You know, I do like, once a week is plenty of that podcast.

Right. And but then they said call and show. I was like, oh, fuck yeah, absolutely. And I was like, and I would just have it be silly topics that like, you. you know, cocktail party conversations, you know, like, yeah. We just recently did like, you know, when's the last time you shit your pants kind of stuff. And or dating disasters or medical nightmares and just, just, you know, meant to be sort of. And there's some, you know, there's some people like, why do you focus on all these,

on all these dark things? It's like, I don't, because that's how I made, you know? Yeah. And it's like, what do I want to talk about? You know, like, when's the last time you were inspired by someone's good deeds? fuck that. I don't care about that. I want to hear you shit your pants. Or if it's like, like happy fun stories can be fun.

You can laugh about, you know. But there's actually vanishingly few of them. Like I've been working on an article for my newsletter at the moment, which people are going to really thrilling stuff about data sentence. You're going to love this, Andy. No, but one of the most magical experiences I'm going to tell is work. So one of my dear friends, Casey Kagawa, I'm actually seeing tonight for drinks. I finally got to realize where he comes from because he will,

get go down these rabbit's holes with me. Rabbits holes, Jesus Christ. Rabbit holes. Rabbit holes. There we go. Rabbit holes. Um, and he would go down these rabbit holes,

except he's like, you should email my mother and his mother's in some sort of finance. So I've now got both his mother and him sending me links about the same thing. See, that's a kind of lovely fun story that can be told. Yeah. However, the funniest stories are things like me moving the arm on my tonal and smacking myself right

in the nut sack. Yeah, just like, Like, ugh. See, that's funny. You're like, when you shoot your pants. Actually, don't know, like 20 years ago. Anyway, less about that, the better. But it's something that strikes me of all of this that's really funny is, despite all of the technology, despite the fact that everyone can podcast and broadcasts all the same, what we are describing is basic broadcast fundamentals seem to actually be very fucking

interesting. That's what people really come to. We want connection. We want to hear the absurdity of life. As the radio died, all of what the radio was filled with just came over here. Yeah. People talking about stuff, learning about, you know, you being a listener, learning about stuff, you laughing, you know, you crying, you know, you hearing creepy stuff, you know, gossipy stuff. Uh-huh. That's just, it was just the radio.

And now it's the radio over here. And it's, you know, and the one things I think, I think about it, it's the same thing with streaming. You know, TV, network TV is. I mean, who fucking watches network television? I watch some of it the other day. You know, it's, it's astounding sometimes. I think Blue Bloods is on every channel now.

It's just fair. You know, yeah, it's all. Except it's really fictional because the police appear to solve crimes in it. It's, there's all kinds of cop shit. There's so many car shows. Network TV is just like cop worship, you know. And they solve crimes in it. It's like grown up, grown-up Paw Patrol.

But TV, you know, move to streaming. And somebody pointed out because streamings aren't, you know, these companies pour a ton of money into streaming and then they go, okay, now how do we get that money back out? And they all go, I don't know. I don't think of that. More subscribers. It's the internet. There's a bazillion people on here. So they don't know how to get the money back out.

So they start talking about advertising. Right. So we're just like, okay, we're just back to television then. But like somebody, I don't even remember who. I should have remembered who because it was an excellent point. We've gone back to the broadcast model, advertising, paying for it, except all the worker protections have been blown up. And all of the money. Yes.

All of the money is going to like very small places. You know. Yeah. It's. And it's the same with podcast. Yes. Radio died. You've got podcasting.

And, you know, podcasting is surviving on advertising dollars. Don't I fucking know it with the emails. Oh, did anyone? By the way, you one of the listeners who emailed me about the AI ads that run off the air. I know. 150 of you email me every extent. Did you hear the AI ad? I know.

You are not the first person to tell me. I'm now going to get 30 emails being like, hey, did you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that they think that you're so, like, royal that you don't even know who's advertising on your show. And even if I didn't know, I would know now because I, I, I, I, also get a fair amount of very nice email so I can't complain. But you do. Yes.

It's very evident that you do. But it's, I think what it is is like what you're saying with with podcasting, it's, the advertising has to drive it. I know people who have started podcasts and like, shit, I can't make this work because like where do I get the money from? I read a pledges and it's like, what a surprise. There's not actually that many people will pay for stuff. Right.

And I think that that's one of the bigger problems in media right now. There are things that people will pay for this for or four media in tech, there's Defector in sports, like there's some really great publications out there. And Flaming Hydra as well, another great one. But at scale, it doesn't exist. And I don't think it exists for podcasts. Like, you have like 30 podcasts that can make money on the reader thing. Yeah.

And it's just frustrating. And also, I don't know if it's fixable. I don't know if there's a way of making the patron model work, even though it's the one that's the most honest. I have no input on those things. I have, that is so beyond me and I don't, I'm terrible with business and stuff. I mean, I understand making things entertaining. Right.

And I, and that's, that's it for me. And that's, whenever I've been approached about a television show and they're like, we wish more young women would watch, I'd be like, well, I don't know. I mean, I guess, I mean, one of my shows, that was an actual note. And it just seemed to come out the other end. of just like lots of scenes of the characters telling each other how much they liked each other. Which I just, at a certain point, at a certain point I was like, is that, is that it? And it just seemed like, just throwing shit against the wall and hoping it sticks. Woman have emotions?

Yeah. It's, no, when we did the, because a lot of what we're talking about is just kind of broadcast fundamentals at some point. And so we did a long 13 and a half hours in five days at CES, big consumer electronic. It's called the Consumer Electronics Show. Yeah, I know. A big thing we got... I did a remote there. If you're ever in, you'll join us for one of the...

No, please. But the big thing I did was we talked about loving everyone, like the fact that we had friendship and all this thing. We got so many emails being like, it's so nice to hear people saying they like each other. Oh, absolutely, yeah. And you have to wonder if some of these shows, the big problem is they're like,

how do we get young woman to listen to this? Yeah, yeah. Have you tried fucking asking one? Have you tried asking a woman? You're like, no, no, no, no, you can't do that. Yeah. We have to focus group it. And there'll be a bird in there, I think.

It's just, it's, and then even with podcasts that don't do well, and they're like, why is this not doing well? Does it suck? Yeah. Is it boring? Yeah. The other side of it is there are a ton of podcasts that don't bother to try. They just, they saw that, I don't know, a chap or trap house or something like, oh, there's just a bunch of guys talking. But when you get down to the core of it, it's like, essentially people who like each other and enjoy being around this chemistry with them.

And they're good talkers. Yes. Yeah, yeah. They do good talking and words and such. Well, Andy, it's been such a pleasure having. Oh, thank you. Thank you. It's been really a fun and interesting conversation.

So where can people find you? My podcast, The Three Questions, which is available at your podcast store. I will put the lease in there as well. And in the same feed, you will get replays of my call-in show, which is on Sirius XM, Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Pacific, what would that be? 4 p.m. Eastern. usually live, sometimes to tape, but lately it's just been live because we've been able to and I've been getting, I have a guest host, usually somebody really funny. Cool.

And it's somebody that I want to be there. That's the nice thing about my show too is like there's never somebody that's just like, you've got to talk to this person. So it's one of the most fun hours of my week, which I have always felt that if you have fun, your viewer or listener will have. fun. If you genuinely have fun. So that's on on Sirius XM Channel 104, which is the Conan Channel. And I love, I am, honestly, I am an early adopter of satellite radio and I love satellite radio. I have it in my car. I listen to it on my phone. And not just because of Howard, but it's like, it's great. There's very, very sort of niche specific music channels. And that's It's totally up my alley. Hell yeah.

Yeah. Well, I've had a lovely time. And you're going to get this thing after this, where it's a recording that I recorded at the beginning of the show, and I lacked my swagger and boldness. I will then promise that I'm going to re-record this. Matt Asowski, my producer will hear this and he'll say, oh, it's going to do it this time. I probably won. Nevertheless, I love you all for listening. Thank you so much.

Thank you for listening to Better Offline. The editor and composer of the Better Offline theme song is Matt Rosowski. You can check out more of his music and audio projects. Matasowski.com, M-A-T-T-O-S-O-S-K-I-com. You can email me at E-Z at Better Offline.com or visit Better Offline.com to find more podcast links and, of course, my newsletter. I also really recommend you go to chat. Where's Your Ed dot at to visit the Discord and go to R-S-Better-O-Line to check out our Reddit.

Thank you so much for listening. Better Offline is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, Cool Zone Media. or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with

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