Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Born to Be Badminton

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

Conan chats with Vibhuti in New Delhi about adjusting to married life, cursed forts, and badminton rivalries. Wanna get a chance to talk to Conan? Submit here: teamcoco.com/apply Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.

Conan O'Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Conan? Visit teamcoco.com slash call Conan. Okay, let's get started. Oh my gosh. Hi, Goudini. How are you? Oh, my God.

Hello, it's so nice to meet you. Fibouti, very nice to meet you. Goodbye. There was just a long lag. I don't know if that's, you know, because of the technology. I just didn't know what to say. You know what? There really is nothing else to say. Vibouti, first of all, welcome.

It's very nice to have you on Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan. And tell us where you are calling in from. I'm right now in New Delhi in India. Oh, my God. That's cool. India. You know, I've been to India once. Yeah.

With you, Sona. That's right. We did something, a little project in Jaipur, and we loved it. I love the people of India. and of all the places I'd been in the world it was the most different that's all I can say

it was just it was like going to another planet in all the best ways really loved India yeah it was it was an ad right yeah it was for American Express I googled it once yeah yeah yeah exactly

good payday anyway I was thinking about it the other day I was thinking about how like India has like a lot going on right you're right it's very different from the rest of the world

And one big thing, of course, there's like, it's very vibrant, it's very happening. There's so many foods and colors and blah, blah, blah. That's what everyone says. But it's also very chaotic. And I feel like anyone who really appreciates being here has to have a high chaos tolerance. Yes, I think you'll agree with me, Sona, that when we visited Jaipur and we were, remember, we were driving around. Yeah. And traffic was not flowing in.

any one direction. And I don't mean people were going in two directions or three directions. People, livestock, buses, everything was coming from every direction. I had never seen anything like it. And I found it exhilarating. Me too. I just was, I was, I loved it. I love the energy. And I love the lack of order. And there was just so much beauty there. And a real zest for life. That's what I picked up on. Am I correct? So true, so true. I think, I was thinking, I think Sona would have, like, I feel like Sona has a great chaos tolerance. I do.

She has to, yeah. She has to. She works for me, and she comes from a family of maniacs. Oh, okay. I say that in the nicest way. Oh, do you? Yeah, I love your parents. Maniacs.

Yeah. I'm going to tell them you said that then. No, but if you meant it in a nice with them, I'm going to say, hey, mom, pop. Conan says we're maniac. They come from a very, um. vibrant culture. Yes. Wow.

That's the nice way to say it. We're chaotic. That's what we say about ourselves. Yeah. Maniacs. Anyway, so, Vibu... But, Gord, you have a high... I think you would almost like confuse us if you came here because you create chaos wherever you go, right?

Yes. I think that if I came to India, my level of chaos would be higher than the people of New Delhi have ever seen before. Yeah. I think they would be saying like, this guy has to calm down. It's too much. We got to get him out of here.

We got to get him out of here. Tell me about your life, Vibouti. You're in New Delhi. Are you married? Yes. I was married. Because I was about to propose to you. And I think it's important to know if someone's married before you propose to them.

That's a good idea. But you're also married. Very gently. Yeah, but that thing. It's an L.A. marriage. That marriage could go at any time. Listen, we've grown distant in the last several days. My wife and I after 23 years. No, I'm very happily married. Tell me about yourself. Are you with somebody? Yeah, I got married last year.

Oh, congratulations. Yeah. Did you have one of those big ceremonial weddings where, I mean, some of the weddings in India are, it's a giant multi-day. affair. Did you do, did you go that route? Oh, my God. It was huge. Dude. It was too much. And, and like in retrospect, like, this is how much I'm thinking, I'm often thinking about the podcast. I was like, if only I had applied to Conan O'Brien needs a fan before my wedding. I could have invited you to the wedding. Yes. I was like, oh. You say that. Like a missed opportunity. But you know what, Vabuti, I don't think you wanted me. I think, you know what I mean? I'm a lot. I'm a lot.

So I think on some subconscious level, the reason you, well, don't agree so quickly. But I think one of the. I think that's what she met. She would invite us, right? Oh, oh my gosh. Do you have Matt and Sona and Aaron and Eduardo? Hey. But then we have to have gone in, right?

No, we don't. No, we don't. We absolutely do not. So we had this big wedding, and I want to know who you married. Because this is a, I want to say this, I'll say a kind thing. This is a lucky person. You're very beautiful. You're very funny.

You seem very smart. You've got a great personality. Who is this person? He is, well, now anything I say seems like not good enough, but he's amazing as well. I don't know. So his name is Casey. Casey. He works, he, until very recently, he worked with the UN in Ukraine informing their humanitarian response.

Oh, wow. That's very good work he's doing. That's very good work and very important work. So he sounds like a really cool guy. You've been married now a year. Yes. And where are you right now? Do you guys have your own place?

So for the past two months, we've been living here at my parents' home. You're living with your parents right now? Yeah. Because that can be tough. And I'm going to tell you how I know that for a fact. Until I was 18, I lived with my parents. That's more of a legal thing. But Sona had to because she lost her house in the Altadina.

moved back in with your mom and dad and your husband and your two children and why don't you jump in here sona my dog it's a lot it is a lot to move back home after you haven't lived at home for a while and you know you need your space let's just see you need your space right I mean I have you found have you found it difficult for booty we don't want to put words in your mouth but has it been difficult and why has it been difficult and it sounds difficult Who is it who really gets to your mom or your dad? Mom. Your mom.

Wait, no, that's your... Oh, sorry. I want to put it on the record because my parents are going to hear this. They are angels. I love them so much. Okay. How about we don't have them listen to this? We'll make a second one that they can listen to.

But I want the truth. Oh, oh my gosh. Who can be a little bit? Who can be a little rough? And they can still be wonderful people, but who sometimes... creates a little bit more of a problem. She could have ruined her home life. Would you shut up?

Matt gets it. Thank you, Corley. Oh, yeah, he gets it. She says, not a good podcast. That's all. Oh, let's get the fizz out of this soda. Now it's better. It's nice and flat.

So my dad has been so warm and loving and welcoming. And at the same time, I can see that he has a hard time seeing me as an adult. Yes. And he's just, and sometimes he says it. You know, to me, you'll always be five years old. You'll always be a little girl. And I'm like, that's very sweet. But I'm also not.

I'm married. I paid taxes. I've lived in a couple of countries, you know? Yeah. So he sometimes, how does this? come out when he's when he's when he's treating you like a child does he ever say you know go up to your room um does he ever turn into the dad of your childhood why do you smell like weed okay you're projecting sona first of all you're projecting your childhood and last week

today yeah it's a morning mother's day it's mother's day bra yeah you deserve a break So Baboudi, just tell me what kinds of things specifically does your father do? It's okay. You're saying it with love. Yeah, with love last week I had a flu, and he was like obsessed with the idea of me going to the doctor. And I was like, it's, you know, it's just a flu. It'll pass in three days. I don't need to see a doctor.

And he was like, no, you must go. These days it can be so strong and it can turn it. or something very bad. And I was like, yeah, yeah, okay, cool, cool. And I just wanted, like, I just wanted 48 hours to pass and to see if it's going to be fine. And it was fine. Yeah, I'm still with your dad on this one.

No, I've been there. My dad, I had a cough. My dad's like, go to the doctor. I'm like, I know I don't need to go. They just don't, they're very parental that way. And it's sweet, but also, you know. But Vibouti, it's a two-way street. Have you found that you've regressed at all?

Sometimes when I would go back home, even when I was in my 30s and 40s, if you can believe it, I'd act more childish around my parents because I was back in the home where I was a child. Now I know this is a strong dose of weirdness and no one can understand it, hard to believe. But I would act more childish around my parents. Do you find that you do that sometimes? What would you do?

Oh, sometimes I'd do long bits or act silly or jump around or do long interviews that had no real point or run on sentences. I'd calm my hair up to a big pompadour. I would do a dance where I pretended strings were attached to my hips. I mean, I would progress. Wait a minute. I'm describing my career. Yeah.

That sounds like a day in the life of Conan. Yeah. Fibouti, I'm going to try a different tact here. Let's say that I were to visit you. Okay? and let's say that I were to stay with you and your husband whose name is, again, is Casey?

Casey. I'm sure I'd be welcome there and your parents. Yeah, for sure. Would they be aware of who I am? Would your parents know who I am? Yes, they are so aware. My dad has seen you live. He saw me live?

Wow. Yeah, live. he many many years ago he worked for General Electric and there was some sort of opportunity to see you yeah exactly yeah General Electric was my boss when I was yeah General Electric owned NBC and so back in the day occasionally they would need some kind of an orange-haired chimpanzee to go out and entertain the the GE crowd and I would do that that's exactly how he described you did he did he like did he enjoy my show yeah he did. And he also said, like, the one thing that I guess everyone says is that, oh, he's so tall. He's so tall. Yeah. Yeah, they don't really say funny. They just say tall. But that's okay. Most comedians want to be described by their height. But my mom really likes you. Okay. Well, listen, so it sounds like I'd be accepted by your family. Your mom's a fan. Your dad's a fan and has seen me live. You know, Casey, your husband would tolerate me. You're a fan.

So I come and I visit, what would we do? What would you want me? Is there a way that I could help you? Yes. Well, there's a way in which you could help me. And then there's also something that I, so recently I went to a fort close to New Delhi, and I'd love to take you there.

It's a few hours drive. Wow, you had me a few hours drive to a fort. That sounds pretty good. Okay, it's cursed and it's too haunted. Oh, better, yeah. And there's a gin that lives in the fort that people worship on a daily basis. The Irish also worship gin, but it's a different gin. People from nearby villages come to offer sweets because they believe the gin will grant them their wishes.

Wait, so it's a cursed fort, but we would go there hoping that the gin would grant our wishes. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes if we want our wishes to be granted, we have to do dangerous things. But that doesn't sound cursed. Is anything bad? potentially going to happen? Well, so the story goes that the reason it's cursed is because there was once a bustling township and fort and whatnot, and there was a beautiful princess who was desired by this evil magician who tried every technique to bring her under his control and he always failed. And then one time he tried to give her a magic portion, which she immediately,

recognized. He disguised it as a perfume, but she knew what it was, and she threw it on a rock. And then the rock became possessed, and it crushed the magician to death. But before he died, he cursed the fort, and he cursed the people. And he, um, and he cursed the land for, that it will be barren forever. Could you say, I hate, the, magicians are not good people. Oh. And I know that's a blanket statement, but they really are. Anyway, you don't even, you don't have to say evil magician. I agree. He was a magician. Yeah. You know? There's something weird.

Yeah, there's just something going on there. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You want to, like, look David Copperfield and the eye and feel comfortable? There's no way. I don't know. I'll hang out with David Blaine. Yeah. Yeah, sure.

That'll be fun. That's a fun date. Hey, what are we doing? Are we going to a restaurant? No, I'm going to get inside this little bubble and not eat for 17 days. You can watch me in Times Square. No, I don't think that's happening. Apologies to David Blaine, but famously, tough date.

Vibouti. Okay, maybe we'll check out the cursed fort that's a couple of hours away, visit the gym. Gosh, so uninterested. And anything else that we would do while we were there? Is there any way I can help you? Well, let's get to badminton. I'm sorry, I'm not kidding around anymore. There's a badminton there.

There's a badminton in the notes. There's a badminton thing. Sorry, me get in a older. So for the past two months, I've been really getting into badminton. And in my neighborhood, there is this girl who is unbeatable. Her name is Tolika. She's amazing. I'm never able to get past her.

And I could really use your help to improve my badminton skills, maybe team up, and just, you know, for once and for all claim my spot as the best badminton player. Well, here's the deal. And I'm glad you called Vibouti because I am recognized as an incredible natural. athlete. I have not played badminton, but I don't even have to have played badminton. I think anything that involves hand coordination. It would be so great. I would be amazing. Your height would make you very good. I'm very tall. I'm a distraction to the other team because I'm quite unusual looking. The hair is flopping around. Exactly. They get confused. My limbs are out of proportion. But also I'm a fierce competitor. I'm I dominate. I need to win. I could help you beat your

arch rival Tolika in badminton. Yep, yep. That would be amazing. If you could do that for me, I would be forever grateful. He can't. Well, what are you talking about? I can.

I can and I will. I mean, height is like wasted on you. Like, you can be over the net, but I don't... Just go to the for. Have you ever even played badminton? I think once. I played badminton. All right.

And only three people were killed. Vibouti, I want to make your dreams I'm also not that good I'm not that good at badminton Like my mom beats Tolika It's just that I can't beat Tulaqa Oh, your mom can beat She's good

You just suck Yeah Okay But my mom My mom is incredible Maybe it can be Tulaika And my mom versus me Maybe your mom is your arch rival

Yeah My mom beats Tulaika Once in a while Like she usually loses, once in a while she wins. Okay. I don't win. Okay. Well, I think Toloka, first of all, has been probably getting professional help.

She probably has a coach. I mean, there's a reason Tolika is so good. She's juicing. I think she's juicing. I definitely think she's juicing. Toloka's on some kind of steroid. Does she have massive forearms? Does she have an anchor tattoo?

Does she say I always eats me spinach? She might. She's papa. She has a girlfriend named Olive Oil. Yeah, yeah, she does. Does she ever say I yam what I yam? When she laughs, does she go, Agagagagag, Gag, Gag.

The booty, I need help, mental help, but I'd love to help you. I'd love to be of assistance. You seem like a very cool fan, and I'm happy for you. I'm happy for your marriage, your healthy relationship with your parents, even though your dad sounds very domineering

and treats you like a child. It doesn't understand that most things are, most illnesses are short-lived, quickly go away on their own. But other than that, everything sounds fine. And I'd visit a cursed fort with you any day to visit the gin and see the rock that crush the magician

because I don't like a magician. I could have wrapped this up so much more easily. Yeah, you could have. But I've had a little aneurysm here. Did you need an assist or something? No, I'm done. Vibouti, thank you so much for calling in. You seem lovely.

You really do. Have a fantastic day. And I do hope that we get to meet in person. Thank you so much, Conan. Matt, Sona. It's such a pleasure to have spoken to you. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ruby.

Bye-bye. Conan O'Brien needs a fan with Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Sessian, and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. by Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and Nick Liao. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Supervising producer Aaron Blaird. Associate talent producer Jennifer Samples.

Associate producers Sean Doherty and Lisa Burm. Engineering by Eduardo Perez. Get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com slash Conan. Please rate, review, and subscribe to Conan O'Brien needs a fan wherever fine podcasts are down. Thank you.