Good Hang with Amy Poehler - Maya Rudolph (Live)

Episode Date: December 11, 2025

Maya Rudolph is a real natural. Amy hangs with her fellow SNL alum for a live taping of 'Good Hang' and talks about being the coolest kid at Crossroads, her favorite wigs, and being married to Prince in another life. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Ron Funches and Maya RudolphExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer Kaya McMullen; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillaneOriginal Music: Amy MilesLive show production by: Elizabeth Fierman, Charlie Finan, Chris Wohlers, Ryan Todd, Donald LoBianco, Kevin Cureghian, Alexa Coubal, and Jeffrey Neubauer Additional mixing by: Devon Renaldo Gifts in as fast as 1 hour. Order thru 5pm on 12/24. This episode is brought to you by PayPal. Make the most of your money when you Pay in 4 all holiday long. No fees. No interest. Subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com/payin4. PayPal, Inc. NMLS #910457 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode of Good Hang is presented by Walmart Express Delivery, getting gifts to your doorstep in as fast as an hour. Who needs elves when Walmart Express delivery can make Nespresso machines magically appear on your doorstep? And if you do happen to forget something, no judgment. You can even order gifts up until five, p.m. on December 24th. Santa, you might want to take notes. Download the Walmart app or head to Walmart.com and get your gifts delivered fast. Subject to availability, terms, and fees apply. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Good Hang. Hello. Welcome to the Fonda Theater. I am Amy Poehler. We are so excited that you're here tonight. How's everybody feeling? All right.

Just want to remind everybody to please turn off your cell phones and refrain from taking any photos or videos during the show. We want you to enjoy yourself and be in the moment, which I know is difficult to do in these trying times. We are very, very happy that you're here with us. Thank you so much for coming. And to kick off the show and get us started, give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for my dear friend, incredible musician, and the singer of the good.

good hang theme song, an incredible artist, Amy Miles, everybody! Amy Miles! Thanks so much. Let's get this going. My name is Amy Miles. I'm so happy to be here. I am so honored to be here. And I'm here with my beautiful friends, Mr. Kweedwin.

And Mr. David Wayne on the jumps. Okay, you guys, without further ado, we're going to play the theme too. Good Hank. And I like it, and I like it. And I will not mess this up. One, two, three, clap! Ah! Boy!

Boy Low consequences and low offenses When my arm break a bone Coming back to city and late summer Everybody, everybody's gone Everybody, everybody, everybody's gone Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody's cold Everybody, everybody, everybody's cold

Everybody's gone Woohoo, hoo! Go in for the hook Go out With a bang What's up? What do you say? All I ever wanted was a really good hang

Hold on See if I'm breathing Till to the right and start believing Money's got a dress that the party started Money's got a party that stops tonight Money's got a dress that the party started What you say? Money's got a dress that the party started

It starts tonight Party When I see you, I turn and go home. Woo-hoo! Go in for love and go on with a bang. What's up? What do you say? All I ever wanted was a really good hang, and what do you say? I am what it was a really could hang.

Ladies and gentlemen, the host. My friend, your friend, Miss Amy Puller. Amy Miles, everybody, Amy Miles. Woo-hoo! Thank you, Amy. Thank you, David. Thank you, Craig. Hello, everyone. Please have a seat. This is a podcast. We're sitting down. Welcome, welcome to Good Hang Live. Thank you so much for coming.

It is a thrill to be here. I just want to start by saying, I apologize for the late start. I did not know this show was going to be an 8 p.m. show. I truly didn't, and I'm so sorry. I'm telling you right now you're not getting home before 11, and it's upsetting. And I won't do that to you again. Welcome. We are very, very excited to do our show tonight.

we have a few people to thank before we get started and the first is Spotify thank you for everything everyone here who works on Good Hang they're just amazing a amazing group of people and we've had a pretty awesome year um we started this podcast um this year yeah and it's going great um so thank you to everybody working on the show, and I will thank you all personally and Jenna, most of all. And also thank you to PayPal for sponsoring this evening, and I know there's some PayPal peeps in the crowd. You're my pal, PayPal. Have you guys thought of that as a slogan? Paypal is my pal. But thank you so much for making tonight happen. So we're going to get started. And I think, you know, without further ado, I think it's important for you guys to know who you're getting

to see tonight because we like to keep these guests secret up into a point, but you are eventually going to hear us talk to each other. So I have to say, ladies and gentlemen, you have a really good, good hang guest this evening, because it is the one, the only Maya Rudolph. Maya! You wanted her, you wanted her, you got her. How exciting is that, Maya. That was exciting. But yes, yes.

And we have, I have my lip balm, and my laptop and my glasses. I'm so excited. Woo. But we always like to start our podcast by talking well behind our guests back. Right? So I'm going to introduce the guest who's going to do that as I move this microphone over. This is what we practice in blocking.

And then Amy is going to play me over to the. This podcast. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. Make the most of your money with PayPal. They give you the flexibility to pay in for. No fees, no interest. So whether it's the must-have toy or a tiered cheeseboard,

PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Subject to approval, learn more at PayPal.com slash pay in four. Paypal Inc. NMLS 910457. All right. Now I'm comfortable sitting down. Okay. We are very excited to introduce our guest who's going to be talking to us about Maya and giving me a question to ask Maya. We always like to do that on Good Hang to talk to somebody who knows our guests really well. We're thrilled to have this person joining us tonight. He is an incredible actor, stand-up, and sweet, tender-hearted person,

and he plays Maya's cousin, Howard, on the show Lute. Give it up for Ron Funches, everybody. Ron Funches! Hi, Ron. Hi. Hi. Now, people should know we were trying to keep you a secret. But then you and Maya just saw each other backstage.

You didn't do a good job at all. Nope. It felt like no one even tried to keep us apart. No, all we literally needed to do was close your door. Yeah. And we forgot to do that. And I think I, Maya said that she just went, hey, Ron, what are you doing here? Like you live here.

Yeah, sometimes I just pop up places. Thank you so much for coming now. Let's take a water break. It's so nice to be here. And I have some lip balm if you need. I can't believe you got so many people here. Really nice. Very exciting.

Very nice. Don't they know podcasts are free? They are severely overpaying. It's a good point. I think it's an excellent point. Yeah, you can go home and listen to this for free. But they don't seem like they make good financial decision. They wooed for PayPal.

Yeah. Ron, are you a Calif, you're not a California kid, are you? I was actually born in Los Angeles in Gardena. What's it like being a California kid? I mean, I'm just proud to be from here. especially this year with the wildfires and everything. I feel like you get just this sense of community and loyalty to the place. But I've moved around a bunch.

I lived in Chicago. I lived in Oregon. So I kind of just learned to just carry my home and my space with me mostly. I like to ask people when they've moved around a lot, what's the coldest you've ever been? Definitely. It's outside of Chicago, shoveling snow in the winter. It's terrible.

And what's the hottest you've ever been? Probably when I was like 212 pounds real cut Just every day Yeah You tour a lot What is your tour What do you like to do on tour

What's your, how do you prepare for your show And what do you do after? Thank you for asking No one asked me that I'm really fascinated by a person on the road It's hard work No it is because you just hate being away from home I used to when you first start

Sometimes the hotel much better than my home But as the years have progressed that has switched and I always want to be home and so I try to make the road as much like home as possible I travel with my best friend Gabe Dinger he's a great comedian he's here with me tonight we bring our video games with us all the time and I usually do a Pilates class wherever I go nice yeah what a what video game do you play when you're on the road usually any of them all of them anything anything you got I will play if you're And Pilates, which I enjoy doing, what do you like about Pilates?

I like that. It's so difficult. Yeah. I like that. I could be like, how am I sweating so much while exclusively laying down? Oh, this is a good audience for this joke. Yeah. This is a Pilates audience.

Are you kidding me? Your audience is like a goop store. Every single. Everybody gets a reformer. on the way out. You have a reformer, you know. Do you bring anything with you on the road? You know how people bring a pillowcase

or a carbon monoxide detector? No, I just usually bring like the same pair of pajamas that I want to wear. I bring my steam deck, which is like my little video game thing, but like it makes me feel like I'm at home. And then, but that's really it. I think that and the Pilates,

keep me feeling like I'm focused at home because with the traveling, I always feel stiff and just kind of off balance. And once I feel like I land at a place and I sweat in a place, I feel more grounded. Yeah, I hear you. And last question, are you a person that likes to talk to people on the plane? No, not at all. Not at all. I got my headphones on all the time. It's actually it's probably okay to be name-droppy here. But it's how Bill Hader and I connected one time. We were working on a movie together and we were both on a plane and we saw each other and so but we were like separated by aisle so the lady that I was sitting was like do you want to sit with your friends so you guys could talk and we both looked up and immediately were like no that's a nice

friend oh okay I respect you now you and Maya have a real chemistry on your show and I know you also have a real friendship in life. Can you tell me where you first met? Was it working together on Lute, or did you meet before? Yeah, I met her first. I mean, obviously, been a big, big fan of hers for a long time. It's similar to you as well, you know. So I just remember watching her on Saturday Night Live.

I don't remember how many times I would rewind and rewatch the scene of her just shitting in the street on Brise maze, you know? Like, to me, that was... Beautiful. It's like a beautiful opera. It's the highest form of art you could ever find. I agree. And so I've always been such a big fan.

And then when Luke came up as an opportunity, I was actually in the process of pitching my own show and was seeing if that was going to go across the line. So I originally turned down the audition. And then Maya sent me a nice email, which was just more like, hey, I know you probably think this is just like some random call and you're just one of 20, 30 people,

but I like your work. I'm a fan of your work. I know who you are. I just wanted to just send you a quick email to see if you would reconsider and do this audition. And just getting a direct email from her like that, I was like, oh, I should probably do this.

And then luckily in the next two weeks, they passed on my show, so I was like, I really need to do this. And what is it like to work with her? It's amazing. It is like I tell her, I've told her in person and nice to tell her on this podcast. I'm a big, big comedy fan. I have been my whole life.

One of my favorite shows is I Love Lucy, big fan of just Lucille Ball in general. And I always say that working with her to me must feel like it was like to be like William Frawley and to be Vivian Vance working with Lucille Ball. Like to see the level of dedication and the level of skill. the craftsmanship that she can do in multiple areas, that she can be funny, that she's a great singer, a great dancer, that she can be a dramatic actor when she wants to be, to have that full skill set and to put that on display while still being a kind person is something that I don't see often. So to me, I'm like, this is the, like, I'm in the presence of a true

like legend. So it's a, but she never makes you feel separate, you know? She never makes you feel like you don't belong or you're smaller than, you know, sometimes she'll be like, she'll turn to me. She goes, like, is this funny? And I'm like, why the fuck are you asking me? If you say it, it probably will be. I mean, I don't usually talk behind the guests back when they're off stage right there.

But I want to, what I want to talk about tonight is that Maya is like a nice. natural. Like she's like one of a kind natural. Like she's she's one of those people to me that feels like is, was born to do what she's doing. Like it's almost like she makes it look so easy when she's doing stuff. It's because she's so naturally good at it, I think. Yeah. And, you know, I think they should remake the natural and they should put Maya in there. She's born to do it. You know, she's true Hollywood royalty. And a lot of times people look at and they just think about nephotism or people who don't do anything but in a lot of cases it's the

opposite whereas like she's been born into this world and she's been the lifetime crafting these like abilities and it shows and everything that she does and then the fact that she still has spent so much time with her family and so much time balancing everything that's to me is the wildest part is like to accomplish so many things and to still be driven to get up and come do this show and still spend time with your family. Like that, I mean, I know it's hard for me, and I just, you know, I'm doing stand-up four days a week. So to do all the stuff that she does is amazing to me.

Yeah, yeah. Women are amazing. They are. And you too, Ron. Thank you. And you too. So what question do you have for Maya? What do you think we should ask her today?

I have three questions. Oh, okay, I need a pen. There you go. Okay, okay, I'll remember it. You'll be fine. One, is Louie coming back because I need a job? Great. So if you could confirm that onto a microphone.

Great. Is Louie coming back? That would be helpful. Number two is one that I really do wonder personally, but I don't know if she'd want to answer in the pot, so I'm just going to ask, and she doesn't have to answer. But just when the time that she spent on Saturday Night Live playing Kamala, Harris to me is the thing that I'd be very interested to know more about, to go through all of that, to live in her skin while she's going through the most, like, pressurized time in her life

to have things not turn out the way that she nor me or most of us would have preferred. I just wanted to know, like, what that would feel like. Because I imagine there'd just be a lot of symbiotic pain from doing that. But maybe she don't want to answer that. So my third one would just be about how does she choose, like, what projects are worth spending time away from her family? What makes her choose a thing that is, like, is it, like, about providing more for her family or just something that she finds fun for herself or challenging for herself? just because again, like I have my son and I'm on the road four days a week and then I

immediately come back home to my son and it's like a balance because, but I don't know how to do it. I want to know how to do it better. Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Me too. We all want to know how to do it. We're all hanging on by a thread. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's the secret. Yeah, nobody knows. That's the secret. Nobody knows how to do it. People think, but if you have a microphone, they'll go, maybe they know. Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to sell a course talking about it. Okay, so just because I'm menopausal, so you've got, is Luke coming back? Mm-hmm. Kamala?

Mm-hmm. How do you do it, babe? Yeah. How do you do it? Right on. Those are awesome questions. Thank you. Ron Funches, thank you for doing this.

You're a total delight. I'm going to take this. Take the mug. That mug is yours. Everybody, Ron Funches. Thank you so much, Ron. This episode is brought to you by Cozy. We've all been there when your furniture just isn't cutting it,

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introduce our guest this evening. You know her from a backup singer for the rentals. She was a Crossroads coolest student, California's own biggest comedy hit MVP of SNL till the end of time. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Maya Rudolph. Oh, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo!

Woo! Hi, Maya! Hi, Amy! Hi, Amy! How's it going? Is this a nice crowd? This is very nice. So many nice people.

Nice people. You can tell they're nice people. I can. I can feel it. I can smell it. Um, Maya, we're going to do a little mic check. Okay. And let's, will you sing the national anthem voice?

Yeah. Okay, a little mic check, go ahead. I'm not kidding, I want someone to ask me to do that again. Wouldn't that be fun? I, someone did say for the 50th, hey we we want you to sing open the show

with the national anthem and I was like okay and then it just went away wouldn't that have been fun oh you want me to do it just a little bit

I haven't even I don't really like I don't really like think I've ever done it since then oh oh That's... That's...

Oh... Oh... That's enough, right? Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you. It's the faces. Yeah.

It's the faces. And it's the amount of time it takes. You know what? Can we talk about that for a second? Talk about how that came to be you singing the National Anthem. There was a character.

My character, Pamela Bell, let's be clear. You know what? I rarely, all the time that we were at SNL, I rarely had good ideas. That's not true. Like, you know when you have an idea and you're like, this is going to be fun to do? Or maybe I should be more clear.

I always have ideas for characters, but I never really had clear ideas for sketches. And this one was like beginning, middle, and end. And it's because in the writer's room on nine, at some point, someone was watching, I think it was like a rewrite night and American Idol was on. And they do these wrap-ups. And I think it was like baseball. I don't know, world-term, I don't know, something with a baseball. And they had people singing, take me out to the ball game. And this one girl said, buy me some

e-nuts and apple jacks and that was it I was like here we go Enuts and apple jacks oh god damn

but it was honestly like I know Enuts and apple jacks and urple jerks I just it's just it was such a

moment to be, I've never been, like, other than when we did Bronx Beat, that was the only other time where I've, like, done something that wasn't completely on the cards. Yeah. Because Bronx Beat's the only time I really feel like we were, I ever did anything loose. Yeah, yeah, that's what she said. That's what she said. Maya, I don't know if you heard Ron talk and I talking about you, but. What? No. Did you know Ron was going to be here? I actually didn't until I walked in the room and he was sitting there. Literally all we needed to do. to do was close the door. Couldn't get that done.

But how dumb am I? I was like, hey, Ron. What are you doing here? I just thought he was hanging out. He lives here at the Fonda. Have you performed here or been here at the Fonda recently? I've been here. I was here recently for the Geese show.

Oh. Yeah. Oh, Cameron Winter. Yeah. Yeah. What if he's here? He's still here. Oh, my God.

I don't run. Was that, did you feel cool when you were in? Was it cool? I felt so cool. I did bring earplugs. Yeah. Because I'm 53. But that was a huge laugh.

But I, I love them a lot. And it was really hard to make myself go out. I know. What time did you have to go out? I don't know. What time did they go on? I don't know. You don't, you really don't remember.

It was it 10 p.m. Who knows? Literally, like... What time is it? You had a sleeping cap on and a candle, and you were like, I had my nightgown on. It was a geese song. Jacob Marley, is that you?

I hear your chain. I am at a geese show. It was very late. But it was totally worth it, because they're so good. And they're so exciting. And as you know, I get really grumpy when music is bad and they're so good. And they're so talented at making music and writing music, performing music, that I was happy to leave my house. Oh, that's great.

I mean, it is hard to leave your house. It's hard to go out and I appreciate that you're here. Period. Yes. And I really do. And I want to talk to you about music because in your relationship to it. And I want to start with the fact that you are. As I asked Ron, he's a California boy, you're a California girl.

And we had a great interview with the great Jack Black who said that you were the coolest person he knew in high school. He said that? Yes. Do you not listen to my podcast? I do, but I didn't listen to his episode yet. You didn't. We glazed you so hard.

Wait, what? Glazed city, babe. I'm going to go home tonight. Oh, Maya. I, it's funny, I almost said his name when we were talking about the national anthem, because when I was singing it on, first of all, there's so much to talk about when it comes to Jack, because I've known him since I was 14, and I met him in school, and he changed my life for the better. And, you know, when you find people, and you both speak the same language, and he was new, he, he, he, he was new. was a couple years older and he had transferred to the school and I think my drama teacher was like, you guys should hang out. He was, he coached me in an improv competition, me and a couple

girlfriends and we just like spoke music the same way right away. We both like had a love for Bobby McFerrin and I didn't know any 14 year olds that liked Bobby McFerrin. But when I was doing the national anthem, especially when I go, I always think about Jack. He brought me to my first Groundlings show when I was a kid and showed me this whole world. I didn't even imagine I'd end up being there and that would lead me to you, really, honestly.

I mean, he changed my life, but there's just so few people that you feel so lucky when you have those moments where you had no idea you were going to meet someone that was going to be such a positive influence on your life and he's such a great goof. Did you guys ever kiss? No. I wanted to.

There's still time. Chapter last, act three, baby. I wonder if we did maybe in like a short film. Well, I played his girlfriend. And like, Brett Morgan, who ended up becoming an incredible documentary filmmaker. He went to our school. I know everyone's like,

in class, like, private school. Like, it was such a fucking great, creative, cool school. It was so punk and weird and artistic, and I took film classes

and improv. Jack got me into the improv class early when I was in eighth grade. You're supposed to be a ninth and he got me in. Eighth grade? Yes.

And you were like, hey, you guys. Hey, I got some improv about. And you were like, improv about you're like, Honey, I'm home from work with your little briefcase. Isn't candy stupid? Tough day, the toy factory.

Oh, boy. I don't remember. But you played his girlfriend. Okay. And you also went to school with Gwyneth. Yes, elementary school. Elementary school with Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah.

And did you guys kiss? We kissed. No, I'm kidding. You guys did kiss. Yeah, we did. Okay, good. That's what I thought. Yep.

We went to St. Augustine together, which was a, um, It was the elementary of Crossroads before Crossroads really had an elementary. It was in this church called St. Augustine by the sea. And, yeah, and we were very close. And weirdly, our dads went to college together, so we had kind of like a family bond. And then after sixth grade, she went to New York. And do you remember your first time in that time period

with like your wonderful, artistic, beautifully groovy parents? Do you remember when you first saw S&L? I really do remember sneaking into my parents' room and faking like a stomach ache or just like I can't go to, I can't sleep, or something. That's how I talked when I was a kid. I can't sleep. And my parents were young.

I mean, they were probably in their 20s. And they were, yeah, they were watching the show. And I think I saw the land shark is what I remember. For those of you Over the age of 50 There was a man named Chevy Chase And he was updating That's all you need to know

And the shark would come in And they'd grab them and get them Yeah Groundlings you mentioned groundlings When you were at the Groundlings Premier Improv Sketch Comedy Theater Who was in your freshman class? Who were you with at the time?

I had the most unbelievable group of people. So our beloved dear friend Emily Spivey, who we wrote with for many, many years at S&L, I met Emily there. My friend Nat Faxson, who's on Lute, my friend Jim Rash, Cheryl Hines, Melissa McCarthy,

Ben Falcone, oh my God, who am I forgetting? Jordan Black, Will Forte. Will was in our group. who else shit this is going to sound really bad when I can't remember people's names no that's great that's perfect is that good yeah that's Rachel Harris oh my god I'm still talking

we had an unbelievable group of people and what did you like now with a lot of perspective right what was the biggest takeaway the best thing about being in that space making that kind of art at that time absolutely knowing that I listened to myself and found my people and that I liked and you've said this about me and I know it to be true

especially because you're so good at reading people I like to be with my friends and have fun and I know that sounds stupid but it's such a great way to do improv and sketch I like to come in the room when people are hanging when there's a group of people that I really like It makes me so happy, and then it makes me feel like I'm actually funny or funnier, and it fuels me. I like to be in the mix of it.

Yeah, Maya, if I may speak for you, Maya, and about you. The word fun feels like, like, you know, it's like a, it feels like not a complex word, but it is, because it's really about this idea of like a shared communal sense of energy, and you love that. I do. And I will say, you know, I said to Ron that I think you're one of the most naturally gifted performers I've ever met. And I think you're the most naturally best person at S&L that's ever been on the show. Amy. It's true, babe. You have to have a lot of skills to be on that show. You've got to have a lot of skills to pay the bills on that show. And one of the things that you do that is so important in live television, especially, is we are never nervous

when Maya's performing. Like, we're never worried about you. Our mirror neurons aren't firing that you're like, because you're, like, when you perform, you're having a lot of fun. Yeah. It's almost like you're the most relaxed and the least nervous,

or at least it seems that way. It seems that way. So is that not true? I definitely get nervous, but I think it's interesting how I get nervous. I realized it coming back. back to SNL during COVID the first time I came to play Kamala, which was... Which worked the first time.

Oh, brother. Oh, brother. Oh, brother. I lost my train of thought. What were we talking about? Nervous. How are you like when you're nervous? I...

My nerves are... different when I'm there specifically because I want to be there and I like how present it is and I get I do get an adrenaline rush from being in that room and knowing that it's like happening in that very moment and the history of the world like all of it and over the years knowing so many of the people so many of the crew in that room but my armpit sweat is like how I know my body's reacting I'm not I don't tremble I do I do get nervous about fucking up or stumbling words and that has happened and that's the thing that sticks with you. But my memory of you is when you fuck up, you like look at, you know, whoever you're with and

me being sometimes being like, who, who, which is like the, even the joy of the electricity of that. But like even, you know how you, you know how there's moments where you really, you're like, I can't wait to say this line. Oh, no. And even back to the national anthem, remember there was one line that I used to say, and it would tickle Keenan. And I was singing it kind of like Whitney Houston

And instead of saying like Gave proof to the night I was saying like, gave a little bit of proof And every time I sang it, he would like And I love that he was tickled by it And I was so excited to do it that I didn't do it. Yeah. Yeah.

And those little slip-ups, even one of the most recent, I can't remember which one it was, but one of the most recent commas we did, I stumble. You know, you just stumble sometimes. Totally. Your tongue time.

Like your adrenaline gets you all twisty, yeah. So I hate that. And then Sunday morning, you're like, oh, God. You can just hear it again and again, and you can't fix it. But no one ever knows. No, and also nobody cares. Nobody cares. I mean, no one's paying attention to anything except themselves.

And, I mean, it's almost quarter to nine. I know. We're almost in bed. And it's ridiculous. I agree. So you came into S&L for like the final three shows. Oh, of the 25th season. Yeah.

So you came in at the very end. Isn't that weird? Yeah. What was your audition like and what do you remember of your audition? I didn't audition. Bitch, that's right. Oh, shit. I knew it.

I don't love. Oh, my water. Oh, my God, I spilled my water in my laptop. Guys, we're going to get electrocuted. I don't love that I did an audition, but I said to Lauren, very recently, if I had auditioned, I probably wouldn't have been on the show. I didn't have a very good audition ready to go.

Do you need a napkin? These are the Seth Myers' good hang tissues. Seth Meyer's memorial tissues when I made him cry. Really, you think you would have blown it if you audition? Yeah, I do. I had never... You might want to... You don't need those questions.

No. You know, we know how to clean a table, though, don't we? I mean, this is... Do you like cleaning tables? I do. I love them. I love it. I like a nice-smelling spray. Oh, do you use Windex?

Oh, you know what, I don't. Do you love Windex? You fucking love Windex, don't you? And not the new stuff that doesn't have the chemicals in it. I like the stuff that doesn't have the chemicals in it. I know, you're so California. I'm fucking California, I know. Well, that was the thing.

When Maya arrived to S&L, there was like East Coast, West Coast people. East Coast was like, hey. You from the Groundlings? Cool. A little bit. Well, when I arrived, you were, you had already been there, but I didn't know at the time for only three shows. Yeah, isn't that crazy? So what was it like to come at the end of a season?

It was very strange and it was a trial period. I had sent, I had sent some VHS tape of some of my sketches to Lorne. Directly to his house. directly to Lawrence House and I was like, did you watch? It was like a trial period, trial by fire. They came to, they did come to the groundlings. I think, I believe it was Tina and perhaps Mike Shoemaker and God, I don't remember, probably Steve Higgins, who had seen me there before, who I credit giving me my job,

Amen, Hallelujah, changed my life forever. Do you remember where you were when you got the call that you were going to be on the show? was at my house, I used to live near Larchmont Village, around the corner from the yoga place in the Larchmont Wine and Spirits. Yeah. Great sandwiches, am I right? When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I used to go to that yoga place just so I could eat the sandwiches after.

They're really good. Have you ever had them? I'm going to get you one. I haven't. I would love one. Although sandwiches... Sandwiches, I'm not really into them anymore. You don't like sandwiches?

I'm not really into bread anymore. Have you grown out? Not as a restrictive thing. I just like, in general. It's a lot of work. When I see sandwich, I'm like, oh, God, the sandwich. Like, how are we going to get through this? How are I going to do this?

Do you talk to it? You like negotiate? But you know what I do love? I love a fake feltsy. Yeah, you do. Sorry, we can cut this part out. Can we cut things out? Probably not.

Look at this. this felt sandwich. Oh, I love it. This is fake tomato. I want you to do ASMR a little bit of it. Fake onion. Okay. You know you're in California

because we got an avocado coming over here. Yep. Lettuce. Sorry. Only six more things. Cheese and bread. Okay. I love you.

I love that. Yeah. Me too. I like pretend. I like pretend food. I love pretend food. I love pretend things. Okay.

God, what were we talking about? Okay, it doesn't matter. So, um, we were talking about coming. Oh, yes. You got the S&L call. And I came out and I had nowhere to live. I, um, I was in the Sunday company at the Groundlings and I think I had to come out there like in the next week or two or something.

So I lived at the Palace Hotel down the street and, um, I think I, you know, pitched. Oh, oh, I came on a Tuesday because there was no, there was no pitch on Monday for some reason. And I didn't know anybody. I knew Chris Parnell a little and I said, what do we do tonight? He said, we write. And I said, till about eight o'clock in the morning. And then all the doors started closing.

And I was like, and I was sharing an office with another temporary actor, whatever you would call us there, I guess, were we featured? I don't even know. Yeah, featured players. Named Zach Galaphanacus. Isn't that wild? Yeah.

And then we'd walk back to the palace going like, what are we doing here? I was like, I don't know. Yeah, we've talked about it before, but there wasn't a lot of onboarding. There was no, like, no one told you any, really. Shoemaker did. I will say when you and Seth started the following year,

I saw him making an extreme, I watched the process of him onboarding you and Seth in a way that made me so proud and so happy that people were given a chance to understand the mechanics of how a show like that works, it was really, and it helped educate me. I still felt so new and I didn't know what I was doing. And it's one of those things where you don't want to tell people like,

I've never been swimming, but I'm going to try. I didn't want to say like, yeah, I've never been swimming before, but I just, I tried, but I, you didn't want to say how scared you were. No, fake it to you make it. Make it to you make it, baby. We did a lot of faking it, and we did a lot of making it. We did. And so Maya and I,

were my office was across the hall from you and emily spivey and my and emily had a great office it had a window and um it looked out over the empire state building and this is in the 2000 so you could fully open the window no bars nothing and lean out and smoke a cigarette 17th floor 17th floor and when we were writing on tuesday nights um we could tell it was time to go home because we could hear people lining up with the today show outside and look down below and we were used to get visitors from a friend who would hang out of the window. Yes. He was made of cardboard.

Harper Steel used to a writer on S&L. She used to draw a picture of a weird creepy, creepy dude, and stick it out the window into our window. That's right. And then we'd go, who did this? And then we'd run over and she would just be closing her window. The office would be freezing cold, yeah. And, but also I have memories, lots of tears, like laughter and tears in that office. I have a lot of memories of your office.

Our office was, I felt like you were one of the first people that really made me feel good about coming in and recognizing it as a safe space. You'd come in, you'd crack your back, your little backy crackies. And sometimes you'd lay on the floor, and it was just a place for us to say, this is really hard, or I'm really sad, or I'm stressed out, or this fucking sucks, or whatever it was, it was such a safe space. And I mean, I could spend so, as you know, I could spend so much time talking about how fortunate I feel

about being there with the company that I was with. And I don't know how the stars aligned in that way, but I think because we had so many of us that, even though we didn't grow up in the same town and go to the same schools, we kind of had a similar, I don't know, life ethic. And I always say it's like, well, we were like, you know, good daughters, good students. I heard you talking about this on Kylie Kelsey's podcast, great podcasts and love her. And you made such a good point about that, Maya.

You were like saying, like, why, you know, all the women at the time at S&L, Rachel and Tina and Anna and Kristen, Like we all felt like we were different, certainly, but we had some kind of similar shared sensibility. A common thread. And I also feel like, you know, in those days, like even, you know, at the groundlings now, I think you have to wait a long time to get to the next level. We were just kind of like walking right in. We had something in common that we just knew was our thing.

And I can't even, I can't describe it, but it was that generation, that time. We had the same shows growing up, with the same influences and I don't know for me it was like my older brother was the funniest person I knew and so I was trying to emulate people that I looked up to like my heroes that's why I wanted to be funny I wanted to be funny because he and his friends were so funny what were they listening to and what were they my brother was really into like parliament and funkadelic which is actually which has such a huge sense of humor I mean it's just like the funkiest funk. Foncity, funk, funk, funk, funk. Like the mothership connection and motor booty

affairs, one of the albums. And the album artwork is insane. George Clinton is just like a freak and clearly has such an amazing sense of humor. My brother and I used to watch the gong show and Make Me Laugh. Did you ever watch Make Me Laugh? Yes. And we used to play Make Me Laugh. in our house all the time. Make me laugh was basically, it was just a guest was sitting in a chair, and then I guess it was stand-ups

or comedians were supposed to make them laugh. They had 60 seconds on the clock, and the person had to, like, not break. That was it. And there were a lot of young comics that started there. Like, could it have been Gallagher? Oh, I'm sure. There was Gallagher there, maybe?

I don't know. I was doing so much acid then. I don't remember anything. But I have a feeling, if we looked back, we probably recognize a lot of people. Same at the gong show for sure. Yeah.

Do you, one thing I wanted to bring up in that office was there was a cleaning lady. Rosa. Rosa that worked in the, on the 17th floor, teeny tiny lady. Very teeny. And she had been there for a very long time. She had seen some shit. Yeah. And there was a moment when, would you tell the moment when we were in that office and Rosa came in?

I think it was probably, usually if we were in that office during the day, because we were there so much at night, you know, we weren't keeping regular office hours. So there weren't great times we were able to come in and clean and change the trash cans out and stuff. And so it was probably a read-through day, maybe like a Wednesday. And we were in there waiting for table read to start. And someone was definitely crying. I think Emily might have been crying because her desk in that office was close to the door and so she had her back to the door and she was talking to us about something that was really

hard and we were also sleep deprived and i just remember rosa coming in and she didn't speak very much english um but she saw what she always saw which she came in and she saw a few of us just sitting around talking to each other deep in conversation and emily was crying and she put her hand on emily's shoulder and she goes oh don't cry sexy Do you remember that? I love it so much. It was like it was yesterday. Don't cry sexy.

And I highly recommend you say that to your friend when they're sad. It's really... Just a little. Don't cry, sexy. Don't cry sexy. Do you want to tell everyone the first time you met Barack Obama and who you were dressed as? Yes, I would love to.

The first time I met him, I met Barack Obama when he was running for office. I was dressed as Shirley MacLean. And then the second time you saw him, you were dressed as... Barack Obama. Yeah. It was a sketch that you were... You and Daryl were Hillary and Bill Clinton at a...

Halloween party or something? And it was one of... And I remember Barack was new on the scene. Mm-hmm. looking smooth, and at that time, I think, like, Barack Obama masks were popular, you know, because it was like the new candidate. And so the joke was going to be that I come in, like, wop, wop, I'm Barack Obama. And then he taps me on the shoulder with his mask and takes masks off, and he goes, oh, my God, it's the real Barack Obama. So we did that at dress,

and that was it. Yeah, he didn't do it to air. We did not do it at air. Thank God. Why? Do we know why? I do. I mean, I did not have a take on Barack Obama at all. Also, you know, I just remember you were, you were a teeny tiny, you were a teeny tiny. Well, he's a very tall man, very tall handsome man. It's very fun and stressful to be dressed exactly like the person you're standing next to. It is so much fun. And I remember the first time we saw each other was when we were about to walk out on stage. So at dress rehearsal, there was like a little flag there

and door that's supposed to open. And I'm there waiting in my little Brooks Brothers suit. And I think we like bound my boobs. And I had, I used to play Scott Joplin. And so I had my Scott Joplin wig on. And I was standing there. And people don't know. Maya has the cutest little tiniest little legs.

From knee down, it's like a little knee down. Knee down, it's like a little teeny tiny toothpick. Look at those little legs from knee down. So cute. I like to kick, stretch, pick it. Perfect. Teeny tiny, teeny tiny.

Just from the knee down. They're like breakable, I think. I know, they're so little. So you had your little suit on. My little suit on. And it was teeny tiny. And then he came over. And here's the thing.

I didn't, it was written then. I didn't have a good impression. I was sort of like, I'm Barack Obama. And so I was standing there, and then he came over and I said, well, what do you think? And all he said to me was, I don't wear a three-button suit. Damn. I still don't know what that means. It's like, that's like a guy knowledge thing.

Sounds like flirting to me. Just kidding No, I'm not I will take that I've gotten two tonight and I'm taking them home with me I'm taking them into the spank bank tonight

Speaking of spank bank Yeah Ron funches So great So spank bankable So spank bankable And he has three questions for you Let me give you the first one

Which is Speaking of standing next to someone That you play you were so incredible when you were playing Kamala Harris and it was such an exciting time to watch you play and for Dana Carvey to be playing too much. It was just very exciting. The world was watching.

There was this feeling of like here we go again and that's S&L at its best I think when the world is on the same vibe as the show and the political impersonation's we, I mean, it's one of the best things about, you know, our tenure there is that more and more women we got to play because more and more women were candidates at the time. And Kamalo was such an incredible, you did an great take on her. You were so good and you got to do stuff with her.

Ron's question is a good one, which is like, what do you do with all of that energy and feeling when it goes away when, you know, she doesn't win? There was definitely, especially after the first election, I remember even talking about it with our friends saying, like, I'm, you know, when we heard this was happening again, like, I'm scared to be hopeful. You know, we were nervous about opening that vulnerability and opening up our hearts to, like, could something good happen? Because it's been such a shitstorm and a rat fuck of a, of a, of a. of a time. I chose to, especially because she came to the show, and that electricity alone just propelled this idea of,

I'm going to allow myself to be hopeful. I hadn't felt hope in a very long time when it came to this subject. And she made me feel hopeful. Even if it was a dream, even though I got to be honest, it didn't feel like it. It felt real, but she's really good at what she does. And she makes you feel like it's going to be okay, truly.

She was saying things like this country really needs to heal, which, I mean, now we really need, like, a fucking, we need some sage. I mean, it's so bad, Amy. Yeah. We don't have to go. But what I was going to say is... What do you do with the feeling?

Okay. So, and I, by the way, I haven't let go of it either, is that knowing that I can still be hopeful, even when I'm scared, actually was really incredible. Ah, I see. And it was something that I shared with quite a few people the night before the election, after the election, is being hopeful is a good thing.

Even if you lose. Being hopeful is for you. That I was really surprised. I allowed myself to feel because I felt like, and in case anyone was wondering, yes, I wanted her to win. But what I'm... What?

But I... God, you know, listen, just to rewind a little bit, all the time that we worked at the show, I never expected to play anyone that was running for president, ever right you know and this was such a natural path which is the best kind and especially when you're no longer working on the show and they say and you hear people saying like they should call you and then Lauren calls you it feels very like Avengers assemble right it's such a cool it's like

Maya we need you you're like pulling on your pants oh trying on all of your wigs Yeah. And it's exciting to be, and I think it helped me filter all my rage, my anxiety about the, like, all of it, it was so great to have something to do. Yeah. To be of service. Yeah, and it felt like being of service. And then sometimes I'd say, like, I mean, it doesn't really affect the election? And I was like, why doesn't it? I like being part of the conversation. Yeah. Fuck yeah. Especially some of the relief, because we needed some relief.

And also, Maya, you bring up a beautiful, obvious, but yet not often discussed point, which is you looked like the candidate and candidates didn't look like you. Yeah. And that was for me, like, the biggest part of it is that all the years that we worked on the show, it wasn't like, what are they going to call me? I was like, there's not going to be anyone that looks like me running for president in my time at this show ever. I couldn't imagine.

And to play someone that looks like me running for president and the United States was wild, wild. And I'm like you. I'm like, you know, we're those people that can do anything on the show and we're like, put me in, coach, I want to do that, I want to do that, I want to do that. I just didn't, there are some things naturally that you don't get the opportunity because you don't resemble the person and that's just the way that it is. I mean, you have to understand, like, and you know this about me, I played so many different kinds of people on the show.

And I think it's because I just believe I can be anyone. And I don't even know, like, I don't know, that's more just me and how I've always just been in the world and something that probably came out of me from being a kid. And I don't even know, I don't even know that's allowed. anymore, you know, in a lot of ways. But in the best way possible, like, it was just more like, I just do what feels natural or funny or right, which is why it was always fine. But I don't know. I don't know how I got so lucky.

It was a really exciting thing to be a part of. And then the other part of it was the Dana Carvey part of it. Because I think, for us, anyway, our generation, Dana Carvey was, I mean, that was the era that I started watching SNL. And they say like you're, you know, a lot of people, one of the theories is like your favorite cast is when you were in high school. And that cast was

the dream. I mean, I fell in love with so many of the casts, but him and Mike Myers and Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman, I really didn't realize how much of them that I took with me. And when we came off stage after that first time and

Dana did something and he he turned on a little sauce like on the air and was being a little goofy and having fun he said i just like to do that i like to i like to make the other person part of it and i like to have fun and it's infectious and i realized while he was saying in that moment is that's why i that's what i like to do and i think i got it from him i couldn't believe it very cool it was really cool that's very cool Yeah. And, you know, I feel like we shared a similar feeling when we did Bronx Beat with Mike Myers for the S&L 50th because we were huge fans of Linda Richmond and Coffee Talk.

Oh, my God. And we did a little what the kids would call a mashup. Yep. And we smushed everybody together. I mean, that was also like the most exciting dream is like, S&L 50th. I was like, I want to be with my heroes. And that was truly the mashup. That was really exciting.

That was cool. It really was. And I'll finish the, and there's so, I mean, I could talk to you forever about all your characters, you know. You don't have to. Beyonce and Whitney Houston and Donatella Versace. I mean, you just did so many, and just also so many small, dumb people with weird names. Those are my favorites. And you and I both share a love for dumb, dumb, dumb, dumbs.

God. Dumb, dumb, dumb. So who was your, what was the favorite wig you ever wore? Oh, my God. There was a wig that really, like, it made the rounds. I think my Leilani wig became a pet psychic, became, who was the lady? She was a fake charo. She was a red-headed charo.

Fiesta Politico. Yeah, and she was like, she kind of had, like, Amy, she had your color hair. Yeah. She had like a beautiful red, a vibrant red. A vibrant red, perhaps a little bit of a sort. strawberry blonde. Her name was Rebecca. Her name was Rebecca.

Good job, Maya. Thank you. Yes, I remembered something. Yes, I remember that because I remember. I'm not going to tell this story. Can you cut it? Can we cut it? Probably not.

A whisperer with it. You cannot tell that story. Absolutely not. I'm sweating, just you even, you know. Oh my God, I'm sweating. Oh, my God, I'm sweating. You tell us to me. Tell me.

Sorry, guys. Can we talk about flirting more? I didn't get to, like, sleep with anybody at S&O. I know. I'm sorry. For me. Anybody got a time machine? I know.

Why didn't I, like, flirt with people? I'm bad at flirting. I'm bad at it. I agree. Yeah. I can't read it. You don't read it. And I'm saying that because...

Everyone was in love with you. Every... Yes, my... I didn't have that experience. But that's why I'm bringing it up because the way you said it earlier, I knew that's what you were saying was like... You didn't know.

Dummy? Yeah. I didn't. You could have... And he's like, do, do, do, do, do. Whoa is me. Nobody likes me. And there was like ten, like, howling dogs outside your window every night.

Not one leaner. Oh, are you going home? I need a help of my life. That didn't happen. I did go on one date when I was there with somebody that you know, and he took me to see a show called Puppetry of the Penus. Sure. You can't tell that story either.

Nope. Um, I should try to ask a question. And we're, and we're, and, okay, I'll just say that in the, in the vein of you being a natural and you being musically gifted in every way, like, you know, Maya was, you know, we would have musical guests come on and then Maya would sing in a sketch and we'd be like, Maya is better than the, than the multi-platinum singer. but do you think that there's some rhythm that's important to have for both comedy and music and like what do you think why do you think you need both like why do you think there's such

like loving cousins they're cousins i love this topic so much because i can't really truly define why i think there is a language to both of them i think that there's an incredible inherent ability to them. Some people are just musically gifted. Those people are musically gifted. I know that for a fact. And that's why you always hear about musicians quoting spinal tap on their tour bus. Like, they want to be, in some way, musicians want to be comedians, and comedians want to be musicians, and sometimes they're both.

but they live together and it's such a mutual appreciation admiration society but they're also like an incredible skill and when you're good at it you can't fake it you know great musicians

don't I mean I also like had this funny I don't know what growing up because I was so surrounded by music because my parents were musicians that, and we'd saw a lot of music too, or we had friends that were musicians, and music was just very,

music was very normal in my house. Like, that's just the best way to describe it. Like, it was normal. And sometimes I'd watch people on stage and I'd think, that's what I want to do. Like, I could see, like, I could just imagine doing it. And then I'd see somebody funny, and I was like, that's what I want to do.

And I'd sort of, like, vacillate between the two. but here I go. I can't remember what I was saying. I think it's a fascinating love story, comedy and music. And I think that when I think about some of the best people, I do think it's something that you really, when people are naturally good at it, there's nothing better.

And I think I like to, we all know Maya, you know, in another life is married to Prince in another life. And you're in the band, princess, you know, yes, and Prince, you know, you had the pleasure to meet him and you love him. And you like to talk about how funny Prince was. So funny. Oh, my God, so funny. Can you tell us a joke that Prince told you or something funny or a funny moment with Prince? He did tell me a joke once, but I didn't understand.

it. You're not supposed to. I'm thinking about when Fred Armisen and you would do Beyonce and Prince, and Prince would hide the whole time. Oh my God. Prince was always hiding. That was, again, like the best thing about that sketch was the fact that we loved Prince so much that we understood it.

And so it was just like getting to do. It wasn't like, isn't this funny? Yeah. He's short. Yeah. I hate that so much. And you felt that way about Beyonce, like the same with Beyonce, like, such reverence for her. Well, yeah, because the other thing is, like, I never, I don't know how you feel about doing impressions of people, but I'm not an impressionist.

And we've talked so many times about different personality. There's so many different types of people that work at Saturday Night Live, specifically. Some people are impressionists. Some people are stand-up. Some people are sketch performers. And some impressionists, they can be very specific personalities. I'm not an impressionist. But I feel like when I do an impression, it comes from watching someone.

And I'm watching them because I'm fascinated. I'm interested. I'm excited by them. So I think I'm picking up in the same way that you tell a story and you use the person's voice, like, whatever, but joking aside, like, when I tell a story, I usually imitate the person. But I think it's because I'm interested. I don't know. I can hear it.

I also think I'm a little bit of a parrot. go back to the comedy music thing. Well, that's what I would just say is that I feel like you have a sense of time. Like, you know,

when we started with you singing the National Anthem, you take your time with that. You know when to go fast and be like Whitney talking to Bobby Brown really fast and you know how to go really slow.

And it's like you know the rhythm, the in between of stuff. Like that's part of the magic of you. I think Maya is the way. in which you can change the tempo of the stuff that you do really naturally. And everybody's just like, you have the rhythm that everybody, like, you are the song everybody wants to hear. It's like, we love your song.

Like, you are, you have that. Okay, so we're going to the speed round. Okay. Okay. Here we go. Here we go. Do you like scary movies? Nope.

Great. favorite thing to cook oh pancakes silver dollar pancakes what happened to your finger I fucking cut it on Thanksgiving making stuffing I sliced the shit out of it

it really hurts do you like going to Disneyland yep I do what's your favorite part what kind of Disney adult are you and by the way I know I know you love me because you're asking me this question, because you do not like Disneyland.

Oopsie. And I was born in Gainesville, Florida, even though I've lived here since I was one, other than the time that I spent New York. Gainesville got a whoop. Is somebody from Gainesville? You're from Gainesville? Wow.

Hi. You, me, Tom Petty, and Joaquin Phoenix. What have we looked out in the audience and it was just a crocodile? Woo! I actually have a little. not been back to Gainesville. Do you want to go with me after the show? Maya, speed round. Okay, sorry. I probably

have ADD, but I was never tested. That's okay. Are big pants still in? What do you mean by big pants? You tell me. I mean, yeah. Whatever is... I feel like these are big pants. Yeah, big pants are still in. I go to Maya for all my fashion. I love fashion. You love fashion. You love fashion. I've always loved it. best thing about Hanukkah Lodkas Lottkas This episode is going to be coming out close to Honika

I love sour cream and applesauce on my lodkas And how's your dog Leroy? He's great, thank you for asking What kind of dog is he? He's probably a golden doodle We were told he was a standard poodle when we rescued him For those listening, Maya did that in quotes

with a bandaged finger. I mean, I think he's a rescue. He and his siblings and his mom and dad were all living in a, you know, what do you call it, a crate or whatever? You think he's faking being a rescue? No, well, he was like, oh, my leg. He showed up at your door.

Ding dong. Hey, me and my family are kind of homeless. Our car broke down on the side of the road. You got jumper cables? No, it's just that we got him from a rescue place. There's a lot of rescue places. Another air set of aircloth. Yeah. So, I mean, whatever.

You pay, like, but you got to pay to make sure they're healthy and whatever. Sure. It's the best fucking money I've spent. I fucking love that dog. I have another dog named Daisy. And tell us about Daisy. Daisy just got attacked by two coyotes, and now she's okay. I know.

In your yard? In my yard. Did you see it? No, but my daughter did. It was really bad. Daisy. Daisy is a fucking warrior. Yeah, Daisy survived.

Daisy survived. Fuck those coyotes. Fuck those coyotes. I know. And they're kind of dicks. Coyotes are dicks. Don't you agree? I feel like when I look at them, they're like,

sup. But they do, they just stand there like, what's up old lady I'm like no get the fuck out of here man I mean I don't know I right coyotes

they're so rude and they're really they're like they're like the lost boys they're like so you got any bread you guys have cereal get the fuck out of here

man nobody invited you into my yard get out of my yard dicks oh my god the lost boys i don't know why that was my reference and then um the last thing i want to ask you about is um i love fast questions i'm sorry i didn't answer them this is fun um your astrological sign leo yeah um and i don't remember my um what's a gram yeah it's a seven i've told you so much many times. And you told me that I'm a seven because I don't remember that I'm a seven. Well, it's about fun. Sevens love to have fun. Uh-oh.

I mean, let's be clear. I like to have fun with you. There's plenty of people I do not have fun with. Yeah, for sure. I mean, we have a lot of fun. We've had a lot, a lot of fun. We have fun. We have fun. And then Ron brought this question up, but I think it's a beautiful, well, first of all, he'd like to know if Lute is coming back. And congratulations on another season. Thank you. Thank you. It was a fun season, and I love working with Ron so much, and I love that he wants to come back to his job. Isn't that a nice thing when people are like, I want to come back to my job and be employed?

Yeah, what's great about working with Ron? Oh, my God. I always say Ron is like human mochi. He's like, well, the sound of his voice, but like he's a genuinely good human being. And it's very, I was in love with Ron's work and I just wanted him to be on my show. I didn't know him, I just wanted to work with him.

And there's nobody like him. And he's sensitive and kind and he cares. He cares about where he is and who he's with. And he is so singularly, himself and so funny I just I love I love who he is I just love him but Ron asks you how

how do you do it Maya how do you balance it how do you and what I think is lovely about that question and behind it is what we were talking about earlier which is the idea of kind of like figuring out the art you know being an architect of your own life trying to figure out

what's important to you, how to have a full life where, you know, all of us are lucky enough now to have been friends for 20, 30 years. And, like, we're, you know, some of us are blessed with children and lives and figuring out how to work and be a good mom and good partner. And, and I just, I have to say that, like, being in your presence as, as you mother is pretty amazing. you're a fantastic mother and you have wonderful kids and I mean I know it's so important to you like I knew that was a really really important thing for you to accomplish in this time around is being a mother what is what is it how has it changed your life I remember so you know I became a mother while we were still working on the show

when we were still at Saturday Night Live and none of my friends there had kids. That was wild because you go from one lifestyle and you're watching all your friends go out and have fun and you're over here like, I got to get up with my baby. But thank God it taught me to let go of things that I really needed to let go of. And I called it, you know, my bullshit meter and just, it just everything that wasn't important just fell away. there was no time you have to keep a human being alive and a human being that you're so in love with and it just really helped me I tend to be someone who can get caught up in the minutia and I worry too much about pleasing people making sure I'm polite doing the right thing I always felt

like I was a very good student when it came to being at S&L and if I had to to do it all over again. I'd want to be a slutty rebel. Yeah. But I wasn't, you know, and I wanted to do it right, which got in my way a lot, to be honest. And then after I had Pearl, and I didn't know whether I'd come back to the show or not, I wanted to be with you guys so much. And it's also so fascinating that such a hard job is actually a welcome thing after having a baby. I really just was like, because you say to yourself like, oh, I know how to do that. And even though you're juggling something else, I learn the lesson of if I'm doing something I love, then that's a good reason to say goodnight to her and go to work, you know, or give her a bath

and say, like, I can't be here for bedtime or whatever, go to work because I loved what I was doing. And sometimes, as you know, when you're traveling for work and your kids are little and you have to leave and knowing that you're going somewhere that you love or doing something you love makes it more worthwhile not to say I've never worked on things I don't love I have you know we all have to make a living and that can be really tough too but it made me make a mental note of what works for me and so I try to seek those moments out when I can as often as I can. And we don't always have the opportunities,

but it definitely changed how I viewed work. And I think it's why I did the national anthem. I think I, like, loosened up a little bit. And that was when I came back to work after Prozborn, yeah. Well, we're very lucky that we got to see you work in real time. And I think I can speak for all of us that, like, we know there's so much stuff always ahead with you. Like, Maya, everything you do is just fucking delight.

Sorry, I swore. I don't know why I swore. I liked it. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Maya Rudolph. You've been listening to Goodell. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Burman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zanaris.

For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.