Good Hang with Amy Poehler - Michelle Obama

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

Michelle Obama loves bedtime. Amy hangs with the former First Lady as they talk about her new podcast, IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson; filming 'Parks and Rec' together; keeping the thermostat at 68 degrees; and teasing as a love language. Host: Amy Poehler Guests: Craig Robinson and Michelle Obama Executive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-Berman For Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer: Jenna Weiss-Berman; coordinator: Sam Green; supervising producer: Joel Lovell For The Ringer: Supervising producers: Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers: Jack Wilson, Chris Wholers, and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer: Kaya McMullen; video editor: Drew van Steenbergen; and booker: Kat Spillane Original Music: Amy Miles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 18th, get excited. This is big! For the summer's biggest adventure. I think I just smirk my pants. That's a little too excited. Sorry. Smurfs. Only the date is July 18th.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. I am Amy Poehler, and I'm very excited to introduce our guest today. It is Michelle Obama. Wow, we talk about some really cool stuff today. We talk about HGTV and how much we love it. We talk about the time that I drooled in front of. We talk about bedtime. We talk about allergies, which is what I currently have right now, which

is why I'm sounding so sexy and sophisticated. But before we start this episode, we do what we always do, which is we ask someone that knows our guests really well or is a fan of our guest or is familiar with our guest's work to give me a question to ask them. And who better to ask about Michelle than her older brother, Craig? So Craig Robinson is joining us, the co-host of their new podcast, IMO, in my opinion. So let's welcome Craig Robinson to the studio. This episode is presented by the Toyota Grand Highlander. Life is going to throw grand challenges your way and the Toyota Grand Highlander is ready for them. You can choose from three different power trains, gas, hybrid, and the available 362 horsepower hybrid max, all with

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in your driveway. From daily routines to life-changing adventures, it's up for every grand challenge. Learn more at Toyota.com slash Grand Highlander. Toyota, let's go places. Everyone, I'm very, very excited to have Craig here, who is Mrs. Obama, Michelle Obama's brother. Do you call her Mrs. Obama?

See, this is what I mean. You just quickly make me laugh. I only call her Mrs. Obama when I'm mad at her. Yeah, exactly. Or yes, when there's a formal request. And I don't call her that. I call her, I don't even call her Michelle. I call her me.

That's right. I heard that. Mish. So it's been that way for, since she was a kid. Yeah. Yeah. And you guys are close in age. We're 20 months apart. And let me, I wanted to back up and say, you know, every time we have somebody on our show, they're trying to figure out what to call her. And it's really entertaining to watch people either say Mrs. Obama or the first lady or.

Yeah. And she wants them to call her Michelle. Good. I got it. But if anybody asked me, I always say, call her Mrs. Mrs. Obama. It's funny, though, you know, what that brings up for me is, in an interesting way, and kind of what you guys do in your podcast, which I love so much,

is there's like the public version of everyone. Everyone has a front-facing version of themselves, and then they have the family version of themselves. And, like, doesn't matter what changes in your life. You're the family version, pretty much your whole life. Yes. And you're the oldest. I am the oldest.

Shout out to the oldest. I'm the oldest, too. And the oldest is the hardest job. It's tough. It's tough. I know, I know. My mom had favorites and I was the one. Okay, so you were your mom.

Yeah, the boy is the favorite. I was the one. I was the one. And Mish always jokes about the fact that my mom lived in the White House. She went on all of these wonderful trips, state dinners and all that. And all she wanted to know is, when's Craig coming? He pisses her off. I love it. So as the eldest child, we know the responsibility we have.

Absolutely. I have a younger brother. Okay. And he's three years younger. And you guys have the same situation I have, which is just like boy, girl, you know? So you grew up together, but apart. Like, you know, you had, you were together all the time, but you probably had different friends, different interests. Like, you didn't have to share a lot.

Well, did you? We actually shared a lot. Oh, okay. We shared toys. We shared a bedroom. Okay. We shared a bedroom from the time I can remember until I got to high school. And my parents were like, all right, we got to get this big dude his own bedroom.

But we used to have beds that the heads were head to head. And there was a little table in between. And then when we got a little older, my grandfather built. in the same room, a paneled tea. So we had separate bedrooms. Yeah. But it didn't go all the way to the ceiling so we could hear each other. And then we had a playroom in the front for the two of us.

And we would spend hours at night just talking and laughing. Is it tough being so tall? Because I feel like you have to be nicer than maybe you want to be sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes you do. But it is great being tall except in a couple of situations like Airports. planes and buying clothes off the rack. Yeah.

It's really hard. Yeah. But for the most part, it is... It's so good. It's so good. And you know what people do to you when you're tall? They assume you are in charge and are smart. Yeah.

They're like, come on it. They're like, finally. A real leader is here. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Unfortunately, we can make mistakes in society. You know what I'm talking about?

What do you mean? I don't know. I trust every tall person in government. But it, no, it's really fun. But I do, you know, every now and then I'd like a cute pair of shoes instead of a size 15. Yeah. What? 15.

15. It's embarrassing. But I'm used to it. I'm used to it. But if you notice, when we sit together, you are taller than I am. Because my torso is very short. It's all legs. It's all legs.

That's why the plane isn't. Yeah, it's a nightmare. And, you know, some guy, I mean, if I could afford, like, one of those fancy sports cars, I wouldn't be able to fit in it. You should have, like, a business card that says, I'm all legs, baby. People would be like, oh, wow. I've never heard that, and it's the funniest thing I've heard. That's great.

I'm all legs, baby. What's he like? Well, he's all legs, you know, so you know those kind of people. I'm all legs, baby. I've got. I would give to be all legs. If I was all legs, it would just be legs up to my neck and then a head and that's it. Okay, so we have this, we're doing, we do this thing here where we kind of talk to somebody before we talk to our guest about any questions that you think I would be, you know, the right person to ask today, anything big or small that you think I should ask your sister. Yeah. So I was thinking about this because I've watched.

your show and I was absolutely thrilled to be here. So I was thinking about what would be a good question for you to ask her because, see, my sister is, when she gets asked a question, you ask her, what's the one thing? She gives you six things. I was like, we didn't ask for six things. Give us one thing. So maybe if you do it, she might obey. Okay. I would say, ask her, what is the one thing that she would share with the rest of the world that our parents gave her. So let me rephrase it. What is the one thing that our parents gave you, Michelle, that you would like to share with the rest of the world?

One thing. And if she starts to do two things, I go, eh. You can say, see, your brother was right. He said you were going to give. So 15 things. You can make up whatever number feels good at the time. I can't wait. Did you ever coach Michelle on any team?

No, ma'am. Are you kidding? She can't be coached. She's uncoachable. She's not coachable. No, I'm just kidding. The only time I coached her is when we were playing together. Yeah.

Does she, you know, sometimes as the oldest, sometimes I have a younger brother. So, no. He doesn't always want to hear my ideas. Isn't that something? And I have good ideas. Not only do you have good ideas, but he probably thinks he has good ideas, but he wants you to listen to his ideas. And he'll listen to my idea if it comes out of someone else's mouth. Sounds like we have the same sibling. But if it's not said by me, he'll, but sometimes he doesn't want me to like tell him anything.

Oh, listen. It was perfect yesterday. I was glad we were on set. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there were four people left around and we were talking about something. And I said something to my sister. And as soon as I said, she gave me a look. And then three minutes later, she said the exact same thing. Fortunately, our four camera people over there were cracking up because I was like, I just said that. Yeah.

What is going on? But she said it again, yeah. It's a little sister thing. It is true. She will tell you that it was hard growing up being a little sister because she used to be Craig Robinson's little sister and now I'm Michelle Obama's big brother. And it is way easier being Michelle Obama's big brother. Way easier. Yeah. That's nice to have a big brother. I always wanted an older sibling, didn't you? Don't you wish you had an older sibling to take care

of you, Craig? All legs, Craig. All legs, baby is here to be your older sibling if you need one. Oh my God. I am here. I am here for it. You can always reach out. And also don't you wish And the last thing I'll finish up with is you're a two-kid family. I am two. Don't you wish there was one more sibling so you could talk about the other sibling, too? Just one more. Just occasionally you could go out and go. That's funny.

I never thought about that, but that is a great idea. I'm sure my younger brother wants that. Just one more person. Well, Mish always wanted, she wanted like the Brady Bunch family. Yeah. I was happy with the way our setup was. Yeah. But that was because I was the oldest and the favorite.

Yeah. We're not right about this. But that's a great, that is a great take. I hadn't thought about that. Just one more. But then what about what happens when it's two on one? And you can get a dud. The third one can be a dud.

We know that, you know, you're playing with fire. Like you guys did really well. We were, yes. Interesting, smart, curious people. The third one could have been. You never know. But we'll see. We'll ask.

We'll see. Okay, I am so appreciate you coming here. Thank you so much. And congrats on your podcast. Thank you. In my opinion, which we're going to talk about today. And I think we got everything we need, right? Are we going to do our switcheroo?

This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Summer is almost here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do I mean by almost? Well, you can't get a summer blockbuster delivered, but you can get a block of cheese. A cabana? That's a no. A banana? That's a yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. I'm very excited to use Uber Eats this summer. I'm going to order grapes. And then I'm going to put them in the freezer. And then I'm going to have frozen grapes. I'm going to feel very classy and very refreshed. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region, see App for Details. Okay, I want to start with allergies because... And I feel, some people, she's emotional.

It's like, no, I have allergies. I want to start with allergies, too, because I have allergies too. Bad out here in Los Angeles. Yeah, yeah. I got off the plane and... Did you take anything for it? I take allergy medicine every day. Does it trip you out?

Does it make you feel? No, it doesn't. But I find that when I get off of it, you know, you have to build back. up. So I just stay on it. We travel so much. We're everywhere all the time. So you never know. It's spring somewhere. Something's blooming. Have you ever done a netty pot? I have done that, but I don't do it. I've done it, but it doesn't make a huge difference. I mean, I like Nazanex. I like the nose spray. If I do that every day, I don't know if there's a limit to how much you're supposed to do it, but I keep it going.

I'm sure it's on the bottle somewhere. I should look at that bottle. I haven't looked at that bottle in years. It's funny that we were talking about allergies because I lost my voice a couple days ago. And I had a real, it was like a living stress dream that I would not have my voice for this podcast. And now you and I are both doing podcasts. That's crazy. First of all, thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me. And also, you look incredible. Thank you. I know that that's not as important, but you look incredible. Thank you. It's called peace of mind. You look hot. Sorry.

So let's say that again. Okay. Okay. I know it's early in the day. But yeah, we're both doing jobs now where we have to talk a lot. Lots of talking. How's it going? You know, as my mom passed last year, but she would say this is exactly what you should be doing because I talk a lot.

We talk in our family. Yeah, I've noticed that. The Obama family. Everybody talks. Malia, Sasha, we all have many opinions. Yes. And we share them openly. So why not have a podcast where I'm sharing my opinion? Well, when we saw each other, I mean, I have such many, many memories, of course, of

getting to do, luckily getting to do a bunch of things with you. And one of the most fun things is when you came into Parks and Recreation. It was so cool. I was just, my assistant who's a young, she's a baby. We were just saying, I was saying in the car right over, I said, I haven't seen I don't think we've seen, seen each other since Parks and Rec. And she was like, you were on Parks and Rec? I was like, yeah, I'm kind of a big deal.

I mean, okay, do you have a memory of that day? I'm sure you didn't because you were probably the middle of your workday, but I have a very strong memory about something. It was a blur because the thing is, is like, I'm not an actress, and I'm running lines and trying to figure out cues. I mean, you can't be a good actress on top of everything else. But I was nervous. I was like, you know, I want to get it right, but I want to be myself in a natural way.

So it was very much a blur. What do you remember about that day? Okay, well, I do remember the very first take. Uh-huh. So, yeah, we were busy. We were, like, hitting a bunch of places that day. You were perfect. You got your line.

You hit your mark. You said your line. And my character, Leslie Knope, is supposed to be overwhelmed by seeing you. And I, Amy Poehler, was also very jazzed. and I went to save my line, and I drooled. Do you not remember? I'm so glad you don't remember. I was full on drooled.

Did I say something about that I noticed the drool? Total pro. You just were like, you just looked like, okay, maybe this is a choice. And then director yelled cut, Mike Scher, whoever, Morgan Sackett, whoever was director yelled cut. And I was like, did I just drool? And you're like, you did. You did.

That happened. That happened. I don't, I didn't, I don't know if I saw it, but, yeah, and I was like, what, what happened? Why the drool? Well, my, um, I have very active salivary glands. Do you really? I do. Okay.

Like when I go to the dentist. Not to brag, Michelle. Just talking and drool comes out of your mouth. Now, those are some active glands. Active glands. They're right now. Do you have them under control? They're booming right now.

And so, yeah, when I go to the dentist, they're always like, whoa. Easy. They have the extra large suction tube for you. They've got an Amy tube. You're joking, but they do. Do they really? They have to put in two tubes sometimes. This is some tea right here.

Totally breaking news. Amy's a heavy drooler and needs special dental supplies. Dan, I don't like the dentist. I've talked about this. Well, not if you have drool issues. So I remember doing that to you just to make you feel better. did. You did. I figured, well, she's drooling. So I can't give me any worse. What could I do wrong? As long as I just stand up straight, I'm showing up. I do not remember

the drool. Oh, my God, wow. But I'm going to think about that. Yeah. I know. I want you to always associate that with me now. But it was such a fun, that was such a fun time because not only was I getting to do the job that I loved, but it was a time when it felt like everybody wanted to stop by and be part of the show that was about public service. And it was a different time where there was this ability or lightness, I think, in many ways to just put a bunch of different people together in a room and they don't agree and they still find a way to work together. Oh, do you remember those times?

I don't know. That's a long time ago. Yeah. But I was thinking about that because there is a – There's a, there's a, you, you just said, you're not an actor, but you are constantly speaking and performing. And with the podcast, it's a completely different way of performing. It's almost like unraveling. That's right.

Like almost unlearning. What are you unlearning about all this stuff that you're trying to kind of like jettison and let go of that you, you know? So if you had to learn or put on that now you're unlearning. That's a good question. You know, not trying to get things so perfect. You know, as First Lady, the eight years, even beyond, the stakes were so high. Yeah. Right. And, you know, Barack and I, our team, we felt like we didn't have room to get anything wrong.

And in this setting, you know, I can be. loose. I can stutter. I can misspeak sometimes, even though I'm sure that will make news. But I just feel like there's room to breathe, and maybe some of that is my age. Yeah. Maybe some of that is that now that I'm in my 60s, what more do I have to prove? How much more do I have to do? And let's just live. Let's just talk. I think women should stop improving themselves. I think we did it. Like we're, like, you know, like when you're in a race and you're really, really far ahead and you just want to just pause for a second to let people catch up.

It's like, enough. Enough with the improving. Yeah. That's, it's too much. You know, and fellas, you know, want to you try it. Just, we're just, we'll just take a break. We're going to walk a little slower. Catch out and let's keep running. But it's so real. I mean, all we, I mean, we do this to ourselves all the time, which is just like, I got to get more efficient, more and more and more. And I think sometimes. Like we should try less. Less is more. Yeah. We should try. But we, you know, you don't feel your confidence as a woman. At least I didn't until now. I mean, and I say that out loud because I know that there are young women in their 30s and 40s trying to get that perfection thing right. We always feel like we're not doing enough. We're always harboring guilt. Yeah. And it's not until now that we can look back on this lifetime of accomplishments. and say, look, maybe I did know a thing or two. Maybe I can slow down. Maybe I can take a break. But I think we're harder on ourselves than anyone can be. And I agree. I'm having those conversations with myself every day. It's like slow down. It's okay. You don't have to get this right. You can make some mistakes maybe. And you've got some wisdom to share. Finally, you know, I feel confident in the wisdom that I have to share.

That's awesome. I mean, I wouldn't, do you agree? I wouldn't go back in time? I would not. No. You know? Twenties and 30s are really hard. Would you trade that stomach?

I would trade the stomach and the collagen and a little bit of the ability to stay up late. Like, I can't believe how I stayed up so late. You know, I never did, but I was always sleepy, you know. I just want the ass. Are you sleepy? Are you sleepy energy? Do you love bedtime? I love bedtime. Tell me about your bedtime routine. What time do you like to go to bed and how do you like to go to bed? It's embarrassing. And I, you know, I go to bed as soon as I can. Me too. I'm thinking about bed right now. It's 10.30 in the morning. I like, Barack and I always. I agree. Yeah, I can't wait. Well, Barack and I, we usually have dinner at around 6.30. And he's a night out. Oh. So if we have guests, I'm good.

If I'm with people, I'm up, I'm awake. I can do this stuff. But after we've had our catch-up conversation and we've had our together time and all of that, I'm looking at the clock. And he's looking at me. He's like, really? It's 8 o'clock. I was like, I just.

Incredible. I'm just so ready, you know? So I'm like, it's not you. It's me. It's time for bed. And I get so. giddy. I wash my face. I get into the cool sheets because the room has to be cold. Yeah. What temp are we talking? 68. Incredible. Yes. Can't be higher than that. And then he's freezing.

I was like, just put on some socks. Do you have a, what kind of, do you like a temperatech mattress or a, and what kind of pillow situation are you doing? I like, I'm not sure the brand of the mattress. I should know, but I don't. We need to know that for your podcast. You need to get yourself a free mattress. If you mention it, you can get a free mattress. I didn't even think of that. Right. Just say it once. Your house will be filled with mattresses. Okay, I'm going to find out. I don't find out. Thanks for the tip. Yeah, you got it. Okay, so you're in bed, cool sheets. Got great sheets. What do you have on the bedside table? What do we got there? It's a, it's a lamp. It's my phone chargers, my glasses, my reading glasses.

water. Are you a book reader? I cannot read because I love sleep so much. I realize if I want to read, I have to be sitting up in the daylight. Reading puts me to sleep. Like, yes, it does. Like one sentence, I'm like, end the book. So it's, you know, it's, then I don't remember where I am.

I don't do the, I don't listen to podcasts because I don't hear it. I'm asleep. My head hits the pillow. Okay. And I'm out. Any sleep aid? Like any, like, even like a ginger tea, a melatonin? No, I don't need an aid.

I need, I just need to put my head on the pillow. Do you wear socks to bed? No, no, do not like socks. And do you like pajamas or nightgown situation? It depends on how hot I am. And we're at that stage, you know. Sometimes I get in the bed and I'm freezing. Yes.

And other times it's like, oh my God, take my skin off. You just like, it's like. The change in temperature is wild. For any woman, any time, but especially at this age. It's a battle with a partner, right? Because he's always cold. And I'm like, do not touch. And sometimes I wake up hot and I'll wake him.

Did you touch the thermostat? You touched the thermostat, didn't you? He's like, it didn't, I swear to God. He now knows he's afraid of the thermostat. I said, I don't care what you do. Do not touch anything in this room. Do you wear an eye shade or earplugs? No, no, no, no, no, no.

Also, I want to know what's going on. Yeah. Are you a light sleeper? No. Do you talk in your sleep or snore? No, let's just say that. Incredible. I don't know.

You're a really good sleeper. I don't know. Side sleeper, back sleeper. Okay, got it. And now I'm at the age where I'll wake up with my shoulders sore. Don't get me started. I had frozen shoulder a couple years ago. Oh, you had the frozen shoulder.

And guess what? Nobody knows what causes it. There's nothing you can do about it. You know? Like every ailment for women in their 50s, they're like, it's just old. They're like, yeah, I guess it just hurts. And it's like, how long is it going to hurt? And they're like, I guess forever, maybe.

Do you do yoga? I do yoga. It did unfreeze. It goes through like a period, you know? But are you, I'm doing this. Can you do push-ups? Yeah. I do.

How many push-ups do? Well, now I do, I do them on my knees. I don't, this is another thing. It's like, I don't need to, you know, do regular push-ups. I have nothing to prove. But I can do push-ups on my knees. I can do a lot of those. But you can do regular push-ups, too.

I can, but it's hard. I think my arm length, I don't go all the way down. In fact, you know who pointed that out was Ellen. Because my first term, she challenged me to a push-up competition. I'm the first lady, you know. And she heard that I worked out. And she was like, you know. So I'm on her show doing push-ups.

And I did more push-ups than her, but she still says I didn't go down all the way. Well, that's not fair. But anatomically, I don't think I really can. My arms are very long. Yeah. And she's a much smaller person than me. I was just talking to Craig about this, that smaller people, I mean. We like them.

Some of the small people are our best friends. It's so cute. I don't know. I don't trust this. What do you mean? Pocket people. We love them. Just right up under our arm.

It just fits right there. Condescending a little bit. It's just, you know, just right here. Right up under my arm. It's like, look at you down there, little friend. Little friend. So what did you and Craig talk about with height? Well, basically, like, this idea, it is true.

In fact, I heard you talking to Kylie, Kelsey, about it, two tall women. It was just like, it is, and I was talking to Quinta recently about being, smaller. She's a little tiny. We're tiny. We're tiny and yeah, ding, ding, ding. You make noise when you move. We do not make noise, okay? We don't live in the woods. I think I thought I heard squeaking.

Nope, we don't squeak like squirrels. Okay, we don't gather nuts. We don't wear funny hats and do dances in the woods. We're regular people. But being a tall woman is different than being a tall man. Well, your parents tall? They were not. Really?

They were not. My mom was maybe tall for her age, for that generation. Maybe she was 5-6, 5-5. Yeah, that's not that tall. My father was 5-9, 5-10. No way. Where's the height coming from? I think it's nutrition.

That's what we told them, you know. Because there's a whole generation of cousins of ours, with a few exceptions, we're all tall. And our parents are kind of average. And then our generation of kids are a little taller. Yeah. And our parents, you know, who knows what their parents did. Remember how much milk we all drank? You know, yeah, yeah.

But my mom smoked during her pregnancy. You know, that was when you didn't know about smoking, seatbelts, drinking. She did all of that. And we always said, you know what? We could have been somebody. Had you taken care of yourself a little bit better. Well, what I like about you and what I feel is your family is like teasing is your love language. Oh, for sure.

For sure. Can you explain how important it is to be able to tease people that you love? Oh, my God. This is funny because both Barack and Craig will say that I don't let them tease me. See, we have a deal. Barack and I in our marriage, and it started very early. It's like, I can tease you, but you cannot tease me. You know, so when he does, I was like, oh, oh, oh, wait a minute, what's going on here? And he's like, I'm teasing you, right? I was like, none of that. Because he likes to tease. Oh, my God. Yeah.

But when me, Malia, and Sasha are, all of us are together, he doesn't stand a chance. We mercilessly go after him. So, yes, teasing is our love language. And I tell them that. I say, when I tease you, it's like me, you know, it's like a love tap. It is, but it's kind of true. It's like the more you know someone, the more safe you feel around them, the more you can poke. And manners are for people we don't really know.

Yeah, that's right. And it's just like, like, I, for me and my family, when people are being nice, it's like, what's wrong? Yeah. It's because what did I do? What did I do? What do you want? Well, it started with our parents. They're both silly.

My mother went through a period of time where she would just scare us. That was just. With pranks? Just scaring, right? Just who? She would just pop out of places. And we're little, you know? I mean, it was just a period.

I don't know what she was doing, but it got progressively a little more. more demented. Craig will tell the story that, you know, he was maybe 10, 12. He's taken a shower. We have one bathroom. My mother goes in while he's taking a shower and lays on the floor like she's dead. She just lays out. Amazing.

And he turns off the shower and opens up. You just hear this. And I come in, and she's cracking up, and he's wet with a towel. He's like, weepy. Mom, that's not funny. She's just like, that was pretty funny. And then one night, and we were little when she did this, we had this voodoo mask. It was a Halloween mask.

I mean, it was neon. It had hair and teeth. I don't know. It was the middle of the night. We had long gone to bed. And she just walked to each of our rooms, and she said, with the mask on and said, Michelle? No.

Michelle? No. And woke me up and I was like, ah! And then she's like, shh, I'm going to your brother's room. I'm like, lady, what are you doing all day? She's trying to keep it interesting, you know? That was our household. All right, so we, you know, we got it honest.

Marion is coming with the pranks. Marion. Can I say something about what I've read about. your family, which is, and why, if I may, like, you know, I didn't have the pleasure to meet your mom. But she seemed like such a loving mom. Yeah. Yeah. And you're a very loving mom. And I come from a very loving mom. And I talk about it a lot that, like, it is. Not everybody gets a loving mom. Yeah. Yeah. And a loving mom is like this warm place to keep coming back to that it almost is like, if you have a loving mom, you're 90% ahead of the

game. And it's tough when you don't. And you have to find your love other places, which you do. And you can be, certainly be a loving mom if you don't have one. But it feels like your mom was so loving. Yeah. And what did she teach you about being a mom? Like when I know you're, she just passed. Yeah. So much. And she was, she was really with you during a lot of mothering and in the White House. Yeah. Like, what did you learn from her about being a mom? That's a great question. I love talking about my mom. I love talking about my parents. And I was so glad to. have told some of her story in my second book, The Light, before she passed so that I could give her her flowers when she could see it, you know. But my mom loved kids. And she, I think at the core of her being was this understanding that every kid was special. I mean, she loved us for sure, but she loved all kids that she came in contact with. We didn't have a lot of money. But my parents made the choice that my mom would stay home with us.

And she didn't use that time frivolously. I mean, she wasn't just looking after us. She would come up to school and help kids that were struggling, teach kids that, you know, be the room mom before there were room moms. Because she just believed in the power and intelligence that little people, as she called them, brought into the world. And she just wanted to feed into. that. And we got a lot of that. But that, you know, why I'm such an advocate for kids is it comes

from my mom because she fully believes that we underestimate kids and that we, you know, we don't come here, that we as adults are the ones that mess them up, that all kids are born into this world, really special. And so I felt that, right? And I think that's one of the reasons, that's where confidence began for me, is sitting at my kitchen table, me and my brother, with a mom who really, really loved our voices. She liked to hear our thoughts. She thought we were funny. We made her laugh. We felt special in her presence. And sadly, we needed that because as kids, black kids, poor black kids, there would be a lot of people who would try to dim the light that she was pouring into us.

So we had an abundance of it, which allowed us to steal ourselves for what was to come, probably prepared me in ways I couldn't have imagined for those White House years, that time in the spotlight, because I was still fortified with the light she had given me all my life. So I could handle a lot of the negativity. I could handle the stress and the pressure. So I agree with you. And, you know, I think we were blessed. Yeah. And to whom much is given and much is expected. So just, I just try to pass it on. And part of IMO is like it's a way to share a lot of that wisdom that she taught us to pass it on. You know, the girls listen and they're like, man, you know, you're telling everybody things you tell us every day. And I'm like, yeah, now you're, you hear. hear it, right? She's like, they're both like, wow, mom, you're kind of making sense.

I was like, I've been telling you this for 23, 26 years, you little knuckleheads. I always say this with my kids, too. Like, your kids one day were like, you know, you know the guy, you know, like, who my kids say the other day that made me laugh? He's like, um, uh, you met Tim Robinson? I was like, yes. They're like, you know him, mom. I'm like, yeah, I've met him. They're like, and they looked at me like, oh, pretty good. Yeah, yeah. I do that, Amy, too, you know. Every now and then I make a good point to them.

Yeah. And I was like, do you know who I am? I'm Michelle Obama. People line up for my advice. And you're walking away like I'm stupid. It's like I've written books. I've given speeches. The whole world is listen to me.

And I can't get you to just. do what I told you to do yesterday. No. So, no, it happens to the best of us. They keep us humble. I'm going to take a lip balm break for a second before we get. Oh, lip balm break. And I'm going to take a tissue break.

Oh, yeah. It's very important. Do you need something for the saliva? I'm just going to spit into a cup. Are you right? It's a spittoon. I haven't seen one of those in a while. You have seen the fake food we have a kid?

Do you enjoy fake food? It's amazing how I did see that, and I just turned around. Yeah. But yeah, it takes a minute. I mean, this, I just want it, because it's a special day, I brought. What's the decision here? Why the food? Because it's a special day, I brought two new fake foods, and thanks for asking.

Those are new? This is a. a roll that opens up and you can put coins inside. Oh, wow. Oh, we got to get you. We should, all right, my team, we should find food and send it to Amy. Oh, this is a candle. That's a kissy.

It's food that's a thing. It's a thing that is shaped like food. And Michelle, we're definitely not going to cut this out. This is important. The reason why I pick these things, they're all, it's very willy-nilly, but it's about texture. It's about hand feel. and now that one is a candle.

Yeah. But squeeze this, I brought this for you. You are a strange creature. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, it's a thing. Right? It's a squishy thing.

It's a squishy, but it's a cheesburger. Now, you come across these things in life, and you're like, ah, got to have this hamburger thing. I have a guy whose sources, no, I'm just kidding. I have a gentleman who goes across the world and he sources these for me. Your travels. Yes. Right.

Now, you're not collecting, like, artifacts or, you know, You're looking for food that are things. Like, what is this? What is this? Oh, it's a tiny whipped cream. It is, but what does it do something? No. Oh, okay.

I guess it gives joy. It brings joy. Okay. I didn't know if they all had secondary uses. Well, one of them here, I'll show you this. And this is a crocheted donut. The company cheese it sent, maybe they'll send me more. I bet they will.

This is like your, this is like your mattress. You know what you should do is you and Craig should just have a mattress. behind you the whole time. I never mention it. That would be okay. You hear that. And be like, I guess. And then, but Cheez-It sent me free Cheez-Its because I talked about this, but this is a box of Cheez-It and there's a chees-in inside. It's a little fake cheese.

It's a fake cheese. It's a fake-cheez. It's a very strange. It's a little strange. It's a little strange. I'll take that. Well, I'm glad you pointed that out because when I went for the tissue, I was like, it's food. Wow.

And then I just let it go. Yeah, it's okay. I'll make sure you see it. So Craig, we asked Craig what to ask you, and it's kind of in the area of what we're talking about, which is he said, what is the one thing that our parents, you know, gave us? Like, what is the one thing that you think about when you think about what our parents, you know, passed on to us that you want to. I think always show up in the world in a way that would make them proud? you know, be the person in the world that they were to you, right?

That's two things. Oh, okay. I thought that was just a variation on a theme. He said you would give more than one thing. Oh, did he say that? Yes. That's because he was mad because we did something yesterday and he only gave one answer and I gave two and he felt gypped.

See? I mean, but he's right. I mean, you know, yes, so what? I have many ideas in my head. I told you I like to talk. Sorry, I'm more than one thing. There is no such thing as a one thing. There's nobody, nobody really means that.

Not only does nobody mean it, but you're really good at this, and I believe this. I don't ever think you have to answer the question that was asked. Did I answer the question, though? You did answer the question. Because I wasn't trying to not answer the question, but I understand. Well, we learned that in all of the White House. I mean, so many times in interviews. I always say that to young women, you do not have to answer the question.

And just keep talking because, you know, before you know it, time's up. But like, even just in your every day when someone's like, you know, if someone goes like, you know, do you come, you know, do you come here often? You know, you don't have to answer that. And you go, where's my spittoon? That's always a good distraction for you, Amy. But you mention your spittoon if you want to get out of a date. That'll really throw them. Tell me about it.

Tell me about it. What are you, okay. So we're, the podcast is, is a place where you're connecting. It sounds like you're listening to, listening to a bunch of podcasts too and stuff like that. But what is something that you're listening to, watching, reading, going to when you really want to kind of disconnect, check out and just have fun. Yeah, which is most of the time these days. I know. And it's tough to stay in.

Yeah. It's tough to stay in. So what are you doing when you want to zoom out? My version of golf to Barack, because he's got golf on all the time, that's like his bet. He says it's my background noise. So my version of that is HGTV. I love HGTV. Let's talk about it.

House hunters. Incredible. There's something so soothing about the arc of that. Yeah. You know? Yeah. You look for a house. We just like looking at people's houses.

You're at the bottom of House Mountain. You're like, it could be any house. But don't you, do you prefer? when the budget is a low budget house or a high budget house? Because sometimes I feel away, you know, especially House Hunters International. Okay, I'm obsessed with House Hunters International. First of all, every place looks so, I'm like, wow, you can get that for that money? Like, I'm always alone away. I know. I think about that too. I'm like, wow, I should, what are we doing here? Right to Morocco, I guess. Because, like, but you're like, they're never going to get anything with that budget.

And then you see, like, a nice. They get something with the budget. And don't you like the way people have such high expectations with a low budget? Like, these aren't marble. It's like, but you want to pay $100 a month, you know? I want $100 a month. Why would you get marble? And then the real estate agent, especially in the foreign countries, are incredulous. It's like, oh, you want a yard for a large dog, you know?

I love it, though. Do you like when people get what they want? Or do you like when you watch them have to slowly come? to the realization that they've overreached. Oh, yeah, I love that. That's what I love. Yeah. So they go in too low.

They want too many things and you're like, it's not going to happen for you. You're going to be living above that bar. And then do you like any HGTV makeover stuff? Oh, love all the makeover stuff. Me too. I love Rock the Block. What's that?

I don't know that one. Oh, you don't know? No. Well, this is when they get all the designers from all. all the other shows, and they come on to one block of newly built houses from scratch, and they compete for rooms to see each week, like they'll do the living room in the kitchen, right? So the designers go in, they have a week or whatever to redo that area, and then they're judged by other designers, and then they win and they collect points until they finish the whole house.

It's an amazing concept. That seems like the highest budget in the world. That's what I'm thinking. It's like, I think that the whole time, it's like, how do you do that? Over there, rock the block. How are you affording all this? I mean, they are literally renovating. They start with a frame and they, you know, do the kitchen, master bedroom, the master bathroom, the yard.

Wow. The exterior and the exterior facade. Dang. I know we're, I'm really going in. I love a reno. Yeah. I love those kind of shows. I love the.

think we like it. I know, I like that there's, what do you like it? Just a completion. Like Yeah, yeah. There's an end where something is done. And I like the before and after. Mm-hmm. I like the, wow, that, those, those floors look much better. You're an empty nester? No, my boys are 14 and 16. Oh. So we're just at that, the freshman and sophomore. Okay. Just at that age where we're thinking about college, but there's still teen boys. And I'll tell you something, no one's more tired. than a teen boy. They're exhausted. And they're hungry. It seems like three dinners a day. I was just saying to someone, having teen boys is like living with bears because when you wake up the next morning, there's just crumbs everywhere and your cabinets are open and everything's out in the

floor and there's just like a big chunk out of cheese and you're like, what happened? And they woke up in the middle of the night and they ate again. That's a good one. When they're like, Bears. Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's scary. Are you scared in your home? No, they're like nice bears. They're nice bears. They're nice bears. Well, I had girls and girls are, you know, they're, as I'm learning, I was kind of lucky. They're clean. Yeah, girls are, you know, they don't. We're coming back around, their head and shoulders. Yeah. They make senses. They have thoughts and ideas and you can rationalize with them, you know. I know. I know. I had it easy. I realized I did. Food bill was a lot lower. I don't know how you do it.

I mean, if you don't know the average weekly intake, you know, because it shifts with boys. I mean, they have a growth spurt and they can drink a gallon of milk in a day. I mean, how do you live like that? Yeah, I know. I literally. I have a lot of moms who are, you know, the cost of living is so high, especially here in California, a lot of places. And they're like, my kids are truly eating more than ever as teens. And it's like, what are we going to do about it?

Do you cook? I love to cook. I know you don't cook. I do not. But you know, I didn't start cooking until my 40s. It's never too late, Michelle. I cooked before. Oh, and then you stopped.

Well, I became first lady. And then you can't cook. They don't let you cook. Well, I didn't. I was busy. But you can't go down and make an egg. There's a kitchen. Yes.

And you could. But I'm like, they're chefs. And you do that better than me. I mean, I'm not, you know, I don't want to put you out of a job. You can make the eggs. Right. If you were cooking an egg, they'd be standing next to you and it would be stressful. Exactly.

That's right. Unless you told them to leave, they wouldn't be comfortable with that. Right. You know, I'm sure they're first ladies, first families that cook in the White House. I'm just sort of like, I'm okay, not cooking. I've done it. And now, are you cooking now? No.

No, it's not on my agenda at all. It's not among. the things that I want to do in this stage in life. And what are you doing now that you couldn't do before that you get to do now? Uh, or that you could, you had to pause doing, I should say. I want to try to do normal things. Yeah. Yeah. You know, going for a walk. Um, by yourself. Uh, never, never ish. But if they, they're further behind, it's like, I can still see you. I want to be, I want to feel like I'm by myself. A little. Uh, a little. further. They're reading a newspaper upside down. That's right. I'm driving a little bit more.

Excellent. And by myself, in the car by myself. Excellent. Which is such, like I realized for the first time I was driving with Malia. We were in Martha's Vineyard. And I'm driving. She turns on the radio and starts playing some of our favorite songs. And we're singing at the top of our lungs. I realized I'd never had that experience with her. I'd never had that experience with her from teenagers on because they learned to drive, but I didn't teach them how to drive. I couldn't drive with them.

I mean, just sort of the basic kind of bonding moments. You know, we didn't have time alone in a car just with me and my daughter playing the music that we wanted at the volume that we wanted. That's why I like the vineyard. I like the islands where we live because they're small places and people, you know, they get used to you, they don't care. Right. At certain times of the year, I can walk into town and just go shopping.

I mean, I just go into a store, try on clothes on my own, go to the register. Sometimes I forget how to use my credit card. Well, now you don't have to. Now you just use Apple Pay. What's that? No, I'm just kidding. You know Alpapay, right? I do.

use it. You don't use it. No, because I... Do you have a regular phone? I do. I do. But I'm trying to not do stuff on my phone. Well, that's a little boomery, Michelle. I know, but, you know, here, I don't want to be tracked. I don't want, I don't want people to... Okay, this is a boomer attitude. Tell me more about it so that I don't... We're done. We're all cooked. We're tracked. It's happening. There's no, like, way to not be where everyone knows everything. So what is this mean? So you can, I mean, and this is, you know, I'm not that far behind you. So this is the blind leading the blind. Yeah.

But you don't even need a credit card anymore. You just go, beep, beep, beep. I don't know. And it's like you're not even spending money. It's just like, beep. It just goes, see, but that's a problem for me. Yeah. You know, I want to know.

It just didn't even happen. It's like, shh. It's just like, shh. You know, and then what if they get your phone information and somebody else can take your information and go beep, you know, and all you, before you know it, you own a house. Everyone's going to have their identity stolen 15 times in their lifetime. You know, there's no idea. That doesn't matter.

And nobody worries about that? Nobody worries about that. Yeah, we're all very worried. Yeah, it's a disaster. Like, we're in real trouble. Yeah, we're really in big trouble. See, I'm trying to hold on, you know, when all things fall apart when the system just crashes. I know. I'm still going to have cash. I do love cash. Do you? I love cash. I have old cash. I have cash that's been in my wallet untouched probably for a decade. But I'm like, don't take it out. My dad always taught me that. He's I was like, always have cash on you. Yeah, yeah, I got some.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that to the world. We'll cut it out. We'll cut it out. I don't have cash. No, Michelle does not have cash. I don't carry cash. But I guess I'm good because I also have this security guy with gun, you know. And I still think like that. It's like, where's my wallet?

Did it wear my keys? Your wallet is in your phone? I don't need it. I know. Okay. So my, but continuing with what we're talking about, you know, I think it doesn't matter what kind of life you live, I think any person can have the feeling like their life is kind of a dream. Like our lives are a dream. Things happen to us. We don't imagine could have happened

to us, good and bad. And sometimes we just feel like, how did I get here? Where am I going? All that stuff. What do your friendships, specifically your female friendships do, to keep you from, like, keep your feet on the ground, basically? Because your life has been a dream. Oh, it's been crazy. Yeah. What have they done? It's what haven't they done? I mean, just, you know, they're the, I love to go to my friends' homes just to be normal, to help with the dishes, to sit down in the yard, to, you know, to talk about something else other than whatever is in the news. My friends are the people who know everything about me, and they only know me as Michelle. So it's everything. And my family, my brother, doing this podcast with him, the first time we worked together on something, I mean, just, you know, seeing his face and having him on the other side of the table, somebody who can, humanize me to others and to myself. In this sort of position we've been in, that is more

powerful and meaningful probably for me than for a lot of people. So it's the air I breathe, my friendships. That's why I try to really be mindful about maintaining them and pouring into them and making sure there's reciprocity that they, you know, and that they feel seen by me in all of this, right? Yeah, I think what you're doing, I just speak for myself that, you know, the word authenticity is kind of thrown around a lot. But I do think especially young people, they're really looking for some version of yourself and myself

and their selves that, like, feels real. Yeah. because the world is so crazy. We are in this simulation that just a lot of people want to get out of. And I think that is what's cool about young people is they keep reminding us, like, be real. Like, we want you, we want realness because everything feels so strange. Yeah, we want the blemishes and the bumps and, you know, and, you know, they want that, but the message that we delivered to them is.

is that you don't, you can't get that solely on your phone. Yeah. And that's, I think that's the piece that we can teach them. Yeah. It's like, yeah, push us to be real, but, you know, I want to push young people to have real experiences. Yeah. You know, with real people face to face because that authenticity that they see in us comes from that old way of living, you know, where you, you know, you meet. a person in a bar and have a conversation, that you talk to people in the grocery store

line, that you are looking up from your phone and seeing the world, that you're learning about people not through their, you know, TikTok page, but from a conversation. And you've lost me. Well, tell me, where, what was the thing? Is the TikTok page, you like the TikTok page information? Yes, I love the TikTok page. Okay, so it's both and. Both hand.

Have the TikTok page because you do get some real dirt. You get a perspective or what do you get from the TikTok page? Do we have an hour? I don't know. Community, jokes, laughs. No, but I hear what you're saying. Yeah, you got to balance with real, you got to balance with real people, real things. It feels like we're shifting to less of that.

Yeah. And I also think laughter. I think like you got to laugh. Absolutely. You got to laugh. And you got to laugh with your first. friends, you have to laugh. And laugh at yourself. And what makes you laugh? I'm not fan-girling, but, you know, a lot of re-watching a lot of parks and wreck, you know. I mean,

that's the kind of humor that I like. Community, modern family, old Seinfelds, you know, I mean, that tends to be, I still find myself laughing out loud with episodes that I've seen over and over again. Just clever, clever dialogue, smart plots. you know, just out of the, you know, good characters, that's what I love. And you probably watch me and you're like, good job keeping that drool inside your mom. Well, now that I know it's an issue, I'll watch you a little differently. Yeah, it's like, whoa, look at her keeping her saliva inside. Good way to go.

That's my girl. That's my training. It's my training. It's where my training comes in. Well, thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. This was so much fun. Yeah. It's been the best. Yeah. Thank you. Really, really great. Congrats on your podcast. You as well and on all your food choices. Thank you so much. These are all my food choices. We're going to get something like this and a mattress.

You are going to get a mattress. You're going to get all the mattresses you want. Wow, that was an amazing episode. So exciting to have her here. And, you know, we talked about so many good things. But we talked a lot about sibling relationship. friendships. And that is what her podcast, you know, a lot of it is about. And I have a younger brother Greg. I should have asked Craig if he is ever called Greg, because I know my brother Greg is often called Craig. But I guess I just wanted to take this polar plunge moment to speak directly to my brother Greg and say, don't go in my room and don't touch my stuff. It's my stuff. Get out of my room. Mom and dad said I'm in charge. And I'm so sick of it.

You have to go to bed. I love you, Greg. You're the best sibling ever. I don't want another sibling to talk about you with. I was just saying that to Michelle to be a good host. But seriously, it's so great to be your big sister. And, you know, as the eldest daughter, we know our work is never done. And so we'll just forge ahead.

And I love you, baby, bro. I got you back. Sorry, this has gone off the rails. Okay, thank you for listening. Thank you for listening to this episode. Sorry about my voice. And we'll be back soon. Bye.

You've been listening to Good Hang. 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. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Katz-Belaine, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zaneris. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.