IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson - Write Down the Stupid Thoughts with Jon Stewart

Episode Date: August 26, 2026

On this episode of IMO, comedian, writer & producer Jon Stewart opens up about being a child of divorce, his brutal early days on the New York stand up scene, and how he discovered his comedic voice. He also reflects on the challenge of balancing work and family life during The Daily Show’s rise, and the responsibilities of comedians in an intense political climate.Have a question you want answered? Write to us at imopod.com.In this episode: Dr. Kathleen Jordan, Chief Medical Officer, of Midi Health🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans!  Download the Saily app or go to https://saily.com/imo  Use code IMO at checkout ⛵See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What was the feeling like? Because it is a crucible. Like that you feel the weight of that house in every room and every piece of furniture that exists in that house. And the responsibility I imagine is it is a weight you bear every day that you walk through there. The day you walk out is that, is the experience one of liberation? Is it one of exhale? Are you now interviewing you? John Stewart.

No, this isn't going to make it into the show. How are you doing? I am doing good. I'm a little chilly, you know. I will share with our listeners that our little studio, our spot, is freezing cold all the time. It's freezing. You know, that's interesting because I'm usually the one who's cold. Out of all four of us left in the house, I'm the one who gets cold, but I'm not cold.

I'm freezing. I think it's because I'm sitting. Maybe I've got more lights warming me up. I don't think that's it. No. But anyway, tell us about your Airbnb this time. Is it big? Is it small? It's actually more manageable. It's more manageable this time around. But, you know, I like this place because off every single room there's a balcony. So no matter what time of day you can find the sun. Have you gone out on the balcony? since you've been here?

Yes, I do. And I've been out on the patio. Are there little chairs? If you like taking a cup of tea? Is there a view? What are you seeing on your balconies? That's the beauty of Airbnb. It's all furnished.

So everything is set to go. Set to go. So every part of the house you can live in. So what's the best view of this Airbnb? Oh, you get a city view. You get a city view. Now, we're not that high up. So it's a little obstructed on the sides, but right out of the back, you can see.

you can see most of Hollywood. That's cool. Yeah. You are really an urban adventure. I love it. So proud of you. I've been a city kid my whole life. So proud of you.

Yes, thank you. Well, I'd tell you, the Robinson household is going to be really excited about this. I think everybody is going to be excited about this one. Yeah. Austin and Aaron, for those of you who haven't listened to our show, I talk about them all the time, but they are 16 and 14. So they're just getting to the point. where they watch newsy type shows,

and they love John Stewart. That's who we have, y'all. We have John Stewart here with us today. The tables have turned. He is now in the guest seat. Let's do an introduction and get John out. Let's get him out here. All right.

John Stewart is one of America's foremost voices in political satire, known for his 16-year run on The Daily Show. show and his recent return as its host and executive producer. And Monday nights are perfect because the boys stay up to watch the daily show Monday through Thursday. But Monday it's on for an hour. The rest of the days it's on for like half an hour. So I just thought I'd throw that out there.

I'm just letting you talk. He is also a dedicated social activist whose efforts were instrumental in passing landmark legislation, including the PACT Act and the 9-11 victim compensation fund bill, securing vital support for veterans and first responders. He currently hosts the podcast, The Weekly Show. Okay. And without further ado, John Stewart. John, you so good.

Welcome. Welcome. Thank you so much. That was lovely. I was listening back there to what you were saying, and I thought, oh my God, did I die? It's like, it was a eulogy. A eulogy.

No, you are alive. We're happy to have you here. And thank you, Greg, obviously, for letting me stay at the Airbnb. I so appreciate it. It's really nice, isn't it? It's lovely. Although I have to tell you, no disrespect. But if you are in an Airbnb where every room has a balcony, that's called a hotel.

So I apologize. I don't know what they told you. I don't know how much they charge. But you're living in a hotel. health. They're being... Oh my God. But have fun.

Yeah. Yeah. How are you doing? How are you guys doing? It's lovely to see how you guys look great. Thank you. You look healthy. You do too. I feel healthy.

But you're doing better than we are because you're only working one day a week. Tell you something, that's the... If I had known that. If I had known that. Like the daily thing is kind of a rip-off. It kind of, it ground you down to a nub a little bit, But this one day a week thing has been revelatory. I can't.

When I look at, you know, talk shows, comedians, folks who are on every night, I can't imagine. That's the first thing. Ellen used to say, you should do a talk show. You should do, I was like, why? Why would I go from what I was doing to another thing that is really scary and hard? It's hard for me to explain to you the kind of pressure that, you know, comedians and talk show host face. It's not something I don't think you'd be able to bear up to. And so I agree.

There's a lot of time, a lot of people say, what's the most important job in the world? And they go, I don't know, whoever took over for Ellen. But it is hard. I mean, you've got to come up with something. You've got to have an opinion about the world, especially your commentary. But not hard. It's a real. get for performers when you come up you know there really is there's a ladder and you really do make

your bones doing the hard work the kind of grunt work of comedy like you know driving from rochester to buffalo and then you know down again over to hartford and and doing all those comedy clubs and all that so when the opportunity ever presents itself for a regular gig where you can live in one place and maybe like raise a family. Yeah. It's, it really does, it feels like kind of you made it to the island. You've been in the life raft, but you kind of made it to the island doing that whole thing. Now, did your mother say, well, that's wonderful, John.

I'm so glad that you are. It's an interesting question. And also that idea of like, you know, did your parents encourage you? And I was like, now say that again, what's that? What is that word? Encourage? I mean, they knew I lived in the house. Yeah.

And I also, I had the advantage of my parents split when I was probably 10 years old. So at that point, you really are on. Your mom was holding it down. She was holding it down. Her mantra was, we will not lose the house. Yes. You know, because we had, this was 71, 72. So this was just in that era of I'm okay, you're okay, feminine mystique.

Suddenly there was a consciousness in America for women that, oh, if my husband isn't, ass, I don't have to take that. Right. And so that's what happened. Had she worked before? She was a special ed teacher. So she taught a gifted program, special ed program. She was a teacher.

And then she'd also taught younger kids. Yeah. Had done that in New York City, in the Bronx, where she grew up in Washington Heights as well. She did it for a little bit in El Paso. when my dad was in the army, she taught in Texas for a little bit. And then a little bit when she came back. But so we were only, there was only, we only knew of two families that had divorces. And the other family lost the house.

Yeah. So we weren't going to lose the house. And she, to her credit, didn't lose that house. Put it on her shoulders and went out and became what they called a teacher of teachers. She began to give seminars to other teachers, and they became like an assistant principal and then and really worked her way through there. Did you, could you, did you know that about your mom when you were at 10 when your dad left and he left you all high, high and dry? Right. Did you understand the situation that you guys were in at the time?

I was just glad that the honestly, like, that the yelling had stopped. I mean, honestly, it's. One of the greatest things about, and it sounds counterintuitive to talk about, one of the best things about divorce. Let me tell you something. If you're ever in this position, get yourself one of these divorces. They're fantastic. You know that feeling when you're trying to sleep and a car alarm is going off? Yeah.

And there's no real rhythm to it. You can't quite get into it. You can't even use it as white noise. The feeling that you get in your soul when it stops. Yeah. That's what it was like. Oh, okay. But I wasn't aware of the psychological trauma that she had been taken.

You're just glad the noise has stopped. See, I was going to ask you which one of them is funny, but now that doesn't seem appropriate. The one that drank. See if you can guess. But do you think your humor developed out of sort of as a coping? mechanism or were they funny? My grandfather probably was a pretty funny guy.

My maternal grandfather, Nathan, my son is named after him. And he was just a character. Lived to be 94, died when he got a stroke playing poker with his friends in an OTB at 94 years old, smoking. He's just one of those dudes, born in China, raised in China. family was wealthy until the Japanese took over China and then they had nothing. And he, you know, he used to say to me, when I had the money, I lived very well. But without money, I did not. And I was like, that's profound.

Yeah. But so, but I mean, it's like anything else. I think sometimes, I think it's just how I'm wired. And I don't know that it was a response. to anything more than it was just these are the genetic wiring that I've been given. What's your relationship with your siblings? Were you guys tight growing up?

Well, so I have two, so my father had two other, so he remarried. Then I have an older brother who, and we have a very good relationship, so we're very close, but I never lived with, you know, the other guys. And it was born of such complexity. Yeah.

I don't know how your family's history is run, but like... Oh, everybody's got a history. Yeah, it gets... Yeah. It's... It's... It's... It happens.

Uh-huh. Yeah. I will tell you this. I can remember as an 18-year-old doing the landscaping at the apartment... Because I was... I worked for a landscaper in the summer. Doing the landscaping at the apartment building that my father lived in with his new family that we had not been told about.

That's how complicated. That's how complex it can get. Yeah. You know, and I hate to say, yeah, I know a few people who are in that, you know. Yeah. But, you know, when you grow up in the world, folks do some stuff. That's right. You know.

But I bet you were pissed. Oh. If you think I did a good job on the landscaping, you'd be, believe me, there were some divvets. Yes. Yeah. You know, you don't, I think, I think to a large extent, I, did not clock any of the damage until much later. Damage to yourself or to your psyche or to your soul or to any of those things.

You don't really reckon with it until much later. And I was relatively oblivious to a lot of it. We also come from a generation for nobody talks about anything. Nobody kids are just, you know, like they don't, it, there's, There was a generation where you thought kids were just, they weren't taking in anything. Right. And that if you didn't talk to them about it, it just didn't bother them, you know. It's the same thing.

Our parents weren't worried about what we were doing in life. You know, now you drop your kids off to college. They're college tours. You take them. You unpack them. You take them to lunch. None of us. It's like, you go to college and it's like, how am I going to get there?

Right. And luckily, I had him. So my dad was dropping him off, you know. But there, you know, there's just no coddling. conversation. Do you wonder, you know, there was always a mindset for me, which was I was going to remedy that, that when I had, because of the feeling ultimately of being estranged from your father, which is, you know, for a kid, it's a big deal. But once you have kids, it becomes a bigger deal. I think that's when I really started to reckon with it. Yeah. Because you go, wait a minute.

So I love this thing this much. And to just walk away from that. And do that. Insanity. Yeah. But I keep wondering the steps I've taken remedially, what will, what am I doing wrong? How much margin of error do I have? How will my seeking to remedy those wrongs create new wrongs?

Yeah, yeah. It's like we're, you know, going too far. in the extreme, I think that's something that our generation has to reckon with. And now we're over parenting in some ways, you know. And I also think, and they had this, you know, my dad was a, you know, he was a depressive and, you know, and I make no, you know, I've come to terms with whatever it was. And I can remember when he was dying. He had dimension.

I remember he and I were estranged. And when I knew he was passing, so I went to see him. And I remember thinking, you know, I felt badly for him, this man who was going through this difficult time and the family that clearly loved him that were going through this time with him. But I did not feel as though that was a part of me in any way. I just felt like this poor man, these poor folks, I hope it's not too bad for them. I hope it's not too bad for him. But it was a relationship that, you know, when you talk about bitterness or anger or those things, I didn't, it was a relationship drained of that through estranged men in apathy.

Yeah. And it just, it, it withered. So by the end there, it, you felt it, you felt it. for the human condition of it, but not for the familial condition of it. This episode of IMO is brought to you by our sponsor, Midi Health. Craig, you would be surprised at how little most women know about the care of our bodies. Yeah. I think it's really important that women are talking about it because we're helping each other navigate the many, many challenges that come. The hormone changes is not just,

about hot flashes and night sweats. It really impacts women really greatly. And that's really why I helped found Midi and why we treat all these women at Midi Health. Can you tell us what exactly is Midi Health? I'd be delighted. So Midi Health is a telehealth clinic made for women. And we were founded to really meet the huge care gap

for women in perimenopause and menopause, which means we can help guide women through the hormone conversation. Is it right for them? If it is, what formulation to take. But it's actually a lot bigger than that. We really built it to meet women's needs in midlife. So you can go to our website, which is joinmini.com. That's join M-I-D-I-com.

And really the website helps you navigate. You can book an appointment right there. We have availability in all 50 states. And you start your journey there. You can come with one question, one issue, or some women come and, just say what should I do? This episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Company. I'm wearing one of their shirts right now.

And hey, granted, I'm not exactly hauling lumber, but this fabric has held up through hours of yard work, home repairs, and whatever do-it-yourself projects, Kelly is hatching. Duluth Trading Company makes gear for people who don't mind rolling up their sleeves. Everything is built with thoughtful details, durable construction, and comfort that actually, actually lasts. I'm talking about their work pants with smarter storage, their moisture-wicking shirts, and their everyday gear that complements your 9-to-5 and your 5-9.

Duluth has had that Midwestern spirit since they were founded back in 1989 by three innovators on a barge in Duluth, Minnesota. You can feel that practical, no-nonsense attitude in everything they make. They're here for people who work their butts off just like they do. Duluth trading company, shop online or visit one of their 60 plus stores nationwide today. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Chase Home Lending. When you're thinking about buying a home, it's a major decision, a mix of excitement, nerves, and a lot of questions. I've been there myself, and I know how important it is to have someone in your corner. You know, I was remembering back, I could have used some support when I was shopping for

my first home. I didn't know anything. I had saved up enough for a down payment, but I didn't have much else to work with. I knew very little about interest rates, closing costs, or even mortgage insurance. I also had very limited knowledge of how to choose the right home for me. Chase Home Lending offers personalized local guidance from home lending advisors who truly understand and support you in your community. With over 5,000 branches nationwide, Chase is always close by. And as a coach, I've had to lean on many people for advice, and that really made a difference as I was going through the home shopping experience. It was comforting knowing that I could rely on folks who had been through the process and emerged okay. Finding a place to call home is a big step,

and having someone you trust to guide you can make all the difference. With Chase Home Lending, you get support that feels personal so you can move ahead with confidence. Visit chase.com slash IMO to see how Chase can help you begin your home ownership journey. Remember FDIC, equal housing opportunity. Did you always know you wanted to be a comedian or when did that, when did that? It was It's a great question It started right after I was fired

from everything else Where they were like You're unreliable You can't do anything And glib Which is really What was some of those jobs? It's one thing to be unreliable

It's another thing to be glib On top of it all Man Joking about your unreliability I had always I was raised in that same era as you guys where there was no social media, there was no aspiration to influencing.

So it was never in the ether of this idea that I'm going to, you know, I'll go in a show business or I'll be, but I knew I wanted to create something. Okay. And I started working in this punk club in Trenton, New Jersey, called City Gardens, which was this, you know, warehouse in the middle of Trenton. And all these bands would come through like Black Flag and, you know, the Ramones and bad brains and really incredible performers and creative people. And they would be going there only because they were passing between York and Philly.

Yeah, yeah. But it opened up this world of possibility. Okay. And one day I just decided, you know what? I'm going to sell all my stuff. I'm going to get in the car and I'm going to drive to New York. And I'm going to live that life. Wow.

And that's kind of. when you were working in Trenton? So I was 20 through 23 or 4 before I decided to move up to New York City. And not, no one was waiting for me. No one was encouraging it. It's not like I would tell the guys at the bar like, I'm going to be a comic in New York,

and they'd be like, that makes complete sense. It was more like, all right, see, in six months. So this was right after college then. Now, right after, so I lived and worked in these bars and for the state for a couple of years. Okay. After getting out of school. Yeah, yeah. Living with a bunch of friends and Trenton.

Yeah, yeah. When you were first getting started, like, what was that like? Oh, when you were just coming out? You were just coming out. When you left Trenton and you hit the road. Brutal. Yeah. Oh, it was terrible.

Can you talk about that? Sure. I'd be delighted to. I'd be delighted to. Yeah. Yeah. Well, like anything else. So unlike things like,

sports or a lot of other things that you do. There is no doing, but did you learn your first time on stage, nobody gives you grace with the idea that like, oh, I bet this guy probably sucks because he's never done it before. And I was up in New York for, I ended up getting a job at this Mexican restaurant on McDougal Street called Panchitos. And the bitter end was right up the block on Bleaker. and they used to do

the thing about comedies you have to work in a club they have to accept you it's called passing you okay so you perform there and the major clubs comic strip catcher rising star

comedy seller have a hierarchy you can't just walk in there and be like guys you're not going to believe this I'm here I know you've been waiting and part of the structure

so then there were open mics beyond that where you could maybe get some stage time. You'd put, you know, 50 comics would show up. You put your number in a hat and they'd pull them out. So if you had a high number, 48, 47, you're performing only in front of the three other comics that are left because everybody else did their thing and got out. There's a place called Bitter End, more famous probably for music, but Cosby and Carlin and Pryor and used to work in those clubs as well. And they would do an open audition night, but after like four doors cover bands. Like it was, you know, one o'clock in the morning. And so that was my first, 1987, May of 1987, got up at the bitter end with my little,

had written a whole little thing out and got up and about 30 seconds into it. A guy goes, you're terrible. Oh. And I hit him full barrel. I was, I was like, no, I'm not. And then he was like, that's it? And I was like, what? And he's like, well, this, even this is terrible. And I was like, well, according to you, you know, boom. And so you can imagine everybody's like, is Robin Williams here?

Because this is, no, it's awful. You know, I lasted probably, I didn't get back on the horse for like another six. But like, it was brutal. Really? Oh, yeah. Boom. But I realized like the urge never went away. The desire, the waking up in the middle of the night

and writing down stupid thoughts never went away. And so I just started, what you learn is there's a process. And so if you immerse yourself in the world, if you get yourself in trouble, the people that are around that process are great guides. They're not mentors, but they're guides. They tell you, generally, what you want to do is you want to hit this, this, this, and this. Good luck.

But there isn't anything to it but to do it. So that's how you, and I got really fortunate about a year into it, the comedy seller, which is right up the street from the Mexican restaurant that I was the day bartender in. Who's the day bartender in a Mexican restaurant? Yeah, it's true. Now that you pointed out. You just make margarita mix for the night guy to clean up with. That's right. But aren't you happy there? Oh, I actually loved it. And so, this woman named Esty, who was the booker at the comedy club, and this guy, Bill Grunfest, who was also one of the bookers, they put me on every night, Sunday through Thursday,

wasn't allowed on the weekends because I was when the good people went, and they made me the last person. So the shows you'd usually start 8 or 9 o'clock, and they'd go to whenever the last person left. So it could be 2 in the morning, could be 3 in the morning. And that's how I learned the thing you want to love. learn as a performer, which is who are you? What do you actually think? What's your rhythm? What, you know, stop doing an impression of Seinfeld and start doing who you might be.

And that's the ground. You know, that's how you sort of, and it's growth. Who were you when you first started discovering who you wanted to be? Yeah. Who was that, John? You don't have the confidence to know if what you're doing will have any kind of staying power as a skill yet. So you can have a night where you're just killing it, like on top of it. And you're just thinking like, I am Robin Williams. And then the next night, nothing. Same stuff. Nothing.

And you're feeling like, I am the worst person to ever have done that. And this is the ride you go on those early years. the win is when you establish a baseline of where you go like oh i'm starting to develop this at like like guys like jerry who are such he's maybe the best craftsman probably since carlin like to do like just of craft when you start to feel like there is a craft to it and you're you're not going just joke to joke anymore that's when you finally develop that confidence a little bit. But it takes a while.

Yeah. How old were you when that happened for you? So what time is it now? Okay. I think it was, I don't think you ever cross a threshold. It's that you suddenly realize I'm not riding this roller coaster

as hard as I was. Yeah, yeah. And part of it is comics talk about their development in terms of it's always, the metric is always time. You don't ever say like, I've gotten funnier. You say, I got 10 minutes. Ah, yeah, yeah.

It's purely a function of time. Okay. Because to make money, you got to have an hour. If you can do 15 minutes, you can MC. That'll pay you $600 a week. Wow, wow. If you can do 35, you can middle. Now you're going out there for 900, maybe a thousand,

thousand a week. If you can do 45 or 50 and do it in the middle of a check drop, what do you mean? What do you mean? So a check drop is so when you go out to a club and there's not so much in the city, the same, but when you're working like an improv in another city or yuck yucks or any of those kinds of things, if you're the headliner, well, everybody that's sitting there got to pay at some point. Yeah. And they're not going to wait till after the show because they've got to turn it over. Can you keep the attention while the room is turning over? In the city, it's called the check spot. Yeah, yeah.

So once you get to a point where you have a certain amount of time and you can handle your business during the check spot, that's when you go, wow. Okay. Now I can, now I can make a living. And that's, those are the metrics that you want to hit as you go. And that's all it was about. Any girls? Any, you know, were you cute? Were you, you, you know. I think we all know the answer to that. Oh, no. No. I didn't meet my wife until I was 32 years old. And you didn't date before then? You were just hustling?

No, no, no. I had a couple of girlfriends. But the girls that you basically ended up going out with were the waitresses at the comedy cook because that's your whole life. Yeah. You know, you don't, most girls at that time wanted to go do things. And most girls, you'd be like, so here's my day. We're going to get high to four in the morning And we're going to watch a ton of three stooges movies

And then I'm going to sleep till around one Then I'm going to disappear I wander around trying to think of some jokes And I'll meet you, I guess, around three in the morning At the kettle of fish bar And we'll do it again And we'll do it again, baby And a lot of girls, as you can imagine, would be like, sign me up

It is not a lifestyle conducive to the healthiest of those kinds of relationships. You make a good point. I've never thought of it like that. Yeah, yeah. Even when I first met my wife, she had a regular job. And so she had to be up at seven and I'd roll in 2.30 in the morning. And when you met her

at what stage of your career were you at? Oh, I was in, had to, I was freshly canceled. I was, I met her. I had had a talk show on MTV. Yeah. Oh, yeah, right.

Famously known for its... We know about it. A talk. MTV was this known for for hot talk. And it went real well, and then Arsenio retired. Decided you didn't want to do his show anymore. And Paramount, who owned MTV at the time, got the great idea that what makes more sense

than making me the next Arsenio? So I took that time slot. And so you can imagine the confusion... Didn't work out. That's exactly right. So, and we knew it wasn't going to work out pretty quickly. You get the ratings. So I was visiting friends who were filming things in Greenwich Village.

And on one of the sets, there was a makeup artist who when I came in said, do you have a girlfriend? And I said, no. Of course not. She said, well, I've got this girl. And she describes this girl in ways where I'm like, this is a lie. You know, it's funny, as sweet, is smart. You can't even. She's the bed, blah, blah, blah.

So I'm like, all right. I'll go out with her. So she writes the number on a dollar bill. She gives it to me. I go home. I call, who turns out to be my wife, Tracy. And we have a long conversation. I mean, like two hours.

On the phone? On the phone. And the kind of phone, the kind of phone, the young people, it's in the wall. It's called a telephone. The kind that had a cord on it, where you could wander around. That's right. And she's lovely, funny, smart. We're raised in sort of the same area.

And I'm like, you know, I'd love to take you out some night. You know, I'll call you on Friday and I'll take you out. Well, at the time, I was a pretty heavy smoker. And cigarettes cost money. And some of the money that the cigarettes cost are the ones that I had written her number on. Oh, John. Okay. Okay.

So I did not call her when I said I was going to call her. I get it. But the story has a happy end and relax. I know, but that just hurts. I mean, it just like, ow. So that was our original far. So what I ended up having to do was go back to that movie set. Because I knew they were roommates.

So when I found their call sheets, I saw her the number of the makeup artists. So I knew that was the number. So I was able to call. But it took a lot longer. Too long. So when I called her again. And it was a lot of like, hey, what's up? So it took a little while to get back in.

Yeah, yeah. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. You know, I like keeping things simple, and that's exactly what Apple Card does. When you use Apple Card with Apple Pay, you can earn up to 3% unlimited daily cash back on every purchase you make, no matter where you shop. And let's talk about fees, because honestly, nobody likes those. which is why Apple Card doesn't have any, no annual, foreign transaction, or late fees. No fees, period. Plus, when it comes to security, you can shop with peace of mind knowing Apple Card is built

with the advanced security of Apple Pay, including Face ID and Touch ID. So you're the only one who can use it. Apply in the wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, variable APRs for Apple Card range from 17.4.9. to 27.74% based on creditworthiness. Rates as of July 1st, 2006. Existing customers can view their variable APR in the wallet app or at card.com. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, a company committed to helping people move forward and live fully. I remember what it's like to be newer in your career, having to make

big decisions about everything, whether or not to go back to school, what job to take, where to settle down. You want to put down roots, but there can also be so many hurdles for aspiring homeowners. And buying a home today can be more challenging. Affordability is a real concern, and a lot of first-time buyers feel stuck, rightfully so. That's exactly why progressive launch their up payment program, down payment assistance for eligible first-time buyers. Now in its second year, it's offering up to $13,500 each to at least 200 applicants. Progressive wants to help more get that foot in the door and continue to help educate first-time home buyers every step of the way. Learn more about up payment and Progressive's commitment

to first-time homebuyers at progressive.com slash open the house where homebuyers, where homebuyers can access home buying resources and support to empower them in their housing journey. When we were kids, summer meant freedom. No homework, no teachers, no school. And as adults, summer can still mean freedom thanks to Mint Mobile's summer sale. Right now, all of Mint's plans are $15 per month, even unlimited. So free yourself from big wireless and their gimmicks and switch to Mint for high-speed data and coverage on the T-Mobile 5G network. All of my friends who have switched to Mint swear by it. They love the transparency and kept telling me just how easy it is to make the jump.

Mint has thought of everything. You can bring your current phone and your number, and you can choose from three, six, or 12-month plans. To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com slash IMO. That's mintmobile.com slash IMO. Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com slash IMO. That's it. There's no catch. Up front payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12 months. Plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan. term only, greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy, includes up to 20 gigabyte hotspot. Capable device required. Availability, speed, and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com. So how was the first date? Fabulous. When I'm nervous, I talk too much. And when she's nervous,

she doesn't talk at all. So we went to a little restaurant on 6th Avenue called Lupita's East L.A. kitchen. No, Lupe's. L.A. kitchen. We don't know the difference. And I could make up anything. You could. We went to LIS, sir.

I said this woman deserves the most expensive meal. We stopped first at Tiffany's. No, I figured first ate cassidia. And so I sat and I ate my delicious barito and her delicious

burrito. Oh, no. And all the drinks and talked and thought, this woman cannot stand me. Oh, no. And we're walking home and I thought, we're going by this one bar that I liked. Do you mind if we'd stop in there, have a drink? Two scotches in, she comes alive.

Two scotches in, she just went. She blossomed. Right. And I was smitten. That was it. Wow. How long did you guys date? How long was it? She knows the answer to this. I believe she said it was too long. She said we dated too long. I asked you to marry me probably three and a half years then. So we've been going out for three and a half years. We lived together for a couple years. And had all the dogs and all those things.

How long did you guys know? How long did you know? Did you know with your... Which one? The one that stuck. No, I didn't know right away because I was going through a major divorce. Oh. And we don't have enough time for me to tell my favorite story of meeting my wife. So I'll save that one for you. But when I met her, because I was going through this horrible divorce,

and I moved back in to my apartment, our family's apartment. that we lived in growing up and my parents had moved my mom had moved downstairs where my aunt lived short of he was living at home with mom so i was back at home your older sister just put you in your place it's like what are we talking about here no so whenever i would go out anywhere my mom would be like you meet anybody and i'm like no mom i'm not interested in meeting anybody so i met my current wife kelly and didn't ask for her number or anything. I just met her. And I was like, after my mom asked me that when I came home,

I was like, maybe I should have gotten her number. He's such a slow burn. Right. He was always that way. I understand that. Clueless. Clueless. I waited until Thursday because she told me where she worked.

And I looked it up and I saw her phone number there. And I, as I'm dialing, her number, she sent me an email at the exact same time. Oh, really? The kismet of the digital age. But then we dated for five years before we got married. Yeah, yeah.

But it was, it was because of me. Did you know how long before he introduced her to you? I'm bad with time. It was probably within the first year. It was definitely the first year. Yeah, it was first year. I mean, whenever he was ready to, did we meet her before the kids met her?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. But he probably, you know, when you met or did you go like, oh, yeah, this is, this will. Well, because he was bringing somebody around. I mean, I don't. My brother is a slow burn. I mean, he's had, like, three girlfriends his whole life because he was a basketball player, right? So he was always, you know.

Yes, basketball players famously monogamous. Yes. You can't, you can't shake a stick and find a basketball player that isn't dedicated to whatever relationship he has at the moment. He was also a very monogamous. Right. young man. Yeah. So he was very, you know, he's a good man.

So if he was bringing somebody around, it was like, okay, how are you feeling about the state of our nation? You know, I'm glad you asked me that. Thank you. I'm going to tell you something. And this is recent, and I don't know if we're making news here or not. I'm really beginning to sour on this president. I feel like, you know, you know me, I was with him.

And I remember after January 6th, watching the insurrection and watching the police being sprayed with bear spray and being beaten with poles, I remember thinking to myself, I don't love this. You know, I'm thinking of maybe not supporting him next time. But then obviously he won me back. No, I mean, I don't even want to, because I imagine for you and your family and having been that it's a surreal experience for you guys. because of the effort that you put into building something up and to watch it be corrupted to have this perversion of leadership. I imagine it's especially difficult to digest. There's a surreal quality to it.

Although I have to say, you guys left money on the table. a Michelle meme coin Didn't even know it was possible There were so many things You guys didn't do a pump and dump You left some money on the table We could have had a Netflix deal A decade ago

You could have had a weapons company You could have sold missiles to yourself Don and Eric have a drone company I don't even know what to say Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's the level of corruption that is, is, in some ways, maybe it's doing a favor by making this, the current power structure and dynamic of this country untenable because of how explicitly corrupted it. Maybe that's, I don't know. Well, it's sort of, you know, what do I say?

You know, what we were saying about the rolling back of women's rights. I mean, you know, if when things are okay, you know, it's easier to take what you have for granted and to think, well, you know, there will always be somebody there who wouldn't possibly do this, you know. Right. You know, we've never had somebody who would do this, right? And you just assume that's going to be the way it is. I think at some level we were there as a country, just a little unclear, just a little, like, maybe we can get a little more. Maybe I can get more of a tax break. Right.

I mean, maybe we can get richer than we are. You know, maybe we can get rights changed faster than ever before, right? Because, you know, our kids didn't witness much of the struggle at all, right? They didn't experience it. And that's, you know, that's the kind of growth you would hope for for the country, that each generation, everything gets better and better and better. And that was actually happening, right? Until we get to a point where there's a generation that didn't even remember what was wrong in the first place.

Never saw it, right? I mean, you think about all the young people who only have known, only knew Barack Obama is their president. like that was the America. There is that truth too, right? What was the feeling like? Because it is a crucible. Like that you feel the weight of that house in every room and every piece of furniture that exists in that house.

And the responsibility, I imagine, is it is a weight you bear every day that you walk through there. The day you walk out is that is the experience one of, liberation? Is it one of exhale? Are you now interviewing me, John Stewart? No, no, this isn't going to make it into the show. I'm just, I would never be interviewing. That's not what we're for. I was just curious. No, no. I mean, I've, so I wrote about this in becoming. I mean, when we got on that plane after, you know, the election and the, you know, the, you know, the outcome and the disappointment and young people and, you know, all of it. I got on that plane and that last trip on Air Force One, and I barely remember much of anything. But the minute I

walked through those doors, I burst out in tears. And I think I cried for like 30 minutes straight. And for me, that is a show of a release of, it wasn't sadness. It wasn't sadness. it was, thank God, we made it to the other side of that experience, because it's not just the responsibility, but as a mother, as like, okay, my kids are whole, my husband is whole, you know. It didn't, there was no guarantee that we'd get to this other side in one place. We were proud of what we did, but it was like, it was over. It's like, whew, you know.

And who would know that? There were 40-some-odd people who've ever had that experience. And it's a weight because it's not about you, right? You are responsible for every emotion, every sense of a young person's being, you know? I mean, everything we were doing, we understood what we were model. you know, and it's like you don't want to get it wrong, you know. You don't want to. So you were cognizant of the effects, your policies and thoughts might have on the lives of others.

That's so interesting. So what you're saying is in the middle of, let's say, a war, you wouldn't necessarily bring out, I don't know, the specs for a ballroom. John, let me tell you, as as their brink. brother or her brother and brother-in-law and all black people we were if it feels like i was holding my breath for eight years really because of the magnitude of what they had in front of them and how if they had somehow uh accidentally or maliciously done the wrong thing how it would have affected the entire race. Right.

That's, people don't talk about that. Right. And, you know. The Jackie Robinson of it. It's the, it's like, well, that's it for. That's it. That's it. That's it.

All right, let's try a Jew. But, but it's, you know, so, not that you asked me, but I was relieved on that at the end. Relie all the worrying. You know, that's an interesting point. part of it too is to be the family, but to not be in the house. Yes. Also, because you're not ensconced in it, you're on the outside, feeling all of the outside noise. I imagine the house can somehow function as a bit of a...

They're bubbled up. Right, right, right. They're bubbled up, but I'm out, I'm out in the streets like a civilian, and I'm dealing with all that. Now, as the brother, was it hard to hold your powder? When, because I know, listen, noise is noise, and everybody hears it. So I would imagine. You know, I think at the time, I was still coaching. Right. So what I always said to people was that as long as I know they're in there, I know they're trying to do the best for the most people.

Yeah, yeah. So what the noise I was hearing wasn't that bad. Right. And plus people were telling me I couldn't coach and needed to be fired anyway. You had your own noise. I feel with that. No, no. But it, it, it, I had the utmost confidence in them.

So I wasn't worried about the noise because it didn't mean anything. Right. I've always admired people who bet on themselves. The friend who starts roasting coffee in their garage. The side hustle cake decorator. My wife Kelly. She loves flipping my old sports merch online. It's very fun to watch.

watch. Inevitably, anyone who wants to sell something online comes across the big question. How do I actually do this? That's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is a platform built to help people start, run, and grow a business. You own your storefront, your brand, and your customer relationships, but Shopify helps put your products in front of people wherever they're already shopping. From Google and YouTube to social media, the shop app and more. The hardest part of entrepreneurship is usually taking that first step. The tools exist. The customers are out there. Sometimes all that's left is deciding to go for it. Take advantage of the fact that this is the easiest time to start your business in history.

Head on over to Shopify.com slash IMO and do something that millions of people wish they could have done. I'm almost always in an airport. Princeton, two head coaching jobs, two NBA front offices now running the Coaches Association? The one constant through all of it has been travel. I've spent a meaningful percentage of my adult life in terminals. So a couple of things matter to me. One is connectivity and Saly handles that. Travel ESIM, data plan before you leave, and it works the second you land in 200 plus destinations with no roaming surprises. Set it up before the trip. One time, done. The other thing, if you're in airports as much as I am, is Saly Ultra. That's the tier with airport lounge access and fast track. So the arrival is something you enjoy instead of surviving.

Go to Saly.com slash IMO, code IMO for 15% off. If you're going to live in airports, you might as well arrive smoother. This back-to-school season, spend less on your kids with Amazon. You know, one thing nobody prepares you for when you have kids is how quickly they go through school supplies. I cannot imagine when I was growing up going through backpacks as quickly as my kids do nowadays. But somehow, once a year, it's back to the store we go or to two stores or three. Not to mention how fast it all just manages to disappear. The school year isn't half over and somehow we're out of pencils, erasers, notebooks, and 30 other things. That's why I really appreciate Amazon during the back-to-school season.

Whether you're shopping for school supplies, backpacks, lunch gear, clothes, or all those last-minute items that I know you don't want to be running around for, Amazon has it all. You can compare brands instantly and read reviews knowing that what you buy will actually last. Basically, Amazon makes it easy to get what you need and get back to your life. So remember, with Amazon's low back-to-school prices, just spend less on your kids because every dollar you don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on them. Friends, relationships, career goals, big life anxieties, we get into all of it on this show. It's become a kind of therapy for me. But just to be clear, I am a firm believer in actual therapy as well.

Therapy isn't only for moments of crisis. It's for anyone who wants more support, clarity, or tools for navigating whatever life throws at them. Growth Therapy can connect you with thousands of licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, including nights and weekends. You can search for what matters to you, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. One thing I really like is that there are no subscriptions or long-term commitments. You simply pay per session, making it easier to find care that fits your life. If there's something in your life you'd like to change, grow therapy can help you start. The therapist you want takes your insurance on Grow.

Grow accepts over 125 insurance plans. Sessions average $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0,000 depending on their plan. Visit growth therapy.com slash IMO today to get started. That's growth therapy.com slash IMO. Groth Therapy.com slash IMO. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Did you know you would be doing what you're doing with comedy at this level? I mean, was there always a political curiosity, a passion, you know,

and finding a way to incorporate it into your, into your comedy. Well, yeah, so that's, you know, we talked earlier a little bit about like your first 15 or 20 minutes is almost always biographical. Yeah. And then you move into kind of observational. And observational can be, you know,

the sort of behavioral, from the minutia to the trivial to something more consequential about relationships or things like that. But I was never particularly interested in those dynamics. I was interested in power dynamics. I was interested in the way that, the world function and had always been that way in school and and and everything else and so that was

I think if you wanted to feel like you were being authentic you try and write material that reflected your passions and interests and that's sort of where that that all came from yeah and then how did the the whole daily show come about uh so the daily show came about the the daily show came about the Doug Herzog and Madeline Smithburg and Elise Roth were these two producers and then the head of at the time Comedy Central

Doug had wanted to do kind of what's the Comedy Central answer to Sports Center? What would make this network feel like it was a sort of living entity? And so the Daily Show is what Madeline and Elise produced

to that end. And they had a host a basketball player, Craig Kilber. And he had decided to go off to do network. And I'd been out of work for why I'd written a book and done some other stuff and kicked around the clubs and done some incredibly memorable independent film roles. And yeah, that wouldn't happen. And they asked me if I wanted to do it.

And I had said, you know, let me think about it. And I thought about the way that I saw that the show was and the way that I wanted to make it. And so we had discussions about, I thought that it could be a vehicle to explore those themes of power and politics and the distance between, I was always really interested in the room before the room, the room where the meeting took place,

and then the politicians would go out And they would give their speech. And you always wonder, okay, because as you know, like, everything's purposeful. Everything is intentional. So how are they designing that? Sometimes. Used to be. Sometimes now you just have a guy wake up at three in the morning and go, I think I might be Jesus.

Point is this. But that's what I wanted the show to be, to deconstruct what we see as powers reality. What's the reality behind that? And that seemed like the right form for it. And also surrounded by just great writers and performers. And the list of them is endless. Speaking of, you know, we had Jessica Williams on. Oh, God, she is amazing.

She's amazing. She's the best. She's braved about your mentorship and you should be very proud. Listen, it's like you don't want to screw that. Like, she is such a rare. I watch videotapes. all day looking for talent. And you know, and you watch them with sort of that idea,

it's like scrolling on before Instagram, you're just doing this going through. And then every now and again, you go, huh? That's Jessica. She, and I mean like not a produced, like some low rent, old Sony, handy can't like nothing video. And she just explodes off it. And what a lovely person.

But a talent that, I mean, she's obviously doing, but, you know, we knew that the minute you saw her. And she was, I think, 20 years old, 21 years. Like, it was crazy. We couldn't even believe that. And she had never done it before. Came in and was just, she's certain people vibrate with no delay. Like in an, like in an, like in a. She has like an electrical.

Yeah. So the synapse is just fire. Yeah. And she's that as a talent. And the best thing that I tried to do is try and find the most talented people I could and let them be them. I'd love to say that it was like my guidance of that. Like I was doing. Well, you wouldn't say that.

But a lot of other people have said that about you. I mean, you know, they have talked about you being the leader at that table. I mean, you know, the table that they were surrounded by, there was still your work ethic. There was still the example of your, and I'm using the words that I've heard too. Right, right. You know, it was still your work ethic. It was still the tone that you set around that table. And you know that there are tables, other comedy tables.

I've been at some of the tables. Where, you know, no, it's just the opposite. It's a little rough. And nobody's rooting for you. And there isn't the, you know. So I don't know whether that's a question because you won't take it. You won't say, how did you do that, John? How did you feel?

Once I read Sun Tzu's Art of War, I think I'd been in a lot of places that were not healthy. And when I first got there, I don't think it was healthy. I think it was rough and quite toxic. And that people's ambition was, I think it's hard for people that sometimes, understand, and maybe in this show, is that if the show's good, we all win. Yeah. And so if we all, the energy that it takes you to create toxicity or selfishness or to be overly combative, is energy that you're not using to elevate. Listen, America. Can you say that again? It was, you know, there's only a finite amount of energy in the day.

So I had to learn how to parcel that energy for myself, but also for the staff to understand that, like, we're, in some respects, it's a refinery. And we're taking raw materials in the morning. And we're trying to create a process that can refine those materials into something that we feel is, and I don't want to say great, not great thing, but the greatest execution of our aspiration or intention.

Yeah. Every day has to set an intention. And that's why for me, it's almost more fun to work on the process because the process was so crucial in creating the product. Yeah. And that was the gift of having people around me

who also, really sort of dug that idea. Yeah. Like let's sit and talk about, because five minutes at 9 a.m. is 45 minutes at 6 o'clock, but now there's an audience waiting there. So if we can figure out

how to create a process that's repeatable, but not stifling. That was like, it was this great dynamic of challenges. Yeah. And what I loved about it, it, it, I felt like it was the first time it used every part of anything that I thought I was able to do to its totality. Yeah.

And that's why it was so nice to be able to come home to my family, completely drained. Yeah. And spent so that I had nothing left for them. I think the answer here is this. Work hard. Deplete yourself. Have nothing left for others. For your family.

Well, what was family life like for you before you realized that you were, you know, I mean, was Tracy patient with it? Was she getting real pissed off about it? What did she understand? I think that it's hard whenever you have young children. Yes. And this is probably for just me, Craig. Dumb boys. Dumb boys

is when you walk into the house when there are two young children there and you've been working all day, the first thing you might not want to say is how tired you are. Yes. Yes, you can't do that. It's a no, no.

Yeah. You know, and that's, you know, that we should put that on a t-shirt. Don't say how tired you are. Don't. Yeah. You know, don't do it. But she's also like,

she's just a rare bird. incredibly supportive, but it took me a while to understand and to really, and really understand it how hard it was for her in those, in those years. It was really hard. Yeah. And, and, and, and the, the, the person that's coming into that, that you've been in Wisconsin at the whole day is also can come into it as the amusement park. Oh, God. Yeah. So you can walk in. It's been a long day of tears and limits and trying to set, you know, raise them to be responsible. And then this one comes in as like, who wants to ride on my back? And you, you know, you're a wrecking ball.

That's right. In this entire operation. And you think it's, but I don't get any time with them and I do this. Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, dealing with all that is it can be really, it can be really fraught. But what's so interesting is. as they become autonomous. And obviously, you know, those old ways of raising them when they're little,

you know, that it's, you know, nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. You know, but as they get older, you're like, you know, they put fentanyl and coke, right? Like, just, you know, be aware. Like, but then it's just the two of you again. Yeah. And it's a really kind of lovely, like, It's a comfort. Like, you've been through all these wars, and now you're kind of just together again on the couch.

And you obviously, you know, the energy and excitement of the kids being around is so incredible. I don't. I love them. I'm going to see them tonight for dinner. I love them. Yeah. But, you know, Barack cried when they went to college. I was like, bye, little.

Goodbye. Now Friday nights aren't wrecked with terror and fear about where are you. are you, where are you? Right. You know, I was, I love their emancipation and growth. The thing I miss, though, is the job. Like, don't you miss? See, your kids are still in high school, so it's still a job.

Yes. Like, the, it gave a meaning and, like, pattern to my life. I'm good. Yeah. Look at all this meaning. She's different. She's different. I have a wonderful pattern, you know.

I love my kid's schedule. I love it. Yeah, there's something about the schedule. I love this schedule. I love my schedule. I have a great schedule, and it's all mine. But I think fathers can be that way because you weren't there from six and nine. And we missed a lot of it.

You missed a lot of it. I mean, I've had so much quality time with my children. That's so funny. So much. Yeah, yeah. I know them inside and out. It must drive you crazy. I'm sure it must have driven my wife crazy.

When I first left the show, and so it was all about then driving the kids to school and driving them home. And I'd come back with them, they were in the car and they were talking about this. They were laughing. You know, I never occurred to me. I'm sure my wife was thinking about, how lovely. Yeah, yeah. You just soak it all in. But we, at that time, too, we moved out of the city.

So we went through a kind of a strange, I don't know if you guys have very experiences, but so when we were in the city, we went, they went to school in Greenwich Village called a little school called Little Red, literally like the school Pete Seeger went to. Yeah, yeah. I've heard of that school. ends with, you know, honey in the rock feed all the children. We all hold hands and somehow just levitate. You know, it's all just magical.

And we moved him out to Jersey. And this was 2015. I remember dropping them off at school. And the first bumper sticker I saw was Hillary for prison. And I was like, okay. I don't think Honey in the Rock is how this thing is going to go. But that was a big adjustment. And they, in some ways, I'm really glad that that happened because we were ensconced in something that was really eccentric and kind of cloistered.

Yeah. Do you think comedy helps or hurts the political climate? Oh, wow. Because here's what, you know, I mean, sometimes I just can't watch anything political. Sure, sure. Right. especially then because it was like, is this funny?

Right, right. You know? Or is it, yeah. Yeah, yeah. But I, you know, I wonder what you think because sometimes I think is it, is it good that most young people are getting their news from the Daily Show? Right. Or that they, you know, they want you to run for president. Or, you know, I mean, that we're in that position of where, you know, especially with social media.

Right. It's like the funny guy. I mean, social media has, look, I think the shows that we do now, they go out on social media on the thing. But to a large extent, because we are infrastructure heavy, we are, we do, we are in some ways a relic of a previous era. it's sort of like I'm running a blockbuster, a video store inside of a tower records. You know what I mean? Like it is where people just be like, so you sell what now? CDEs?

But in other ways, it has more reach because social media places it everywhere. The question is, what does, I never confuse cultural power with power. Yeah. I learned early on that one of the frustrations of, one of the joys of it is catharsis and being able to express yourself and do that thing that we talked about, like, what do you want to be as a comic? I want my personal thoughts and dreams and whatever to be filtered through whatever art form it is that I'm pushing through.

Second item of it is, but it's impotent. And does it, is it an opiate? Is it creating, you know, and having worked on some of those things on Capitol Hill and all that, I know the difference now, which I didn't. before. The difference between activists who are in the trenches doing that day-to-day work, trying to bend that arc of the moral universe slowly towards us, it's not realizing there's a bunch of people trying to bend it back.

And so, you know, I wish there were metrics. I'd almost, I wish there was a double-blind study where you could find out, like, am I hurt? Like, does this help? Does it corrode? Does it pervert? Is it something to be? Is it ultra-processed, you know, food that's given the country a kind of political diabetes? You know, I don't know.

I think I also have to step back on, it may not be an honorable thing we do, but we do it as honorably as we can in that. It is not in bad faith. So the way that I try and judge it is any good faith art, material, speech, talk that goes into the universe, I feel like. is a win. There's so much bad faith. Yeah. And I try to hold that, but I can't sit here and honestly answer like,

it's a win for society. Like what I've done over these past 25, you know, I don't, I'd hate to think, obviously. Yeah, yeah. But there's many people on social media who would tell me, you know, that that is the case. Yeah. And the other side of it is,

you have to be agnostic about you don't get close to the people like the relationships with political figures are always fraught or with media figures. I always say to people at the show, look at the people around you. When you leave here, if we do this right, these will be your only friends. Right, right. Because one of the things about the sort of media industrial complex and the political media industrial complex is the associations diminish the purpose of, what some of those disciplines are. They can exist in that. And so that's hard.

Yeah. You know, because you do feel there are people you really like. Yeah. You really admire. But you know at work, like you're going to have to, and I'm sure for you guys, there's people you might like who do those things. And you go, I think I'd like to punch that kind of face. You know, that kind of thing.

Well, and to answer my own question of you, I do think the cultural, impact is important. I mean, I've always thought that, you know, that that power is, it's not the same, but it's really important. I mean, I felt that way even when I was first lady. You know, and I think our administration understood that. There was the Washington power, but it's like, if you wanted to talk to anybody, if you wanted anybody to hear you really, you needed to go at it from the culture. Right. Right.

Where people are. Right. And not try to bucket. I mean, I didn't do one interview with Face the Nation or meet the press. Right. I never sat down with the New York Times editorial board. Right. But I came on the Daily Show.

Right. And you never tried to have us arrested. Oh, I didn't. I didn't. Or silenced. Or taken off the air. No, no, but it's a function of. It's a function of a confidence in your worldview.

There is nothing more, I think, fragile than someone who wields real power, who feels that that power will be diminished by satire or commentary. You know, it's kind of a shocking fragility. For someone who wants to, you know, project alpha male dominance, and yet be so incredibly, you know, wrecked by something that happens at 1230 at night. I mean, he's made all of our shows relevant again in a weird way. Well, I thank you. Listen, I thank you guys for coming over.

It's been such a delight. Now, you know, I turn this room. My book club is going to be here. Yes, it's true. Are you enjoying the podcast? The podcast spaces? We do? Yeah, yeah. You know, the one where you should be interviewing people. Yeah, it's, I get to talk to all kinds of different people and I get to do it in my house. Yeah. That's just that's perfect. That's so cool. Yeah. That's so cool. And it's also a way, you know, as you guys, we talked about a little earlier, I am not the most social, socially inclined individual. Yeah, that was the most surprising thing when I met you. It's like, oh, really? Oh, yeah. I mean, oh, he's so shy. And he's extremely anxious about the world.

Yes, that is correct. But is it true that you keep your Emmys in a box in a... Yes, I'm sure. In a... Yeah, I've never been attached to material or awards or any of those sorts of things. I've always... My wife found me, when she found me, I was a... I lived out of those milk crates that you used to get with all this stuff.

And I'm... Barely out of those. Barely out of that. So, but... No, this is, it's been, it's lovely to talk to you guys, truly. Well, you know, we have a listener question that we need to answer that will. Sagittarius. You're fire, girl.

I don't know where that is. I don't know what camera, I'm like that. I'm in surround sound. All right. All right. Who's our listener question? Who's our listening? All right.

So this is from Eric. Hi, Michelle and Craig. My dilemma is this. I am certain that fixating on politics and politics. political conversations right now will not improve the negativity, divisiveness, and hopelessness that I have and that seems to be everywhere. At the same time, it can feel naive to ignore things altogether because so many things ailed the world right now, the economy, loss of rights, deaths at home, and in wars overseas, the environment. So where does that leave the average person

like me who both wants to escape or at least ignore the nightmare of our current political landscape, yet also understands that doing nothing won't actually improve anything? what is the kind of work we can be doing and what are the conversations we should be having that might make a difference, but also allow us to keep our sanity from Eric in Vermont. Okay, Eric.

You're listening to your Shadip. We do something like this on my show and it's always like, what's your Taco Bell order? Are you a Chalupa guy? Eric's going through it, man. Yeah, yeah. He's...

Oh, wait, are you looking at me to answer this? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's right. I turned to answer. Craig just looking at him like this like, you're the effort. Let's see what you got.

We'll all jump in, but we want to be polite and let our guests go first. Action is the antidote anxiety. And I've always felt that. Existential anxiety is something you can never get your hands around, but you can get arounds are tactile.

It's so funny that this is coming up. So I'd had this conversation with Trevor Nolan. about anxiety and that's why I like woodworking. I've learned how to play the drums. There are things that are mechanical, they're tactile, they are rhythmic, they are repeatable, and they are grounding for me mentally. And he just sent me this, apparently,

Winston Churchill felt the same way. He sent me this thing about Winston Churchill used to be visited by depression. I don't have that. but he'd be visited by depression and he would call it the black dog. And when the black dog would visit, he had to do things with his hands. He had to make things. And so Trevor was just sending me that, you know, this is your coping mechanism put to explicit eloquence by Winston Churchill. And then I just wrote him back and said, that's so crazy.

It explains why I always feel like I want to bomb the Germans. And, but I would think, you know, young people feel this way. You know, in the olden days, you got rid of that with booze. Like, that's kind of how people dealt with that existential anxiety because they couldn't talk it out. Yeah, yeah. But I don't know. Like, that was very, anybody that I think that is able to articulate it in that way can get through it. Yeah.

Because that naming it is one of the hardest things. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, one thing I totally, totally agree, because some of you just got to work through it. And I totally agree with the tactile piece. I mean, I knit it my way through COVID. I play tennis like three times a week. And the repetition of the thing, because you're on there, it's like I have to run and hit that ball. I can't think about anything else while I'm doing. And I'm trying to figure out how to hit the ball better.

And I can do that for 90 minutes. And it, you know, that's 90 minutes of 90 minutes of 90. thinking about anything except for that thing. So I completely agree with that. The other thing I often say to people is, you know, I think we run into the challenge of thinking that all change has to be big change. I think young people think that too. You know, and you hear about the young people doing something. Well, I, you know, I got a thousand people to vote or I raise this. I mean, it's just like they, they're often biting off so much. Yes. You know, how do I end drug dealing in my neighborhood?

How do I fix this huge, gigantic problem right under my nose? And the answer is you can't. You know, what you need to do, first of all, is just focus on what you can control, you know, focus on small right now, especially young people. Right and funny. It's like right here. Right. You know, it's like, are you in school? Stay in school.

Right. Do your homework. You know, that's, that's. You know, that's some power right there. Absolutely. And it's also sort of the quiet activism of living pleasantly. Yes. Like in the sense of everybody that you encounter in your world, whether it's at a deli nearby or when you go to the thing.

If you interact with them in a way that recognizes their shared humanity, I'm telling you, man, that makes. It works. It's kind of huge. It works. And it's funny. It's funny that Eric is in Vermont. because that goes to what I was going to say to Eric. You know, I probably never told you this,

but when you all were first running, I used to be a surrogate. So I'd have practice during the weekend, and then on Sundays they'd send me somewhere. Oh, wow. And I'd give the team off, and then we'd practice late on Monday, so I'd be able to travel back.

Right. And one of the first places I went was this small town up in Vermont. really small, right by the water. And I remember there's a small little general store that I got dropped off at to be picked up by somebody else and be taken somewhere else. And I went in the general store. And I'm like in a suit and everybody's wearing flannel shirts, right? And this guy says to me, you're not from around here. And I was like, oh, you figured that out because I got a song.

Oh, it's just the suit, you think? Yeah. And no, and it's, I didn't say because I was black, I said it's because I had the suit on because he knew why I was there, but he pretended that he didn't know. And he's like, you know, we got a lot of politicians coming up around here. You got anything to do with that? And I was like, yeah, I do. I happen to be coming up here to talk about Barack Obama.

And then I went to this whole thing. He's like, well, I don't know about that guy. And I said, well, why not? He said, well, he hadn't done much. And so I went into this very calm and quiet discussion about why you have to every now and then give a chance to people who don't have the same experience that other people have because they haven't had the same opportunity. Real basic stuff. But it was quiet and it was calm and it was an hour of it. And by the end of it, he was, I don't know who he voted for, but he acted as if I had convinced him.

Right, right. And I say this to Eric, to John's point, there's nothing like conversation with people. And to your point, Mish, it doesn't have to be with a thousand people. Just hit them one person at a time. Right. And talk to them about how you feel and how you think. And if you're smart and can put a few sentences together, people will listen to you. How crazy would it be if that guy, Eric?

Is that guy who talked to him? That would be. I was just like, oh, I had this question I wanted to ask him in the storm. I couldn't do it. Now I've got to wait 16 years. Yeah. I'm throwing in there. Eric sounds younger than the guy.

Yeah. Well, Eric, hopefully that helps you out a little bit. and anybody else who's listening. Thank you, John Stewart. Thank you, guys. You're a very intelligent young man. I heard there was a PA job available. I saw the fruit.

We don't pay much. I just want to point out the difference when you do a podcast with a former first lady and her brother, the fruit selection in their green room puts basic cable to such shame. I was literally marving. Is that a raspberry? The exotic nature. It's only for the guests. No.

Thank you, John. Thank you. Thank you. It's been this time. Hopefully we'll see again soon. Beautiful. This back-to-school season, spend less on your kids with Amazon.

You know, one thing nobody prepares you for when you have kids is how quickly they go through school supplies. I cannot imagine when I was growing up, going through backpacks as quickly as my kids. kids do nowadays. But somehow, once a year, it's back to the store we go, or to two stores, or three. Not to mention how fast it all just manages to disappear. The school year isn't half over, and somehow we're out of pencils, erasers, notebooks, and 30 other things. That's why I really appreciate Amazon during the back-to-school season, whether you're shopping for school supplies,

backpacks, lunch gear, clothes, or all those last-minute items that I know you don't want to be running around for, Amazon has it all. You can compare brands instantly and read reviews knowing that what you buy will actually last. Basically, Amazon makes it easy to get what you need and get back to your life. So remember, with Amazon's low back-to-school prices, just spend less on your kids because every dollar you don't, don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on them. Shop now at amazon.ca.