On with Kara Swisher - Samantha Bee on Being “Democrat-Celibate” (from The Assignment with Audie Cornish)

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

Samantha Bee is a comedian, author and former late-night host who hosts the podcast Choice Words with Samantha Bee and co-hosts The Daily Beast Podcast with Joanna Coles. Her weekly late-night comedy series, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was nominated for over 70 awards — and she has personally been nominated for 18 Emmy awards and won for both writing and executive producing.  Full Frontal was explicitly, and hilariously, political and left-leaning so it’s a bit surprising that Bee has declared herself Democrat-celibate, (at least for now). Samantha explains her new approach to politics and dishes on her biggest regret in this CNN pilot titled “Off Script” with Kara, Audie Cornish, CNN correspondent and host of The Assignment, and Van Lathan, co-host of The Ringer’s Higher Learning podcast. Questions? Comments? Email us at [e-mail] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi everyone and happy holidays. I hope you're unplugged and taking some time to do whatever it is you like to do this time of year The on team is taking a break for the holidays So today we're sharing an episode of one of my favorite podcasts CNN's the assignment with Audie Cornish But don't worry You're not totally free of me because I'm actually in this episode for a pilot we're doing for CNN Audie Podcaster van Latham and I sat down with Samantha Bee, one of the funniest comedians I know. She's a former host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and host of her own podcast called Choice Words with Samantha Bee. We talked about a lot of things,

and I've interviewed Sam many times over the many years, but this time we talked about her checking out of politics, which has been her area that she's been making jokes about for so, so long, and why she did that, and also about the worst thing she's ever done. It has to do with a friend and a boyfriend. We'll see what that is when you listen to it. In any case, I think you're going to like this listen. It's a great conversation. I was very happy to be part of.

Enjoy. Enjoy! Support for On with Kara Swisher comes from Elf Beauty. Get ready to start with Feeling Good. An Elf's new album can help you find the spark. Get Ready with Music, the album is a collection of inspiring songs from emerging global artists that brings together beauty and music in a unique way. The album comes from Elf Beauty's new entertainment arm, Elf Made.

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Visit klaviyo.com to learn how brands like Fishwife build smarter digital relationships with Klaviyo. Please introduce yourself. Hello. Okay, well, hello. My name is Samantha Bee, and I'm a former television host and current New York City Gatabout.

Gatabout. I don't know. Oh, Gatabout's a good word. That's a good word. I don't know what it means exactly, but I'm saying it. You kind of do. It's another word. A layabout. I like that too.

Sometimes a layabout. We are, we're super glad you're here. Thank you. But we do, before we can like add you to the group chat. Okay. You need to submit to the authenticator. Submit. Okay, to determine if I'm an authentic human being.

Is that it? Okay, all right, okay. First question. Yeah. If aliens landed on earth, Okay. and you had to nominate one person alive to represent the human race, who would you nominate? Okay. And you have to nominate one person alive to represent the human race.

Who would you nominate? Okay. Our fate is in your hands. From the entirety of the human race. Yes, that's right. All human race. The choice is obvious. It's Ina Garten.

Because she is an entertainer, she makes the best parties, she brings baked goods. I think she could do it. She's like, she's fun. Her and Jeffrey? Actually, it's the two of them. Yeah. Okay. Don't you think? And she'd provide the famous tomato sauce. She's an emissary of peace.

So you feel like we're gonna host a party for the aliens. You're anticipating like a... I think you start with a party and then you go... Let me ask. And then you move to kidnapping. I'm the one. I think that's why you didn't pick Martha Stewart, who is a possible enemy of eating a garden.

Are they? Yeah, they were beefing about something. Were they beefing? Apparently. They were beef Wellington about something. Beef Wellington. Hey, I'm here all week. Okay, sorry.

Do you like that? I'm choosing Ina because I just personally mainlined her memoir two times in a row at slow speed because I found it really comforting to hear a woman describe roasted chicken. It comforted me greatly. Are we in a friendship circle here? Yeah. I don't know who that is.

Oh! But we were in a friendship circle. Now we're out. I'm out of it. I'm so shocked. She is one of the premier modern entrepreneurial domestic goddesses. Yeah.

Is that a good description? Oh my God. Can you do my descriptors? Yeah, I can. Because they're much better than what I can. And author of The Barefoot Contessa. Oh, I know The Barefoot Contessa. Hey, Brandon.

Oh, okay, I know. Yeah, okay. The Barefoot Contessa. That is a good bear. Next question in the authenticator. What is a popular song that everyone loves, but that you hate? Okay is a popular song that everyone loves, but that you hate? Okay, a popular song that everyone loves, but I hate.

Oh, actually, well, a singer that everyone seems to love that I hate is Elvis Presley. I hate all his music. I actually hate it so much that I would leap across a studio to turn the music off. Like I would do anything. Is there a particular song? No, it's every song in the.

Why? So there's not one Elvis song that you kinda like. I can't, I find it so intolerable. Like actually intolerable that even thinking about it. Why? Like it's so upsetting viscerally. I have no idea. I just have a second. I just want you to know. Yeah. I've been to Tupelo. I love Elvis about it. What? It's like upsetting viscerally. I have no idea. I just have a second.

I just want you to know, I've been to Tupelo. I love Elvis so much. And I'm basically just like, I was about to say, yes. I think we got the look. I'm literally jailhouse talking. Young Elvis. I know.

I never even, I don't see it. I feel like we can't be friends anymore. Wow. I betrayed you. I'm sorry. I've been to all the places. All right, next question. Well, I know how this is not gonna be answered. Wow. I've betrayed you. I've been to all the places. All right, next question. Well I know how this is not going to be answered. Exactly. Your celebrity crush. Celebrity crush. I'm going to, okay, I have a really hard time with celebrity crush. I don't really have

celebrity crushes. So I'm going to say who is the person who I will always sit down and watch? Actually, no. Sorry. I'm gonna say George Clooney. Okay, it's a complicated answer. I did meet George Clooney recently for the very first time and a picture was taken of the two of us together and I'm literally looking up at him holding onto my heart, holding it into my chest and my eyes are closed like I'm having a religious experience, and it's a highly embarrassing photograph.

So I'm gonna say, where were you? So the truth was revealed. It was like a party, it was like a fancy, it was a fancy party and he was hosting it, and so it was a pleasure to be there. So I'm gonna say him because I've never made that expression when meeting any other. Can we see it? I'm just gonna have to Google it immediately.

It is really humiliating. What's the worst decision you've ever made in your life? that expression when meeting any other student. You're gonna have to Google it immediately. No? It's really humiliating. What's the worst decision you've ever made in your life? Oh, I chose a boy over a very long-term friendship, and that is the worst decision. Wow. You still remember it?

How old are you? I was a teenager, and I wish, it's like the one thing, is I don't really think back on life and go, oh, I would love to change all of these. Because I don't really think back on life and go, oh, I would love to change all of these things because I kind of think even bad decisions make you who you are, they give you spice. But that is one decision that I would have changed.

What was his name? I wish, I can't, I can't. These people are alive. This is just like the first name. I can't, there's no. A Toby, a Brock? Brock. A Brett?

Yeah, it was Brock. It was definitely Brock. Those are, I see where you go with Brock? Brock. A Brett? Yeah, it was Brock. It was definitely Brock. I see where you're going with that. I have a Brock. Those are beefcake teenage things. John and Thomas, to start. I realize that we've just met each other, but do I look like somebody who would date a Brock?

It looks like you're recovering from a Brock. We were all young ones. Yeah, exactly. Oh my god. One that's slightly more serious, I believe that people are basically... The same. Actually, I believe that people are basically the same.

I feel like we're meaning... We're kind of motivated by the same things. Which are? Which are... Well, I think we're motivated by love, and hopefully the majority of people are motivated by protecting their loved ones. They want to keep their families safe. We're also motivated by selfishness and greed and kind of self-serving.

And I think that kind of just is true across the human race. It's not all good things. Some of it is bad. Yeah, it's good. So what would your mother say about you? I think that my mother would say that I remind her of her mother. Oh.

In a complimentary way? In a complimentary way. I just have a lot of qualities. I share a lot of qualities. I share qualities with my mother, but also with my grandmother. I think there's a real similarity. I think she was kind of precise precise and she was like, she liked her things just so.

And she kept her glasses in the kitchen in like an orchard. And I do, I have all those habits. I like to keep the corners clean, you know. What keeps you up at night? Worrying about the safety of my children, for sure. For sure. It's pretty much the only thing that keeps me up at night. Hard agreement on that one.

We asked you earlier about your regret. What do you think is your superpower? I think that my superpower is de-escalation. That's a fantastic. Say more. I do think that I actually have a calming influence to things and I do like to, I am, I was born in Canada, and that's probably partially where it comes from,

but I do like to take a fight. I am a good moderator. I'm good at actually calming everybody down and sorting things out. Interesting. I'm an escalator. You know what? That's why we're a good team. That's why we're good together. Do you like being that?

I'm just curious. I don't always like being that. Right, because it's me. Yeah, because I often, I think, sublimate myself to the process. You feel compelled to be that. I do, I can't, like I can't, I don't know, I'm an only child, I don't know,

I can't stand it when things are really tense. I can't operate on those, I can't think straight, I can't stand it when things are really tense. I can't operate on those. I can't think straight. I can't see straight. I need everything. I need everything to be kind of calm. I'm gonna have hard discussions within the calmness, but I like it to not be a fighting atmosphere.

I feel like that, did that make you a good boss? I am a good and bad. I think that there's benefits and there's also, yeah, there's a benefit to it, but there's a downside to it too. Things don't happen. Which people sometimes need to fight. They actually need to express themselves.

They don't need me modulating their opinions at all times, which I do kind of have a tendency to do. Yeah, my son's a de-escalator. I wish he was more of an escalator. I think it makes me a good parent. I think it's good for parenting. Yeah. I think it's actually very, very helpful.

All right, last question, and the most difficult. OK, what's your most controversial opinion? Make it good. I think that the, OK, I think that the drinking age and the driving age should be reversed. Okay. I think people should be able to drink at 16 and they shouldn't be able to drive until they're 21. You know what, okay, I like this. But you know what the problem with it is? Tell me. Okay, so this is the problem with that. I watched this whole thing. It was fascinating. Okay. The older you have to learn to drive, yes, the more afraid you are. The reason you have to learn to drive, Yes.

the more afraid you are. The reason why it's good to have people learn to drive at 14 and 15 is because they don't have an affixed understanding, whatever. That's the driving ages that we learn to drive in Louisiana, people in my ears are telling me that's not the driving age. Okay.

But the reason why you learn to- I'm like 14. Interesting. I learned to drive at 13. Yeah, Oh, I learned to drive at 13. Interesting. Yeah, okay. I learned to drive at 13. Same thing.

But the reason why they say that psychologically it's better for you to learn to drive that way is because you're not a free... Because you have no real risk assessment, you're saying? If people start driving, because there are people that live in other places that don't have driving cultures, and then when they have to learn to drive, they're 21, 22, 23, they're terrified. I feel like it's good to be terrified. I think you should be, I think if everybody was like a little more terrified, that would be better.

And I think people should be able to drink earlier because I think when you keep it... To like France. Like France, I think when you keep it like separated from people's lives, they wait too long to develop like a healthy relationship with alcohol or they're forced to like take it underground and like do it secretly the way that I did, like out of the trunk of a car before a dance.

And I feel like if we just like you had a healthier, oh God, Canadian rye whiskey, like out of a jam jar. It's actually pretty sophisticated. That is. Yeah, I thought you were going to be like Peach Knots. Yeah, I thought of that for an E&J, Mad Dog. Oh, okay. All right, well, you have been authenticated.

Thank you. Thank you. Please stay with us because Zambi is going to stay and talk more. Support for On with Kara Swisher comes from Elf Beauty. One of the most tried and true self-care rituals out there is getting all done up and listening to great music while you do. In fact, according to data from Elf Beauty, 92% of women said listening to music while getting ready boosts their mood. And now you can listen to a special album by Elf. Get Ready With Music, the album is a collection of inspiring songs that bridge the worlds of beauty and music. The album features 13 original songs by emerging

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build smarter digital relationships with Klaviyo. Welcome back. We're here with Sam Bee. Hi. Hi, Sam. How you doing? So I just had you on my podcast and you were talking about where you are right now as a voter.

Explain what you, where you are. I was so surprised when you said this. Oh, really? I was absolutely. Okay. Because you know from your show you're, you know. Sure, sure, sure. I said on your show that I am changing my political affiliation to just like be an independent for a while because not that I'm like not GOP curious in the least, but I am want to be a little bit Democrat celib independent for a while because not that I'm not GOP curious in the least,

but I am wanna be a little bit Democrat celibate for a while. I just wanna take a break. I don't want any more of fundraising emails for a time. I would like to step outside the circular firing squad and not be a part of it for a little while. Yeah, I'm on a break. Yeah, it's interesting that you used the word celibate

though. Yeah. The connotations of what this move. Let's have a dry spell, folks. Yeah, exactly. I'll just step away for a minute and raise us. So you're like 4B. You're gonna 4B them. Yeah, I'm gonna 4B them.

Yeah, cutting edge. I'm gonna 4B them. Yes. But do they deserve that? Shouldn't you be jumping more into it? Like, isn't it critical to jump more? I'm just exhausted. A lot of people are.

I'm happy to jump into the issues, happy to talk about all the issues. Very excited and agitated by the news and, like, ready to get in there, but I don't need to go and prove my bona fides. I'm like, you all can fight amongst yourselves. That's fine with me. But could not you be curious?

I couldn't be less, you'll be curious. You know, when I'm talking to a friend who has jumped out of the dating pool and is not interested in men or women, I always ask, what are you looking for? Like, you're a celibate now from the Democrats. You don't want to date them anymore. What are you looking for in a Democratic Party? I

That's a question. I just cannot answer right now I just want to like I feel like there's a lot of work to do. There's a lot of stuff to talk about I don't have to have a political affiliation particularly to get in there like to get in there and talk about it and think about it, I don't Look, does it make you miss satire? Because, like, Jon Stewart coming back to his show and kind of jumping right back into the fray of things. I've wondered if you've had some moments at home where you thought, actually, maybe...

I mean... I could have fun with this. It would be fun to watch them all, like, tear themselves to pieces, which they so clearly are right now. But I'm podcasting. I talk about it kind of when I want. I write about it when I want to.

And that is actually very satisfying. I don't feel the need to. I don't want to have to talk about it. Do you know what I mean? I love to just kind of at my leisure engage with. Also, I'm not sure that if that humor works anymore. Like, this is moving away from him himself. But just a lot of those shows that were

pretend news persons behind the desk, like they didn't survive. And I do wonder if it is harder to do. I feel like everybody, you know, we always reach for those shows to achieve like catharsis or to see the issues of the day kind of like processed in a way that is unique and interesting. And that is great, but I do feel full force of the news cycle at all times. I am still a person who is just completely pegged to the news cycle.

I always know exactly what is happening, and sometimes I do need to take a little step back from it. I don't know. I don't know. It's going to be a wild right. Well, can I stick with comedy? Because one of the things that you were so good at, and when you went to like the GOP convention,

and you asked, and there was that famous one where you said, there's a word choice, that was your bit, I loved that bit, I watched it over and over again. That was sort of like, and Jordan Klepper then did, it was a similar thing, so like, you act like they're smart, right, essentially, and then get them to say the bad things.

Is that effective? I try to think about it. I kind of like it, but then I think, is that actually funny anymore? Well, I mean, again, to me the purpose is catharsis because you're not reaching outside. I mean, we are siloed now. Like, the walls of the silo are made of impenetrable materials.

Like, no one who doesn't agree with your worldview is going to watch a piece like that and go, I did look silly. Oh, hold on a second. Let me rethink my positions on the issues. But you, but there's a benefit to people who want to experience that kind of like, that letting go, that kind of like, what's the word? It's just kind of affirmation.

You know? It can achieve something, but it's more of an affirmation. Speaking of comedy, the one thing that people say about President Trump, whether or not they're criticizing him or not, is that the guy's funny. And it seems to be the way that he accepts himself into being. You can't say Trump's not funny. He makes me laugh. Do you find Donald Trump to be funny? I find him to be so deeply unfunny that I can't, I don't know, I mean, there's a lot of,

to me there's just like a ton, often what happens is he says something outrageous or just completely like addled or he goes off on some crazy weave. And then the cleanup is like, oh, he was just trying to be funny. I don't know, I just don't find him, maybe I just don't get the joke.

I don't know, I don't find him funny. Why do you think so many people do? I have no idea, but there's no accounting for taste. We all think different things are funny. That's not to my taste. But he did well on those sort of bro comedy things. Like, how do you look at those right now? The Andrew Schultz, the rest of them?

I pretend they don't. I don't engage with them. Like, I don't, I'm not even remotely curious about. I think I know, I think I pretty much have an idea of what they're talking about and what it sounds like. And there's no need for, there's no value in my life. Like, I don't tend to, which would really surprise people. I don't really tend to drop into things

that will drive me crazy, that will give me, will wake me up in the middle of the night. I just kind of, I practice avoidance. I put on Ina Garten's autobiography at, you know, .25 speed and I just listened to it slowly over 18 and a half hours. Like, I don't need it. Especially since, like, the show is satire, but I do fantasize about being the news person

who will suddenly get to stop thinking about it. Like, it comes to me where I'm just like, oh, I would like a day I don't have to know. So I'm just looking at you now with raw envy and... Do you ever get a day where you don't have to know. So I'm just looking at you now with raw envy and. Do you ever get a day where you don't have to know? You don't ever get a day. Even when you're on vacation, I bet you have to know. You do, and you don't, you feel it.

You start to get jittery. I don't know about you, but if you don't have a byline. Yeah, why did I even ask? Yeah, I like to know it. Oh, really? I'm one of those people that like. But when it's your job, when it's like when I was first starting out and there was like

bad weather somewhere, right? Like if someone was getting executed by the state, I was waiting for my phone to ring, right? Like I had to go to it. And it made me anxious, you know? It just was very like intense. I had a blackberry in my hand when I had my baby, so I guess I like it. I don't know. I feel like it's... Yeah, yeah, no. I mean, I like it, too.

I'm not, like, dropping out of the news cycle, but it is nice to be able to choose to be in it or not. Choosing. Or not in it. Get groceries delivered across the DTA from real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points.

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Now that's scale. Visit klaviyo.com to learn how brands like Fishwife build smarter digital relationships with Klaviyo. What's the most brainless thing that you do? The most brainless thing that I do? The thing that you do, like for example, like I'll get on the PlayStation 5, swing around as Spider-Man, three hours, nothing else matters. Just zoned out, completely detached, mind rebuilding. Is there anything that you do that is just mundane, brainless, takes absolutely zero mental work?

Well, I do like, okay, there's two things that I do. So I like to do, I like cycling classes, like in a dark room. And I just feel like they, when the music is, I love it. Like when the music is right, which is like intergalactic robots, just like murdering each other in outer space.

Like I like really horrific. It's like you're paying someone to yell at you. Like I don't understand the joy of cycling classes. Nobody's yelling. Everybody's happy. Everybody's just like listening to them. Everybody's just like in the music. So that is a full detachment

because I'm just trying to survive. Like that is just survival. I'm just like, am I breathing? Great. And then anything beyond that, I like to cook. I actually like to do stuff with my hands. So I like to, that's how, that's my meditation actually, is like, is cooking. It's completely bifurcates my...

You say, and cocaine? And cocaine. Yeah. Sometimes Kara just zones out and fantasizes. Right, right. Exactly. Which I pay for. In that vein, you have a podcast with Joanna Coles for the Daily Beast.

You got Mika Brzezinski. Talk a little bit about that. Yeah. Sure. Talk about it. Well, Joanna and Mika are friends. Yeah, they're friends. And so Joanna asked her to be on,

and she's like, me has become the news herself because she and Joe went to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and just have a short discussion. So, and she was getting tremendous blowback from that. So Joanna asked her to come on and she said yes. And so we interviewed her. And I actually, I thought it was really good. I thought it was really interesting.

She said something that I did understand. I'm sure hundreds of thousands of people will disagree, but her point was that she made to us was that this, this is the hand of cards that we were dealt, and it's not really normalizing something that has been very normalized. Like you are not, it's, really normalizing something that has been very normalized. Like you are not, it's, the ship has sailed on not normalizing Trump. He is normal.

He is the president again. More than half the country voted for him or whatever it was. He's the president. He has the House. He has the Senate. It couldn't be more normalized than that already. And she, her point was if I can move them on the issues that are important to me or press my point, I'm going to important to me or press my point,

I'm going to take every opportunity to press my point. And I see what she's saying. How does that, what's the prescription for the average American? Because you said before that we're siloed and we are siloed. But there are people out there that are like just deathly afraid of being a part of the thing that destroys the country. Of course. And they don't wanna, their neighbors that they see that are a part of it,

people that they're jobs that they see that are a part of it, they don't wanna be one of them. However, we can't live in silos, we have to share a community together. What do we do? Well, in real life, we do share a community together. In real life, real life is real life.

And that is different. I don't really know. I don't have the prescription for the country. I know that we just like- Did you buy it when she said it? I do buy it. I do buy it because I do buy it for her. I don't buy it for myself.

Would you do an interview with him? Never, no, never. I never would. You couldn't drag, you would have to cremate me and take my ashes to Mar-a-Lago to get me to transgress the doorstep. But that's, I'm not her. I think everybody's got their personal limitations. That's like a, that's a big difference from her going cremation and her. Right.

So what, yeah, well, we do. This is escalator-sing. We're different people. We do different jobs. I'm not on television. It's not my job. It's not my work. But you know, Kara, we've also talked about access.

And it's funny, with this story and them, I haven't thought so much of the normalization thing. But what is the price of access? What's the price of it? What is the price? Yeah. I don't know. And I do like.

They agree with you on that? I don't know. And I do like... They agree with you on that? I agree with you. And I also agree with her. Like, I mean, to be a diascolyte. I kind of agree with both. Now you're an independent, so you can agree with both. I mean, I can agree with both because I do, I see the point.

Like, okay, reproductive justice, reproductive rights. It's something that she, it's one of her core beliefs. And if she feels like she can be in his ear like a tiny amount and it doesn't have to be a social, I don't. Although it's not a nonpartisan thing to say, I think we've learned from the last four or six years that when you're in Trump's orbit, you don't move him. He's the son.

Well, she's already done that. And like there's new road to, you go around the son, but I think more than enough, like memoirs came out after of Republicans who thought they would change things. The only thing you'd do was make chipmunks. Yeah, yeah, but that's not a bad thing. He's the president, but the idea that you somehow

will have this undue influence just by being there has proven not to be true. And I don't think, and by the way, I should have said at the beginning, I don't think that anything she's trying is going to work. Like, I definitely don't, but I understand her, I definitely don't, but I understand her motivation. I understand her motivation for- If you had a show, would you do it?

I would have a complete plot to interview Trump. I would interview him at Mar-a-Lago. You would, with velvet ropes in the middle of the lobby. Oh, you got it all planned out? Yeah, she does, she does. Because I want him to have a hometown crowd. To feel safe there. Right, right, right.

Mm, that's good. Do you have friends that to feel safe there. Right, right, right. That's good. Do you have friends that are Trump supporters? No. You don't? I don't believe. Well, I don't know. How do I know? Is it a disqualifying thing for you

to be friends with someone who? I think it would be very difficult. I wouldn't be able to understand. But I don't know. I don't have a purity test that I force my friends to go through. But I have a small group of friends. I think I know them very well.

I really, you know, voting is very private. It's possible that some of my friends voted for Trump. Like, I would die if I found out. I would. See, one of the things I've been thinking about are the people who are like blocking their friends who posted a lot or their family members just basically saying, I am no longer even occupying the digital space with you.

And does that feel kosher to you or? I can't make that judgment for other people. I think it's so individual. So individual. What's a scenario where you can lock someone out of your life? Unless they're, for me, unless you're wearing an actual pointy hat,

you know what I mean? Like you have to kind of be like burning the cross on my lawn before I'm like, you should not, I erase you. Yeah, that should be your criteria. That should be your criteria. But these also like these could be. It just feels like, I don't know, you're always so open to things.

I'm sort of surprised you're saying this. I'm open to things, but there are things like, there are conversations I won't have, right? Right. So if you come up to me and you go, well, if you look at it this way, George Floyd wasn't really murdered, I'm gonna go, I don't think we have very much to talk about.

Yeah. And that's not because I'm making a judgment about you. But you're not like, and I don't want to ever speak to you again. We probably don't have a lot to talk about. But the only reason why I'm saying that is because that comes from such a distinct worldview that inviting you into my life

is gonna invite nothing but confusion. See, I think I'm more than capable of existing with someone and holding them at arm's length, which is probably something for my therapist to tackle. I don't like to do it. The people that are around, I like to hug. You're a hauler. Right, I just hang up on people.

That's what I do. I mean, Amy, stop talking to me, and I to hug. You're a hauler. I just hang up on people. Emily, stop talking to me. Because it's not super clear, I find that whole world and all of like, Trumpism in general is an ideology that I would like to take and push into the sea and have it drop into the Marianas trench never to be heard from again. I mean, they might feel not only about you, so I think that would be... Can I have one more touch here of that? You're doing podcasting now. You're doing... you want to do other things.

Sure. Would you get back to comedy and what's funny to you? How would you make comedy now given comedies on TikTok, comedies here, there's a whole bro comedy, there's this. Bro comedy's always been around. It's always been around. Yeah, it has always been around. I don't know, I think... Take my wife, please. I feel like for me, I still do comedy. Like I'm writing a book about menopause actually,

and it's really, really funny. And I had a show and it did great. And it was so fun to do and so funny. So like, I will do, I do comedy all the time. It's just very, you know, it's a sliver of a thing. It's just something that I feel passionately about and I will talk about it and make comedy. I am secretly stoked you brought this up

because the menopause-esense that's happening where like Hailie Mary and like all of these people are very publicly talking about perimenopause. It's kind of fascinating. There's like a cohort of entertainers who reached it and did not feel the need to just like disappear and never mention it. It became like the social media feeds, the magazines, talking about people saying, did you know? Because I didn't know. And it sort of reminds me of that period when everyone was talking about like an orgasm.

You know what I mean? It's sort of like, hey, remember when women are discovering, you don't remember? I feel like this was like the plot of Fried Green Tomatoes. Yeah, that's Straight Ladies. Don't you remember that? Which was an act, you know, did you see Fried Green Tomatoes? Classic. All we gotta remember about the movie, didn't someone get killed and then fed to somebody else?

Yes, that was the best part. It had multitudes, okay? The point is it's everywhere. And is it weird that it's everywhere? And did you feel weird talking about it? No, well, I felt weird. I couldn't, I really couldn't talk about it for a couple of years, probably, where I was just like existing in this space of not understanding what was happening to me

and actually just thinking that I was completely losing my mind due to my like high intensity job when actually there were like a lot of things going on. So I don't feel weird talking about it now. I have a healthy relationship to it and I actually think that it is comedy. Like you can always make jokes about something that is happening to you in the moment and that is what I do.

I'm very super comfortable with it. Can you let Dan know what the funniest thing about menopause is? Yeah, because I'm, yeah, I wanna know. What's the funniest thing about menopause? Oh my God. It's really hard to... Who's carrying menopause?

Who is that? What? It's a joke. But what's the funniest thing about menopause? Oh my God, I don't even know. Oh my God, like funny, but it's like, it's more like comedy slash tragedy. It's very hard for me to,

we're gonna have to go off camera and I'll tell you everything. Actually- Who makes you laugh right now? Oh my God, who makes me laugh? Well that's a... Oh no. Oh no.

Oh my God. Not Trump. Yeah. No, but that's him. Who makes you laugh? Sam, you've completely- When did you last laugh? You, you've completely checked out. When did I last?

Yeah. You're in your old buddy. When did I last? You've checked out. Laugh? I don't know. It's so weird having come from the world of comedy. All I watch are tragic things.

Like I'm watching that show about Ireland and the Troubles. Yeah, but also a great book, great show. Yeah. Oh, God. So good. Live on to the Mementos Brothers. When I really want to laugh, I'll go back. You know what? When I really want to laugh. Actually, God, so good. Live on to the Mementos Brothers, man. When I really want to laugh, I'll go back. You know what, when I really want to laugh,

actually, that's so funny. Election, the day after the election, I was like, I have to watch some Tim Robinson sketches. And we put on, I Think You Should Leave, and we just selected our favorite sketches. The funniest show on television. Always will laugh. Oh, haven't checked out.

Still has to do a pulse check with comedy. The funniest show on television. In existence that I have maybe ever, it consistently makes me laugh. It is sublimely stupid. Oh, it's insanity. It's like the funniest show on television, for sure. So that makes you laugh.

Oh, yeah. You know what that tells me? That you're at a point where you have to, because that's... It's chaos. Chaos. Like aggressively beat you over the head with comedy. And you're kind of in that space where you have to be...

Yeah, it has to cut through. Wild. Like I don't watch, like I don't... Okay, okay. Actually, that's... I also love Maria Bamford. Do you know Maria? Oh, yeah.

I love Maria Bamford. Literally comedy about depression and mental illness. Yeah, no, no, no. It's so much more than that. It's so much more than that. Yeah, but like interesting given what you've said. Yeah, yeah. I just love it.

I went like I binged a bunch of, Maria is just one of the funniest people on planet Earth and she just like takes me there. So I went to see her. Worry about your ability to laugh? No. Now that you're not. I will always laugh.

I will always laugh. My husband does comedy. We're both comedic performers, we're comedy writers. We all laugh. My children are insanely funny. I like to watch shows about the troubles. I'm like a very complicated person here. You are.

You are. You're authentic. She contains multitudes. She is, she is. I do. I just like, I had a rollercoaster of emotions in this interview. Hey, oh my God.

Thank you, Samantha Bee. Thank you so much for coming. We made you laugh. Coming on the show. We made you laugh. Going off script, we appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you.