Soder - 141: Lower 48 with Dan Mintz | Soder Podcast | EP 138

Episode Date: June 30, 2026

Support the sponsors to support the show!Don’t sweat the heat this summer. Feel as effortlessly cool as you look with Mack Weldon. Go to MackWeldon.com and get 20% off your first order of $125 or more, with promo code DAN That’s M-A-C-K, W-E-L-D-O-N dot com, code DANhttps://mackweldon.com/ Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/SODER to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. That’s Z-O-C-D-O-C dot com slash SODER. Zocdoc.com/SODER Thanks Zocdoc for sponsoring this messagehttps://www.zocdoc.com/?utm_medium=audiopodcast&utm_campaign=soderProtect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/soder Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Trustpilot rating as of 6/1/2025.https://www.ethos.com/?utm_source=arm&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=soderSoder is building a new hour on the road!Get tickets at https://www.dansoder.com/tourJuly 9-11 Batavia,ILJuly 16-18 Stamford,CTJuly 25 - Montreal, Canada JFLJuly 31 - August 1 - Albany,NYAugust 13-15 Baltimore,MDAugust 20-22 Spokane,WASeptember 10-12 Portland,MESeptember 17-19 Hartford,CTOctober 2-3 Alburquerque,NMOctober 4-7 Fort Collins,COOctober 19-21 Winnipeg, CanadaOctober 22-24 Calgary,CanadaNovember 5-7 Salt Lake City,UTDecember 10-12 Rochester,NYFollow Dan Mintz and watch his new Well Rounded Entertainerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si-4vPUzaZ4https://www.instagram.com/thisisdanmintz/?hl=enhttps://www.danmintz.com/https://www.tiktok.com/discover/Dan-MintzPLEASE Drop us a rating on iTunes and subscribe to the show to help us grow.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soder/id1716617572Connect with SoderTwitter: https://Twitter.com/dansoderInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansoderTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dansodercomedyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/dansoderYoutube: http://www.youtube.com/@dansoder.comedy#dansoder #standup #comedy #entertainment #podcastProduced by  Mike Lavin     https://www.instagram.com/thehomelesspimp/?hl=en

July 16th through the 18th, I'm going to be at New York Comedy Club in Stanford, and then Montreal, just for laughs. I'm going to be there July 25th at Club Soda, doing an hour. So it's going to be, you know, mostly the Netflix hour. If you didn't hear it, I didn't go to Montreal on the tour, plus some new jokes. But then after that, it's all me working on new stuff. So I will see you in Albany, July 31st and 1st at the Albany Funny Bone. Just go to dance soda.com.

What am I doing? just go to dance soda.com. After Albany, go to dance soda.com. It's all there. We all put it up. But I'm on the road. Working on a new hour. So come check it out.

I hope you like it. There's going to be some real humbingers on there. There's going to be some real shitty ones too. So just come see it. Come watch you get birthed. Watch me push them out. On the road. But thank you for watching the podcast.

I think in the history, when they do the Ken Burns documentary of podcasting, and they zoom in to, to the, you know, where it's like in the 2000, in the early 2000s, an established thing. It'll, one of the things that they'll talk to us about, like, the Civil War vets will be like, the regret. Yeah. There's just like a slow, a slow song playing being like, did you, you like, I regretted

everything I said. But you're, I'm excited to see the special. The what? The special. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well-rounded entertainer. I love an idea of an animated special. Yeah, thanks.

I think it turned out. I don't know if Pam sent you the link. No, they didn't. But I'm excited to watch it, and I will watch it because it comes out today. We had to push the release. Well, you know what? This isn't coming out for a while? Yeah, June 18th.

Yeah, yeah. We just start recording. Yeah, okay, cool. I'm here with Dan Mintz. I'm doing a better job of introducing people because I just jump into a conversation. And then the listeners go like, hey, who the fuck are you talking to? I was wondering, yeah. But I'm not good at proper intros because then it feels like,

a school project when you go i am dan and this is but um i'm excited to get you on the show dude i've been a fan of years for years your stand-up back in the day like uh mid-2000s the group that you would run with were like you malaney jessel there was like so many awesome comedians and i was like at the creek in the cave coming up or whatever but you guys were like my favorite some of my favorite to watch because of how good i mean you've worked on some fucking awesome shows you're the voice of Tina Belcher you've had a hell of a career so it's fun now you like that you're like kind of going back out on your own and being like hey I'm gonna do my because your last stand-up was mid-2000s right uh I released an album and it is in 2014 2014 so

it's a great album oh thank you by the way go check it out you can go download it it's just an album there isn't like a special along with it it's on Spotify yeah it's fucking hilarious thank you Thank you. You're a fantastic joke writer. And that's what I think is missing, especially now in 2026. It's just like one of those albums that's just hardcore jokes and not like a thing, you know. I mean, I'm glad when the style turns away from what I do because then you'd less worry about new competition. Yeah.

Absolutely. When did you feel like that happened? Like when the style turned away from just straight up, set up punch. You know, I'm so out of the loop. Sure. It was almost like other people what they would say to me, they would say, oh, it's so rare. that someone does one-liners, which I don't think people used to say. No.

And I realize, that's kind of how I realized. But yeah, it just, I mean, it takes so long to write. There's a reason why it's like 10 years to release my album and then 10 years to do a special. Well, one-liners aren't like, I'm more of a kind of like a story, story or personal comic. And I think that's easier because really you're just like taking what happened and making it funny versus like constructing a one-line joke is people don't understand. meticulous it's like a ship in a bottle yeah i mean there's a lot of just waiting until you think of an idea and then you have and then you're like oh now i now i have nothing until my next one and you know

with with like stories and narratives you can build off of what you wrote for sure i will say i think everything seems everything seems easy if you know how to do it and hard if you don't and like yeah i've tried telling stories on stage before and i just realized i tell stories like a regular person really like not like it doesn't sound like a comedian and that happens yeah i was like we're you know, regular person's funny story is the funny things of the end. And it's all build up. And like,

no one wants to sit through your five minute buildup. So I'm like, and I'm like, you know, because when I started doing long, you know, headlining sets, I wanted to fill the time.

Sure. But I just, it's just a skill, like I have to start over and learn how to do that. And I just, how fucking hard is it to do 60 of one liners? That seems like it's got to be like, you have to,

like, you know, I think all of us have note cards, or some sort of way to know what our set is. But I feel like on a one-liner comic, you would have to have like 40 or 50 bullet points. Yeah, I mean, I have, it is hard to remember. If I really, if I'm doing the same set for a while,

I'll remember, but whenever I'm changing stuff, it's like, it's not worth trying to remember all this. So I'll have my note cards. But, yeah, it's, you know, it's like three to four jokes a minute. That's so much. I have bits that go like, I have a joke that goes seven minutes. And then you hear that and you're like, I don't know, like I think it's given me anxiety because I would be like, oh, I need five other ones to get just to 15 minutes.

Did you, were you always interested in one-liner styles like growing up? Was that your favorite kind? Or did you find like you just did that the best? I just found I did it the best. You know, when I started, I just did everything. And I don't even remember what happened. but after like a year or two, that I was only doing one liners.

So you weren't like growing up being like, oh, I want to be, you like watch like someone that does a one liner and you're like, that's my style. You like kind of found it yourself. Yeah.

I mean, I guess I didn't. I was so, I so hardly watched stand up growing up. Yeah. Like I probably wouldn't have even, I'm sure I've seen one liner comics. Sure.

I probably didn't even think about the different styles. Um, until after I was doing it. I mean, the one thing I guess that was like my favorite thing as a kid that would be my biggest influence was like deep thoughts on S&L. Oh yeah. Jack Handy was. Yeah, which was amazing. Which is those were always how you could tell who the smarter kids were.

Because like the dumb, loud kids like me, we liked Matt Foley and we like attack of the masturbating zombies or like the or head wound hairy. You must be the same age as me because yeah, Matt Foley was like the that's what it was. But that was like the litmus test. Yeah. We're the loud kid in school. And really I liked Matt Foley, but I was more of like a, I was really big into Dana Carvey. So I liked the voices.

I liked the impressions. Yeah. But really, SNL at that time, you could gauge who was who. Yeah. Because the people that liked Matt Foley, you're like, oh, monster trucks, you know, slim jims and Mountain Dew or Mountain Full. And then like deep thoughts with Jack Handy, you go, you drink tea and you're only at 13 years old. It's like those people who are like, I could go for a nice camomile right now.

It seemed like the most. intelligent. Yeah. But you grew up in Alaska. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's, um, in Anchorage. In Anchorage, Alaska. From one to 18?

Yeah. I mean, zero to 18. Yeah, zero. But I don't know if they moved you in. Oh, only at one. Zero to one was a laboratory. But, um, growing up there, I lived in, uh, Keeneye for a summer in Soldata. I knew that.

Yeah. I did a cannery. Oh, cool. Just like my aunt lived up there. Yeah. She worked at a hospital in Keenai. I went up there and like lived up there and it's a different place yeah I mean I mean Anchorage is definitely different from Kenai sure Anchorage is the big city yeah we went there on like

our off weekend and it and then it was yeah oh this isn't a big city yeah I mean I'm from Denver and it was like I went to Anchorage I was like this is a tiny city yeah but it is the big city it is you it is a normal life in terms of going to the you're not hunting for your food yeah people don't realize that yeah even though it is an normal life. You still have the winter darkness and the summer light. Yeah. Was that a weird thing for you to adjust off of when you left when you came to the lower 48? You know, I don't, I don't remember thinking about it much until, you know, when I moved out to California and I went camping the first time, which I always loved. I was like, oh, it gets dark at like 7 p.m. What am I supposed to do

until I get tired at like 2 a.m.? And like it didn't, just took for granted in Alaska. It's light, I mean, twilight at least like all night and you can just at any hour do anything it really is uh it's startling yeah when you first go there because i was there like may to august so it was the the sunlight thing the first night i was there i was drinking at my aunt's friend's house because i was 19 and we were drinking and my my aunt's friend were in the backyard smoking a cigarette and he's like what time do you think it is and i was like 9 30 and i was being like liberal about like yeah i know we're up north and it sets late so 930 and he's like it's two in the morning oh wow and i like i had to sit down like it fucked me up so bad that i was like no it's not what do you mean and i

looked at i you know it's like i don't think everybody has cell phone back then so i like went and looked at the clock i was like oh damn it is and then it's just like a weird thing of when you move when you go into the winters i'm sure it's like there's an adjustment period but after i left alaska that summer and I moved back. The first time I had a night that was dark, it fucked me up. It made me like fall asleep very fast. Did you have any kind of change when you moved to California besides just that camping trip? I mean, I didn't move right to California. You know, after college. And I guess college also starts in the fall. So it's a good time to adjust. Oh yeah. You went to Harvard. So you go immediately to Alaska to Massachusetts. Yeah. So that's got to be of. I mean, if anything,

it was almost felt colder because I had to, walk everywhere and anchorage just drive everywhere. And I, for some reason, I should have known better, but the only time I'd ever been down to the contiguous lower 48. I love that. By the way, I was trying to, I was trying to root it out here. Alaskaans call us the lower 48. Yeah. That's how they refer to us or the south. Yeah. Like my boss at the cannery, he's like, well, you're from the south. And I was like, I'm from Colorado. And he's like, no, you're not. But yeah, the lower 48 is great. So when you were moving to the lower 48.

Yeah, I had only, I mean, we visit all the Tommy, a family down here. My parents, we don't have deep roots in the last green thing. Sure. And every time I'd been down here, it was either the summer or if it was the winter, it's like Florida or California. So I just didn't even realize there was like winter down here. And I think I only brought like shorts and stuff to Boston. And it's like, oh, no, this is just as bad. That's really funny that you just think, well, it's southern.

So it's got to be warm. What is it? Near the equator? No, it's very far away. What made your family move to Alaska? Because you said you don't have deep roots there. What put your family up there? I mean, my dad grew up in Burbank.

My mom grew up in Boston. And they met when they were in college, and they stayed together and through my dad going law school. And he just found a job. He's only going to go up for one year. This was, you know, a few years far as I was born. And it was doing environmental law. Oh, cool.

Like a one year fellowship. Yeah. And they just liked it so much. They stayed. And then they're still there. I don't think they're going to retire anywhere else. Are you a big nature family? Like do you guys go?

I mean, because you have Denali. You have like, you know, like incredible parks there. Yeah, I mean, we're from Alaska, but we're also Jewish. So it's kind of like by Alaska centers. We go there for the fish, but I don't really enjoy much other things. I don't like the environment.

Yeah. That is, I've never thought about what a perfect recipe to make a comedian. Yeah. Take a Jewish family and raise them the wilderness, you're like Northern Exposure of comedy. We're like, I can't fucking heck. Which, by the way, was the character in Northern Exposure?

Was he a Jewish doctor? Yes. Yes. So that makes so much more. You live Northern Exposure. Yeah. Unfortunately, they took the idea for my sitcom like well before I. Yeah, you go, I lived it and you went back in time and did it.

Yeah. Did you ever watch that when you were a kid? Yeah, yeah, I watched it every week. I don't remember much about it. Okay. Yeah, because, you know, it was a sitcom in the 90s where a, doctor moves to Alaska and has to kind of deal with the things of Alaska, but obviously they like, you know, make everything way Alaska. Because that's the funny part about Alaska is people

think you're just like living out of a shack on the side of a mountain and you're like, no, there's like McDonald's and stuff. Yeah. That's one of the things that blew my mind about Alaska. And as a kid, I'm interested to see what it was like for you growing up there. Summer is here. Time to sweat. Or go swimming. It's like. It's like. a thing you should take a lot more advantage of as an adult. I'm trying to. I'm calling up Jay all the time and being like, please can I come over and cannonball into your pool and I'll wear some fresh ass Mac Weldon's. Mac Weldon's are bathing suits that just fit great. You can show a lot of thigh. You don't have to show a lot of thigh at all. I have these 49er ones that I love.

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Thanks, Sock, Doc, for sponsoring this message. That's one of the things that blew my mind about Alaska. And as a kid, I'm interested to see what it was like for you growing up there. Stuff like McDonald's is very expensive because of how they ship all the stuff there. Yeah. So if you wanted to go to McDonald's, it's almost like a nice night out. Well, maybe, I mean, in Anchorage, yeah, if you go out further, it's like crazy. It was like, and this is in 2002, it was 10 bucks for a number one.

Okay. I don't, yeah, I don't think it was like that in Anchorage, but it was definitely more, it's like L.A. It's like usually when you go to from L.A. on the road to the middle of the country, it's like a nice, everything's on sale. Yeah. And it's not like that when you go to Anchorage. Yeah. Yeah, you go there and you're like, oh, everything is.

Why is it as expensive as New York City? Because they also, when you, you know, I found that fascinating. It was like one of the guys I worked with kind of told me because I was stupid. He's like, well, you look at the shipping routes and it has to be boated in because of how the Rockies split up and come into Canada. It's such a nasty terrain that they can't take trucks. Yeah, that makes sense. So they have to ship it. But Alaska is one of those places where I'm like, how have I not gone back to do shows?

Yeah. Because I do. I loved it. I loved being up there. I thought it was the most beautiful place on earth. Yeah. Especially in the summer. Yeah.

Like, I think, is it hard for you to find nature beautiful when you, like, grew up in the best place for it? You know, I used to be kind of a snob about it. Absolutely.

I would, like, like, like, roll my eyes at anything down here. Yeah, and they're like, hey, we're going to go out to Western Mass. We're going to go,

you know, and you go, cool. I don't care. But, boring forests. I did, I did kind of start to appreciate,

like, especially like the Rocky Mountains. I guess you're from Denver. Yeah. There is, I almost think like the thing about, um, about,

Alaska and in, in, in, in, in the north and Canada is, it's, it's like sparse. Um,

so every, you know, the plant trees are a little smaller. There's, they're just, um, things just don't grow as much. Yeah.

Um, and there's something amazing about in the Rockies, you have kind of same terrain, but like just lush meadows. Yeah. It's very, uh, it's very thick,

especially. Yeah. Well, that's also something what's interesting, you know, growing up in places that people think they know about, but everyone thinks Denver is this like, you know, you're on a mountain and you're like,

you're in the Great Plains. So everything's like very flat and then you hit the mountains. But I did the same thing you did when I came, when I moved to New York and everyone was like, we're going to go skiing and I was like, skiing. I was like, with what? Yeah. And they're like Vermont and you're like, those are ice hills.

You need to go to the Rockies of Colorado. Yeah. There is like a snooty thing when you grow up around beautiful nature. Yeah. Because I had, you know, my whole family is from the Bay Area in Northern California. And they get very like, Big Sur and like the Sequoias. They're like, you don't know. Yeah.

All right. There's other good nature elsewhere. Yeah. I think that's something. That's interesting for like people who are in the nature but don't travel. Yeah. They get very smarmy and like. Yeah.

You've never seen it. It's like, I don't think you've seen anything else. Because I'm sure I would go to like the Andes and be like, oh, these are crazy. Yeah. You know? Yeah. because I'm a mountain file. Yeah.

And I didn't even like the mountains when I lived in Colorado. Oh, wow. Was that a thing? Like my mom, I had a stepdad that was very, very active, but I wasn't. Did you have family members that wanted you to go do more nature stuff and were you like, can I just sit inside and watch TV? No, no, no. When I said like we're not, we're Jewish or not as in nature, we're still pretty into nature.

Okay. I'm just saying compared to by Alaska standards. Oh, my God. We're not like insane. Yeah. Alaska has standards that are unreachable. a guy in Alaska that moved to a plot of land, built a shack, then built a second house. Oh, wow.

And then built, and this is over the span of like 25 years, and then built a nice house, but he did it all himself. And you're like, that's what Alaska is a guy that's like, well, I moved up to Ketchikan and I didn't have much. Yeah, that's definitely not our family. But no, we were always very, and I still am into like hiking and skiing. Oh, that's awesome. And going to Harvard, did they think you?

came out of like the wilderness. Yeah, I mean, it was, it was cool like going to, I feel like I'm all, like when I was in Alaska, like, I felt exotic for being Jewish. And then when I left Alaska, I was like exotic for being from Alaska. Yeah, that's like something. That's what a fun way to feel like, I mean, the anti-Semitism in Alaska has to be through the roof. I'm not going to act like, I listen, a beautiful state or whatever.

It is isolated. That's where you find stuff where I don't think they're going to be knowing what the Porah is and exactly, you know, they're not like, you're not up in Alaska and they're like, Happy Yam Kapoor. I got you some apple sauce so you can have a sweet here and dip the hollabred in it. No, definitely. I did not encounter a lot of like, actual anti-Semitism, but I will say, yeah, you know, like in class when they're, you know, they're in sex ed and they're like, you know, circumcision is common, is like common among, you know, the Jewish tradition. Everyone like turns to look at me.

It's like that kind of thing. I would turn back and go, what do you guys, what do you guys have? You guys all have breakfast burritos in your pants? Get the fuck out of here. Oh, I'm the only one that cleaned up. Oh, my people. Honestly, and this is, you know, and I've said this before on previous episodes, especially with my friends who were Jewish.

I was a kid in the American suburbs that grew up on stand-up comedy in Mel Brooks and stuff. So I wanted to be Jewish. So when I found out that circumcision was like a Jewish thing, I was like, well, all right. I was like, guys, turns out at the Hartford Hospital, they thought I was one of the chosen ones. But you really do wonder, like, in Alaska, like, the idea of you bringing up Hanukkah to them. And they're like, what do you mean? Yeah, I remember the teacher, like, in the second grade, have my dad come in and tell the class of Hanukkah and stuff like that.

That's really funny. They go, I brought one in. They go, excuse me? We got a real life Jewish man here who's going to explain how they burn oil, just like a tanker, just like one of those fish tankers. Yeah, is that a thing where you like move to Boston and then you move to California and you're around more Jewish people that you realize like, oh damn, we were out there on our own? Yeah, it always seems odd to me that like so many people, everywhere I've lived since Alaska, so many people are Jewish. Yeah. It's like not, it's not like the first thing you think about with someone.

And I, yeah, and I wonder, was that a big thing? Like, how many brothers and sisters do you have? I have a younger brother. Okay. Seven years younger, yeah. So you guys, oh, damn, seven years younger. Yeah. So he got to really, you got like, you were the older older brother.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Does how does that affect you guys being close? Because you're out of high school, you're out of the house by the time he's. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So he was always, you know, a little kid to me. Okay. And then, you know, until I went to college, then he goes college. And then it was kind of this amazing experience, you know, once he was an adult,

We're both like talking to him and like, wow, there's this like guy who thinks like me. That's fun. I thought I was the only one in the world that thinks like this. That's really fun. It's very cool. I'm an only child. So I'm like, I kind of like obsessed about the idea of having a sibling in the house. Yeah.

Whether you're too close to him, you know, my fiance, Katie grew up very close with her brother. And she kind of sees how I interact with my mom. It was a single mom and I was an only child. And she'll come away from me like, oh, I couldn't have handled that. And I was like, you don't really. Because, like, I think what's interesting about a sibling is you have someone to kind of confirm your reality in a way to go like, hey, is mom crazy? Yeah. And you have someone to go, yeah, like mom's a little crazy.

Yeah. But when you're an only child, it's like you're living under a dictator. Yeah. That's like, she was like Kim Jong-un. Yeah. So the whole time I was like, she made the stars of the moon. I'm like, I don't know. And then you get older and you meet other people and they kind of confirm.

Did you have that relationship with your brother? even though there was seven years, like apart? No, not really that. I mean, I think having the seven year difference and being the oldest is kind of psychologically, you have the only child mentality, I think. Yeah, because you were like, I mean, you were seven when your brother's born

and you're kind of like, hey, I got used to how stuff was around. Yeah, yeah. And now there's a baby. Well, seven is almost old enough that you're like excited about it. Oh, yeah? I don't remember being jealous. I remember like having a new pet. Sure.

Oh, yeah. where you go something to play with. Yeah. I got a little brother. I got a little man. Yeah. Like I can mold. I mean, I think it's awesome that you,

uh, does your family know you were going to be a comedian? You know what I mean? Yeah, definitely not. I think anyone that knew me as a kid growing up surprised. I mean, anyone knows me now that doesn't know me that well surprised because I'm shy.

Yeah. But hilarious. Well, thank you. Um, I mean, again, go listen to his album, uh,

on Spotify. The special show. should be out now, well-rounded entertainer, animated. Does the animated thing help you with like, you know, you said you're shy. Yeah. Obviously, a big part of a special is performance. Yeah. Does that kind of go, does that kind of take stuff off your plate where you go, oh, I just get to do my jokes?

Oh, I mean, it definitely took pressure off. Sure. I mean, that's not really the reason enough to choose to do it. I had other reasons, but I was glad, you know, once I realized, yeah. That's a benefit. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

And then the animation process. Are you like there with them every step of the way watching it how it like looks? Yeah. I mean, I was, uh, I hired Benno Box to do it. Which does Bob's burgers? They do. I mean, they are like, they are Bob's burger. They're the ones that have made it the whole thing.

Uh, they're fantastic. Yeah. Bento box is fucking unbelievable. The one time we had a show at, I had a show at Fox. We were working with them and they understand animation in a way that you're like, oh, you guys are the premier place to do it. Yeah. It's awesome.

I'm glad you did it. That's so cool. You did it. Was that a relationship through Bob's burgers? Yeah, where you're talking to them and you're like, hey, I kind of want to do a standard special.

Yeah. I mean, initially, so first I did like a three-minute animatic. So to just, I wasn't sure it would be good. It'd look good. Yeah.

And that was actually, technically that was through Lauren's, the creator of Bob's, like his production company, but is using, you know, hiring animators that I knew from the same company. And,

and then when I, and then I just loved how it looked. So I'm like, okay, it's worth paying for the whole thing. That's awesome, because it is a very heavy investment. Yeah. To do a special in animation. Yeah.

Is it a 60 minute special? It's like 46. Yeah. And when people go, he didn't do 60, it's like, motherfucker he animated it. Do you know how much it costs? It would have cost the same cost as Ferngoly to do a full hour. With the Bob's burgers, you know, you get the role of Tina.

Did you know Tina Belcher was going to be as iconic? You know, I was excited almost for, for the wrong reason because I thought it was like a really funny gimmick that you're like I'm playing this that it was my voice yeah girl who is yeah yeah character on the show yeah well you're very kind of but I mean come on the fan fiction about Bobby Jr. touching butts how do you not like Tina Belcher to me is the most relatable out of all the characters in Bob's burgers uh yeah that's and that's surprise because I I've come around to that view it did not seem them at all yeah it would be that at first.

Did you think like, oh, I'm just going to play this weird girl. Exactly. It's going to have my voice. Exactly. She's super into horse. I'm going to play a horse girl. Yeah, exactly. And I thought it was just, I thought it was like a kind of like Steve Urkel character

that was like for just for laughs, like a weird person for laughs, which was great. And I was happy to do that. And then, and then it came out and I was like, nobody's really commenting on this being, nobody's like this is an amazing gimmick. You know, no one who cared about that. Yeah, you thought it was going to be a bit where everyone goes, well, who's up with the nerdy daughter. No one cared. No one cared about that. And then over time, and this is just 100% due to the writers being great writers. It was like, I realized this was

like a multi-dimensional super relatable character. I mean, the heart of the show. Yeah. It really is like you watch an episode of Bob's Burgers and you feel for Tina. You're like, man, Tina, whatever they're going through. Yeah. Because I think Tina out of the characters, carries the most anxiety. Yeah. out of every, especially out of the kids. Yeah. The other kids are just wild childs, you know?

And I mean, Eugene Merman and Sarah Silverman is those, it's just like, well, Christian Shaw. Sorry, my bad, Christian Shaw, Christian Shaw, another Colorado. Sarah Silverman is on a, yeah. Sarah Silverman's in it. I mean, the voice, your guys's roster is unbelievable. Everybody on that show, it's like, you look at it and you're like, it's a who's who. Yeah.

But Christian Shaw, you and Eugene are just like, unbelievable as the kids. Yeah. Yeah, you look at Tina and you go, well, she's the one that's always worried. Yeah. Yeah, she's like the like POV for the audience. Yeah, I really think you really do get, especially the way that the age she's at, where she's at in school, like the characters that they have around her, because she's at that age where kids are starting to become cool, be interested in the opposite sex.

Yeah. And so it's great. Yeah. Do you have like people, have you called people as Tina before, like friends or like, friends or like left messages because I feel like if I was an iconic character that would be a fun thing. I mean people definitely ask to do that. Yeah like voice memos and stuff? Yeah. Yeah. Is it annoying? Are you like, I don't want to do that? No. It's a,

by all, the only thing that is stressful is when they don't tell me what to say and they're just, just say whatever. Like, just to write it down. Give me a direction. Yeah. To go. Because it is a thing. Has anyone on your, on the phone with you been like, you sound like Tina Belcher? Every once in a while It's pretty rare for people to realize Like customer service? It's happened one time And it's always just like

I don't even remember exactly what it was But it's always just like Well Sometimes with these ad reads It really you can just be like Oh I'm getting older I'm getting older But half of that is awesome

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That's ethhos.com slash soda. Application times may vary, rates may vary. Trust pilot rating as of 6-1-20025. And it's always just like, I don't even remember exactly what it was, but it's always just like, well, now like I can't be that aggressive with trying to get my customer service thing I want. You're like, my cable's out and I'll kick the shit out of you. And they go, is this Tina Belcher? And you're like, I'll rub your butt.

I'll write fan fiction about you. I've always wondered that because it's a voice that isn't, you're not like, you're obviously ramping it or you're making it like more of a voice, but it's your voice. Yeah. It's not like a thing where you're putting it on. Yeah. It's just the way you talk. Yeah.

So it's got to be moments where people in public are like. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, it definitely, I mean, I like it. Like, I'm shy and I don't get recognized as much. So any attention like makes my day. Yeah. But, but yeah, it is, it is interesting that it is.

I mean, they shift the pitch up like a quarter tone. That's basically my voice. But that's what you can tell. Yeah. They just basically go like, we're going to make you a young girl, but we're going to take your voice. Yeah. So there has to be moments where people are talking to. They're like, man, this is going to, I'm going to sound crazy.

You sound exactly like Tina Belcher. And then you're like, I am Tina Belcher. Hello, Dan Mince, Tina Belcher. That's like a fun introduction where they're like, oh, you're fucking me up. I don't know, man. I always think it's funny when people are like that there's like a humanity in it of hearing someone's voice and being like, I know who you are. Like I've had that, you know, H. John Benjamin, I forgot where I was. He was, I was in public and he was by me talking.

And I was like, who's doing a perfect. Archer and I looked over and I was like, oh my God, that's actually it's John Benjamin. He was just like, it was like at this party in Brooklyn and he was like, well, you know, he's got such an iconic voice that you're like, you hear that and you're like, oh, it's Bob's Burgers or if you're an archie fan, you're like, oh, that's, that's archer. Yeah, that's always, I think the thing about cartoons that I've loved is that sometimes just these people's voices, but they're their characters. So then they see the person and you're like, well, I'm not that character.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's almost like wrestling where you're like, hey, I'm not that wrestler. I'm actually like a man that walks around. Yeah. It has his own life. I mean, the gender swap does make it easier for people to separate me, I think. Yeah, because there's two.

Because also, John Roberts. John Roberts, who does the mom, but that's like a voice he puts on. Yeah, I mean, we had different ways of getting to doing the same thing.

Sure. He was already, he was doing that voice. That's like his mom. Yeah. Doing the voice of his mom. And he was doing that on YouTube. And Lauren loved it and hired him for that as the mom.

Whereas I was actually just supposed to play a boy and I changed it to a girl and kept the voice. How did you find that out? Did they tell you? It was actually very stressful because I got a message from Lauren saying, hey, call me back. And I was like, you know, it's been a while since we taped the pilot presentation. Sure. I was like, this is weird. I'd always would just hear from, you know, Lauren's producer or my agent.

And why am I? Never the creator. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, I bet what this is is the show got picked. up but they're not keeping me on sure um very normal thing to think yeah you get any kind of phone call from the boss is from the boss yeah yeah and i'm out yeah and i just i took me a while to call back because i just didn't want to yeah yeah delay the inevitable get that call and then when i called i mean

and of course first thing he says i'm calling about castings like here it is and they like we want to change your voice to a girl well you know okay that i'm definitely getting recast and i have before been not exactly recast the girl, but I went out for a part and they ended up changing the character to women. So this is the thing you've bumped up against before.

He got, motherfucker, what are you guys trying? I'm a man. I'm a man. You start screaming, I'm a man into the phone. I did. That's what I did.

Like elephant man. That's exactly what I said. I'm a man. But then he quickly said, but it will still be you. And then I was like, okay, I just don't do any other voices. And he said, that's fine, it'll be your voice.

And I was very relieved. I was also very skeptical. But I was like, well, it's your show, do whatever you want. Sure. Didn't think that would work. There is a level of trust that you have to go like, all right, whatever. Yeah. Your shit.

I'll go along with it. Exactly. And then they sent me the animation test. I think it was just Tina doing my stand-up just to see it as like. Oh, that's got to be really fun to watch a character. Yeah, the video is anywhere. If you have that, you should put it out on your YouTube channel. Yeah, yeah.

go along with it because that's really fun yeah just to see your jokes done by Tina yeah yeah I got I got to get that yeah and and yeah and then it's like this actually works and and and you know and that was out what I found out later I actually was not too far off of the truth because I didn't find out this out until years later but like so originally it was just two kids sure and John Benjamin you know got me this job and changed my life because I had just met him we were we were writing on Demetia Martin's show important than to Mitch Martin

Yeah. And, man, you've written on fucking bangers. I've written on a lot of stuff. Veep. Yeah, that was the most.

One of the best, I mean, yeah, Pimp just popped. That's, yeah. It's up there with 30 Rock is, it's,

one A1B is the, I think the best show, best comedies of all time. Yeah. It was amazing to be able to personal opinion. I know people get fucking

really weird about that, but to me it goes 30 Rock, uh, VEP and I can do this with it. I mean, it's amazing that because VEP was starting to overlap like the, whatever you want to call it, like, woke era. And the things that we were still allowed to say and write that like you wouldn't have been able to on a new show. Yeah. Where I think they were really letting you take.

But I think the brilliance of it was with VEP was that there was this like, sometimes shows really love to be like, we're fearless. And you're like, shut up. Veep was just like, oh no, we're, this is the world. This is what Selena Meyer lives through. Yeah. And all this crazy shit. Yeah. You know, with her daughter and the Secret Service and then them getting pregnant and like

stuff in the later seasons that you go like, I could see if this was a new show, them not letting you do that. Yeah. Yeah. But it was. I like when a show, and I think always Sunny is one of the only shows left that has that carte blanche of like. Yeah.

Well, South Park. South Park. But South Park's in its own. it's on its own planning. Yeah, yeah. No one will tell Trey and Matt, Matt, Matt, what the fuck to do. Yeah.

Trey and Matt are always going to do with it. Yeah. They're the last of that. Yeah. They're the last of the Mel Brooks's who just go like, you know, Mel Brooks has that story where he was like, every time I got notes from a network, I'd go, great. And then I just wouldn't do them.

Yeah. And it's like, that's what you could tell Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the last of that. Of like, cool. But Veep felt a little like that. Yeah. I also think you guys were on such a fucking run. The show just kept getting progressively better and better. I mean, I think so.

I was, I mean, I was only there for the end. Okay. And I think that that. Was that nerve-wracking joining a show like that after the train had been on the tracks? Well, well, Veep wasn't, so, you know, started, it was all British writers. Sure. I mean, the creator is British. Yeah.

Probably why they skewer American politics so well. Yeah. It's because it's an outsider's perspective. Yes. They see bullshit. They're not like invested. Yeah. And Americans have this like Manchurian thing with patriotism.

Yeah. We're at a certain thing you go like, I do love America. Yeah, yeah. But a British person can be like, oh, this is broken. You're all idiots. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that that helped a lot.

And then like all the British writers left the show. I don't know. I have no idea what the history. Like, I mean, they were leaving on top. So it was their choice, obviously. Sure. But HBO wanted to keep doing it. And they brought in Dave Mandel.

who's an amazing genius too. And he kind of, and I, again, his first year, I still wasn't there. I came to the next year. But he, it's such a hard thing to take a preexisting thing and bring in. What's a new chef? Yeah.

You have like the same menu. Yeah. And the chef has to cook it the exact same, if not better. Yeah. And I mean, the biggest change I think he made was it was more joke dense. Sure. And I definitely, I'm going to do a rewatch. Yeah.

Because I would love to see if you can actually. see the like per i think it's michel wolf has watched it five times uh-huh oh and we have like rewatches and that's her favorite show yeah we'll be like oh yeah you got to re-watch it but i need i'm due for a re-watch of veep i think that's a change and i also for me but i started but watching dame mandel's season because for for i didn't really been watching it and it was like i had a meeting to write in the show so watch that first and then i went back and watch the rest so for me like his season even though it wasn't the first is like the first is like the first. It's the first I watched. And the rest is like, oh, oh, interesting. There's not there. It's like so

funny, but there's just fewer like jokes for a minute. And then, but then of course, when you look at comments, most people watch it first and then people always complain about a change. Yeah, always. But I, but I think he did an amazing job like, you know, sticking the landing or it's not a landing, but sticking the handoff. Keeping it moving. Yeah. Keeping it moving is so difficult, especially because when you lose someone as important as that and all the rights, riders leave and you're bringing in someone, like I said, like a new chef, you go, well, is the kitchen trained? Can they do that? Yeah. Yeah. And it really, it really doesn't, it's hard to tell. You watch and you go, I didn't even, I didn't even really know that. Yeah. I didn't know there was that big

of a shakeup. I just thought they obviously added new writers or lost riders. That's just my observation. Yeah. But I definitely would like rewatching that. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the older I get, the more I go back and and I watch shows for different reasons. I think I used to just watch shows because I enjoyed him. But now from a creative aspect, I do love watching 30 Rock and being like, I wonder how long it took them to get to that punchline. Because, you know, there's all these stories about Tina Fey keeping the writer's room and being like, we can beat that joke, we can beat that joke. And I, it's so weird in an age of instant everything and everything's AI so everything can be made instantly. It's like, you really do see the quality of a show when you're like, I can tell they were in there all night. Yeah.

Trying to beat a couple jokes. Yeah. Because the jokes are so. so good that you're like they had to have been that one where they're like all right we got it we can we can move on i mean that's the issue with with you know the studios being like well you know white lotus was just like one person wrote that yeah there's there are definitely shows where you only need one person sure and and they're great shows but there's also the types shows like 30 rock or or you know any 90s you know friends simpsons yeah yeah you you need a lot of writers to do that kind

of comedy and you're just not going to get that kind of show it's not willing to pay for a lot of For a room of 12 guys who are, you know, girls, ladies and men who are throwing jokes. Because, you know, I remember when I met, I started stand-up in Tucson, Arizona. And they did like a benefit for the club and all these old people that used to work there. And one of them was a writer for Seinfeld. And I was just drinking beers with him. I was like an open micer. And I was like, I thought Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote.

Seinfeld, he's like, no. He's like, are you kidding me? There's like a chorus line of all of us writing. And he told me the two episodes he wrote. and I was like, and then I went back and I watched and I was like, oh, he did. Yeah. Like, oh, his name's on there as a writer. Yeah.

So I do think it's interesting because a lot of times you're right. The Mike whites and they go, oh, White Lotus is just one guy or true detective that first season. Yeah. They were like, oh, he wrote all that. And you're like, well, that seems, even Vince Gillian on Breaking Bad, people don't realize he had a whole crew. Yeah. Like, obviously he's the creator of that show, but we need better writer's rooms. Yeah.

But studios just don't want to invest. Yeah. We're in this age now where they go, well, you just make it and we'll... Yeah. Like, that used to be a big thing for guys kind of like you that were like, hey, I'm a little shy.

I don't want to go out and do all this stuff. Yeah. But I can write jokes. I know a bunch of guys like that. And you're like, well, put them in a room, then you can make a fucking fantastic show. I really, you know, this week I've been really interested with all the commencement

speeches have been, I was telling him before you got here, all the commencement speeches in college. have been like the Google CEO or like these tech people. And what's really funny to me is they're giving these commencement speeches and they're talking about AI and they're getting booed. Yeah, I read about that. It's been great.

Yeah. I highly recommend it to anybody. Go Google it. Go look it up. It's very funny because you're watching these like CEO, very wealthy men who are just used to everyone saying yes to them. And all these college kids are like, fuck you.

You're taking it. our fucking jobs and they're going but it's a great tool and you're like watching them it I think the most interesting part of me is watching the crack and seeing the humanity come out of them of being like guys stop being mad at me

yeah yeah but you're seeing that where you're like I got to watch this oh dude it's do you think AI will is going to fuck up writers rooms um I mean I it's impossible it's impossible predict how technology well in the future that hasn't happened to

no cell phones in any of future movies from the 80s. Yeah. No one guessed cell phones. I mean, I'm very, very stressed about it. Yeah. I think it really is a very stressful thing because it's like, AI isn't creative. Yeah, but.

It just mimics what it already knows. But, but the, but the brain is a computer. So technically, you know, they can get it to where it is. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, I don't think, I mean, every time I, I, I, I, I,

I, I, I, check in like to like what can it what can it do how much how close it to replacing me it it's like not there yet but but you just never know what the next model's going to do but the idea of you going in and checking it and being like yeah are you replacing me yet yeah and it's like no i'll be back in six years like can you write write 10 jokes in the style of dan man's and see what um i mean i when i first tried that like first of all i was like before i do this what if it's a great

joke, would I do that in my act? And I was thinking like, well, I, if it can consistently do that, then I'm just retiring, because what's the point? If it could occasionally do a couple, I guess if a friend gave me a couple. But then what I realized is like, so it's like, oh, this is a terrible joke, oh, wow, this is a great joke. Oh, I'm so fucked. And then I, but then I Google it and it's like, oh, it's just someone's tweet. And I felt better. But I also am like, okay, well, you can never use something at Roe because you won't know if it stole from someone. And you, you, it's, you, You don't want that to be your excuse. Like, I'm so sorry I stole your joke.

I was using AI. But that is, you know, what's interesting about that is, is that's an inherent feeling in comedy before that I. You know, that's like, you hear the stories about Dave Attell. That's the reason he calls other comics. Yeah. Because he goes, does anybody do this joke? Yeah.

And AI doesn't do that. AI just goes, here's that joke. Yeah. And you go, oh, you took another joke and just gave it to me. Yeah. And I think that is a thing of like, I think there. reason it scares me so much is because the people that run these studios and the people that are in charge of making this stuff aren't creatives anymore. Yeah. They're all hatchet men. They're all like

numbers guys. Like studios want to bring in guys who go, hey, you can spend this much and you'll make this much. Yeah. And all the board members will be very happy. Yeah. But what they don't realize is they're killing the small amount of creativity that they actually have in the room by shrinking the budget. Yeah. It's like we don't have to pay eight writers to write the show anymore. Yeah. But that's what made the show good. Yeah, yeah.

Obviously the actors and the people that made it, but it's like the people, the guy who grew up in New Hampshire that knew this joke about this place in New Hampshire that you reference in the show that is a great joke. It's like you're not going to get him. Yeah. You're going to cut him out for a computer that's just going to mimic someone else's. Yeah. Yeah, it is, you know, in theory, like if they're really good analysts and number crunchers, then they'll be. be able to figure out this is the part you cut the budget and this is where you don't cut the budget exactly but i think they're just for from there if you're not actually in a writer's room

and and kind of seeing it up seeing the process up close i think there's there's too much noise in the data for them to realize that's why this show's better than this show yeah it i mean it you know what it is is it's like um we're in such an age where there's so much like technology's made so much stuff convenient, you know, like finding a movie or ordering food or buying an album, you know, it's like all this convenient stuff that we misinterpret it, that it can also do the heavy shit. Yeah. Where you go, I don't know if it can do the heavy shit yet.

Because even the entertainment stuff, it fucks up so much. And I think people don't, you know, people want GLP1 stuff. They don't want to go to the, they don't want to watch their diet and exercise and do the old school route of like I'm counting my calories. I'm exercising five days a week. They want to go, I'm going to take the shot. Yeah. And now I get sick when I think about food. I just won't eat food. And it's like there are people that need that. There are, you know, I'm friends with people that struggle with their weight. And you do know that there are some people that that could help. Yeah. But it feels like people are using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. Yeah.

Where they're going like, oh, this is the, oh, I can do it. And I'm skinny now. And I have like, his benefit, but it's like, I feel like that's happening a lot in comedy right now where people are going like, well, it's GOP won it. We'll just, we'll just fucking cut it. We don't, it's just a shot. We'll AI it. You know, we were talking about someone special and we won't say who's, but this guy was like, they fucked up the filming.

A guy goes, I'll just clean it up with AI. Oh, wow. And you go, don't do that. Because then next thing you know, you go, like, well, I don't want to film a show. I'll just put my jokes in. And AI will make this, make my. performance smoother and it's like i don't know there is a thing especially a guy like you that writes one-liners it's like uh you know if you shifted looking it from comedy to music it's like

you write sheet music and that's so difficult that people don't realize it's like yeah i might be able to do it but it won't be they don't have the years of learning it like you did yeah i don't know it is like an area where i go for convenience i'm all for technology yeah the heavier shit i think we really need to chill. And I'm glad these CEOs are getting booed. Yeah. I think all CEOs should get booed. But I like that these guys are like, to their face, an overwhelming group makes me very happy.

Mm-hmm. I don't know. We're in the era of liking bosses. Mm-hmm. Well, I mean, I think we were in that era and that maybe people aren't realizing that we're not. I think that's actually the way to say it is like, there was an era. We're like, look at this guy.

What a boss. Yeah. What a CEO. And now you go. Like the social network. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Exactly. And then you go, I actually think you're kind of fucked up. Mm-hmm. Oh, you're kind of a dick. Are you poisoning the water? And they're like, whatever, bro. I'm a boss.

If I was a CEO, I would just lean into it. Yeah. And be like, why, you guys, you guys mad, I'm bawling out so hard with my army of robots. Was there ever a time when you were in Alaska that you were like, I'm just going to stay here? Did you ever? Or were you one of those people? that's like, please let me out right now. I mean, I never thought,

none of the things I wanted to do or that was really the best place to do it. So I always thought I'd be, I'd be leaving. Did you want to be in entertainment? Did you want to be in like, I mean, it was one thing I wanted to do. Sure. And so, so yeah, and I think teenagers anywhere,

other outside of like, I guess if you live here or L.A., like, wish they lived somewhere else. So, but, you know, now I'm going back, like I love it. And sometimes I, you, know, think I'd be cool to move back here, especially now that you can kind of live anywhere. Sure. The remote possibilities.

My wife doesn't think she could handle the darkness, so I don't think. What's the harder one? Is the winters or the summers? Definitely the winters. And people get like seasonal affective disorder. Like for real, it'll be like.

Not a hot girl that like is sad in January. You're like talking about people that actually get mentally affected. Yeah, yeah. Is that, did you ever have that? Were you ever affected or is it because you grew up? It's kind of like me with the altitude. It never really affected me. Not that I know of.

I think it's growing up there, yeah. It really does. Yeah. It's because, like, you know, I take people to Colorado and they get headaches and they have to sit down and stuff and you're like, I'm fine. Yeah. But I haven't lived there in 26 years. Yeah.

But yeah, growing up there. So when you took your wife to Alaska, did you take her up there for a winter? We know. Or just like in the winter? I think we went in like April once where there's still snow in the ground. I think she just knows that she couldn't handle it. knows that. Where is she from?

She, I mean, she, family moved around a bit of them. She's mainly from Iowa, Davenport, Iowa. Right.

So it's like not similar in any way that she could be like, I can handle that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that is like the retirement, because I love Colorado

and I've had the same thoughts about like, maybe I would come back here, you know, when everything slowed down. Yeah. I just wanted to kind of be by myself and read books and shit

or be with Katie and the dogs. And I feel like, I don't know. I was one of the only people that I knew that really wanted to get out of there in high school. Oh, really? A lot of my friends still live there and have great lives, and I love visiting them and stuff. But I feel like I was like maybe one of five people that I knew that was like, I'm ready to get the fucking out. Because Colorado is beautiful.

Yeah. There's just no humidity. The weather is great. Yeah. You know, it's a little tricky. So it is a place that absolutely, I don't fault to anybody for being like, oh, I just want to stay here the rest of my life. but I really had that like itchiness. Yeah, I think it's,

I think more people want to, want to leave Anchorage because it's, yeah, I mean, Denver's a bigger, like the city and it's like closer to stuff. It does feel like there's a lot, I haven't actually researched it, so who knows, but it feels like there's a lot of turnover. It's a podcast.

You just get to throw out information that's not vetted at all. I feel like there's a lot of turnover where like a lot of the adults in Anchorage move there's adults and the kids going up there move away. Well, they, I don't know, if this is when I lived when I lived up there for the summer but they pay you to move there well you got you mean the dividend yeah the dividend yeah people don't if you move to alaska and become a citizen there

you get uh like in oh two it was a 1600 dollar check i don't know what it is now yeah but it was like money from the oil reserve that's up there or something yeah they basically when they first found oil and started um you know in the state realized they had all this money they set aside a a bunch of of money for basically for using an emergency. And then the investment income off of that goes is just distributed as a check to everyone. So it's different every year based on the market. And then and now it's like a third rail like you can have an emergency and no one's going to let you touch that money. Really? They would need to, they want to get their checks. Yeah. Yeah. They're like, dude, come on. We're having a good year. We're having a bullish market. I need this money.

It is. But that was kind of the, you know, the like, sell at the cannery. Yeah. Because I was dead broke and they're like, you know if you move here. Yeah. You get like $1,600 bucks and you're like, well, I could use $1,600.

Yeah. I mean, it always, my check always just went to my college funds. Right. But yeah. That is great. When you were at Harvard and people find out you're from Alaska, Harvard is one of those universities where you probably saw like legit wasps, like snooty like,

uh, I want to say like, you know, the bad guys from trading places. Like the ones that sing the women where they're like, and of course there's dollar. I always think of Harvard and Yale like that. Because I had a friend that went to Yale and he would come back home and I'd be like, what is it like?

You scold crossbones? But when you move from Alaska to Cambridge and you're at Harvard, was there like this like, where are you from? You're from Alaska? It's a big enough campus with a, enough like economic diversity that like there's more there definitely are the stereotypes people from the movies but they're not there's not most of the people okay you see um i'd be fascinated with them

yeah yeah oh what's your life like yeah and you know there's definitely like the richest people in the world world from richest families um but uh but yeah i mean my dad actually went to harvard oh cool and that helped you know made it easier for me to get in oh then you have someone that you have a Sherpa. You have someone that knows the lay of the land. Yeah. And we actually went to like his, his 25th reunion. Oh, cool. When I was the whole family when I was like 13, so I met like kids of private schools and I started to kind of learn a little bit about that

East Coast culture, but. Seeing what they're like where you live at school and they're like, I do. I know. I like, I would, I bag my parents sent me to boarding school. They're like, you can pick between boarding school or college, but we can't. Oh, you wanted to go to boarding school?

I mean, just when I met kids from there, I mean, it just, I guess it just, it sounds like, I didn't really know what it is like. It sounds like you're like independent. Sure. You live in school. But probably you're not that independent based on the rules.

But yeah. It's so funny because like you wanted to go to boarding school and my threat was military school. My mom was like, I'll send you to Kansas. You'll go to fucking military school. If you don't shape it and you're like, all right, I'm not smoking cigarettes anymore. I'm a good kid now.

But it is like I did not want to go away for school. I was like, dude, I will run away before you'll fucking put me in military school. I always think it's interesting. because like when you would come back to Alaska from school, from Harvard, were your friends that were from Anchorage? Like what's it like? Because I was blown away by my friend who went to Yale.

He came home and I would just be like, who have you met? Like what's the craziest person? He knew like the CEO of Snapple's daughter. He met a kid. And this was all like freshman year shit. And I remember we were hanging out and he met a kid that was a genius. Like a certified,

that's what's crazy about Harvard and Yale. It's like, you can call people. geniuses, but motherfucking geniuses go to these schools. And he met a kid that developed, which is really prominent now, the technology of charging by laying something on it. Oh, wow. So, like, this was 2001.

Yeah. And the kid had developed it and patented it. And he, I mean, obviously, I don't know if that's whose thing it was. But my buddy came home and it was like, yeah, in the future, you'll be able just to, like, lay your flip phone on a thing and it'll charge. Obviously, we didn't know a lot of smartphones. Yeah. But he was right.

Mm-hmm. And I was like, damn, that's crazy you knew about that 25 years ago. Yeah. Did you have moments like that where you were like meeting kids and then telling people back home? Like, I mean, I feel like it. Yeah, I mean, most kids at like an Ivy School are basically, they're regular people that are just really good at taking tests. Yeah. Okay.

That makes me feel better. Yeah. That does make me feel like a lot less dumber because. Yeah. Because you're like, I'm horrible at tests. I would have never. Yeah. It just, you know, people, the average person underperforms on tests because they're

nervous or that is awkward constraints. And then people that are just good at it, like they get into the best schools. And then, but, but yeah, but you do have like that like, you know, three percent of the student population is like insane geniuses that you never meet anywhere else. Yeah. That's very cool. I don't remember meeting anyone whereas like someone had an exciting talk about. I feel like I just, there's so many in, I just like, I, I, I, other people somehow knew,

like celebrities that I just did. Oh, really? But, but, uh, but yeah, it was. it is like interesting now like all the you know people that I that I you know remember from classes like they're like you know writing for the New York Times or whatever and just just seeing their names out there yeah yeah that is got to be fun that you're like I remember him from sophomore year yeah yeah this guy's writing an op-ed piece yeah well you're with your you have two kids when they go back to Alaska with you how because your parents are still up there

right yeah do they love that um I mean my my son like loves hiking and he loves going to his very rustic summer camp. So he's very excited to do all the stuff. So he's got to be like, can we go to grandma and grandpa? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Versus Iowa? Yeah. Wolf.

What a fucking, I know which family I'm picking to go, no offense to the great state of Iowa and shout out George Kittle from the 49ers. But fucking Alaska or Iowa, I don't even think that's a conversation. For a vacation, you go, please can we go to Alaska? Yeah. I mean, does your, so your son's super into? it? Yeah. And my daughter's fine. I'm that she'll go on high because stuff.

She's not like, fine. Do your kids care at all that you're Tina Belcher? No, I think they think that at school. I mean, living in L.A., it just doesn't mean that much. You know, it's like there's like, you know, just at, you're never going to be the most successful person at your kids elementary school. Oh. Like there's like a list movie stars. Yeah, your daughter's going to come home and go like, I'm friends with Moana. Yeah. You know what you mean?

Like actual Moana. We're in a squash group together and you're like, holy shit. L.A. is really the only place that you can go. Like, I even think in New York your kids would get more mileage out of you being Tina Belcher. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, you know, you're like, hey, you know, is Dave's Tina Belcher? Did you know that? Like, L.A.

really is like, oh, that's fun. What other projects is your dad on? Yeah. When kids are asking that? No, I remember like from just when all I did was stand-up, up in New York and just basically at open mic level. Sure. Like the people,

regular people were so impressed. And like to move to L.A., like the level of, the level you have to get to, to have people be as impressed anywhere else, simply that you like go to open mic stand up. It really. Yeah.

The thing about L.A. that always blew my mind was when I started going there regularly and you realize like everybody there is in the business. Yeah. Like everybody, like you'll be at like a gas station and the guy, I'll be like, I got a spec script picked up by NBC and you're like, holy shit. Everyone here works.

It's part of the reason I didn't want to move there was because I liked being around regular people. Yeah, yeah. I liked being, and I needed to be in a city where I could do stand-up a lot. Yeah. And this was a city where I felt like no one cares. Yeah, yeah. They go like, you go like, I did well at the comedy seller.

He was like, I got it off an 18-hour shift. that we're on the same W train. Shut the fuck up. I liked that about it. Whereas L.A., I just felt like everyone was like, oh, you haven't done enough. And you're like,

I don't know. But the older I get, the more I enjoy L.A. Yeah. The more I go out there and I go, oh, this is nice. It's just nice weather. Yeah.

Probably have a backyard. Yeah, it is, yeah, it is definitely nice. Like you mentioned your dog. Oh, yeah.

She's going nuts right now because she just wants to come out and say hi to you. And like they still, like you still, they still need like walks and stuff but like if it's a middle of the night and after go the bathroom you don't have to take them on a walk yeah every night she's in this new thing right now I usually fall asleep on this couch while I'm watching TV and then at night she waits for me to go to bed she'll drink an entire bowl of water and then go stand at the door and be like hey and you go you got to take an elevator yeah we got to like get in an elevator and go down

and it's like two in the morning and you're like and then she just wants to smell stuff and there's a There's a guy screaming at you, you know? And you're like, hey, all right, I'm in my slides. Please don't attack me. Yeah. But it is that that's what does suck. Yeah. Like little stuff of like, uh, Katie and I like jokingly fantasize about the idea of just

opening a door and being like, go outside. Yeah. It is nice. Yeah. That's like, to me, that's like, you could fly. Like, you could do that. I'm very excited to watch the special, man. Oh, thank you're, I think you're fucking hilarious.

I love a ton of the stuff that you've worked on and done. check out the special. The link is below right now. Well-rounded entertainer, Dan Mintz. Watch it. He's hilarious. I appreciate you coming by. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, dude. I really, thanks for going by, dude.