The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Guest Spotlight: Celebrating Women and Finding Connections Through Farming | Preparing for Broadway on a Week’s Notice

Episode Date: May 19, 2024

Emmy Award-winning actor, Nick Offerman, and farmer and author, Helen Rebanks, join Desi Lydic to discuss how Helen's new book "The Farmer's Wife" highlights the work done by women that often gets overlooked. Also, Desi sits down with Oscar and Tony-nominated actress, Amy Ryan, as she breaks down her last-minute process to prepare for her Broadway role in “Doubt: A Parable.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Stewart here, unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show, we're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. You're listening to the Daily Show. My guest tonight helps run her family farm in England. She has a new memoir called The Farmer's Wife, My Life in Days, and she's brought one of her farm hands tonight, to-night, who you might know from other stuff.

Please welcome Helen Reevex and Nick Offerman. And she's brought one of her farm hands tonight, who you might know from other stuff. Please welcome Helen Reevex and Nick Offerman. What a treat it is to have you both here. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here so much. Nick, I think most people know you from your brilliant comedic work. You just won your first Emmy for The Last of Us. Nick, I think most people knew you from your brilliant comedic work.

You just won your first Emmy for The Last of Us. Thank you. Thank you. You played the president in Civil War. And now somehow on the side you're also a master woodworker and a farmhand. I'm an aspiring master woodworker. I know some, the masters that I take classes from would bristle to hear you describe me that way. I doubt

that. I think it's pretty safe to say that you were officially a Renaissance man. I'll take competent. Okay we'll settle for that. So how did the two of you meet? How did this friendship get started? Well I guess social social media kind of connected us up initially, didn't it? I mean, we were both huge fans of the writer Wendell Berry's work. And when we were over in Kentucky, we did an event. My husband was speaking with him in Louisville Public Library, and you've been connected with the work of Wendell for a long time you know sharing his work and stories about looking after the land and food and farming for a while and then you came to stay when you were in the

UK working on a project that's right yeah so all of this started on social media that's right if you want if you want good farming content you go to Twitter to Twitter some people go to Twitter for other things. Just check my mentions. Yeah, I love the great Kentucky writer, Wendell Berry, is the subject matter that drew us together because we're all very interested in knowing about our farmers and knowing where our food comes from,

and who's growing it, and if they care about our health health or not or if they care about their profits. And so it was through Twitter I befriended them and I had an acting job in Manchester, England with Alex Garland, a show called Dev's, and that took me very close to them and I started spending weekends there, had some of Helen's cooking, and here we are. That's all it took. Your cooking's that good. I enjoyed your book so much. You really walk us through a day in your life,

all of the daily work that you do, taking care of a family of six, you're heard of sheep dogs, 50 chickens, 500 sheep, I can barely keep my kids goldfish alive? How much coffee and drugs do you have to take to get all of your work done? That's my main question. Oh, does he? It's a way of life on a farm. It's, I mean, I guess this, this to me is the hard work. Like, being on, doing all this, all the interviews, etc. It's totally different. I love it. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi I thi. I thi. I thi. I thoomoomo thi. I thi. I thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th th. I th to me is the hard work. Like being on, doing all this, all the interviews, etc. It's totally different. I love it, I love it from morning till night.

It's a completely sort of immersive thing to be on a farm. You respond to the weather, the livestock, the kids, whatever needs doing. And I wrote the book to celebrate the people that do that daily kind of mundane work really, but to me it's like really important. It's such important work and it really is such a beautiful tribute to all the invisible work that so many women do all over the world. Was that your intention when you came into the book or were you just kind of wanting to tell

your personal story? A bit of both really. It started off with personal stories and recipes and I wanted to leave a collection for the kids of what mum makes and it soon developed into kind of a really deep kind of dive into like what society tells us women, you know, it's really hard, isn't it? To figure out a path through and navigate how do we have kids and run business and do all the things and I kind of through the stories through the writing it's just been absolutely brilliant to share it with readers that have

resonated with it and feel seen you know there's not many books that I felt seen in I read a lot and I love stories and and yeah it really accomplishes that and I love how you talk about when you were growing up, you grew up on a farm and you always thought this is not what I'm going to do. And then you chose differently, you chose to follow in the footsteps of your mom and your grandmother. Why did you change your mind? Oh I think love changes a lot of things. I fell in love with a farmer. That's thaker tha thau thau thia thin thin thin thin thin tho tho th. the th. th. tho the th. th. tho tho th. tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho their their tho that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's their that's that's their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their tho. I tho. I thoooooooooooooooes. I tooooooooooooooes. I thoooooooooooes. I that's a lot of things. I fell in love with a farmer. Ah, that's how it happens. Against all my better judgments and here, yeah. Yeah, here I am.

And it wasn't, it wasn't initially kind of, I want to just do the things that my grandma and mom had done. It's like a, I'm making art as well through this writing and working and thinking about life through the creative projects that I'm doing. So it's not just I'm just doing one thing and I think we're all lots of different things aren't we? Yes. I love when you when you say in the book I choose this life, I choose this life and that's how I feel as a New Yorker when I see someone masturbating on the six train I say I chose this life. This is on me. I have to live with those choices. Nick you you're probably you know when you're acting and you're on set people take really good care of. I assume you're at this point in your career.

Mr. Offerman, can I hold your umbrella for you? What can I get you for breakfast? I'm fully molly coddled. It's another contract. So, was it, when you went to do real work on Helen's farm? Was that like a, was that's actually the strange thing that attracted me to them and the subject matter is I grew up in a wonderful family in small town, Illinois. My mom and dad both grew up on farms, a few miles to each side of where I grew up, and

they have these incredible work ethics and family values. And so, even though my life led me to like show business and Chicago and then Los Angeles, I still gravitate towards like it's like my Disneyland. I crave, can I just please go to a farm and do the dishes or help you shovel some sheep muck? And so I mean it wasn't something that I like cognitively sought out. It happened more, more organically where I said I'm really attracted to this family and I showed up and they have four kids, I come from a family of four kids and I just tried

to subtly adopt myself into the family. It did. It pretty much did and we had no clue who Nick was when he first arrived. And he was working on a show called death? It actually makes me feel really good. Because I know that they're not going to twea the th the the th they they they they they they they they they they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have their their they have they have four their they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have four they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have their. their. their. their. their. I have their. their. I have th. they have. their. they have. their. they have. I have. they have. they have. I have. they have. I have. they was working on a show called Death. How does that make it feel? It actually makes me feel really good because I know that they're not going to tweet about me. They had a big beard and he was bald and he'd been filming on Dev's so that was you know a sort of strange look that you were pulling there. And then my mom was she called in for something and she said, who is this guy? Helen, who is this guy? He looks like an escape convict. Are you safe tonight? You know, are you going to be safe?

Blinked twice the American. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, she's not too keen on your first look, but she's since warmed up, hasn't she? You know, she has. She has. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. She's, I've graduated to now I look like an escaped invalage. Oh, yes. Congratulations.

So you, you worked on Civil War playing the president. I imagine that was an incredibly intense film to shoot. The second you wrapped, did you run to the president. I imagine that was an incredibly intense film to shoot. The second you wrapped, did you run to the farm immediately? Pretty close, yeah. I mean, it is very medicinal. The thing that I love about the life I grew up with and then the life that I experience on Helen's farm is is that in this world of too much information and too much fast-paced attention deficit. When you get into the subject of this book and just raising food with your family, preparing that food with your family and just going about the daily life on a

farm, you suddenly don't need modern distractions like video games or bullshit like television programs. Who needs those? Who needs basic cable late night? Exactly. And so for me I just find that to be incredibly palliative. It's like reading a really good book where suddenly the way they live is like a work of art. And you can you can curate it and it never has to involve shopping for anything online or going to the mall but instead it's just how good are your Yorkshire puddings? Suddenly I'm like why aren't we all

living like this? Well if you ever tried my Yorkshire pudding you would know it would be better to just shop online of the shop online. There are so many incredible recipes in this book. What's your favorite recipe to cook? I think I like making something that's going to last us for a long time. So I'll cook up a big pot of like a broth or like a hamhock broth? You've had that before, haven't you? Have a farm? May I please get a, can we just stop and get me a sandwich for now? I'm gonna pass out. Yeah, something that's gonna warm us up after a day working outside. I mean it's old-fashioned to talk about this kind of thing, isn't it?

You know, meals around the table and caring for each other and connecting and having conversations around a meal. But that's the good stuff to me. That's like so important that we try and encourage out kids to learn how to cook, make things and so they can survive out there in the world. And understand where it's grown, how it's grown. And let's ask the questions, the important questions about how we're looking after the planet that this food comes comes, the the, the, the, the, thiiiiii, and th, and th, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and their, and tho, and their, and tho, and tho, and thi, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, is is is the the the the the the the they...e. thi. thi. thi. thi.ea. tyyyy's theyyui's theynia.ea.ea. theyyni's not theyn'ta, theyn't theyn't, they. thi. the questions, the important questions, about how we're looking after the planet that this food comes from. That's right.

Has it changed the way that you look at food and how it's produced and what you choose to eat? Absolutely, I mean, my fascination with agrarian material, starting with Wendell Berry and the books of Michael Pollin and Alice Waters and many more are what led me to my life with the rebanks and getting to like help them with lambing and actually you know see lambs being born reaching in and doing some assisting. We are, we have a beef herd that I am an investor in.

Yes. And so it's the most gorgeous grass fed beef and. And so not only are these things delicious, but we're trying to... Okay, now I need a sandwich. We're striving to work against the modern idea that our problems can be solved with technology instead of just working in concert with Mother Nature. And so this grass-fed beef is answering the question of how can we keep the soil the most healthy, it holds the most carbon, all of these things work together to answer a lot of the questions that are plaguing us in modern

civilization and you get the most beautiful rib eyes at the end of the assignment. What life's all about. It's a beautiful book. Congratulations and congratulations to you on everything. Thank you so much. I really, really enjoyed it. Thank you for being on. The Farmer's Wife is available now and to the more will be available to live at home on May 24th, Helen Reeveanks and Nick Offerman. John Stewart here. Unbelievably, the new podcast, The Weekly Show, we're gonna be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. My guest tonight is an Oscar nominated actor who's currently nominated for a Tony for

her role in Broadway's Doubt, A Parable. She also stars in the Apple TV series, Sugar. Please welcome Amy Ryan. Thank you. Thank you for having to be here. Oh my God. It's stunning. You look stunning. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

This is such a treat. I'm such a fan of yours. It's a treat for me too. Oh my gosh, you've been, you've had so many iconic memorable roles. You were in Gone Baby, Gone, The office, the wire, murders in the building, I mean, I, right? I don't know why the standard is six degrees of Kevin Bacon, it should be three degrees of Amy Ryan. You're in everything.

What? me right. You're in everything. And you're incredible and everything that you do. And congratulations. You were just nominated for your third Tony. Yes. Yes. Thank you. It's so well deserved. I got the chance to see you. It was such a tree. You're exceptional in it. And I heard that you stepped in with a week's notice?

A week's notice. I got a phone call on a late Sunday night to step in. And I said yes. And the following Tuesday, I was white knuckling it on stage in a nun's habit. Trying to remember lines. It was a wild ride. That is such, it's such a brave, it's a brave, it's a brave, it's a brave, it's that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that you're that, trying to remember lines. It was a wild ride. That is such, it's such a brave thing to do to get that call and be like, hey, can you be here tomorrow?

I need an answer immediately. It's brave or crazy. I feel like you're so talented. You're one of the people that could actually be so confident to be like, I got this. And you did you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. you. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to be th. th. th. to to th. th. to th. the to to the the to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to it. Thank you. I heard that as part of your preparation, you slept on an air mattress? It's not that I wanted to find the characters pain through an air mattress. It's more that I didn't want to wake up my family

because I was getting up at 5.30 in the morning to study lines, so I didn't want to wake my daughter before school, so myself and the dog were on the aerobed. You're a good mama. I try. You slept on an air mattress, you cut out sugar, dairy, and caffeine. Yeah, just to help the immune system, which I've since been mainlining since the show's closed. Of course, as you should. Absolutely.

I want to talk to you about this incredible show, Sugar, that you're starring in. It feels like kind of an homage or a love letter to all of the classic noir gum-shoe detective movies. Were you a fan of those movies going into it? Not really, but I... But I love that this show spins it a bit. I mean, I know my character's kind of the classic fem fatal, but we pulled away from the woman in distress

and became, she just was a strong friendship, which you don't see between a male character and a female character, you assume they're going to end up rolling in bed by the first episode. But, and you know, if you have Colin Farrell, why would you want to roll in bed with your hands? So, you know, let's just be friends. Let's just be friends. The pain involved.

Yeah, so the restraint. Congratulations. You deserve an Emmy for the restraint to to not jump on Colin Farrell's bones. I don't know I could. I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to tho tho tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. th. th. tho. th. th. th. th. to th. th. to to th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, thin, to to to to to to to to to to too. toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I to to to Farrell's bones. I don't know I could do the same. Here they are. You, um, this, so this show is on Apple. I'm curious, there's a massive, massive twist. Yes, yes, don't read anything. If you haven't watched it in time that Apple has asked you to

and you're gonna binge it later on, just stay away from anything you read. Don't read any spoilers. Yeah.. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. the spoilers. the spoilers. the spoilers. th. th. th. the spoilers. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to. th. the toe. toe. toe. to. to. to to to the the show, the show, the show, the show, the show, the show, the show, the show, the show, the show. So, the show. So. So, the show. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, the. So, th. So, th. So, th. th. th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, the. So, th. So, th. So, the show. It's a huge, huge twist. Now I'm curious, did Apple make you sign the same NDA that they made the guys that make their iPhones? Yeah, but then when I'd call home I think the Apple was picking up on all the scripts. They're always listening to us. Always. It's so remarkable that you went from playing this like rock and roll, ex-rock and roll star addict immediately to the strictest none in doubt. Do you ever worry that you're just too versatile as an actress? Just simply too talented. I'm running out of hairdoose.

It's all about hair. Really? He really is. You also have a movie that's coming out soon. Yeah, in September. And it stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt. I've never heard of them. Who are these fresh faces? Huge careers ahead of them.

Lots of potential. Yeah, I'm really, I would put, put, put your money on those guys if you're a betting woman. I bet you're going to blow him out of the water. I'm very excited. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi th. thi th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. thi the the the thi, tho the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the a thea thea thea thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. th blow him out of the water. I'm very excited. Thank you so much for being here. You're an absolute delight. The season finale of Sugar airs May 17th on Apple TV Plus. Amy Ryan, everyone! Explore more shows from the Daily Show from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus.

This has been a comedy central podcast. This has been a comedy central podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient-to-bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.