The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Roy Wood Jr. and Barack Obama Talk Fatherhood

Episode Date: June 20, 2021

Roy Wood Jr. sits down with Barack Obama and guests to discuss the delicate balancing act of parenting, partnerships and career, and the importance of being a fully present father. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter's smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, Zip Recruiter's powerful matching technology

starts showing you qualified people for it, and you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Zip Recruiter. The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.

But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. Welcome to a conversation about fatherhood. Brought to you by the editors of Fatherly and the Dad. I'm your host and moderator Roywood Jr. and like the other men you're about to meet, I'm a father. Let's get into it. Now, not all fathers are the same, but we share many of the same experiences. We've all yelled, we've all cried, we've all seen some truly disgusting bodily functions, sometimes all before eight in the morning. We all know that raising a great kid and being a great dad is hard and the path is never

all that clear. It's like driving through fog, but one thing is for sure. It gets a lot easier when you have fellow dads. So, we brought together a diverse group of men to elevate the voices of fathers, tell our truths, laugh, and hopefully share some wisdom. You're going to hear from six dads. Four of them from across the country. One comedian, that's me, and one dad that happens to have been the 44th president of the United

States, who at the end of the day is just a father like the rest of us. And with that, it is my honor to introduce the author of a promise, the the the the the the the the the th.s, th.s, th.s, thoomomomomeomeomeomeomeomeomeomeomeome, to, th. to, th. to, to, th. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, th. thi. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, toe, toe, th... He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. Hea, is. He. Hea, is. Hea, is. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. toe. toe. toe. th toe. t toda. today, isa. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to introduce the author of a promise land, 44th president of the United States, and father to Sasha and Malia, Barack Obama. Hey, people. Thank you for joining us. As you can see, brother president, I put on a nice sweater jacket, pocket square so that my mama won't be disappointed. I just wanted to make sure that I impressed my mother today. Roy, I think you look sharp. Your mama would be proud. I noticed all the other

dads though were with me going a little casual, not trying to put on the front the way you are with the pocket squirt and all that. So but that's fine. You're the host, you're a professional media guy, you've got an image you have to keep up. Fair enough. Well speaking of the dad's to meet the dads who the the the the the the the the the the th. the to be the the th. the the th. the th. the th. th. th. th. th. You th. You th. You to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th. tho. to be tho. to be 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. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the. the. th. th. th. Fair enough. Well speaking of the dads, let's go in and meet the dads who'll be joining us in conversation today. First we have Felix Slater, an illustrator and video producer in North Carolina with two daughters, six and eight. We also have Chris Rizzo and Peter Smith, a lawyer and a physician assistant and a couple from New York with a six-year-old daughter and twin three-year-olds. Rob King, Rob is a writer and actor from Los Angeles with a two-year-old boy, and Carlos Mejia, whose girls three and six, he promises, Mr. President, he promises they're playing quietly

in another room right now. Thank you to all to dance for being here, say hello to the president. Hello, Mr. President. Hello, it's good to see all. 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 to to the the to to to to to to to to to to 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 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 thi. Robo. Robe. Robe. Robe. Robeooooomeooooooooo-s. Roboom. Robioom. Robioombea. Robe. Robe. Robe. Rob is too. Rob is th. Rob is the. Rob is to all the dads for being here. Say hello to the president. Hello, Mr. President. Hello, Mr. President. Well, it's good to see all of you. Although I have to say I am exhausted just hearing your biographies. It's bringing back flashbacks of sleepless nights and stepping on toys. But that's why we have you here to get ourselves a little bit of advice from one of the most prominent dads in the history of the country. Mr. President, first thing I would like to do though is begin with the quote from your book in a promise land. You said, quote, every parent savors such moments when the world slows down and all that matters is that you are present fully to witness the miracle of your child growing up. Could you expand on that just a little?

You know, I was describing what it was like just coaching Sasha's rec league basketball team when she was seven or eight, even in the midst of the presidency. And, and, you know, just the sheer joy that that would bring. And, uh, wishing that I'd maybe planned so that I had more of that and maybe a little less of meetings in the situation room. Although it's an extreme example, I think all of us, as parents and as fathers, are struggling with and try to figure out the fact that the single most important thing in our lives are these little people who are dependent on us and we're teaching and they're bringing us joy and they're teaching us about ourselves. But we also got to work, got to make a living, gotta hit deadlines, sometimes they have to

travel. And so often, you know, the way we organize and schedule our lives prevents us from being there as much as we like. The way you're able to multitask during that eight years, you know, you're the president, you have to be a husband, you have to work on your jump shot. You have to steal somehow find time for your kids the kids the kids the kids the kids the kids the kids the kids thia to their their to be a husband. You have to work on your jump shot. You have to steal somehow find time for your kids as well. Like, when you're juggling so many things, how are you always able to make sure

that you were there and always fully present, not just physically, but mentally. When I was campaigning for the presidency or when I was in the US Senate and I had to commute back and forth between Washington and Chicago. The issue for me was just being physically present. How did I manage it? I managed it because I had this extraordinary partner who was just a great mom and was carrying the burden, the lion's share of the day-to-day making sure that they, you know, were at the pediatrician's appointment and making sure that, you know, the ballet tights fit right for the dance recital and all that.

And I'd show up at the dance recital, but I didn't, I wasn't combing their hair. There was one time where I tried to comb Malia's hair when Michelle was away for a weekend. And, it's, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you the, you the, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, the, the, the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. We today, today, today, today, today, today, th. We th. We're, their, their, their, their, their I tried to comb Malia's hair when Michelle was away for a weekend. And it's, you know, she was four or five at the time. And when we got to the dance studio, one of one of Michelle's friends, another parent came up and whispered to Malia, do you want me to redo your hair? And Malia, who had said it was fine? She's all like, yes, please, this is a disaster. And I overheard her and I was, I realized, man, I'm not well equipped here. So, once I was in the presidency, as I described, the great good fortune was suddenly everybody came to me. I had no commute, it was literally walking down the stairs and walking down the colonate. And I didn't have to pick up my dry cleaning, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the dry, the dry, the dry, th, th, th, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I the thin, I thin, I thin, thin, thin, th. th. th. thi. th thi. th thi. th thi. th th th thi. th th th to thi, I'm thi, walking down the colony. And I didn't have to pick up my dry cleaning, right? So suddenly, me

being a home for dinner every night at 630, even if I had to go back to the office afterwards. Those kinds of things made a huge difference. I was fortunate. The shifting of the perspective in terms of me being all in, that wasn't as hard, partly just because it was such an amazing break to not be thinking about terrorism or wildfire. And just sit there at the dinner table listening to Million Saatch to talk about knucklehead boys and, you know, the teacher with the weird haircut. Yeah, it was like, you know, just a vacation every time I spent time with. Let's go now to Chris and Peter. Now, total twins, a six-year-old, how much chaos does that generate in the house?

Do you think it's chaos, Chris? Total chaos. Yeah, it's a lot of chaos, juggling work and home. Actually, I a lot of times feel guilty because when I go to work, it's a little bit of an escape. And that's saying a lot when you work at a cancer hospital. You know, two things we really have learned are, you know, patients is so important and also snacks and good snacks, you know, preferably. Naps and snacks highly underrated. Most of the time, most of the time when kids kids are acting up, they're either tired and can't admit it or they're hungry. How have you guys figured out schedules though, right? Because at that age, you know, six and under, you know, a lot of it is just logistics, right,

of making sure that it's almost a military operation. We have a lot of loved ones who help us out a lot, and that's been the key to our success. A babysitter, a sister, grandparents, we would not be surviving without them. Amazing. Chris, did you have a question for the president? Yes, Mr. President. And it has to do with how, particularly when your daughters were young, how you explain scary world events to them.

My daughter Mariana and I have this morning routine where she gets the newspaper for me from our building lobby each morning. And one day she brought it to me and she had this sort of horrified look on her face and she handed it to me and she said, Daddy, look, what are these pictures of war and and a lot of traged th th th th th th th th the thagities th th thag. their thag. thag. thag. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. I I'm, thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I I I I I I I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's, th. I'm, th. th. th. th. th. thr. t tttttttoday, ttoday, today, ttttoday, tttoday, th th th th pictures of? And they were pictures of war and a lot of tragedies. And I had to think, am I going to sugarcoat this for her or am I going to explain this to her in real terms? And I try to explain it to her in six-year-old terms. And I wonder how you did that with young daughters, and all these issues are amplified immensely. You know, each kid has their own temperament.

They receive information differently at different times. And, you know, so it's going to be different for everybody. But Michelle and I, our general rule, our guiding principle in raising Lee and Sasha, where our job is to train them to be well-functioning, resilient, smart, thoughtful, kind adults. And what that meant was, we kind of started explaining stuff as soon as possible.

In terms, again, using words and language they could understand, but, man, kids are smart. They don't miss a beat. And their ability to absorb and understand basic human emotions, like conflict or anger, right, and being able to say, yeah, sometimes people, because somebody looks different or because they think differently about certain issues, they start fighting and, you know, it hurts other people and I think just providing those frames pretty early on does two things. One is it shows respect for the kids.

They sense, okay, my parents actually don't think I'm an idiot. And the second thing it does is it makes kids sort of reflect on their own behavior, right? Because it's, you know, it starts making them think, huh, well, maybe, you know, how am I dealing with somebody who does something I don't like on the playground, right? And then you, so that when you're correcting them, in terms of how they behave, there's a context there, right? And then you, so that when you're correcting them, in terms of how they behave, there's a context there, right? There's a world view that's starting to shape. Great advice. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter.com. Zip Recruiter's

smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, Zip Recruiter's powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it. And you can use Zip Recruiters' pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address.ziprecruiter.com slash zip. Again that's zip recruiter.com slash zip. Zip recruiter.

The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You rolling. But that's all about this this this this this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff this stuff gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets gets the the the- treasures in our archives. You're rolling. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.

I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. Now, let's switch things up for a bit and talk about our partners. Now, we're all dads, but you know, we're not alone in this. You got spouses, you got grandmonds, you got uncles, you got aunts, you got best friend significant others, a whole community of people helping you raise your child. Carlos, you are a father of two. How do you lean into the community for support in helping you be a better dad?

For me, Roy, it's two factors. I have two best friends and their dads, and we all have kids of varying ages. And when we're able to like sit down and catch up, you know, we're kind of set time aside to just talk a little bit about being a dad and we share stories with one another and it's really an unspoken rule to kind of keep each other in check. It's been really helpful.

And the second factor and all of that really is just communicating with my wife. We've been married for 10 years now, and we learn pretty early on that if we're not on the same page, man, nobody's gonna be happier. Okay, well, don't stop there, man, you're on with the dad and chief, fire off a question to him. So, Mr. President, in your book, you talk about how, from the time you ran from Senate all through the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, th. th. th. to, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, to, to, to, too, thi, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, to, to, to, to, to, to, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. th. th. th. the, the, the. the. the. the. the. th. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toethe time you ran from Senate, all the way through

your presidency, how the burden of being a parent fell squarely on the shoulders of Mrs. Obama. And she has no trouble calling you out on that throughout the book. So what do you do to make sure that you and your partner not only are on the same page, but also just have each other's backs? You know, look, there is no doubt that Michelle carried a heavier burden of child rearing than I did. Particularly when they were young before we got in the White House. Michelle's having to juggle and she was still working because her husband, you know, had decided to pursue things that paid no money. And, you know, it was hard. And I don't think that I can pretend like, oh, I had this formula where I made up for the loss time or the extra

burden she was carrying. I think it's something that I have to weigh. And look, there was a loss for me. There are things I missed. But Michelle gives me credit for the fact that I was never the dad who, because I'm feeling guilty about not being home, suddenly is like, playing, yeah, the, yeah never the dad who, because I'm feeling guilty about not being home, suddenly is like, plying, yeah, come on, let's go get ice cream and,

ah, don't worry, they're fine. You know, they don't have to, you know, clean up their rooms or, right? Trying to be the good cop because you're, you know, feeling bad about, you know, not having been there. Our values were aligned when it came to teaching our daughter's responsibility and that there are consequences for their actions.

You know, just how long should Malia be grounded after X for a while, right? And, you know, and once, once that, once we came up with the formula, man, you know, then you had to stick it out. Like if they see a crack, if they see a chink in the armor, between, you know, the two parents, man, they will exploit that, you know, they'll just, you know, they'll just drive a bus through that thing. So Felix is in a similar situation.

He's been married for 11 years. And Felix, you have elementary age kids. How's that partner trade-off going? Are you the one coming in, bribing them with snacks when you shouldn't be doing that? Obama just told you don't bribe them with snacks, Felix. thoomorrowing it, too. So for me and my wife, finding that balance sometimes means meticulously planning out our schedule and knowing it on a granular level, which parent is picking up which child and which ballet dress goes with which pair of shoes. And then sometimes you're so inundated with the thick of it all,

with parenting that you don't have the luxury of having those conversations, that you just have this mountain of responsibility ahead of you, and all you can really do is look at each other, roll your sleeves up and get the work done. And in those moments, we've learned it's been so important to be able to detect when one of us is feeling overwhelmed or is feeling exhausted and be able to come in and say, let me take this off your plate, let me shoulder these responsibilities, so you can go rest and recharge. And then on the flip side of that,

when you're the one feeling that, to be able to have that humility and that trust, to be able to come to your partner and say, I need you to stuff you all had the children? Let's face it. Small children in particular are exhausted. It's not particularly romantic. You are tired. Your kids are crying. You're sleep deprived. You're juggling. You just got to ride that out. You know, you have to know that there's going to be a stretch of time where they are tyrants demanding all your time and that's okay. And your relationship bounces back

as long as you keep your sense of humor. Now, you guys may have had a different experience, but that was our experience. So for those of you in the comments, please, please let us to know who your partners are and who help you and being a better father. I want to move on real quick. Guys, I want to talk about our own fathers. Now, this is the old man that laid the groundwork for the types of men that we are today, the types of fathers we are today, whether they were present, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, whether that, whether that, whether that, that, that, thi, thi, thi, to be to be that, to be to be to be to to to to to 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 to be to be to be to be.. to be to be to to to to to to too, to to today, today, today, today, to too, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. Rob, in what ways that your father's absence or presence affect you growing up? It was it was absence. Roy, thanks. I think one of the biggest ways it impacted me was I always kind of felt like I was missing

out a little bit. You know I wanted to have someone there to play sports with me and just hang out like I saw my friends' fathers do, and I would kind of regret it that a little bit. But it also did make those moments when my mom, who was raising two kids on her own, when she made time to come out and play basketball with me or something like that, it made them a little special. So, you know, I appreciated the sacrifice that she made a little bit more too. What's your question for the president? President Obama, I'm sure that you know the stat, but I'm going to repeat it anyway.

According to the US Census Bureau, one in four kids in America grows up without a dad in the household. And in the black community, it's more than two and four. So 50% of us grow up without that example of what a father should be. Just curious, how do you send an example of what a father should be when you never had that example for yourself? Right, I mean, Rob, look, it sounds like you and I shared that experience of an absent father. Obviously, I had other male figures in my life, my grandfather, I had a stepfather for a time.

You know, it goes back to this point we made earlier about community. And, you know, we ended up having a circle of friends whose kids were, you know, anywhere from 10 years older than our kids to 10 years younger. And we, Michelle and I were pretty good about actively cultivating those friendships and sustaining them all the way through our daughter's childhoods. You know, really being strategic about actively trying to shape a community for your kids. Your friends and other parents from school and stuff who you guys click with, you guys, actively trying to shape a community for your kids. Your friends and other parents from school and stuff who you guys click with, you know, that becomes a surrogate family and that's critically important.

For me, a lot of coaches and adults at community centers, I'm a product of the boys and girls club in Birmingham, Like these places, the thing that I always appreciated about those outside influences that weren't relatives is that for me, those were the people that told you the truth first sometimes. In terms of having bouts with self-confidence, because you know, sports is the first time you can't hit the ball, you can't hit the basket and you doubt yourself and that coach looks you in the face and says, Roy, this sport is not for you. You're funny though. Focus on comedy.

Were those people, were those people like that in your life coming up? Absolutely. Which is why what Michelle and I have tried to be is also extended parents and support groups for other kids. And a lot of the work our foundations doing now, you know, we've got a program called My Brothers Keeper that has tried to significantly generate in cities around the country mentorship programs, particularly for young boys of color because, you know, the statistics that we heard earlier and that makes a difference. Listen, adults paying attention to kids, seeing kids, saying you count, you're important, whether that's coming from a teacher, a coach, an uncle, a neighbor, a parent. All, all that, uh, all that, uh, all that, uh, that, uh, all, that, uh, that, uh, the, all that. that, that, that, that, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their their their their their the statistics, the statistics, the statistics, the statistics, their the statistics, their the statistics, their their their their their their their their their the statistics, the statistics, the statistics, the statistics, their, their, the statistics, their, their, the statistics, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their from a teacher, a coach, an uncle, a neighbor, a parent. All that has an impact, all that makes a difference.

Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruit finds. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter.com. Zip Recruiter's smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, Zip Recruiter's powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it. And you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally

reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address.ziprecruiter.com slash zip. Again that's zip recruiter.com slash zip. Zip recruiter. The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.

But that's all access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Well, this next young man as a father, and also a stand-up comedian, though I think I'm

a little bit more professional than him. Actually, my research shows that he's only made you laugh 7.3 times, Mr. President, with the point 3 actually being just a shrug. Ladies and gentlemen, the star of the film Fatherhood premiering on Netflix this weekend, Kevin Hart. Roy, thanks for having me man much appreciated. Mr. President, what's going on man? Kevin, do you have a question for President Obama who you wore a hoodie to talk to? I'm coming from the gym. I would have put on the suit you know

that. I love to dress up in that time. Mr. President I got a movie coming out called Fatherhood dropping on Netflix Father's Day weekend. Here's my question. I'm playing the thoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeffeffeffeffeffeath. theath. theathehee. I the. I thoe. I'm thoe. I'm thoe. I'm thoe. I'm the. I'm tho tho tho tho the. I'm the. the. tho tho tho tho tho the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. Kevin th. th. th. th. Kevin th. Kevin th. Kevin th. th. th. th. Kevin th. Kevin the. Kevin the. the. Kevin the. the. Kevin the. Kevin the. the. to to to to to toe. toe. toee. toeeeeeean. toeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Kevin, to to to the. Here's my question. I'm playing the role of a single father that's raising a little girl and, you know, I'm going to do some tough moments in this movie. And, you know, the character, he has a share of ups and downs and it's very hard for the character to hold on to his to his personality.

And it got me to think about me and my household, you know, there's never been a moment where My humor has not been, I guess you can say on the front page It's always been something that I lean on something that my family looks forward to and depends on which brings me to my question for you Has the funny change for you? Are you still the funny dad because you come off as the funny dad? Or are things a little more serious? What level of funny? Are you? th? th? th? th? th? thuuuuuuu? th? thu? thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu? I thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu th th th th th. th th th th th th th th th th thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu? thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thuu thuu thuu thuu thu thuuu thu thu thu thu th as the funny dad? Or are things a little more serious? What level of funny are you in Obama household? Well, look, I'm not as funny as Kevin. I'm not as funny as Roy. I'm not as funny as Michelle. And Michelle's the first one to say she's funny here.

Having said that, I'm pretty funny. Self-depricatory humor always works. If you are making fun of yourself, the kids yuck it up and your spouse nods approvingly. It's from their perspective, it exhibits a certain self-knowledge that, you know, yeah, you are that goofy. So I, you know, that's my go-to. As your kids get older, first of all, they get funnier and more sarcastic.

And if they then team up with your partner, then you may find yourself consistently subject to big ear jokes, nose jokes, how you dress jokes, how you dress jokes, how you dance jokes. And look, you just got to suck it up. I have to tell you though, fatherhood, Michelle and I put together a production company, we're working with Netflix, we had a chance to see this. What we loved was that it told a story of a single dad trying to figure it out. It reminded us so many of the challenges, the joys, heart aches,

mistakes that we all have as parents. Yeah, they're pretty universal. As your daughters get older now, and you shift from that parental guardian into that, let's just say 30% friend. Yeah. 70, still father, but friend. What does that transition like? And, you know, as a father, what can we expect? Listen, it's, it's wonderful.

I mean, it really is. When you're sitting at the dinner table and it turns out, wow, your kids turned out all right. You know, and they have good values, and they're kind and they're thoughtful. And, you know, suddenly they're picking up the dishes on their own and rinsing them off and you know, asking you how you're doing. And you know, it's a, it's a, it's a, there's a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that is unmatched. And that's what, you know, based on these outstanding fathers we got here,

that's what you guys all had to look forward to. In between, though, you guys got a little more work to do. So, you know, fasten your seat belts. Once you get to the teen years, you know, that's not a stereotype. That is not a, that is not a cliche or a myth. You know, it's different because they're pushing away and they're try to figure out, you know, how to be independent from you. And our daughters were still wonderful, but you know, there was the monosyllabic, you know, how is your day, fine?

When you do nothing. Well, if I haven't learned anything else today, I've learned that you cannot brought teenagers with snacks. So I would take that if nothing else. I think, can I, Roy, can I make a comment about snacks though? It is true that generally we provided healthy snacks. But, you know, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, the the the the snack is better than no snack. So, you know, and I actually mean this seriously just as parents. One thing we do sometimes make the mistake of thinking is that we're going to get this perfect.

We're just not. You know, I mean, you're trying to figure it out as you go along. You know, we've got some young friends who are like, we just don't want our kids having any screen time. And it's like, okay, well, that's fine. But if you're on a five-hour flight with some four-year-olds, you're not a bad parent if you just get that iPad out and just have them stare at a screen for four hours, so that they do not drive not drive youthe other passengers crazy. Don't beat yourselves up. Okay, we'll go around the horn to all the fathers here.

And what keeps you up at night? So in addition to screwing up, it's also just, I never saw my parents as cool. And I know I'm not cool, but I just hope at the very least my kids think I'm all right. Your kids are going to think you're a dork at some point and you're never gonna, I was president of the United States, they don't think I'm that cool. You know, I mean, shoot, so that's inevitable.

I mean, like, I'm already embarrassing one of them, so I'm on that path. I know my way around a computer and a phone, I'm terrified for the moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment moment when when when when when when when when when when when when I have to hand the device to my kids and say you do it I don't understand it. Yeah, well that that that already happened to me a long time ago. It's how they're going to turn out for me. I know I'm not going to get this perfectly, but how are they going to turn out when they're 20 and 23? What I'm going to do to do? What I'm going to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to. to. to. to. to do to. their when when when he brings up, you know, when he's 25. Like, why'd you do that? I'm like, I thought I was making a right choice.

You can't get it perfect. There is no such thing. You know, in that debate about how much is nurture and how much is nature, when we're parents, probably rightfully so, we put a lot of emphasis on the nurture because we want to be responsible for everything. You know, your kids, I describe them sometimes, they're like plants, you know. Our job is to make sure they've got good soil, water, sunlight. You know, occasionally, you know, if there's a storm, right, you might have to put a stick there to prop them up a little bit.

But generally, they're, they're unfolding in their own ways, at their own pace. They've got, you know, if you're giving them a nurturing, loving environment, then a lot of the mistakes they make are going to be, you know, that's what they had to do to kind of learn and to get through stuff. Comfort us, we are scared. You guys are going to be alright. Kids will be alright.

Well, we thank you very much for this discussion, Mr. President. This has been wonderful. We'll continue this conversation in the comment and thank you so much to our wonderful, wonderful guests and thannipe to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the their their thi thi their their thi, thi, their thi, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, and, thi, thi, and, thi, thi, thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, ti, t father out there. We're blessed with the sacred job of raising the next generation. We're the ones tasked with raising the change makers who are going to reshape this world. And that task is difficult, but it is awesome. And so I hope over the past few minutes together, we've managed to educate, inspire, and support one another and being the best possible fathers that we can be. I enjoyed it. Thank you so much.

Wave at the President, everybody. Thank you, Mr. President. Join us on Fatherly and the Dad for more information, tips and laughs about parenting. Thank you so much for watching. Mama, I hope that I didn't embarrass you. I was only one in a jacket. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.

But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look. Starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show, Week nights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.