The New Yorker Radio Hour - Hasan Minhaj and Kenan Thompson

Episode Date: July 3, 2020

The 2019 New Yorker Festival was the twentieth edition of the annual event, and it was particularly star-studded. This program features interviews with Kenan Thompson, the longest-running cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” and Hasan Minhaj, the “Daily Show” veteran whose Netflix show “Patriot Act” won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award. New Yorker Radio Hour listeners, we want to hear from you.  We have a few questions about the show and how you listen to it. The survey takes about twenty minutes, and your feedback will help us make our podcast better.  Take the survey here.

From One World Trade Center in Manhattan, this is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. In October, which may seem like eons past, but was just a few months ago, really, we assembled one of our biggest and best New Yorker festivals ever. It was kind of a big to do because it was the 20th anniversary of the New Yorker Festival, and we pulled out all the stops. with interviews and live performances in venues all over New York and packed houses, if you can imagine such a thing as a packed house. Today on the program, we're going to hear from two of the big stars of that event, Kenan Thompson, the former child actor and now Saturday Night Live veteran, and Hassan Minaj, the comedian and political commentator.

You could call him one of the many protégés of John Stewart. He worked as a correspondent on The Daily Show, and that was a role that blended comedy with pretty serious political analysis. Minaj launched his own show Patriot Act on Netflix in 2018, and in two short years, the show won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award. When he spoke with the New Yorkers Carrey Batten last fall, Minaj had just had something of a viral moment testifying before Congress on the subject of student loans.

Now, look, we know the deck is stacked against student borrowers in ways that it wasn't 10 or even. even 15 years ago. And they deserve some basic protections. Americans should not have to go bankrupt pursuing higher education. And they should never be preyed upon by under-regulated loan servicing companies. So members of this committee, we know the government is capable of stepping in during a financial crisis. So really all I'm asking today is, why can't we treat our student borrowers the way we treat our banks? Because 44 million Americans, that is too big to fail. Thank you so much for your time, and I will now go back to where I came from.

You show the Maxine Waters reaction? I think the Maxine Waters reaction was where she's just like... She's like, ooh! Yeah. It's like a meme now of her like, oh! Yeah, it's really good. I mean, first of all, how does one get in the position to testify before Congress in this capacity? I don't know. I thought it was a joke. They were like, we're doing our first hearing about the student loan crisis, and would you like, crisis and would you like to testify? And I guess that's what you need now on Capitol Hill

to get legislation changed. You just got to get a comedian that's available and they're going to come in and do five and hopefully it moves the needle. Right, right. And I mean, it's interesting in this clip, you're, like I don't think of you as a troll of a comic generally. I don't think that's your role, usually. But you are a little bit in this video. You're pretty, you're pretty confrontational and I wonder, did you have to psych yourself up for that? Like, sort of like shadow box and the hallways of Congress. And just think about kind of like all of these like older people in suits leering at you and that sounds scary.

You know what's really interesting. As soon as I got there, it's pretty sad. Like Congress is pretty, I thought it was going to be like House of Cards, like just like witty banter, amazing lighting, just hot jaw lines. It's not like that. Yeah. Yeah, it's like the DMV. You show up.

They're like, here's a men's health from 2014 and, you know, some bottled water. It's pretty much like that. But I just thought it was a bipartisan position. I thought of all the sort of, there's a lot of third rail issues in America. I feel like student loans and student loan borrowers hits constituents in both parties. So I felt like if there was one issue that affects my generation the most in future generations, it was that. So I want to talk a little bit about Patriot Act. This is a show that has such a broad scope and such a high-level understanding of world events,

but then also such a nitty-gritty niche kind of in the weeds way of understanding the world as well. And I would just be curious to hear you talk about the way you consume news and what your media diet is like and just how do you educate yourself on everything that is going on? Yeah. I think I'm really lucky. I got my undergrad degree in political comedy at The Daily Show. I was there four years. I learned under John, Trevor, Steve Bodo, Jen Flans, like this amazing institution of people that have been there 15 plus years, you know? And they taught me really quick why people turn to our shows. And I realized people basically turned to our show to. synthesize the news and basically summarize it within a one sentence take. And generally, whoever had the best take that just makes you laugh out loud, you go with that.

That's your act one. And going from that, then I quickly was able to realize, all right, I wanted to be able to do that in longer form storytelling. So I needed to get like a great news team around me. And that started with a really great news producer and then working with junior researchers and fact checkers and sort of just pulling from really, really great, amazing places. The New York Times, AP, Vice, there's all these really amazing journalists that I was following on Twitter that I was a big fan of and just reached out, and we slowly built this team. They would come in with really great stories, and then the comedy writers would start pitching

takes, and we'd just sort of back and forth. So I'm going to change gears a little bit. Does your wife think you're funny? No. No, not at all. Did she think you were funny when you first met her? No. No?

No, she just keeps it real. Like, I was doing a movie with Kate McKinnon, and she was like, Kate McKinnon is really, really funny. That's funny. And she's right. Like, Kate McKinnon is so undeniably funny. Wow, wow. Your wife is a tough crowd.

She keeps it 1,000. Yeah. So much of your work is about family and about heritage. about parenting in particular. And, you know, I would love to hear you talk about, you know, what kind of parenting things that you have adopted from your parents that you're kind of coming to understand now that you have your own daughter. Yeah, I mean, I definitely take a ton of inspiration from, you know,

especially my mom and dad, just their work ethic and their hustle. And they just never took anything for granted. everything and this can be a good thing feels like it can go away at any time so make the most of it like

I still have that to this day I'm not going to show up to set drunk high late those sort of things just I kind of have I can feel mom and dad watching me being like you're very lucky to do this

they're going to take it away from you if you don't do it right that desire to sort of overachieve but I think the biggest difference, and I owe this to them, is their whole thing when they came to this country was surviving. And I feel like my generation, and I hope my daughter's generation, it's about living.

And there's a big difference in that. When you're surviving, you sort of placate the status quo. You don't want to ruffle any feathers. You don't tell Ellen, pronounce my name properly. Put some respect on it. To quote Birdman. Like, Ami and Abu would just be like, let El-Ey and Abu would just be like, let Ellen. and call you whatever she wants.

And I'm like, no, we're not going to do that. We're doing this on daytime. Say Hassan Minhaj. Like, straight up, say my name, Muhammad Ali style. And that's the difference between surviving and living. And I want my daughter to sort of unapologetically be herself. I want her to be able to talk about her background and what she believes in and what she's about. I just want her to have that audacity.

and to know to tell people to pronounce her name correctly yeah Eva duvine wore this super dope shirt it said I'm my ancestors wildest dreams and mom dad you're here you know daddi if um me if they could see what we're doing it's I think about that shirt a lot like I really think about that shirt that like Andreslo, I talk that way. I talk that talk in front of like, our white bosses. Like, I run my mouth in front of the British. You know what I mean?

Like, I think about, like, my grandfather, you know, who isn't here and, like, how he would feel. And to do it with a level of sophistication and elegance, don't, like, use crass language or bad language. But to carry myself as if I'm equal as if I belong just as much as they do. And for that to not be like, wow, that's awesome. No, it's like, no, that's the norm. That's the standard. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

You didn't meet your sister until how old were you, eight? Yeah, no, no. So my sister was born in the States and then she grew up with my grandparents for a little bit and then came back when I was around eight years old. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. But so, I mean, does your sister have a different experience? I mean, I should ask her. You should ask her, yeah.

Totally, yeah. Let's bring her up. No, I'm not. Yeah. Well, I want. This is like an interesting. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, you know what? Like she, she's been really great with me, too, like, checking my perspective. And I remember this was like, we had this really great conversation. You remember this. Right after Homecoming King, you were like, that's not the way my experience was with mom or dad. Like, that's not the way I saw the world. Like, you are so melodramatic. Which parts were... Just all of it. Yeah. Like, the whole thing from start to finish. What is wrong with you? I've always wanted to be. I've always wanted to be. I've always wanted to be so... I wanted to actually talk to Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris about this of like, hey, is what?

Like, just, can you adjudicate this, you know? Sounds like a pitch for Netflix. I don't know, but, you know, it made me realize, like, she was like, that's not the way I saw. Like, my POV of it was and is. And I realized that I was like, this is actually really indicative of a larger conversation in art. A lot of times with art, there's this convo around, what is your writer's room like? what is this like? Why doesn't this show represent what I want it to be?

And instead of trying to change Homecoming King, Aisha needs Homecoming Queen. She needs to write her version of that. And you can see the nuances and the beauty and the flaws of that. And I think it really shaped my perspective on the next generation of artists that are starting to make and develop work. Like, I think there's a lot of stuff that I see currently in pop culture. If you think that it's missing or there's a gap here,

what you need is a platform for people to share their perspective and story because no one story will be able to encapsulate everybody's perspective. One thing that I love about Patriot Act is how much you talk about the political landscape in India, which I feel like is a subject that Americans are very detached from, and they're just willfully do not engage with. And I recently saw that photograph of Prime Minister Modi holding hands with Donald Trump in Texas in a stadium. And can you just break down what that entire situation was for this audience? Because it was so confusing to me.

What did you think? What I would love to see? What did you think was going on? Like that, so there were so it was 45,000 Indian people in Texas in the stadium celebrating the new prime minister who dislikes Muslims, right? Sure. And Trump is like, here's a guy who is like the Indian me, so I'm going to run through. Yeah.

And like where this is a photo op. Okay. That was my... And they were full on holding hands. You got it. You nailed it. Okay. Yeah.

I had to be there. It was just, what an interesting combination. You have two fan bases. It's like an Indian Trump rally. You have gun nuts and vegetarians. And it's like... You know what I mean? Like, there's one group of people that is like,

we cannot put animals in cages. And they're like, you're right. We should only put children in cages. And it was just merged that day. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen in my life. And in that episode, or in one episode about the Indian elections, you talk about how you had been discouraged by your family and Indian people from talking about they're like, don't talk about it.

Why? It's a third rail issue. Okay. Oh, it's a third rail issue. How are you going to win this? Right. You know what I mean? Like, you want to talk about India and Pakistan and Kashmir.

It's like it's a context that we'll understand here in New York. is like Palestine and Israel. How do you want to win this debate? It's filled with like a ton of detail and a ton of nuance and a ton, you know, it's not as simple as what you think it is and you're going to make a lot of people upset. Either you went too far or you didn't go far enough.

But to me, again, like, I want, you don't know how long you have these shows for. I want to use the opportunity that I have to say what I feel and to really just put it out there while I still have the chance to. I'm going to do a little empercerio thing and have them pull up a clip of this for anybody who hasn't seen it.

It is super funny. Let's take a look. Son, I saw your show on student loan. It was amazing. I'm actually going to do an episode about the Indian election. What? Are you out of your mind? You're being stupid now.

Indian elections are a definite no-no. There is a lot of garbage outside, and that garbage is going to come on your face if you open your mouth on Indian politics. You cannot talk about Narendra Modi, you cannot talk about Priyanka Gandhi. You cannot talk out in the open. What about on the internet?

Never on internet. You are an NRI. You are an ABC. You're an ABC. You don't know the Indian politics. It is the world's largest democracy, and I'm gonna talk about it. Politics is like a jalebi. Round, round, round, round. You don't know where it ends, where it starts.

Democracy is for people with power, people with muzzle power and money power. It is not for you and me. It's for gangs. You are going to make millions of people angry. With the Hindus, with the Muslims, with the Sikhs. They're going to kill you. You will be no more.

There will be an accident. You will be burned to death. You're gone. You need a problem. No, I don't want a problem. Why do you? You can talk about anything else. Talk about cricket.

Talk about sneakers. That's more comical. That's more comical. Have you, did you piss anyone off in your close orbit? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. People are very upset.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But again, look, for me, I really do believe this. I really admire the journalists that are out there doing really amazing work, and we have an incredible privilege being here in the States. Number one, safety is assumed, and number two, we really do have freedom of speech. Like, yes, there are certain limits to it in certain contexts, but in ways in which journalists and other parts of the world, they don't get to speak this way. And so, to me, if you do have that privilege, just be surgical with the way. way you use it. And to me, this is the opportunity that all the comic friends that I have and the political satirist friends that I have around the world, they don't have those privileges. Absolutely. And have you been to India in recent years? Yeah, yeah. I go back and I've done stand-up there and yeah. What is the audience like for your stand-up sets there? Well, it depends. So, like, depending on where you go and like the ticket price, like you're getting a different type of audience. and also because there's like Hindi speaking stand-up comedy

and then there's English-speaking stand-up comedy then there's like mixed and then there's so many different languages and cultures within India so there's like sub-genres within it too it's kind of like the way rap is now where you're like that person's a rapper and you're like yeah post-malone is part of hip-hop yeah

it's like that you're like that's a comedian that does it in Telugu you're like yeah he does it in Telugu That's the postman. I want to know who the postmaline of India is. Yeah. Of Indian comedy. I don't know, but if a dude had face tattoos,

that dude would be wild because you know his family wouldn't be cool with it. That's like a very permanent F you to your parents. That's a great note to end on. Let's give it up for awesome. Thank you, guys. Thank you. All right. Thank you.

Bye. care. Hassan Minaj speaking with staff writer, Carrie Batten, season six of Patriot Act is available on Netflix now. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, and in a moment, we're going to talk about places. Saturday night lives, Kenan Thompson. We're going to talk about bangers. Stick around. We're going to talk about faces. We're going to talk about things pertaining to you and you and you and you. You too, not you, but you, everybody bang. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Keenan Thompson has been in the limelight for going on 30 years,

which is a lot for a guy in his early 40s. Thompson was a kid when he broke out on Nickelodeon's All That. He was 25 when he went to Saturday Night Live, and 17 seasons later, he's the longest running cast member in S&L's history, and somebody who doesn't shy away from appearing in sketches as R. Kelly or Bill Cosby. Keenan Thompson spoke with staff writer Vincent Cunningham at the New Yorker Festival in 2019.

Having broken the record for sort of being on the show, your tenure on the show, I think you're in a better position than anybody in the world to say how much the show has changed. And it just seems like your job is so different now than it was

maybe in 03. Like, I feel like people... I mean, say that for probably any comedian, especially in these woke times. Yeah. You know, it's very touchy out there. And, I mean, you have to be very responsible with what you're doing. And, you know, I think Dave did a great job with that. Yeah, yeah.

One of the things that I've thought a lot about in terms of how much the show has changed, it used to be that there would be, like, sort of one black cast member that was, like, there to be Richard Pryor or somebody. You know, there to, like, play whoever was in the news at the end of them. And it seems now that there's... You've gotten to this place where you can do, like, Black Jeopardy, and all these things where you can do whole things that are sort of black culture

as part of the show in a way that it hasn't been. Well, these are epic times for America. We've had an African-American president and he served two terms epically, you know. Yeah. And Michael Che is, you know, the first black head writer on that show, you know what I'm saying? And these are the times we're living in.

So I think it's a fantastic thing. You know, Bowen is our first, you know, Asian-American to get on the show. And he happens to be gay as well. well, so it's like a double-up. I read today that you are the first cast member to be born

after the show had already starred. After the 75, I guess, won the show. So, I mean, it's been around your whole life. Did it mean a lot to you even when you're a kid? Were you watching it? I mean, yeah. I mean, it's SNL. You know what I'm saying? There's been, you know, many imitations

since, but it's the mother's shit. You know what I'm saying? It's like, watching Star Trek as opposed to next generation. It's the real deal. It just never seemed real for so long. I had such a hard time even associating myself being on the show for a long time.

I wouldn't watch, you know what I'm saying, just because I felt like I was ruining it. You know, I felt like I was tainting this great, American-branded, you know, beloved thing that even my family loved, you know what I'm saying? And now I'm up there kind of just fucking around. You know, not taking it as seriously as I needed to or whatever, and I didn't know if I was tarnishing, you know, the image in any kind of way

or the reputation in any kind of way, because even I hadn't necessarily proved to myself, you know, what kind of caliber of laughs I was able to get. How early did you know that you wanted to do all this? I mean, you started pretty early. How did it all start? I mean, I knew I didn't want to work hard. You seemed to have failed at that.

There was that. I mean, I like to go to work. I don't like to work hard. It's just one of those natural things. I started doing plays and stuff at school. And we were doing everything. Piano lessons, sports. You know what I'm saying?

It was just a way to stay out the street. But acting was always the one thing that kind of stuck around. And then once it paid me the first time, I was like, oh, this is definitely it. Because I was cutting grass for $20 a lawn, non-dependent on how the size of the lawn. You know what I'm saying? It was just like people were getting over on 10-year-old Kenan and it wasn't cool.

But then a commercial paid me $800. And I was like, yo, that sounds like $8 million. It lasted for forever. So much candy. How old were you? I was like 12. Right. And a commercial was the first thing you got paid for?

Yes, and that was through my teenage years, working through Nickelodeon at the same time and stuff like that. So I got professional at a young age, you know what I'm saying, and I took that very seriously. Is that strange being on TV and also being in high school? Yeah, but it was cable, so a lot of them kids weren't really up on it like that, especially, you know, going to school where I went to school, I don't even know if they had it, you know what I'm saying, like that. So a lot of kids didn't have Nickelodeon. So I was kind of just, you know, amongst the nerds. But back to kind of you starting out. I think obviously the stereotype about people who you think of as child actors is that they go through this trouble,

that there's something like, you know, anguish. And like you've never, you seem perfect. Are you seen? I don't know if you're going to find out tonight. Seriously. Was it like a one? Okay. You seem pretty well adjusted.

You just offered somebody some water that you don't know. I mean, that's not child actor stuff. Yeah. It's not like we have to share it. What was the... I grew up before social media, so, you know, all my stumblings just weren't reported in the news like that.

But now, I'm also like, I don't come from a family of Barry Morris, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not third generation doing this. Like, I'm, you know, the first one to even get, you know, as far as I've gotten, like, my dad had a singing group when he was in the army.

you know what I'm saying? And that was like overseas and he's always bragging about it but like show me the record you know what I would love to hear it as opposed to just hearing about it I love to hear one song

but after you had done all that and you did Keenan and Kel there was like a moment maybe it was when you started SNL but was there a weird transition between being that guy that's known for being young

and being sort of a child to sort of move into the more adult phase of your career? Was that a rough transition? Oh, absolutely. Shall we discuss? Yes, please. I left Nickelode in in 2000. So I was chilling.

I was feeling very grown and I was like in the process of buying my first home and I was like, okay, this is amazing. Like I'm a settled, established, grown 18-year-old, you know what I'm saying? Like, ready for this. Ready to tackle all of this. and then my accountant kind of was a piece of shit

and he took advantage of me as a minor because when I met him I was like 15-ish so right when I first started making money or whatever but he was helping my mother out with her taxes and then you know her not really being as savvy God bless her soul and I mean she blames herself and like feels bad about it to this day so I don't bring it up much,

but we went to like Walgreens and got a power of attorney sheet and gave this dude power of attorney when I was like 15. And yeah, he ran off with my shit. So I was like... Like everything? I mean, yeah, you could go ahead

and just say everything. You know what I'm saying? So I found out about that at the signing for this home that I picked out. And yeah, he was just, you know, a weird twisted individual. So all those dreams of me like being the king of Atlanta kind of went out the window and I was like shit I got to get back to work This happened within two days. I decided like I got to go back to L.A. and like get back to it So I moved back to L.A. with whatever I had left

It just you know continued to work but it was really tough like I was sending my tape to S&L like almost immediately, but they were saying like I look too young. I look too young. I still kind of do So I was taking like, you know, jobs here and there. And, you know, as a working actor, especially when you're young and in between things, things get, you know, kind of spread out. So it was like a job and then six months with no job, you know what I'm saying? And then trying to make all that shit work while being kind of famous, you know what I'm saying? So like my brakes are squeaking.

I'm getting waved at at McDonald's, you know what I'm saying? But I get a free chicken sandwich and ain't nobody really tripping. And I just, you know, just kept being able to pay the bills. did that hustle, you know what I'm saying? Did love don't cost a thing and then Felicity and then barbershop and then everything started rolling kind of after barbershop because I got to audition for

SNL once Tracy left. Can you tell me how what's up with that came to be? My favorite sketch in like SLOA. Thank you. Me too. I had an idea. I felt like it would be funny if I had a talk show and didn't let

people talk. Now often, We will see the Oscar winners use their thank you speech to make some kind of a political statement. Now, as a performer, yourself, do you think that's appropriate? That's a great question. I think it's up to the individual. I mean, you know, giving an Oscar speech

is a pretty big platform. Humongous platform. Yeah, yeah. And you know, a lot of actors have a genuine passion for certain cause. Passion and action. I just, you know, I enjoyed, you know, soulful singing and stuff like that.

And I felt like it hadn't been on the show like that in a while. And I talked to my buddy Brian Tucker about it. And he was like starting to get it kind of almost immediately. And then, you know, he's good at like writing out four lines and then we can, you know, kind of mold those lines into, you know, verses that make sense. Do you write out O-E in the Word, Doc? He writes out O-O-O-O-D-E-E-E.

You know what I mean? So like at the table, do it right. And then, yeah, what's up with that? And then one more time, ooh-wee. And then what's up with that? And that's a chorus. You know what I mean?

Time it out. And then we go from there. What, I don't know, is one of these more sort of fulfilling for you, creating a new character in a new situation like that or doing an impression of somebody? Are there different parts of the brain? I don't know if it's different parts of the brain. it's definitely people's forte one or the other, I feel like.

I think you're good at impressions and you're semi-gooded character work or you're really good at character work and then you're semi-gooded impressions. And then, you know, of course, there's some people that can do it all, like Kate McKinnon, you know what I'm saying? But for me, like, impressions come very naturally to me. Like when I saw Billy Porter yesterday, I was like, oh, I got my next character. Guaranteed, you know what I'm saying? If you would like to workshop it, please.

It's just one of those things people just, fall out of the sky, especially in New York, like, Jimmy McMillan was one of those things. Like, I would have never researched, you know, a character that behaved like Jimmy McMillan, you know, but he happened to be a guy that, you know, looked like the Lorax and

talked about the rent being too high. He wore gloves because he was worried about Agent Orange. You know what I mean? It's like, you can't make these things up. At least I can't. One of my favorite impressions of yours that happened in a

was, it was kind of, I mean, it's kind of controversial, but it was, you did Bill Cosby in jail? Uh-huh. So what are you in here for? You don't ask a man that in here. You put your head down, keep to your business. Wow, old timer, you really know the ropes. I've never done time before.

This friggin sucks. Hey, you don't come in here. You need to get a job. Cosby, keep it down. Damn, this is a 10th warning, and you've only been here four days. Light zone! Wow, Bill Cosby, I mean, on behalf of every one of your fans,

it is so disappointing to be meeting you now. What? I am in my prime. I'm in jail and loving it. No kids with the donnedous things, limited interactions with Camille. And when I was fighting incarceration, I had no idea. that one of the staple foods of the prison system is a jello.

You've been doing Bill Cosby on some level since you were a kid. Yeah, man. I've seen you do it forever. It's one of the more heartbreaking things in my life, I would say, because I was born in 78, so I grew up throughout the 80s. In the Cosby show, there was nothing bigger, especially in the black household. You know what I'm saying?

And he was the first comedian I got to know, because he was the clean one. The first book, I think, like the first, you know, autobiographical book that I got was his. Huge fan of Jello, you know what I mean? All about it. And on and on and went, you know,

into a different world, you know, picture pages. Like, the guy was everywhere, you know? And then I get up to a point where I'm able to play Fat Albert, you know what I'm saying? And it's like, oh, that's a huge deal for me, especially for the culture.

So I wanted to do a great job. I couldn't wait to meet my idol. Got to meet him first day. Got to work with him a couple weeks later or whatever. It was a cameo with just me and him. And was a little exposed to kind of like his real nature as opposed to like his persona that he puts on and it was a little raw.

So it wasn't as raw as what really came out. But it was definitely a peek behind the curtain of like, oh, this is not just Michigan. to clean or whatever. There's never anything like overly alarming where I was just like police, I think you guys

need to take this dude out. But, you know, I just never heard him even curse, you know what I'm saying? So like hearing him just talk casually and stuff like that was, you know, shocking. And then, yeah, it all blew up after that.

And when it all came crashing down, it was like, that's crazy, but it doesn't eliminate what my job is. And my job is to hold the mirror up to what life is. Same reason why, you know, we had to do the OJ thing. There was a guy named OJ who's out of jail and dating.

You know what I'm saying? It's just a reality. He's on Twitter right now. It's not cool. I would rather he didn't. But, you know, that's the time. On that happy note, thank you for doing this, man. Oh, my pleasure.

Keenan Thompson, speaking with staff writer Vincent Cunningham in October 2019. That's the New Yorker Radio Hour for today. I'm David Remnick. I want to thank you for joining us, and I hope you'll join us next time. The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios

and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of Tune Arts, with additional music by Alexis Quadrado. This episode was produced by Alex Barron, Emily Boutin, Avae Carrillo, Rianan and Corby, Calalia, David Krasnow,

Caroline Lester, Gofen and Putubuele, Louis Mitchell, Michelle Moses, and Stephen Valentino, with help from Alison McGatam, Danny Bonner, Mung Faye Chen, and Emily Mann. This episode was produced with help from Rhonda Sherman and David Ohana. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherina Endowment Pond.