The Questlove Show - Angela Nissel

Episode Date: May 18, 2026

Angela Nissel joins Questlove for a deeply funny and moving conversation about growing up in Southwest Philly, breaking into television, and navigating grief after losing her mother—the subject of her new memoir, Good Grief, Pass The Bread, Mom Is Dead. The longtime friends revisit their wild early days together, from telemarketing gigs and busted cars to building Okayplayer and discovering the early internet, while unpacking people-pleasing, therapy, and late-in-life self-discovery. Angela opens up about caregiving, moving her mother to Los Angeles, surviving Hollywood burnout, and rediscovering who she is beyond work—all with the sharp wit that helped shape shows like Scrubs and The Boondocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Our podcast is called Hey Jonas. We've here since everyone has a podcast, we wanted to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn, is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It was the same thing with Slow Hands. The whole answer is not about anything else really, is it?

You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Everyone sees me as a football player, but before anything else, I'm human. Every single day, I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships, emotions ever since I was born. This isn't a normal podcast. Everything here is spontaneous, real, and genuine.

Just honest conversations about what it means to be alive. I'm Javier Tornandez and listen to Learning to Be Human on IHard Radio, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. The Questlove show is a production of I Heart Radio. Yeah, I feel like people will be more honest when there's like not people in the room. Oh, shit. Well, especially with these line of questions. Oh, shit. I wanted to see how long it was going to take where we started cracking up.

My guest today has one of my favorite laughs of all time. Actually, sounds like she's crying every time she laughed. But anyway, our guest today has probably come to your attention. Whether you know it or not, I credit her with seating the concept that we now today casually know as black Twitter. And you got to own this, Ange. I'm owning it, I hear you. You got to own it. If you are a television watcher, like I am.

am you probably watch one of the many shows that she's had a hand either executive producing or consulting or writing for either or be it scrubs or the boondocks or the jellies that should have never went off the air i love the jellies the last o g there's also bigger and uh till death and oh mixed dish jinnie and georgia tons yes and jennie and georgia also and uh the other black girl. No, you're all over the place. She has authored, best-selling books, mixed. Of course, the broke diaries, but I saw a post of hers that sort of compelled me to invite her. We didn't quite plan this. So instantly, she asked, like, who didn't show up for me to show up. But I saw post of hers maybe like two months ago where she was sort of skittish in celebrating the wins

in her life. And knowing the kind of the basis for which, or at least the cathartic process for which this book that she's authored is for her, I think that now's probably the most apropos time to celebrate our great friend of the show, Angela Nissel. How are you? I'm amazing, man. We went from laughing to crying real quick. You got me a few about to be like, By the way, the book is Good Grief, Past the Bread, Mama's Dead. It's getting critical acclaim. Yes. Yeah.

And by the time this airs, this will have already been a bestseller. I don't know when this will be on the air, but, you know, soon. It'll be on the air soon. All right, so I'm going to ask you a barrage of questions. It's not rapid fire, but of this latest style of question I've been doing for the show, this is probably the most rogue I've ever gotten. Let's start with, give me your earliest memory. Technically, what would you call the part of Philadelphia that you grew up in?

People would say it's Southwest Philly, but isn't it known? It used to be known as Eastwick because we thought we were better than everybody. Remember it used to be the suburbs? It was like, but people didn't even realize it exists. But now I looked, I was like, these are just regular Southwest Philly homes. I think in 97, so there was a point where like places like Chester, Yaden, Like wherever the trolleys of SEPTA would go, like their destinations, I always felt like, oh, that was like the fancy places where I wanted to grow up in.

They had cable out there. We did not have cable. And so, but then kind of, I'll say 97, very silently, I think 97's the year that the gentrification process happened. And I saw this all over the United States. So places that we would visit back in 93. 94 were like no longer there like suddenly projects are getting raised and ever and then i saw that people were trading places and they would place inner city black folk into what we thought was

the suburbs and then white people came into the inner city and so yeah the last time i drove i actually did a sentimental drive through that part you ever find yourself rolling up the window but you don't you don't want to be racist against your own people i'm like we grew up with a strip mall and it's like, what's you got a strip mall? Dude. You mean? We really thought we was doing something.

It was life goals to live out there. I felt special when thriller premiered on MTV's like going to the suburbs, the Uncle Duny's house and now, man. Right, okay, but I wasn't that good when I lived there. Like, maybe it's just because I lived in L.A. And I was like, I remember my mom saying, at least our house is an abandoned the one next door. Like that is what it took.

to be successful in Philly. Like, at least we don't live on... An abandoned house. So I was like, that's what made us a little better than other people. Yeah, so, like, what is your earliest memories of living in that part of town? My mom mourning me when we moved to that part of town that if I saw a group of white boys to run. Yes. She said that?

Yes. You don't remember what Southwest Philly was going through in the 80s? The KKK March there. Oh, I didn't know it was like that. Oh, they had an interracial couple moved in and a black couple moved in. And it was all in the district of the church. I went to Catholic school. And it was like, I'm going to say 60-something in Woodland for anyone who knows Philadelphia.

And once the black couple moved in and the interracial couple moved in, someone firebombed their house. This was huge news. You can still Google it today. And so then the KKK came through and they started recruiting. And every day when I would be on the trolley, I would just think, don't let anybody chase me home. Like, yeah, it was crazy. So that's sad, but that is my first memory. Sorry, let's get back to the laughter.

No, I'm laughing at that because I had it all wrong because, again, I thought that was the nice part of town. Because I would go out there for selective weekends. That is hilarious. No. And I didn't realize we were the gentricate, like, we were the gentrifiers, you know? You were. I'm just like, why we got to run. You're now a pioneer.

You're a pioneer there. What year did you move there? We moved like 81 and I lived down there. Oh, we lived there until, yeah, 81 until like 98. My mom finally moved out of it. So technically where did you come from? Like, where were you born? Born in West Philadelphia.

My West Philly. Yes. Can you name the block? 56 and, oh my God, Catherine. Oh, like, real West Philly. Yes, what the hell? And, like, this is the thing, man. And again, you were like the special girl that lives in the suburbs and she's kind of nerdy.

And yeah, because she lives in the suburbs. My mom would be proud at that though, because that's what she wanted us to believe. But when I look back again, I'm like, mom, you bought a car for $250 and we could see the street. You had a Flintstone car. Yes, exactly. Like we could only get out of one door. But she's all about don't pay attention to that. Get in school.

I got to tell you. All right. I'm glad that someone else had that experience. So during the summer of 93, when we were having like a seven label bidding war and we were broke. And, you know, there was like seven, eight of us and we didn't have money to get back and forth on the bus or Amtrak. So rich, Richard Nichols took like 300 bucks to get a station wagon and kind of middle passion style. Shut up. No, no, no. We pocket. in the station wagon, but the middle row, the backseat, had no floor to it. So we took a whole bunch of boxes to make it a floor. But when I tell you the core, like the level of, like, imagine sitting where you have to, like, hold your, I can't even do it now on example, but Tarek's stomach was like rock solid. Like all the skinny people basically had to sit for an hour and a half with their feet in here. And this is the Roots auditioning for Def Jam.

Like, yeah, that car died maybe two weeks later. Oh, my God. I never knew that story. Yeah, it was not one of the happiest moments of the career. Well, I remember how long it took you to get a car. Yeah, you're right. You know why I remember this? Because we picked up Erica by Doo from the airport one time in my crappy car.

And the bumper was falling off. For some reason, you had nobody else to pick her up. And I remember, as she saw me pulling around, her eyes kind of. like, and then you, as soon as she got in the car, I said, you said, I'm sorry about the car, Eric. No, well, you talked me out of, all right, so there was a moment. Oh, God, I remember about to tell this story. Oh, shit.

All right, I got to think of the most diplomatic way to tell the story. Okay, this is February 23rd when things fall apart comes out. And the whole goal of the roots was literally for us. to walk home from Kappa. And this is, I kind of blame boys to men for this. One time I saw Mike McCary in the gallery. And you live out here in L.A. So you can always tell, you know, like Juicy Couture

became like the adopted wear of like some strippers or whatever. Like. Some stripper. But they'll have an outfit that will try to, you know, like sort of blow off the smoke to bring attention. But it's the outfit that everyone wears, like the rhinestones and the hoodie or whatever. Like, oh, you're trying to hide. Right.

So Mike had, like, literally, like, dark glasses, two hoodies on the thing. Like, he's the only person dressed like I cannot be seen. And I don't know. Like, that made an impression on me. I was like, man, all I want to do is I want to blow up. And he couldn't give me a pound with it. yeah, yeah, well, I gotta go. You know, like, this kind of thing.

And I don't know. I went home that night, like, yeah. So when we had an inkling that this album was actually going to be the album, I was like, yo, man, we got to play the gallery. And they're like, why don't you play on Tower Records? Like a place where a whole, it's like, no, man, it has to be in the record store in the gallery. Like, I wanted a pageant.

I wanted a people lined up or whatever. And we got that moment. So we were supposed to be there at like 11 o'clock to play and then sign autographs or whatever. And Tariq was late. And Rich is like, yeah, he went to go get his car. I said, get his car. And I didn't know that Tariq went and got his license. So I don't know.

It's kind of like the sibling rivalry thing. Thing is I don't have my license, but I knew I was going to get me a car. And you, you're like, dog, don't get a car. matter fact and this is like the last time I let somebody sell me the Brooklyn Bridge but in this case it saved my life so I'll I don't remember this this is hilarious

no you literally said like oh man you're gonna do that dumb wrapper shit where you buy it's like do you even have a license I was like no and I thought like I was going to do some Biggie little C shit because Little C's used to drive Biggie around so I was like all right I'll pay somebody like you know $300 a week to just drive

me around like Biggie and you look at me and you was like Amir, that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard in my life. Like, please don't waste your money like that. And I was like, huh? It's like, yeah. Like, do something. Don't be a dumb rapper.

Like, invest in your future. You know, with that money, you can start a website. And I was like, what website? And then I told you I had a computer. I had, what was it, a web TV? Oh my God, that's right. I didn't have web TV. Oh, my God.

And you're like, no, Amir. Like a real computer. Yo, but you thought you were killing. it with that web TV because not everybody had like you were like would so well I came from an era where like the Beastie Boys were handing out like CDs you remember when the internet used to be on CDs yes right how do we get online with or whatever so the Beastie Boys were like I thought I was even more technically proficient than anyone else because I can go on my television and I thought it was a shit and the way you just you came to my house and

looked at my setup and I'm all like, uh, huh? And you look like, No, Amir. And that was the moment where I felt so dweeby

that I gave up. And I said, look, what do I have to buy? Like, what is your nerd paradise? What do I have to do? And then you,

me, and someone else that, I met him once. Dugged? It wasn't Doug yet. It was someone else. Eric, not Eric?

It was. It wasn't Eric. It was another guy. He might have went to Penn or whatever. He was nerdy. Y'all drove me to Comp USA. God, who was this? We drove to Comp USA. Somebody I knew with a car back there. And I'm telling you, I had this $17,000 like it was a paper route money. Like, dumb shit, like Karen Cash or whatever. And reluctantly, I just watched my car just fade out the dream and got a computer. And then y'all built a new world. And like I had to fall in love with someone heavy out of state for me to actually get a license.

And even then, I only got a license because I agreed to do a car commercial. And they didn't know I wasn't licensed. And so the day before, they were like, hey, so where's your insurance and all that stuff? No. And I was like, what are you talking about for cyan? That's why I drove Sion. and I was like, oh, I don't have a license. And they were like, wait, why are you doing a car commercial?

Well, the money was great. The money was awesome. So I was like, hell yeah, I'll do a car car. I thought I was going to play the sign like the drum. Did you think they were just going to pull you down the street that you didn't really have to drive? I didn't know I was going to drive. I thought, like, if they're coming to Quest Love, I'm like, oh, you want me to drum on the car. I was dreaming the concept of the commercial in my head.

Like, I'm going to hit the tires. Hilarious. Right. And the day before, they had to call, well, they didn't want to let the client know that I was not licensed. So they had changed the entire concept of the commercial. And in the next three days, I had to cram all night. Dorn Englehart, my manager, she taught me how to drive. This is amazing.

And the unspoken part is what we're not, we won't laugh at. Dorn still jokes about, yeah, I taught you how to drive. Let's just say that Dorn does not look like you or I. She's not white. So what else we got out there? Yeah. And so I was forced to get my permit and my license so I can shoot this commercial. And they gave me the car and then, you know, that's.

So I like willed myself into that. But yes, you talked me out of, hey, I could have gotten that car and probably would have gotten arrested for driving without a license or. But also, why didn't I just tell you to get your license? Like, you had a major record at this point. What would I want you to do? Catch the subway? You didn't do the wagging finger thing, but the shame I felt, like, that's the first time

I didn't feel smart. I was always the dweeby. Not with the web TV? No. Like, literally the first time I was like, damn, maybe I'm not smart. Oh, my God. And I let you talk me into taking a. my car money and that's how I ceded the okay player. What's funny is I love that computer more than I

would have loved a car. You would have never let me drive your car, but I was on that computer all the time. Oh, you didn't even in the house. You were in the house way more than I was. You let Malick in the house. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to let Malick in the house. Wait, hold up. We were on the road once and I heard Malik's voice in the background. I was like, yo, not only that Malik leaked a Root song. I think the first time a song got leaked. I never even knew that. Yeah, like, we, that's why I took Quick Sam Millennium was supposed to be on phrenology. And I was like, oh, Malick ruining now, like leaking songs on the internet. So, yeah. See, this is why friends shouldn't work together because like, like, any, you would have had like, hey, here's who led in. You literally were like,

all right, I'm going on tour. Well, yeah, I didn't know this was a billion dollar idea business. I I didn't know that. I had something to put on the website. Hey, Malick. Right. I now see that you were running out of resources. Yeah, this is going to be a lot of inside baseball talk, go. Pride Month Toronto.

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Why do I watch the Walk Up? That's like asking me, why do I breathe? I inherited that fandom for my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival.

It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my... It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer. And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called, Hey Jonas. We've here since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible

guest so far. And now our good friend Nile Horn is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It's the same thing with Slow Hands. Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe.

Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. What TV show defined your childhood? Different strokes. that sad? It depends on which character you are.

Who did you relate to the most? Kimberly or her? No, wait. Because I remember, this is so embarrassing. You can be Charlene. And not the answer you're looking for. I just remember this is the dumbest answer you're ever going to get. There was an episode where I had a crush on Dudley.

Oh, don't bring up that episode. Yes. I'm so. No. I thought my brother always gets to see boobs. Boobes are all the way on, always on TV. boobs were everywhere in the 80s. Like you could, and I thought, I'm finally going to see a penis.

On that episode? I didn't know. I was young. Oh, God. Is? I don't even want to explain to people. Hey, just Google the special episode of Different Strokes in Dudley. Uh, you know what?

I actually rewatched that episode during my Christmas vacation. Dougley's dad was not mad enough. at what Gordon Jump was doing. Like the way they busted in, it was sort of like, ah, ah, you know it's illegal to have kids in uncompromising positions. You remember like he gave him drugs or whatever.

They were like all discombobble. Matter of fact, did Dully ever come on the show after that? All I know is I don't remember it the same way because I just remember that whole thing being, I didn't see a penis. Oh my God, is? No, because they had the same thing.

They put, like, parents should watch this with their children. I was like, I'm not watching it with my mom. Welcome to the fifth hour of the day show, Sanchez-Ansel. All right. In junior high, were you a shy kid or were you the class clown? Or were you the teacher's pet? I think I was the class clown because I just, we changed school so much.

Whatever school my mom found out was the best one. to get you into college. That was the one. So I went to Masterman, and I came to that from a Catholic school. And I just remember thinking, when I get to Masterman, I'm going to reinvent myself. I'm going to be funny. And so people will like me. I don't know why.

Wait, really? Yes. Oh, but here's what I did wrong. I also felt the pressure because it was Masterman is a selective junior high in Philadelphia. My mom told him, you know, you have to be smart to get in. So I went in thinking, everyone's going to be little Urkel. And so I remember I was the first one called on to read a page from some book. And I read it like Shakespeare thinking that's what you're supposed to do in a whole class, bust out laugh.

And that's what you're supposed to do in a whole lot of time. Wait, okay. So when we first met at our job, like, you had a whole other code switch persona that, like, you were like the hood join. And later when I found out you were nerdy, I'd like, wait a minute. Wait, what happened to? Improper English There's always been nerdy girls in the hood You know, it's funny as my mom tried to...

I want you to show me the book. This one? Yes. Oh, hilarious. Yeah. So when Ange sits next to me at my job, many of you know that I took on a telemarketing

insurance job to pay for the roots demo that never happened. And so, you know, it was rare that were like, you know, cute girls come in the office or whatever. And you were new. And I got your number and when I got home, you gave me the first three digits, the next three digits,

and a question mark for the last digit. Yes. And I looked at this thing and realized, wait, what is the last digit of your original home phone number? I don't even remember. You remember the whole thing. Well, I know it's 215, 365, but I don't know the... Oh, yes. It was the original one was a nine.

So I went, it was already 8 o'clock, and my dumbass is like, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-0. No, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-one. No. And when I finally got to you, you laughed. You laughed. And I lied to you and said, well, you know, I just went backwards. And it was like, I started at one and literally had to work my way up to.

So when she asked me to sign my first book, I did the same. my old number, so it doesn't work anymore. So I did the same thing that she did to me, which was put a question mark. All right. So what teacher in your school experience do you feel like really like saw you? Who's the teacher that like changed you? The school you taught me to go to, her name was Mrs. Pritchett. Miss Pritchett?

Yes. Okay. The one, you told me to go to performing arts. Yes. I was going to another one of those fancy schools of my. My mom was like, this is the one, but we can't afford it. So I was working at RMHH with you. And then you said, you should go to performing arts.

And I remember she sat me down. And she gave me the most loving yet honest speech about what makes good writer. She's like, you're a little off, but it's all. She compared me to her cousin who's a little off, but a little great writer. And she was just giving me one of those speeches that people giving the movies, like, I believe in you, kid. You got this. You know? Oh, everyone's always looking for it to be the savior of like.

But no one said that to the writing majors. We were the nerds. Yeah, I was going to say, okay, you know now at Kappa there's like nine majors. Wow. Yeah, I didn't even know there could be nine majors. But, yeah, I mean, at the time, you were either dance, you were TV radio, like production, like if you wanted to be a cameraman or that person. On the other side of that acting and in music, you were either in the choir,

or in the band. And then there was creative writing majors. And we just never knew like, what would you guys do? Like, walk me through a day at Kappa because I never was, you were the only person I was friends with

from creative writing. That says it all, right? Are you the most successful person out of, like, who else has done notable things in creative writing? That's right. It's so funny because I always see your name and I don't see any creative writers. there were some good writers literally what we did a lot of grammar a lot of reading other and I agree to be a good writer you have to read but back when we were in school I'm like did they at least diversify a little bit what we had to read I was like so the usual iliad the odyssey the epic Gilgamesian but no it was and then it certainly prepared me for Hollywood because 99% would be rewriting like you know just write something and work on it the whole week to try to make it better

But at that point in your life, you're just working to get the A. There was one teacher who loved whenever I wrote about the Holocaust. I could write anything that took place. She had her pride. You know, so I was like, this is a guarantee day. Oh, wow. That's Hollywood. Did you have Ms. Silva ever?

Or was she going? I never had Ms. Silva, no. Was she there in school? I think so, yes. Yeah, she would have like one big giant college word per year. That was like over three syllables or four syllables. And then she said it so much that, It's stuck to you, and then you found ways to try to drop it in, you know.

But the rest of your grammar isn't good. So I'll be like around the way like, yeah, you know, so if you could, you know, recapitulate, you know, what you just said, then I'll just like, hell you're talking about it. Like literally, Miss Silva was that person. You never had her at all. No, but I love how good your brain is because to me all of these people are background. noise to getting beat up on the boys to men video set and thinking, Amir told me to come to this school.

Oh, God. Wait, did you guys ever have like normal things like high school dances or anything? Did you guys have it? My version of Kappa? No, there weren't enough boys, one. That's why my mom said I could go. Oh, she knew you would not get pregnant. She came to my audition.

She was like, all gay and all right. All right. Did you know your grandparents at all? Yeah, yeah. What were they like? Woo, they were your typical move up from the south. Don't show any emotions. Drink quietly.

Oh, black people. Yes. Okay. Boomers of black people. Yes. Move into West Philadelphia when West Philadelphia high is still half white. And then by the time you get out, it's like, what happened? Wait, West Philly was half white at one point?

Overbrook. Sorry, my mom went to Overbrook. I was about to say. Oh, by the way. All right, so I'm getting my mural. And I didn't know that West Philly is now apartments. And so West Philly High is. It is?

Yeah. For my face to be on the West Philly High Wall, the place that I was, when I was driving by there, that was like lean on me. That was like a prison. I go there now. Wait, I went up near to where you used to live. And my mom used to be like, be careful out there, you know, people selling stuff on the street.

And I said, oh my God, that has just. gentrified like, like, okay, so when you go to Philly, do you chase ghost? Do you... What does that mean? All right, when I go to Philly, That's where Nana used to send me to get bread. And this is where we built the basketball court. But I used to always ridicule. You hear, like, basketball players going back to the old projects.

Yes. And then something bad happens. And you're like, dumb motherfucker. Like, why would you go back? But I find myself doing the same thing every time. Like, what I really love to do, though, like, my all-time favorite shit is if it's winter and I have, like, a hood on, I will actually get on the 36. No.

Dude, the way to produce tears with me, you know the former Warnermakers or Macy's. Oh, God, I hate when I date myself like that. Oh, John Haudemakers. Right. Back in 1922. It was a Macy's. You know, when you go to the 13th Street L and the trolley thing, you know that art mural where it's like, it looks like the Wiz logo, but it's like red, green. and black.

No, I kind of remember it. Yeah. It's artwork. It's like this mural thing. It's been there forever. It's been there since, like, when I was in first grade, like, 76. And I will get on a 36, sit and go all the way to the end. And what, Eastwick or whatever the, right?

The nice part of Southwest. God. And then circle around, come back to. to the end of the line, then I'll get on the L and do the whole entire trip. Matter of fact, in the pandemic, I would go on YouTube. Do you know there's people that, like, document entire train rides of the L from the front? I'm cracking up. I'm like, famous people, they're different than us.

You couldn't pay me to get on the L or on the tree on my day off. When, all right, so the day that we decided, what was it, March 13th, the day that we decided the world was going to shut down. And there was this whole apocalypse like revelation thing in the air. I was like, all right, my last act. I ran to Gatsby's to get a cheesecake. And then I ran back to Spring Garden and rode the L one more time. And then I had my driver.

I had my driver. Drive me to the farm that I. I quarantined in Pound Ridge, like this is a very richy Poundridge farm where, you know, the people let me stay in their guest house. But yeah, I don't know why I have this obsession with SEPTA. Wow. And so I'd sit there. One day I discovered, I went on YouTube and someone had the entire ride there. I'd probably watch 10 hours worth of train stops.

There's one from like 1979. That says more about your age than anything. else you said. What? Because you and my husband, just other people's experiences. I've had enough of my own. I'm just going to turn on YouTube. It's literally just trains.

Well, okay. Do you not have a recurring? All right, so the recurring dream I've had before, like, therapy finally wiped it away. Dang. No, there's a reason why I'll say that from 10th grade, probably until I was like, 45. It's the same dream. I'm on the L, head it home,

and it's the most dreaded, bad report card day feeling. Like, whatever feeling that makes you want to stall not to go home, you ever been suspended from school or whatever? No. Oh, that's right. You're nerd. You have? No.

Oh. You said. I don't beat my ass. Right. No, I had bad report cards before. or, you know, you got to see or whatever. But I would dream that I was in school and I'm always failing and I'm going to get it when I get home.

But I never get home, but I'm perpetually between 13th Street and 52nd Street. And that was like the dreams I would have from like maybe 15 till 45. Like the last 10 years of my life, I've been free of. that. But how? I'm like, that's abnormal. I have that dream at least once a month. For real. Do you have the same recurring dream? It's the same one except I'm in Kappa and somehow they figured out that I haven't graduated and I got to come back at my old age and go back and sit there for my diploma. I'm like, but I graduated college. Nobody cares. Did that happen for real though? No, never. You were like a great student, right? I mean, yeah, I went to good college,

graduated. I mean, but that it freaks me out. And I still have that dream. So wait, I got to get a better therapist, right? She ain't ever tell me this is. My, mine is kind of weird. My dad was doing a residency in Atlantic City at the Tropicana. And I was drumming for him. And, you know,

I didn't have a pager or we didn't have cell phones back then. And Bowser, if you remember Bowser from Shannana. Wow. No. Yes, you do. You're just faking it like you don't. No, wait, you're a little bit older than me. Have you heard of the group Shanaana? Yes.

Okay. One of them, you've seen Greece. Okay, yes, yes. There's a whole bunch of guys, but one guy. For some reason I was thinking happy days, but good. Well, I mean, same thing,

but he wore all black and do, do, do, he had the low voice or whatever. Anyway, like, right, but I mean, he didn't talk like that backstage, but he's like, he's like a mirror, there's a phone call for you. And who was, who is our,

do you remember our science teacher? Oh, God, no. Not Mr. Corey. I think it was Corey. The one that didn't make us do anything? Yeah. It begins with a kid. I forget that name.

And literally, he's like, Mr. Thompson, you still have to take your final exam. Don't think doing a residency with your father is going to get you out of this. If you are not in class tomorrow at A.A.m., you're not going to graduate. And literally, like, I did the show

and dad had to drive me back to Philadelphia and I passed by the skin of my teeth. Wow. But, yeah, so even as a good student, you thought you were going to be a bad student. I don't know. I never talked to my therapist. What is this dream about? You're the first one that's like something so far in our past.

I don't know what the bottom line was. But, okay, so more than that, like I decided to, I mean, it's past therapy. It's also like this whole metaphysical thing where you actually have to say like, you know, I'm not in high school anymore. I'm not 15. I'm da-da-da-da. Like, I had to do these at and literally talk it away. So I've not had the nightmare of failing.

But even as a 40-year-old, I was about to get my ass beat for getting a bad grade or whatever. So, yeah. All right, because you brought me into the tech world. Did you ever have an embarrassing AOL or MSN screen name? God, your memory's so good. I can't remember. I remember having an embarrassing one on my Commodore 64 back when I was like 11 or 12.

Wait, you could. There were little groups. That's where I first started. Wait, what year did? Oh, God. Ooh, this had to be 86, 87. And I remember my dad, weekend dad, not even weekend dad, but got you something new that your mom can't afford. Yay!

And, yeah, it was like. And I just remember... So you could talk to your friends or a community of friends. It was usually strangers because it was just an all-green screen and you could go into a place called like sewing. Right. And... Wait a minute. Okay, go, go, go.

You just reminded me of something. No, go, because that was the whole thing. The first time you introduced me to AOL, like a group community thing? Yes. Prince was in the group chat. Wow, really? And his screen name was White Mansion. But he was an asshole about it because if you remember like AOL had like an all white screen,

he would type an all white. And I didn't know how to copy paste so that I could see the cryptic message. And I think Doug is the one, Doug who worked at OK Player, taught me how to blacken the screen so I could see. And then I asked him like, yo, was that you? He's like, yeah, that was me. So I didn't know that Prince was my first time in a group chat. What's all so crazy is I remember specifically thinking, how do we get a mirror online?

I just had a web TV. All right, let's start them off with AOL. Let's ease them in. Oh, man, I miss AOL chat so much. And, you know, people, like, when people log on special, like, oh, my God, they're online. I do miss the days of AOL. Me too.

There was some mystery to it. Now I'm just like, everyone has a video. I had no idea who I was really talking to back then. And so you could be in a room with Prince and not know it. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What's the furthest place you've ever traveled?

Ooh, wow. This is probably going to be with you down to Brazil. I don't know how far. You did come to Brazil with us. You did come to Brazil. Wait, did you go sightseeing? Yes, with Tina Ferris one time. Were you accosted by kids or, okay.

I made the mistake of, like, walking by myself, and someone told me, like, if you walk by yourself, like, have a bag of toiletries with you. And I was like, why? And they were like, well, you know, some word of the flash it might happen. And the kid might come up to you and be like, sir, could you give me an am, and then you'll be like, oh, here, kid. And then suddenly everyone just pops up, you mean like the Michael Jackson bad video? Like, popping from nowhere.

I wasn't prepared. So literally, like, I had to run my way out of there while, like, 17 kids just like, please, please, please, like chase me. Yeah, so, and then I didn't go out after that. But I'm laughing because y'all must have got, they must have said, bring whoever you want, because y'all never bought me to it. And with so many people y'all bought on that trip. Wait a minute. So were you there when someone got in Tina's face? Were you backstage with this?

I was there. Okay, okay. And I thought. Laura, we're all about to be arrested in Brazil. Well, I don't want to out him, but I forget what his name was. But he was angry, I think, that we went five minutes over. Something like that. And I just remember Tina trying to handle it and him trying to handle it back.

And all of a sudden, I was like, Yeah, you try to handle Tina. And then everybody you invited came off like, you didn't know the Roots somehow had 25 airplane tickets to this thing. Yeah, it was a right. And then the topper to that story is he left his check on the table and then someone, I will say, signed. We left our check on the table and signed his name. I didn't do it.

His room number. Oh. Okay. In my mind, it was not ego-eyed cherry, but it's someone that's like... It starts with an F. I'll remind you. I don't want to get sued on your show. This is beeped out.

I feel I feel Jacob getting very nervous right now. Pride is like love. You feel it in your heart. IHR Radio, Canada's number one streaming app for radio and podcasts, including IHart Pride Canada, your favorite hits and must have party bangers, plus personalized and curated playlists, like back in the day pride. Come together, celebrate love. Take pride with you, anytime, anywhere.

Just ask your smart speaker to play IHartPride, Canada. Stream us on your phone, or listen now at iHartRadio.ca. I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place, soccer, football, at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom.

I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.

Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the MyCultura podcast network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating

people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the I Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up.

The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called Hey Jonas. We've here, since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn, is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It's the same thing with Slow Hands.

Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on a day, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. What is the first thing you do when you check into a hotel? As I got older, it is literally see if the bathroom is clean because I've been stuck in a hotel where it's not.

Where you're like, all of a sudden you're just on, you're like, oh, man. Really? Yeah, I mean, I've had like little. So you're a person that has to go and clean the hotel before? I mean, depends on how I can not clean it my own if it's like a roadside, but if it's like a nice one that Hollywood's paying for, no. But that's to me, I've just realized growing up in Philly, I'm used to everything being old and dirty. That's just Philly for fault. I got out here and I was like, this is how bathrooms are supposed to look.

And you can have more than one. Yes. Okay, so when you're creating, when you're writing, what four things must you always have? Prozac, weed. You want me to tell the truth? Yes, okay. I don't know. No, it is.

It's definitely weed. It's definitely a funny movie to start me off. A good friend on the phone. And actually, now, meditation. I put that in there. So you do that? All the time. So you have to put intentions and this is what I want to achieve?

Yeah, just making my mind not wander and just getting all the other noise out of my head. Okay, so I have the hardest time with writing, especially with books. So, and the way I do it fragment, like, okay, this is about, whatever, tell me about ninth grade and then you, you know, but I'm also like, oh, zebra, and then not have anything or easily fall asleep and then the computer falls on the ground. Like for you, how much straight work can you do without any distractions whatsoever? See, it's interesting for me because I see you as somewhat of a perfectionist and you always come into things with a plan. and so, at least from when I knew you. And so... Yeah, I'm still tightly wound.

And so that was me too, and I used to write. Ben, I used to think, why are people like Tariq so happy on weed? And I wasn't 40 until I tried it, actually tried it with my husband and had a horrible experience. So you're late weed? Yes, but it's wonderful for getting outside of your head and just letting yourself let go of that tightly wound stuff. Post or pre-pandemic?

My husband and I married in 2000. Not 2000. No. Yeah, I was like, wait a minute. 2020 started the pandemic. So it was probably 2019 because I remember cursing him out. I was like, you don't know. I can't handle this.

And I was so high. But he also taught me how to taper and start. You and I have the same experiences. But I'm an edible person, not. Me too. You know what? I've tried weed. I cannot get high.

I've had a whole thing to myself and nothing happens. I remember when you first went to Amsterdam. Yes. Did I call you? Yes. Ah, no! You and Dreamhampton, man, like, ah, you've seen sides of me that the world has never seen before it.

Oh, that was hilarious. Yeah. Because you were in the most innocent, like, just, you know, and you were so high and it was so funny. Yeah, I shouldn't have done that. Back then, people were getting arrested for weed and where we, so that was an experience you wanted to have, but you were so high.

that was a wonderful. Yes. All right. Do you talk to yourself when you're alone? Usually not outside my head. No. Just inside your head. Yeah, yeah.

But never like out loud as in. No, unless it's like, I want my husband to kind of leave me alone for a little while. I think I'm on the phone. You're crazy. For you're crazy. I wasn't expected that part. Are you a window seat or an LLC person?

Oh, see, this captures both sides of me because I don't like asking people to get up when I have to pee, you know, but I really like looking out the window. We're up high. We're in a plane. So I always pick the aisle because I don't want an inconvenience anybody else. Okay. So you're an owl person. Okay.

Have you ever considered moving to a place where nobody knows you? About to do that. Honestly, my husband and I are talking about it. I'm moving to Minnesota. His family is from there and I went out there and I thought, well, his family. But yeah, you mean no one, like not even my husband. Well, no, you got to have your husband with you. Hmm.

Would I? Yeah, I would love to do that, actually. Okay, I'm going to change your life right now. Oh, shucks. Okay, so. Here's you nude when you don't. No, I'm serious. I'm serious, serious, serious, serious.

Okay, it is, so I went up there once to clear a sample. It's a Minnesota? Two Prince's house? Oh, this is long after he passed. but there's a place that is called the Orrfield Labs. Now, Orrfield Labs was once famous because probably the most notable creation of the studio was Lips Incorporated Funky Town. Won't you do me too? Fucking not.

Right. Also for B-Boys, if you're a DJ, Kat Stevenson's Dog was a donut, was created at this very studio. So around 1989, I believe, they stopped being a studio for music purposes, and they transformed to like scientific audio lab. And what they've invented was they've invented two types of rooms and this is very unique. One room is a room for which sound will never die. So if you clap your hands, you hear the sound that. clap, like, resonate forever. There's a kind of a fake chimney thing that they open to let the sound go.

But in the other room is the exact opposite, and it's a silent room. Now, I only was aware of this because, again, with clickbait and social media, you know, it starts with, you know, can you survive 15 minutes in the silent room where, you know, like, apparently like you're going to go crazy. It's like the equivalent of, I mean, you've seen movies where people get thrown in solitary confinement or the padded white room or whatever. So long story short, is they put you inside of this room and look up Orfield Labs or silent room, Minnesota. They sit you in the studio room and there's literally no, like the noise is sucked out and there's no light. The only way I can describe it is if you are on the verge of wanting to do an ayahuasca journey, this is probably

the plant-based version of it, where you don't have to take anything, but the results are the same. And what I've discovered was when you don't have your senses, when you can't see, when you can't hear, your brain panics and thinks you're about to die. So the first thing your brain does is it pumps levels of serotonin or dopamine in your head, which is kind of what you feel if you were to do heroin. And literally, like, I sat there and maybe two minutes later. And I'm not saying words because I saw like my hand flashing. I was like, wait, am I hallucinating? Like, literally, it does something to you. It's one of the best spiritual experiences. Really? Because as you were talking, I was like, this sounds like hell.

Again, like because of the hype of, are you going to survive or not survive, maybe like after three minutes, I'm like, oh, clearly I'm not going to die. Like the first thing you hear is you hear your insides. You hear your heartbeat. You hear all those things. And then when I close my eyes, I see, you know, like when we dream, like imagine your childhood home. You close your eyes now.

There's my childhood home. Yeah. You see it. To me, that's normal. But when I open my eyes and you don't see anything, that's when you start to panic like, wait, am I blind? Am I blind? And the dopamine just keeps, it puts you in this very relaxed state.

I highly recommend. No, you know, it's funny. I have turned now. I was like, because I truly love meditating and the way it makes me feel and the way it grounds me. I was like, okay. And you know, like people now, well, they'll do like medicine journeys and all these things.

And, you know, like a lot of us, I'll say for the most part, black people who are very skeptical, very church, you know, if it's against God, I don't want nothing to do with Amir. Don't come to me with that. 2020 had us in a place where, like, we were just slightly open to something other than kind of this Christian tyranny thing that we're going through right now. And I will tell you that, yeah, that experience alone. And I've been kind of kicking the can like with doing ayahuasca, I will eventually do it. But for those that are averse to that, this is probably the closest thing to it.

I'm so proud of you in a weird way. Like, seriously. I would highly recommend this. Just because I remember you didn't drink, you didn't smoke, you were just, and so I know a lot of people who come up like that that won't touch anything like ayahuasca or just, you know, so. Yeah, I think in the pandemic, we all were like, fuck it. And we had to, there had to be something else, you know.

I mean, there just has to be something else. All right. So if you were allowed to go back to the age of 10 for one hour, what would you do? Oh, first thing I think is ride my bike until the very moment, the very last street light came on just because I missed that freedom of just being 10. and mom and dad didn't care where you were as long as you came back when the streetlights run. I just remember thinking when I had that bike at 10 that I could almost make it anywhere in the city.

You know, you just felt. Oh, you would go off the block and do different neighborhoods. Maybe like three, four blocks. Oh, okay. But it felt like bigger to then because it's like, I used to have to walk these. You feel a little, it's a first time I feel a little bit grown. Having a bike?

Yes. You're right. Actually, I would take my bike and I could make it to, like I live on 15th Street. I think I could make it to Penn's landing in like 45 minutes. See, that's, if there weren't any cars, I'm like, that's just a dream, just being free. Well, Pine Street was a little bear. So just, you know, between Pine Street was a street where I didn't have to worry about, like, getting hit.

You actually did it? Oh, all the time. Oh, that's dope. Yeah, I would do that all the time. What do you consider your bravest act to date? I would have to say moving my mom to Los Angeles and...

You brought her out here to care for her. Yes, yes. Okay. And stealing her away from her, I didn't steal her away. Even though he sued me for kidnapping. It's in the book. She married.

Yo, this is what I want to say about. They're always worried about us and our generation and younger on social media. And then... It's the older people. She met a man. Like she would have been your daughter. Yes, yes.

You know, and it's like, people need to watch their parents in this technology. all of a sudden, she's, you know, falling in love. But the guy is just a scammer. He's a mess. So I picked her up. Like Nigerian print scam levels?

Except Philadelphia and preacher scammer. Oh, same thing. Every time I came home, my mom would be like, well, we found out this degree wasn't worth anything. I'll just pull out of my pension to send him to another school so he can get another degree. Oh, no. I know. And so finally, you know, our parents, especially my mom came of age, Jim Crow, just everything's hard. life and you know, I don't want to be a burden. And I was like, no, I'm getting you the hell

out of here. So I moved her in with me while he sued the hell out of me back home. But just the same feeling as you had as a kid on a bike. It was just the freedom. It was just me and her, me taking care of her in this beautiful place. What was California like for her? Way different than Philadelphia. I remember asking her that exact question. And she said, A lot of Mexicans We don't, at least not when I moved, you know, early 2000s. Philadelphia was pretty much black and white, mostly coming up and, you know, she was. Yeah.

So this to her, like, people speak in Spanish, she was like. There's a revelation. You know how people from Philly are. It's going to be an earthquake every day and, you know, something's going to go wrong. Did she experience an earthquake? No, thank God. Because she would, even though she had stage four cancer, she would have rolled her back to Philly. But I think then I remember her saying to me, one, she said, people just seem a lot

chiller out here, like a lot calmer. And I was like, well, you never been on set with me. Right, right. But other than that, yeah, there's just, I'm glad she got to experience that laid back kind of California thing, even though she didn't know my house was in foreclosure and all this stuff. And I went, oh, man. Yeah, I don't want to give anything away.

Don't give it away. Literally, there was a man taking pictures of my house when my mom, when I finally got off the plane and my mom said who's that? I was like, paparazzi mom ain't no paparazzi in my name. It was somebody coming and make sure the condition of the house before they resessed it. Oh, God. So

not only bringing her there, but lying to her the whole time so that she would stay there. And she was never the wiser? You know, looking back, I think she was. She probably knew. But what was she going to do? I'm stuck here now. I got on the plane. What was

what was your 2020 like? And I hate saying this. It was great. What did you pivot and morph into in 2020 that you weren't before then? I realized, I think, in 2020, I also got married right at the beginning of 2020. And so we literally just picked a place. January or February? January. Oh, my God.

So then when the world came to an end. I was like, I'm stuck with this. And y'all stayed together. But that's what made it great. I was like, I picked the right person this time. I was like, I actually like this. Was there a close call, though? Actually, no, I wish I could lie.

It was great because he's introducing me to more weed. We're sitting there watching the world burn, you know. Also, I was on the show mixedish. Right. And I realized how much life I lost in commuting every damn day, you know, just getting to and from the place where I already have to give such mental energy. And you don't have a lot to give her to a relationship when you're giving it all to other. So it also made me think I want to focus more on my personal relationships

than career growth all the time. Are you saying in terms of like we all discovered Zoom during that period? So not having to take a two-hour trek and sitting on the, are you one of these Californians are like, I hate the 405 and dead of the other. Yes, why should I?

I love. I love traffic. I love driving. I love all that shit. But I just love my free time even more because I picked up hobbies. I didn't have hobbies before 2020. What did you learn to do?

Don't say sound over it, please. No, no. I'm learning Spanish. Apprendiando a Spanish. Really? Yes, per die. Pride month, Toronto. Pride is an opportunity for you to create your own space.

To celebrate your existence. Iheart Radio is proud to be an official sponsor of Pride Toronto Festival and we won't stop. Celebrate Pride. Turn up the love and listen to IHeart Pride Canada. Your 24-7 radio stream and the only playlist you need. for your Toronto Pride celebrations. Pride is so great because it gives a whole bunch of people this visibility that they've never

had before. We have a ton to celebrate Toronto. Happy Pride. Iheart Radio. I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football at home. Why do I watch the World Cup?

That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernando Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture.

I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that do that? I don't like that. Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges, I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer. And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called, Hey Jonas. We've here, since everyone has a podcast, we wanted to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Nile.

It was the same thing with Slow Hands. It's all hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. What is the most overrated or unsolicited advice

that people gave to you as a caretaker? First of all, did you have a circle or at least a thread to fall back on for? No, I moved my mom out. It was like, come on, I'm saving your life. And then someone eventually said, yeah, that she's pretty far gone. You can't save her life. And I was like, I haven't called City of Hope yet. Like, that was me.

Just never. And I think as a caretaker, people are very taught me to be actively caring in terms of make sure her she's not in pain. Make sure this. Make sure her will and testament are in place. but and forgot to tell me to just have quiet moments of just asking her questions about her past and even how to frame questions about her past so she'd talk to me about them. She wasn't, my mom wasn't a very like, this was my favorite Christmas, so this was my favorite time to ask her questions.

Did you interview her? Yes, in my own way. Like, in questions. No. Come on, Edge. Because, no, because it just felt like I have one recording of her. Okay. But also, my mom passed right before video on phone.

She was in the people were transitioning from flip phones to iPhones. So you had to bust out. She still had a, she still had to flip. Like when I text her, she'd like, what's wrong? There's new letters on my screen. I'm like, I got this iPhone. You can text on it. But yeah, we weren't.

And I'm actually glad that I didn't because when I look back at how sick she was, I was like, you dumbass hands, you really thought you were going to save her life? You know? And I'm like, damn, you may have moved to California. But we, no one taught us to just have that time together. And I think when I look back, that's why she moved out. What was your primary source of comfort, like, during this time period? You moved her out in 2020, and when did she pass?

Oh, no, I moved my mom out in 20. This was 15 years ago, right on the border of iPhones and flip phones. Oh, okay. Yeah, so like 2014, 2015, 2015. Okay, and when did she pass? She passed. She only lived with me for three months. Yeah.

She was, yeah. Oh, damn. Yeah. I'm glad you... But I took care of her in Philly, too. But she didn't let me know how bad her cancer was, which is something I learned that parents do. And her, as a nurse, she also knew how to hide it.

So she would just tell me, yeah, I got a mastectomy. I got another mastectomy. And no, cancer's gone. I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to be a burden. I hate when people see that. Oh. You know, so then one time she was supposed to come out and see me.

And she said, I can't fly. The doctor, I had to have another little procedure done. So I got on the plane and said, what is happening? You know, what is happening? Did you ambush her? Yes. Yeah, that has to happen. Also had to ambush her husband because he was a fake preachers.

Right. And so they had that hierarchy within the house. I'm the man of the house now. And I'm like, she just met your ass. Talking a second person. And him and my brother ended up throwing down. Yeah. Oh, God.

Yeah, it got real Philly. They got real Philly. Okay. I totally understand that. What personal habit did you find? find hard to manage during this period of taking care of your mom. Gratitude. I used to practice that. I have my gratitude journal. Still have it now. Everything was so rushed and life just seemed to suck because damn, you know, I haven't had

an easy road in life anyway. And to lose my mom early, you know, it was just, but also trying to keep her spirits up, I would try to think of one thing we could both be grateful for. But man, that was hard. That was. You know, It's hard giving gratitude. Yeah, even harder when she passed. I was an angry motherfucker all the time. During this period of caretaking, what one item of clothing? What was your survival uniform, you know?

I'll never forget because she moved in with me and she only bought one suitcase because we were just like, time is not on our side. You got cans. You got this stage four cancer. I'm going to find a really good Hollywood doctor to cure it. And so we went to Target to make a quick run to get her things. The way you started that since, I was like, wait. To see someone for cancer.

I was like, wait. Because my mom was also very frugal, which she probably would have went to CBS if she could have or Target. But we went to get her a nightgown, and I got a matching, like, pajama set. And I still have that 15-year-old pajama set. I keep everything, though. This is such an Angela Nissel, Mirat Thompson conversation. Is there a song that makes you cry instantly when you hear it? This is a weird one, too.

What was the Luther Vandro's song about fathers? There's with my father again. Yes, because that's the only song I saw my mom ever cry on when her father passed. My mom never cried. And I just remember that song coming on the radio after her dad died and her crying. And I thought, I thought of her as a mother for the first time. I mean, I thought of her rather as more than a mother, like someone who is somebody's daughter who was having those feelings. And I just remember that.

As a human. Yes. That's weird that Luther's known for many things. but that one song might be like his signature, his signature song. Yeah, because I remember she sent me to a concert with her and her friends day

were her babysitters. And I was like, yeah, they still don't know he's gay. I was young. And those women were laughing. My mom, too. What momentum

keeps your mom's memory alive? Woo. What moment? Oh, her nursing ID. I keep it in my bedroom because she was so proud of that thing because she was not only an RN, she was a BSN, bachelor's in science and nursing.

They put your bachelor, you know. Really? Yes. Oh, so it'd be her name. Yes, but she would always say, you know, they don't expect a black woman to be, you know. So she would always wear that with pride. Like when someone would try to talk down to her or something,

it's, you know, I'm like, maybe it's a little elitist, but it's also a source of pride. She worked hard for that thing. Got you. What was the deepest regret of yours during that time period? Did you have any? Oh, man, that whole time period? Yeah, I mean, I had a lot.

I started redecorating my home and remodeling it to make a commune so my entire family could move in. You thought the world was just coming to an end? But also I just thought, my mom died and I'm all alone. I got to move everybody from Philly into my. Oh, God. I know, I know. And that was. And so then.

And your marriage is still intact. Wait, because nobody in Philly is going to tell you, yeah, we thought it was a good idea when we were all in grief when we said that because your ass was crying. Right. Oh, okay. For you. We don't want to move all the way out there. But I was so deep in grief and just the family is all important. And I moved out to California and everybody's back in Philly. I mean, I literally was looking up schools for people and all this stuff.

And one by one, I had a falling out with people because I came to the realization that that was the dumbest idea. But I didn't want to give up on it. I was like, wow, if you pulled that off, then that's a miracle. No, I'm so glad in hindsight that I didn't. One, do you create better when you are happy or sad? Here is the process I've learned. That's how weed comes into play for me. Think about all the shit, the deep shit, like, oh, until you can't almost take it anymore.

You're like, fuck, what is this life? Smoke some weed and think about it again. It works for me. I don't know why because they always say the lessons are in the hard part, but when you're trying to write through the hard parts, it's just too much at times. I wanted everything to be honest. Did you like gaps go by where you didn't write or?

Oh, God, yeah, because I found myself, my husband was with me as I was writing. And I love writing comedy, but we know so many great comedians that are miserable and who took their own life. And I mean, I can name some top names out here. And I'm like, ooh, hanging around with him is like, oh, like, death. Oh, every comedian I know is.

So it's how you, but I was with my husband at the time. He was just married. We were, and I had to figure out how not to be depressed all the time. And he was like, try some of this. This is all that's worked for me. Oh, yeah. What part of yourself are you just rediscovering now? As a grown-ass woman, what the hell I like to do and not what everybody else wants me to do?

Not people pleasing. Woo, you know, for real. I'm so glad that landed because I'm so bad with a high five. Like, I want to do on TV where it's just like, no one looks and then they high five. I'm always like the, oh, I'm sorry. Man, and that the world's not going to fall apart when you do it. Yeah, I'll be honest with you. I just learned not only no.

Like, you remember like Rich Nichols used to be? Just say what he felt. Yes. Tarek's that way sometimes. Jesus, yes. Literally, that part just transforms you. And I was like, wow, this is the zero fucks part. part of my life happening right now.

But I mean, there's a way to not alienate people and still hold your ground and maintain, but like literally not people pleasing. I didn't know how much like pain in my body. Ooh, yes, yes. I was used to those things and the throbbing, the throbbing, the throbbing and not knowing that your body's throbbing because you promised that you would do this remix

and you don't got time to do it. or, you know, come and watch somebody's rough cut of something or whatever. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'll check it out. And literally just, like, wear myself out. So, yeah, people pleasing is, was my... Do you think you learned that as a kid? Yeah, I think people pleasing comes from wanting to be likable. Yeah.

And in my case, I think the kind of perceived, charmed life that I've always seemed to have when I was a kid, you had both parents. I went to private school. You get all these records. All these records are yours? You know, like, it just always seemed easy for Amir. And then it was way easier for Quest Love. So I think a lot of the times I tried in subconscious ways

to make myself relatable by people pleasing. And sometimes, doll of myself, a lot of the weight gain, like really trying my best not to be a threat and dull myself as much as I can and still survive. But I think after these series of me finally getting to the bottom of the autism journey, at first I took it as facts like, oh, okay, I'm autistic. Everyone is autistic.

But then I really learned, like, I don't know, I just woke up one day, like a new person. Wait, is that an autism trait, too? Here's the thing. Like, especially, and it's understandable why I think black people have been averse to science or any sort of thing with medical, like therapy and all that stuff. This is in all of us. I don't think I have anything that's more unique than anyone else. I'm just like learning.

This is probably the most I've ever spoken about it in public. But once I know and know that I know, like there's a level of freedom. Oh, I love that. Yeah, like I highly recommend taking that, that exam and doing that. What do you do for like self-care? Meditation and hobbies and just going outside. I realized I live in a place that it's warm all the time. And I was working myself to death so much I never got to experience a warmness

because I would be until it got night and it got cold. And so just really like, I always think how did the first people on the earth and people before we even invented mirrors, they didn't care what they looked like, you know, It's like you listen to the birds. And I had a revelation one day when I was in my bed. I now wake up with the birds. That's what they made the alarm clocks after. So we would wake up when they wanted us to wake up and get to our jobs.

And just enjoying simple stuff like that, listening to birds going like, I love old people, man. I hang out with them all the time. Yeah, because they're retired and they just noticed stuff. This guy says, just saw a Cooper Hawk up there. I'm in. I'm like, show me. They have time and they enjoy stuff. Do you collect anything?

No, because my husband collects everything and I can't stand. Oh, you're the spouse that makes them throw away the record collection. Not the record of collection, but if you have wrestling figures that some of them are worth money. I look them up, see him. But he's also the type. My husband is a legend also. Yeah, and so, but he's not. I remember when I first saw Tariq.

take someone's, I thought, someone's giving you their CD, how gracious. He was like, we were young. But also, I understand now, as a wife who has a husband who people give things, but he doesn't, he keeps them all. Every painting of him and every. Every painting, every, you know, and his daughter. And WWE fans are like so intense. Oh, my God.

Do you go to those matches? I've never seen, I have seen him wrestle once. But yeah, when I went, I didn't know anything about wrestling. I was like, damn, this is dangerous. This is scary, but it's awesome. I love it. Like, do you ever get afraid for his safety? No, because he stopped.

But when he did a backflip, right when he was 49, because he wanted to do one more and got in the ring. One more for the road? But everything, I tell him, the reason the WGA went on strike is because of him using up my insurance, because all those injuries. Oh, God. What is your... your dream project? What is the project you are dying to execute and get off the ground?

I'll be honest. Anything with Regina King, because I know nothing about her and I just see all the rules. Have you met her? And I don't want to because she's not nice because I've met too many people and just let me have my dream that Regina King is my best friend in my head. Yeah, I think she's nice. Okay. Have you met her? No, never met her. Never work with her. Wait, you work out here in Hollywood. Yeah, but I mean, she's, she didn't do TV until recently. And no, that's the thing. Here's the thing also. I don't work in Hollywood because of the changes in the industry.

I work in Toronto. And I work in New York. I was in New York the last show for six months. So it's like, I'm barely here. Okay. Is Hollywood just a concept now? Because even for me, like, all my friends are going to Atlanta or Toronto or Vancouver or. Yes.

Is anything just straight up shot and produced out here? Very few things. And I mean, you have to have a high, high level of stardom to get it done out here. But no, most of my friends and even like the Scrubs reboot, they're all up in Vancouver. It's and I actually. Are you a part of? No, I like my marriage. I don't want to go back.

Congratulations for choosing yourself over. Yes. And I realized that the last time I went away. and we have to be away from each other for four months. It's not fun. People like, you get to travel for work. No, we work day to night and just go home. Like, I remember coming to New York and think I'm going to call on me.

I'm going to see all these things. I didn't see anything. Yeah, I've been on sets where, especially with comedy shows, where you literally don't get any time to yourself. And I didn't realize, like, how hard it is, like, to be funny in the, in the face of pressure. Yeah, and it's also every show you go into, there's a big managerial aspect to it

that some people are funny and come up with great stories, but they don't know how to manage a room, so they realize they don't like any jokes at 4 a.m. in the morning, and I'm like, dude, I'm over 50 now. I can't. When I was on scrubs, I was like, sure, Bill Lawrence, I'll pull another all-nighter. Yeah, I was going to say, okay, so I want,

what show did I visited, I went to two and a half men once, right? That's awesome. And was Chuck there? I think all I know is that whenever they took a break, like someone didn't like a line and the director was like, cut, cut, cut, cut, and take five, whatever.

And they took five. And the way that those writers formed a magic circle, they all knew what order they had to be in. It's like, I don't like the da-da-da-da-da, so what do you got for me? No, what do you got for me? What do you got for me? And it felt like a creative version of Russian roulette.

Oh. And here's the thing you don't see is that sometimes we have already worked on that line in the room. And sometimes I've worked with some talented people, but there's some people who won't say anything in the room. Then you're going to get on set where the stars are. It's like, they kill it? Yeah. And then everybody from the network is looking and I'm like, I pitched that last week in the room. You know?

And so it's just like, then you get up to the room and someone's fighting because it's like, it's a lot. Like you saw, it's a lot. Does your dream project have a title to it? You know what? Actually, my dream project would be about a 50-year-old woman trying to get back in the workplace, figuring out what she really likes to do. And I started writing it just because I know a lot of women now who are their 40s and 50s, and we all took that this is what our parents wanted us to do.

I did it very well, but realized what the hell do I like to do? But also having to deal with, I just had the realization that I could have given birth to Megan the Stalien without being a teenage mom. And that's always the level I see if I'm old. Like if I was a teenage mom, maybe I'm still, she's top of the charts and I could be her mother without being a teenage mom. Wow. Right?

Whoa. Right? Oh. It hit me. Oh. And so now when I talk to younger people, I'm always thinking that, I know you didn't just tell me what time I could go home. I could be your mom.

But that's the industry. That's going to sit with me all day to day. Like, I could be making the stallion's dad. and not have been Yeah, that hit me hard. That's the Quest Love show, ladies and gentlemen. We'll see you later. Pride Month Toronto.

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Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer. And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.

Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called, Hey Jonas. We've here, since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend Nile Horn is joining the show. How's it going, boys?

Hey, Niall. It's the same thing with Slow Hands. Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Okay, I'm going to ask you the same question three different ways.

Okay. You were in Kappa, what year? Tim? No, middle of 11th. Let's go before 10th grade. What was 16-year-old Angela Nissel's version of what success was? What five things would have been like, I made it? Oh, God, this is, I mean, it's embarrassing, but a boyfriend who was eventually going to ask me to marry him.

Okay. Some place to work with a cubicle where I could maybe have off days I needed to go to the hospital or like go to, I just remember. I remember thinking. You just want a better place to die? I remember thinking, how do you as an adult, like, ask your boss that you need a day off? And do you, God, what else? Oh, God, it's so a nice, back then, at least a nice car only had to be a Benz or something, not like a Bentley like now. I was like, a Benz.

A apartment downtown in the nice section of Philadelphia with a cobblestones are. Yo. Can I tell you, I got to tell you something. I hate Michael Bivens for this. when they shot the Motown Philly video and you know the cobblestone place on like second you know the Wawa is on like Second and South Street

so Michael Bivens purchased one of those houses there and man me and Rieck were like yo that's what's up like I go by that place now it's like yo how did I think success was living I almost purchased

matter of fact before I purchased what do I call it, the six cents house. I didn't know you purchased that. That's hilarious. Oh, when I tell you what I have to do to hang on to that house because it's now, like literally four lawyers are trying to like, I'm the last black owner. Wow. That entire neighborhood, I lived on the block that was formerly the Sixth Sense block. And they've since then, four people have taken it and regent.

There's no abandoned houses. And I'm the last person hanging on to that place. and they're trying every way to get me out of there. But before I brought that house, there was like a spot, I swear to God, maybe it's like 900 square feet. But I thought, man, I'm living off South Street. Like, I can go right to the diner,

take a join in a diner, go to a rich movie theater. Like, I thought that was living. Right, people didn't realize your whole world was your city pre-internet, you know, and that's all we knew. And those were the best houses we saw. Now I'm like, oh, God. Exactly.

Wait, you didn't name your last one. God, what would be the last one? Yeah, a boyfriend, you want a better place to die that gave you time off to go to the hospital. You wanted a bin's. In an animal sanctuary. I always wanted. I would bring home the animals. Cops Creek Parkway.

What is your greatest extravagance? Or actually, your first big check, what did you get? Oh, my God. This is so, you remember when Nike had this thing online where you could. design your own design your own joints ah you were just

that was my first check I was like yeah and I'd be sitting like with my feet up line of people like where'd you get them from one-on-one you know

that was what I did oh my God when we got our checks I purchased yeah eight that's I didn't let my dad know one you didn't know we had a record deal

I told you dad didn't know about until the second album Until Do You Want More came out. He didn't know about organic. Like, I hid it perfectly. My cousins gave me away because, you know, we're in the inquiry, you know, whatever. But I purchased seven pairs of Pumas.

Yo, when you get, you remember when new shoes, like, that feeling of having new shoes? Yes, yes. Like, I lived in a, might get one pair of shoe a year. For school, you get play shoes and in your school shoes. But there's nothing like a fresh pair of sneakers. So the first thing I did was got seven pairs and you couldn't tell me nothing. But then one day my dad was like,

didn't you have red Puma's on the other day? And I was like, yeah, I brought two pair. And I had to hide like, I think I hit him in some girls crib, like. That's. Yeah, but having having. Wait, what's so funny is when you say that people think you came up so easy,

when you say your dad, this is the biggest memory I have of your dad. Oh, God. Me calling your house, him saying he's practicing, click. Yes. My dad was Joe Jackson of West Philadelphia. So I was like, damn, I don't have a dad, but I'm glad I don't have that one. He just hung up on a friend.

He didn't know what I needed. No. Rules were, I better be in this house before the Oprah theme comes on. Like, you know, like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air thing when Carl Nair's that, he starts dancing. That song is so nightmarish to me that part of my therapy of getting over that, like you don't know what, yeah, I mean, you, you know where we went to school. And you know how long it takes to get to Market Street.

Yes. And the distractions, you're in the gallery or whatever. And then you got to get to West Philly and then take another bus. Like, I have an hour to get home before. Like, the happiest song in the world is also. Yes. Do not let that theme come on and your ass is not in this house. No more soul train for three weeks.

Like literally, and I got soul train punishments. Even like, yeah, sorry. No, I'm cracking up because that's the, a mirror that I know. Yeah. So that's the, I was like, woo. All right. So the first half hour of your day when you wake up, what do you do? My animals.

My dog looks. How many animals do you? I only have a dog and a cat, but my dog looks at me like, we going out yet and so I'm like that's why I slept so they wake you up yeah because he wants to he of course he wants to go outside animals love outside but I mean like but he just gives me that look and I'm glad I never had kids because if a human ever looked at me the way he looks at me like what kind of dog is he's a big lab mutt mix but he's just like oh you still love me you're going take me outside he doesn't like jump in the bed no it's just like the sad look but then once

we get out there so that also good that's also good for me gets me out the house first to talk to my old friends I'm in a new relationship It comes with a dog I didn't realize that They wake you up when they're hungry So usually And he's motherfucker will sit anywhere

Like on your neck On your face Which basically tells me like You're a little late with the You can also train them out of that Because my dog whenever he comes up to me And I know he's already had everything he needs I just go

So he thinks that him coming up to me makes me fall asleep at a certain time of the day. And he respects that? Yes, he's just like, I turn mom off. When you do it enough, it's repetition. How old is this dog? It's dogs. It's dog's five. Yeah, all right.

Mine is a chihuahua, but it's 15. Oh, yeah, might be a little. Yeah, the whole old dog new trick thing doesn't, you know. Do you believe in past lives? That question worries me because I don't want to be reincarnated. So I kind of do. but I'm scared because that means I got to come back here again. I don't want to.

This is how life can be a lot, man. Not to self-remote, but have you ever seen Soul? No, I actually never saw that movie. Okay, so I, their version, I highly recommend. First of all, every Pixar film is really for adults. It's not for kids. I believe that they're, and that's why I got involved with it. Then that was the seventh draft.

like the first draft literally I was like yo you guys are going to release this version because it was so mind-blowing how brazen they were about metaphysics reincarnation all these things and in my mind I'm like oh man like I got to think about this movie

because I know many a right wing pun to be like oh liberal Hollywood's trying to get our kids off of God and into but I know that that version of the film, that's what I believe that the cycle life is.

Now I'm going to watch it when I get home. It's a must watch. All right. Can you tell me what is your most overused emoji? According to my niece, it's the laughing while crying. Sideways or straight? See, I always feel like the sideways is trying too hard. Like, I'm better than the other people.

I don't need to use it. It means the same thing. can't you just use that one. But five of those laughing sideway also, that's sort of like, all right, I laughed at you joke and I'll leave me alone. Yeah. And seen. Five of those are insane.

Do you have your phone on you? Oh, it's out there. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Someone grab it. No, no, no, no. Only because.

Oh, this is hilarious. Only because someone taught me this thing where you. You can just wearing the whole bag. So someone taught. me this thing that whatever your most used emojis are, that represents where you are in life. But I started a new thing. So if you're going to look at my most used emojis, it's going to be really weird. Because you had a unique response to somebody. Because I tell everyone that there's certain emojis that don't get enough love. And you started using... Yes, yes. I did feel bad for...

Okay, so when they did the update with the nine new emojis... Right. So they update. and added nine new emojis, and one of them seemed really boring. I felt bad for that one, so I started, I did it as a joke, but now I'm using it out of pity. I'm an emoji. Wait, are we the same person? You said that before. I'm cracking up, because I'm like, if you literally see my emojis, you'll be like, Angie, what are these?

Okay, so, so does the pretzel mean that you miss Philadelphia? Wait, I've never seen a person use the pretzel. Yeah, it's literally. All right, so this is me analyzing you based on your rose. So everyone knows that the left side is the one that you use the most. All right, is this like the punch in the face one? Like the, mm-hmm. I, wait, I just used that one.

That's the last used. That was just to send my cousin something because we go back. But is that like a, uh-oh. I don't even know with that one. I just feel like it's confusion or. All right, so the heart one is good. the sad one. The shrug, all right, shrug one we always use. All right,

you're wearing purple. Oh, mine is blue. What is, all right, so the chick inside the egg? It was Easter. Easter was recently. That's right. We did have Easter. What's the pretzel represent? That was just me sending. Because, you know, when you live across the country

from people you love, you run out of things to talk about. So with my cousin now, I just, we send emojis back and forth. That means nothing. and just the best. You just sit a pretzel? Yeah. Like, I can let you see our text. You know what?

I absolutely believe you when you're using just non-sequitur like random shit. Wait a minute. Use the cats. Oh, I didn't know. No one uses the cat emojis. Like the cat faces. They do all my sewing forums. How many, how many?

This is already my favorite episode. of the series. How many threads do you have? Oh, am I sewing for them? Oh, my God. Wait, what are you sewing? You mean knitting? Well, crochet.

I've really tried, I realized for real. Like, during the pandemic, I was like, I don't have no hobbies. So I started doing it. Yeah, what have you learned? I learned that I should not try to redo my floor by myself. Okay. No, YouTube makes everything look so. easy and I'm, I am very frugal.

So I'm like, peel and stick. What is, oh, God. All right, what have you succeeded in as far as a YouTube tutorial? You know, just sanding down and finishing furniture with a nice different, I love thrift stores. And if there's a chair for $5, I'm going to make it work with a sander. Okay, I am addicted to, there is a YouTube show in which they'll take old furniture and make it into new furniture and kind of makes me think I can do that, but then I realize I'm

Quest Love and that's not a good idea. So I don't do that. But someone recently, like this morning, I saw someone take a treasure chest and they turned in like to elegant green, like it almost looked like a Louis Vuitton chest. So that's what you do? That's what I want to do when I retire. Like that's, oh man, just I swear to God, I could be Laura Ingalls. I just, I mean, minus a few things.

but I'm like, wait, someone just posted on Instagram where if you remember who's Laura Engels is arch nemesis on the show. Oh my God, I do not remember.

The blonde girl that we all hated. Yes, yes. Nellie, wait, how do you know? Wait, but, Bridget, how old are you? Okay, so your grandma will watch it. Okay. It's an episode.

where Nellie was faking an injury so that she didn't have to go to school and, you know, everyone's going to school and she was making Laura do her work for her, like do these hard chores, carry bucket up of water and all these things, do our homework for her, whatever. And one day, Laura had left like some sort of item in the house. And she like, remember, I got to go back and go get it. And right as she was walking in the house, she caught like Nellie, like celebrating, like literally like, like she was in the crib like, oh, like all this stuff. And Laura got so instant, right, that she knocked on the door and she like, Nellie got back into the wheelchair like, yes. And Laura came in and was like, oh, you know, I just, I forgot to take you on your morning walk and she walked her up this big hill and then she just tossed her over.

Damn, that's not where I was expecting. She tossed her over a mountain and whatever. And the mom's watching the mom who's equally as evil. Okay, I'm sorry. This became like two old people talking about Little House. I know. After the young person in the corner was like, my grandma liked that show. Do you make up your bed every morning?

Yes, I do because the dog does jump in. I want him to jump on the top, not on my sheets. Other than that, I never made it before the dog. All right. What is your motto? What is your life motto? Who. God.

It's funny because I had literally just written this down because I decided I needed a life motto. And now I can't remember. I swear to God, it might be in my notes. You're like, I need inspiration something to... I just thought I will crack up if this is at the top of my... And watch it be something stupid. Note to self.

Get yourself a life motto? No, I'm laughing because this is... Let's see. No, that ain't it. God. If I had a life motto, it would be... Find a life motto. And honestly, be kind, be kind, be kinder than you think you need to be.

Don't take anything personal. What if you don't authentically feel like being kind? You know what? I've learned that most... Well, I mean, if someone's punching you in a face... Well, be civil. Be civil. But, I mean, just from going through taking care of my mom and her death and just a bunch of

other things, divorce, and you just never know what that person walking down the street is going through. And some of the people I remember most of my life are people who just stopped to give me a smile. Or like, I could name that teacher right away who bucked me up, but can't name any other ones. So it's like, I just want to be that person that might say someone from jumping off a bridge. There you go. I, okay, I totally understand that. What is the best gift that you've ever given? Ooh, the best gift. I would say, taking one day to give my... It's not going to believe that I'm talking to you.

This is hilarious. I would say taking my niece to go to the slime museum in New York, taking a day off from work when I was working on that show, and we went to someplace called the slime museum. And it is the most bootlayer. You could tell somebody just rented the bottom of this threw a bunch of slime and a bunch of unhappy workers. Wait, what is the slime museum?

That's what they call it. It seems like someone just rented a place. They knew that kids love slime. And, I mean, there was a, it was like getting into a club, you know. But I bought VIP tickets for her. And then we went past the club. She felt so much and she got to make her own slime. And I got to.

She enjoyed it though, right? Yes, yes. It meant the world too. Who is the funniest person that you know? Oh, God. That I personally know now? See, this is weird because it would be like a tie between Dave Chappelle and a dude who talks to himself on the corner at Crenshaw and. Oh, I thought you meant the Jesus Christ.

guy. No, there's just so many people who, that's so funny, that's the person I sent the pretzel to. But there's just so many people I find that are funny. They just don't know how to hone it or make it specific enough. They're just funny, funny, funny, funny, funny. Okay, I'm not anywhere near like that level of screenwriting, whatever, but I am a person that will take notes if someone tells a funny story.

Are you the person to whom, like, if you're in a group and someone, Someone tells this story of like, oh, man, the time that I went skiing and I caught my husband. And you're like, I'll be right back. And you're like, so all your notes are? Yes. You still people's lives. But it's also I want to punch up people's lives because there's stories you can tell. Like my husband will tell a story and I'm like, ramp it up.

It could be so much better if you come up with the setup, get people emotionally involved. Joke. Not you know. He's like, but I need to tell the whole truth. The truth is boring. You said this and, oh, man. All right. It's true. You said this and, oh, God. Oh, man. All right. So the person I'm seeing now, we had our first heart to heart story. And she sat down, says, honey, I want to tell you something. You know, and I knew it was serious when the compliments came first.

The last time this happened to me was Obama, where literally the compliment came. first and then I was like all right what did I do and literally she's like you gotta figure out a way I'm surprised you work at a comedy show and you don't know the arc of and I'm like you don't even write comedy so

like what the hell like you criticize me for but I realize at this very moment like wow man I could have used the answer my life to teach me how to my husband would be like no you don't he gets so mad All right, my final question to you. Yes, sir.

What is the hardest part of your job that no one gets to see or experience? That it is, everyone thinks that it's a bunch of people throwing around funny jokes because, again, they didn't show that part on 30 Rock because truth is boring. It is a bunch of noes, and we can't say that, and you've offended someone, you're going to offend this sponsor, go back in. Someone's offended, one of the actors are offended because it reminds us. them of their ex-boyfriend and just the number of people. That whole list you see at the end of the show, we have to accommodate what everyone will and won't do, you know? So we'll even come up with an idea.

Managing expectations. No, we don't have the set design for that. So it's a lot of just, or we don't have enough days. It's a lot of just sitting there like everything we built just burnt to the ground and we have to shoot tomorrow. You know, it's a lot of. So is there an actual scientific formula to a joke? like Chappelle once

did a thing where he's like the joke starts with a punch line he has a whole bunch of punch and this is real he has a whole ajar whatever with punchlines written and it's his job to figure out what the setup is that will make that punchline funnier see I think for him that's true

because he's always Dave Chappelle and so that's where he thinks of a place of jokes but with characters it's like I need to think what this character really do and so I need to think like five different people you know so it's keeping it so people online love to say

that's not what that character would really do and did they have any black writers in the room or something like that. So it's making sure that you keep all these voices in your head consistent and going with what the audience will recognize from them. Even if the joke is easier

that you want to go for. Okay, so I grew up around a bunch of old people. So I'm still using like a jazz person. So I still call people cats and oh man, that's hip. or, you know, oh, that's killing dog or whatever,

but that's not the language of now. I'll give Spike Lee a legendary pass, but like we're kind of past the hip-hop jargon of the truth or, you know, whatever. But in Spike's world, okay, it's through his lens. But do you find pressure? Like, how often are you on Urban Dictionary? Here's the thing, though. One, there's always going to be a younger person in the room to correct you, but also spending time with the young people in my family.

Like my niece just lectured me about saying the word dope and don't say skibbity anymore. That's totally up. Yeah, but then it's funny because most of the words that they use are our words. She was like, yeah, you don't know what clock means. Yes, I do. They're bringing that back? Yeah. So talking to her.

She just, at that age where she just puts the face time down, forgets that I'm even there. This doesn't go about her day, but then she'll chime in when she remembers on there. So you literally, like, do time with younger people just to see what their language is. Yeah. Ah, man. I don't want to be that person, the one that's just like. See, I'm that way with music, and one time it bit me and my ass. I did one bar mitzvah.

One. You're already laughing at the punchline. I don't even get to it. No, someone hired me for a bar mitzvah. And I made the mistake, because I work at 30, right? There's a whole bunch of interns. So I was like, oh, easy. Hey, what was you listening at when you was like, you know,

because they're already 19, 20, 21, whatever. Yeah, what was you listening at 15? Oh, I was listening. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. So I had this list already. Taylor Swift, 30 seconds to Mars. Jonas Brothers, I had the zone. And I arrived to the spot.

And it's a black bar mitzvah. And the look at terror I had when I walked in, and it was like, hood, like, right? And I was like, wait, I said, he's a bar mitzvah, right? And she's, oh, wait, you didn't know that my husband played for the Denver Nuggets? I'm dead.

And I was like, no, I didn't. And his side of the family was there. And that's the only time where I stalled, like I needed an extra hour just to find internet and download clean versions of hip-hop stuff that I didn't have. Oh, that bar mitzvah was live. Well, it was, but just.

But when you're that person Yes, yes. Then, you know, I'm on rap caviar looking up like, what are the kids listening to? Wait, you just reminded me of a story because whenever people ask me about like groups and stuff, the roots is the first one that comes in my head. And I remember saying this recently

and they were like, no, someone current. Yeah, even I would take myself out of that. All right, my final question is, How cathartic and healing was it to, I know where the concept came from, but when did you started and why was it necessary for you to write this book? I'll say, I've heard authors say that writing, you know, about the hardest times of their life is cathartic and healing. And I'm like, what the fuck drugs are you on?

Because for me, it was. No, it was crying. And then, like, trying to make sure I look like, my husband, we were newly. married, he's like, what is this? I'm like, I'm a writer. But it was just, no, it was really hard because looking back at 15 years, I'm also closer to my mother's age when she passed, and I see things why she did a lot of the things and not having her to ask questions of and stuff like that. But then once I got to the jokes, I was like, all right, woo. I like this part. But yeah, the story, the actual story, oh, God, I was like, not for this amount of money. If I ever do

this again. Someone punch me in a face. Don't nobody read no more. I'm here. Yes, they do. Wait, this is like, every time I talk to some, okay, if they read, why they got to tell you? I don't usually read, but I'll pick up your book.

I've heard that a few times. I've heard that a lot of times. But yeah, apparently, I mean, I thought it was coming back and I've never stopped reading, but there's just, you ask some, get on a dating app and ask a man, how the last time he read a book. It's the most sad thing. Well, see, I thought everyone, during the pandemic,

matter of, I've read more books post-pandemic. Like, I felt bad that as an author, as a person that has New York Times bestseller, maybe I was on one, two books a year. Now I'll be done a book in like five weeks. And if I really love it, I might get done through it. Like, I've read more books in my life in the last, like, five, six years. And I thank you so much for this conversation.

This was awesome. Thank you. I enjoyed it. This was great. Angela Nissell on the Questlove show. Please purchase her book. Can I keep this, please? Yes, sir.

Yes. This is beautiful. Questlove show is hosted by me, Amir Questlove Thompson. Executive producers are Sean G. Brian Calhoun and me. Produced by Brittany Benjamin and Jake Payne. Produced for Eyehart by Noel Brown. Edited by Alex Conroy.

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QLS. Check out hundreds and hundreds of QLS episodes, including the Questlove Supreme shows and our podcast archives. Quest Love Show is a production of IHeart Radio. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for. Why do I watch the walk up? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fat. It's not just a game. It's your... culture. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S.

and its underdog roots. Listen to American Football on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy is essential, and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search Joy 101 and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby is presented by CVS. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called Hey Jonas. But here, since everyone has a podcast, we wanted to as well.

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You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Everyone sees me as a football player. before anything else, I'm human. Every single day I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships, emotions ever since I was born. This isn't a normal podcast.

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