WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1646 - Nick Kroll

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

Nick Kroll was one of the first dozen guests on WTF and in the nearly sixteen years of his life since then, loved ones have been lost, babies have been welcomed to the world, and Nick can now see things about himself that he couldn’t identify before. Nick and Marc talk about those changes, as well as the artwork of his wife Lily Kwong, the trip to Italy he made for his new movie I Don’t Understand You, and the fulfillment of creating eight seasons of Big Mouth. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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or the downloaded with Brendan Fraser, or how about a fantasy adventure like Onyx Storm or Amelia Hart's The Sirens? Audible has an incredible selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one app. Start listening and discover what's beyond the edge of your seat when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.ca Alright, let's do this. How are you what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck Nick's? I'm Mark Maron. This is my podcast. Welcome to it. Today, I talked to Nick Kroll. Now Nick has been on a lot. This is the sixth time he's been on the show by himself on episode 12. That's a long time ago with John Mulaney on episode 743 and as El Chupacabra on three other occasions and those are rare because I doubt that you could really do that Character anymore. He's in the new film I don't understand you and the final season of Big Mouth is now streaming on Netflix and Nick I

Guess you know I have to kind of give credit where credit is due And I think I do usually But it's a it's an interesting thing as a comic or as someone who is me. When I really think people are funny, it is such an exciting thing for me. And forever, I believe, and I still believe this to this day, that Nick Kroll, naturally, just innately, is really one of the funniest people around. And, you know, I think I kind of tell him that to his face. I don't know, did I?

Maybe I'm a little, maybe I hold back a little bit, but truly a very funny, gifted, overly talented person. How could I just make being talented kind of a slight? He's overly talented. But I get a big kick out of him and it's always fun to talk to the guy. And in another way, I guess another thing that I kind of wanted to talk about

because it seems to be kind of possessing me. Well, first, I want to mention Brent Weinbach, who was on episode 839, has a new special out, new stand-up special. It's called Brent Weinbach Popular Culture, and you can watch that on YouTube right now. Now, Brent's a, he's a whole other ball of wax. I don't know if you know Brent,

but that is a world of comedy where it's sort of, I don't know, I don't know if you know Brent, but that is a world of comedy where it's sort of, I don't know, I don't know how you would describe it. There is a school of comedy that it kind of moves through anti-comedy and kind of a hyper abstract comedy and just oddball-ish comedy, but stuff that's challenging, maybe a little cringey. And for the most part in my life, not totally my cup of tea really.

I can appreciate it and I know when it's done well. And I did have some moments when I watched that Andy Kaufman doc that made me rethink it or maybe I'm older and I'm less stuck in my ways around what I think standup is or what I think comedy is. I've definitely broadened my mind, but I will say this. And the only reason I'm talking about it, it's not some sort of plug,

but I'm surprised at my own experience and reaction to it. Because I've struggled with Nathan Fielder just as an artist for a while, because there's something fundamentally about him that makes me uncomfortable. It's not that I don't like him, there's just certain people that make me uncomfortable. And it is part of his thing. I mean, he does either intentionally or just by being challenge you to reckon with him. And I've watched a few of his shows. I watched the first season of the rehearsal.

I watched The Curse, which I think was the beginning of my moment with Fielder, was the last episode of The Curse. I liked the first season of the rehearsal. I thought it had all the elements of cringe and impact and humanity. But the last episode of the curse, the thing he did with the,

with I guess who was it Josh Safdie or Ben, which one is it? One of those Safdies and Emma Stone. There is the, look rarely in a series, and I'm finding this more so than not, do I have the patience to get through it? And there've been some sort of, some comedy series, but most series in general.

Once the premise is set up and then you're in it, and then, yeah, after a few episodes of that, it's sort of like, all right, I get it. Now what? There's just a redundancy to it. And then they'll throw a new character in, which is clearly, you can tell, written in to keep the thing going.

It just drags out. I'm not sure that anything really needs to be more than six episodes in general. That aside, this new season of the rehearsal, Nathan Fielder's thing, I can't seem to shut up about it. Because it is so rare. And look, this is only my opinion. can feel their sing. I can't seem to shut up about it because it is so rare. And look, this is only my opinion. But it's so rare that there is something that is created

that actually possesses true genius. I know this sounds, why am I talking about this? Because I really believe that there is something Comedically genius in a way that I that no one's ever seen before about this particular season of this show the rehearsal because I Don't even know that I can explain it But the fact that you know, he is supported and given money to realize this completely unique and fucked up

weird vision of exploring things is firstly a testament to HBO in terms of who they choose to support and produce and have and believe in. But where this show starts and where it ends up and the kind of thing where, you know, Fielder, who is kind of a mysterious guy, and you know, kind of, I think,

I don't know if he refuses to do this show, but he won't do it. Cause I think he's got not so much a lot to hide, but a certain mystique to maintain. You know, I know that he started in standup as sort of an anti-comic, which always used to annoy me. But now over time, he has found this zone of his own comedy through these shows

that is just completely unique, completely bizarre, completely uncomfortable, and just utterly fucking inspired. And you gotta wait for it, but it's so rare that you're waiting for something to unfold, and it's satisfying and kind of mind-bending, and just kind of like, what the fuck? This is crazy! And laughing.

But boy, that, what is it? The third, maybe the third episode of this season of the rehearsal and all of them, you know, he's exploring air safety. He kind of got, he nerded out on, he obsessively researched an issue, a very specific issue in air safety, which is that a lot of airline crashes were preceded by

an argument or a lack of communication in the cockpit. So what he sets out to do at the beginning of this season of the rehearsal is try to solve that problem. How do we get pilots and co-pilots communicating more openly so you don't have this sort of ego issue of someone deciding not to do something that the co-pilot may suggest. How do you open up the lines of communication so there's other thoughts in moments of crisis

that aren't, that are communicated in the cockpit? That is the premise of this show. And from there, you just move through some of Nathan's experiences in trying to get shows made and getting shows sort of taken off servers. You kind of deal with some of his own, what you'd assume psychological problems are. And then he, through the course of unfolding this system

or experiment to try to get pilots communicating better, you see a lot of elements of him trying to be resolved. So he is actually changing through him as himself, I assume as himself is changing through this thing. And then his comedy chops, which are very intentional because you can't produce a show like this. There's a lot of improv and a lot of actors brought in. There's a talent show element,

but through the course of him trying to resolve this air safety problem, he's reckoning with himself, his past, his creativity, his job, his neurological disposition. It ultimately becomes all about him. But the lengths he goes to get there, either intentionally or not, are fucking insane and inspired and it's fucking, it's comedic genius. And I don't want to say that because I'm an insecure, jealous, resentful old fuck who is not always willing

to give it up, but I got to give it up. And it might not be for you, he may not be for you, but I think that you should force yourself to just let it happen, man. To just let it happen. Because there's a level of cringe comedy in there. It's just rare somebody pulls something out of their brain and then manifests it with a good amount of money that is completely original and inspired and I think that if you wanna talk about comedy as art, if you want to do that,

which I am wary to do generally, maybe you can talk about it cinematically, as a comedy movie or whatever, but if you wanna talk about comedy as art, and art in the broad sense of the word, where you're really just talking about freedom of expression and a commitment to a vision that is provocative and new, this is it. So there you go, Nathan. I didn't, it's not, I'm not blowing smoke up your ass and I was reluctant to do it.

But congratulations for the great mind-bending, inspired work of genius that you've contributed to what is sort of a flailing period in comedy of all kinds. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and life is easier for us thanks to Squarespace. That's because our website, WTFpod.com, is a big part of what we do.

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that's squarespace.com slash WTF offer code WTF. Oh yeah, I did see another movie too. I went to see Friendship because again in talking about comedy brilliance, Tim Robinson, I've been brought around to him. He is a brilliant and inspired and gifted buffoon of a very specific type, a great clown. And that character that he plays, which seems to be the character he plays, is kind of spectacular.

The idea of the completely narcissistic, aggravated buffoon is pretty, it's relative to the time we live in. That is the strain of human disposition that is very prominent in the world we're living in now. So I think there is a reflection of that in him. And he's tremendously funny. And I think you should leave the show always. It just, I'm not unlike Fielder.

There's a zone that these guys get into where you can't, you know, you can't predict it, you can't figure it out, you don't know where it comes from, but it is pure comedy. So anyway, Nick Kroll is here and again, one of my favorite funny people. The film he's in, I Don't Understand You comes out Friday June 6th. The final season of Big Mouth is streaming on Netflix. You can watch all eight seasons there as well. And this is me and Nick Kroll.

Puthoria. That feeling you get once you've finally pooped. Using the power of natural Sena from the Sena plant to promote bowel movement, Senocot laxative gently relieves occasional constipation, typically in 6 to 12 hours. If it is hard to pass, try Senocot S. It uses natural Sena plus a stool softener to help you achieve Poforia. Oh good, so I just gotta... I gotta... These are the kind of texts you get after a certain point.

From my dad's wife. Mark, your father's funeral arrangements are completed. I signed the paperwork and payment today. Thank you, we love you. Dad and Rosie. That's a load off. Yeah. Oh good. Well, I mean on some level you're blessed in that there are a lot of people who they or their partner are Not capable of that. No. Yeah, and she was obsessing about it and she was like coming up a little short I'm like dude, it's my dad. I'll send you the money. I have no kids. Yeah, and

This is this is the kind of thing I want to chose not to have kids so I could pay for my dad's death Not not even not worry about it. Just don't worry about it. Take too just take care of it. As long as I don't have to be there. Yeah. That's the best part of this. Please just stay alive. Just keep him, keep him going. Hang in there. Hang in there.

Yeah. But when it comes, and it will. Yeah, I'll be there and it'll be all paid for. Oh, it'll be, I'll be there in money. I'll be there in. Yeah, they have to ship him back to New Jersey. That's what he wants. Really? Yeah. He wants to go get buried in Jersey. Is there a cemetery? Is there family cemetery? I guess yeah by my grandparents out there down the shore and I guess there's a few of them out there

His wife doesn't care. She's like, you know, once I'm gone, I don't care. You can just you know, put me out with the trash Oh, that's nice. Yeah, well, that's what we're doing. Does that go into compost? They have that now dude. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's fucking nuts. Yeah, you can literally just go get a you can go get compost Yeah mushroom sack But it's crazy like it's because they show it like they have a whole process where you know You literally they let you decay and then they grind you up into soil. Oh wow I thought I in my mind was, you're in a mushroom like body sack. Well they dab that too.

And then the fungus like starts to help break you down. That's green burial, yeah. And I don't think they just put the body and let that do it. Right. But there is a place where- But the grinding is where. That's really what I'm about.

That's the pitch where it gets tough for me. Why is it any worse than burning? I mean, but- Yeah, sure. But mean, but I think there is a place where, I don't know if you get your love doing available in a package of potting soil, like, it's not in urn. You can plant them. You have a pot?

We can start to let them out there. Wow, that would be the best. Right? I guess so. So I don't know, but yeah, he's gonna go back to Jersey. My grandparents, my other grandparents are buried in Jersey, I'm not even sure where they are. My mother-

Would you, do you, well you're like, I must be buried. I've been there. No, no, I've been through the, it's over in like Elizabeth, New Jersey, next to a Budweiser factory. Sure. And the fucking worst industrial part of town. It's like this little Jewish cemetery tucked away

with all the sagging graves. Cause the pine box idea it's like well You can have to fill in once it falls into with a hole You got fill in the top a little bit with your pine box. That's not what they paid for They got a good deal. They got a good deal on the pine box Yeah, you know the older ones are the ones that literally have about a four inch to ten inch sag That might be nice to like go rest in sure Put a rock. Yeah, you're one right? Yeah, are all your people still alive?

Anyone know my grant all my grandparents are dead now my my grant my lost my last grandmother at Almost right on my birthday. Happy birthday. Thank you. That was it. It was the week. It was a crazy It's a crazy week. She was almost she she was 100, 101 years old. Almost 101 years old. Oh my God. Yeah. Which who's mom? My mom's mom. 101.

100, almost 101 years old. Her first memory is remembering hearing like a horse drawn ambulance in Brooklyn in like 1921. So they were first generation immigrants. She was, yeah, her, no, her parents were, her parents, yes, she was first generation. But like, yeah, that must have been. My great grandparents were born.

What, 1900, so she was born, 1900? 1919. 1919. Wow. Yeah. That's amazing. And then she died, so it was, it was right around this time, five years ago,

the height of the pandemic. When's your birthday? June 5th. Oh, coming up. Yeah. What are you 70? I'm 71 years old. But I.

So it was right around this time. It was right around this time. Yeah. My now wife, Lily and I got, we got pregnant in the height of the pandemic. It was like a full mating and captivity. Yeah. And.

I just talked to someone else who did that. And found out on her birthday, May 29th, that we were pregnant. It was also the weekend of the George Floyd murder and the insanity of that weekend. Yeah, yeah. Was the weekend we found out that she was pregnant. So excitement, oh.

And then, yeah, like helicopter, remember how many helicopters there were? It was just such's and then Trump You know did the Bible upside the upside-down backwards Bible Satanic signaling The if you if you cross reference Revelation and the Nostradamus. Yeah, the upside-down Bible. That was the beginning of it Yeah, it's so funny to think in Nostradamus being like not even wanting to pitch Trump. Yeah It's like it's a bummer. It's hacky and it's a bummer. I'm not gonna do it

So then we've that Monday. I find out that my grandmother's on her deathbed But you were like, okay It's like how it's just she just turned a hundred This can't be happening. This can't be happening. I talked to her three months ago. For two minutes. Yeah, and she, now she was actually incredibly sharp, amazingly sharp, so fucking smart. Her whole life, such an interesting person.

And then, so we told her, my brother went to visit on their, again, it was that COVID time, nobody was anywhere. They were in, they're in Westchester. And then, so we told her my brother went to visit on their death, again, it was that COVID time, or so nobody was anywhere. They were in Westchester. And my brother brought us, FaceTimed me with her as she was like, you know, just like lying in bed,

faintly breathing. And we told, she was the first person that we told that we were pregnant. And it was really kind of an amazing. And it got through? I mean, yeah. Yeah, we told her, I go go we're about to have a baby So get the fuck off the planet. Yeah

You've been replaced We you know, it's you know, we got a new one. Yeah, and then uh And then that was on like Wednesday and Friday was my birthday and you didn't fly out couldn't fly She died. No, it was too early wasn't kovat That was super kovat and she she died that Friday. She died on my birthday not from kovat not from kovat. Oh, it was too early wasn't COVID that it was super COVID and she Fried she dead on my birthday not from COVID not from COVID. Oh, that's good syphilis Wow She really was still pretty staying after 100% Yeah mind was in a good place. Yeah, it was her mind was in a great place No, uh, yeah, she just just died. Anyway, um, so that was that one. That was that one. That was that week? That's my birthday and every year there was a hawk that landed on her And then, uh, she just died. Anyway, um... So that was that one. That was that one. That was that week.

That's my birthday. And every year, there was a hawk that landed on her porch, like, the week that she was dying. That was live in the community. But, like, landed and just sat on her porch for, like, a day. Yeah. When she died? Yeah, it was like the two days she died. And then...

The birds know, man. The birds know. I have a... Yeah, I did a whole bit about that after Lindy that the birds were kind of like hanging around. Yeah. And I don't know what it is. I think if you're gonna pick an animal to represent the spirit of a person, make it a fucking bird. Yeah.

You know what I mean? You know when it's like that dog across the street. That fucking idiot dog. That's my ex. That's my late partner. Yeah. Just keeps eating his own shit. She was so like that. Yeah, that's what she was And then last year on my birthday

I was at my house and there are hawks that live around us and this fucking hawk that never comes to our house Flew like ten feet over my house for like a half an hour. And you were like grandma. I was like grandma, my birthday, and most importantly, the Trump Bible. Yes. And I'm sorry about the Floyd thing. Yeah. Let me ask you a question about, a Jewish question.

Because I'm really trying to source this out. So I had Modi on. Yes. And it was exciting. He I had Modi on. Yes. And it was exciting. He's an exciting fellow. Indeed. And I'm happy for his success because God knows he earned it.

He's very Jewish. Yes. And very Israeli and very, you know, he talks a lot about Moshiach, Moshiach energy. Moshiach energy. Moshiach energy, you know the Modi thing. Yeah, I was just listening on the way here. I was getting ready.

So, you know, he goes, it was fine. He gave me a hat, the Moshiach energy hat. Mazel. And about a week later, I get a package. And in the package, there's a framed item. And before I unwrap the item, I read the card and it says, Mark, I'd like to do it as Modi. I couldn't help but notice.

And then like when I left your house, I saw there was no Mazuzah outside. So I got you this and it's a framed Shema. It's like it's the Mazuzah scroll in a frame. Okay. So it's not, okay. Not, not not the mizuzah itself up for the here's how I read it I'm like that this is It's guilt-driven sure like you shitty Jew. Mm-hmm. Are you afraid? To represent by showing a mizuzah outside of your house. If that's the case you shitty Jew Maybe you could put this inside sure the door. Yeah, am I misreading that? I mean, I think that's a mild way of putting it.

I mean, I'm not saying he's a bad guy or anything. I thought it was brilliant, sort of ancient Jewish guilt. Yes. How could you, you cowardly fuck. Why isn't there a, why don't you want the world to know where to come get you? But as compromise, because I know how weak-willed you are, let me give you something that you print out, you put it inside, nobody knows, but it's there. Yeah, yeah.

So you get the protection that you don't deserve. Yes, yes, yes. Which is, I feel like a little bit of a conversation about what Israel and American Jews are. Elijah will have to come all the way in to realize he's at the right house. He'll come and sit inside and he'll see it and he'll be it. And he'll be like, all right, it's okay. He didn't have it outside, but all right. But what, like, let's get this out of the way. Because I, how do you feel about this movie?

I don't understand you? Yeah. How do I feel about it? I like the movie a lot. How do you feel about this movie? Well, I watched it and I don't know if I'm the right audience. I first of all, I'm not a horror. Can we use that for the poster? I know it might be a little late. I don't know if I'm the right audience. Mark Merritt. All right, we'll take it.

No, because like well here's my experience because I know like I'm not a horror guy. So I would put this in the horror comedy genre. Sure. Right? Is that what it is? I think that's a fair way to talk about it. Okay. Yeah, it's a horror comedy drama.

It's like a little, but with like a farce, I mean I guess that would fall into the comedy portion of it. Farce. Yes. That's the word I want. Yeah. Because like I think you got to know that going in. Uh-huh, right.

I really think it's important Right well, that's the that's what's been interesting about sort of either promoting it and how they're promoting it Yeah, like because I yeah because I think it is it's been interesting hearing people be like no they need audiences need to know What they're going getting yeah, cuz I didn't know anything about it right and so like you just thought you're watching like a rom-com Me kind of thing with me and me and Andrew Randall Yeah, like it's like a rom-com II thing and this is good. This is not really a stretch for Nick, but finally Could we use that for the pull code for the poster Not really a stretch for coal, but finally yeah, yeah, he's free. Yeah

Let me know The but like so I'm watching it and I'm like, all right, so, well, this is cute. And then I text my producer. I'm like, what am I watching? Is this like a, he goes, I think something happens. Yeah, there you go. And then, uh. Maybe that should have just been the trailer.

I think something happened. Yeah. And then, and so then what happened? And then something happened. But here's my whole thing is like the arc of the thing. Like I know it's a style like the arc of the thing. Like I know it's a style and the sort of attitudes that you two have, sort of self-involved,

only thinking about the baby on your anniversary trip to Italy and this farce occurs. You know, like I didn't really know the framework, but obviously, you know, once the first accident happened, we're in a different zone. Yes. And then we live in that other zone. Yeah.

But like, after it's all said and done, there's part of me that still wants to frame it as just a regular movie. Sure. And when you look at it in that light, it's like, those guys just got away with it. Yes. And now they're happy parents. Yeah, maybe that should have been the pull cord. Those guys just got away with it. Yeah, and they know they're just they're happy parents Yeah, maybe that should have been the poll quarter

Those guys just got away with it now. They're happy parents You're like great. So we don't need to great. We don't need to watch it You know what happens, but I I hear you and I it's been it was an interesting in that to do it that way was Was interest how would I explain this? Let me let me why'd Why'd you take the movie? I took, well, I took the movie because I love Andrew Rannells. He and I know each other. Great guy, great guy. Great guy, unbelievably talented. So funny.

So funny, and we worked together a bunch. He's been on Big Mouth since the beginning. And David and Brian, who directed the movie, I knew a little bit and it's really based on their story. It's based on both of them, both trying to adopt a baby and getting like scammed originally and then finally being able to adopt their son who's in the film.

That's a side note. Yes. Okay. It's like, you know, I think, I guess I was expecting that movie. Sure, exactly. And then they had a nightmare vacation to Italy, which then they combined and be like, oh, we're dealing with this thing. And then we have had a nightmare vacation to Italy. Which then they combined and be like,

oh, we're dealing with this thing, and then we have this true nightmare vacation to Italy, which is like them getting stuck in a ditch like we do in the movie. Just like everything falling apart, and then they heighten it with combining them into one thing. So I took the movie because I knew them and I liked all of them, and it just seemed fun. And got you to Italy? And it was like, I'll go to Rome. And my wife and I knew them and I liked all of them and it just seemed fun.

And got you to Italy. And it was like, I'll go to Rome. And my wife and I, Lily and I were like, we'll go to Rome. Have you been there? I've been there, yeah. I've been there over the years a good amount of times. And so it's like, oh my God,

like in your mind when you're a kid or when you're starting, you're like, maybe one day I'll get to make a movie and like live in Italy. And like do like just be talented. Mr. Ripley Just do that. How long were you there? So we were in Rome for like six weeks. Oh, that's great. It was great However, we had just gotten pregnant with our second kid. Oh who died Some dog in the neighborhood sort of you know, the one that ate his own shit No, he's so and Um, some dog in the neighborhood is sort of, you know. The one that ate his own shit. It was a sign.

No, we so, and we were, and my son was like not around two and he was like, we, so we got to Rome. It was a hard trip with a two year old. It was like a two year old and we had, you know, and I was working nights, it's so much the movies at night. I know, what a fucking nightmare. So you got to sweep all day. So yeah, and it was like 45 minutes outside of Rome and it was just like wet and I was wet the whole time and then I'd come

Home at 5 in the morning after a night shoot for a month It's sleep for like two hours then my son would wake up and Like was to and was had done was done with our nanny and it was revolting on all levels And so I would sleep for like another hour And then I go but then I go to the park with them and via Borghese Do you know that have you been to spend time in Rome at all? Once. It's it's fucking DC. It's fine. I actually don't I'm like it's fine. Really? Yeah I just I just I just sold it to my my my producers going I'm like it

It it lives up to your expectations Rome does yes Like like if you've never been there and you go there, you're like, holy shit. Yes. Like all the art, all the architecture, all that stuff. How long are you there for? Three days. Yeah. You go in, get it done.

You have the nice food. Yeah. You walk around. But after like- There's the fountain. That's the Pope's house. Yeah, of course. Yeah, it's great.

The Pope's house. Did you go to the Vatican? Yes. Did you? Not this time. I've been before and I was literally working the whole time. We were living right, we were living like right near the Spanish Steps,

like in that where it's like Times Square. Oh yeah. And it was a beautiful place. We had a really gorgeous place to live. At the top, it was really amazing. Yeah. But it was like, the busker started at like 7.30 AM. With the boom boxes?

No, with like electric violins playing Coldplay. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? It's the worst when you, like, it's incredible how quickly sound can destroy a fucking vacation. Yeah. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. You know, you're just like... No.

No! And it really did so, but I, I mean, I mean I I'll Rome is beautiful and and a wonderful place But it was not what I had what I had Envisioned in my head of what this was gonna be a romantic idea of shooting a film in my life And we were gonna like travel and we did do some cool shit, but it just was two-year-olds. How pregnant was she? She was like in her first trimester. So it was just okay the time No, but it was not a foot it was like the, you know, it was a tough, it was a, but.

Like I know anything. No, first trimester. Yeah. Not a problem. Never had a kid. You haven't had a kid? No. Physically, you've never had a kid?

No. It's not too late, Martin. That's what I hear. But I think it's too late for me to. When did you decide that you didn't want to have a kid? Or did you decide? You know, I think the decision happened when for me to do. When did you decide that you didn't want to have a kid? Or did you decide? You know, I think the decision happened when, here's what it really was.

I'm not against kids, but the truth be told, I never once thought about having one. Sure. That was really it. Yeah, that's fair. And when I was married the first time, and she all of a sudden, you know, with no knowledge, that I had no knowledge, she was taking prenatal vitamins,

I'm like, I gotta get out of this. So, I have nothing against children, but I feel like I'm fundamentally too selfish and too panicky, and too, I can't trust my emotions. So like, you know, all of it, but the fact that I never once thought about it in any real way. Yeah, I mean, I think that's a good call.

I think that works for you, and it's better for your unborn offspring. Yeah, my brother's got three. He adopted three over time. And even when I see people with kids, even when people tell me, it really is something, it changed your life, the ba-ba, the whole sort of like a cult of children propaganda,

which is real. I'm like, man, still not moving me. Yeah. I have 12 niece and nephews and before I had kids, I was like, I'm good for right now. I kind of in my head because it's so much a part of the family that I was like, I assume I'll have kids, but I was not, until I did it, I was not like,

oh my God, I'm itching to have children. And then I did it and it's been amazing, but also it is until I did it. I was not like, oh my god I'm itching to have children right and then I did it and it's been amazing But it but also it is like I am for people who are like who have not had kids I'm not like oh my god, you have you must have children. Well, I think it does round you out sure Yes, it's a more complete life. And I yeah, and I think that you know my I think my fear is I think that my fear is in how I grew up emotionally, that I don't know that I could necessarily protect my kids from that. From lack of boundaries over worrying.

I was brought up, it wasn't love as much as it was panic. Well, it's love masked as panic or panic masked as well. No, I think, yeah. It was just straight panic. It was just worry and like, you know, everybody, we were just appendages. Yes. Of very selfish people. Save that for the funeral, Mark.

Save that for the Zoom eulogy that you deliver. Should I respond to my dad's wife? Like, I just want to pitch some ideas for my eulogy that you deliver. Should I respond to my dad's wife? Like, I just want to pitch some ideas for my eulogy. Yeah, appendages. Of a narcissist. Yeah. No, but I just, I think the panic and the worry, like I have this anxiety problem anyways.

I don't know how that wouldn't translate. It would heighten, whatever happens when you have children, it just becomes a mirror and it heightens and magnifies whatever your shit is. Yeah, well you're a pretty well grounded guy, I think emotionally. I like to, I think so most of the time, but I think having children has made me understand

a very different element of myself that I have, I think subjugated for my whole life. That you just had stuff down? Yeah, just like anger and things like that, like real rage. Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah and things like that. Like real rage. Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or just cause I see it in my small child

who's just like an amazing huge creature, little person who is deeply and openly emotional in a way that I am uncomfortable with. Sure, that's why you mask it with your funniness. Yeah, exactly. It's like, let's deflect and move it this way at all times. And then this, he's just like, ah! Yeah, yeah.

And then it makes me rageful that it was happening. But not at him, just in general? Well, sort of, in general, but I was like, that I would raise my voice with him in a way that I haven't raised my voice with anyone in my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, that feels great, that's real. So what'd you do about that? I told raised my voice with anyone in my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, that feels great. That's like real.

So what'd you do about that? I told, he learned to fucking shut his mouth. He's a frightened kid now. He does not express himself anymore. And that's the way I want everyone. I've shut it down and I'm happy about it and we're all, we're very comfortable now. Did you have to like go to get help? Oh, always.

I have, I'm seeing, I used to have a joke in my head. I was like, I gotta talk to my therapists. Yeah. And I'm now like, I now see a multitude of therapists. Really? Yeah. Like for, explain. I have a therapist, therapist,

who looks like Franny McDormand. Oh, that's good. Which is awesome. Solid. Yeah, solid person. And then I- Talk therapist. Talk therapist. And then you have a psychiatrist. No, I don't have a psychiatrist Oh, you just have another I mean I got a I got a I got a guy on the side Yeah, sure sure if I need somebody needs them going on the road, you know stay awake or whatever

Take the edge up. Yeah, I got a psychiatrist with that. You got a dr. Nick. Yeah, I got a special yeah. Yeah he and then I've got a Dr. Nick. I got a special doctor. And then I've got a marriage couple stuff that we talk to someone. Oh yeah. And then like a parenting therapist who we talk to about our kids and how to talk. It's interesting with all these therapists, where do you find time for the children? Well, we cross over in the lobby in the waiting room when they're seeing their therapist at two Yeah, we say hi. We sort of like we acknowledge each other You know, we all know we're all seeing

But you find that Cuz I over there applies No, I mean I like I think it's a luxury but it's it's a deep's a deep luxury. And it's not a bad thing, but I have found, like I just started going again recently. Cause I decided in- But everything seemed fine, Mark. Uh-huh. That's what Malaney said.

Like I did his show, he was running shit at Largo, and I talked about like finally, getting on some medication. And Malaney gets out there and goes, wait, this is the first time Mark decided to We've all been going through his life all this and he's never you never even gave us the opportunity to get himself on meds Well, I mean I did a little bit way back, you know, but not for long

But the the anxiety thing was you was starting to become kind of a... Debilitating? Well, just sort of like, is this normal? For some reason, my insistence that secretly everyone is exactly like me. That I'm going to speak to you as if you're hiding me inside of you. Sure, almost as if they're an appendage to your narcissism.

Exactly. Yeah, sure. And I think I finally realized like, no dude, they're laughing at you. They're not laughing with you, which is fine. Sure. We'll take it. Of course.

But it's funny, I'm doing a bit on my show about that because in the special I just shot about my feelings about SSRIs because I'm doing a bit on my show about that, because in the special I just shot about my feelings about SSRIs, because I'm weird about them, and I know they work for people. But for me, I just don't want to be, I don't want it to cloud my, whatever. Of course, of course.

But I went to a psychiatrist to get evaluated, and I said I'm not comfortable with the SSRIs, because it's just me, I know they work. I have to keep saying that because anytime I bring up my aversion to SSRIs, I get emails from people going like, you know, it's really negative. But he suggested this other medication. He said it's a more focused dopamine thing

and it's primarily for, you have obsessional anxiety and it's for that. And then he says, it generally doesn't work for people. I'm like, that sounds anxiety and it's for that. And then he says, it generally doesn't work for people. I'm like, that sounds like the right drug for me. Yeah, I'll take that one. I'll do that in a medium and, you know, dude, fuck it, let's do four of them.

Let me get out of here. I think it might be working a little bit. I went back to him for a reval and he said, I think we're at 30% and we're looking for 50. I'm like, great. He says, I want to take a little bit. I went back to him for a reval and he said, I think we're at 30% and we're looking for 50. I'm like, great. He says, I want to take a little more. I'm like, no problem. But we'll see.

Have you felt the cloudiness at all or anything? No, no, it doesn't have that one. It may be a little dizzy thing, but no, I haven't felt that detachment. But I do think it's stopping some of the ruminating. The question on everybody's mind is it's stopping those rock hard boners. No, that's the other thing.

It's funny, I have this shrink who I won't do Zoom. Like I'm like, I'm going in person. I'm gonna sit on the couch, I wanna judge the guy. Yeah, yeah. I wanna know where to. I wanna be on equal standing here with you. But when I went to get the rechecked, you know, just last week, he's like, well, the

only other alternative is, you know, the, you know, the Prozac or something. And then he literally says, he goes, but that has the sexual side effects with an intention. Like, well, I don't, I mean, he leaned in on that when in person, you could really feel him. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. But there's part of me that thinks like, you know, I think I'm done with that too. Sure.

Maybe in general, yeah, maybe the anxiety, maybe there's part of me that thinks like, you know, I think I'm done with that too. Sure Maybe in general in general. Yeah, maybe the anxiety maybe it's all connected Let's just get rid of the hard on get rid of the anxiety. Maybe I can enjoy life Those are my two those are my dick in my panic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, they're tied together Yeah, of course. So yeah, I was gonna say they're absolutely not tied. There's no connection between the two So we'll see. Yeah, are you on medicine? No? Fucking pussy. I am I've thought about it at times For what for more like a ADHD stuff? I can't like they have that I don't think I have that yeah Do people have giving you that it? I think they say I have it, but the doctor and say I have he said

Obsessional anxiety I tried it over the years I tried to get it over there since like high school and all my friends were on like riddle in an adderall like you wanted I wanted it Yeah, cuz I wanted it cuz I wanted it in college to study and I wanted it cuz it would like, you know It was just a fucking upper. Yeah. Yeah, but I didn't have I was not overly drawn to it at any point Or like coke or any that's just didn't it was not a yeah So I you're a good boy Nick. Well, but I'm I'm functionally not in drawn to it at any point or like coke or any of that stuff. It just didn't, it was not a... Yeah. So I... Well, you're a good boy, Nick.

Well, but I'm functionally not in many other ways, but like the big ticket items were not, like none of that stuff ever was that interesting to me. Yeah. So medication, no, but I do, yeah, I definitely, I mean, I do like not much, but like plant medicine. Yeah, like what like, you know Microdose Mike micro dose a little bit and that never grabbed me either But like you know, I'm saying like ayahuasca and all that stuff do ayahuasca. Uh-huh Not no not like no not

Because we are whatever you're doing we are we are we have to continue dealing it There's no silver bullet for any of it, but I think that's the trick Yeah, I think that if you can get yourself some space to do, you know Accurately assess yourself. Mm-hmm like if you get some separation from the symptom and you can sort of stand beside it and go like alright I can see that well And I think the the psychedelics are a shorthand for that. It's like a little bit of a like The psychedelics are a shorthand for that. It's like a little bit of a, like, cliff notes to get in there faster

than doing the actual work. What's a, cause like, you know, I'm sober. So like, you know, anything that hints at sure that type of drug is unregulated or unprescribed. Sure. You know, that's a slippery slope. Yes, of course. But the micro dose, like when you took that,

what did you feel? Micro dose, not much. I never did a regular micro dose of acid or mushrooms. That didn't grab me so much, although I'm sure it would be interesting because I do find a certain focus in using those kinds of things in a way that are helpful, can be helpful.

But it never, that didn't grab me. I did do like, I did ketamine at Cedar Sinai. You did the ketamine where you sit there with the IV? Yeah, I did thatetamine at Cedar Sinai. You did the Ketamine where you sit there with the IV? Yeah, I did that. For what? I did for just like trying to get a better sense of what was going on. In the world, in your life?

In the world and life, it was like what I was talking about earlier of just like- That is the controlled trip in a not fun environment. Yeah, so like you're in an office and they lie you down in an easy chair and you get noise canceling headphones or I listen to music. Oh, they let you listen to music?

Yeah, I listen to Amahoy, this amazing Ethiopian pianist. The woman? Yeah. You have that, have that record, it's great. It's beautiful and I find it very meditative. Yeah, yeah, yeah, good record. So listen to that and it was obviously control, it was like a Monday at like 11.30

and it's a very weird time to go do that kind of thing. But like does it just blow your mind? Yeah, you go, like you're lying there and it's an IV and then within 10 minutes you start to like trip and I was never interested in ketamine, people use it like recreationally, I was never interested in ketamine. People use it like recreationally. I was never interested in it. Yeah.

And, but this very controlled trip, all of a sudden in 10 minutes, you start to like go like, did you do acid and stuff before you got sober? Yeah. And like, you know that it happens and then like they control it out. And by the end of the hour,

you're kind of like coming back up to Reality and then but do you disassociate to you like what goes on in your mind? What did you learn? I learned I had it's like it's again. It's like a shorthand to whatever is going on That's what I found about those psychedelics where it's just like it's like come on, man. Let's fucking talk about this Yeah, you know what I mean sure and it and it jumps you right in there. Well pops up. Yeah It's it. And it's Will Ferrell as the elf. And it's Krumholtz as the elf. Oh, that's better. Yeah, that's probably closer.

It's probably Krumholtz coming into me from the Santa Claus. Anyway, so Krumholtz is like, he is the Jew on all of our shoulders. We all have a Krumholtz on our shoulder going, what are you doing? Yeah. Just do it. So what are you doing? Just do it. So we, anyway, but it does, it kind of really takes you right inside of it and then pops you out. But I did it once and it was a good experience. And then I did it again and I was running late and I was trying to get to my therapist after that. Like I was going to see a therapist to process whatever I'd just gone through.

But I get out on a third street and I'm like running late and I'm still like, I'm like, I got to get into an Uber and I'm like flip flopping my feet around because I'm still on drugs. And it was not, I was like, this is not the right thing. This is not how this should be done. And that was it. And I was like this is not the right thing. This is not how this should be done Yeah, and that was it and I was like I'm done with that But so now the ayahuasca thing now, this is sort of a bougie, you know a group

You know you go with it is it can be you do it with your wife. I did it I'll leave her out of it. But I but but yeah, so we I we I Did it in a very again like there the very, very bougie version of it where it's like some white shaman and, you know. The guy who used to be a barista. Yeah, exactly. There's that version of it. And there are other versions of it that are much,

I think much more driven by people who are much more directly connected to the plant and to the experience of it in like, you know, Central and South America. And so it was a very intentional kind of group and it was a really interesting, weird group where there are those people who are like this weird joke of a person, but then also some fucking,

also people have experienced incredible trauma that they're trying to process. And being all together for a very intense experience. But then, and the unpleasant parts are also part of the, you know, it's that thing when you do those kinds of experiences where you're like, oh, it's all of it, right? It's like, you know.

A vulnerability of puking and shitting yourself. Yeah, it's like the puking and shitting is there, it's a little bit, but it's also just like people like really dealing with some fucking demons, you know? Yeah. And it's a very intense, but ultimately very, you know, complete experience. And was that beneficial?

Yeah, just like real, like I was like, huh, like, yeah, just sort of big things. Like you go and think you're gonna be like, I'm gonna talk, I'm gonna think about, you know, my relationship with my son or my marriage or whatever. And then something sort of, at least in all these experiences usually isn't that direct thing. It's like, oh, just a much deeper thought

about like masculinity or how I connect right now. I was like, man, I can't separate toxic from masculinity, but how can one be a man right now that feels true to being like a man, but also with acknowledgement of where we are as a society? So it was like stuff like that where I'm like, that's cool, that's an interesting thing to sort of really grapple with in a way that I've never thought about.

You know? I tried to do a joke about that. I think all men are on the spectrum of toxicity. It's a broad spectrum. It starts like insensitive to murder. Yes. But at best, it's insensitive. At best, yes.

So it was, and I was just like, you know, anyway, so I'm not a proponent one way or the other of it, but I've found it, I've enjoyed it and it found it very, I just feel like it's a shorthand to get to some deeper shit. Yeah. I think the last time I saw you was at the art out the gallery opening of your wife's installation. Yes work Yes, great. Thank you. She did a great job. Yeah. Yeah, she's incredibly talented She's a massive fan of yours. Yeah. Yeah, well so that one glad I went. Yeah. Yeah, she is very funny You're the you're truly the one comic who so I think she started listening to your podcast very early on

one comic who, so I think she started listening to your podcast very early on when she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do. And she said that like your podcast gave her insight into the idea of that you could fail along the way to success. Like that you're so many of the conversations you had, but not a lot about you particularly. But mainly you. No, but that she, yeah. But mainly you. Yeah. No, but that she was really, as she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do and it was really enlightening for her and so your conversations really propelled her towards doing what she does now. Yeah.

In a lot of ways, which is like landscape design and large scale botanical installation and what you saw was like a visual art sort of. Well, she had the installation. Yes. The mound. Yeah, the mound. And then she had a lot of other wall pieces.

Yes. Which I thought were very good, because I studied photography, I studied the history of photography, and some of this stuff. I'm always very taken with artists with having a fairly specific vision, and that is their mode of expression.

So if the artist is good and has done their work, you're looking at fully realized expressions of themselves that have their own poetics to them. And I thought she was, it was all very good. And I liked it. I like going to art shows where I'm like, all right, this is, I'm in the hands of a professional here. That's great.

This is like, this is how. So there's nothing worse than going to an art show and you're like, this is, what is this? Yeah, like this doesn't seem fully realized. No. Is really what it comes down to. Is that either through craft or skill or whatever, that they're not necessarily a laziness to it,

but they didn't have complete control of their thing. Totally, totally. But she does. Yeah, well, she'll be happy to hear that. And also, ironically, that was her first show of that medium. That was the first time she'd done it and is now expanding what that is. Well, there's like, I don't know what they're called.

They used to call them pictographs. What's the, where you lay things on paper? Yeah, I think pictographs are lumens. It's like expired film paper. And she's takes like plant material and then lays them out in the sun. Yeah. And light and captures the- Figure it out.

It was early, it was also early botanical, how they gathered botanics like back- Oh, to document. Yeah, to document, like Darwin era. She's playing on that too. Yeah. Yeah, but there's so much like sort of experimentation and chemical sort of control that has to happen with photographic processes.

Totally. Like, you know, cause you're dealing with light, you're dealing with the photosensitive paper, then you're dealing with chemicals, and that whole balance, you know, pushed me right out of that form. Yeah. Too much to have. You couldn't fucking bullshit your way through it. And that whole balance, you know pushed me right out of that form

Yeah, too much good, but you couldn't fucking bullshit your way through it no no you can't What fixer you yeah the stuff that's in the thing? That's there in the tray. Let me tell you though. Let me tell you what the problem with these rooms is though Yeah, I just realized like I loved photography liked taking pictures, but to really have a control over it, you really have to know, you know, light and chemicals. So you're, but your obsessiveness didn't play, didn't compliment that. No, because my obsessiveness is not of the nerd quality. Right, it's not of the useful quality.

No, it's just sort of like, I could have done this if I did, if I'd only done that, but this is too much, I'm gonna fuck this up, there's none of the useful quality. No, it's just sort of like I could have done this if I did if I'd only done that but this is too much I'm gonna fuck this up. There's too much to know like how can I even think that this is good? Yeah, I didn't know that part. Yeah, so you're like this now I wish I had yeah Because there is that thing where you I'm sure you've interviewed a million of those like obsessive people who put it into their art And make it oh my god like Wes Anderson. Yeah, what is that? That's it's almost to the point where it's too much Yeah, gorgeous. Oh, yeah. Yeah. What is that? That's, um. It's almost to the point where it's too much.

Yeah, gorgeous OCD. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely flawlessly beautiful OCD. Yeah, and sometimes you just sort of look like, you know, I think he should be doing still photos. Sure. Right.

But then you got to fix him. You got to do that. No, but she also does this. She's doing this thing this summer in Madison Square Park. She took over a couple of the lawns and has designed these outdoor installations on the lawns in Madison Square Park all summer. Yeah, I know people hear that though, they're thinking, does she do topiary?

No, it's not, it's different. No, it's a different thing, it's a meditation garden, like a labyrinth, and then a children's garden with some stages and we're gonna do some like live reading stuff for kids and stuff in there. And then, but the meditation, I sat there at the meditation, I was just in New York, I sat in her garden,

you know, because I was there for a couple of days and sat and just watched everybody walk through it. It was so gratifying in New York to watch like 50 different kinds of people walk through this one thing, experience it differently. It was really beautiful. I love New York for that reason. I once read a book that changed my life and no one can find the book 50 different kinds of people walk through this one thing, experience it differently, it was really beautiful. I love New York for that reason. I once read a book that changed my life

and no one can find the book and I know it exists. It was really about the original concept for Central Park. Before Olmsted got his stupid fucking hands on it? Well, I don't know how far back it goes, but when they first started to build the city, they realized that, you know, in order for it to function for humans, you needed, you know, to sort of balance out green space. Like that countryside was a necessity.

So this thing has to be of scope and of density So this thing has to be of scope and of density and mystery enough to provide the wild landscape. Yeah, but the idea that they would have enough vision to be like, we think it could get this big, so we need to make the park, think about it on this scale, that eventually this whole island will be covered. Right, well I don't know if they knew that, but they were very concerned with that,

it was essential to human beings to have a place that they could be in the wilderness. Yes. Or the land. Totally. And I just thought that was so genius. And it's true. And then, I mean, also the- Same guy who did Prospect Park. Yeah, I was going to say Prospect Park also is an amazing thing. To understand that about

Brooklyn too. Yeah. It's like they save your soul. That was a cool thing about Rome was that Villa Borghese, that massive park was like really beautiful, like calming place to get inside. It works. You need it. Like right when you walk into Central Park,

two minutes in you're like, you're out of it. You take a deep. Isn't that wild though? Really, I was there too. And it really, you need it. I just went to Sherman Oaks and. You went to the gallery in Sherman Oaks. No, my girlfriend's out in Sherman Oaks

and there's this huge park that is primarily flat, but they've got like a couple soccer fields, baseball, you know, workout stuff. Is it Balboa or no, it's one of, it's, anyway. Is it called the Grotto maybe? No, the Grotto's a different kind of park. Oh. No. No, I don't know the grotto is a different kind of park. Oh Now I don't know what it is, but like even that

Functions. Yeah, there's like there's a purpose to it. You need it and LA is unfortunately You've got Griffith Park, which is an amazing resource, but you miss the central gathering parks. There's no It's a failure in design, yeah You can do run you and see that whole thing. Oh, I love to go to Runyon. I go to Runyon. No, but it's funny, Runyon is the first time when you move to LA or come to LA and it's just filled with people with so many demons.

Just like the most. Yeah, a lot of dreams hiking up that trail. Yeah, a lot of, so many eating disorders hiking up and down that hill of all types, of all types and frequencies. Yeah, I was there recently and I hadn't been there in years and I'm like, yeah, this is it. I could, yeah, that was the, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, you go to Runyon and you go to the Gelsons on Franklin. Right, right, right. Yeah, it's a- It's like a block where you can walk. Yeah, two blocks. Oh, well, there's Runyon and then there's like the, you know, Canyon, the Bronson.

The Bronson I did for many years, I did that hike for many, many years, like the Bat Cave area. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. Out here you got this brand library, it's the best. Yeah, you gotta do it. I'm telling you, you gotta do a bit about hiking

or something like that. I do do a bit about hiking. How was the taping? Good. Great. Yeah, that closer was good. Yeah. You saw it? I saw that, I heard you talking about it. I've seen the close, I saw it at some point. With the Taylor Swift? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really great. We had Buy the good. Yeah. You saw it? I saw that, I heard you talking about it. I've seen the close, I saw it at some point.

With the Taylor Swift? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really great. We had to buy the song. Oh. And that cost a little money. I bet. Yeah. But she could have charged you more, I bet. I bet you she could have.

Yeah. I don't think I didn't text Jack Antonoff. Hey buddy. Hey bud, quick, quick cue. Got this bit. And I don't know if it helped, but it was fine. I thought the taping went great. That I really think it-

Have you gotten used to doing it now where you're not unbelievably nervous and panicky while doing it or leading up to it? What was interesting about this one is the last couple, because I don't want to leave too much to cut. I really need it to be as close to the time that I'm allowed it as possible, because I don't want to be...

Yeah, you don't want to be editing down in the post. It sucks. You built it for a reason. So, like, I worked this shit because, you know, I had to take a break from the tour. I mean, I've been working this shit for over a year and a half. And, you know, I kept it kind of fluid, and stuff was coming in, you know, even days before.

That helps me. You're like, this is fun and feels good, and I want to do this. Yeah, there are little beats. But by the time I got to the show're like, this is fun and feels good, and I wanna do this. Yeah, there are little beats. But by the time I got to the show, I knew the material was solid. But then it just becomes things I ask myself, it's like, well, you're gonna have to pace up a little,

and you're gonna have to shift your pausing because we gotta get this all in. I just felt totally confident with all that shit. I was a little nervous about my shirt. That's always the concern. With you, for me. I'm always worried about the shirt. What's Mark gonna wear that he's gonna regret?

I have a whole history of clothing. Yeah, no jacket, shirt, no jacket, just shirt? No, I locked in on the outfit early, and I wore the fuck out of it. I gotta tell you though, dude, the look of this thing, because I go into these things thinking like, you can't reinvent these things. Sure. It's a guy on stage telling jokes.

Yeah. But my production designer was a genius. Really? He's a genius. That's great. And he had this concept, the reason I did it at the BAM Harvey, have you been there?

This is different than BAM. That's the big one. Yeah. There's a smaller one. See, it's about 800. Oh, okay. And it's an old vaudeville theater. Oh, cool.

That they didn't restore it, a smaller one, see it's about 800. Oh, okay. And it's an old vaudeville theater. Oh, cool. That they didn't restore it, they've kind of preserved it in its decay. Oh, great. And I just, when I saw it, I'm like, the back wall, the literal wall of the theater looked like a Rothko painting. And I'm like, this whole thing

has gotta be about that wall. Yes. And my production designer locked in and he had this concept based on Ketsuki. You know, the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with gold. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, cool. And he just said, they said, do you know what Ketsuki is?

I'm like, no, but do whatever you think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the thing looked stunning. And the performance was, I think, pretty solid. And we could cut between both shows and you didn't see my fat. That most importantly. Most importantly. Most importantly, you didn't see my fat. Good, that most importantly. Most importantly.

Most importantly, you didn't see my fat. You know what I think about still, cause I think about you talking about your grandmother, or I'm sorry, what I think about is you talking about your mother eating whipped cream. Yeah, cool whip. And I, oh, you cool whip. Yeah, you can better.

So when I'm like, when I'm like, I need my little sweets, I need my little taste, a little shot of whipped cream really gets me through and almost every time I do I think about your mom I'll tell her please do yeah. Yeah. Yeah, a low fat low sugar way to get a little hit Well, hey little talk about a little dopamine hit. It's fun. It's so fun. Do you go there? You do that. I don't know. I have a separate tank for that that I just hit by the bed You do that? I don't know, I have a separate tank for that that I just hit by the bed. Not ketamine though, just nitrous.

No, no, no, I got Kanye's dentist on board, so now I just... How are your folks? They're good. They're getting older, but they're good. They're like 84 and 82. That's where my parents are, 86 and 84, 82, 83. I mean, it's, you know, the bummer for them

is like people keep dying. Yeah. Everybody dies. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you know that? Are you serious? Ah, fuck, I can't believe I'm the one

who's gonna tell you this. God damn it, man. Next you're gonna say there's no Santa. Santa dies. Oh my God. Santa died. God damn it, man. Next you're gonna say there's no Santa. Santa dies. Oh my God. Santa died. Yeah, well that's the thing, we're all trying to stave off. Do you exercise?

I do, but I took a much longer break than I wanted to as I cover my belly with my jacket. I started doing, I've been doing, I needed to get myself to do it again, so I started doing like orange theory, doing, I needed to get myself to do it again. So I did, I started doing like orange theory, which is like group workout circuit training. I needed to be in public with other people and be held accountable to myself.

And it worked? It was working much better. Cause like, if I have a trainer, I'll like eventually bully them out of pushing me too hard. Oh really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was like, so then I started doing this class And you can see everybody's like scores like heart rates and calories. You can be competitive

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I was like that helped for like two for like two weeks. I was working out pretty hard How long ago is that it was like six months ago? I? Got I got this whoop watch. Oh, so I compete against myself. Oh good But like but I'm kind of compulsive, probably more than I admit. And I had this moment on Twitter, I don't know what this was or where it came from. It's called X, just be respectful. Oh yeah, X. So someone tweets like this piece, I don't know where she got it. I'm a Marin fan, this is weird and random, but I've heard so many reasonably very attractive

20 something women say say he's hot or I'd go with him. These are women who usually don't like older guys I'm straight but I can usually see why certain men are attractive to women the first time I heard it was like The first time I heard it. I was like what the fuck who mark really then I heard it again and again I just can't see it with mark He seems mostly like an aging grumpy self-obs-obsessed, neurotic, scruffy dude who is oftentimes negative with other people. He almost copies the hipster lifestyle at times and his workout routine consists of trying to jog

a little now and then. That's what bothered me. Sure, that last line. Yeah, like, you know, I'm like, wait, you know, I work out. Yes, the rest of it is fair. It's fair. Frankly fair. And also as he explains it, you're like, wait, you know, I work out. Yes, the rest of it is fair. It's fair. Frankly fair. And also as he explains it, you're like,

of course women would be into that kind of person. That grumpy guy, but his positives are he's funny, a celebrity, B or C list. Okay. In parentheses. Mark, you are squarely a B list. Yeah, I know. And has some charisma, some.

Some. Yeah, other than that, I just don't see it. Do you feel like, is it that you're not getting credit for working out? That's what bothered me about the whole thing. Bother you, that right. It's like all the other stuff, all right, fine, so yeah, but get the workout thing right.

No, no, don't take that away from me. Don't take away. I'm very much an exercise person. Do you jog every once in a while? Today. Really? Do you jog in public? Do you jog out in the world?

It's not good for your knees and shit. I drive on a treadmill. Yeah, I don't like good for your knees and shit. I try on the treadmill. Yeah. I don't like also publicly working out like that. I do a very hard hike up there. Yeah, a hike I'll do any day. But jogging in streets is like my worst nightmare. I tried a new thing on the treadmill today because my trainer told me to.

What? The sprinting and then sprinting for a minute and getting it down to zero. I never did that before. I usually do four miles, half walk, half run, up inclines. And today I did a new thing. How'd it feel? It felt good, but like, you know, I get it in my head that like I need to go an hour

and I need to do four miles. And she's like, you know- So you're not obsessive at all. There's no like weird rules that you've created, no systems in place that have to be met or else it's a failure. There's nothing like that. Yeah. I'm having a hard time knowing that I turned the rice off before we came in here.

Yet 10 minutes later, I wasn't able to fluff it. And now it's just gonna sit there. And it's not gonna be fluffed. It's not gonna be fluffed. I mean, I'll probably get through it. This is, you'll slowly make your way through. So I told you, medicine's really working for me. Yeah, I can tell.

I can tell. So what are you doing with your talent? Like what's going on with Big Mouth? It's done? Big Mouth season eight is done. And that's it? With that show for right now, yeah. That's a long run, dude.

That's a long run. We'll be the longest running scripted series on Netflix. Wow. Yeah. Do they know? They don't know. No, we haven't told them. We're gonna tell them though. We'll tell them. No, we haven't told them. We're gonna tell them though.

We'll tell them. No, we're, yeah, we did like 80 of those and 20 human resources of the spin-off and then, so it's over. I mean, the funny thing with animation is it's like, we finished a year ago and now it's coming out this week. So like, it's this weird distance that you have from it. Yeah.

And yeah, I'm so happy about it. It was the greatest, probably like the best creative, one of the best creative things I could have ever hoped for, which is I made it with my childhood friend, with a lot of my friends. Yeah, and now people have a lot of tattoos. And now people have so many fucking tattoos of it.

And that to me is one other bigger sign of that is, it's like my Rogan tattoo on my back. Yeah. Seth. Yeah, Seth Rogan. Yeah, I'd be huge, it's like my Rogan tattoo on my back. Yeah. Seth. Seth Rogan. Seth Rogan's face on your back. Yeah, I have a huge, I just, I'm crossing my whole back. Because we're friends.

Yeah. Because I love knocked up. I got his tattoo. Yeah, you got to do it. You did it when you were in high school. So I, but yeah, I'm so proud of it. It's done. We're doing a new show that will come out like next year.

Animated? Animated. For Netflix? Yeah, same team called Mating Season about animals dating and fucking in the woods. Yeah, sure, that's a never ending well. Yeah, versus puberty, which is a specific time. Sure, yeah.

But a continuation in a lot of ways of kind of the stuff that we did. Do the animals have dating apps? We have a time. Sure, yeah. But a continuation in a lot of ways of kind of the stuff that we did. Do the animals have dating apps? We have a thing for it, yes, we have a thing. You can keep it up to date with what's going on, the dating app. Yeah, and it's, I mean, it's very fun in the animal stuff of like, all right, what is the human thing,

how do we translate to the animal world? In the way that like, you know, the Flintstones was fun, like, you know what I mean, that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, sure. And so we're doing that, the final season the Flintstones was fun, like, you know what I mean, that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, sure. And so we're doing that. The final season comes out May 23rd, and then I've been producing this other show called Adults on FX, like 20-somethings in New York.

Oh, is that on? It's about to be on. It comes out on the 28th on FX, and then Hulu. What's the tagline on that? Adults is like, you know, it's like if the, if you had like, you know, Sex and the City are friends, they're in like living in the West Village, and then the girls and girls were like living in Brooklyn.

Now that period of time in your early 20s, these kids are living in like deep Queens at one of their friends, one of their kids' parents' house. In Forest Hills? Yeah, in like Flushing. In Flushing? Yeah, Flushing, and Bayside area. An area that's not getting it gentrified,

but it's where they could all live. I lived in Astoria for years, and that's barely gotten gentrified. Really? You think Astoria, I feel like, has come up a lot. Yeah, I don't know, I guess I haven't been there. Yeah. But when I was there, it was like, there was never even a threat of it being gentrified. You think a story I feel like has come up a lot. Yeah, I don't I guess I haven't been there

When I was there it was like there was never even a threat of it being gentrified No Well and at that point a story probably the most international like the most languages spoken in the world the best Oh, it's just the best I used to get off that train at 30th Avenue the end train and you know after doing comedy It's like 2 30 in the morning. There were entire families shopping for vegetables. Are there no rules? No, no. So the show is like, and it's really about kind of Gen Z, those kids, but it's really about like codependent group of friends living in a house together,

trying to figure out how to be people. In that kind of grand tradition of that kind of show. So how do you, how are you tapped into this generation? Are the writers 20? No, I wrote it. No, I'm just, yeah, the writers came to me like literally Ben Cronengold and Rebecca Shaw. They came to me, they're a couple,

they've been together since college. They came to me like- Ben who? Ben Cronengold and Rebecca Shaw there. They were Fallon writers when I met them. They were at the, when I met them was five years ago. It was like my first emails were them with like November 2020 when Mulaney was just running around New York on cocaine.

Yeah, yeah. And I got this call from them and we just started talking about their show and I was like, they just had such a clear vision for it. They're fucking funny, great writers. And it was like, yeah, that sounds like a show. And so I've just been helping them, you know, we helped pitch it and then develop it at FX

and just, and then I directed the finale of it and just helped them throughout the process. As much as I could. So you've got a season in the can? Season in the can, that comes out, yeah, the 28. On FX. FX and then on FX for Hulu, the next, all, the whole season drops on FX.

How much directing are you doing? I'm starting to direct a little bit. I directed on History of the World, and then I directed the finale of this and starting to do that more. You like it? I like it. I love, you know, when you're producing,

when you're writing and producing, it's like you kind of are doing a massive portion of that job. So you're like, I guess, because I was just like, I don't like being there call and I don't like going on tech scouts. Like the stuff that directors and crew and people have to do.

But I was like, maybe if I can move through that, I could actually, you know, experience something new. But do you want to do a movie? Yeah, I think like, but it's like, I love it. But I also, I love doing all of that. I thought you directed this one that I forced myself to watch and then I found out you didn't direct I'm like why'd I watch it? Another another rousing

another wonderful poll quote from Marin Just for your listeners who maybe are considering going to the movie. It's much better than Marin is giving a credit for no I will say that it was well shot and it's all there and than Marin is giving it credit for. No, I will say that it was well shot and it's all there. And that- Yeah. Again, another perfect pull-quad. It's well shot and it's all there.

Go to the theater to see I Don't Understand You, June 6th, Marc Marin. It just took me a minute to walk in. It's totally, I agree. That is, it's really interesting. It's an interesting experiment in playing with audience expectations. Yeah, totally.

And in this moment in time, it's harder to get people to lock in if something doesn't exactly make sense to them right at first. Yeah, the whole you're dead thing. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, there's definitely're dead thing. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah Definitely funny things in there and I think that you know

Because of my expectations that when I look back on it, it's funnier than it was when I was watching it Yes, could we use that one? Can say I don't know what your fans well But can someone just make a put can one of your fans can someone make this the pull quotes were all All of these quotes from the movie that I can put out on social When I look back it's just it was just like all of them or a trailer where it's all you see the trailer And it's always says it's like instead of it being like the daily beast being like dementedly funny It's just all of maran's quotes from the movie. I would I will put that out when it comes

It would be I I don't know if I have those kind of fans, but maybe. Maybe a couple. I think that's a young fan game. Calling all you what the fuckers. Yeah, you young nerds. You want to help out in this area. Can I ask, when did you pull out WTF? My Chupacabra was in the intro for your show for a long time.

Yeah. WTF. Yeah, WTF. Well, we look back today, like you were on one of the, the full episode we did was like 112, like real early. And then there was like two in-studio Chupacabras and one live one that my buddy Brendan still laughs about.

We talked about it today. Oh, really? Oh really yeah, yeah Yeah, can't do that character anymore can you know not really no no But what a run, but what a run it we have it's great. Yeah, so are you gonna try stand up again or yeah? Yeah, I'm gonna come in and give it a shot. I'm gonna I'm gonna try I'm finally gonna try that thing You did about your your mother like taking compliments from your mother kills me. Yeah. Thank you. It was uh Yeah, is that how you feel with your mom? What was the setup again?

It's just how we're so deeply impatient with our moms. No shorter fuse with anyone in the world No, sure. Yeah, my mom was like, I'm gonna forward you an article about the Art Deco movement. Why would you do that, mom? You know Art Deco's my least favorite architectural movement. It's just that, I think that's helpful in the sort of assessing rage thing. Yes, literally.

That tone of, at any age, at some age you would hope it would stop, but that sensitivity and reactiveness to your mother, that is infantile, but still exists in your old man body. It's crazy. It's crazy. It doesn't go away, and I think it's, and it's more extreme with mothers than fathers,

I think, I think there's just- Well, you don't wanna get hit. Emotional, emotional hit. You know what I mean? Fathers are scarier. Yeah, fathers are scary and also... You can work your mom. Yes, but you're just so emotionally intertwined with her in a way that it hits some deep, like, kind of core thing

that makes you explode. Yeah, but there's also the fight, and this is, you know, about when you have kids, that there's also the point where you're trying to get out from that. And I think that tone comes from like, I just wanna be my own person. Yes, yes. And if I can tell you anything as a father.

Please. Is that, cause I was told, is like, your mother and your parents did not allow you to separate and be yourself. Sure. And that's something they have to do consciously. Yes. That you have to let them fail

or have their own sense of being start to evolve. Cause if you get in the way of that, then you have a lifetime of like, mom! Yeah. Totally. I mean, I just had my parents, I was on Colbert in New York and I was like, it was around my dad's birthday, so I was like, why don't you guys come to Colbert and then we'll go out to dinner.

Yeah. And I went and they were backstage with me in the green room. Again, talking about this, like, why didn't I just be like, watch the show and then we'll meet up. Yeah, absolutely. So they're in my green room and I'm doing the pre-interview with the producer and my mom starts to like weigh in on like and I became again like a six-year-old child. Like, you know, before I'm about to go on national television in a pink suit. You know what I mean? I'm just and I was like, but I did that to myself. She's just, you know what I mean?

I never let anyone come. I don't, and I did that to myself. She's just, you know what I mean? I never let anyone come. I don't know why I did. I'm better at it now, cause I honestly, I don't really care, but it used to be, like if you'd let them watch you, you know, in real time, like you're gonna be reacting to that. Of course.

It's gonna be hanging over you. And you have so much other stuff connected and attached to those people. My least favorite shows are hometown shows oftentimes. Like, they're the least, you know what I mean? Because you can start to see, you can feel people who you know thinking about you and you.

Well, yeah, what you think they're thinking. I mean, they're usually kind of, you know, whatever they say afterwards, they're in awe of it. I mean, you know, you're doing it. Yes. You know, so even if they're like, nice shirt. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what, what do you like to?

You're like, the buttons, it's not cause I've put on weight, it's just simply the thickness of the fabric. It's a Western shirt that I got from a special place. This guy's a wonderful, I lived in a town in Wyoming. As you look at the computer, I'll make this long. I'm not looking at the camera, I'm watching the levels, because you were yelling.

Oh, oh, I lived in this little town in Dubois, Wyoming. You did? Yeah, for a couple summers, and it was a cool little kind of dude ranch, real Western town. It's like 80 miles from Sub-Jackson. The family went there? No, no, family friends had a place there, and I was like, can I go work for you?

And they were like, no, go work at... They were a ranch, it was like, be a ranch hen. It was like, can I go work for you? And they were like, no, go work at, they were a ranch, it was like, be a ranch hand. It was like, they're like, you won't be good at this. Where's that TV show? I don't know, here it is, let's do it, here we go. This is the soft pitch mark. But I lived in this town and worked at this restaurant and across street was this old general store, Welties.

And it was like owned by the old family who's like owned this town general store, Welties, and it was owned by the old family who's owned this town for many. The Welties? The Welties, who were the wealthy, and they, but it was closed, I don't know, the father died in like, say, 70s or 80s, and it was closed for 30 years, except they would open it at that time,

one or two days a year. And you'd walk in and it was all the original Wrangler Lee 70s in its original all the like could you buy it or was it a yeah, you can buy it So I had all these but 70s pants are too tight. Yeah, maybe those wouldn't fall down your ass. No, yeah They just they'd stop at some point. Yeah. I can't get him to not fall down my ass I don't I just don't like him up over my waist, right? What did my boy do so? So, all right, so where's the story going?

It's you and black youth. Yeah, it is. People always wanna do, like it is a style, but it's not intentional. Yeah, you're like. I'm just always pulling up my pants. Fine Arts made that documentary about me, and I'm like, holy shit, dude.

My pants are falling down this entire fucking show for an hour and a half of this documentary. Are you conscious of it while it's happening? Sure, I'm always pulling them up. But there's, at some point, like I bend over to get something out of the oven, he's shooting it, my entire ass is out. And I'm like, dude, my entire ass is out.

He's like, well, we can pixelate it. I'm like, no, they're waiting for it. Like your literal, this is your literal, not underwear, your literal ass. Yeah, yeah. And I'm like, we've been, no, but we've been working for just the whole time. Now I'll tune in, now I'll tune in to watch it. How much stand-up you doing?

I'm doing it when I can I'm like You know, it's just I know my life is a little the young kids don't make it easy But if I could in an ideal world, I would be like doing it like two or three times a week Yeah, yeah, it's a way and I and I but I do, generally I try to stack them if I can. I finally went to New York and went and did the cellar and the Village Underground, and that little run is very nice. And how'd it go for you, good?

It was so fun. I barely ever performed. Because when I was in New York, when I'm in New York, I'm doing some of the show. I'm not running spots, and it was so fun. Yeah, because you can do nine rooms in one block. Yeah, and the crowds are fun, and it was so fun. Yeah, because you can do like nine rooms in one block. Yeah, and the crowds are fun and it's a little like, it's just not as tight, it feels a little hotter.

Oh yeah, well yeah, New York crowds are a little hotter. Yeah, but I'm used to like New York theater crowds, which are fun, but like. Different, older. So I'm doing it, I'm trying to figure out what it is right now where I'm like, am I working towards like a special or an hour, or am I, I'm doing a bunch out what it is right now where I'm like, am I working towards a special for an hour or am I, I'm doing a bunch of stuff this summer,

some dates in Canada. We're doing, I'm doing a couple things with like Malaney and Virbiglia and... Oh my God, what is that? You mean the standup? Fred. We're doing some festivals in Canada. As a three? Four. It's like Malaney's show with,

and we're all doing spots on it, basically. Oh, yeah. And we're doing some of those. I show with, and we're all doing spots on it, basically. Oh, yeah. And we're doing some of those, I don't know if that's the right framing of it, but that's how it feels to me. Yeah, Mulaney's show, you and Mike. Yeah, yeah, me and Mike and Fred popping on. Armisen, yeah.

Armisen? Yeah. Oh, interesting. Yeah, so we're doing a few of those, and so I'm just sort of always building towards whatever the next assignment is. Oh, okay. You know what I mean? So I'm like, and maybe out of that,

like I'll have, I'll start to be like, okay, this now feels like something I could go tour with more on my own, just build it out. So I'm still stuck on like, how come we're not on the show? Well, will that feeling ever end? No. No. I mean, if you wanna drop in,

we're gonna be in Halifax. So we're gonna be in Halifax. If you wanna, honestly, if you're in Halifax and wanna drop in, we would, I'm sure, love to have you. All right, well, next time, you know, we had a dinner without you. I know I heard. And it was fairly productive. Yeah.

I really had this moment where I was like, should we talk, have you ever just openly talked shit on the air about people that you talk about in private? Yeah, sometimes. You know, sometimes I'll talk to them. And be, you know, I'll dance around it, but it becomes apparent.

Yes. Yeah. That's a joy to listen to. Yeah, I did it with, I was talking to Liza Trager. Uh-huh. And, you know, Burbiglia came up. And he's always challenging for me. Mike.

Yes, yes, I mean, I don't say that yes. Yeah, and that you, no, you're saying for me, not for you. Yes, correct. For you, he's just great. Yeah. Fine. We went to college together, we've known him for my whole life.

That's fine. So, doesn't explain anything. But, no, but we, you know, I told, you know, and I've talked about this with Mike. Sure. And we had, and we left it in, you know, a lot of times my producers are like, that's not necessary. But we left it in cause it was sort of getting Liza

to a certain point. Well, because I said it, you know, and it was, and it's not anything that him and I haven't gone through. My producer's like, you should give him a heads up. So like he, you know, he's not blindsided. Right, sure, sure. But I did do it. I said, hey, just so you hear it from me

and not someone else, I was talking with Liza Traeger on my show and you came up and I was honest about how I perceived you throughout the years. I don't think it will be surprising to you, but also wanted to be upfront about it. More grist for our mill when we talk, I guess. And then immediately I get, can I call you? He wants no, he wants no, he wants no paper trail of word said well No, then I gotta be like did you fuck?

Yeah, I fucking own it yeah about it, but then does it help to talk through it versus a text? Yeah, because so much of what I do is like you know verbally it's all tone But it's also just this emotional dumb reaction. And immediately after I say it, when it becomes real, I'm like, god damn it. Now I gotta, you know, like, fuck. It's not even, why'd I even do it? But he said, look, you know, it's fine. And you know, we talked about it and he's like,

but I mean, I'm gonna come on because he's gonna come on to promote a special. Yeah. And he goes, I just, you know, I'd rather not do that for, you know, a half hour. Have that conversation. Again. Yeah, of course. You're like, but I got this OCD, so I need, So I'd rather not do that for a half hour. Have that conversation. Again.

Yeah, of course. You're like, but I got this OCD, so I'm kind of obsessive about this stuff. And I'm like, of course, of course, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm fine with him, I'm fine, I'm fine. And I can't even quite explain it to you. Of course. I could.

You could, and then one of us will text him afterwards. No, I mean, I- Of course. I could. You could, and then one of us will text him after it's now. I mean, I... He's a good comic and there's just, nothing's easy for me. And I don't think it's easy for anybody else, but there is a sort of way that he kind of moves through his standup, and I know it's all very well crafted,

but for me, everything's very life or death, and I'm like, he's just kind of blobbing his way through it. Oh, you think so? I mean, I know he works so hard. I know, so hard, so hard. But I know, I understand the, it's so interesting, because I literally, you know, I met him when I was a freshman at Georgetown. He cast me in like a sketch show.

Yeah. And so I've known him throughout my, and he immediately got out of college and like was on Letterman within the year. So he has had continued success in a way that was like, wait, how? All this is the dossier. Everything you said is me like,

yeah, see, that's, I mean, what the fuck is that? Well, what about my happy childhood? We haven't even talked about my happy childhood, Mark. Well, you know, I give you a pass because I find you so entertaining. Thank you. And your happy childhood, I don't begrudge you. I just can't look at it anymore.

Right, of course. Neither can I. You put it on Instagram. I know, I put it on Instagram constantly. I don't begrudge you. I just can't look at it right of course neither Can I you put it on it? I know I put it on Instagram constantly I'm trying to mine this well-loved fucking prince kid, and I'm like god damn it. Yeah, of course of course trust me Yeah, I feel this I feel the same way But yeah, but Mike I know he works hard I love him, and you know there it's just there's just this fundamental thing that It's fine I can't oh the thing is with him and others who you've known for a long time You know, there's just this fundamental thing that, it's fine. I can't, well the thing is with him and others

who you've known for a long time, the people you came up with, you're just like, of course it's all of it. There are these people who, if they stick around in your life, you know, like in various ways, like the guys I'm sure you came up with, and the ones who stick around,

you have complicated relationships with them, and you can love them, respect them, and also be frustrated by them. Friends. Friends. Friends who eventually kind of become family in some weird way. Sure. You know what I mean? We're just like, this is what this is, you know?

Well, that's good that you have that group, because like, see, like whoever you're talking about I came up with, I don't have any friends. There's no, there's no, like, you know, I don't have a family, right? So like, I imagine you and Melania, you go out with the kids and the wives and that kind of stuff. Sure, sure. Yeah,'m with a big layer too sure I have none of them

I mean not I mean the reality is we all see each other unbelievably rarely because of lives and stuff like that So you just I mean that's what you're fine as they get older is you're like oh, I don't see anybody ever Oh good unless and that's what the nice thing about doing stand-up is like socializing is going that's why yeah It's your whole social yeah, like when when I go to those dinners with you guys, I'm like, wow, that's so nice that they include me. And then I realize, they just want me to talk shit about people. No. No, but it is, but it's like.

Marin's a loose cannon. No, you want that. You want that loose cannon? No, but you don't, as opposed to like us being backstage talking and then one of us running up on stage into a spot and then coming back or going to another spot, it's a condensed version of what that could be in a green room. No, yeah, but it's not though.

It's nice to have dinner with everybody. But it's hard to do that. But this time we went to Craig's. You missed Craig's. How was it? That would have been interesting. No, it's great. Yeah.

As opposed to that horrible Italian restaurant. Yeah, I know. Enough with the campy whatever reason that can't be whatever reason were there Yeah, it's like Craig's is where we should be. Yes, of course, and it was fucking great. Yeah good food I've there's a couple of campy places in LA that I've now decided I'm like no this is not worth the fucking schtick Yeah, exactly. No, it's like I don't care. Let's just go get a meal where we get the respect it We yeah, we demand yeah, and then you get to look at funny people or interesting people. I like to see fun food's okay Yeah, happier there again if they if they want to use that for their poll quote, which work

The food's okay, and you're happier there go come to Craig's mark Merritt Pretty good. Yeah. All right, buddy. Well, it's good. Yeah, we're good. Okay, and I just talked about Israel and Palestine real quick before we get off I'm running. I'm out of tape I got that I got no more data. I can't date eat. He took off my zeroes. The reels are running out There you go again that movie I don't understand you with all of my blurbs. Comes out June 6th and Big Mouth Season 8 is out on Netflix right now. Hang out for a minute, folks. Puthoria. That feeling you get once you've finally pooped.

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was ask Gemini for some book recs. What book should I read if I want an enemies to lovers workplace romance? For an enemies to lovers workplace romance, here are some popular and well regarded books. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This is a classic example of the trope. As a mood reader, I just tell John and I the tropes

and genre I'm feeling, and it gives me a full list. You can learn more about the Google Pixel 9 at store.google.com. Hey, listen, you can go check out the time Nick Kroll and John Mulaney were on the show together. That was back in 2016 on episode 743. We had started talking like these guys. We had seen these two guys at a bookstore at the Strand. Of course.

And they were- With their own bags. Yes, they each had their own tote bags. Old Strand bags. The old Strand bags, which we used to say was, Strand is eight miles of books. And 12 miles of loneliness And so we see we go in there and we see these two guys Yeah buying their individual copies of Alan Aldous never have your dog stuffed hardcover hardcover great book by the way great book

I just talked to mr. All yes. I know I was Amazing yeah such a real of actor and artist. Yeah. In a way that we're not. And a curious guy. Like a sweet guy. Yeah, thinker. Yeah, thinker, and he likes science. Yes, he hosted what, 13 years Scientific American.

Yeah, he's very into making sure kids like science. Yeah. Can you imagine? Yeah. Can you imagine caring about that? That's so noble. I really respect that. That's why I don't have children.

Because I don't care. Because you don't care about it. Can you imagine pointing the stars out to them and lying and making up names? So we we see these two guys by their book by that book and then we we just immediately kind of Become fascinated with them follow them out of the strand to like a diner coffee shop. You're following them now We are now following their two men Yeah and we follow them and and then as they sit at a coffee shop and both start reading their sync their copies of Alan Alda's book, Never Have You Darned.

Not talking too much but clearly like conjoined twins. Yeah. And we just, those, they just became a, they became the focus point of guys that we've been interested in. Right. This was also the time of like, what was this, 2005? This was when a lot of people, like a lot of people through the New York Times had just heard about Jon Stewart or something.

Right. People get their news from Jen Daly. Yeah. You'd be like, you're the worst. That's available for free on all podcast platforms. To get every episode of WTF ad free, sign up for WTF+. Just go to the link in the episode description or go to WTFpod.com and click on WTF ad free sign up for WTF plus just go to the link in the episode description or go to WTF pod comm and click on WTF plus and a reminder before we go this podcast is hosted by a cast

This is me playing my new favorite guitar a Not too old Gibson SG. White one. So So So So So I'm gonna be a good boy So So Boomer lives, Monkey and La Fonda, cat angels everywhere.