David Marchese

You know, I just I got to say there are a lot of things to do with your ideas that we just didn't get to. But the thing that I still find myself deeply unconvinced about is why blowing up democracy rather than trying to make it better would somehow lead to better lives for the people who are struggling the most.

That's Curtis Yarvin. He writes on Substack. His newsletter is called Gray Mirror. And he has a new book called Gray Mirror, Fascicle 1, Disturbance. This conversation was produced by Wyatt Orme, with help from Elisa Gutierrez. It was edited by Annabelle Bacon, mixing by Katherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell and Marian Lozano. Photography by Philip Montgomery.

That's Curtis Yarvin. He writes on Substack. His newsletter is called Gray Mirror. And he has a new book called Gray Mirror, Fascicle 1, Disturbance. This conversation was produced by Wyatt Orme, with help from Elisa Gutierrez. It was edited by Annabelle Bacon, mixing by Katherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell and Marian Lozano. Photography by Philip Montgomery.

Our senior booker is Priya Matthew, and Seth Kelly is our senior producer. Our executive producer is Allison Benedict. Special thanks to Rory Walsh, Renan Borelli, Jeffrey Miranda, Nick Pittman, Matty Maciello, Jake Silverstein, Paula Schumann, and Sam Dolnick. I'm David Marchese, and this is The Interview from The New York Times.

Our senior booker is Priya Matthew, and Seth Kelly is our senior producer. Our executive producer is Allison Benedict. Special thanks to Rory Walsh, Renan Borelli, Jeffrey Miranda, Nick Pittman, Matty Maciello, Jake Silverstein, Paula Schumann, and Sam Dolnick. I'm David Marchese, and this is The Interview from The New York Times.

From The New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm David Marchese. The long-awaited Emmy Award-winning series Severance returns for its second season next week. I've seen a bunch of the new episodes, which have some real surprises in them. And I can say that I'm very eager to see other fans' reaction to how the show has moved forward with its story.

From The New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm David Marchese. The long-awaited Emmy Award-winning series Severance returns for its second season next week. I've seen a bunch of the new episodes, which have some real surprises in them. And I can say that I'm very eager to see other fans' reaction to how the show has moved forward with its story.

By way of a reminder, that story is about a rebellious group of employees at the mysterious and probably malevolent Lumen Industries. Those employees are office drones whose consciousness has been artificially separated between their work selves, also known as their innies, and their outies, their selves away from the office.

By way of a reminder, that story is about a rebellious group of employees at the mysterious and probably malevolent Lumen Industries. Those employees are office drones whose consciousness has been artificially separated between their work selves, also known as their innies, and their outies, their selves away from the office.

That sense of a divided self is one to which Ben Stiller, who co-directed and co-executive produces the series, can probably relate. It's actually one of the things that's most intriguing to me about him. He's a hugely successful comedic actor from mainstream hits like Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, who's gradually stepped away from acting in favor of his first love, directing.

That sense of a divided self is one to which Ben Stiller, who co-directed and co-executive produces the series, can probably relate. It's actually one of the things that's most intriguing to me about him. He's a hugely successful comedic actor from mainstream hits like Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, who's gradually stepped away from acting in favor of his first love, directing.

As a director, he's a much more subversive and distinctive stylist than his biggest acting roles might suggest. Take, for example, more serious projects like his crime drama series Escape at Dannemora, as well as Severance, of course, and also his off-the-wall comedy satires like Cable Guy and Zoolander, the latter of which he also starred in.

As a director, he's a much more subversive and distinctive stylist than his biggest acting roles might suggest. Take, for example, more serious projects like his crime drama series Escape at Dannemora, as well as Severance, of course, and also his off-the-wall comedy satires like Cable Guy and Zoolander, the latter of which he also starred in.

So I don't think I'm overreaching in suggesting that there is some innie-outie, Severance-style tension, if you will, running through Stiller's own story. As I found out while speaking with him at his Manhattan office, that's something he was trying to make sense of, too. Here's my conversation with Ben Stiller.

So I don't think I'm overreaching in suggesting that there is some innie-outie, Severance-style tension, if you will, running through Stiller's own story. As I found out while speaking with him at his Manhattan office, that's something he was trying to make sense of, too. Here's my conversation with Ben Stiller.

You know, I was thinking about severance and sort of where it fits in the arc of your career. Are there specific things that working on comedy gave you the tools for when it comes to working on something like severance, which I would describe as maybe comedy-adjacent?

You know, I was thinking about severance and sort of where it fits in the arc of your career. Are there specific things that working on comedy gave you the tools for when it comes to working on something like severance, which I would describe as maybe comedy-adjacent?

You think of the second season as still in the vein of a workplace comedy? Yeah.

You think of the second season as still in the vein of a workplace comedy? Yeah.

You know, there were a couple news stories that came out about Severance being a difficult production with delays and creative differences. Was it a particularly difficult production? And do you find that there is any link between how difficult something is to make and the uniqueness of that thing? Because Severance is sort of a...