Neal Brennan
Appearances
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
hi everybody it's neil brennan and this is the blocks podcast you clicked on it so i didn't need to do that um my guest today is a great comedian who i've been aware of a long time huge comic hbo specials apparently the inspiration for elaine and seinfeld who
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Totally agree. When you say, you talk about bulletproof. What does bulletproof mean the way you say that? Meaning like your act is better or your act is better so your embodied presentation is better?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Hi, are you looking for a boost in the bedroom? HIMS is here to help with personalized ED treatment options and it's all online. HIMS is changing men's healthcare by providing you with access to affordable sexual health treatments from the comfort of your couch or bed.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
or chair hymns provides access to a range of doctor trusted ed treatments like chewable hard mints and viagra and cialis and their generics for up to 95 cheaper the process is 100 online so there's no need for uncomfortable doctors visits and time consuming uh just answer a series of questions on their site and a medical provider will determine the right treatment option for you
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
If prescribed, your medication ships directly to you for free. No insurance is needed, and one low price covers everything from treatments to ongoing care. With hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers, HIMS can help you find the ED option that works for you. Here's the call to action and the disclaimer. Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com. dot com slash N-E-A-L.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
That's H-I-M-S dot com slash N-E-A-L for your personalized ED treatment options. HIMS dot com slash N-E-A-L. The products mentioned are chewable compounded products which are not approved by or verified for safety or effectiveness by the FDA. Prescriptions require an online consultation with a healthcare provider who will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
See website for details and important safety information. HIMS dot com slash N-E-A-L. All right. Guys, March Madness is a sacred time of yelling at the TV while recovering from elective surgery. If you, like thousands of other men, are overlapping a vasectomy recovery with nonstop basketball, get a bidet. This is a very specific ad. Okay. This is maybe my longest endorsement.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
This was on the street, guys. Before I had any podcast to endorse anything or read ads about, I've been an aficionado of the bidet game. I have three tushies now. I installed it myself. It's very easy. It's very effective. It's improved my butt. How about that? My whole butt is better because of the tushy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And my girlfriend's about, in fact, her father's saying he's going to install it for her, make him feel useful. You know what I mean? It's hard enough that it seems like you did something, but it's easy enough that you'll know you didn't do anything. But you can still get installing something like a man.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
tushy is the modern bidet that instantly transform your bathroom habits and bottom health for life and aura is the luxury bidet seat that turns toilet time into la dolce vida aura is tushy's brand new electric today with an auto open lid and seat instant warm water that never runs cold and uv sterilization for next level hygiene aura by tushy easily attaches to your existing toilet without the need for additional plumbing here's the call to action
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Reclaim your comfort zone in the bathroom. For a limited time, our listeners get 10% off their first bidet order when you use code NEAL at checkout. That's 10% off your first bidet order at hellotushy, H-E-L-L-O-T-U-S-H-Y.com with promo code NEAL. Do it, do it, do it. I'm telling you. Clearly, people are doing this because they keep advertising here. So keep it up. You'll thank me.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
You don't have to, but you're going to want to. But you got to find me. Okay, and then the other thing I would say is, or I wanted to ask is... Is there a way to be bulletproof behind the scenes? Do you know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Like, do you think that you were doing something differently than other people that in Greece made people feel like they, whatever sexist behavior men participated in, they didn't do it to you. Did you ever sense why?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, or like maybe they did do it to other people, but not you. Or was there anything that you were, is it again that sort of bulletproof thing?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
But what I was saying, was there a thing that, is there a backstage version of that? I'm not sure what you mean. Was there ever a point where you were treated one way, started carrying yourself differently, and were treated a different way?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, I think time. I just have a different experience with, like, people thought I was Dave's buddy and then Chappelle's buddy and then his plus one and, you know, you're not good, you're COVID, all that stuff. And then finally they were like, oh, okay. And it took, like, eight years.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
In my... Or... in my imagination. Maybe they never thought that, but that's what I thought they thought, and really that's all that matters. So, all right, your blocks I'm excited about. So your first block is having a kid and the challenges around that. Tell me about it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
You know, even- Super straight, by the way. Super straight. She was as straight as they, I mean, she- Really, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
If you see those guys, you see Leno and you see... Richard, did it seem like, I maybe could do that? Or are you just like, I'm around that funny, or I'd like to try to be that funny?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
At the risk of being impolite, unpack it. What parts of sex with a woman were you interested in? Was it curiosity or was it like a craving? Was it the way you imagine a woman would be in bed? Was it, I wish the person I was in bed with was more like me? What was it?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Did you have a type? Did you think you had a type? Somebody pretty. Okay, so pretty, and just under the banner of pretty. Yes. It could mean, you didn't care about height, you didn't care about hair color, skin color, just like, are you pretty?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay, so you did have, you wanted in shape. There you go, now we're talking.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yes. So then... Not some bridge and tunnel bullshit. No. Some weekend warrior. Like, are you doing... Seven nights a week. Yeah. The same advice Stephen Wright gave you. If you're going to be a lesbian, you got to do it every night.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
By the way, no one knows if they're good. Anyone who says they're good.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
No, but you also know that everyone thinks they're good. Okay. Had you had to coax anyone before?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I think so. I think from a guy. I think guys hit or miss. Because I think that just women are rightly defensive. And did it deliver?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Um, okay. So I was going to say, was the tone of the connection, had you ever felt anything in the neighborhood with a guy?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
So that was male connection in your experience was limited? Or decent but like this is twice whatever that was.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. And do you think, this is a very broad question, but when I said the thing about coming to your senses, you know what I mean. Sometimes I think men and women are poorly suited for each other. I don't know who men should be with. But if one of the parties wants to get you know, very, very, very deeply connected. Yeah. And another party is like, well, this is good. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Did you... Is that... Do you think there's something to what I'm saying?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Do you, I don't want to say regret. Do you, did you think like, I wish I'd started this sooner?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
How would you categorize it? Would you say it was like, my guess is, and correct me, it was what it's actually like to be a woman?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
So you weren't thwarting some deep desire. You weren't like, no, I don't want to be lesbian. It'll be inconvenient.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Thank you. Thank you, Guy. That was also there. If it weren't for him, that heroic man.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
He's showing such sacrifice. Okay. So which brings us to the baby challenge.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Oh, fuck. I might end this podcast. Right now. Just because of that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Pretty great. Anyhow, so you guys, so you... Did you feel like, I've had that experience where I'm like, oh, this is completely, did you have to negotiate with her? Do you think there's value to the way you were raised?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Just expressing my experience. And I don't care if you had it or not.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
We'll talk about that, maybe. You have a lot of money coming your way. She's here. She's great. Are you touring?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
But to the point that we were both sort of hinting at, which is like, there's something to, I mean, with all the sort of new gentle parenting or whatever they want to call it, you want to go like, this is not proven. This is not proven. Just so we're clear, we don't know how all these people turn out.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And are there moments where that flares up like, okay, you know, it's the old Jay Leno joke about his cat was finicky about eating. And the joke was like, well, lock him in the closet for three days. Let's see how finicky he is. But that sort of brutality or just like force is a pretty – Helpful tools sometimes.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And do you think, do you ever say to Carol, like, you know, this is a way to get these grades up? I mean, I know. I just think I don't know. Like I because my girlfriend has a four year old and I'm involved. Yeah. It's like I do kind of sit back and be like, I was not raised correctly. I don't think. But yeah, there are there were some things that I think have helped me long term.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay, and then you and Paul go down, or he takes you, he's been going.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yes, it's a yearbook. And also like, this isn't emblematic of how much we love him. It's just like, could you, is he the kind of kid you could say like, hey man, with this.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I think the first place to get BOs, kind of the only place, I mean, other than like my creases, but the only place I really get it's my pits. And that Mando, the minute I started using Mando, knocked it out. And then when I stopped, when I ran out, then they came back. So I'm back on my Mandos. It just works for my pH. It's a whole body deodorant and it's safe to use anywhere on your body.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Pits, thigh folds, belly buttons, butts, name it, Mando it. Created by a doctor who saw firsthand how normal BO was being misdiagnosed and mistreated. It's clinically proven to block odor all day and control odor for up to 72 hours. Mando deodorant product options include solid deodorant stick formulated and powered by mandelic acid to stop odor before it starts.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Spray deodorant, aluminum free and ideal for hard to reach places because you just spray it. You don't need to use your hand. All products are baking soda free and paraben free. Choose from a variety of fresh scents like Bourbon Leather, Clover Woods, Mount Fuji or Pro Sport. Clinically proven to control odor better than a shower with soap alone.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
12 hours after a shower, the average man's odor level was a 5 out of 10. With Mando, the average odor level is 0 out of 10. Want to try America's number one whole body deodorant formula right now? You can now find Mando in Walmart, Target, and other retailers across the country. But if you don't have one near you, for the best deals, go to shopmando.com.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Mando's starter pack is perfect for new customers. It comes with a solid stick deodorant, cream tube deodorant, Two free products of your choice like mini body wash and deodorant wipes and free shipping. As a special offer for listeners, new customers get $5 off a starter pack with our exclusive code that equates to over 40% off your starter pack. Use code NEAL at shopmando.com.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
That's S-H-O-P-M-A-N-D-O.com. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Smell fresher, stay drier. and boost your confidence from head to toe inside and out with Mando. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. I think that's appropriate, wouldn't you? We're all living these isolated lives. We're more into self-optimization, and so we have less and less community.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And in some ways, a therapist can be a part of your community. They're not going to tell you what to do. They're not going to be like a leader for you, but they're going to be a valuable member of the community who will ask the right questions and help you to better conclusions about yourself. It's been my experience. I'm back in therapy, guys. Congratulations, you win. I'm back in therapy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
We're talking about my defensiveness a lot. We're talking about how I can get to empathy quicker. We're not talking about my trauma. We're not talking about my problems, really. I don't have any problems. I just have character flaws and habits emotionally that I'm kind of weirdly proud of because they've served me, but they don't serve me no more.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide. You can access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties, easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost. Here's the call to action. Build your support system with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com. Dot com slash any A.L.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
today to get 10 percent off your first month. That's B.E.T.T.E.R.H.E.L.P. Dot com slash and E.A.L. 10 percent off your first month. Better help. Better help. Better help. Better help. You must be doing it because they keep advertising. So I'm glad. I hope you feel better. Good luck with the empathy. OK, so what have you been? You've been working a lot. Does Lori work?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay. How do you negotiate that with yourself? How do you feel about, because again, it's a bit old school where it's like, well, somebody's got to make money.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And that's, I don't know the way you were raised, but my mom stayed home and my dad worked. And my dad was absentee. But that's how it worked.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I don't think that that's like she's not doing anything. I just see it as if your son feels that way, is there going to be a point where you're going to go like, look.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
equation now but there is so much involved with raising a kid and going to all that stuff that she really shouldered most of that yeah well i'm not saying that i don't want it i'm not disparaging her at all i'm just saying is there did you guys discuss it and be like look i'm gonna be you do this and i'll do that
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I completely forgot that you wrote for shows. I know you wrote for Seinfeld for two, three seasons?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And it worked. Completely. That's funny. I love that when validation, like a shallow thing. Yep. That totally hit the spot.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I've never won an Emmy. I'm so surprised. Well, I got nominated for a bunch. Yeah. And then on Chappelle's show. And then I kind of won one because I wrote a SNL episode about it. and it won, so I got like a certificate, but I don't, it's not one of my shallow things.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I never thought, I don't know, I just always thought it was kind of silly, and then it didn't, I don't know, I don't judge, I have plenty of shallow things like that, but it's just, that's just not one of them.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Great. That must be a fun show to write for in that you are an authority. I mean, obviously you're not in charge, but there must be some.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Is it more rewarding for that reason? I mean, do you feel more comfortable there? Like what what show did you feel most comfortable at?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
No. I don't think that is, actually. Really? Yeah, they still paper rooms. Oh. You should have fought for it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
um no they used it oh great all right good um did you did you okay so how did it feel going from full-time comedian to full-time writer did it feel like because i the the i i would argue the showbiz pecking order is like performer and then writers below that in terms of in comedy right i don't know i liked kind of
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And is it something you are still managing or have you just gone like, no, this is good?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. Yeah. I kind of became a comedian because I was sick of having to try to prove that I was funny in like writing situations. Like, no, this is funny. And they'd be like, all right, let me go. Yeah. Let me go to a hostile environment. So the OK, so what is your your SNL regrets? I didn't see this coming. I'm I'm genuinely curious about what years did you write for SNL?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
The end of or beginning of? Oh, he came at the beginning, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And who else was, Julie Louis-Dreyfus was performer? No. She was gone.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Oh right, okay. Joan Cusack, yeah. And what was your, had you had a writing job before that?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And did they capture it? Did they nail it? Yeah, they did. So was it what, so Lorne's, I don't know if he's in the documentary, but I've heard he said like he hired too many young sort of movie actors. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
When you're on a project, it's like, what is that smell? And it's not like shit. It's just like, and it's not even necessarily bad. It's like, it's just off.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And Al's hilarious. Yeah. And was incredibly well-versed in sketch writing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
How did you find them compared to comedians, in quotes? Some of those guys perform, but I'm saying, like, how did you find their temperament?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay, she's getting back into stand-up. Yes. Carol Leifer, ladies and gentlemen. Carol Leifer. Yes. We were just talking before I did that Star-Spangled intro about when did you get into show business?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
When you're like, I was wrong about you, baby. You were under my nose the whole time and I didn't realize how good I had it. Yes. What's the worst can happen if we make out? Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And then where did you, when did you figure it out? Like when did you, when did you kind of like, how long did it take you to get good? And how did, how did you get better?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I know. I'm very committed, but I understand what a powerful line that is. Yeah. Nobody says no. Okay. You have career... We'll put that under career regrets.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I know. Well, that's what I'm saying. Then you get, everybody gets a million dollars a week.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Made it like the sort of the main thrust of your life. And I say this as like someone who absolutely does and isn't sure if that's the right approach.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay. What do you think it says about you that you're in a successful, happy relationship?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
You guys sing Norma Jean every time you do karaoke, right? To commemorate it?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. You'll watch all the coverage on CNN, on YouTube, and it's... Diana, Princess of Wales, has died after a car crash in Paris. Like, you relive it. It's probably the most important moment of your relationship. It's when you knew that bitch was dead.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
love is not an accomplishment yet to lack it still somehow feels like failure and it's it's like it there there is a judgment to it there is something to like well if you're a good person you'll fall in love or you'll be if you're a good person you'll be in a long-term committed relationship well also if you know how to have a relationship
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Are you, when you say a pain in the ass, what's your, what are you, what's your version of that?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I know. Well, that's what's so funny about it. It's like it was just a jungle. Yes. It was so uncivil. It was unpaved, the whole thing. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. Yeah. No, tell me. Because I actually like the idea of it and you're an authority. The book is called How to Give a Good Speech, correct?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I know Rick. Oh, you do? Yeah, great dude. Oh, wow. Wrote for Ellen, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
What's the theme of the career one? Meaning, like, what are you espousing?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, that sounds like you're kidding, but professionally, not that many.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Well, yeah, even you saying like, I was like, yeah, I'll write for the Emmys. Like, you know, most people can't just go, I'll write for the Emmys.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Do you think, because I think about this a good amount. Do you think a lot of it's just like, you can throw the ball fast?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Like you just can do it. Yeah. You can do it. And so all the shooting up and down, because they couldn't do it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And do you think it is a failure of ideology or like if they, do you think there were people that could do it and stopped?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. Well, once you mentioned somebody having enough money, do you respect them if they're like, no, I'm good?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Seen him in Thailand twice. Really? I'm one of the few people who spent time with Tom Agner in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yep. Yeah, that's, I think about Agnes, I mean, beyond seeing him, like, I kind of think, like, that's a good one.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Like, I don't, it wasn't like I can't do it or I'm too, whatever. It's just like, I, this is a better life. Yeah. Yeah, because that's what I wondered the thing about Agnes. You center your career, I think you have to, I agree with you. Yeah. And do you feel like you could stop and be okay? Or is it like it's a bit of a vision quest?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Like a thing inside you, a fire inside you that you just got to do and you don't even really know why and you won't be satisfied until you, look, you got your Emmy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Did you get into anything during that? I can be very sedentary. Like, I'm ambitious. The thing I liked about COVID was, like, kind of nobody was working. So it kind of felt like the holidays. But for, I mean, nobody out here was working very much. Or, like, it was truncated or whatever. So I enjoy downtime like that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, well, I'm curious, like, Judaism didn't help? Is there anything to that, like, in terms of being a spiritual person? I find that that's where I'm headed, and it's not religious. So I just wonder...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I'm not headed toward religion. I'm just headed toward, like, I'm just more spiritually interested. And it hasn't replaced my showbiz interest. What could? Nothing ever will. But I'm saying, like, I'm a bit like, oh. There's something to this in the same way that I have more ambitions in that department or like I have emotional ambitions more than work ambitions at this point. Right.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. But he was... Why? And I don't... I'm not saying this, like, based on what he became. I'm saying, like, what... I've said to Jerry that he's a bit like Tom Brady or Derek Jeter, these guys who you don't even know how good he is, because he's like ubiquitous now. He's like a stereotype of a comedian, but it's like, that dude's so good and so funny, you don't realize it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I mean, how... No, I don't, I think that's been like maybe in the 80s. Yeah. It was a thing. Right. But yeah, so you don't find... I also find it's a bit like getting closer to death where you're like, all right, where am I headed after this? So what's going to happen? Where are we going? What are we doing?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I kind of feel like I'm full of shit in like, are you spiritually interested or are you worried about dying?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. And do you, you said you don't have many regrets. Is that true when you think about like dying?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Well, that's what I was going to say. You've done a lot. Yeah. And I don't mean, I feel like you've traversed a big portion of history. I mean, like you've lived through like the beginning of feminism and like you've been around for most of feminism.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
You were a rare person. woman in comedy you wrote for some of the best shows ever like you've been a you're a great comic you still like that's what I'm saying like yeah write a song you can write a song yeah that's a funny dream
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I guess then it becomes like, well, what's your goal for the song?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Meaning like, you could write a song on AI today if you wanted to.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Is there, so what is the, any other, are there any like soul regrets? Not necessarily like writing or is there like, did you, are you the kind of person you wanted to be?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. Yeah. And you were sort of like... I don't know what your ethics or morals are, but you feel like you mostly live by them?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Well, I grew up Catholic, so parking. Do you know what I mean? I can bring myself up on charges.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
For anything. But I think mostly. But I also think the best a human being can do is like a bee.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. Because there's just too many ways to lose in this moral game. I just think there's just like, I don't know, like I'm driving a Tesla. Is that... He's a Nazi now. What do you I don't know. I used to he used to not be. Is it is that but I'm helping the environment. But I'm like all these doing that. I can do the calculus.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
All day. And you can run the numbers where you lose. So like I don't and I'm not saying that to guilt people. I'm just like, oh, it's hard. It's like the day is long.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yes, if you're lucky, it's long. So then you can stick around and be immoral.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I hope you really rub it in his face. The book is called How to Write a Funny Speech. For a wedding? With Rick Mitchell. Yes. The great Rick Mitchell. He's so funny. Who's a really funny mother.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Very funny. Yes. And I love to work with him. And again, anyone that can write topical jokes, and he wrote for Ellen for six, seven, eight years. And he wrote some of the stand-up. And he's a stand-up. Yeah. You both have my respect. Yeah, I will read that because I'm always I think it's there's not a lot of instruction.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And people people will come to people like you and me. How do I do this? And there is a I know how I do it. You know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
And then, but, I mean, I could probably explain it or whatever, but I'm glad that now I can just go, there is a good book.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
As a professional funny person? Yes. It's fun to write jokes about a thing I don't write about. I try to use that as a writing exercise of like, what if I had to talk to a bunch of veterinarians tonight? What jokes would I do? Yeah. So yeah, that's a great... That's great.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
At least a public service. Yes. Talk about, I mean, if the adoption didn't get you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I like that that's your, that's the, Carol Leifer, she's the real deal, ladies and gentlemen.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. And also it was probably, it sounds like, I mean, his attitude now is like, no, you're funny. So you get to do standup.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Like, well, you're, you're funny. So you'll go on. You'll be funny. Then another, there's another funny person. They'll go on. Right. And it isn't, it isn't very lorded in my experience. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I'd love to hear it, because all I do is think about premises. So if you have an interest, like, oh, fuck, it's like the treasure hunt or something. But it isn't even, treasure hunt implies like, there is competition, but I know, but it's kind of vague. And then, so how long does it take for you to figure it out?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Right. And Steven Wright was like, you got to do Monday. That changed everything.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
What do you think is happening? So you were going to theater school? Did it feel like, this is kind of a continuation of that, or did it feel like?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, preternaturally, yeah. What did you think your life was going to be?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, that must have been like... Because this is the 70s? Yes. Okay, so that's what I mean. Like it was, nobody was in showbiz.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah, like, you can go viral. It was the version of going viral.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Okay, so did you have that experience? You're out here in 82. Does that happen?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
How many times did you do Letterman? 25 And that wasn't that didn't count as an audition
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Right. So was it like meeting a Martian? When you were always funny, I would assume.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Yeah. That's funny that good switch. Like he's just a guy who's writing. He's just dealing with material all day. This is a good switch. We'll use this here. Okay. So then what's your life like with all this stuff? Like what's your life been like? This is, we're going to get to blocks. Relax.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
I guess that's what I'm curious about. It's like, what's, what's it like to be you?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Carol Leifer
Oh, feedback being like, you're good at this. Yeah. I thought you meant like tips. Okay, I get you. Yeah, yeah. Where you're like, oh, no, yeah, the tone of it's different. Right. People talk to you like you belong.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
hi guys neil brennan's the blacks podcast my guest today is a guy i've known a little bit for a long time he's a performer and writer you would know him from the nightly show in comedy central and now he makes appearances on bill maher's show and he's got a podcast called black on the mic black on the air black on the air i'm freestyling this it's all good
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Is there a way, do you think you could have handled it with praise? Or do you think it was you needed to do more?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So the thing that I wanted to talk to you about, because I've known when you were doing the Nightly Show, I would hear from time to time that you're a little conservative. Now you would, as you said, you're still considered a libtard by people, by actual conservatives.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, I mean, that's what I'm wondering is, because I don't know how most people do it in terms of, so you're working, you're high up at shows or created shows, you're working 12 hours a day probably.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And then you get home and... You know what I mean? What's the solution? There's not a lot of good ones. Did you get a nanny?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So you feel like you would give it lip service, but it's hard to... I just didn't relate to it because I thought I was doing my part and she was doing hers.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I got to say, I don't love being... accused of being a bad partner yeah not not not that big a fan especially when you were working 14 hours a day yes you know exactly and you're like no big deal yeah that didn't do it that was a big trigger yeah so that that was your sort of that was the thing you had no concept of.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And now you're, you said you have a girlfriend, um, that your wife doesn't know about. Um, uh, ex wife now, but so you have a girlfriend. What have you, how are you a better partner now?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
All I'm working on is getting through it faster. And it is faster. I'll tell you, it's three times faster than it was. Still pretty slow. But that's pretty good.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I think that the thing of taking... uh criticism i don't take it well yeah because i think it's i always think like so all you're basically throwing away all of my behavior yeah and saying and bringing me up on charges for this and it's like it it it's i feel like it's disrespectful to the good stuff yeah criticism's tough
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
yeah i'm not good at it either because i have also been arguing sort of like i i mean i have a whole theory about like don't give each other notes i genuinely will not give her notes right i will not give her improvements i will not give her it's like just as is right it's a restaurant with no substitutions right that's the feeling it's like you like it cool right is it bearable are the bad parts bearable because i don't i didn't get in a relationship to change right
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
yeah so they'll hide the lever which is yeah close the doors right but i but i don't time machines she knows i don't want kids she has kids so i'm like involved there how old are her kids four it's he's one it's one it's one child he's four oh okay so so so there's the good job danny Yep. And so so he's forgotten his old daddy already. Forget it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So I guess that's the thing I don't do well with and is criticism because it just feels like I'm a good I'm good. Stop it. This is good stuff. And I so I am in favor of breaking the time machine because there is no we're not moving toward anything. I'm not doing that. I'm not gonna have kids.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I don't care what you perceive. I can prove to you it's not real security. All I have to do is call a lawyer and it's over. Right. So that's not real security.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So there is no security in a Neil Brennan relationship. You ain't get it. No, there is security in that I'm committed to you, but I don't need the government's help or lawyers.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
No, I don't. I understand how it, as a Catholic, I understand guilt. Yeah. And I understand shame, but I don't.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, I don't do well with doing. I mean, the blocks was about like all these things I'm supposed to do that I cannot do. I'm not good at them. Did you grow up Catholic? Did you say?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah. So like I get the I'm very familiar with. Yeah. With institutional.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
In and of itself. I get that it's insurance. Right. If you have a kid with somebody you've.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
absolutely like they deserve protection yeah i i agree with that but i don't i'm not gonna you know so it's like i don't need this thing of like well i've done well so then if we get divorced you get happy it's like it doesn't it doesn't make any sense to me and you can't make it make sense people try i would never no i know you wouldn't try but others have tried yeah um what other i'm on the neil train oh yeah you have a girlfriend for seven years so you get it
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
You know guys, spring is in the air. The weather's warming up and I'm most looking forward to taking longer walks in a nice t-shirt like I'm doing right now. LA doesn't get cold, but it gets a little cold. You know what I mean? And once it warms up a little bit, I'm talking about like a dusk. walk, you know, where you don't have to wear a jacket. You feel like you did something right in life.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Most people don't. People think you need to be loyal to your own beliefs. Or it's like you have the merch. Like, I bought all the shit. I have all the arguments lined up. Whereas I think it's more interesting to just go like, what do I actually feel about this? Right.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And I'm looking forward to it even more because I've started using Mando whole body deodorant. I haven't even started. I've been using it. Unlike other deodorants I've tried, it can actually handle anything. I mostly am a Mando in the pits guy, occasionally on the back a little bit, but you know, the thing I like about Mando doesn't stain the t-shirt and it lasts all day.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I've told this story before. I switched to a different deodorant. I ran out of Mando. Now they still at Target, by the way. I'm like proud of them. And it's just a solid deodorant. It's a little fresh. I like Mount Fuji. Of course, everybody knows that. It's a great deodorant. The whole body deodorant is safe to use anywhere on your body. And I mean, ding, anywhere.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
pits wherever you're gonna do it it's all safe and uh but you but whatever you gotta do mando starter pack is perfect for new customers it comes with a solid stick deodorant cream tube deodorant two free products of your choice like mini body wash and deodorant wipes which you know i've used and free shipping as a special offer for listeners.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
New customers get $5 off a starter pack with our exclusive code that equates to over 40% off your starter pack. Use code NEAL at shopmando.com, S-H-O-P-M-A-N-D-O.com. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Smell fresher, stay drier, and boost your confidence from head to toe with Mando. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Therapy can feel like a big investment, but the state of your mind is just as important as the state of your physical health. I'm assuming you take care of your physical health. This is the therapy podcast.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
You know I've benefited, it's helped me draw boundaries, helped me understand codependence, helped me with pretty much every female relationship I've ever had, a lot of writing partnerships I've had. You can just, you'll get, you're never gonna get worse. You know what I mean? I've never laughed and been like, what a waste of time. It's not just for people who've experienced trauma.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Here's the thing about BetterHelp. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. It's a lot of people. It's convenient, too. You can join a session with the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life. Plus, switch therapists at any time. Here's the call to action.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's mandatory, and I'm going to read it verbatim. Your well-being is worth it. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NEAL today to get 10% off your first month. That's B-E-T-T-E-R-H-E-L-P dot com slash NEAL. BetterHelp. What other unpopular opinions or things that you didn't know or things you've changed your mind about?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I was in church the other day. I literally went to church with my mom, and it was like, this is the most convoluted storytelling I've ever fucking heard. The fact that they call it the greatest story ever told, it's like, guys, this isn't even in the top 1,000.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yep, correct. That's pretty crazy. It's one of the many things that's bananas about it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
There you go. Another very convoluted term that's unnecessary. They didn't need to... Did you... So that was your... So then you fell out?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
That they need a moral framework from a religious organization. I think there's value in it, yes. More value than not. Yes, correct. Fine, because I wonder.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, I've spoken to people that didn't grow up religious, and they were like, yeah, you just get a moral framework from your parents and the world.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Are there any that jumped to mind in your life that you were sure of and then you were like, oh.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
All right, well, the question I was, because I went kind of the opposite way where I was agnostic atheist and then I took ayahuasca and sort of experienced the God, right? And I haven't been able to shake it in a good way.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
He was the creator of the PJs, which you haven't thought about in a while. The co-creator of Bernie Mac?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I experienced a god or a central creation force or an interconnectedness that I have in a drug experience, ayahuasca and DMT and MDMA and mushrooms, and it has not faded.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It was a feeling of a God. It was a feeling of a central creation force.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Whew. uh something turned this on and i felt connected to it to the something that spirit of yourself yes that was something some force there that yeah yeah it's interesting you know Yeah, and again, I couldn't sell anybody on it because it's something I experienced. And I don't need you to not eat meat or I don't need any.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It makes me entire. It's the only, and I had this experience and then I watched an interview with Sting.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah. It was like I hadn't had one. He grew up some kind of, I think, Christian. I'm brought up Catholic. And then I... Oh, this is it was basically like, oh, this is what they said church was. I actually experienced it. Right. And I've heard people say, like, the body of Christ is Iowa. Like, it's based in that and tribal and it's got a 10. It's got 10 different precursors. Right. Whatever.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
But Christianity or Catholicism. But the only spiritual experience I've ever had, and it's been continuous and it, it makes it change my life, but it's not, I don't proselytize. I don't, it's just like change my experience. Right. But I don't,
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
No, there's no, it's not organized. It's not, I don't need to. It's a thing. Yeah, it's an experience and a thing I think I feel. Sure, I get it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, it's like the death row conversion. It's like, wow, so you're going to die in an hour and you just realize you're going to die. It's done. So now you're interested. I find myself where I'm like, well, I am getting older. Maybe it's just pure self-interest. Or people that stop getting hired in showbiz and go like, showbiz is stupid and shut up. Yeah, that's the thing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
He's a king of the Magic Castle. You're an officer at the Magic Castle.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I'm entirely comfortable admitting that that may be it. And I don't really... All I can say for myself is it's not cool believing in something. And no one thinks I'm cooler because of it. There is the self-interest of like, when I die, I don't die. There's no way for me to, there's no code of behavior that I need to follow in order to get there.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Because that's the other thing where you go like, oh, this is man-made.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, which is another way nerds control social situations. Exactly. Maybe more hostilely than comedy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
tap into to that or something like that or yeah people inventing things at the same in like the same period i firmly believe in that cluster yeah people that couldn't possibly that weren't connected before the world was connected people inventing things amazing you know what happens in comedy too absolutely where somebody will think of a bit and then
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I thought of a bit, I tweeted it, and then somebody had tweeted it the day before, someone I didn't follow, somebody I was just like, they accused me of stealing, and it was like... Look at the Renaissance.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Do you and do you take is that would that be part of the maybe there's something to a God or a spirit world?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, what I was going to ask is, do you believe that science is deciphering God? No. Okay. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I totally disagree with that. That part I completely, because I don't think religion, religion to me is a way of honoring God. I think it's all silly, but like it's as if God needs, whatever. Like God's very insecure and you need to speak well of it. It's like silly.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I invented the car, you fucking asshole. So I don't find religion to be, it's almost completely not related to God to me in a way.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I mean, I know what they mean, but I'm inclined to think that it's deciphering. Nature is God and it's deciphering. Whatever. Sure. Did your life get better as a result or worse? Or push? Push.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I don't think, I think it's all one thing. It's red. Like you're God, I'm God, it's all God. It's whatever. It's beyond esoteric. So did your life get better or worse or push from going from agnostic or deep?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Because there is something to be said for like, it is, obviously parts of it are so useless and just like.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
absolutely sure and at the same time there's a lot of good stuff really good stuff that jesus said and there's a lot of stuff that's right for jokes yeah yeah both of those things are true okay so that's i'm that's very interesting that you've you've gotten less less faith-based or whatever
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, and it is not based on pleasing God. It's just like, I don't know, it's just not being an asshole.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Sure. Have you ever overly, have you ever been, have you ever abandoned yourself in a way that you regret in service of others?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, no, I've just done it. I mean, I think women probably do it more than men.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And then you end up kind of fucking yourself and you abandon yourself and you end up.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah. Or just be or martyr yourself or whatever. Let's do some actual blocks and not just the ones I threw at him.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
You know, you sign up for something, you forget about it after the trial period ends, then you're charged month after month after month. The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them. I mean, you're not using the service. In fact, I just learned that 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
thanks to rocket money i can see all my subscriptions in one place and cancel the ones i'm not using anymore and now i'm saving more money you see rocket money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions monitors your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings see all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money's going for once you don't want anymore rocket money can even help you cancel them i may have canceled a newspaper that used to be a little more to my
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
used to die. Democracy used to, whatever. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Here's the call to action. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash NEAL today.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
That's rocketmoney.com slash NEAL. rocketmoney.com slash NEAL. Rocket Money. Here's a good bombing story. I went on a date with a woman, second date. I was doing blocks in New York, invited her to come see it. And I think the worst show of the, I don't know how many I did, 60 shows? Worst one I did. And the lady ghosted me. You almost have to respect it. You know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Look, not every show is good. Not every joke, you know, delivers. But Harry's always delivers. They send the best quality razors right to your door for a fraction of the price of the big brands. Sometimes when I really need to go tight on the neck, I'll use the blade. And I tried Harry's because I know someone who works there. And I paid for it. I did it. And it's real tight. It was inexpensive.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And it's just a good razor. I don't know what to say. It's just a good... If you're trying to look at a razor, Harry's is a good razor. And it's a good deal. It doesn't feel cheap in your hand. It's like a nice... I didn't get nicked. I didn't get cut. It didn't feel chintzy. It didn't feel...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
gross oh i i also tried harry's uh hair gel which is i not only did i like the pun i like the product i'm not wearing it right now but it's a nice gel i have some i got it i got it my travel bag it's good stuff use it for just oh when it smells good smells fresh any other razor like razor like that they just feel cheap and plasticky here's the call to action
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Get the shaving products that always deliver. Get Harry's. Normally, their trial set is $13, but right now you can get it for just $3 at harrys.com. That's our exclusive link, harrys.com for a $3 trial set. harrys.com. God bless. You've got procrastination and messiness, which just seems like kind of similar. Well, all right.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So what's the downside of messiness? Because I'm pretty messy, but I don't lose anything for the most part. I don't. And I'm a bit of a procrastinator, but everything's been turned in on time, ultimately.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
You're not doing it against them. This is actually one of my issues with my girlfriend, which is the things that I am, I was before I met you. This isn't at you. I'm just this. I'm not doing it to spite you. I'm just doing it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I used to yell at a girlfriend that she seemed to be afraid that a group of gay jurors was going to come and judge our interior.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Women are affected by spaces. They anthropomorphize spaces, I believe. I really believe that. I really believe that women interpret physical spaces as they interpret it as a person.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
yeah that's interesting and i just don't as a guy i don't see it after about a week i just see like the couch right and the bed and the tv yeah and the nightstand it's very stereotypical but like i genuinely believe that yeah uh because they're very affected by it and i just don't i guess if i'm like if i stay at like a crappy motel i am affected by that me too but i think that has to do with safety someone else's stuff too yeah
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And they haven't treated well. Exactly. And it's also dangerous. Right. Like where you can hear the street or you can hear the people in the hallway or you can hear, like really it's not, it doesn't feel very safe. Like that I'm definitely affected by.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yes. It's funny, you just did Carlin and you did a bit of a black scent.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, all right, so I'm forgiving you for messiness and procrastination.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
All right, I wanna get back to the companionship thing. So you hadn't really dated, you didn't have, did you have girlfriends?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Like, oh, personal meaning. Larry, you got to finish this in a week.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Thank you for using the N-word. It's been a while. I didn't know if Chappelle had been around. No, I haven't seen him. But that is with a personal being like meet me at 7 or so-and-so wants it by Friday.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And that's kind of where the Catholic thing comes in. I find, speaking of Chappelle, we had real different approaches to punctuality. Oh, interesting. Where it was like, dude, we have to write. We don't have... I know what's... We've agreed to do 13 of these in 13 weeks. If we don't start writing now... When we were writing Half-Baked...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
He actually said like a year later, we were writing Half Baked. We had to turn in the next day and we started watching Hollywood Shuffle. It was on cable. And I was like, if we don't start now, we're never. And he literally was a year later. He was like, you were absolutely right. We'd still be watching Hollywood Shuffle if you hadn't just turned the television off.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, I just think it's whereas he couldn't, even that didn't mean that much to him.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's just, it was, it's... it's just like a life ethos kind of like seeing the world where it's like, it'll just, it's like, you know, we'll go on stage late, go on at one in the morning. Cause like, I don't know when I felt like not thinking like people have jobs and it just, it's, I find it, it is useful. Yeah. He is a better writer than me. Do you know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Like he is more talented than me. And I don't know if that has to do with, well, it's a different talent. It, it's, it's, He's better at, I mean, I guess it's different, but I would say he can throw the ball faster than me. I can throw the ball fast, but he can throw the ball like, okay. I know what you mean. And I wonder if... that governor governs the comedy as well.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Meaning like where I think rationally, I think rationally across the board, and it's kind of the basis of my act and basis of things I've written, but it's like he thinks it's all nonlinear. I'm like very linear in a very ideally entertaining way. And he is all nonlinear, including time. Yeah. Just everything.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And it's like... And part of it is you just get shit when you get it. Yeah. But it is unique when you're in a system where it has to get done.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yes. I can literally say factual setup. Yeah. You know, like twist.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah. Having written with him for years, I couldn't tell you how his system works. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Not really. If I have, it's like, it's that thing. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
i don't i can do both yeah i'm but i could explain i guess i could explain my system like my voice but i was just remember better at empath oh well that's no you have that written down he has written down as a block empath sociopath what does that mean
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So you say that as a person who felt like you couldn't feel your own, you weren't allowed to feel your own feelings. Correct.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, it seems like something someone in my mother's neighborhood had.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Did hers dissipate at all? No. She just had the same amount and you also had it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, they say about autism that you model other people's emotions, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
No, it's funny. No, I know what you're, I know exactly what you're saying.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And then how did you end up, how long did you date the woman who became your wife?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, then you could tell yourself grief's nonlinear. I mean, you don't know when it could hit you, and it never hits you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's okay to experience the lack of or it's okay to experience the actual grief.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Anger does for me, but that's about the list. Yeah. But I wonder if, you know, I did that joke about people that are good at something are optimized for that thing and pretty much nothing else, right? You ever play a video game where you make the character and you have like 100 points and you gotta distribute it between like dexterity and marksmanship and speed? That's what God does.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And sometimes he fucks up. We have a lot of analytical. Yeah. and a lot of pattern recognition, a lot of pattern recognition, and we don't get hyper, you know, emotional about other stuff. I think it's, I think, I understand that it's called sociopathy, I understand that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
No, of course, but I'm saying like, I think if you don't kill anybody,
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
But my point, you made my point, which is like, don't we need those people? Thousand percent. Should a surgeon do, should a surgeon who's a sociopath.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's a joke I did about like, I don't want certain people to have a good work-life balance. I just don't.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
should a modern the the modern world would tell a surgeon that he needs to get in touch with his family his or her feelings does he or she you do not want to do that yeah yeah and so people that date doctors sometimes that is such an ass I'm like well what's his name I'd like to yeah no that's absolutely right like yeah that's what you want
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, so I would never be so bold as to say that you and I are like surgeons or that comedians are like, or whatever. Now, having said that, there's a lot more surgeons than good comedians.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I would argue that getting emotional is going to probably hinder the pattern recognition joke process. I mean, it can help, but I would say 70-30 it hurts. It hurts 70% of the time, it helps 30% of the time.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
would agree i'm probably better to be dispassionate about that and then put the emotion in afterwards and this is another thing yeah that yeah you do the fake treacly setup um but there this is the thing that i actually sort of argue not even arguing my girlfriend but this is the thing where i defend myself where i'm like i'm not gonna be that quick to empathy about me i'll be quick to empathy about
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
other problems in your life, I really, like genuine, but if you criticize me, my first instinct is not going to be empathetic about my behavior to you, like it's not, I don't, I was like, I don't have the capacity, but I have other capacities, and is that, and what I'm, what I would like, I'm exonerating you from your sociopath. Thank you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
They're called women. Go ahead. See how I'm letting you say that? I let you have surgery?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
What do you feel about the talk in the black community? Or if you don't instill some sort of physical harm into your child, the police eventually will? What do you mean? Meaning there's a thing of black parents whipping their children or get the switch or some sort of physical harm.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And I'd always heard it explained of like, well, if they don't, the idea is if the parents don't do it, eventually white society finally, eventually will.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
They were supposed to beat any child they saw getting out alive.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
That's how they communicated, through physical violence. Yeah, and they were actually better than their parents. They were less violent than their parents.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's another one of those things of like this isn't against you. Yeah, I know. But it is. They feel that it is.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, I guess I just don't believe that anyone has an unlimited appetite for me or anyone else.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, to take a break. Exactly, exactly. I actually believe that's what drugs are for a lot of people. It's like, get me out of this consciousness for five hours. I just don't want to...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
be the same thoughts and the same patterns just like i'll risk death yeah i'm totally willing to risk death to just get out of this non this this incessant nonsense yeah for me it's different for me it's it's kind of the inverse of that you know notice i say inverse instead of opposite yeah you're a smart guy throw those people out there uh it's more to get away from that
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It goes to the empath sociopath thing is like I am as much of a curmudgeon as I may seem or whatever. I'm very susceptible to other people's energy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Like I will take on I worry that I'm not behaving well for them.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And I need to in order to shut that off. I just need to get away from people. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Most of the time when there's a group of people, I'm just worried I'm not... It feels like a wedding where you're like, okay, I got to go. What's the right social situation for you? Because I think mine is one-on-one.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah. Yeah, but I guess people would say that that's antisocial or, but I, it's like the good news of COVID was introvert got a lot of shine.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Ezra Klein had a very good observation recently about the difference between the right and the left.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, I heard that. It's either like groups of people making rules or one strong man.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, it's good, but you wish there was a better way. Exactly. And unfortunately, it's diet and exercise, and you ain't doing that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I'm pretty good with it. And I think it's Catholic. Yeah. I'm pretty good with like, what are the rules? Okay. Yeah. And I only eat sugar one day a week.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
yeah and i go back and forth on that like i haven't had sugar for a while and it feels so much better but then i'll go through months where i was like all right i'll just have this yeah i need a bowl of cheerios right now yeah that's okay i know and i yeah i won't give i'm i'm guilt-ridden enough to just be like stop you have to stop yeah but it is a unique like i quit smoking culture like i can just do i'm vegan i'm vegan vegetarian but mostly my girlfriend knows that you're vegan yeah so yeah she thought that was good vegetarian though yeah there you go yeah
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Yeah, they started it. You're a baby vegan. Yeah. Okay, well, I guess my question is how... My final question maybe is how has your life been? How do you gauge it and did it go well and are you pleased with it? Are you happy? Or is happiness even a thing to you?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
You know, I thought about what you said, which is like, don't be sad that it, Yeah. It's over. Be glad that it happened or whatever. And it's so fucking corny. Yeah. And yet that's your that's helped you with your brother dying.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
What is the – that makes you sad. What is the – when you say you come from gratitude, what does it feel like or what does it sound like within you? And do you know what I mean? Like, what do you – what is it – What do you remind yourself of? I literally have a – I talk about it all the time. I have a journal checklist where I write down – basically, like, coach myself a few times a day.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And one of the big things is, like, I am lucky beyond measure. Mm-hmm.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
It's a good way. It's also a great way to gauge other people's what they say and what they're doing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
And does that mean... So you would say it's telling someone you're grateful. I wouldn't consider that an action, but it's... It is. Okay.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I guess because it's words, I'm like, well, it still feels like words, but I guess. But you're giving this to somebody else.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
That's a great starting point. I mean, I wish I'd known that sooner in life.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I know. My mom used to say that, and it was so aggravating. And then once you choose it a few times, you're like, I can't believe I just chose it. I know. It works. It's so...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
so disappointing it's disappointing in a way because you want to feel sorry for yourself right it's like no you can just choose to be in a good mood yeah you can and it it'll stick it's so stupid it's true and if you choose to be in a bad mood you're affecting other people too so you're saying i want you to be in a bad mood yeah well that that's the thing i write in my journal it's like don't inflict your mood on people yeah including yourself no it's true
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Because your body will believe it. Whatever you tell your body, it's going to believe it. It's a Nate Bargatze joke about how dumb our brains are.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
He's very funny. He's great. So you've had a great life and it's going pretty great.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
So would you just sort of go numb in situations where you should have been angry?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore is what I'm trying to say. Larry Wilmore is here and I'm happy to have him. You have your blocks, which I'm happy you cooperated. You gave them to me. You've seen the block special. You understand what it's about. A lot of people, a lot of people big time me. They won't give me blocks. Really?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Did you grow up Christian or anything? I was Catholic. Yeah, I mean, I think that's a big part of it. Sacrificial. Yeah, I really do. I was going to Google yesterday, am I my brother's keeper? Yeah. The Bible says about I am right. You absolutely are. Because I find myself being sort of nosy. Right. And kind of like help trying to help. Right. And then people don't really like it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
That's interesting. So you didn't really know how to have emotions. All right, now the question is like, now would you be autistic?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I like how everyone around you is on the spectrum except you. Well, I said I might be.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
I think a lot of them are. I'm on the spectrum. I took the test. I'm the lowest rung, but I'm on it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Well, they just don't want to. It seems like homeworking, but it makes it more interesting.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
What were your buttons? Or without you reacting. I think that's another big one. It's like, what were your buttons? Or feeling threatened. Right.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
Like you're falling short in that arena. So was it like you should plan dates, you should be more considerate, you should be.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Larry Wilmore
No, just like Seth Meyers did. I mean, like a good friend. I knew his blocks anyway, but it was like he just didn't do the homework. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A guy who makes everyone do a pre-interview for his show. It's different when he's the guest, Larry. Anyhow, we're not here to slam the...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
hi guys it's neil brennan on the blocks podcast my guest today um he's got one testicle so right there get right into it yeah right there uh he was host of the tom green show freddie got fingered road trip where they confused austin and boston
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
So did Ray Romano brought his own writers. They wrote that sweet, sassy, molassy sketch that ESPN, Dave brought me. You know, if you, if you have a thing, sometimes you're, they don't mind.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
But was it arrogance? I mean, that's these this sounds like fear. And even the thing of doing things your way. Anything original can sometimes be from a place of, like, I can't do it normal. I don't have that skill set. Like, I don't think Andy Kaufman would have been a good comic.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
But yet, like, Seinfeld told me on this podcast, like, I went to a comedy club the first time to see Andy Kaufman. Yeah. You wouldn't believe, like, you were inspired by Andy Kaufman? Right, right. Most square comedian that, you know what I mean? Like, most analytical. Jerry's incredible, but, like, he's fairly what you'd call conventional. It's done incredibly well.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
So I'm not mad at the idea that you have to do things your way. Because I don't know, who knows if you'd be as good in a sketch as Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Guys, hi, I'm comedian Neil Brennan. And you know what's funny to me? You want to know what's a joke? The price some companies charge for razors. But Harry's prices are no joke. They send the best quality razors right to your door for a fraction of the price of the big brands. And right now you can get a $10 trial set for just $5 at harrys.com slash N-E-A-L. H-A-R-R-Y-S. Personal endorsement.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
great but I you know I keep a little stubble and then I and then I'll straight razor this not straight razor but like you know Harry's razor this part it's good razor feels like you're holding something doesn't feel plastic doesn't feel like you could snap it in half with two fingers it's sharp doesn't nick doesn't cut it's pretty much my what I shave with I've tried the of course the body wash and the hair gel both excellent it's a good damn razor
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Look, they're German-engineered blades made in their own factory that stay sharp longer. They have customizable delivery options for scheduled refills as low as $2, half of what you pay for other big brands. And you get a five-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel, and travel cover for just $5 at harrys.com slash NEAL. It's not just razors, guys. They got body washes.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
They got deodorants. They got hair stuff. They got a whole panoply of grooming stuff. I know how you like to groom. They had the highest customer satisfaction in the shaving industry. They got a no-risk trial. Don't like your shave? No worries. It's on them. Here's the call to action. Get the shaving products that always deliver. Get Harry's.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Normally their trial set is $10, but right now you can get it for just $5 at harrys.com slash NEAL. That's our exclusive link, harrys.com slash NEAL for a $5 trial set. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Guys, I do a podcast called Blocks that you're watching right now. And all we do is talk about pretty much mental health. I'm nosy and I don't respect boundaries.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah, and it was helpful in terms of, like, everybody talks about awareness and get checked yourself and how to diagnose, but, like... it actually probably demonstrably saved thousands of lives.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And I ask people overly personal questions. But it works as a podcast. And by the way, we almost always mention therapy having helped them. Mental health awareness is growing, but there's still progress to be made. We've got a long way to go. 26% of Americans who participated in a recent survey said they have avoided seeking mental health support due to fear of judgment.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It's like they're all wearing leather jackets and like, what are you, some kind of... It's Mental Health Awareness Month, so let's encourage everyone to take care of their well-being and break the stigma. The world is better when people are healthy and happy. Look, I went to therapy for probably eight years in my 20s and 30s. Went for five, six, seven in my 40s. I've been going to therapy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It changed who I am as a person. It truly did. Boundaries, what to ask for, what not to ask for, what I allowed people to do, what I believed about myself.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
i it was you don't have to experience major trauma just get a little bit better just little stuff little dumb thought habits here's some selling points if you're not sold yet better help is over 10 years of experience matching people with the right therapist from their diverse network of more than 30 000 licensed therapists with a wide range of specialties
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide. You can easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost. Here's the call to action. We're all better with help. Visit BetterHelp.com to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp.com. You gotta do it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
When you think about that time or your entire career, is it, have you ever thought like, did you ever get like, you know, I'm a kind of a visionary. Have you ever entertained that part of like, you're a, you're forward, you know, like you're the, you're the shit, you're incredible.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Because from the outside in, I had no idea because I didn't know anyone who knew you. And it was like, I don't know what's happening here.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Did you think I was going to grill you because I didn't respect you?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
You're going to razz me a bit. No, no, no, I'm unaware of my edging. I really am. But no, no, no, I want to. Okay, good. I'm just curious.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
The songs were not bad. Like the songs in the doc, I wasn't like, well, I don't like white rappers generally. Yeah, yeah. But it wasn't bad.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It's funny, you can tell them. You can probably tell immediately what they're going to, like, this guy might be a ball cancer guy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It straight up worked. Yeah. Then what did you think? I need to protect this level of success. Did you ever think I'm the shit? I was right about me. Fuck everybody who didn't believe in me. Were there any of those negative fame thoughts?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Would you have... I say this legitimately. You should write it. It would be an interesting exercise. It'd be interesting to read because it is like what's going to happen or what may happen. My question is if somebody had told you that. hey, here's what you're going through, and here's what, like, could you have helped Johnny Knoxville?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Could you have helped the, and not like those guys, I mean, it seems like everybody had.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It's still legitimate. My question is, my question is, are you a little shell-shocked Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Absolutely. When I see you, you seem shell-shocked. You seem like – and I don't know what you were like before. It really was like – not the dog that caught the car or something, but you did. You did it correctly. And without thinking, is there a potential downside to this? Is there a potential second step?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
What's the downside of the of the being getting that famous that quickly?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
and uh then it was and the pepsi commercial and the pepsi commercials yeah yeah yeah today we're going to do a taste test between pepsi one and the goldfish i mean i'm not complaining about it but it wasn't yeah it was sort of an interesting adjustment for sure yeah i'm not even saying like what are you poor thing tell i'm literally like hey man what was that like in a it's like watching a it's like watching a good car crash yeah
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Someone referred to it as a catastrophic success. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where you just go like, boy, that looks, that's pretty extreme. And did you have anybody share it with? Was there any? It was so unique. That's the thing about it. It looks so, culturally, it was so unique. It was like, it wasn't like a boy band because there was no other boys in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
That was a big plot twist. Absolutely. Yeah. And now he's got a farm. He's got a he's got a document on Amazon, which I watched not knowing he was coming. And it's very exciting. Tom Green is here. Tom Green. Tom Green.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
you know I want to hear more about what it was like tell me more about what it was like because I don't because I know you're you're shell-shocked yeah but I want to know you're not telling me enough about for my satisfaction okay well what it was like like what it was like to be you wake up in 1999 2000 2001 like you're in a movie you did it's like a montage
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Did you do it because... Because I want to talk about the relationship with Drew as well. Because a part of me thinks like when you're famous like that, you go like, well, I should get a famous bride because that's kind of what you do.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Was it stressful? Like, was having the show stressful and then getting these opportunities, were you a bit like, because you have anxiety as one of your blocks. This sounds... And it's again, it's good anxiety, but it's still anxiety.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
There was a lot of stuff in the documentary that I was surprised by or that I guess I just didn't know. One of them was that you were a white rapper. Yes, yes, yes, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah, but I'm not, again, I'm not, again, this show is first world problem. And by the way, we live in the first world, so we're not, no one's had starvation as a block as of yet, so... So yeah, I'm just more curious as to what it's like when, walk people through that, what you just said quickly about.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Tom Green was a successful white rapper, about as successful as white rappers can. I mean, they only let in about one every five years. It seems like it would be an epidemic, but it's about one every five years.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
They should. There's already a seam. I don't know if they've thought about this. There's already a seam. They could just use the whatever.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And did you think it was... That worked, you know, that worked. Honestly, did you kind of think that?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Did you see it as punishment for success? Do you know what I mean? No. Was it a biblical story of the man? Pride cometh before the fall, et cetera.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It's interesting. It's like an athlete getting injured or something. And you just take it as fate or take it as like one of those things, just bad luck. That's the way it went.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
yeah yeah you got the cancer and then went to the treatment and the pain and ache that's when you're doing freddie got fingered it was actually just before um so we were getting ready to shoot and uh i directed freddie got fingered which was sort of a you know uh double doubly difficult
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Would you share it with people or would you just kind of quietly cylinder on?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Was Organized Rhyme spelled correctly? It was actually spelled correctly. Very Canadian of us. Okay. And yeah, that was another thing I liked about the documentary was how DIY your whole thing was.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It feels like you had 20 years of life in about three years. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah. When you look at the relationship with the, can you explain the higher level of difficulty of a public relationship?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah, and the complication being, like, there are people prying, trying to get information about us and trying to look for, they're on the rocks, and you're like, what? We are...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Like it really was, you went, because we're around the same age, like you had to go rent a camera from either your school or whatever and then make a thing and put it out and see if people liked it and it's hard to root against. Do you know what I mean? Like once you know that, you just go, oh, well this guy, He did it the right way.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Guys, you know that I have a little bit of gold. I did the joke where I said I have a little bit of gold on one of three mics, I think. But I'm a little tight. I'm kind of a tightwad. That's why I like Rocket Money. Guys, I've used Rocket Money, and I'm using it as we speak.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
They have found subscriptions of mine that I forgot about certain newspapers certain cable companies that I was double they were double dipping I was I was being charged twice on different accounts one you know you've you've had you understand what it's like to person.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you lower your bills so you can grow your savings. See all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money's going. For ones you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them. Bad tone.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features. This is where it gets pretty great. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash NEAL today. That's rocketmoney.com slash NEAL.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
rocketmoney.com slash NEAL. I would say it again, but you're hearing it in your head. I don't even have to say it. Did you hear it? The move to Canada was something I wanted to talk to you about because I'm interested in the idea of having a dream, having a goal, and then more or less completing it. And then going, do I have any other dreams and goals that aren't so money status-based?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And how did you come to it and did it feel like success or failure?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
I just realized the difference between lenses. Like, I can tell you the difference between 15 and a... Yeah. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Like, he ran for local office, and he won, and then he ran for national office, and he won, and then he ran. And even the wind-up to MTV was long. Yeah, yeah. It seemed, to my eye, it was like, oh, who's this guy? You know what I mean?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Okay. Now the obvious question is, are you doing it in the rest of your life?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
No, no, no. Are you doing the... energetic direction, the idea that everyone has some form of ESP or something? Are you bringing it to audiences? Because people say that about audiences, I'm sure, as long as you've been doing stand-up, and you kind of don't know what they're talking about.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
You can sense it. You can sense it, yeah. I feel like, I don't know if it'll be in our lifetime, but I feel like at some point they're going to have instruments. to measure what we now consider like intangible. Like energy or some vibe. Like a vibe-o-meter of like that guy, whatever. I really believe that. You have on here procrastination and indecision. These fucking phones, man.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
They drive me nuts. Like TikTok. What's your farm policy? Meaning, do you have a... Ideally on a farm, you're just riding mules and shucking and hiking.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Do you find your need for... Likes, approval, I'm old enough to know, I had this before phones. You had it before, you had a television show based on likes and you were the most, you were like a social media person before social media, right? Do you find it getting better with age? Are you disappointed that it's not getting better with age? Are you finally going like, this is stupid?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
I don't really watch... Instead of doing what? What would you rather do?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And that was sort of a moment where I realized – Was he – was Norm doing especially well in Canada? Was it a bit of a word of mouth thing? He was the headliner in Canada.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
It's hyper addictive. It's a better addiction algorithm than Instagram.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
What would you like to be doing? When you're procrastinating, what are you avoiding?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And there probably were, I guess there were a number of headlines in Canada, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Listen to you talk about creativity, whether it's beats when you're 16 or 18, whether it's white rap, remote, man on the street pieces, movies, now country music, stand-up. That's your preferred mode of communication, isn't it? Over talking to people. Like, meaning there is something, or even like falling over a trash can. Right. Like, have you been accused of not liking intimacy? Um...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
My point is I realize I have a lot of friends that don't especially like connecting intimately. Not even intimately, like sexually. I just mean like me and you on the phone for an hour and a half just baring our... Or me and you walking or me and you whatever. There's also a thing where guys generally don't like... Guys don't like face-to-face conversations.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Maybe it's just Canadian-ness that's flaring up. Yeah. Sort of like you want to keep it sort of cordial and not like, well, let's not get crazy now. Yeah. Let's all be sort of publicly acceptable. Yeah. Because you're right. The cancer special is like a very uniquely intimate thing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
We're in our future. Yeah, yeah. We're in it. This is our future. We're looking at our future. This is the future we catastrophized and dreamt of. This is it. A fucking podcast, Tom Green.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
You're constantly being sized up or sizing yourself up against other people. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
That's one of those luck things, and it turns out to be one of the best comedians ever.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah, it's a unique thing to be in a way that's probably energizing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah. Which is always... Were you worried that you weren't going to find anybody or you'd die alone or any of that stuff?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
and then uh and then uh and then of course you know so i'm you know she really lucked out right she could still travel around in a van with me and then you know and then people keep sending us uh the gabby petito story so yeah so it's like uh what do you think the difference is you think why can you do it with her is it because of how you how much tolerance you have for her or how much tolerance she has for you
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And you don't get in her... You don't think about what she's thinking and is she mad? Is this okay?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
Yeah. Someone who's not as anxious as you are. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, it was great talking to you, man. Love you, man. You too, buddy. Thanks, Neil.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
People don't like you to talk about certain. I remember Chappelle started when he was 14 and he did sex jokes and somebody told him, like, you can't do sex like people don't want that from a 14 year old.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
That was one of those, the most recent one in culture was like Luka Doncic got traded from Dallas to the Lakers, right? The big sports thing. But it was that big a plot twist where it was like, what? What?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And how did you handle it? Meaning, did you get arrogant? Did you get petulant? Did you know what was happening? Did you think you were exceptional? Did you think, you know what I mean? Like, what was it like?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
I'd like to reiterate, you earned it. Again, back then, I had the reaction everybody has to a new person on MTV, which is like arms folded. Like, who is this? I don't know who this new VJ is. So you resist it. But the shit was good. And then watching the documentary, it's like, and it was honed. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And and you're so I so I you don't I don't have any of the resentment a person might have of like, who the fuck is this guy? Now, go back to your answer. I just want to I just want you to know that you have my respect. OK, like you, man, you have my respect and I want to know what it was like.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
There's something amateurish about it. Yeah. Because they weren't professional actors. Yeah, yeah. And I would also like to mention the Beastie Boys being part of that. Like they were early 90s, like homemade, DIY, fun, silly,
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
And I was... Yeah, the Oprah one in the documentary. I was like, he did Oprah? Yeah, yeah. And he's my favorite. Like, she said something, like, very favorable, which I found funny.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
You were crowning. You were like ascendant. And you were also rare in that you were under 30, right? Yeah, 28. Yeah. And nobody was really young in show. Like there was like the pop stars, but but you seem especially young back then.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
But I'm not talking about talk shows. I'm talking about... Did you think like, I'm kind of the shit?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Tom Green
yeah uh i think it was like maybe sometimes i think in hindsight i think about this a lot actually i would think you do yeah man because it's really just gone the show was so nuts i probably should i remember when i and i my buddy mike sure was right in there he didn't i don't remember he would tell me generally when someone was being a pain in the ass i don't remember them saying anything yeah yeah have you has anyone said anything in retrospect or like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
William H. Macy
Always be closing. I want you to find this Nancy boy, Elliot Ness. I want him dead. I want his family dead. I want his house burnt to the ground.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
hey before you watch this thing hit subscribe would you hey everybody it's uh it's neil brennan it's a pox podcast uh we heal the earth etc etc my guest today i looked it up i've known for 14 years pretty good feels longer not no judgment um 14 years when i met him he was uh merely the nba rookie of the year
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And then, yeah, there's those guys around you can't really talk to rookies because it's like, hey, go talk to J-Dragon. He's old. He'll have some good wisdom for you. I don't know anything.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, you'll probably be rookie of the year. Yeah, that's what I always wonder about. So you think most of it is just like empathy, right? Yeah, empathy, 100%. You're doing what every girlfriend I've ever had has wanted me to do. And probably you too, which is just listen. The problems are so much more interesting when they're about basketball.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
It's so much easier to listen to basketball problems than emotional problems from their job.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
It's hard to believe it's going to end and it's hard to believe it's not very important. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
It feels like you still exercise. When I hugged you, it felt like a man who exercises. Is that true? I'm a man who exercises.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
So huge. And you don't have to exercise. You're not in breach of contract, kind of. Or if you don't exercise, you're not going to get your ass whooped by someone in six weeks. Publicly.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Zach Randolph is not going to move me for no reason. He probably still will. Zach, come on out.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. You know how therapy can kind of feel like a big investment, time, money, effort, being open, available emotionally. But it's like anything else. If you go to a gym, if you exercise, if you eat decently, it's basically just like the gym but for your mental and emotional health. Let's talk numbers.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Traditional in-person therapy can cost anywhere from $100 to $250 per session, which adds up fast. But with BetterHelp Online Therapy, you can save on average up to 50% per session. Again, this is like a broken record. This whole thing should just be me saying betterhelp.com slash Neil.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Instead, I'll tell you about the years of therapy I've gone to and that I'm back in therapy and that it's helping. It's more, well, it's couples therapy, but like regular therapy too. It's not, I'm not talking about trauma. I'm sort of done talking about my family at this point. It's just more for personal upkeep on my habits.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. Here's the call to action. Your well-being is worth it. Visit betterhelp.com slash neal today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, dot com slash N-E-A-L. 10% off your first month. Betterhelp.com slash neal. I care about eating well.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Because the truth is, yeah, you're good at basketball, which is very valuable anywhere, let alone Oklahoma, where they got nothing going on. But you're good from eighth grade?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
That's why I only do one sugar day a week. You know, I'm vegan sometimes, vegan vegetarian. Nutrient dense meals are vital to your health, but like food doesn't have to be boring. That's how I judge restaurants. It's like a lot of vegan places feel like punishment. I don't want to be punished. I just want to eat decent food.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And then CookUnity came on as a sponsor and I've been getting their stuff and it's excellent. It's so good. Like I've been getting this shepherd's pie. That's so goddamn good. There's a pasta. They have impossible burgers. It's great. CookUnity has fresh flavors for every diet, including keto, gluten-free, and GLP-1 balanced.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
All-star chefs craft each meal with local in-season ingredients that are high in fiber, protein, and unsaturated fats. Crush your weight goals with meals crafted to be nutrient-dense and delicious from CookUnity.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
sent fresh not frozen and delivered directly to your door all at a fraction of the usual cost and time go to cookunity.com any al or enter code any al before checkout for 50 off your first week again i've been doing it it's excellent it's literally excellent i didn't even use my own promo code the first week
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
that's how excited i am about this and then i got to use it it was fantastic it's just delicious it's also the right amount because sometimes i'll cook for myself i get an air fryer pretty exciting i didn't tell you guys about it but i got an air fryer it's pretty exciting but i overcook food and then i feel like i have to eat it all because i'm i have guilt issues and then i uh i get a weight i don't want to be then i gotta whatever you don't want you you wouldn't last a day in this in this mental process
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, like I said, I got shepherd's pie. I got impossible burrito, I think. I got some cacio e pepe pasta. It's the right amount. They tell you how many calories it is. It's the right price. It's delivered to your door. You don't have to think about it. You can stick it in the fridge, eat it that week. You can stay in the freezer, eat it later.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And like I said, they have a bunch of chefs and that each chef makes a few things and they contribute. And then you order from that chef specifically different recipes, different dietary needs. It's a great system. It's the best food thing I've ever I've ever certainly done. I used to do a vegan one and they would just send you like vats of crap.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And it was like it felt like punishment, which I don't like. Menus are updated weekly and new chefs are always joining the team. So mealtime will never be boring. Yeah, you just heat it up five minutes. Flexible, commitment-free subscriptions. You can skip deliveries, pause, or cancel any time. You can do it for a week. You can do it for a month. You can do whatever. You can order four meals.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
You can order 10. Subscriptions start at as low as $11 a meal. Here's the call to action. Crush your health goals with mouth-watering, chef-crafted meals delivered straight to your door. Go to cookunity.com slash NEAL or enter code NEAL before checkout for 50% off your first week. That's 50% off your first week by using code NEAL or going to cookunity.com slash NEAL. Cook Unity. Legit.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
You talked about coaching. Somebody, I think one of the, I think somebody you played with was talking about toward the end of the Clippers, and there was some story about you kind of telling Doc, like, fuck that. And I was like, I don't know if this is a true story or whatever, but like, were you...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
He's too competitive. Sue him. What are you going to do, guys? It worked for a long time. Now he's going to be competitive with Dirk Nowitzki at talking. On Amazon Prime. Ding. I don't even know what their thing is. Well, they'll figure out a ding. We'll add that in. We'll add that in. You'll get it. I'm going to need you to add that in. A lot of text.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Contractually, I'm going to need you to put that in. But so you see it as like the worst of your like, ah, shit. I wish I hadn't. I wish I'd been more understanding or more.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Well, no, that's what I mean. Like, I'm sure that spirit made you score 40 in a game. Do you know what I mean? Or would you consider those your best performances free of that?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
but i also kind of love that challenge too it was kind of it was like it was it was a it was a game was it a mind shift mindset shift a little bit more like is it just do the thing you used to do over 40 minutes but do it in four uh yes yes uh well no i guess not which is it i'm kidding You're never going to make it on Amazon. Sorry.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Just ask me that again, and I'll give you a real cool Amazon answer. Yeah, no, I can assume that it would be – that would be a fun challenge, but also it's a bit like you have one scene – You can tell guys in one scene that try to like, they are in a totally different tone than the person they're in a scene with. And it's like, you gotta chill out, man. We're all doing a different tone.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
But I guess if you gotta do it, you gotta do it. Or you change your identity of like, to be scrappy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
um and what do you make of the relationships you had that you were like that were te like you you and chris were a little testy and looking back is it like back i wish i could are there think relationships like that where you wish you could approach it differently knowing what you know or if there was a different approach and i don't even even call it a little testy maybe wrong yeah i mean i i i truly think i think you would say the same thing like if you i think
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
people outside tried to make that much much more of a thing yeah um but even them making it a thing kind of makes it a thing yeah because you don't know who leaked what yeah or who and it's all outside or but like We did some great sketches together, me, Blake, and Chris.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, it's like you did get along. Yeah. So it was always, it was when I'd hear that you'd mark it along, it was kind of, I didn't understand it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Did it add to the stress? What's that? Because it was like top tier team level of coverage. And then there was something a little extra to the Clipper coverage. And that was hard. It was like more Hollywood. I don't know what the energy was.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
In the NBA, can you see the ref in the next game and be like, hey, I was fucking dead wrong?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, and you think it was just the stress of like, we have a lot of nationally televised games.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Okay, so you feel like some of it was just unavoidable immaturity because you are 20-something.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What do you think most of it is? Gaging people's reactions? Meaning, I always find fame to be like, you're just trying to calm people down. A little bit? Where you're like, hey, no, no, no, it's fine. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
He'll just bring that up sometimes apropos of nothing. He'll be like, they'll go, can I get your order?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I'll take the number nine. And also, funny about the number nine. Anyhow. Look at it. And he'll lift his shirt up at a restaurant. No, no, no, no. Get in here. Look at this. It's off-putting. I got scars. Physical and emotional. Yeah. Well, okay. And how did you find, so it's, it's a high stress job. Would you say it's a high stress job? Yeah. I mean, yes.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Well, it's funny. Does it inflate your ego? in a way that makes it easier to pop. Do you know what I mean? Like, the more praise you get, the more praise you're used to getting, and then any sort of, there was, I remember Malcolm Gladwell did a study, and I think I told you about it, where all the guys that were getting technicals were max players.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
get no they don't get any fouls called on them like interpersonally on the street nothing they can't so when you get called a foul it's like more it's me i'm sorry do you know who you're talking to basically yeah i mean it's a it's a great point i think like the more inflated and the easier it is to inflate that ego the easier it is like where like one small thing can be like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
They grip the wheel and do all that. Turning signals. I thought it was just green screen that whole time. Wow. Yeah, like your parents, is your brother's regular?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What do you think the worst thing someone could say about you as a player and they'd be right about? Wow. Not even talking about, like, style of play. Oh, like style of play? Well, just like he's got – whatever. Not the scouting report, just of, like, Blake's an asshole.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I remember Chappelle saw Bill Murray. Chappelle wasn't famous. And he saw Bill Murray on the street in like 1992 or something. And Chappelle was like, oh. And Bill Murray just goes... Yeah. Yeah. And just like ducked in.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
You assume – like, you kind of want him to think you're an asshole? Back then.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
That's the horn. Fuck you, dude. You don't fuck your kid. That's interesting. I've never heard you express it. That's fun. It is fun. What about those, like, when they're a fight, what was that famous story of, like, Is there anything you haven't talked about? And wasn't there a thing where, like, Houston was outside the locker room or Chris was involved?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Now that you're, An announcer, I heard you say something about, like, you'll try to be fair, but you're – but, like, pro player overall.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
The fact that like All the Smoke or even Stephen A or any of these guys, JJ and LeBron had a podcast where it was all X's and O's and it was kind of popular. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
meaning it wasn't like a runaway hit it's great if you really love basketball right but people don't really love that they just want to hear they want the drama they want all the yeah yeah like so they as much as people say like i love the sport and i'm like no you're not because that you didn't you literally didn't look at it yeah you don't care about most of the shit
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, I watched the game with you once. We watched Summer League for 15 seconds, and I had no idea what you're talking about. Literally, no. I'm like, I have no fucking idea what you're talking about. Dude, I have a buddy who's, you know, I have several buddies who are, you know, ex-NFL players.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Hey, Blocks listeners. We've got a quick favor to ask. We often do ad reads on the show and want to make sure we're recommending brands that you like. And we want to take in feedback about past brands we've featured on the show and learn more about your experiences so we can continue strengthening our relationship. That's what this is, a relationship.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
So we set up a quick survey and are going to give one lucky listener or viewer an $150 Amazon gift card. It'll take just a few minutes to fill out the survey and will be of enormous help. Go to surveymonkey.com slash r slash blocks podcast or click the link in the description. Fill out a survey. And enter your email address for a chance to win a $150 Amazon gift card.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Again, click the link in the description, enter your email, and complete the survey for a chance to win a gift card. Thanks for all you do to support the podcast. I appreciate it legitimately. I just want to make sure I'm not doing ads for something you're never going to use. It's a waste of both of our times. And I don't want to rip the company off. Let's make this beneficial. Okay? Okay. Okay.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Visit Huel.com slash NEAL today to get 50% off your first order plus a free gift. Okay. So I don't always like having to eat, especially lunch. I just don't want to like sit and go and get a thing. And sometimes I do, but other times I'm just like, I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and get a quick drink. And HUE, H-U-E, like fuel, but with an H, is great.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
It's got all the vitamins, nutrients, protein, fiber, all the stuff you need in each serving.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I like vanilla truthfully I take a vanilla I drink some I pour a little bit of chocolate in it so it's a little so it's not vanilla is a great flavor though and uh and it takes I'm full for five hours like I don't I don't eat a ton anyway but like it's got the protein it's got vitamin c which supports your immune system it's very convenient they'll send you a box uh you just grab it and crack it
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Cheaper than coffee. When you think about what you're spending on takeout or meal deals, it's a no-brainer. And it tastes, they say decent. I think it tastes good. And you can soup it up however you want. If you want it to be more of a smoothie, you can pour it in a blender, throw ice, whatever. You can add whatever else you want. It's a great smoothie base or it's its own drink.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
The Black Edition Ready to Drink Meal is a meal in a bottle. One bottle contains 35 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and is low in sugar. Huel is perfectly balanced meal designed by nutrition experts and takes the guesswork out of healthy eating. It's convenient, tastes good. They're low in sugar. They're affordable.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I don't know what it ends up being like around under just under $5 a bottle, which sounds like everything's expensive now. So $5 a bottle is not a problem. It's going to save you time and money, and I'm telling you, it's good. And if you want to add other stuff, fruit, vegetables, ice, whatever, you want to add meat, hit it. You want to add more protein, you want to add whatever you want to do.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Knock yourself out. You have my permission. New customers visit H-U-E-L dot com slash N-E-A-L today and use my code N-E-A-L to get 15% off your first order today. Plus, a free gift. Legit good. You've seen me drink it on the show. Like, it's great. Huel.com slash NEAL. Enjoy it. So let's say Luka is not in good physical shape. Right? Let's say all the stuff they said about him is true.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Can a guy be in medium shape and have a 12-year first-team All-NBA career? Absolutely. If you're talented enough. So it really is just like, oh, if you're talented, none of it matters. Are you saying like all NBA, like every year? Around as good as he's been.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
But he doesn't have the kind of body that looks like he's in good shape. But you can tell, as someone who's had to guard him or been guarded by him, like – like one of these things where you're out of breath and you're like, he's in pretty good shape.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I think we're just saying these guys are just white, and that's terminal.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Well, okay, let's say you're the GM. Let's say you're the Rob Palenka, which I know you love his jackets. So his hair, his jackets. The tan. Have a press conference. The biblical references.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
To have a wear a leather jacket unzipped with the sleeves up and it's unzipped from the bottom for a huge press conference. What a bold statement.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What would you say to Luca about his physical shape? Do you know what I mean? As a guy who's a mentor now, you open with empathy. We all know that. You say, I love donuts and crullers as much as anybody.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And is it when guys have their own fitness team and their own, all that stuff, do you think that there is gonna be a natural tension between the team and him? Because there's this shit like Kawhi and all that stuff where it's like we want you to play, we want you to sit, you're not ready, hurry up.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And so there are guys that are not in – They can't bench, they can't, they don't, they're not, but it doesn't matter. As long as you can put that ball in the hoop or do exactly what your role is. Could someone play power forward and be like that? Were there times where you're like, I gotta lift more?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Were there times where you, where there were challenges, or like a sequence where you're like, fuck, that guy's so much stronger than me.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
You were the first person to tell me about, or maybe I asked you about sports psychologists, and you told me about yours, and there was a book I read called, I think, 10-Minute Toughness. But you were very, you're very big on positive visualization. Yes. Tell people about that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Because even, I remember saying, like you said, no, like anything I do on the court, I've already seen it in a split second before I do it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Are you imagining what it would feel like emotionally or you're picturing it third person? I'm picturing myself do it. From my perspective. From your first person.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
And is it about, are you keyed into how it'll feel physically or keyed into like?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
From being on an active roster to now. But the truth is probably a lot of people don't even know you're retired. Yeah, I mean, do I get that question all the time?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
That's what I mean. Like, how many would you picture empty seats? Like, third level.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, yeah. Not good. lens cut lens flare great lens flare oh shit um did you ever not do it and was there a difference or was it just like a thing you started in high school college and then would you would it ever be like spooky like a deja vu or like that's exactly what i thought was gonna happen there's some sometimes when it like worked out exactly how i thought it was gonna happen um
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
That visualization was tough. I'm going to sit. I'm going to be on my left butt cheek.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, look at the jumbotron. Are they running a kiss cam? Okay, that's fun. That's very entertaining. I got a big kick out of that. That was actually real nice. Yeah, you know what? Kudos to the in-arena entertainment. That's good. To ask questions about other guys on the team, that's real creative. So you think it had a big effect on outcomes? Because I started doing it. I've stopped.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I just forgot to do it. But no, I would actually write. I started just writing out my act. And if I do a TV appearance, I would write it out and try to imagine what it would be like in each beat of the thing. And you can actually write new things in it. You would write out your script?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I mean, a lot of it was just a bit I'd already done on stage. But it was like, it is a helpful way to... to like to prep.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What about... Would you do it in-game, meaning you get the ball, was it just instinct or was it like – No, in-game, like I'm not like visualizing anything.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
about um and I did my time and I I I don't know I'm just I'm just in I'm in a good place and I'm I'm I'm happy with that and I hope that more guys experience this than yeah get a wide because he's really retired I mean this is not a guy who's at yeah I mean that's look at those loafers shoes they're boy this guy's wearing boat shoes yeah
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yes. And if you, and is it just like, if I like, there's no one on help, someone will probably come and help D. Yeah. And then like, I can, I'm fucking.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
am i right john stockton actually actually you know what you're um a rare uh p word drop for me on the podcast we like to keep it a little clean oh we never talked about your general racial or racial ambiguity although that is that yeah that's racial ambiguity we never talked about that as a block the table's like it's it's hard it's hard to write there's like see it's like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Can this economy have a smokey walnut? I wouldn't be here, I'll tell you that much. That's got to be something that's pretty resolved at this point, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What was interesting, you said one time players would say, players in the NBA would say such things.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Did you ever think that it probably had to help your marketability? Yeah. I mean, honestly, like a whitish looking guy to jump like that. Kind of. It's like what I used to say to you and Kevin Love. If you can't get an announcing job when you retire, you're fucking you have to be. I used to say regarded. But like, no, not anymore. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Like if you can't get it and sure enough, uh, you got it, you landed it, buddy. Um, but, uh, but yeah, so yeah, that's gotta be, and that's another one of those things that you think is going to be a problem. And then like, it ends up being, it's not, yeah, it's like not a, it's not a problem at all.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I got a standing reservation. There's a really nice cafeteria down the street, Luby's Cafe. I told you, your life might actually be better then you're one of the few guys that, like, life might improve. And I don't know if it improved. Well, it's going to be close. I mean, it seems just like all the benefits and almost no stress.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Yeah, yeah. The fancy is like whatever they deliver very fancy packages. Yeah. White gloves. When you're like, sure, do you want insurance on this? I'm like, oh, yes.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin, ladies and gentlemen. Watch him on Amazon six months from now. Good guy. Friend of all podcasts. And maybe he does stand-up sometimes. We don't know. But a good guy. I'm glad I know him. Thanks for having me, man. Thank you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
They call me in. Okay, so that's good. So you don't feel in any way reduced, which is great. You maybe even feel, because you still get to keep all the money. And you have, you're basically committed to a girl and you're in a committed relationship and you got kids, so there's no like, you're not on the prowl in any way anymore.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
You shut the fuck up, Angelo. Five times. Five times for, well, All-NBA. And I believe he'll be in the Hall of Fame. He'll run his speech by me. I'll give him notes. He'll ignore them. And he's the new Red Lobster spokesman, which nobody saw coming. I make Red Lobster famous. And he's about to be on the Amazon...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Because that's another question I have, which is like, knowing you,
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
enough to know that that must have driven you fucking crazy yeah absolutely bananas and uh fucking off the wall can't sleep for days um what did you tell yourself because i also found that you were you were your your inner monologue was always very positive at least from as you presented it to me how was it how would it be did it stay positive or did you feel delusional or did you have to lie to yourself
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I'll dive on the floor. What do you need from me? Get the crowd hype. Like you'll fall and throw the ball off the guy, that kind of thing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
Whichever you want. Not that one. Okay, sorry. Did you... what is the arc of realizing you don't your body's not the same no you just feel it i mean and and you go you wake whether you wake up or you go to gym or whatever you're like i can't can i jump higher couldn't i get more lift and then you go it'll come back and then it just never does
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
pre-game, post-game team with Dirk Nowitzki, and he's basically a retired NBA player, and now he's a full-time announcer, and he's a buddy of mine, and his name is Blake Griffin. Yay! We never did figure out how to introduce people.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
The team got me life alert. When you talk about mentoring, is it about playing or is it about the whole thing? Because that was the thing. Seeing your evolution from your rookie year to elder statesman mentor, were there things you wish you knew? And are those things even teachable? Can you be, could I, I remember telling you, keep a journal.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
when maybe your third year on the Clippers, because I could see how interesting it was, and you were probably just like, my fucking old man, shut the fuck up. What's a journal? I don't know how to write. So what does mentorship in that capacity look like? And then what do you wish you knew?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
What's some not so great wisdom? Not me attributing to anybody, but like a thing that sticks out is like, man, that's stupid.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
Blake Griffin
I didn't know if I was supposed to be quiet. No, it's fun. It's fun when people intercede. All right, well, here's a question I have. Having spoken to you for a long time about just your life and being an NBA player, Were you happy with your life change from being full-time NBA player to being retired and having a lot more free time? And it seemed like you may have enjoyed the more anonymity.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Hey, before you watch this thing, hit subscribe, would you? Hi, Neil Brennan here. It's the Blocks Podcast. My guest today is a guy I've known vaguely, not vaguely, I don't know what the right word is, vaguely insulting.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I was a little late on the ah. Is the logo out? Great. Good job, Neil. I was late on the ah. See, the second swallow is the hard part. Ah, Huel. Nailed it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
guys this show is sponsored by better help i don't know if you've seen this podcast but all we do is talk about mental health and uh things to make you feel like something's wrong with you and you know what can help you figure that stuff out therapy yep therapy ever heard of it it's a new thing invented a hundred years ago by sigmund freud i've gone to therapy a lot in my life i've started again recently it
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
It taught me boundaries. It taught me ask for what I want. It taught me how to be honest. It taught me to have realistic expectations with myself. And you can learn positive scope. It empowers you to be the best version of who you are. And it's not just for those who've experienced major trauma. Here's the selling points.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
BetterHelp has over 10 years of experience matching people with the right therapist from their diverse network of more than 30,000 licensed therapists with a wide range of specialties. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy more affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide. You can easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost, etc., etc. We're all better with help.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Visit BetterHelp.com slash NEAL to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, B-E-T-T-E-R-H-E-L-P dot com slash NEAL. BetterHelp.com slash NEAL. Help. You need help. Okay, well, this is the... one of your things, which is who gets to define what's black, what's black enough. Yeah. So...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
So there's a real pretty clear conflict, which is upholding a rare black icon, an icon that important, but also a commitment to justice. And... I mean, but again, I would say that's most of, a lot of your conflicts just born out.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Like, well, that's just another clear example of it. And what do you, is that a thing that you were aware of that's just in you? Because you are, both your parents are black, right?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
So, and you had a Netflix special called Private School Negro. So I'm assuming you are one or went to private school. So you're having just a sort of an experience in conflict from the very beginning.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, yeah. All right, well, that's one of your blocks is what's a regular black person?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, or Maya Angelou. Who's like the... Because every white one is Mark Twain and Albert Einstein.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Okay, great. And so you sort of... You're not bouncing between them, but those are your two main influences.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oh, so they split up? Yeah, they split up before I was even aware that they were together. Oh, great.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Does that, okay, so, because obviously you, I'm sure it made you feel isolated and like, you know, maybe lonely, maybe.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, you're in conversation with yourself. All the time, yeah. Because, okay, so then it, one, when you get into high school, college, young adult, do you feel like, is it, did you care about fitting in?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
You didn't even need to tell us that. Come on, please. Us three?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
A little better than Vague Plus. Yeah, Vague Plus. For, I don't know, 12, 15 years. And he had a show on FX. And he made an excellent Bill Cosby documentary that we'll talk about. He's on tour. He's on a tour called Who's With Me? Yeah. And he's wearing the merch and not for sale. Don't look for it. And he's in part of a new book called Who Is Government?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
message boards um did it so there a part of me feels like because there was no expect did you feel pressure to meet social expectations or was it like alleviated because like i'm an only child so i don't even know because you're always gonna because again i'm on this i'm in hyde park with the south side of chicago which is like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Do you have brothers and sisters that are, that have black children?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oh, so cousins, is there any, is there any sort of immersion program you can, you can bring them to?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
But you made your, you couldn't help it, and you probably, you didn't fight yourself much on it? No, I didn't fight myself on it. Because it feels like a form of freedom in a weird way. Like, if there's no, if you're an only child, you're bouncing between your parents. Like, no one is kind of keeping track of you in a good way.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And, like, you don't fit any one thing, so it's like you can grow in an unencumbered way.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
So you thought, what? You thought that because it wasn't... I guess you weren't deeply rooted in any one thing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, do you think that you're married now? Does your wife give a shit about your hobbies? Because I don't know of many women who are like, comic books, yay, kung fu, me too.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And do you look back and think, would you want your kids to sort of come up that way? I guess, is that even a thing you think about? Is that the best way?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
As a weed, it's like, you know, do you – is that – that's a style of like personal development. It seems – you could very easily tell me that that's the best way to raise somebody or the best way for a person to develop and I wouldn't argue with that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
But there's an advantage to it in that you can like adjust and you can find things that you wouldn't normally find.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
So you're not in the conflicts kind of over? Or is it over? Do you know what I mean? Like, obviously your blocks are like about race and racial identity. Is it...
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
How did you take them? When you know things are about to get ugly, do you just have to reaffirm your ideology or your approach to the documentary? Because obviously it's just about are we living in a just society or not?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
But sort of... Yeah, the bad news is Bill Cosby's a fucking amazing comedian.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Like, incredible. And a really bright dude and important to black history and American history.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I got into an argument with somebody, and I'll tell you who it was after off the air, where I said he was a black comedian, and he said that Cosby's legacy was kind of ruined, not by the documentary, just by what happened, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I said... I think the thing he did can't be undone. Meaning, if one of the ideas of The Cosby Show was to show to black urban professionals.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, this raises an interesting question about bodily autonomy. Do you think, if you're dealing with an older black woman, that there is something to just saying, bodily autonomy is overrated? And like, there's no way she doesn't mean well.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And I said you can't undo what he did, which is if it's like brain surgery on white people on racist assumptions. all the white people who ingested it, let's say they're between the age of 10 and 40, by the time they found out he raped people, they're 40 and 70.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yes, so I'm like, he did what he did, and it was like actually weirdly tense, but I think I'm right. What do you think?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah. Now. Yeah. See, I couldn't have me on that island. Yeah. So so I guess what I'm saying is like was the was do you think people's. reaction was performative, meaning the defending the honor of this man, which I think you kind of did anyway.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
They may be where you took kung fu classes in 1988. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Do you know what I mean? Like, it's not like you were like, no, fuck him a hundred percent.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And I also feel like the defense is like, are you pro-rape or not? Like, that's the thing. It's like, so you're saying if you make a certain amount of work, you can rape. That's what their argument is. Literally, there are people saying that. I mean, that's the understood, that's the tacit argument.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
How they, you know, white people were just getting away with it left and right.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, but then the argument is like, well, we have to get every single white person before we go to cosmic. I would say the argument is if you're going to be black and successful, you got to be careful.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I can tell you pretty definitively, Dave and Chris are not going to get rape beefs. They're both incredibly elevated, incredibly successful. There's no great beefs coming. Yeah, that's great news. Knock on wood. Okay, so you're not... No, but I'll say this.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And this is a thought I'm sure you've had, but it's so fucked up that this is what everyone's aspiring, you're what everyone wants their kids to be. The editors of Essence, the people who are putting together this list for this party. And by the way, a lot of their kids are this.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Did you kind of hope that it wouldn't, like when you're ghost dogging it, Ghost Dog was a movie from the late 90s. Jesus. Did you game this out like I'm probably going to get sort of marginalized within black press or black culture, but that's OK? Or were you like, well, maybe maybe they'll be a little something.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, that's funny when you laughed at the affection, I'm like, you just did it. But now I realize like, no, no, no, no.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Right, but do you think Dream Hampton directed it? Yeah, Dream Hampton. Do you think she had the same trials that you did? Dream Hampton doesn't give a shit. Yeah, but I'm saying, I guess what I'm saying is, do you think because she's a woman talking about assault?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oh, I was going to go the other way, which is, it's like, well, if you're a woman, you can make a documentary about men raping women, but if you're a man, you shouldn't.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And did you, is it kind of like, you've heard that hostage negotiation thing where the best thing you can say is, if I hear you correctly, and kind of read back their list of grievances?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And by the way, their grievance isn't with you. It's with another black comedian named Bill Cosby.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah. You know, you know, I don't know if you heard, but your mom wants you to call her. That's all they ever want. Would you call me? Would you put you or your dad was like, would you call your mother? This Mother's Day, you can give her a call, of course, and give her an Aura digital picture frame. Surprise, Ma. I live pretty much far away from everybody in my family.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
My mom, probably the furthest. Miss her all the time. I put her in the old Aura frame, guys. She made it. Congratulations, Mom. You're 90. Come on into the frame. There's a funny picture of her and a buddy of mine in the Aura frame. It reminds me of both of them. And or you can buy your parents an Oriframe, buy your mom an Oriframe and put yourself in it. So she always has to think of you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oriframe was named the best digital photo frame by Wirecutter and featured in 495 gift guides last year. So the next time you need to call your mom, you can also send her a new pic of you from that trip you're telling her all about right from your phone as it's happening. Aura has a great deal for Mother's Day.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
For a limited time, listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $35 off plus free shipping on their best-selling Carver mat frame. That's AuraFrames.com, promo code NEAL. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Promo code NEAL. Terms and conditions apply. Aura. Aura. Aura is actually one of my favorite inventions of the last 10 years. It's amazing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Guys, what if I told you the most luxurious place to listen to this podcast could be on your toilet? What would you do then? Cloud Plus by Toshi Bidet turns your toilet into a biohacking throne that automatically deodorizes the air the moment you sit down. I'm a bidet guy. You know I am. You know I've been talking about a bidet.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I got one the first time in my life as a birthday present in 2006 from a woman who the relationship didn't work out, but I still have the bidet. I now have a road tushy and two regular tushies. They work great. Just as good as my expensive bidet. But super affordable, and I installed it myself. I don't save on toilet paper. The whole experience is better. Easier, better.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I'm about to do a commercial. I give them away as a prize on the commercial to a member of the crew. TUSHY is the everyday luxury bidet that instantly transforms your bathroom into habits and bottom health for life. And here's the call to action. Reclaim your comfort zone in the bathroom for a limited time. Our listeners get 10% off their first bidet order when you use code NEAL at checkout.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
That's 10% off your first bidet order at hellotushy.com with promo code NEAL. hellotushy.com promo code NEAL. I'm going to make your butt better. Well, that's one of your blocks is smart for a comedian. Yeah. So I'm not far from that. Yeah. But it does make a you do it. It is a it's a recipe for judgment within yourself of like, why aren't you silly? Why aren't you more clownish?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Or why aren't you, at least you can hide behind like black pride. I have no excuse. No, no, no.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Fuck that stool. Yeah, I'm supposed to. You're too dignified for that. uh but yeah so so is that part i guess it's part of the same thing of like what you know it's like i mean i remember the night before chappelle shows came out a black dude came up to dave unsolicited and said how is your show gonna work you're too black for white people and too white for black people
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Like for a bit, it was so crazy. And I'm sure the guy's like, I was right. Whatever, not like I'm sure. But how have you navigated it?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
There's a saying about basically Northern racism and Southern racism. It's like in the South, they want black people to be seen.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I have this conversation in my head all the time. I'm like, why can't I just be fucking – big band or whatever. It's like, I don't know, Neil, that's just not what you are.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
That I haven't picked up on that. Well, not only smart, geniuses.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And I think that, like, for me, I always want to... And unfortunately, so do their massive audiences.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
a claim for their for their intelligence when it's really it's like no it's their intelligence compared to other comedians and it's also their it's it's not even their intelligence their charisma their cult of personality yeah it's like their charisma otherwise it's not like if you read their ideas you wouldn't know yeah no and i and i think it's always important to understand that like no no i'm smart amongst this cadre of people yeah but smart people look at me like yeah yeah yeah um black enough who gets to find what's black and is do you have an answer
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Who finally at the end gets to define what's black? I mean, the only good news is it seems to be expanding the definition.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
You shouldn't be afraid of them. Where are you? Do you think, to our shared joke of atheism being white privilege, Is it also black nerd privilege? Like, what's your take on religion with your kids?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, it's the necessity thing. Yeah, what do you mean? Black people needed God. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Right, like they may not, they're East Bay mix kids, so they can, you know, wear scarves.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I mean, my parents both grew up, my dad grew up super poor and my mom grew up, but I never, we'd go back, like, I don't know. It's just like, that's weird. If you're like, you grow up that way, you're like, I'm sure you grew up richer than your parents. It's not something you think about.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, we're not getting this because of we're getting this because people are shallow. Yeah People think your dad is something and so yeah black comedy verse being a black comedian Do we cover that? I think we basically cover that that's all right. Well, here's okay direct ways and not direct ways Okay fear of doing things the regular way. I we've definitely covered. Okay. Yeah, finally America
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
It's the first time somebody's had America as a block. Yeah. President Trump, go ahead. What's your problem?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
You both... Trump doesn't think America's doing it right either. It's just everyone thinks we're doing it wrong, but for completely different reasons.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
But that's, what's funny is, is because of the, your sort of cultural bent, you go New Zealand and Canada. I was, my first thought was Ghana, but I, Is part of being black in America or being black in the world is just a numbers game of like America is still 65 percent white people. Like it's just a market thing of like, well, what's the where is the market?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
There's more eyeballs, there's more ears, whatever in white people than black people or in the world. Same thing.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oh, I wanted to tell an anecdote about you, which will make anyone who hears it like you, I believe. I had a joke in my Blocks Netflix special, which was... Atheism is really like the height of white privilege. It really is, because religion basically says, like, hey, can we interest you in an afterlife? And white people are like, oh, no, thank you.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
whatever happens don't do you do you not think do you think uh you don't think racism is just a in in inherent human instinct you think it's especially american meaning like you think new zealand is exempt well no no first of all
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
What's funny is I'm just thinking it could be a movie. Yeah. If you move to Ghana and just change your black identity. Yeah. Until you were super militant. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you rewrote your whole... It's like when you moved to a new town.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
In some ways, I think you're fighting for literally the climate, the physical climate, the weather where you are, and the time zone. Literally, whenever I hear about corporations, we're going to threaten to move to Portugal. It's like, all right, well, you're going to have to wake up in the middle of the night to check in on your kids and your grandma and your friends.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
It's about, it's the untold story of public service edited by Michael Lewis. And his name is W. Kamau Bell.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Let's just focus on black people who voted for Trump, which whatever, who knows how big the percentage was.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
The editor told me, I think Kamau Bell did this joke. I text you and say, I have this joke. What should I do? And you said, use it. It was on one of my specials that wasn't popular enough anyway. So you were like, you know what? Fuck me. You take it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
yeah well what do you make of the liberal firing squad as a as a democrat what do you make of the the cannibalization that that democrats what do you mean as far as like nobody's ever doing it right the purity test and nobody there is no such thing as a good democrat it's just like i do think that we that there is this that we have to understand that like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Like, I can't. Well, I guess my other question is, like, what... Doing something is better than doing nothing. Yes, but AOC might not win a general election. AOC will win her. Bernie will win their. Or you're suspicious of that. You think maybe they can. AOC won her district and Trump won her district.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
So I guess it's like what – I don't even know what the right approach is for Democrats in terms of – Obviously, Chuck Schumer is, like, negative charisma. Negative charisma. Yeah. So, like, I don't know who the future is. Or is Josh Shapiro too mild? Was Obama a disappointment?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, yeah, you have once you if your commitment is to remain holding on to your job, then you're you're already fucked.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, but it was such a commendable take on like, no, there's got to be some standard. Like, fuck me. I didn't break through on that.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
literally and a different approach in terms of like more molotov cocktails of just like it really has to be you can't if you it's so fucked yeah that you have to just go i'm here for one term yeah yeah yeah um like full worth it yeah if i may use the late 90s if you could use that but like i feel because thinking about like martin lincoln jr was chosen among the the pastors to delete the montgomery bus boycott they were like we need to do a boycott and rosa park same thing yeah like they were not like
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I wanna get less specific. So when you say America as a block, the whole thing with America is you, I think the, the, if we, I'm earnest, you're earnest because I'm taking America at what it claims it is and not what it's been, but what it claims to want to be. Are we naive? Do you know what I mean? Like I,
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
It's never been the shining... It's like always claimed to... But it's like I claim to be a lot of things I'm not. Not like... It's not that different, I hope, but maybe it is. Yeah, I think that... I think that... Human beings are involved is the problem. It's like highly faulty human beings.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, with all the people that approach Trump, it's like, they're wrong, but I understand their point of view. I disagree with it. That they feel left out and they feel scorned and they felt like... looked down upon by media. It's like, they were. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yeah, I don't – a part of me thinks that what is going to happen is it's going to be like – Doe should have marketed itself as decluttering the government. It would have been way better. Like Maria Kondo does this – Does this give you joy? Does this spark joy?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And then they could go, no, it didn't. What they're going to have to do is they're going to break a bunch of shit down and then they're going to realize the value of it. In retrospect, now hopefully the damage is going to be minimal. It's not going to be minimal. It's going to be massive and hopefully not that deadly because I also think it's going to be deadly.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
But I think hopefully that's the cycle. I mean, that's me being optimistic.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
It's a thinkable thought. I thought it. It's not anyone. I'm not so like impossible. Yeah, exactly. Only I could have thought of it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And it's going to be in six years when we finally look back and they finally, yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Do you think your expectation... of America is realistic. It's not realistic, but it's reasonable. Reasonable compared to what though? Meaning what country does it right? Because I'm with you. I am disappointed in America, but then I go, where else would I go?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Kamau Bell, ladies and gentlemen. And if you're a foreign country, consider him a free agent. Like Jimmy Butler. He has expressed dissatisfaction. He's trying to find his joy.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
That's what apparently Missy Elliott and Timberland went to Prince at one point and were like, people are stealing our sound. And he's like, make a new sound. Yeah.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
If you're good, make a new sound. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever happened to him. Someday somebody's going to make a documentary about him.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Okay. Well, speaking of... controversial documentaries. I would like to speak to you. I brought you here to talk to you about Dr. Bill Cosby. And well, I guess the question I want to ask is what was your misgivings process in terms of like, oh, do I want to do this? And then you start and you're like, oh, do I want to keep doing this? And then you finish and you go, oh, do I want to release this?
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
have the same thing where you hear a lot of rumors. I remember when DiCaprio was gay. I remember hearing that rumor all the time, being like, I don't know, man. I've heard so many people, this person does this.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And you know, all right, whatever. In the Catholic Church, we would molest the kid.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Oh, that's funny. Anyhow, nice to see you. Good to see you, man. How's life? You live in Berkeley? I live in Oakland, yeah. Oakland. Even blacker.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Well, was there a freedom in that? Was there like, yeah, maybe it'll never come out. Let's just make it how we're gonna make it.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
Yes. Yes. Only with the caveat that he wouldn't have to go to jail for whatever. Guys, Huel, sponsor. This is chocolate. I'm a vanilla guy. Actually, I mix chocolate and vanilla together, and that's how I do it. I like it because I don't always want to go get food. I just want to do whatever I'm doing. Writing jokes, you know, being very creative. You know how I am.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I'm not online, if that's what you're wondering. I generally do it instead of lunch. It's 400 calories. It's got... A lot of protein. It's got how much 35 grams of protein, which is 70% of what you're supposed to get in a day. It's great. I used to drink a different one of these different brand that sort of gotten really bad lately.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
And then they people wanted to sponsor it was like, I thought you'd never ask.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
i also add ice to make it more of a smoothie in a blender sometimes i'll throw fruit you can add stuff you uh you throw in more powder throw in uh uh what's the skin one i can't remember it's throwing powders you know maybe my powders whatever you want to throw in you throw in it takes it nice mix it in real nice contains vitamin c which supports my immune systems we mentioned proteins already
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
uh no prep no hassle shake it drink it it's cheaper than coffee when you think about what you'd be spending on takeout or meal deals it's a no-brainer and tastes to me and it tastes legitimately good because otherwise i just wouldn't drink it new customers visit h-u-e-l dot com slash any al today and use my code any al to get 15 off your first order
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
plus a free gift this is you know i direct commercials and uh this is how you do all right so you open the logo you open the logo to camera you it's usually open so i'll open it i'm gonna shake it all right so i'll show you how you do it how the big boys do it hit pause real quick i I'll do it at the end. I'm going to do my big sip at the end. Hit play.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
New customers visit Huel.com slash N-E-A-L today and use my coupon code N-E-A-L to get 15% off your first order plus a free gift. Huel. It's delicious. What I'm going to do is I'm going to do two big gulps and then I'm going to say Huel. You do two big gulps. And then you maybe do an ah, and then you say Huel. Okay, ready? It's harder than you think. Try it at home if you got a second. Ah, Huel.
Blocks w/ Neal Brennan
W. Kamau Bell
I can only imagine. What are the stats on it? Are there any stats?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
There are few people I know who have spent more time in comedy than Neil Brennan, like few human beings. And when I say comedy, I mean every level of comedy. TV. Administration. Yeah, no really. Paperwork. No really. Scheduling. You are that guy. Club comedy. Neil Brennan has been in the trenches of the trenches. So I was going to ask you about this, but like, I feel like
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It was like, okay, it's about the show, it's about the work, it's about the... And now, on the other side of it, now I'm going back into more personal material. Now I'm going back into... But it's funny, I never thought it was cathartic.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
No, I'll be honest. And I don't think it's cathartic for most comedians, if I'm honest. I think what happens a lot of the time is comedians have found like a, it's almost like a shield that you can put in front of you. to seem like you are dealing with the thing, but you are not dealing with the thing. And you're speaking about it to people. So we were like, oh, wow, you're speaking about it.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So you must be over it or you must be. But I don't think it's cathartic. The reason I don't think it's cathartic is because comedians get to do the thing with the audience. And that is we escape with the laugh. Do you know what I mean? And so I think real catharsis requires you to stay in something until it is released, as opposed to finding a way to escape.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It's not avoidance. And I was thinking about this before this conversation. I was going to ask you, this generation of comedians is the first... I remember the shift. I don't know if you remember. There was a point in comedy... where we saw almost every few months a comedian committing suicide somewhere. You would just hear it. You'd walk into a comedy club. The good old days.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Everyone would be around. Everyone would be around a table in the club. And there'd just be like a sad feeling and you'd be like, hey, what's going on? And they'd be like, oh, did you hear about Bobby? Did you hear about blah, blah, blah? And you'd be like, what happened? They're like, oh, yeah, no, they found him in a hotel room in Pennsylvania.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
They found him in a hotel room in Ohio or something. They found him in a hotel room. And this was constant. And it was almost expected in many ways. Mm-hmm. And then I don't know what happened, but suddenly something shifted. All of a sudden, comedians wouldn't be ordering the chicken wings backstage. They were ordering the celery and the kale and the baby carrots and the hummus.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I'm talking about comedians from other countries as well, not just in America. Like they know Neil Brennan, right? I know some of your story, but I don't want to miss it, especially for the audience. So Neil Brennan is born where?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then they wouldn't be ordering a drink like a cocktail or whiskey. They'd be ordering water. Yeah. And then comedians would be like, oh, yeah, I've got to leave now. I'm working out in the morning.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Performing altruism.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I always say, you know, the easiest way to see it, I'll tell my friends, is when you look at a post, let's say online, as soon as somebody says, here's how I did it, or, you know, this is how I became more productive, I'm like, no, that's not the point. Like meditating is not about becoming more productive.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I don't know. I just think we're in the age of it right now, and I accept it. And I'll be honest. I don't mind the fact that the trend right now is to be healthy. Right. Because that's a fine trend.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
There was a time in comedy where... one thing comedians all shared was comedy, right? It didn't matter like who you were, where you were from, what you did, black, white, old, young, woman, man. It really didn't matter. It didn't matter. We had this thing where we would go into a comedy club and it was like comedy time. And we all just had comedy.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then I noticed over the past few years, and it's funny, I'm less worried about it for comedy and I'm more worried about what it means for society, is I've noticed a creep of polarization even in comedy.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Like comedy used to be, everyone does everything and they're comedians and someone will get on stage and say the craziest joke that is whatever, you know, it can be anything, misogynistic, racist, you name it. But it's within the confines of comedy. Like they're using the tools to make a joke about it. Right. And then now comedy slowly becoming like, oh, well, those people, that's their politics.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
We don't do comedy with them. And these people, we don't do comedy with them. Like, do you think politics is going to end comedy as we know it?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
When Elon Musk had the rocket come back down to Earth. I remember watching that.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You're clearly a verified user. Yeah, I watched the rocket come down. First, I thought it was a fake video because it's so amazing that it looks fake. Did you watch the longer one? Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Wait, this is going to land? So I thought it was going... I thought someone had reversed the video because I was like, this makes no sense. I was like, physics, what is happening here? And I'm watching all of this. And then I texted all my friends, especially like friends who love tech and everything. I was like, this is the most amazing thing. Have you seen this? And I was like, have you?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And people were like, screw that guy.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I've now learned on the podcast, I have to now be very clear. That's not what I was... No. This does not represent me. No. And even in my group of friends, I didn't understand, and I still don't understand, why people feel the need to tell me how they feel about a thing that I know they feel about. But I'm like, I'm your friend.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
If I send you a video of an Elon Musk rocket being caught from space and I go, this is amazing. Don't say to me, Elon Musk sucks.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, but this is in our own messages.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Okay, I'm going to go on the record and say, I will never judge anybody for texts that get released unless those texts...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
indict them about something they've done in public because of the con it's like a comedy club it goes back to the same rule if we're in a comedy club we know that the people in here are trying to say things that elicit a laugh from the audience so a comedian will make a joke about anything they'll make a joke about murder they'll make a joke about genocides they'll make a joke about rape they'll make a joke it doesn't i heard a comedian make a joke uh referring to a bunch of suicides as the good old days
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
That was on one of the episodes. Go back through the episodes and you'll find it. But that's what I mean. It's like there's the context. And when we maintain that context, people know, oh, yeah, you can send something to your friend or your family member. That is egregious. It can be the most horrible thing towards them or towards somebody else.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But because of the context, they know that you're joking. They know that... Do you get what I'm saying? And I actually worry about that world. I don't want to live in a world where we now have to sort of like... Thought police. Yeah. We have to now go like, I've never had that thought. I do not think anything that is bad could be funny. I do not think...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
No, but it's a joke. I wouldn't say many things.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So I think that society, you know, it's not to delve too deep into the world of like the shadow self and all of these things, but... We need to accept that as human beings, the paradox of the brain is that it is thinking about what it should not think about even when we're telling it to think about something. It's mostly an intrusive thought.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Everything. 90% intrusive thought. When I'm on the freeway, most of the time I'm thinking, crash that, crash that. I'm not doing it though, but my brain is going, what would happen? What would happen? What would happen? You know what I mean? So I actually, personally as Trevor, I go, I judge people based on their actions, not on their thoughts.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Because I go, that is, in my opinion, what makes you a good person is that you act in a way that is good for other people or for yourself. And you don't follow all the thoughts that are... In fact, if you follow all the thoughts, I think they would put you in an asylum. They would say that you are, you listen to the voices in your head. You'd just be in jail. Exactly.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I mean, that is true.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
trust you more i think yes um i remember um i bumped into shane gillis and um and i remember chatting to him and i was like and i genuinely mean this i was like i i'm so proud of shane gillis as a human being and as a comedian because he got fired off of snl people discarded him they're like he's out then he amassed a huge amount of fans who were like yeah Bring more.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
They were like, bring more racism. Bring more. They were like, do the thing. And I'll never forget his first shows that he booked. I think it was at The Stand, actually, in New York. Shane comes out and he basically addresses the fact that people have come there to see racist. And he's like, that's not what I do.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, and he didn't. And then he subverted the whole thing and he joked about it. And even now, like I go genuinely, Shane Gillis is one of the people where, and I don't think anyone, quote unquote, let's say has an excuse, but he would have had an excuse to be an asshole. Shane was like, no. He's like, hey, man, I made some jokes. You didn't like them. I'm still going to make jokes.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And genuinely now, I think he's one of the best comedians working in the world. And when you watch his comedy, I don't care what you are, by the way, conservative, liberal, whatever you think you are, Shane Gillis is funny, but I also think it's amazing to see somebody who was able to withstand the horde that supports the worst instincts. Because one person can go, Neil, how could you say that?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You get canceled. And then what happens is there's a crowd that comes in to claim you, and they're like, yes, Neil. Yes, join us. All the things, yes. And you know how we feel about those people. And you're like, man, I just made a joke that some people didn't like. And they're like, no, but Neil, do only those jokes.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And Shane, I don't know how he did it as a human, because that must have been really hard. I think he shrugged it off. He just seemed to kind of go like, I don't know. I don't know how, though. This next segment, Core Memories, is brought to you by Starbucks. The holidays aren't just about grand gestures, but the little moments that bring warmth, connection, and joy to the season.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I remember the first time I experienced a winter Christmas in America. It felt like I was stepping into a movie. Because you see, back home in South Africa, Christmas is all about summer, right? It's barbecues, cold drinks, and running around outside in the sun. That's something I'd only ever seen on TV before.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Everything felt so still, like the world outside had been wrapped in a thick, cozy blanket. Inside it was warm, almost too warm to be honest. The heat was on and there was a smell of cinnamon in the air, which, by the way, Americans love. I couldn't help but laugh at myself. I was bundled in three layers of clothing, even though everyone else seemed perfectly comfortable in their one sweater.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
A very ugly sweater. We spent the evening indoors, playing board games, where people were fighting over sheep. I still don't understand what that game was about. But what struck me was the coziness of it all. Everyone gathered together, and the sound of laughter filled the room.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It was such a contrast to the Christmases I had grown up with, where everything was loud and outdoors, and this was slower, and it was more intimate. And honestly, I loved it just as much. There's something magical about being stuck inside because of the cold, surrounded by people you care about, while the rest of the world feels like it's standing still.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
That was the moment I realized Christmases aren't really about the weather or the food. It's all about who you spend it with. There's no denying, moments like these are so much more magical when they're paired with the comforting flavors of the holiday season. Create core memories this holiday season. Order your favorite holiday beverage on the Starbucks app today.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So it's funny, Christiana and I were talking about this.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So like after the Ta-Nehisi episode on the podcast, right? I had, you name it. I had people phoning me, everybody from everywhere. You know, so every, like you run the spectrum from friends, friends, close friends going like, Trevor, like, how could you have that man on? And that is extremist and it's anti-Semitic and this is trash. And why would you even sit there and listen to him?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And all the way through to strangers just being like, this is why you should be dead. I wish apartheid had killed you and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So you got my message. And the two of you know me in those moments more than most people, right? And the first thing I do is listen, because I go like, all right, tell me everything. Just tell me everything, you know?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And so like a friend of mine would just be like, oh, he's like, you know, I can't believe you. Why didn't you ask Tanasi this? And why didn't you ask him that? And I responded and I
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I said, I was like, hey, the same way if somebody's coming to talk about their documentary about something that happened in Israel, I'm not going to push them on everything about what's happening in Gaza because this is the part of the story that we're here to talk about. And it was interesting.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
When I have those conversations, I just listen to what the person is saying, what they're feeling, and then I try and understand where we are missing each other. So the one note, for instance, I said to a friend... One of my friends, he was like, I hated the fact that you talked about Jewish people and then you talked about Israel and you talked about Jewish people, but then you conflated the two.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I was like, oh yeah, actually you're right. Well, that's what I'm curious about, how much...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
He feels everything.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I feel all of it. Feels everything. What do you do? Play FIFA?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
No, I am very sensitive and I feel all of it.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So there's a few things that have... You asked me this question and I realized there's a few things that have helped me understand this. And it's funny because I think, Neil, you'll have something similar but different because of your upbringing. So first of all, I grew up in a house and in a country where there was a lot of violence, right?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And so when I was a child watching this, I never once looked at it and went, yeah, this is right. I even talk to my mom now and I go, why would you get so angry when you were hitting me? And she's like, because you wouldn't listen. I'm like, yeah, but why did you get angry though? I was like, you know, you could have just like done it as like a, all right, kid, here comes your punishment.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then she would say, she's like, I was so frustrated. And I was like, I was like, I know I, you know, cut something open. I know I dismantled the TV. I know I burnt down a room. I know whatever I did. But even me as a child, I would go, huh, that was not ideal, but I'm not going to lose my cool over this. And then I'd get my beating and then I would cry and I'd feel it. I'd feel everything.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But the thing that would stick with me is how it didn't make sense for people to lose their cool. And I talk to my friends about it, and we have these big fights, but I go, every one of our parents, especially African parents, but I mean, I know you know how Neil grew up. Yo, parents were beating kids, and this was like a normal thing. And now we joke about it.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And like, what was the, was the family funny? Cause I I've never known this part of your comedy. Like. Who was the funny in your family, or where did the funny come from?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You'd be like, oh, you pray there's no shoe around, and you pray. Like Eddie Murphy had those jokes, and we all laughed about it. But- I think I grew up watching this going, huh, this is not, it doesn't seem to be ideal and it doesn't seem to get where I'm going. So maybe what I did a little too much was I internalize it. So I keep it in me. But then what I do is I, and that's where ADHD helps.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I'm having six conversations now at the same time. So you're speaking to me. And I'm listening to what you're saying. And then I'm sort of going to like one tree, which is like, okay, how do I agree with you? How do I disagree with you? What's happening here? What's not happening here? Do I connect with you? Do I not connect with you? Can I see your humanity?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I always go, if I see you as a person, which I do with most human beings on the show, genuinely, I go like, I'll still find something to connect with you on. And so on the other side of it, when you ask me like, how much does it change me? I genuinely listen. So- A person almost only has to tell me once. And I will keep that because it means something.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So when my friend said to me, my friend who's Jewish and spent time in Israel said, I didn't like that you said Jewish and Israel, but you conflated the two. And I was like, oh, okay. I will never do that again. But then when it comes to like arguing about whether or not it's an apartheid state, I said, you are my friend and I love you, but we're not going to agree on this.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I don't think we need to agree on this to remain friends. In fact, as my friend, I hope that you'll still keep me in your life and I will work to keep you in my life. But I don't want to lose you because of this thing, because there's so many things that we're going to disagree on. This is just one of the biggest ones, you know, and.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I don't know whether it's just this moment in time or social media or I don't know what it is, but I feel like people have less and less ability now to maintain friendships or to maintain connections that also hold a space of disagreement or conflict.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, and you see for me that I don't think that's I don't think that moves us forward because I've always believed that people don't change by hanging out with people who are like them. I agree. I think we change by rubbing on each other, just rubbing off on each other. And I think the common humanity, that's why I come back to stand up.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I think of the comedians I used to meet in comedy clubs, and I still, till this day, I mean, everything, racist, misogynistic, whatever you want to call it, but they were also human beings. You know what I mean? And I'm not excusing any of the things they did. The same way I'm sure someone wouldn't excuse some of the things I did or said as a person. You all have your faults.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But the one thing that would connect us first and foremost is that we were comedians. You remember, we'd even say as comedians, we'd be like, man, have you seen that guy's new bit? You'd be like, it is the most racist bit you've ever seen, but God, it's funny. And holding that paradox holding that cognitive dissonance, I think was key to us.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And you would see, not all, but you would see a lot of the comedians evolve over time because society would evolve and you would shift and you'd find a lot of the comedians who were doing the jokes they were doing back in the day wouldn't do them anymore and they would evolve slowly.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
There is no comedian who does not have something wrong with them. No good comedian, actually.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So I used to think that, but then I realized we've robbed the world of context. And on one of our previous episodes here, when Yuval Noah was here, the author of Sapiens and the Nexus, he said something that really stuck with me. And it was, we are living in an age where we have more information than we've ever, ever, ever, ever, ever had in our lives. We have access to more information, but...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
We don't have enough time to process it. And I think the problem with like comedy now, let's say, or jokes even, is there's no context anymore. Then even when Twitter began, the first people who followed comedians on Twitter and people all agree that this was a place where people are making jokes. They are not real things, right? Yeah.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then the context spread, the algorithm moved things around. Now you're sitting at home, minding your own business. You're a super religious person. And then some video will come on your feed where someone's trashing religion, making jokes about it. And you're like, you get angry. But there's no context. You didn't want to see that. You didn't ask to see.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I think that's one of my key issues with social media is the fact that people are not asking to see. They're not opting in in any way. I feel like it should be like an opt-in as opposed to an opt-out. But people are seeing videos that they don't want to see, videos that are actively making them angrier, sadder, more afraid, et cetera. And I think that's actually...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
hurting comedy and hurting the idea of comedy as opposed to it being or not being. Does that make sense?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
The issue I have with it is that is the getting offended issue. It is you on the other side of getting offended. And I, okay, I say this from the, let's take comedy out of it for a moment. I think of language. So I speak many languages, as you know, Neil Brennan.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And one of the things I love about speaking multiple languages is the fact that you learn how offensive the same thing is in another culture, in another language. Sure. You didn't change anything. You moved your hand in a different way. You did a thumbs up in one country and they're like, what did you say about my father? And you're like, wait, what?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You put your hand under your chin in one country and they're like, what are you saying about my family?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
No, no, no. You adjust in different contexts, right? but that's because I've moved to places, right? We are no longer moving. So we now live in a world- So there's nine different languages.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So we're no longer moving. Before it made sense, I go to Dubai. When I'm in Dubai, I acknowledge I'm in the United Arab Emirates. I will respect the cultures and the laws accordingly. When I go to South Africa, I know my people. I will respect my people and I will work accordingly. I do this everywhere in the world, but now I'm not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You're not going anywhere. You're at home tweeting your friend, TikToking your people. You're not going anywhere. And then it takes you where the people don't agree with you, but you didn't go there. That's what I'm trying to say. And so the problem with offense is that everything is offensive to everyone if there is no context. So you can literally say something.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You could say to your own grandparent, you'd be like, how old are you, granny? And they'd be like, 93. They're like, whoop, it's almost time. And your grandparent laughs. Yeah. You take that video, you put it on your own social media page. For you and your few fans and your people, you might have 20 followers. For some reason, it sparks something.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
All of a sudden, there's a delusion of people coming to you saying, how dare you? Do you know what ageism does to our culture? You're discarding. I don't care that they laugh. They probably laugh because they're scared of you. And you're like, no, this is my grandparent. They taught me this humor. I'm laughing with them. For instance, I've seen comedians, and you've seen this.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I've seen comedians who have disabilities, deaf, blind. They have MS, cerebral palsy, whatever it is. They make a joke online. People don't know that they have that disability. And they just come off them. How could you? How dare you? Piece of trash. And then their fans come in and go like, excuse me, they have the disability. And the people are like, oh, I didn't know. Oh, well, that's so funny.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And I'm like, what just changed? Nothing has changed. Your context and the way you saw the thing changed. And so I do agree with you. Yes, words have consequences, yes. But I think we should never take for granted our participation in some of these ideas where we are choosing to get angry on some of it. We are choosing to take it and make it like, ah!
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Personally, I do this in my life with my friends, with my people. I encourage people...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
to just it's almost like filtering focus on the things that you should actually be angry about because there's a lot of things that actually it's like oh you just you just misinterpreted it it's it's you you really just misinterpreted it it's a different perspective different language different culture different vibe different story and it actually doesn't spoil your life we're going to continue this conversation right after this short break
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I don't know what the solution to this is, but I still go back to my belief that the solution doesn't lie in people siloing themselves. I believe as Trevor, this person... has no incentive, and will never even shift a little bit if I'm not in their life. And I will never see their perspective if I'm not in their life.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But it's not Kumbaya, man.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Get out of here. No, but it's something. Jive turkey.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
That's the type of. That's not why. You see, the why was wrong.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And look at where we are now. You were part of helping me win an Emmy. You were part of helping make the show the best thing it's ever been.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
As your friend, both of you, I've seen both of you change because of me. And both of you have changed me because you're in my life. So Christiana, I've watched you become funnier. and looser as a person in the time that I've known you. Like I've literally watched you.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So I like what you said, but like with the Twitter thing, yes, you were trash talking me and trash talking The Daily Show and everything. But more importantly, I saw somebody who was super smart, really, like the way you saw the world and the way you like understood ideas and what you brought in and your journalistic brain. I was like, damn, this is amazing.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I wasn't hiring people on Twitter who were just like, Trevor Noah, you suck.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I wasn't like, yeah, this person needs to come to The Daily Show. It's not about that. I'm able to look- They already work there.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I'm able to look at the thing that lies beneath how you respond to me.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I admire it. So when I look at the two of you, you've become funnier, like more chill, more everything. Right, Neil, let me tell you something. When I met Neil Brennan, so I'll take you on a little journey. When I met Neil Brennan for the very first time, I was on Twitter, and this was the good old days of Twitter where people were just making jokes. There was nothing serious on it.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And there was just jokes. And I remember Neil had really funny jokes on Twitter. And I was like, this guy's funny. And I followed him. And then it said, co-creator of Chappelle Show. And I was like, wait, what? And I went in. And I hadn't even watched the Chappelle Show in that way. I never had cable. I couldn't afford it. All these things. Sob story, whatever. Copper roof.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Tough life. Let's keep it moving. But I then went and I watched the show and then I saw the first sketch, the black white supremacist. And then you're in the back there and your head explodes. But then I started researching. I was like, damn, this guy's funny. And he's just been in everything that I love. So I follow him on Twitter. And now I just love his jokes.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then I come to America for the first time doing like random shows and I meet him at the comedy store in Los Angeles. And I'm walking through the corridors there, very dark, very like sad. Satanic energy. It really is. And I walked in and I saw his face and I was like, wait a minute. It's like Neil Brennan. And I was like, I know you. He's like, doesn't everyone?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
What are you, from another country? Yeah, it was very like, I was like, wow. And I was like, what? And I was like, yeah, hey, nice to meet you. I was like, I love you. I follow you on Twitter, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Neil was like, very dismissive. Neil was like, ah.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
okay whatever man and and like just very like you know leaning against the wall like like it's almost like a scene from greece but without the leather jackets just like leaning on the wall and it's like whatever kid keep it moving and i walk i walked in i went to do my sets or something and then when i was walking out neil goes like hey wait a minute where you from back here he's like where you from and i was like i'm from south africa and he's like
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Are you the guy? He's like, you followed me. I was like, yeah, I follow you. He's like, you're the reason I've got people. What did you say? You said, you're the reason I've got people with exclamation marks in their names following me. That's what Neil said. Neil was like, one day.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, you said like, one day I was on my Twitter. Clicks. And it was just like Brad and Jenny following me. And then the next day it was like, click, click. And I was like, yeah, terrifying. And I was like, that's my friend. I told him about your tweets and, and that's how we meet.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Neil was like, and you, I hope you don't mind me saying, but like Neil was, I mean, you were grumpy. You were just like, the world is like, Everything is bad, energetically dark, always just like everything is shit. And God, what are you, no religion. And just like, and why are you smiling? He used to hate that I smiled. He's like- Are you serious?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Neil would even say to me sometimes like, what are you so happy about? I don't think I said that. He said that. I may have energetically said it. No, he said it. He said, what are you so happy about? In fact, he has a fun story. Neil, I've told this story before somewhere, I'm sure, but maybe with you. But Neil, I remember you and I were sitting in a random, it wasn't even a diner.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I don't know what it was.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
In Denver. Neil was doing the improv, I think. I was doing the comedy work. Okay, the comedy work. So we're having a late, late, late dinner after this. Like, you know, midnight type thing. We've both done our shows. And then classic Neil with his cynicism, you know, Neil's like, how was your weekend? Did you make enough money to barely pay for your flights and your food?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
You idiot, you African fool. Yeah. And I was like, yeah, because we made no money. Yeah. Basically, as a comedian, you were lucky if you came home with a little money from the road.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Barely, barely, barely.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, this is 12 years ago. And at some point, Neil turns to me and he goes, what are you doing here? Yeah. And I was like, what do you mean? And he's like, man, he's like, I've seen your life in South Africa. He's like, why are you doing this? He's like, go home. People love you there. You told him to go back to Africa. You told me to go back to where I came from.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And he's like, people love you there. And you're doing arenas. He's like, here, you're in a comedy club where people came in for free and they don't know you. They don't even like you. And he's like, why? He's like, America. He's like, America's not ready for. What did you say? America's not ready for someone.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, you were like, Americans don't like foreign comedians. And then we went through a list and he wasn't wrong. Ricky Gervais is the only one who made an impact. And they made a show, but they made Americans. And then Neil said this to me, and we had this discussion back and forth for a while, back and forth for a while. And I was like, oh, and I took it in a good way.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I was like, you know what, Neil? He's like, thank you. What, like, wonderful. You're such a good friend. He's like, I don't even know if I'm your friend. We're just in the same city. But I always, and I've always seen this, you know, I've always said that. I was always like, what a sweet, loving guy.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I was like, this is a sweet, loving human being who has been hurt by something and someone in the world. And now he wears like a little shell on the outside.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
The same way I see everyone, genuinely. We see past all this, Christiana, to the real you.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So I was like, this guy's a nice, because I think, I meet people sometimes who are very nice, and I go, this person is an asshole, and I do not want to know them as a human being. They will burn your life down if they get the chance. And then I meet people who are prickly, and I'm like, you, you're a good person, you know?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
He literally phoned me.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
What made you... I remember telling you about therapy and you were like... You didn't tell me about therapy. No, I remember talking to you about therapy and you were like... Did you go to therapy? I've been going to therapy since I was 23.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, it's because of my childhood. Yeah.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Oh, yeah. But you were lucky you grew up like, first of all, you're Nigerian. So you've always had like your people.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then also like your family. I've grown up as a singular. You know what I mean? I was and still am the only person in my family who even looks like me. Obviously, you can find features in my parents. You'd be, oh, I see. But no, my mother's a different color to me. My father's a different color to me. We look, we are different people. And in the family, I'm a different person.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Whenever I think of big families, I... I'm torn. You know, my family, like brothers are split, right? So I have two younger brothers. One is 10 years younger. One is 20 years younger. So for all intents and purposes, it feels like we were all single kids in a way. But then we all occupy an age position, you know? So I do feel like the eldest because of age.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And you get what I'm saying? Does that make you feel like lonely or you just... No, it was the opposite, funny enough. It didn't make me feel lonely because I don't spend all the time looking at myself, which is great.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, no, I was just like, you know, because it was the only way I was. And I think most importantly, my tight nucleus treated me as the in. So it's not like my cousins treated me strange, not my grandmother, my mother, my nobody in my circle. I was Trevor, fully, fully just Trevor. And then because I understand other people's languages, I would find a way to get in quickly.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And then my friends very quick. I mean, till this day, you all know my friends, but they just treat me like me. So I don't even look down and be like, well, my skin is different. No, I don't do that. And so let me ask you this. Why do you think, I'd love to know, why do you think as Neil, you were always more comfortable and more honest in black spaces than most white people?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And it doesn't matter what it is. It might be your family. It might be the country you lived in. It might be just a neurodivergent thing that you have in your own head and you grew up in a fine world.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Yeah, so like... I'm sensing a movie here, guys. But he wanted to be a black woman.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I would say she's changed, but not her parents. So her ability to execute her parenting style has evolved with age. Like I was talking to my youngest brother about this the other day. It's like, I don't think my mom's vibe changed, but when I was young, she could chase me When my brother was naughty, she couldn't chase him as much as she could chase me. So I think she then had to adapt.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
So you see, I come back to what I was saying now about sharing space with people. I listened to your story and just listening to what you said. Because of your brother, you went to a place where all of his coworkers were black at Wrigley Field. You're now associating and seeing black people in their fullness, in their completeness.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It is a lot harder to be racist to black people when you know black persons. It's a lot harder. Because you're like, no, I know Dave and I know Steve and I know Daquan and I know people. I know some are like this. I know some are not like this. Do you get what I'm saying? Yeah. You then go, now you're also in comedy. Then you're in Chappelle's show.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Again now, you're experiencing black people from all different walks of life. Everyone from most deaf and Talib.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
When you became more spiritual, I'd love to know, like you and I, many years ago, on The Daily Show, we talked about depression and how it affects people differently. And this is before I knew I had ADHD. And then I was like, oh, mine's not like depression. It's just a byproduct of ADHD at times. Yeah. I want to know from you, what do you think some of the biggest blocks were to you
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
figuring it out. You know, in one special, you're joking about wearing a device on your arm that electrocutes you to remind you to smile and seem more affable. This is a real thing.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But then now, you smile more as a person. You just generally... What do you think was the... And it's not the... Let's start with the thing that you did, but tell me what you discovered that shifted you out from under the cloud.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But over a long distance, she always got me. She always got me. But I always wanted, like, in a big family, because I craved it most of my life. And then I would meet people in mega big families, and they would say, oh, I felt forgotten. I felt like... There wasn't enough love to go around. Did you feel like that?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It lives in the same world. I think in everything I'm hearing you saying, the facts didn't change. Your house, your car, your life, your job, your friends, your opportunities, that didn't change. Your relation to them changed. Your relationship to them changed.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And that's what I think about, funny enough, with genuinely how we see the world a lot of the time, with its things online that offend us, people that make us angry, stories. A lot of the time, it's just your relationship to it. is acknowledging the fact is it has happened or you're seeing it. Yeah. But now what is my relationship to it?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
And just shifting that lets you off the hook from feeling like you're wearing a weighted vest. That's what I hear you say.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
But I think life is a balance between the two. I think if we live only in the moment, we neglect.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I think it's about finding a balance. That's hard.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It's almost impossible because it's like how you look at it. how you choose to relate to it, how you move through. And sometimes you're not choosing it actively, but that's how I understand it.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Oh, anyway, you get your podcast. Fantastic. Yo, Neil, this was... Every time I speak to you, it's a joy. But this was extra special. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, Neil. If someone has to watch one of your specials now, which one do you want them to watch?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Well, for me, I think of it like Star Wars. Go watch the trilogy. Yes. If you watch three mics and you watch blocks and then you watch Crazy Good, you will know this Neil Brennan and you will see the full evolution. Yeah, you will see the evolution. So different.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Neil, thank you so much.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
It's multiple families in one family. Because most of the time I feel like your siblings sort of not have to be, but you have to be close to them because these are the only people who've shared your existence. But then when there's 10, there's a lot of people who've shared your existence.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I was about to say, that sounds like an insult that someone would say to an African. I'm just going to listen.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Christiana, there are a few things you need to focus on with your siblings. You know, the weirdest thing for me with Black Panther is like, sometimes when I do that, because it's like the accent that they're doing is a South African accent, but they're not a South African accent. So even when I do it, I feel like...
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I have to undo. And you were in it and do a different accent, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I wanted to match the general accent, so I didn't want to come in there with a weird, like, what is this guy doing? Yeah. So I was like, no, I'll try and figure out the vibe that everyone's in, and then I'll go from there. Yes. So it's very weird for me. Are your parents still alive? My mama's, yeah.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
Wow. Or 90, 90, yeah. What was it like for you when your dad passed away? Because, you know, you share very openly in your special about how, like, and I think you and I have connected a lot on this. Growing up in a home with a man who's very violent, with his alcohol, like it's a terrifying existence. Yeah. And I think you and I, I don't know, we bond around this.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
I think a lot of our comedy is shaped by this or this feeling. But I've always wondered, what did it feel like when your dad passed away?
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
This is What Now? with Trevor Noah. If you don't know Neil Brennan, you probably don't know comedy, right? Neil Brennan is in many ways like the Forrest Gump of comedy. He has been everywhere. He knows everyone. No comedian who is worth their salt in anything... does not have a story about Neil Brennan. I don't care where they're from. I don't care what they're doing.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
We're going to continue this conversation right after this short break.
What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan [VIDEO]
No, I think there was sort of a weird idea I adopted in and around taking over The Daily Show, and it was like, don't make it about you.