Stephen Dubner

We don't have a sound system. And then I ask people in the back rows of the balcony if they can hear me without mics. And they shout, yes, they can. So that's a good sign. I mean, these old theaters were built before amplification, so maybe we can pull it off without mics. Ari, meanwhile, is getting even antsier backstage. He says, let's just do it without mics. I can shout.

So that's the new plan. We're going to do the show as best as we can without a PA system. The band is getting ready. Still no mics, still no keyboards. And I have no idea if the video clips we had planned to play during the show are going to work. And then suddenly, the system starts working again, at least partially. By now, it's way past the scheduled start time.

So that's the new plan. We're going to do the show as best as we can without a PA system. The band is getting ready. Still no mics, still no keyboards. And I have no idea if the video clips we had planned to play during the show are going to work. And then suddenly, the system starts working again, at least partially. By now, it's way past the scheduled start time.

So that's the new plan. We're going to do the show as best as we can without a PA system. The band is getting ready. Still no mics, still no keyboards. And I have no idea if the video clips we had planned to play during the show are going to work. And then suddenly, the system starts working again, at least partially. By now, it's way past the scheduled start time.

So we hustle up, we wish each other good luck, and we start the show. The monologue goes pretty well. And then I introduce Ari. He comes out and we have a pretty sassy conversation, covers everything from Donald Trump to Elon Musk to open AI to the Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni mess and a lot more. He stays for nearly an hour. He's a real pro and a good sport.

So we hustle up, we wish each other good luck, and we start the show. The monologue goes pretty well. And then I introduce Ari. He comes out and we have a pretty sassy conversation, covers everything from Donald Trump to Elon Musk to open AI to the Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni mess and a lot more. He stays for nearly an hour. He's a real pro and a good sport.

So we hustle up, we wish each other good luck, and we start the show. The monologue goes pretty well. And then I introduce Ari. He comes out and we have a pretty sassy conversation, covers everything from Donald Trump to Elon Musk to open AI to the Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni mess and a lot more. He stays for nearly an hour. He's a real pro and a good sport.

And then I do a quick AMA and ask me anything with a member of the audience named Christina. She asks me how I came up with the sign off for this show. Take care of yourself. And if you can, someone else, too. It is a question I wasn't expecting. And I tear up as I tell the story because I started using that sign off pretty early on.

And then I do a quick AMA and ask me anything with a member of the audience named Christina. She asks me how I came up with the sign off for this show. Take care of yourself. And if you can, someone else, too. It is a question I wasn't expecting. And I tear up as I tell the story because I started using that sign off pretty early on.

And then I do a quick AMA and ask me anything with a member of the audience named Christina. She asks me how I came up with the sign off for this show. Take care of yourself. And if you can, someone else, too. It is a question I wasn't expecting. And I tear up as I tell the story because I started using that sign off pretty early on.

In the pandemic, my wife had been very sick with COVID and we hadn't been sure that she would recover, but she did. And that line just came to me, like when you're writing a line to a song and it stuck. After the AMA, we bring out R.J. Cutler, and he's just great, thoughtful and personal. He's telling great stories about himself and all the people he has embedded himself with over the years.

In the pandemic, my wife had been very sick with COVID and we hadn't been sure that she would recover, but she did. And that line just came to me, like when you're writing a line to a song and it stuck. After the AMA, we bring out R.J. Cutler, and he's just great, thoughtful and personal. He's telling great stories about himself and all the people he has embedded himself with over the years.

In the pandemic, my wife had been very sick with COVID and we hadn't been sure that she would recover, but she did. And that line just came to me, like when you're writing a line to a song and it stuck. After the AMA, we bring out R.J. Cutler, and he's just great, thoughtful and personal. He's telling great stories about himself and all the people he has embedded himself with over the years.

We play some clips from his films, and even that works out okay. So I finish up with R.J., we say some thank yous, then we say goodnight. The audience claps. They seem to enjoy it, although I couldn't really tell how good the show was. Live shows... are always a bit of a blur, but this one even more so because of the circumstances.

We play some clips from his films, and even that works out okay. So I finish up with R.J., we say some thank yous, then we say goodnight. The audience claps. They seem to enjoy it, although I couldn't really tell how good the show was. Live shows... are always a bit of a blur, but this one even more so because of the circumstances.

We play some clips from his films, and even that works out okay. So I finish up with R.J., we say some thank yous, then we say goodnight. The audience claps. They seem to enjoy it, although I couldn't really tell how good the show was. Live shows... are always a bit of a blur, but this one even more so because of the circumstances.

It struck me as a bit of a miracle that the show ended up happening at all. So we hang out for a little bit more at the theater and then we go to a little after party, mostly friends and family, maybe 40, 50 folks, including my daughter who just moved to LA last year after college. Honestly, she was a big reason I wanted to do a show out here in the first place.

It struck me as a bit of a miracle that the show ended up happening at all. So we hang out for a little bit more at the theater and then we go to a little after party, mostly friends and family, maybe 40, 50 folks, including my daughter who just moved to LA last year after college. Honestly, she was a big reason I wanted to do a show out here in the first place.

It struck me as a bit of a miracle that the show ended up happening at all. So we hang out for a little bit more at the theater and then we go to a little after party, mostly friends and family, maybe 40, 50 folks, including my daughter who just moved to LA last year after college. Honestly, she was a big reason I wanted to do a show out here in the first place.

So we're eating, we're drinking, we're laughing now about how close we came to having no show at all. And that's when our excellent editor, Ellen Frankman, comes up to me with a look on her face that I couldn't quite figure out. In retrospect, she looked really ill. She was shaky. Her face was pale. So I asked her, what's wrong?